• Registered: 2007-11-27
  • Posts: 30

Topic: uSirius support?

Is there any chance of supporting "mms://" streams?  I have a Sirius account and run uSirius at home, which serves the Sirius online streams over my LAN (to my various Rokus, etc.).  It would be GREAT if I could add these streams to My Streams, but so far, it hasn't worked.

Here are the two flavors of urls offered by the server:

mms://192.168.0.xxx:19080/streams/stream?bandwidth=high&num=0&r=121xxxxxx
http://192.168.0.xxx:19080/asx/asx?band … 121xxxxxxx

It would be brilliant to be able to stream these over Chumby.  Since both Roku and Sonos recognize the streams, they must work on some level.

Thoughts?

  • Registered: 2008-04-01
  • Posts: 17

Re: uSirius support?

Hello.

Currently Chumby's audio player does not play WMA audio streams.

I have a Chumby myself and I started exploring the idea of trying to create a custom uSirius for it.

I am almost finished with a native iPhone version where I modified libraries from ffmpeg.

Now that I'm familiar with cross compiling, I think I might be able to make something.

However, I haven't done anything with Chumby yet (ie, programming), so I am not sure if the flash widgets
have access to launch executables on a usb drive.  I think the only way to get it to work would be to write a
custom uSirius player and put it on a usb drive and launch it from the flash widget?

I could also build a transcoder into uSirius, but what fun is that... smile

-- Jason

  • Registered: 2008-02-21
  • Posts: 526

Re: uSirius support?

As the previous poster said, you probably could transcode the WMA or RP streams on a Windows based machine but that would be ugly, just see how the Squeezebox server handles it... (for how ugly it is)

There is a rather *Nice* program that will do this on the Mac (surprisingly) called Nicecast but it is a *commercial* application

The reason why Chumbys have problems with RA and WMA/WMA Streaming

Microsoft and Real both own patents/Intellectual Property for the formats (WMA and RP)

Microsofts EULA (even for licencing WMA stuff, makes it close to impossible for a device with open source to use its codecs)... plus 1. the cost of licensing per unit, and 2. Theres that fact that the Chumby uses an ARM processor not an Intel.. (another cog in the compatibility wheel)...

Blame your radio stations for using propriatary software with DRM restrictions (This is also a DIgital RIghts Management issue, they want to make sure you cant do anything other than listen to their stream)...

As for Realmedia/Realplayer.. Except for downloadable DRM content, its use as a streaming format is seriously declining due to server costs...

The only real workaround is offering a tuner module for the chumby... perhaps with RDS...
It has been suggested that they try to license WMA but as some of the staff from Chumby have made known, they have gone this route with other projects/appliances and its pretty fruitless...

As its also been stated in the forums, Chumby Inc, isnt adverse to some licensing, closed-source modules, but they have to be "compatible" with making as much of the chumby user community/ open source as possible.. I think if its something that can be dropped in and can be accessed through open means, its usually not a problem..

(This is what i get out of the responses, your milage may vary and some of this may be subject to interpretation I.e. I may be WRONG *GASP*...

-Jolt

Last edited by joltdude (2008-04-20 20:08:44)

  • Registered: 2008-04-01
  • Posts: 17

Re: uSirius support?

Theres that fact that the Chumby uses an ARM processor not an Intel.. (another cog in the compatibility wheel)...

The processor has absolutely nothing do with it.  I do agree, however, with the licensing issues.

What I am curious about, is it legal for ffmpeg to decode WMA data? I can not see why it would not be. Getting it to run on the Chumby should be simple.

(Yes, I know posted a message about doing just that before, but when I finally get another crack at it, I know it will work).

-- Jason

  • Duane
  • Duane
  • Blue Octy
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  • From: San Diego, CA
  • Registered: 2006-08-24
  • Posts: 8,197

Re: uSirius support?

jsm174 wrote:

What I am curious about, is it legal for ffmpeg to decode WMA data? I can not see why it would not be. Getting it to run on the Chumby should be simple.

It not an issue of copyright, but rather one of patents - at least in the United States.

