I need a good media player for handling streaming radio on linux

August 16, 2006 1:40 PM

I recently switched from Windows to Ubuntu and I'm looking for a good media player for streaming internet radio.

I just switched to Linux (Ubuntu 6.06 LTS DapperDrake) and I really love it but I need some suggestions on picking the best media player for me. The computer I have Ubuntu on doesn't have a lot of storage space so most of my music listening is done through streaming internet radio as opposed to local media. I have Xmms and Rhythmbox installed. I like them both OK but neither of them handle streaming radio as well as I'd like them to. And I don't like the way either of them handles playlists.

All I need is something that makes it easy to add streams and easy to manage and edit multiple playlists. Any suggestions?

posted by LeeJay to Computers & Internet (15 answers total)

MPlayer, baby.

There's also juk if you went with kubuntu.
posted by The Jesse Helms at 2:04 PM on August 16, 2006

Best answer: VLC is another good choice.
posted by The Jesse Helms at 2:07 PM on August 16, 2006

You really really need to check out Amarok. Best music player I've ever used on any OS. Handles internet radio great, too.
posted by mcstayinskool at 2:56 PM on August 16, 2006 [1 favorite]

I'm liking Amarok
posted by pompomtom at 3:04 PM on August 16, 2006

I would third amarok.
posted by eckeric at 3:39 PM on August 16, 2006

Response by poster: Thanks guys. I just installed Amarok and like it although it seems to play streams intermittently. It plays CDs and MP3s perfectly but will only play about half of the streams it came preconfigured with. It connects to them and it displays the track it's supposed to be playing but no sound comes out. I'm a linux n00b so this is probably just something configured wrong on my end. I'm working to solve the problem, though, because I really like the way Amarok is set up.
posted by LeeJay at 4:11 PM on August 16, 2006

I haven't used it, so this is a guess, but Amarok might have trouble playing preconfigured streams because the station moved or shut down since Dapper was released. If you see something that interests you, try searching for them on the web and then re-adding the stream to Amarok.
posted by brett at 4:33 PM on August 16, 2006

Have you installed EasyUbuntu?
posted by lunchbox at 5:51 PM on August 16, 2006

Response by poster: lunchbox, yes, I've already installed and run EasyUbuntu. It's a fabulous script.

brett, I don't think that's the issue since I've tried it on streams directly from the web. Streams that play in Rhythmbox and XMMS don't play on Amarok. It seems to be connecting to the stream, as it displays current track info . I just don't hear any sound. And the weird thing is, it only happens on some streams, not all. I'll comtinue to play with it and see what happens.
posted by LeeJay at 6:14 PM on August 16, 2006

Best answer: I've had problems with amaroK and stream playback as well - I agree that it's intermittent at best, at least in my experience. amaroK is a fantastic program in many respects, but it's far from perfection.

Honestly, VLC is your best option for playback, as was referenced before. It handles my favorite stream, WOXY.com's aacPlus stream, with ease. aac+ stream playback seemed to be pretty hit or miss for me in other apps.

Sadly, VLC's playlist support isn't fantastic - the GUI isn't nearly as powerful as amaroK or XMMS. But then again, why do you need playlists with streaming radio? Just save the stream bookmarks and load them when you want to hear them.

Anyway, if you really want a nice interface, go with XMMS/amaroK/Rythymbox, and fix your stream problems. Use the Ubuntu Forums to get started on this.
posted by sprocket87 at 7:04 PM on August 16, 2006

If you're adventurous, I'd try Banshee. It's a pretty slick media player, but the internet radio stuff is an experimental plugin. I'd keep an eye on it if you like how iTunes is setup.

If you want a hand setting it up in Dapper, I'd be glad to help.
posted by thebigdeadwaltz at 7:06 PM on August 16, 2006

Response by poster: sprocket87, thank you. VLC is just what I wanted and it's playing my streams perfectly. And thanks to everyone else as well for the advice and suggestions.
posted by LeeJay at 7:59 PM on August 16, 2006

Response by poster: Oh! And to The Jesse Helms thanks are due as well! I didn't see your reccomendation for VLC!
posted by LeeJay at 8:00 PM on August 16, 2006

Maybe some of the streams your trying to play are WMF?
posted by zaphod at 8:26 PM on August 16, 2006

Response by poster: Just wanted to say that I'm loving VLC so far. Combined with Streamtuner (and Streamripper!), it's exactly what I wanted.
posted by LeeJay at 12:23 AM on August 24, 2006