[plugin] NetRadio

[SSDNAdmin]

Author: dkj1000 (http://forums.snapstream.com/vb/private.php?do=newpm&u=11122)
Short Description: Allows users to listen to their favorite online radio stations
Long Description: This plugin utilizes Windows Media Player 9.0. I havent tested it with other versions of Media Player.
Version Number: 0.1 BETA
Status: BETA
Last Updated: 01/22/2005
Homepage:
Installation Instructions: The xml file: "RadioStations.xml" contains a list of the available radiostations. It should be pretty easy to see how it works.
Release Notes: This was my first plugin. I wrote it before the SDK was available, so Im not sure it was designed the best way possible. However, this is the feature i use the most in BM so I hope that others will enjoy this plugin as much as I do. Please let me know if you find some bugs or if you have some feature/change requests.
License: FREE
Requirements: Windows Media Player 9.0
Title: Beyond Media NetRadio Plugin
Download NetRadioPluginSetup.bmplugin (http://www.snapstream.com/ssdn/submissions/dkj1000/NetRadioPluginSetup.bmplugin)
http://www.snapstream.com/ssdn/submissions/dkj1000/pic1.jpg
http://www.snapstream.com/ssdn/submissions/dkj1000/pic2.jpg

[MazzoTech]

can the radio stations be changed? I am assuming htat would be in the .xml file.

[dequire]

Editing the file worked for me.

[nanook105]

Cool Plugin. A couple of comments:

Features

It would be nice to have a page in settings to add/remove radio stations
It would be nice to see (channel/artist/album/song, etc) what is playing
When this starts playing music, it should shut down/stop the other music player. Now, it just plays on top of the other music player
Bugs

It doesn't seem to be using the volume control in BM
If I start plaing a station. go back to the main menu and come back in, the text at the top says Stopped (even though it is still playing) instead of Now Playing:Station

[BeerBrewer]

Cool plugin. Thanks for your effort!

[k_kirk]

Agreed. Way too cool for a first edition! This is a sure keeper on my BM! Thanks for the effort! Nothing to add to Nanook's comments. All good feedback.

EDIT - Seems to be working well with Windows Media Player 10

[dkj1000]

thank you all for the comments.

You can edit the xml file to fit your own favorite radio stations.

replies to Nannok:

I agree that it would be nice to add radio stations directly from the BM interface. My original intentions was to implement the Windows Media Players build-in fetures to search for online radio stations. This is the first thing I will to include.

I'm not sure I can get the information about channel, artist, song etc. out of Media Player. I tried to, but WMP only returned the name of the current radio station?

I will look in to the API to see if I can figure out how to shut down the other music player.

I'm not sure I understand. What do you mean by the "volume control in BM"?

I will make sure that the heading of the page will be displayed correctly when you go back to the main menu and reenter the Net Radio screen.
I cant tell you when the next release is ready - but getting some feedback is great motivation :smile:

[nanook105]

I'm not sure I understand. What do you mean by the "volume control in BM"? BM has it's own volume control that adjusts the volume based on the existing windows wave and volume controls. When you are in an audio (music) or video BM module, it is controlled by the +/- on the keyboard..

[philhu]

Does this plugin allow live365 content? How about vip live365 content?

I cannot get that to work....

I love this idea since when you use showcase to add radio stations, they show up at your top level menu :( And I cannot find a way to delete them!

This pluging would solve that problem.

[jbarsoum]

I've atttached my xml file for anyone interested in adding CBC, Radio-Canada and Chillout stations to their list

[gadgetfl]

These 3 stations url info is not properly formed for an xml doc. I do not now how to correct it. I know it is the "&" sign in the code, I just don't know what to do. a ";" does not work.

The error is :

A semi colon character was expected. Error processing resource 'file:///C:/Documents and Settings/All Users/Application Dat...
<url>http://radio.msn.com/asx/generate.aspx?type=terres&id=10002600</url>

Any help would be appriciated.

-------------------------------

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<stations>

<station>
<label>93.7 Country</label>
<url>http://radio.msn.com/asx/generate.aspx?type=terres&id=10002600</url>
<img>images\msnradio.jpg</img>
</station>

<station>
<label>NPR National Public Radio</label>
<url>http://www.npr.org/dmg/dmg.php?getProgramStream=true&NPRMediaPref=WM</url>
<img>images\NPR.jpg</img>
</station>

<station>
<label>Classic Rock</label>
<url>http://radio.msn.com/asx/generate.aspx?type=genre&id=10002378&wmp10=1</url>
<img>images\Rock.jpg</img>

</station>

</stations>

-----------------------------------

[Kilrsat]

replace all "&" symbols with "&amp;"

[gadgetfl]

Thank You KIRLSAT. Worked Great.

