Internet video and audio streams: Difference between revisions

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If you want to listen to video (TV) or audio (Radio) streams in XBMC you can do it as long as the codec/format and streaming-method (network-protocol) is supported by XBMC, (plus the stream can not be password protected).
{{mininav|[[Video library]] {{l2| [[Music library]] }} }}
{{see also|Add-ons}}
<section begin="intro" />Various internet video and audio streams can be played back in Kodi as if they were locally stored on your media center by using STRM files. As long as the format and streaming-method (network-protocol) is supported by Kodi, stream can be added. These are basic text files that look like <name>.strm and contain a URL to the internet stream. STRM files can also be added to the [[video library]] and can have cover art, summaries, etc.


== Playing Internet Streams in XBMC ==
Some internet sites may have an add-on available that can also access these media streams, rather than having to manually create STRM files. See '''[[Add-ons]]''' for more information on how to find and install add-ons.<section end="intro" />
There are two ways this can be done, either via a custom .STRM file or a standard playlists (.PLS or .M3U).


=== The STRM method: ===
== Playing Internet Streams ==
Create a normal text-file and rename the '''.txt''' extension to '''.strm''' then open it up with a text-editor (like Notepad in Microsoft Windows) and input the the direct URL-link of the stream.  
There are two ways this can be done, either via a custom .STRM file or a standard [[playlists]] (.PLS or .M3U).
 
=== The .STRM file method: ===
Create a normal text-file and rename the '''.txt''' extension to '''.strm''' then open it up with a text-editor (like Notepad in Microsoft Windows) and input the the '''direct URL-link''' of the stream.  
:This should look like:
:This should look like:
  '''<nowiki>http://host/path/stream</nowiki>'''
  '''<nowiki>http://host/path/stream</nowiki>'''
Line 13: Line 17:
  '''<nowiki>rtsp://host/path/stream</nowiki>'''
  '''<nowiki>rtsp://host/path/stream</nowiki>'''
Other protocols are supported such as '''<nowiki>http://host/path/to/somefile.mp3.</nowiki>'''
Other protocols are supported such as '''<nowiki>http://host/path/to/somefile.mp3.</nowiki>'''
Then save/copy the .strm file to somewhere where you can open it from XBMC, (like on a SMB/SAMBA, XBMS or UPnP share, or FTP it to the local harddrive in the Xbox), like you would with any video/audio file. Open it using '''play''' in XBMC under My Videos (if it is a video stream) or My Music (if it is an audio stream). If the video stream does not work then the URL-link could be wrong, or possibly the codec/format or the network-protocol it uses it not supported by XBMC.
Then save/copy the .strm file to somewhere where you can open it from Kodi, (like on a SMB/SAMBA, XBMS or UPnP share, or just your local hard drive), like you would with any video/audio file. Open it using '''play''' in Kodi under Videos (if it is a video stream) or Music (if it is an audio stream). If the video stream does not work then the URL-link could be wrong, or possibly the codec/format or the network-protocol it uses it not supported by Kodi.


=== Creating a .STRM file in Microsoft Windows step-by-step ===
If you are creating a list of playlists (for example internal and external Shoutcast streams), save the pls or strm files into a directory accessible by Kodi and add the directory as the source, '''not''' the files themselves.
Right click somewhere on your desktop or the right-side of Windows Explorer (the file-manaager in Microsoft Windows) when your inside a folder, and select "New > Text Document". Rename that file to something to represent the stream like "BBC Radio-1 internet stream" and add the .strm extention to the end. If you have file extensions turned off on your computer, you may want to turn them back on by going into Windows Explorer's "Tools" menu, selecting "Folder Options > View" and then making sure "Hide extensions for known file types" is unchecked, that way you can see that the file really has been renamed to whatever.strm and not whatever.strm.txt.


=== The standard playlists (.PLS or .M3U) method: ===
==== Property support: ====
Download a supported playlist (like .PLS or .M3U) file from the internet, (these playlist files can often be found on the website of the web-radio stations or TV web-casts websites). For example stream.pls or something else, (you can rename it to whatever you want but keep the same extention). Then save/copy the .strm file to somewhere where you can open it from XBMC, (like on a SMB/SAMBA, XBMS or UPnP share, or FTP it to the local harddrive in the Xbox), like you would with any video/audio file. Open it using '''play''' in XBMC under My Videos or My Music (if it is a video stream, respectivly a audio stream). If the video stream does not work then the URL-link could be wrong, or possible the codec/format or the network-protocol it uses it not supported by XBMC. You can check and edit playlists with a normal text-editor (like Notepad in Microsoft Windows).


