Listening to internet radio on your Treo: A step-by-step guide.
With the Treo and internet radio website SHOUTcast by Nullsoft, you can listen to internet radio broadcasts just about anywhere you have a data connection. Using the Treo to listen to internet radio provides advantages over using a separate MP3 player. First of all, I don’t know about you, but I hate to carry multiple devices. Why carry multiple devices when you can carry just one? Another good reason to listen to internet radio is the variety of programming. Not even the best MP3 player can carry as many songs as are available on Shoutcast.
I listen to internet radio because it saves me time. Using an ordinary MP3 player requires time and forethought (of which I have very little.) MP3 players (and even your Treo) require you to choose the songs you want to listen to, and then transfer them to the device from your home PC. I have found myself wanting to listen to music unexpectedly and without having loaded the kind of music I’m in the mood for to my MP3 player. This is never a problem with internet radio; as long as you have service on your Treo you have access to every genre of music, commentary, news and comedy!
Streaming internet is data intensive, so be sure that you have a plan that is going to allow for heavy data usage. I recommend an unlimited data package if it is available from your carrier. Treo 600 and 650 users must purchase Pocket Tunes Deluxe to stream audio. The Treo 700p will default to the integrated version of Kinoma unless PTunes Deluxe is present. (The basic version of PTunes that comes on the 700, and came free with registering the 600 will not stream.)
How to listen to SHOUTcast stations
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1. Point Blazer (or your preferred Treo web browser) to http://www.shoutcast.com |
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2. Once the SHOUTcast homepage has loaded you will be presented with a listing of available stations and search fields allowing you to search by artist, song, station or genre. (Considering that there are about 14,000 stations available, you may want to take advantage of the search options.) |
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3. To select a station just click on the yellow “Tune In” button. It is strongly advised that you also watch the bitrate, depending on your data connection. EVDO can buffer larger streams than EDGE connections, so keep your bitrate small if you don’t want choppy broadcasts. |
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4. If you are using a Treo 700p without PTunes Deluxe, Kinoma Media Player will automatically launch. Otherwise, PTunes Deluxe will automatically launch. |
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While Pocket Tunes Deluxe allows for multitasking, the Kinoma Media Player integrated into the 700p does not. PTunes allows the screen to be turned off, saving your battery. For these reasons, I strongly recommend that users purchase PTunes Deluxe for the most enjoyable internet radio experience.
Instructions for using Pocket Tunes Deluxe with SHOUTcast (Advanced)
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1. Open Pocket Tunes Deluxe. |
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2. From the menu select "Open" |
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3. Select "ShoutCast" from the dropdown menu on the top right of the screen. |
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4. Select "New". Then enter URL of the audio file or station that you want to hear. You will only have to do this once for each static internet radio station. |
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Keep in mind that most Shoutcast stations are temporary, and you may need to search for new stations each time.
In conclusion, streaming audio means you are never without exactly what you’re in the mood to listen to. Listening to streaming audio is simple, and can be done almost anywhere, any time.
Related Links
Download Pocket Tunes
Review of Pocket Tunes by Sion Phillips
Visit ShoutCast.com
Filed under: How-to guides
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just got the internet radio setup on my treo 650. It appears to be very cool except I cant keep my phone away from my 11yo daughter.
I love my treo
That is the only downside the the treo, everybody wants to use it. I’m glad you are enjoying internet radio.
hey i just set up my treo 650 for internet radio but the song keeps starting and stopping saying “buffering”
Any suggestions???????????
Eneus,
Choose a lower bitrate. That should help.
John Holland
I have been using shoutcast for several months now. and can say without a doubt, this is my favorite treo function. it is extremely easy to set up, and with a minimal cost to purchase PTunes, it’s a whole lot cheaper than buying an MP3 player, satellite radio, or an IPod!!!
Does Shoutcast work with Busker MP3 player? Or do I need to purchase the PTunes Deluxe version?
Here is another interesting way you can use shoutcast
http://www.tunjiafonja.com/tunjis_weblog/2006/07/shoutcasting_to.html
PTunes is my most used application. The internet radio is great. I would love to see some sort of a call waiting alert so that I could pick up a call while I am listening to internet radio rather than the call going to voicemail.
Craig
How is this software different/better than resco radio?
