HTTP stream saving

Reply #50 – 2010-03-01 10:44:59

Apparently, it is elitist to ensure that all components which need HTTP reading (and also posting) services receive the same quality of service as all others. Since, like, almost every component which does any HTTP reading now relies on the core HTTP reader service.

Also, I hear there's this fabulous new application called StreamRipper which can act as a proxy between a ShoutCast server and a compatible player, even going so far as to automatically split the stream when the metadata indicates a song change.

Of course, I still think that ripping streams sucks, since they're usually crappy low bitrate transcodes of the original material, making the quality poor. And since you can never control when a song is going to play, it's slightly less convenient than ripping songs from YouTube. Of course, I suppose it works just fine if you're casually listening and want a copy of some new song you like and have never heard before.

Although I suppose a definite possibility is a component which watches dynamic track name changes from streams and logs them along with the date and time they played, so you can actually go and find the album in some better format than the actual stream you heard the song playing on.

HTTP stream saving

Reply #51 – 2010-03-01 19:54:25

I am not really concerned about music. Recording streams when you want to archive music is really a bad idea at least I don't like it.
I am also using FB2K for playing audio books, listening to various other streams besides music.
It's speech, drama, interviews and other streamed material which I would like to archive occasionally.
I do understand stream ripper is great its command line version can even be invoked from foobar using foo_run. But to make it working confortably:
1) I either need to reconnect my foobar to the relayed copy of the stream to avoid wasting bandwidth.
2) I have to waste the bandwidth to grab the stream using FB2K and stream ripper at the same time which sometimes may produce stuttering with my internet connection while recording higher quality streams such as 256 kbit mp3s.

Okay no problem, there are no plans so we have to respect the decision and keep using existing solutions.
I would anyway like this feature integrated into foobar indeed.

HTTP stream saving

Reply #52 – 2010-03-03 13:14:15

Actually, technically, it is possible to make a proxying HTTP stream ripper, one which is given the actual http link to the stream, while presenting a custom blah:// link to the MP3 input, and does the stream saving as usual, would fit within the limitations of the SDK. It could probably even intercept the dynamic metadata reporting from the real HTTP input for file cutting, and even feed out a metadata indicator that it's recording, so the user could have separate entries in their playlist for normal playback or recorded playback. Just because nobody with the skill set to produce such a component has shown any interest in doing so does not mean that it's not possible.