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    Streaming internet radio when browsing for games and on screensaver?

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Ideas and Development
    internetradiostreamingmp3
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    • N
      NowArrivingHere @mitu
      last edited by

      @mitu

      Okay, I just used SSH to try the pause command while the music was playing. I've waited about 90 seconds. Music is still playing and the SSH window is unresponsive.

      mituM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • mituM
        mitu Global Moderator @NowArrivingHere
        last edited by mitu

        @nowarrivinghere Sorry, forgot about removing the redirection. Execute this:

        ls -l /tmp/radio.sock
        echo -n pause | nc -U /tmp/radio.sock
        

        I suspect it might be a permission problem.

        N 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • N
          NowArrivingHere @mitu
          last edited by NowArrivingHere

          @mitu

          Still fails to pause and leaves the window stuck.

          pi@raspberrypi:~ $ ls -l /tmp/radio.sock
          srwxr-xr-x 1 pi pi 0 Oct  4 16:42 /tmp/radio.sock
          pi@raspberrypi:~ $ echo -n pause | nc -U /tmp/radio.sock
          
          mituM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • mituM
            mitu Global Moderator @NowArrivingHere
            last edited by

            @nowarrivinghere I have no idea why it does that - maybe Stretch has a different version of VLC that's not the same as the one I tested and the old interface doesn't work anymore ?

            Just to check if there is a problem with newer versions, kill the VLC that is started via the autostart with killall vlc, then start the playback directly from thessh session, by running

            vlc -I oldrc --rc-unix /tmp/radio.sock -Zq --no-video /home/pi/radio/list.txt
            

            You should get the radion playing this way with logging from VLC on the terminal.
            Now, from a 2nd SSH session, run the echo command that's giving you trouble and see if it pauses the stream or any error appears in the 1st terminal, where VLC is running.

            Other than that, maybe the output of /dev/shm/runcommand.log from starting a game might be of use.

            N 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • N
              NowArrivingHere @mitu
              last edited by NowArrivingHere

              @mitu

              Okay, this is interesting, I opened SSH Window 1, killed vlc, and reopened it via the command you gave. Then, in SSH Window 2, I ran the pause command. It appeared to sit there with the music still playing just as before. However, I then did a CTRL+C in Window 2 and it paused. Then I used the pause command in Window 2 again. Once again, it just sat there silently. Then I did CTRL+C and sure enough it started playing music again. Also, here is the output that appeared in Window 1.

              status change: ( new input: http://listen.ai-radio.org:8000/128.ogg?cc=US&now=1507110308.444& )
              status change: ( play state: 3 )
              pause: returned 0 (no error)
              status change: ( pause state: 3 ): Pause
              status change: ( pause state: 4 )
              pause: returned 0 (no error)
              status change: ( play state: 2 ): Play
              status change: ( play state: 3 )
              pause: returned 0 (no error)
              status change: ( pause state: 3 ): Pause
              status change: ( play state: 3 )
              pause: returned 0 (no error)
              

              EDIT: I decided to just place the script that jonnykesh brought us inside my runcommand-onstart.sh and runcommand-onend.sh with the mpg123 replaced with vlc. That seems to work and perform the function of the pause command on the cases I have tried so far. Its probably not as efficient as the actual vlc controls, but I haven't noticed a delay from a human perspective. It is more efficient than just using the kill all command and then that command we added in autostart.sh and restarting vlc every time though, which was my backup plan and did introduce a delay. Would be nice to have access to the other vlc controls, but I can't think of anything else to try right now.

              mituM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • mituM
                mitu Global Moderator @NowArrivingHere
                last edited by

                @nowarrivinghere This means the netcat commands you run in the 2nd window reads the pause command but it doesn't send it right away and awaits further input.
                I'll do some testing with the version in Stretch to see if it behaves differently than the one in the Jessie release, but glad you got it working with the alternate start/stop command.

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                • mituM
                  mitu Global Moderator
                  last edited by

                  Ok, found out the difference - tested on a Stretch system. The netcat command doesn't return and still waits for input from the tty. To force it to close the input, using -N seems to do the trick.
                  @NowArrivingHere you can try changing the on-start/on-end commands to

                  echo -n pause | nc -UN /tmp/radio.sock
                  

                  Unfortunately the -N option doesn't exist in the Jessie version of netcat-openbsd, I'll see if we can ditch netcat completely and use something else.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • mituM
                    mitu Global Moderator
                    last edited by

                    OK, I've found a way to ditch netcat - by replacing it with socat. I have updated the instructions steps with the new commands (steps 2 and 3, plus the pre-requisites).
                    This should work on both Jessie and Stretch - and possibly other systems.

                    N 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • N
                      NowArrivingHere @mitu
                      last edited by

                      @mitu
                      Thanks mate. It is pausing and playing properly now.

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • M
                        mtib
                        last edited by

                        Pi Model or other hardware: 3B
                        Power Supply used: Original Raspi
                        RetroPie Version Used : 4.4.12
                        Built From: Retropie Website
                        USB Devices connected: Keyboard
                        Controller used: PS4

                        Hi there! I ran the script and it is working fantastic! Thankyou. However I was wondering if is there a way to control/adjust the volume while in ES. If not, if is there a way to pre-configure the volume level in the script. Great work!