Duane's Website

  • Registered: 2008-02-21
  • Posts: 526

Re: uSirius support?

jsm174 wrote:

Theres that fact that the Chumby uses an ARM processor not an Intel.. (another cog in the compatibility wheel)...

The processor has absolutely nothing do with it.  I do agree, however, with the licensing issues.

What I am curious about, is it legal for ffmpeg to decode WMA data? I can not see why it would not be. Getting it to run on the Chumby should be simple.

(Yes, I know posted a message about doing just that before, but when I finally get another crack at it, I know it will work).

-- Jason

No actually the processor *DOES* have something to do with it... most people suggest using win32codec for Linux...which will not work on an ARM processor... Far as i know Microsoft doesn't have ANY WMA codec that will work on an ARM ...

No. It is not legal for ffmpeg to decode WMA data... its a patent issue... Technically you *should* be able to run ffmpeg under windows and it would be semi-legal due to the built in WMA/MP3 licensing...  In general ffmpeg is greyware (it infringes on MP3 and WMA patents)

It is in flat-out a PATENT licensing issue...

Please do a search on the forums for WMA in regards to the chumby if you need further clarification..

Just because Linux can do it, doesnt mean its legal...

  • Registered: 2008-04-01
  • Posts: 17

Re: uSirius support?

No actually the processor *DOES* have something to do with it... most people suggest using win32codec for Linux...which will not work on an ARM processor... Far as i know Microsoft doesn't have ANY WMA codec that will work on an ARM ...

Apologizes for misreading your original statement. I was reading it as, "because it has an ARM processor it can not decode WMA data." And that made no sense.

So if FFmpeg has been able to do this forever now, I wonder why Microsoft doesn't not enforce their patents.

-- Jason

  • Duane
  • Duane
  • Blue Octy
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  • From: San Diego, CA
  • Registered: 2006-08-24
  • Posts: 8,197

Re: uSirius support?

jsm174 wrote:

So if FFmpeg has been able to do this forever now, I wonder why Microsoft doesn't not enforce their patents.

They do, typically against US companies that incorporate the patented technology in a product. Most Linux distros that distribute in the US either don't include ffmpeg, or disable patented codecs altogether, and wink-nudge you to let you know where you, as an individual, can obtain the code for yourself.

The FFmpeg project itself is hosted in Hungary, which is not subject to US patents, so it's entirely legal there and indeed in much of the world.

Duane's Website

  • Registered: 2008-02-21
  • Posts: 526

Re: uSirius support?

Why do you think Ubuntu's mainly hosted in the Isle of Man?
Its so they can give these grey area modules out to people in countries that do not have these kinds of software patents...

  • Registered: 2007-11-27
  • Posts: 30

Re: uSirius support?

JSM, curious about your iPhone app.  Web-based or only for jailbroken phones?

  • Registered: 2008-04-01
  • Posts: 17

Re: uSirius support?

Hello.

It's for a jailbroken. If all goes well, it should be out Friday or Saturday. Just in time to be obsolete with the new firmware on Monday smile

-- Jason

  • Registered: 2007-11-27
  • Posts: 30

Re: uSirius support?

I jailbroke once early on, then went back to the Apple camp.  Would have been too hard to explain to the wife that I bricked my $500 toy that I had to have asap.  smile

Would be curious about what you could come up with for Chumby.  Not that I know anything about either company's financials, but I have to think that if Roku could do, Chumby could find a way -- or, at least, some enterprising developer out there.

  • Duane
  • Duane
  • Blue Octy
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  • From: San Diego, CA
  • Registered: 2006-08-24
  • Posts: 8,197

Re: uSirius support?

Yes we could add all this stuff, but we'd very likely have to close the software and charge a much higher price (or subsidize with a subscription) - just like Roku had to.

Duane's Website

  • Registered: 2007-11-27
  • Posts: 30

Re: uSirius support?

Duane, love the Chumby, so no offense, but the Roku is $199 with no subscription.  Agreed, the two devices are apples and oranges, but it's a format they've supported since get-go (a couple of years), and I doubt they're much bigger of a company than Chumby.  Of course, all the Roku does is stream music, so they had better get it right, I guess.

