Michal Ždanský Recently, large streaming services have been heading to the Czech Republic. We've had Rdio, Google Music, Spotify is about to join us, and we've had Deezer here for some time. In addition, iTunes Radio will surely reach us one day. All of these services have a massive database of artists and of course charge you a monthly fee to listen. The Czech service enters this competition Youradio, which, unlike the competition, is completely free.
The application itself is very simple. You choose a genre or a mood (combination of artists and genres), the application creates its own playlist, loads it from the cache and starts playing. It should be noted at the outset that this is not an "on demand" service, so for example it is not possible to select individual albums or only certain artists. In short, it is a similar model to that of iTunes Radio, where based on selected "moods", the application uses its own algorithm to select the most suitable playlist.
Every music streaming service stands and falls on its database. Youradio does not rely on anyone else's, it has its own, licensed by OSA and Intergram. As it is a Czech service, you will find here a number of domestic interpreters that you would look for elsewhere in vain. On the other hand, it falters slightly in the selection of foreign artists. Although I was able to find well-known performers such as Muse, Korn, Led Zeppelin or Dream Theater, others, far from unknown, were completely absent (Porcupine Tree, Neal Morse, ...). It depends on your musical preferences whether Youradio will serve you well.
The selected playlist, which unfortunately is not visible to you, will automatically start loading into the cache. In the application, you can set how many minutes you want to reserve in advance, so that you don't have to stream music via mobile data if you go out of range of your Wi-Fi. The maximum value is two hours. Then I recommend turning on music storage only on Wi-Fi so that you don't unknowingly use up your FUP limit. Unfortunately, playlists cannot be saved from the application yet, this can only be done on the website www.youradio.cz, with which the service is connected, you just need to create an account in which the created "moods" will be saved.
It's a bit of a shame that the streamed music doesn't have a higher bitrate, Youradio uses the AAC codec at 96 kbps, which is probably enough for the average listener, but the more demanding listener will hear the consequences of higher audio compression. The service is not perfect yet, sometimes a completely unrelated song is mixed into the mood or genre, and some genres are missing from the menu, for example my favorite progressive rock.
The player itself is very simple, it can only pause music or skip to the next track, there is no rewinding or the ability to return to the previous song, but this is related to the selected type of service, which is a radio stream. But I appreciate the stylish display of the song's elapsed time in the circular button. You can also rate songs by thumbs up and down, thereby customizing the algorithm by which the service selects songs.
The implementation of the user interface is overall very successful, in the spirit of iOS 7, however, the application has a distinctive look and represents all the good things from the new design language - simple icons and an environment that makes the content stand out, in this case the album cover, which partially overlaps the equalizer animation. Although it is the same for each song, it looks very effective and efficiently solves the display of the name of the artist, song and album.
Youradio has a poorer database than its competitors Rdio, Deezer or Google Music, on the other hand, there is a good selection of Czech performers and you don't pay any monthly fees, on the contrary, the application is completely free. If your tastes stick to the mainstream and you're happy with a lower bitrate, Youradio is a great service for you – and in a gorgeous modern jacket.
[app url=”https://itunes.apple.com/cz/app/youradio/id488759192?mt=8″]
Great, why not :) I tried it and it's not bad, note. to the author, I don't know any of the mentioned bands, so maybe, instead of directly condemning, first assess whether your favorite playlist is not more specific than other people's regular playlists :)
They are big names in the music field. It's true, and please take it without offense, that you probably won't run into them at Okka. Anyway, if there weren't so many ears, there wouldn't be so many musical styles and solitary bands. ;O)
I highly recommend Porcupine Tree for myself.
thanks for the tip, Porcupine Tree bought on iTunes :) PS. So what is Youradio paid for? when it's free…
You're welcome. ;O)
I skimmed through their "most popular" and for me they are completely indistinguishable from the crowd of dozens of other similar ones, it doesn't contain anything that interests me musically. Progressive rock is apparently not what it used to be and Jethro Tull is only one.
One hundred people, one hundred tastes. We are all different, otherwise the world would be boring! ;O)
It sounds a bit like iTunes Radio is paid, which it isn't. I have a US account so I use it and I am satisfied.
Interesting tip, thanks :-).
I would like to ask, does anyone have more information about when Spotify might arrive?