FYI. When using the MSN Radio Stations, you may be asked to log in to netpassport.

[minn]

hmmm this didn't work for me. installed the plug in fine. when i click on a station, it says playing station, but there is no sound

[BeerBrewer]

On my computer it takes 5 - 10 seconds to fill the buffer and then it plays.

Per the above instructions I also modified the xml station file to change the station assortment. I used http://www.radio-locator.com/ to find stations with the music assortment I liked.

[Harold]

I hope this isn't too basic. I figured out how to extract the *.asx URL from Meida Player, but I cannot find the *.gif name that is associated with the icon.

This is a great utility and I hope a start of more good things to come for BM.

Since I can't code in any modern language, I can't be too critical of the product but it would be nice to be able to import a radio playlist, sort of like the MP3 playlist is done from Media Player into BM.

[Harold]

One minor bug that I found was the "station" stopped message appears at the top of the screen when I go up one level to home and then reopen the Net Rado page, even if it is still playing a station.

[GlobalHopkins]

First of all.... Great Plug-In! I am a recent convert from MCE2005 to BM and BTV.

Few Questions and suggestions on the Radio Plug-in:

1) I fully understand how to modify the XML file "Radio Stations". However I don't know where to get the links. I've been to Live 365 and want to add some of the 'free' stations. Where does one mine the ASX links? 'Harold' mentioned he did it. Can you explain for the rest of us? I have been to the radio locater link provided by 'BeerBrewer' and can find some stations I like but again don't know how to copy/paste the link into the XML file.

2) Attached is an XML file that I use on my PRISMIQ player. It seems to have .PLS urls. Is this a different kind of radio station format? Can someone explain the difference between PLS and ASX or any other format for that mater. I think I have seen M3U also.

2a) For the attached file, does anyone know how to get these stations on BM?

3) For the Image of the Radio Station, what is the optimumum size? 100 X 100? Does it matter?

4) After playing for a while, the BM screensaver comes on. Can this graphics image be changed?

5) Lastly, I think it would be cool for the radio plug-in to display the song title and artist as it is playing. Is that possible or in the works?

Thanks 'jbarsoum' for providing your Canadian Radio stations. Anyone else want to share their XML file?

MIKE

[Harold]

I used the radio stations search function in Windows Media Player to find stations. Once a station is in, you can right click to see the properties that will give the URL (typically with an asx suffix) for that station. What I could not figure out from media player was how to get the name of the GIF used as an icon. Media player shows it, but I couldn't find the link or name.

You can also just google on asx and radio stations, but I found that using media player to find them was better since it was easier to test.

I would very much like a better screensaver in BM. I am a photgrapher and would like to be able to trigger a large photo collection randomly played as the visuals for the Music and Net Radio sections. If BM would support this internally that would be great. Seems like a minor addition to the "photos" section.

I am going to try another route in the mean time, by turning off the BM screensaver and building a windows screen saver with my photos that can be launched with a hot key.

[GlobalHopkins]

I am using WMP10. I am able to search and find stations in the Radio Tuner section and can play the station. Where are you right clicking to find the properties? I've tried right clicking on different parts of the sceen and mostly I just get a list of the visualizations?

[Harold]

I have WMP 9, but I would think this part would be the same. If you select a station in WMP, a name of some sort should appear in the righthand column. Then just right click on the name and then properties and the URL should be there.

You can save the stations to a playlist in WMP, but BM doesn't recognize the playlist. You still have to manually build the xml file. If you have a number of stations, then you can open the playlist file with a text editor and grab the URLs for your xml file. I'm sure there are other ways to do this, but that's what worked for me.

[GlobalHopkins]

Great! That worked for me on WMP10. I've added about 10 stations. To find the appropriate graphics icon, I just went to the Radio Station's website and downloaded a logo there if I could find one. If not, I just used a generic logo.