I have that installed and I can get any radio station that has an Internet feed.
Will Ptunes Deluxe stream only Shoutcast MP3?
There are other Internet MP3 streams that I would need and prefer, but the trial Ptunes doesn’t allow a test of this.
jholland5
i went to a lower bitrate but i still have the same problem,,my treo constantly keeps stopping and dtsrting in the iddle of the song..its quite annoying..help!!
When I click on the yellow “tune in” button, I get the following error screen that pops up:
” Download to Card
Your device does not support his filetype.
do you want to download to your card?”
Of course I click on “no” , but even I I click “yes”, it still doesn’t allow me to activate the link.
Does anyone know what I have to do to fix this problem?
Rgds
RLC
SkyShooter:
You need to download and install Ptunes to your treo. You’ll be good to go then.
skyshooter_ca , the registered version of the latest ptunes deluxe will recognize the filetype.
ok i have the same problem when i listen to internet radio the song keeps starting and stopping saying “buffering”
question is how or where do i Choose a lower bitrate
damm i love this treo lol
I am having the same problem. It keeps buffering and it is truly annoying. Is there a real solution to thi. if so would you please let me know. I know this would be my favorite part if I could get it to stop breaking while i am listening. PLease Help
To all of you with buffering issues,
When you go to the ShoutCast website on the far right you will see a yellow box with search fields. Here you can select to limit the search by bandwidth. Because data connection speeds vary, I can not tell you what to select but choose a slower speed for instance 56k. See if this helps.
John Holland
wow tks a lots John Holland
i tryed and in 10 min it just stop 3 time only for a few second better then 10 min and 10 000 interruption lol
wow u guys are amazing tks
love my treo
Thaks for the tip on the bitrate. But I now have another problem. Can anyone tell me why am I getting mono instead of stereo. Before I was getting stereo
Wow this is awesome. I cant wait to tell all my friends how to do this. At work I was the first one with a treo and so far I got about 5 people to get treos. They are gonna love me for this one. Thanks for this idea. Keep em coming…
viper07828 says:
Thaks for the tip on the bitrate. But I now have another problem. Can anyone tell me why am I getting mono instead of stereo. Before I was getting stereo
nop viper0728 no one can call they will get buzy signal lol tryed today but if u hav3e answering machine it will go straight to it
ok letb me know is everyone else getting it in mono or stereo, I have a treo 650. so please tell me. i need to know
well on my part im getting it in both mono and stereo
Hello, my name is Deb, and I am a Treoholic. I have TV, I can watch full feature length movies, MP3’s, internet radio….life is good!
My favorite radio station (http://theedge1039.com) streams 3 formats; Windows Media Player, Real, or QuickTime. Neither Kinoma or my purchased Pocket Tunes Deluxe will play any of the 3; I suppose they could be using too high of a bitrate for me; or are none of these 3 formats useable by Kinoma or Pocket Tunes?
Just installed Pocket Tunes and Shout Cast-Love it. Question though-how do I exit the broadcast. I think I do, then when I’m using other things like the Calendar, it still plays.
Thanks
sstlthy, The Edge can be played on Kinoma Player EX 4 via their built-in Media Guide.
check out mundo radio. it is compatable with shoutcast if you can glean out the ip’s and ports and load them onto your playlist. had no crashes so far. 650usr
I’ve only had p tunes a couple of days (and I’m a “NEWBIE”, god save my ignorant soul) but I’ve found that moving everything you can to SD helps with the buffering problem. what’s going on is a chunk of the bitstream (x amount of kbs) is downloaded to p-tunes before it is played (I believe) so that it can keep ahead and iron out any choppiness, I’ve kept a meg or so free and its helped a great deal.
If you’ve downloaded skins try copying them then deleting the originals. on my 650 the copies show up with the little SD icon skins are about 1/4 M so its a big savings !
As for that “can’t handle this file type” bit I tried saving to card with no luck. they went to “The Download Zone” (insert spooky music here) How some ever, I discovered after an experiment gone awry and the subsequent warm reset that they’d been saved as playlists. Go figger !!
Hope this helps, post if it happens to anybody else.
its kool but my problem is that my phone locks after a certain time of play i don t know how to adjust that it has something to do with the timer but the music is excellant quality thanks