Streaming radio stations are increasingly hiring Streamtheworld.com to encode their content in a flash object so it can only be played in a browser pointed at the station's website, so they can control the ads, etc. Stations that you might have listened to on Squeezebox or Sonos or Roku will suddenly go silent, because the station switched to streamtheworld, and our players can't host flash. So what to do?
The Flash object doesn't contain the audio data, it still refers to a stream available by URL which lies hidden out there on the web somewhere. The flash is a binary, so you can't edit it to see the URL. The flash only serves to obfuscate the link, which is why it is so exasperating. To listen to your radio stations which have been infected with streamtheworld koodies follow this:
1. Search Radiotime.com for your station. Nav to the station's own page. Hover on the Listen button, look in the status bar for the link. Note the 5 digit number, this is the RT number.
2. Copy this link into your browser, but before you hit enter, replace the
XXXXX with your 5 digit RT number:
http://wunderradio.wunderground.com/support/wunderradio/m3u/m3umaker.m3u?action=m3u&wuiId=rt:
XXXXX(Wunderradio is an app on iPhone, which also uses Radiotime database, creating a cross reference for this decode.)
3. Your browser should respond to the link with a prompt to "Save File." Save it as a txt file so you can open it easily. Opening a .m3u file proved surprisingly difficult on Vista without changing the default app of the filetype. Open it up with Windows Notepad and you will see at least one direct URL link to your chosen radio station's live stream.
4. Edit your media player's link with the new URL.
I was able to find my radio show playing on an Ohio station at a better time than my local station. Radiotime has a lot of radio stations from all over the world. Streamtheworld uses the radiotime database as reference numbers for encoding their streams in flash.
I hope this is of value to someone. I think that as this infection spread across all internet radio it will become more valuable over time!
Please post your experience, or suggestions for streamlining this process. I suppose a little visbasic app could be written which would take the station call sign and look up the available direct URLs automatically. Thankfully my programming days are a distant memory.
Nitesh's original article showed me how to do it, but it needed a little condensing.
I used Chrome, Nitesh uses Firefox, they work with this method. If someone tried IE, please report if it works. I wonder that IE might actually start playing the m3U instead of prompting to save.
Rich