=== ASX format ===
strm files support passing additional properties to affect playback. This is the case for choosing specific [[Category:Input_stream_add-ons|inputstream addons]] or selecting specific protocol based properties. They usually take the form of:
Sometimes if a stream has a .asx extension it will work fine on your Windows computer but XBMC will not play it. In these cases it could be that that .asx is not actualy a stream but instead just a playlist that redirects to a other stream (ie. the real stream). To play this stream you must download the .asx file to your computer and open it in a text-editor to find the true direct link, then add that link to a .STRM file which then can be played by XBMC.


== Finding Legal Internet Streams ==
<syntaxhighlight lang="xml">
=== Links to websites which link to or host audio and video streams ===
#KODIPROP:key=value
[http://dave.org.uk/streams/ dave.org.uk/streams/] BBC Radio Streams (RealMedia)<br />
protocol://host/path/stream
[http://www.techzonept.com/showthread.php?t=93138 TV and Radio Streams Portuguese Techzone Forum thread] (Windows Media)<br />
</syntaxhighlight>
[http://www.coolstreaming.us/hp.php?lang=en Streams upload and download site]<br />
[http://www.xbmc-tv.com Project XBMC-TV] Site that hosts streams that are in .strm format and are tested to work with XBMC<br />


=== Direct links to audio and video streams that has been tested and are working in XBMC ===
where key is the property key and value is the property value.
Here is a collection/list of direct links which you can copy and paste into a .STRM file to play in XBMC.<br />
You can add your own favorites to the list, please add (country), (format) and bit-rate [XXX] if possible.
==== <u>Audio/Radio:</u> ====
'''British Radio (United Kingdom) English:'''<br />
BBC 1Xtra (RealAudio stream): rtsp://rmlivev8.bbc.net.uk/farm/*/ev7/live24/1xtra/live/1xtra_dsat_g2.ra<br />
BBC Radio 1 (RealAudio stream): rtsp://rmlivev8.bbc.net.uk/farm/*/ev7/live24/radio1/live/r1_dsat_g2.ra<br />
BBC Radio 2 (RealAudio stream 1): rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/r2online_id.rm<br />
BBC Radio 2 (RealAudio stream 2): rtsp://rmlivev8.bbc.net.uk/farm/*/ev7/live24/radio2/live/r2_dsat_g2.ra<br />
BBC Radio 3 (RealAudio stream): rtsp://rmlivev8.bbc.net.uk/farm/*/ev7/live24/radio3/live/r3_dsat_g2.ra<br />
BBC Radio 4 (RealAudio stream 1): rtsp://rmlivev8bb.bbc.net.uk/farm/*/ev7/live24/radio4/live/r4_dsat_g2.ra<br />
BBC Radio 4 (RealAudio stream 2): rtsp://rmlivev8.bbc.net.uk/farm/*/ev7/live24/radio4/live/r4lw_dsat_g2_1.ra<br />
BBC Five Live (RealAudio stream 1): rtsp://rmlivev8.bbc.net.uk/farm/*/ev7/live24/radio5/live/r5_tl_int_g2.ra<br />
BBC Five Live (RealAudio stream 2): rtsp://rmlivev8.bbc.net.uk/farm/*/ev7/live24/radio5/live/r5_tl_int_g2.ra<br />
BBC Five Live Sports Extra (RealAudio stream 1): rtsp://rmlivev8e.bbc.net.uk/farm/*/ev7/live24/radio5/sportsextra/live/r5sx_tl_int_g2.ra<br />
BBC Five Live Sports Extra (RealAudio stream 2): rtsp://rmlivev8acl.bbc.net.uk/farm/*/ev7/live24/radio5/sportsextra/live/r5sx_tl_g2.ra<br />
BBC World Service (RealAudio stream): rtsp://rmlivev8.bbc.net.uk/farm/*/ev7/live24/worldservice/liveinfent.ra<br />
BBC Radio Foyle (RealAudio stream): rtsp://rmlivev8.bbc.net.uk/farm/*/ev7/live24/northernireland/foyle.ra<br />
BBC Radio Scotland (RealAudio stream): rtsp://rmlivev8.bbc.net.uk/farm/*/ev7/live24/scotland/live/scotland_tl_g2.ra<br />
BBC Radio Ulster (RealAudio stream): rtsp://rmlivev8.bbc.net.uk/farm/*/ev7/live24/northernireland/ru-live.ra<br />
BBC Radio Wales (RealAudio stream): rtsp://rmlivev8.bbc.net.uk/farm/*/ev7/live24/wales/live/wales_dsat_g2.ra<br />


'''Note''': From Kodi v20 you can affect the rtsp transport protocol by defining the rtsp_transport property. For example, to force tcp transport mode:
<syntaxhighlight lang="xml">
#KODIPROP:rtsp_transport=tcp
rtsp://host:port/mystream
</syntaxhighlight>


