Connect bitrate - free vs $3 subscription?

[ULUL]

Quick question. Got the connect for our two grade school boys so don't really want to pay for a subscription as they already have other sources of good music at home.

However, I notice that the bitrate for the free Launchcast is really poor. We have good enough broadband speed.

So:
1. What's the bitrate for the free Launchcast?
2. If we pay the $3 monthly subscription, is there a guarantee that the bitrate will be noticeably better? What bitrate?

Thanks,
ULUL

[a12ctic]

Have you noticed that the bitrate on the sansa connect players seemed poor? It seemed halfway decent to me.

[ULUL]

Yes, bitrate without paid subscription on Launchcast is definitely poor to us - noticeably poorer than the free XM radio stream we get through our free AOL service.

Not being critical here - just needing info.

ULUL

[Snerdley]

I have ATT DSL and launchast plus (with high quality stream) is included, so I haven't been paying extra for it and it sounds close to CD quality, about a 192kbps MP3 stream I think. It's not lossless, but better than a lot of the older mp3's I've ripped locally.

[PromisedPlanet]

This question was asked recently, not sure if it was in ABI or the Sandisk Connect forum. Anyway, I went searching for the bitrate answer and couldn't find the exact number. However, a Launchcast Plus help page says this:

Q: What audio quality does Yahoo! LAUNCHcast Plus offer?


A: Our new broadband-only option includes enhanced spatial audio processing, wider dynamic audio range, higher frequency response, and audio normalization.

I've seen posts that state that Launchcast Plus streams are 192 Kbps, though these statements are often coupled with descriptions of Yahoo Music To Go, and are a little confusing.

[iblokh]

Two questions:

1) How do you get a Launchcast subscription for $3? I thought it cost $15/mo...

2) How do you get a free subscription with ATT Fastaccess DSL? I have the 3Mbps version, but haven't heard about the offer.

Thanks.

[PromisedPlanet]

Originally Posted by iblokh

Two questions:

1) How do you get a Launchcast subscription for $3? I thought it cost $15/mo...

Thanks.

You may be confusing Yahoo Launchcast Plus with Yahoo Music To Go. YMtG lets you download songs, not just stream them.

http://music.yahoo.com/launchcast/su...com/launchcast

http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/mus...lus/index.html