MALSBURY.NET

Public Radio Fan Browser

A SlimServer Plugin for browsing the PublicRadioFan.com site which maintains a database of shows played on Public Radio Stations. When you activate the Plugin, it will allow you to select Music vs. NonMusic, then list the shows available to play at the current time.

This Plugin was originally written by Ted Rathkopf in 2003 for SlimServer v4.x. It has been updated three times since its release, by kdf, to function with SlimServer 5.x and 6.x, and now SqueezeCenter 7.x.

Version 3:

Version 0.3.1, as with all previous releases, only searches the PublicRadioFan.com site for programs that are broadcasting MP3 streams. This limitation is due to the fact that SlimServer historically could only handle streams in an MP3 format. This version works with a default installation of SlimServer 6.0 through 6.5.4 and requires no additonal Plugins.

Version 4:

Version 0.4.3 is an attempt to take advantage of recent developments that allow playback of more then just MP3 streams.

Users fortunate enough to have a Squeezebox2 or Squeezebox3 now have the ability to play WindowsMedia streams dircetly on the hardware player. Additionally, SlimServer software's now has the ability to handle RealAudio and WindowsMedia streams reliably through the AlienBBC Plugin. To use version 0.4.3 and play RealAudio and WindowsMedia streams requires that SlimServer 6.0 through 6.5.4 has a working AlienBBC Plugin installed on the system.

Version 0.4.3 now has a setting in the "Configuration Section" that allows the user to chose the stream formats to retrieve from the PublicRadioFan.com directory. By default it is set to gather only MP3 streams, like all previous versions of the plugin. It can also be set to retrieve MP3 and WindowsMedia streams if you have a Squeezebox2/3. If you have working AlienBBC Plugin you can set it to retrieve MP3, WindowsMedia and RealAudio streams.

Version 5:

Version 0.5.1 is a rewrite of the plugin to support SqueezeCenter 7.0. This version is only compatible with SqueezeCenter 7.0. As with the previous version support for MP3, WindowsMedia and RealAudio streams is provided. However By default it is set to gather only MP3 streams, like the original version of the plugin.

User Interface:

It has been brought to my attention that the interface for this plugin can cause some confusion. The only way to access the plugin is through either a hardware player (SliMP3, Squeezebox 1/2/3) or SoftSqueeze. There are no web based controls for the plugin in the SlimServer web interface. A web interface has been a much requested feature, one that even the original creator would like. After speaking with Ted Rathkopf about the possibility of developing one he stated that he had not created a web interface at the request of PublicRadioFan.com. The logic is that a Slim Device is just acting as a browser and that is fine, but re-presenting the data provided by PublicRadioFan.com in a web browser is to close to the service that PublicRadioFan.com provides.

Basic Installation:

Download the version of PublicRadioFanBrowser that you would like to intall.

Unzip it and place it in the Plugins Directory of SlimServer.

Use the editor of your choice to open the PublicRadioFanBrowser.pm file for versions 0.3 and 0.4 or the Plugin.pm file for version 0.5 in the new directory.

Scroll down to the "Configuration Section" and remove the # from your timezone.

You can scroll down a little further to the bottom of the "Configuration Section" and set the $when variable. The two values for this are "now" or "nowsoon". If you are familar with the PublicRadioFan.com site this is their "What's on now" vs. "What's on now or soon" feature.

If you are using Version 0.4.3 or Version 0.5.1 you can also set stream formats to retrieve more then just MP3 stream by removing the "#" from the #$streamformat variable.

There are several additional Perl modules that are required for this plugin to work that are not included in the standard build of Slimserver. These are typically are included in modern distribuitions of Perl. However one required module, HTML::Treebuilder is not typically included. This is easy enough to install on a Linux and OS X systems, but present more of a problem when Slimserver is running under Windows.

Once the required Perl modules are installed, restart Slimserver.

Again, the only way to use the plugin is through a hardware player or softsqueeze. If it has loaded correctly, you should find it in the Internet Radio Menu as "PublicRadioFan.com Streams". From there you can select either "Music" or "Non-Music" streams.

If the PublicRadioFanBrowser is not loading, start SlimServer from the command line with the -d_plugins option. Review the output at startup and see if any error messages indicate other missing Perl modules.

Platform Specific Tips:

This website's existence is implicit consent for the plugins to be downloaded, used, tweaked, reworked, and redistributed at will. I am always interested in hearing constructive thoughts on them.

December 1, 2007