Streaming Media With Linux

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Streaming Media With Linux
Pages: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Preparing Netscape for MP3 and Vorbis

To set up XMMS as Netscape's default streaming MP3 and Vorbis player, go to the browser's Edit menu and proceed to the Preferences > Navigator > Applications dialog box. Create the following new MIME type entries:

Description: MP3 Audio
MIMEType: audio/x-mpeg
Suffixes: mp3,mp2,mpa,abs,mpega
Application: xmms %s
 
       Description: Icecast Playlists
       MIMEType: audio/x-mpegurl
       Suffixes: m3u
       Application: xmms %s
 
       Description: Shoutcast Playlists
       MIMEType: audio/x-scpls
       Suffixes: pls
       Application: xmms %s
 
       Description: OggVorbis Audio 
       MIMEType: application/x-ogg
       Suffixes: ogg
       Application: xmms %s

These entries configure Netscape for playing single files or playlists of files at a given URL. You can now enjoy streaming audio from sites such as MP3.com or Shoutcast simply by clicking on any interesting broadcast link.

Preparing Lynx for MP3 and Vorbis

Preparing Lynx for streaming MP3s is similar to setting it up for RealAudio. Check your $HOME/lynx.cfg file and be sure to point your PERSONAL_EXTENSION_MAP and PERSONAL_MAILCAP settings to your $HOME/mime.type and $HOME/.personal_mailcap files (as described above for TRPlayer). Add these settings to your mime.types file:

audio/mpg               mp3 mp2 mpega MP3
audio/mpeg              mp3 mp2 mpega MP3
audio/x-mpeg            mp3 mp2 mpega MP3
audio/mpegurl  m3u
audio/mpeg-url  m3u
audio/x-mpegurl         m3u
audio/x-mpeg-url m3u
audio/m3u  m3u
audio/x-m3u  m3u

Now add these lines to your .personal_mailcap file:

audio/mpg;mpg123 %s
audio/mpeg;mpg123 %s
audio/x-mpeg;mpg123 %s
audio/mpegurl;mpg123 -@ %s
audio/mpeg-url;mpg123 -@ %s
audio/x-mpegurl;mpg123 -@ %s
audio/x-mpeg-url;mpg123 -@ %s
audio/m3u;mpg123 -@ %s
audio/x-m3u;mpg123 -@ %s

These settings will let you listen to M3U playlist streams and single MP3 files in Lynx at the Linux console (Shoutcast PLS playlists and Vorbis streams are not yet supported by mpg123). Incidentally, the abundance of essentially identical MIME types reflects my experience while doing research for this article. I've erred on the side of surplus; you are of course free to edit those settings to your own preferences.

Preparing Lynx for streaming Vorbis is equally straightforward. Add this line to your $HOME/mime.type file:

application/x-ogg ogg

and this one to your $HOME/.personal_mailcap file:

application/x-ogg;ogg123 -d oss %s

and you're all set. You now have Lynx configured for your listening pleasure in RealAudio, MP3, or streaming Vorbis.

This section concludes Part One of this article. In Part Two you will learn how to set up the RealServer and Icecast streaming audio servers, but for now let's take a break ... and listen to some music!

Dave Phillips maintains the Linux Music & Sound Applications Web site and has been a performing musician for more than 30 years.

Streaming Media With Linux (Part 2)

Creating Great Audio for the Web

Could Ogg Vorbis Replace MP3?

Linux Audio Plug-Ins: A Look Into LADSPA

Server-Side Considerations for Video Streaming

Shooting Digital Video PDA Style

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