eat-sleep-code / vlc-web-audio-ui

Slim web VLC player

VLC Web Audio Player for Raspberry Pi (including Buster!)

After setting up a Pimoroni pHAT BEAT to stream internet radio via VLC audio, I discovered that VLC apparently hasn't updated their web player since 1996. It is a mish-mash of tiny icons and features that don't apply on a headless Raspberry Pi.

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The code in this repository removes unused features, improves the user experience. It also adds support for showing the actual song being played.

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Implementation

• Connect to your Raspberry Pi via SSH.

• Installation of the the software prerequisites can be completed with the following install commands.

  wget -q https://raw.githubusercontent.com/eat-sleep-code/vlc-slim-web/master/install-prerequisites.sh -O ~/install-prerequisites.sh
  sudo chmod +x ~/install-prerequisites.sh && ~/install-prerequisites.sh
  

• After the prequisites are installed – or after an upgrade of VLC – you may install the new UI with the following commands.

  wget -q https://raw.githubusercontent.com/eat-sleep-code/vlc-slim-web/master/install-ui.sh -O ~/install-ui.sh
  sudo chmod +x ~/install-ui.sh && ~/install-ui.sh
  

• After the Raspberry Pi reboots the second time, access http://[YOURIP]:8080

  • If prompted for authentication, leave the username field blank. The default password is raspberry

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Support for extended M3U files

For the best user experience, update your playlist to use the extended M3U format. You can edit your playlist with sudo nano /home/pi/.config/vlc/playlist.m3u You will need to reboot your Raspberry Pi after making changes to the playlist.

The following is an example of the extended M3U file format:

#EXTM3U

#EXTINF:-1, Country Roads
http://rfcmedia.streamguys1.com/countryroads.mp3?aw_0_1st.playerid=RadioTime

#EXTINF:-1, Smooth Jazz
http://rfcmedia.streamguys1.com/smoothjazz.mp3?aw_0_1st.playerid=RadioTime

#EXTINF:-1, Today's Hits
http://rfcmedia.streamguys1.com/MusicPulse.mp3?aw_0_1st.playerid=RadioTime

vlc-web-audio-ui's Issues

Installation script appears to do nothing.

Thank you for producing this, it seems ideal since the Pimoroni kit is so out of date and limited to Stretch.

I have just tried to run this on a fresh Buster Lite install and nothing (apart from perhaps a 1 second delay) happens. I have tried a couple of permutations of the github part of the URL but nothing happens. Not even a reported error.

It is quite possible that as a relative newcomer to Linux, Github and wotnot that I am doing something wrong, so would you mind checking to see if it still works for you ?

Edit - Removing the -q part of the script shows a reported 404 issue. I am going to poke around and see if I can work out what it is that it does not like.

Compatibility on browsers

The UI is great! And the extended M3U support is quite handy.

I can confirm the UI works on desktop Chrome, but does not show buttons on desktop Safari / iOS Sarari / Android Chrome. The buttons are invisible in those cases, but still clickable if I find the right location.

YouTube Mix Buffers Repeatedly

Steps to reproduce:

1. Copy a YouTube Mix link , such as:
   • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAfAud_M_mg&list=RDEMUxNgZtfAj-k7qQMnB1fIgQ&start_radio=1
2. Click the add (+) button in the interface.
3. Paste the URL in the prompt window and click 'OK'

Current behavior:

• Metadata loads in a few seconds
• Audio starts playing after 10 - 15 seconds
• Audio plays for 20 - 60 seconds and then stops again

Desired behavior:

• Metadata and audio loads in a few seconds and audio continues with out stopping