So that means it’s per-device, not per-platform. To me, per-platform means if I set the quality on my iPhone it also changes on my iPad (assuming iOS is a platform).
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Slacker radio credentials
- Thread starter talkingevs
- Start date
Not entirely accurate. The server does not check the client. Instead, in a client server architecture the client passes certain arguments to their API. One of which would be bitrate or quality settings and would the server would validate that the client, probably through an API key, is eligible for requested quality and if so allow it. Otherwise, reject service or provide maximum they are eligible for.
None of this is to say it’s teslas fault for not having a button to change quality. Nor does it mean Tesla are forcing a certain quality. There are many factors we do not know such as does their contract with the carrier force throttling which necessitates lower quality anyway and so no need for a setting. Maybe they are only able to do low quality per contract with the music service. Maybe the music service changed their API on Tesla and they just have not been able to get to it yet. Maybe they are being forced to stick to 65. Maybe Tesla hates high quality streaming.
The point is no one knows why except Tesla and their partners so we can’t say who’s fault it is.
Knightshade
Well-Known Member
Except that Slacker has repeatedly, explicitly, said it was entirely Teslas fault- and that if tesla enables a setting for higher quality in the app then they can have higher quality (pending what subscription is logged in)
That's how it worked on the S/X before they took the setting away. And it's how the owners manual on the 3 said it was going to work before they decided not to offer that setting in the initial (or current) version of the 3 software.
The fact they took it away on the S/X bodes poorly for the idea Tesla will ever add it for the 3 at this point.
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Again, I’m not saying it’s not Teslas fault. I’m saying there are many variables and without all the facts we are just people speculating on the internet. We should be careful proclaiming facts otherwise we become fake news. Sure Slacker have said that but they have no idea what the deal is between Tesla and the carrier. Also, how knowledgeable was that slacker representative to the specifics between slacker and Tesla.
Knightshade
Well-Known Member
I mean- we only can go on the facts we have right?
Here's some of them-
Fact: Slacker explicitly said quality settings are determined by the setting on the end-user device, and by account type.
Fact: In the case of the Tesla app a Slacker rep said it's determined by the setting in the Tesla app- if you have a setting for higher quality you will get it- if you don't have that setting you get low quality.
Fact: Slackers website confirms this is a per-platform setting just like the email from Slacker support said.
Fact: Tesla themselves says the same thing in the original Model 3 owners manual.
Fact: The S/X used to have exactly such a setting...for years. If your car had the higher-spec stereo you could change the setting to higher quality, and you got higher quality. Same carrier then as now BTW.
Fact: They removed that option from the S/X a while back (months back far as I can tell)- and chose not to actually include it with the 3 at all.
I'm unaware of any relevant facts at all that implicate anyone but Tesla as the source of the limitation.
So which seems likely to you?
It's entirely Teslas choice.
Or
It's somehow secretly Slackers fault (for no actual reason- since it's make less than zero sense for them to DISCOURAGE paid subscriptions- which is what refusing to allow high quality streams does)... and the guy who said otherwise was either ignorant or lying, and slackers own website is also lying, and Tesla also got it wrong in their own user manual, and all the people who had direct evidence it was a tesla setting by having that setting for years imagined it?
That second one doesn't really hold up very well to either every fact we do actually know, or to critical thought I find.
The carrier suggestion doesn't hold up very well either- AT&T will be happy to sell a client as much bandwidth as they wish, for money. So if Tesla wished to save themselves some money they could, by their own choice, reduce the bandwidth used by the slacker app. By, say, removing the option for higher bandwidth streaming (or not offering it at all in the model 3). That's entirely teslas fault.
AT&T wouldn't tell them "Sorry, we don't want more money, we're going to not sell you extra data".... not to mention, they're under the same deal they were back when the S/X allowed the higher quality setting, so blaming the carrier doesn't make any sense either.
AT&T makes more money if you use more bandwidth.
Slacker makes more money if you pay for an account that allows very high quality or other advanced features.
The only party involved who gains anything from reducing bandwidth for streaming music here is... Tesla. The one who removed the high-bandwidth option from their own app in the S/X and decided not to add it in the first place in the 3.
Side (non bitrate) question: If I do upgrade to the Premium Tier and login on my 3, does that give me full access to play complete albums/songs on demand?
Also, if I cancel, how to revert back to the "Tesla Account" if they aren't handing out logins? Do I just log out and the car defaults back to it's original state?
Thanks!
Also, if I cancel, how to revert back to the "Tesla Account" if they aren't handing out logins? Do I just log out and the car defaults back to it's original state?
Thanks!
Knightshade
Well-Known Member
Premium gives you-
Handcrafted stations
Custom stations
Ad-free
Maximum audio quality
Unlimited skips
Listen offline
Play on demand
Though obviously the max audio quality won't be usable in your tesla
(you could log in on your phone or a PC or something and use that though)I think you just select "tesla account"
Folks were asking for credentials from Tesla so they could use the account on the website and such (mistakenly thinking changing settings there translated to the car)
The answer is yes to both of your questions. I just setup my own premium account a few days ago to test it out. I can play any song I want as many times I want, can listen to songs just by a specific artist (without similar artists mixing in) or play an entire album. If I want to cancel my premium account and switch back to the Tesla account I just switch back to the Tesla account; the username and password for the Tesla account is stored so that you can easily revert back to it.