Improvement suggestion: Is it possible to add the "Stop Playing" button at the top of the list or in a place that doesn't scroll. After adding a lot of stations, the only way to stop the music is to scroll all the way to the bottom of the list. This is OK if there are only 5 stations but is not the best solution when there are 30 stations.

I tried using the stop button on the Firefly remote but that didn't work. Is that programable? or does that need funtionality need to be coded into the plugin?

Lastly, a good place to go for music is: http://www.1club.fm/

[Cybermynd]

This is great! I was just pondering how I missed having a radio in my viewing room! Not only is this a good start for the plugin but it will be a good learning experience for the programmer!

Kudos and thanks.

And jbarsoum: Thanks for the xml for CBC. Saturdays are empty without DNTO!

[GlobalHopkins]

dkj1000,
Do you have any plans for updating the NetRadio plugin anytime soon. It looks like it was last updated in January.

I love the app now but could really see a few enhancements that would make it a killer plugin. Namely:

1) Extract the song name and artist and display it on the screen.
2) Add the stop playing button also at the top for those of us with long lists of stations
3) Perhaps make the list with 2 columns limiting the length of the station name
4) Make the music stop or pause when outside of the plugin. If you start the music and then go into Photos, you have to go back to NetRadio to stop the music.

If you don't have time, is this something that someone else can modify?

Again Thanks for the great plugin. I tend to use it a lot!
MIKE

[winclk]

i love this plugin.

just wondering how can i control the sound with the firefly remote?

winclk

[dequire]

I would think that there's a way to do this by creating a FireFly profile, based on the WMP profile; Or, to have NetRadio use the WMP Firefly plugin. Does this sound right?

[dequire]

Or another thought: why couldn't the 'default' FF profile be modded to handle system volume as well?

[dequire]

I'm not sure I can get the information about channel, artist, song etc. out of Media Player. I tried to, but WMP only returned the name of the current radio station?

I do not beleive WMP can do this inherently. I know there are 3rd party apps to do this, and I beleive some a free-ware / share-ware. I'll research and put my findings here later.

[winclk]

dequire--i like ur suggestions. now all i need is the how to do the changes guide. lol


winclk

[tmar89]

Or another thought: why couldn't the 'default' FF profile be modded to handle system volume as well?

Volume control is a big issue with this plugin. I would like to see it resolved too.

[dequire]

Volume control is a big issue with this plugin. I would like to see it resolved too.

It would seem that all it needs is a Firefly profile.

[dequire]

As a bump to this thread, and an FYI...

The developer of this plugin has not been around since almost Feb (almost 6 months)... So if enough people show an interest in this plugin, via posts to the forums, I'm sure that someone who can program will pick it up. Just look at what the DVD plugins have done, in a shorter time than this.

[tmar89]

I haven't developed any BM plugins but I am willing to take a shot at it since I am a programmer. If the author does read this I'd like if he posted the source so I wouldn't have to start from scratch.

[Mike Cico]

Basic question, where does the RadioStations.xml file go? I tried putting it in the BM install dir, but it didn't take.

[Mike Cico]

Never mind, got it...

[jalonge]

I still can't figure out where the "radiostation.xml" file is, or goes. Can someone point me in the right direction?

[geoffstewart]

The Application Data directory is hidden by default in windows, but here's the directory:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\SnapStream\Beyond Media\Plugins\NetRadioPluginSetup

The file on my install is called RadioStations.xml

Hope this helps.

geoff

[blunlimited]

As a bump to this thread, and an FYI...

The developer of this plugin has not been around since almost Feb (almost 6 months)... So if enough people show an interest in this plugin, via posts to the forums, I'm sure that someone who can program will pick it up. Just look at what the DVD plugins have done, in a shorter time than this.
I would really like someone to take this over and develop it further. Streaming radio is a natural part of any HTPC and a feature that I would love to have integrated. I have been streaming radio through a ADC220 Gateway Connected DVD player with the use of the TwonkyVision Media Server, but it is not very glamorous and not at all what I want.

By no means am I a programmer beyond a bit of PHP, so this is out of my league - I hope someone picks it up.

[gizak]

I wish it had more development as well. As it stands now, I can't do much in the terms of "music" with beyond media. I really only use it as a weather viewer & avi file player lol...and sometimes the latter won't play my xvid's correctly anyway.

[rveur23]

Anyway to make .pls (shoutcast) radio working with this plugin ?

thanks

[dequire]

Well, as I said earlier, the author has not been around since March. I'd say this plugin is toast. It would probably be best for someone to start over with a simillar project, I would think, as this plugin is definately not going anywhere.