I will continue to love and support my Chumby no matter what lifestyle choices it makes.

  • Duane
  • Duane
  • Blue Octy
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  • From: San Diego, CA
  • Registered: 2006-08-24
  • Posts: 8,197

Re: uSirius support?

Right - Roku's Soundbridge hardware is *vastly* simpler than ours - since all it does is music, they can get away with a really low-performance, inexpensive processor, and there's no color TFT display, touchscreen, headphone jack, USB connectors, accelerometer, or speakers.  The only audio format they support that we don't is WMA. And it's a closed system.

Despite the fact they're missing all that stuff, they're more expensive than a chumby.

I'm not trying to denigrate the Roku product - it's a great product.  But it's not even apples and oranges - it's pumpkins and aardvarks.

Duane's Website

  • Registered: 2007-11-27
  • Posts: 30

Re: uSirius support?

Duane, ya got me with "pumpkins and aardvarks."  smile

17 Reply by tchesney (edited by tchesney 2008-06-13 18:29:56)

  • Registered: 2007-12-07
  • Posts: 32

Re: uSirius support?

SlvrEagle, you Rock!

I like XM radio and have been trying to find a solution to listen to it on the chumby.  I had no idea what uSirius was until I saw your post.  I took a look at the website and discovered that they have a uXM version in beta.  I installed it, pulled the channel feeds off of it and ran it through my TVersity server.  And now, thanks to you and the folks who put TVersity and uXM together, I'm listening to The Blend!

Since I'm not a programmer (I tried to look at the code you supplied to see if I can adapt it to th uXM and I just gave up), I changed my TVersity settings not to refresh the library.  I ran the RSS feed URL generated by TVersity through tinyurl and l put entered that into My Streams.  It reduces 260-some characters to 25.

Thank you again for coming up with this solution.

Tanner

PS you should consider putting your suggestion into the Wiki for others to enjoy.

For those looking for uXM, it can be found here: http://www.millardsoftware.com/uxm

Edit: I attempted to put the instructions into the Wiki for using just TVersity and uXM (I mentioned that you could do the same with uSirius) and not the instructions with php.   It's here: http://wiki.chumby.com/mediawiki/index. … _Sirius.29

Thanks again SlvrEagle23!

  • Registered: 2008-04-01
  • Posts: 17

Re: uSirius support?

SlvrEagle23,

Hello. That is really great stuff. You know I could build that directly into uSirius and uXM, that way you wouldn't need to run XAMPP.

I never fooled with pls files before. Can more than one station be placed in there?

Thanks,
-- Jason

19 Reply by tchesney (edited by tchesney 2008-06-13 18:35:57)

  • Registered: 2007-12-07
  • Posts: 32

Re: uSirius support?

jsm174, that would be awesome!  I use a server at home just for media sharing and I have no knowledge of php so it just confused the heck out of me to get SlvrEagle's php script going.

I love the Chumby community!  Great work everybody!

  • Registered: 2008-04-01
  • Posts: 17

Re: uSirius support?

Thanks!!

I will add playlists to the next release. Basically, you'll have to include your TVersity hostname:port in the uSirius/uXM playlist url, but it will be enough to help simplify the process.

uSirius 2.0 which is 90% does do MP3 transcoding. One added benefit is it even has ICY Metadata for Artist and Title. I'm not sure if the Chumby displays that?? Some of my other devices do.

Anyway, I took a break from the PC version, and moved all that code and over to the iPhone and it seems to be working well.

I'll try to get a new release out in the next few days.

Thanks again!
-- Jason

  • Registered: 2008-04-01
  • Posts: 17

Re: uSirius support?

Okay, I was pretty excited to get rolling on this, so I started adding playlist support to uSirius.

So I assumed a playlist was like a feed, where I'd be able to select the station from the playlist, but unfortunately it doesn't work that way.

