Topic: iHeartRadio widget not working

The iHeartRadio widget has apparently stopped working as of this morning (May 4, 2020).

I've tried rebooting several times to no avail.

Re: iHeartRadio widget not working

I think we can expect a lot of online services to break during this period - a lot of companies are not maintaining their systems at the normal level of availability.  Unfortunately, this is currently out of our hands.

Re: iHeartRadio widget not working

Duane wrote:

I think we can expect a lot of online services to break during this period - a lot of companies are not maintaining their systems at the normal level of availability.  Unfortunately, this is currently out of our hands.

Whose hands is it in then? And have they been notified of the problem?

Re: iHeartRadio widget not working

Well, it would be in the hands of iHeartRadio, and frankly I don't know who I'd even contact at this point.  It's been years since I've interacted with them.

5 (edited by ehertz 2020-05-05 06:04:28)

Re: iHeartRadio widget not working

An alternative that works at least sometimes for iHeart stations is to go directly to the station on a computer, and then click on the Listen Live button (or its equivalent). Once you hear the station, you can inspect the source code. Look for the word "stream" and you will probably find several instances. Some of those will be streaming URLs. Try putting them into the My Streams section of your Chumby and see if any work.

For example, for KFI (https://kfiam640.iheart.com), you will be able to listen to their live stream on https://www.iheart.com/live/kfi-177/. If you then look at the page source, you will see a section that looks like this:
{"hls_stream":"http://stream.revma.ihrhls.com/zc177/hls.m3u8","shoutcast_stream":
"http://stream.revma.ihrhls.com/zc177","secure_hls_stream":
"https://stream.revma.ihrhls.com/zc177/hls.m3u8","secure_shoutcast_stream":
"https://stream.revma.ihrhls.com/zc177"}

This has four streams in it:
http://stream.revma.ihrhls.com/zc177/hls.m3u8
http://stream.revma.ihrhls.com/zc177
https://stream.revma.ihrhls.com/zc177/hls.m3u8
https://stream.revma.ihrhls.com/zc177

You can ignore the two https streams. For better or worse, our Chumbys do not like those. So that leaves two streams.
http://stream.revma.ihrhls.com/zc177/hls.m3u8
http://stream.revma.ihrhls.com/zc177

If you put both into the My Streams section, you will find that the first one does not work, but the second one (http://stream.revma.ihrhls.com/zc177) will play as an MP3 stream.

I assume this same technique will work for most other iHeart stations, but I have not confirmed it.

Let me know if you run into any problems and I will try to investigate.

Re: iHeartRadio widget not working

ehertz wrote:

An alternative that works at least sometimes for iHeart stations is to go directly to the station on a computer, and then click on the Listen Live button (or its equivalent). Once you hear the station, you can inspect the source code. Look for the word "stream" and you will probably find several instances. Some of those will be streaming URLs. Try putting them into the My Streams section of your Chumby and see if any work.

For example, for KFI (https://kfiam640.iheart.com), you will be able to listen to their live stream on https://www.iheart.com/live/kfi-177/. If you then look at the page source, you will see a section that looks like this:
{"hls_stream":"http://stream.revma.ihrhls.com/zc177/hls.m3u8","shoutcast_stream":
"http://stream.revma.ihrhls.com/zc177","secure_hls_stream":
"https://stream.revma.ihrhls.com/zc177/hls.m3u8","secure_shoutcast_stream":
"https://stream.revma.ihrhls.com/zc177"}

This has four streams in it:
http://stream.revma.ihrhls.com/zc177/hls.m3u8
http://stream.revma.ihrhls.com/zc177
https://stream.revma.ihrhls.com/zc177/hls.m3u8
https://stream.revma.ihrhls.com/zc177

You can ignore the two https streams. For better or worse, our Chumbys do not like those. So that leaves two streams.
http://stream.revma.ihrhls.com/zc177/hls.m3u8
http://stream.revma.ihrhls.com/zc177

If you put both into the My Streams section, you will find that the first one does not work, but the second one (http://stream.revma.ihrhls.com/zc177) will play as an MP3 stream.

I assume this same technique will work for most other iHeart stations, but I have not confirmed it.

Let me know if you run into any problems and I will try to investigate.

That's some mighty useful info, thanks muchly.

Re: iHeartRadio widget not working

iHeartRadio laid off hundreds of employees in January and furloughed dozens more for 90 days in the last month.  Any streams still operating are doing so in zombie mode.  Enjoy them while you can.

Re: iHeartRadio widget not working

I realize that using the My Streams section is a little frustrating, especially if you want to load more than one or two radio stations.

You might want to look at the topic: Streaming Radio - Made a Little Easier, which you can find at https://forum.chumby.com/viewtopic.php?id=8411

That includes a link to a spreadsheet that explains how to go about adding radio stations in bulk. The spreadsheet also includes links to several radio stations, although I am confident that several of the streams listed there are out of date. Over time, companies change their streaming providers and then get new streaming URLs. But it should give you a starting point, at least.

9 (edited by infocastme 2020-05-05 09:56:57)

Re: iHeartRadio widget not working

Thanks for bringing this topic up again. I had totally forgotten about it. I have some time now to revise my list!

BTW here is a great list of streaming stations that a lot of people are unaware of.

https://www.181.fm/index.php?p=mp3links

Re: iHeartRadio widget not working

Thanks for the link Infocastme. And especially thanks for helping to take care of folks who have come with the COVID-19 virus.

Re: iHeartRadio widget not working

The problem is outdated content served from chumby servers

http://content.chumby.com/station_list/ … Albany,+GA

vs.

https://www.iheart.com/live/country/US/ … any-ga-60/