==== <u>Video/TV:</u> ====
=== The standard playlists (.PLS or .M3U) method: ===
'''News:'''<br />
Download a supported playlist (like .PLS or .M3U) file from the internet, (these playlist files can often be found on the website of the web-radio stations or TV web-casts websites). For example stream.pls or something else, (you can rename it to whatever you want but keep the same extension). Then save/copy the file to somewhere where you can open it from Kodi, like you would with any video/audio file. You should be able to play the file in Kodi by selecting it ether from Videos -> Files or from the Music "file mode".
BBC Headline News (United Kingdom) (Windows Media) [225k]: mms://wmlive.bbc.net.uk/wms/news/heads_bb_s1<br />


'''Adult Educational:'''<br />
If the video stream does not work then the URL-link could be wrong, or possible the codec/format or the network-protocol it uses it not supported by Kodi. You can check and edit playlists with a normal text-editor (like Notepad in Microsoft Windows) and see what the URLs look like.
NASA TV (U.S.A.) (Windows Media) [150kb/s]: http://www.nasa.gov/55644main_NASATV_Windows.asx<br />


'''Adult Video and TV (porn):'''<br />
== Adding STRM files to the library ==
Playboy TV (Windows Media) [150kb/s]: mms://bady3rsbvideo.playboy.co.uk/playboytv_ch1_150<br />
You can associate meta-data, such as cover art and summaries, to a .strm file just like normal entries in a library by using an NFO file, just as you would for a normal video file.


''Big Brother Cams (dutch):''<br />
{{Updated|19}}
mms://wm7.xs4all.nl/streamgate231<br />
mms://wm7.xs4all.nl/streamgate232<br />
mms://wm7.xs4all.nl/streamgate233<br />
mms://wm7.xs4all.nl/streamgate234<br />


[[Category:How-to]]
[[Category:Manual]]
[[Category:Video library]]
[[Category:Music library]]

Revision as of 22:28, 7 September 2022

Home icon grey.png   ▶ Video library
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▶ Internet video and audio streams

Various internet video and audio streams can be played back in Kodi as if they were locally stored on your media center by using STRM files. As long as the format and streaming-method (network-protocol) is supported by Kodi, stream can be added. These are basic text files that look like <name>.strm and contain a URL to the internet stream. STRM files can also be added to the video library and can have cover art, summaries, etc.

Some internet sites may have an add-on available that can also access these media streams, rather than having to manually create STRM files. See Add-ons for more information on how to find and install add-ons.

Playing Internet Streams

There are two ways this can be done, either via a custom .STRM file or a standard playlists (.PLS or .M3U).

The .STRM file method:

Create a normal text-file and rename the .txt extension to .strm then open it up with a text-editor (like Notepad in Microsoft Windows) and input the the direct URL-link of the stream.

This should look like:
http://host/path/stream
or
mms://host/path/stream
or
rtsp://host/path/stream

Other protocols are supported such as http://host/path/to/somefile.mp3. Then save/copy the .strm file to somewhere where you can open it from Kodi, (like on a SMB/SAMBA, XBMS or UPnP share, or just your local hard drive), like you would with any video/audio file. Open it using play in Kodi under Videos (if it is a video stream) or Music (if it is an audio stream). If the video stream does not work then the URL-link could be wrong, or possibly the codec/format or the network-protocol it uses it not supported by Kodi.

If you are creating a list of playlists (for example internal and external Shoutcast streams), save the pls or strm files into a directory accessible by Kodi and add the directory as the source, not the files themselves.

Property support:

strm files support passing additional properties to affect playback. This is the case for choosing specific or selecting specific protocol based properties. They usually take the form of:

#KODIPROP:key=value
protocol://host/path/stream

where key is the property key and value is the property value.

Note: From Kodi v20 you can affect the rtsp transport protocol by defining the rtsp_transport property. For example, to force tcp transport mode:

#KODIPROP:rtsp_transport=tcp
rtsp://host:port/mystream

The standard playlists (.PLS or .M3U) method:

Download a supported playlist (like .PLS or .M3U) file from the internet, (these playlist files can often be found on the website of the web-radio stations or TV web-casts websites). For example stream.pls or something else, (you can rename it to whatever you want but keep the same extension). Then save/copy the file to somewhere where you can open it from Kodi, like you would with any video/audio file. You should be able to play the file in Kodi by selecting it ether from Videos -> Files or from the Music "file mode".

If the video stream does not work then the URL-link could be wrong, or possible the codec/format or the network-protocol it uses it not supported by Kodi. You can check and edit playlists with a normal text-editor (like Notepad in Microsoft Windows) and see what the URLs look like.

Adding STRM files to the library

You can associate meta-data, such as cover art and summaries, to a .strm file just like normal entries in a library by using an NFO file, just as you would for a normal video file.