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Radio Downloader

Trajet

Trajet

Member
I used to use this great program to download a regular BBC radio show that I enjoyed to transfer to my Android phone to listen to in the car. Unfortunately the BBC had this download facility removed from Radio Downloader.

I have trying to create a workaround using the HDR whereby I record the radio show via the EPG series link and use the custom software to enable Auto-Audio. This works on my PC but no matter what I try I cannot get the file to play on my phone.

Any ideas?
 
Yes, the result is not "proper" MP3, so not all players (including my car stereo - bummer) will tolerate it. The transcoding required to make it fully MP3 (instead of MP2 masquerading as MP3) is too processor intensive to be worth doing on the Humax.

A WebIF "grab" of an iPlayer radio download results in an MP4 containing AAC audio, but I haven't found a way to run that on my car stereo either - despite it being "MP3/WMA/AAC compatible". The only process I have found so far is to read the MP2 into Audacity and output it again via Lame (MP3 codec). FFMPEG might work (but I take the opportunity of the audio being loaded in Audacity to top and tail it), and being a command line utility might be amenable to running as a batch process.

If anyone has a better idea I would be interested too.
 
Trajet said:
I used to use this great program to download a regular BBC radio show that I enjoyed to transfer to my Android phone to listen to in the car. Unfortunately the BBC had this download facility removed from Radio Downloader. I have trying to create a workaround using the HDR whereby I record the radio show via the EPG series link and use the custom software to enable Auto-Audio. This works on my PC but no matter what I try I cannot get the file to play on my phone.
Click to expand...

As Black Hole says saving radio and TV programmes played on the HDR's iPlayer results in MP4 files. I find that these will play fine on my Android phone (version 2.2.2), via the Music app.
The downside is that you have to catch things before they disappear off iPlayer.

(Detail for the OP, in case you haven't gone this route before: Find and start playing the programme in iPlayer via the HDR, then go to the computer to WebIF 'Browse' screen and look at the yellow box at the bottom of the page, when the file stops growing, click and name file. (You have to do the files one by one. They will save into the folder you have open on the Browse screen) Then transfer via Network-Shares-Automount or on USB-drive etc to PC and into 'download' folder on phone.)

The other option is to record on HDR as normal, and then keep as a video file and play on Android device using 'VLC for Android' - no picture, but same sound.
 
I've had some reasonable success with using the HDR to record some BBC radio shows, transferred then to a PC then used VLC for windows to convert the file to MP3 which I could then listen to in the car on holiday (instead of dreadful Spanish radio stations which constantly fade in and out as you drive through the mountains!)
 
Black Hole said:
FFMPEG might work (but I take the opportunity of the audio being loaded in Audacity to top and tail it), and being a command line utility might be amenable to running as a batch process.
Click to expand...
FFMPEG does work as I use it to also top and tail some of the audio files. Through one of the front ends for FFMPEF (WinFF) I also use it to convert batches of audio files where I don't want to top and tail any of them. WinFF has the advantage of being easy to use for and flexibilty as you can still get to the command line if you want, and use setup presets.
 
Trajet said:
I record the radio show via the EPG series link and use the custom software to enable Auto-Audio. This works on my PC but no matter what I try I cannot get the file to play on my phone.
Click to expand...


I may have misunderstood what you are saying here, but the HDR creates a .ts file with the radio show in, right? So what is wrong with putting that on the Android phone and playing it back with VPlayer, say, or one of several video players that understand .ts files, and relaying the audio to your car stereo?
 
Mike0001 said:
I may have misunderstood what you are saying here, but the HDR creates a .ts file with the radio show in, right? So what is wrong with putting that on the Android phone and playing it back with VPlayer, say, or one of several video players that understand .ts files, and relaying the audio to your car stereo?
Click to expand...
I'm the one with the car stereo, and I'm playing off a UPD not via a smart phone / tablet.
 
Black Hole said:
I'm the one with the car stereo, and I'm playing off a UPD not via a smart phone / tablet.
Click to expand...


Read the OP.

Anyway, the car stereo is an irrelevant part of the operation. Whether the OP plays back via headphones or his car stereo is immaterial.
 