[drnickburns]

Awesome plugin! other great sites for music are www.bigrradio.com (http://www.bigrradio.com) and www.audible.fm (http://www.audible.fm)

[drnickburns]

I'd like to write a Net Radio Plugin - where might one get the BTV SDK?

[drnickburns]

Nevermind, stupid question - I'll be back sometime with a newer plugin...

[dequire]

Heh...the sooner the better! I hope it's coming along OK for you. :winkwink:

[Madcoder]

Anyway to make .pls (shoutcast) radio working with this plugin ?

thanks

Yes, see this example. After installing the plugin, place the content below in the appropriate files in the plugin folder buried in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\SnapStream\Beyond Media\Plugins\NetRadioPluginSetup
Then launch Beyond Media and you will see one station in the list. That is a shoutcast station. Now to make your own, look at the code for these two files. You can understand then how to reference new/additional stations. The pls file urls need to be formatted to the asx file format. If you are like me and have just a handful of stations you listen to anyway, it is fairly easy to just do a one time creation of the asx files you need. I know that the urls could change but in my case, I have had the same asx files for well over a year, no problems.

Radiostations.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<stations>
<station>
<label>Digitally Imported</label>
<url>C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\SnapStream\Beyond Media\Plugins\NetRadioPluginS\Digitally Imported.asx</url>
<img></img>
</station>
</stations>


Digitally Imported.asx (create in notepad and name it with this name when you save)
<ASX version = "3.0">
<TITLE>Simple ASX Demo</TITLE>
<ENTRY>
<TITLE>Digitally Imported</TITLE>
<AUTHOR>Your Name</AUTHOR>
<COPYRIGHT>(c)2003 Microsoft Corporation</COPYRIGHT>
<!-- This is a comment. Change the following path to point to your MP3 Stream URL -->
<REF HREF = "<A href="http://64.236.34.67/stream/1003"/">http://64.236.34.67:80/stream/1003"/>
<REF HREF = "<A href="http://64.236.34.97/stream/1003"/">http://64.236.34.97:80/stream/1003"/>
<REF HREF = "<A href="http://64.236.34.4/stream/1003"/">http://64.236.34.4:80/stream/1003"/>
<REF HREF = "<A href="http://64.236.34.196/stream/1003"/">http://64.236.34.196:80/stream/1003"/>
<REF HREF = "<A href="http://160.79.1.141:8000"/">http://160.79.1.141:8000"/>
<REF HREF = "<A href="http://207.200.96.226:8004"/">http://207.200.96.226:8004"/>
<REF HREF = "<A href="http://160.79.128.30:7504"/">http://160.79.128.30:7504"/>
</ENTRY>
</ASX>

Good luck.
:winkwink:

[Ineffigy]

Well, I've recently finished my playlist plugin ... since its for touchscreen monitors I doubt anyone else would want it. I was going to start on a sirius player but I suppose I could start with net radio and add in the Sirius later. Hmm, this really should not be that difficult. I just have to submit post information and then WMP will probably do the rest. I'll research it over the weekend and see if I can come up with a development plan.

[Madcoder]

Well, I've recently finished my playlist plugin ... since its for touchscreen monitors I doubt anyone else would want it. I was going to start on a sirius player but I suppose I could start with net radio and add in the Sirius later. Hmm, this really should not be that difficult. I just have to submit post information and then WMP will probably do the rest. I'll research it over the weekend and see if I can come up with a development plan.

Hey, hey, guess what? My htpc has a touch screen in it. :) I would be interested to see what you have done. Please share!

[dequire]

Has anyone ever figured out a way to use the default volume controls for this plugin? The volume works when BM is not in focus, under the 'global' Firefly settings, or by simply using the keyboard. But when BM and this plugin are in focus, it does not work.

[Harold]

Can't help you. I control the volume on my receiver. I think this is an orphan plugin, so I'm not sure there's any developer support.

[samundsen]

This plug-in may be abandoned by it's author, but for my use it's perfect, I absolutely love it. I'm a Norwegian living in Houston, and I have all my favorite Norwegian broadcast radio stations set up in this plug-in, and listen to them daily. Of all the BM plug-ins, this is my favorite.

[thegreatdano]

i would like a player for bmc uses the VLC player to play media