Internet radio is well... all over the internet. Shoutcast and Live365 are two huge players, while
digitallyimported was my first taste of trance. These are always on internet based radio channels, many without commercials. Not only can you listen to these stations, you can also download the songs into split mp3s.
If you can see it or hear it, you can save it.
..:: Software Summary
Title: StreamTuner and StreamRipper
Type: desktop application and media stream parser
Purpose: media playing and capture
Tested OS: Ubuntu 6.10
Screenshots: via [
google ]
..:: Legality
Before I explain how to do this, I must mention that the RIAA probably will start throwing lawsuits around for this eventually, even if it's not illegal. After all, the
RIAA sues people without computers and even more laughable, the
RIAA sues dead people (I can understand settling a debt with an estate, but suing for copyright infringement?). Note that
I AM NOT A LAWYER, and my opinion means little if anything at all, and you should not rely on it.
Do this completely at your own risk. With that said, no US court has said that this is illegal yet.
Additionally, this is very similar to how Tivo works. You tune into a station and just hit record. The program does the rest. Even if the RIAA would sue over this, since the internet radio stations are centralized, the RIAA will probably go after the stations before it goes after listeners. Even then, listening to internet radio is not illegal, and there is no way for the RIAA to know if you're just playing or actually recording the streams.
..:: Install the Programs
To tune into the streams, you'll need streamtuner, and to rip them, you'll need streamripper. You'll also need some media player if you want to play them straight from the ripping box. I use amarok, but you can easily use beep-media-player, xmms, or one of many other apps. These instructions are for Ubuntu, and have worked at least since 5.04, and are working now in 6.10. First, the applications are in one of the ubuntu universe repositories, but I don't know offhand which one it is exactly. If you're using my source list [
edgy |
breezy ] then it's not an issue. You can see
how to update repositories on my linux tutorial. Now, install streamtuner and streamripper:
apt-get install streamtuner streamripper
..:: Set Up Streamtuner and Streamripper
Once installed, run streamtuner. If you're using gnome ubuntu, Applications->Sound and Video->Streamtuner, or you can just run the app itself 'streamtuner'. Once it's finished opening, set some preferences by going to Edit->Preferences. I like to use amarok rather than xmms, so I change the applicable settings. Also, the stream recording must be customized.
Listen to a .m3u file: amarok %q
Listen to a RealAudio stream: realplay %q
Listen to a stream: amarok %q
Open a GNOME help document: yelp %q
Open a web page: sensible-browser %q
Record a RealAudio stream:
Record a stream: x-terminal-emulator -e streamripper %q -r -q -d /home/your_username/stream_mp3s
What does all this mean? Well the first two changes are just where you set your player. Where I put amarok, you can also leave xmms, or you can change it to beep-media-player, listen, or one of a gajillion other apps. The last line is the record functionality. Everything before the "-r" is necessary just to start the rip. The "-r" means to set up a relay, which saves you bandwidth. The idea is that without the relay, when you play and record, you're downloading the stream twice, once to the player, and again to the recorder. With the relay, when you are recording, streamtuner starts relay on port 8000 (or if that's occupied it increments until it finds an open one). This way, you hit record and the stream is downloaded once. When you hit play, point your media player to http://localhost:8000/ (or http://localhost:8001 or higher depending on what ports you're using). You do not have to be playing to be ripping. The -d /home/your_username/stream_mp3s is just the path to where you want the mp3 files to be stored. This directory must exist prior to recording, or you'll just get errors.
..:: Usage
Now close the preferences, and click on Shoutcast or Live365. Find a station you want to listen to and hit play. If it sounds like something you are interested in, hit record. Once you find something, you can continue to listen to it, or stop the playing and continue to record. If you want to continue to listen, I recommend that you switch over to the relay. Stop your media player and open it to http://localhost:8000/. If this does not work, make sure that the port is open. If you don't know how to do this
install firestarter. If that's too complex, and you don't mind using double bandwidth while listening, just continue to play and don't worry about the relay. I personally like MusicOne in Shoutcast->Electronic->Trance. Sort by description and then go down to "Music One".
Post Last Updated: Dec 28, 2006 11:50 am