[playlist]
NumberOfEntries=84
File1=http://192.168.1.100:49125/geturl/stream.mp3?type=audio/x-ms-wma&ttype=audio/mpeg&url=rtsp%3A%2F%2F192%2E168%2E1%2E211%3A19080%2Fstreams%2Fstream%3Fbandwidth%3Dlow%26num%3D1%26r%3D1213588378&ext=.mp3
Title1=Sirius 1 - SIRIUS Hits 1
File2=http://192.168.1.100:49125/geturl/stream.mp3?type=audio/x-ms-wma&ttype=audio/mpeg&url=rtsp%3A%2F%2F192%2E168%2E1%2E211%3A19080%2Fstreams%2Fstream%3Fbandwidth%3Dlow%26num%3D2%26r%3D1213588378&ext=.mp3
Title2=Sirius 2 - Starlite
File3=http://192.168.1.100:49125/geturl/stream.mp3?type=audio/x-ms-wma&ttype=audio/mpeg&url=rtsp%3A%2F%2F192%2E168%2E1%2E211%3A19080%2Fstreams%2Fstream%3Fbandwidth%3Dlow%26num%3D3%26r%3D1213588378&ext=.mp3
Title3=Sirius 3 - SIRIUS Love
.
.
.

The Chumby just starts playing the first entry. So I guess you are making a separate playlist file per channel.

I'll just move my code into the "Channels" dialog instead of the "Feeds" dialog.

It would have been nice to not have to enter the "Stream name" and have it just use the "Title" from the playlist.

I wonder if it's possible to push a stream name/ext/url to the Chumby. I could do it like I do with the SoundBridge.


Thanks,
-- Jason

  • Registered: 2008-04-01
  • Posts: 17

Re: uSirius support?

Yup. Sure would be.

To fit it into the uSirius GUI, I'll just add a drop down to the Channels tab in URLs dialog.

Then I'll move the MPlayer/Sonos checkbox into the droplist. It will be something like,

Windows Media Player
TVersity Audio Url
MPlayer/Sonos
PLS (MP3 using TVersity)

-- Jason

23 Reply by mwickens (edited by mwickens 2008-07-06 08:18:08)

  • Registered: 2008-01-29
  • Posts: 24

Re: uSirius support?

Thank you, SlvrEagle23! I got this working very easily. As an added bonus, I used the full playlist generated by specifying no s parameter in order to add all the Sirius channels to iTunes on my Mac in one swell foop! Just saved the result as a .pls file and double-clicked. (I had to modify the $feed_url to use "category=all". And for some reason, the resulting file had returns after "Sirius" in the channel titles, which I fixed in a text editor.)

Also thank you to jsm174 for uSirius! I look forward to having this integrated into the product -- and, since I'm getting an iPhone 3G next Friday, also to seeing uSirius in the App Store.

Mark

  • Registered: 2008-01-29
  • Posts: 24

Re: uSirius support?

I've noticed that SlvrEagle23's script doesn't seem to handle the SIR-2 channel. I'm not a perl coder, but it looks like it's because the channel number is converted to an integer. 

$str_offset = stripos($raw_title, ' - ') - $str_start;
$stream_number = intval(substr($raw_title, $str_start, $str_offset));

Can someone suggest a fix for this?

Thanks,
Mark

25 Reply by chiswede (edited by chiswede 2008-07-29 20:39:07)

  • From: Chicago
  • Registered: 2008-07-18
  • Posts: 16

Re: uSirius support?

Ok, I've followed the instructions exactly, but I can't get it to work.  TVersity, uSirius and Apache all look like they're running properly.  I put the music.php file in the right place and edited it to put my IP address in.  I put a few channels on MyStreams on Chumby correctly.  But, nothing happens when I click on the streams.  I even tried shutting off the firewall, to no avail. 

Is there any troubleshooting procedure I can follow, or logs I can look at to see where it's (or where I) screwed up?  Help!

I saw in the wiki that if the chumby is connecting across the internet to the host computer, there could be problems b/c of firewalls.  My setup is that the cable modem is connected to a router (hard wired), and then the host computer is hard wired to that router.  The chumby is connecting to the wireless router.  Is that the problem?  If it is, how can I fix it?