Luke said:
FFMPEG does work as I use it to also top and tail some of the audio files. Through one of the front ends for FFMPEF (WinFF) I also use it to convert batches of audio files where I don't want to top and tail any of them. WinFF has the advantage of being easy to use for and flexibilty as you can still get to the command line if you want, and use setup presets.
Click to expand...
How?
 
Black Hole said:
How?
Click to expand...
ffmpeg -threads 2 -ss 0:00:51 -y -i input.ts -acodec libmp3lame -b:a 160k -ac 2 -ar 44100 -t 0:28:03 output.mp3

If I were to use audacity to select the start (e.g. 51 seconds in) and length (e.g. 28 minutes and 3 seconds) could I click on a visual of the audio while it's playing to select start and end?
As I don't need precise cutting the ffmeg's -ss and -t suits me fine.
 
Black Hole said:
Output being?
Click to expand...

I use get_iplayer to download all my radio programs. It was fairly easy to set up but took me a bit of googling to find out how to output .mp3 ,It needs an option file setting
aactomp3 1
this is in C:\Documents and Settings\username\.get_iplayer\options create if not allready there.

Hope this helps.
 
Sorry if I have misunderstood what is being asked...

Codecs, file extensions, software! Some software is more capable and/or forgiving of mix ups and so forth (for example: VLC/ffmpeg).

Trajet: In a very quick test the stock music player on my SGS2 Android 4.1.2 phone appears to be able to play:

iPlayer stream saved on HDR FOX T2 using the New Portal “as is” (copied directly to the device). Tested with “Radio 1” and some TV program snippet from (I think) BBC 3.​
​
Recorded (off Freeview) radio or TV program (unencrypted) by using the “Extract to MP3” option.​

Depending on your phone/software mix you might be stuck with having to transcode the files. But, then also concider using another application such as “MX Player Pro” (see below).

BH: I think you are pretty much stuck with transcoding the files. Personally I would avoid running ffmpeg/other on the HDR itself because of its limited CPU power and memory. VLC is also good and will transcode. But neither is an ideal way to top&tail.

Also: “MX Player Pro” on Android (and probably loads of other packages) is able to play (unencrypted) SD/HD recordings from the HDR FOX T2 directly (that is, the .ts file copied to the device; on my phone at least). VLC is also able to play the .ts files directly. But the phone struggled to keep up with the the HD stuff.
 
Luke said:
ffmpeg -threads 2 -ss 0:00:51 -y -i input.ts -acodec libmp3lame -b:a 160k -ac 2 -ar 44100 -t 0:28:03 output.mp3
Click to expand...
Eek! I think I'll stick with Audacity.

kev7378 said:
Sorry if I have misunderstood what is being asked...
Click to expand...
It started with why the "MP3" output from the WebIF extract audio option won't play on some devices, then widened into a discussion of the best way to get a file that will play.

kev7378 said:
Personally I would avoid running ffmpeg/other on the HDR itself because of its limited CPU power and memory.
Click to expand...
I know. EP ran a trial some time ago and I seem to remember it processed a few seconds per minute.

dearleuk said:
Default is aac, but it can be anything that ffmpeg can handle.
Click to expand...
No point then, unless you are saying MP3 is an output option because ffmpeg is built in. iPlayer versions still need topping and tailing.
 
Luke said:
If I were to use audacity to select the start (e.g. 51 seconds in) and length (e.g. 28 minutes and 3 seconds) could I click on a visual of the audio while it's playing to select start and end?
As I don't need precise cutting the ffmeg's -ss and -t suits me fine.
Click to expand...
I don't understand what you are asking. Audacity loads the audio file (it copes with the "MP3" from the WebIF), and presents it as a visual waveform spanning the whole length of the file. It is easy to scroll the time cursor to find the place you want to start and cut from the beginning to that point, and ditto the end. If the start and end are not clean it is also easy to fade them in or out. Then I export to proper MP3.
 
Black Hole said:
...presents it as a visual waveform spanning the whole length of the file. It is easy to scroll the time cursor to find the place you want to start and cut from the beginning to that point, and ditto the end.
Click to expand...
Yep, that is what I was asking for confirmation of.
I might give it another go sometime for top and tailing, keeping ffmpeg just for batch work, or using ffmpeg when I find identifying the options I want more easily with ffmpeg.
 
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