Electric Joe
Member
I'm "between Teslas" at the moment, so I can't test it. But based on what I've read on the previous several pages of this thread I think there's no way to adjust the bitrate.
Something maybe worth mentioning is that in my premium audio Model S I did a test where I'd listen to Slacker through the in-car app for a few days, then switch to the iOS Slacker app connected via Bluetooth, and it was noticeably better quality using the iOS app. I don't remember if that was back when the car would allow me to bump up the quality or not.
Regarding the now-missing bitrate selector in the Model S/X, the switch labels were "normal" and "high" or something like that, not a numeric bitrate. I preferred the high quality setting, but left it at normal because my 2012 Model S had 3G cellular, not LTE, and often the songs would not buffer enough over 3G at the high bitrate and would halt and stutter during playback, and show the infamous "Loading error" message. When Tesla removed the option I assumed they built in a feature that would check to see if the car has 3G or LTE and would choose the appropriate quality setting automatically. Just speculating there.
SageBrush
REJECT Fascism
That makes good sense, although I would prefer that they do more buffering for the most part.
Got 4 out of 6 correct and the two the I got wrong I confused 320 Kbps for the uncompressed Wav. In zero instances did I select 128 Kbps. This was using Bose noise cancelling headphones.
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I upgraded to plus and contacted slacker asking about audio quality.
this is what I got:
Message:
I got slacker plus. What quality will it play in my model 3?
Frank S. (Slacker Radio)
Jul 20, 10:28 PDT
All music with Slacker on Tesla plays at 64kbps, regardless of subscription level. If your Tesla includes the high quality audio package, this quality can be increased to 128kbps by enabling the option in your car. (If your car doesn't contain this option, then you cannot adjust the audio quality.)
Best regards,
Frank
Slacker Radio Support
there go $30 down the drain
and confirming once more this thread.
Premium sound with crappy streaming. and don't get me going with tunein LOL
this is what I got:
Message:
I got slacker plus. What quality will it play in my model 3?
Frank S. (Slacker Radio)
Jul 20, 10:28 PDT
All music with Slacker on Tesla plays at 64kbps, regardless of subscription level. If your Tesla includes the high quality audio package, this quality can be increased to 128kbps by enabling the option in your car. (If your car doesn't contain this option, then you cannot adjust the audio quality.)
Best regards,
Frank
Slacker Radio Support
there go $30 down the drain
and confirming once more this thread.
Premium sound with crappy streaming. and don't get me going with tunein LOL
I think the Slacker audio quality in the Model 3 is pretty good, especially when you compare it to the sat signal from SiriusXM. I've got 320kbps enabled on the Slacker app for iOS. I'm going to try it via bluetooth in my Model 3 on my drive home from work to check how noticeable the difference is.
One remark about that test is that it was posted 3 years ago, and there's no information readily available on the encoder used. Even since then, there have been breakthroughs in lossy compression (perhaps not MP3 but in competing streaming formats). Hydrogenaudio Forums - Index used to be one of my fave jaunts for taking similar double blind tests, though not with such a clean and concise web interface like NPR's.
GuyDude
Member
Premium slacker does not allow me to:
Listen offline
Play on demand
When i search for a song, it will find it. When I select the song it will play a radio station based on that song but not the song itself. Same way it does on the Free Tesla version.
Also, if I play an album, there is no option for me to go to the 'previous track'. I need to skip through the entire album to play the song again... I've reached out to both Tesla and Slacker as these are key features of Premium but both continue to reply with generic ansers. " Slacker settings much be adjusted in your desktop or mobile app"
Listen offline
Play on demand
When i search for a song, it will find it. When I select the song it will play a radio station based on that song but not the song itself. Same way it does on the Free Tesla version.
Also, if I play an album, there is no option for me to go to the 'previous track'. I need to skip through the entire album to play the song again... I've reached out to both Tesla and Slacker as these are key features of Premium but both continue to reply with generic ansers. " Slacker settings much be adjusted in your desktop or mobile app"
At least in the S, you can go to previous tracks with a premium account (only) when you create custom playlists.
Ya I hate that. So i don’t even use it. I don’t want to listen to a song based on the song i want to listen to. I want to listen to THAT song. I find slacker and tune in useless. I wish I can get $100 credit back for not using it since tesla is charging $100 for it.
Snow Drift
[Off-Road Assist] Activated
Has anyone signed into their Slacker account (Plus or Premium) on the Model 3 UI and heard or seen any difference vs the Tesla account?
I just signed up for Premium, but I don't have the car yet to test.
I just signed up for Premium, but I don't have the car yet to test.
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Electric Joe
Member
I'd just add here that it's all relative to what you're comparing it to. The Slacker tier that Tesla provides is obviously not as good as a paid Spotify subscription or Apple Music where you can pick any song or album and play it. But compared to FM radio it's fantastic: much better audio quality, no idiotic radio ads (or interruptions of any kind), ability to skip and pause/resume songs. If you think of it as a lesser Spotify, Slacker isn't as good. If you think of it as a better FM radio, Slacker is excellent. As for TuneIn, I've never used it in my two+ years of Tesla ownership.