                        mituM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • mituM
                          mitu Global Moderator @mtib
                          last edited by

                          @mtib Emulationstation has an audio volume knob which allows you to change the volume - doesn't it work for the background music ?
                          Alternatively you can add the --gain parameter to the mpg123 to set the volume (0-100):

                          # to set the volume to 40%
                          mpg123 --gain 40 [..other parameters following..]
                          
                          cyperghostC M 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • cyperghostC
                            cyperghost @mitu
                            last edited by cyperghost

                            @mitu @mtib You can try out mpg123 -f parameter.... The gain is a deprecated function. But I've to admit never used the gain function ;)

                            mpg123 -f #####
                            
                            32768 - Volume 100%
                            29484 - Volume 90% 
                            26208 - Volume 80% 
                            22932 - Volume 70% 
                            19656 - Volume 60%
                            16380 - Volume 50%
                            13104 - Volume 40%
                            9828 - Volume 30%
                            6552 - Volume 20%
                            3276 - Volume 10%
                            
                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • cyperghostC
                              cyperghost
                              last edited by

                              To mention .... in mpg321 the --gain option is documentated ;)

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • M
                                mtib @mitu
                                last edited by

                                Thanks!

                                @mtib Emulationstation has an audio volume knob which allows you to change the volume - doesn't it work for the background music ?

                                Right, but then will affect the UI fx level as well.

                                @mitu @mtib You can try out mpg123 -f parameter....

                                Ok I am missing something, when I type this command in Putty, I get:

                                # pi@retropie:~ $ mpg123 -f 32768
                                
                                You made some mistake in program usage... let me briefly remind you:
                                
                                
                                
                                High Performance MPEG 1.0/2.0/2.5 Audio Player for Layers 1, 2 and 3
                                
                                        version 1.23.8; written and copyright by Michael Hipp and others
                                
                                        free software (LGPL) without any warranty but with best wishes
                                
                                
                                
                                usage: mpg123 [option(s)] [file(s) | URL(s) | -]
                                
                                supported options [defaults in brackets]:
                                
                                   -v    increase verbosity level       -q    quiet (don't print title)
                                
                                   -t    testmode (no output)           -s    write to stdout
                                
                                   -w f  write output as WAV file
                                
                                   -k n  skip first n frames [0]        -n n  decode only n frames [all]
                                
                                   -c    check range violations         -y    DISABLE resync on errors
                                
                                   -b n  output buffer: n Kbytes [0]    -f n  change scalefactor [32768]
                                
                                   -r n  set/force samplerate [auto]
                                
                                   -o m  select output module           -a d  set audio device
                                
                                   -2    downsample 1:2 (22 kHz)        -4    downsample 1:4 (11 kHz)
                                
                                   -d n  play every n'th frame only     -h n  play every frame n times
                                
                                   -0    decode channel 0 (left) only   -1    decode channel 1 (right) only
                                
                                   -m    mix both channels (mono)       -p p  use HTTP proxy p [$HTTP_PROXY]
                                
                                   -@ f  read filenames/URLs from f     -T get realtime priority
                                
                                   -z    shuffle play (with wildcards)  -Z    random play
                                
                                   -u a  HTTP authentication string     -E f  Equalizer, data from file
                                
                                   -C    enable control keys            --no-gapless  not skip junk/padding in mp3s
                                
                                   -?    this help                      --version  print name + version
                                
                                See the manpage mpg123(1) or call mpg123 with --longhelp for more parameters and information.
                                
                                mituM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • mituM
                                  mitu Global Moderator @mtib
                                  last edited by

                                  @mtib said:

                                  Ok I am missing something, when I type this command in Putty, I get:

                                  You need to append the rest of the parameters - the filename/playlist for mpg321. You should add the -f <volume> to the initial command used in the script.

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • M
                                    mtib
                                    last edited by mtib

                                    I really appreciate the help, but sorry, noob here. Should I type this?

                                    # mpg321 /home/pi/radio/list.txt -f <32768>
                                    mituM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • mituM
                                      mitu Global Moderator @mtib
                                      last edited by

                                      @mtib Can you post the autostart.sh file that you modified to add the music script ?

                                      M 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • M
                                        mtib @mitu
                                        last edited by

                                        @mitu said in Streaming internet radio when browsing for games and on screensaver?:

                                        @mtib Can you post the autostart.sh file that you modified to add the music script ?

                                        Sure.

                                        while pgrep omxplayer >/dev/null; do sleep 1; done
                                        (sleep 10; [[ -f /home/pi/radio/list.txt ]] &&  vlc -I oldrc --rc-fake-tty --rc-unix /tmp/radio.sock -Zq --no-video /home/pi/radio/list.txt >/dev/null 2>&1) &
                                        emulationstation --no-splash #auto
                                        
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                                        • mituM
                                          mitu Global Moderator
                                          last edited by mitu

                                          So it seems vlc has no direct usable CLI option to pass the volume, however it's possible to use gain to alter the sound output. The parameter works by multiplying the current volume % with the value. Assuming a 100% volume, then

                                          • --gain=1 would make the volume be 100%
                                          • --gain=2 would amplify the volume to 200%
                                          • --gain=0.3 would make the volume at 30%, etc.

                                          So modify the command line that starts vlc in your file, and instead of

                                          (sleep 10; [[ -f /home/pi/radio/list.txt ]] &&  vlc -I oldrc --rc-fake-tty --rc-unix /tmp/radio.sock -Zq --no-video /home/pi/radio/list.txt >/dev/null 2>&1) &
                                          

                                          add a --gain=<X> parameter with the <X> to your liking (the line below has --gain=1):

                                          (sleep 10; [[ -f /home/pi/radio/list.txt ]] &&  vlc --gain=1 -I oldrc --rc-fake-tty --rc-unix /tmp/radio.sock -Zq --no-video /home/pi/radio/list.txt >/dev/null 2>&1) &
                                          
                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • M
                                            mtib
                                            last edited by

                                            @mitu Thankyou so much!!! It works.

                                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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