Advertisement

How-to: Stream music through your TiVo

dave zatz
Updated ·4 min read

TiVo's rumored HD model seems almost as good as vaporware these days, so it's a good thing your existing Series 2 still has a few tricks left up it's sleeve. For example, your PC can broadcast audio from the Sirius web site and then stream it to your TiVo. The beauty of this hack is that you can actually transmit any audio playing on or through your PC, such as those DRM-encumbered tunes provided by Yahoo!, Napster, or other PlaysForSure services.

You'll need a few pieces of software to pull this off. Winamp will monitor your sound card and pass the audio to SHOUTcast server software. The SHOUTcast server then rebroadcasts the audio from your PC to TiVo. In theory, TiVo's Desktop software can stream MP3 broadcasts to your TiVo. In reality, TiVo's recorder isn't very fault tolerant and your TiVo server software may crash while attempting to pass networked streams. Therefore, you'll use Galleon's proxy to serve audio to the TiVo. Click to read the rest of this week's How-To!


THE SETUP

Install SHOUTcast Server

  1. Download SHOUTcast server

  2. Install SHOUTcast server using default options

Install Winamp

  1. Download Winamp Lite

  2. Install Winamp Lite using default options
    (You may not want to associate music files with Winamp and you may want to indefinitely skip registration...)

  3. Close Winamp

Install DSP Plug-in

  1. Download SHOUTcast DSP plug-in

  2. Install plug-in using default options

  3. Launch Winamp

  4. Click Ctrl-P

  5. Click DSP/Effect in left pane

  6. Click Nullsoft SHOUTcast Source DSP in right pane

  1. Click on the Input tab

  2. Select Soundcard Input from the Input Device drop-down menu

  3. Select 44100Hz, Stereo from the Input Settings drop-down menu

  4. Click the Open Mixer button

  5. If Stereo Mix isn't available on the audio Recording Control panel
    Click Options > Properties
    Check Stereo Mix

  6. Under Stereo Mix check the Select box and raise the volume at least half way

  7. Close Mixer windows

  8. Click on the Encoder Tab

  9. Select 128kbps, 44,100khz, Stereo from the drop-down menu

  1. Click on the Output tab

  2. Check Connect at Startup

  3. Type the default password, changeme, in the Password box

  4. Click on the Yellowpages button

  5. Clear out the text boxes and uncheck Make this server public

  6. Close Winamp

Create m3u file

  1. Create a text file

  2. Add these lines, substituting your PC's IP address but keeping the default SHOUTcast port of 8000:
    #EXTM3U
    #EXTINF:-1,01 - Sirius
    http://192.168.1.104:8000

  3. If you don't know your IP,
    Go to Start > Run
    Type cmd and click OK
    Type ipconfig

  4. Save your file as Sirius.m3u

Install Galleon

  1. Download and install the TiVo Desktop if you're not already running it

  1. Download Galleon

  2. Install Galleon using default options

  3. Check Launch configurator and click OK

  4. Click File > New App

  5. Select Playlists from Type drop-down menu

  6. Click OK

  1. Type Sirius Stream in Name field

  2. Click the ellipse button and browse to sirius.m3u

  3. Click Add

  4. Click Apply

  5. Close Galleon configuration utility

THE PAYOFF

  1. Both Galleon and TiVo services should automatically start

  1. Launch SHOUTcast DNAS

  2. Launch Winamp

  3. Log on to Sirius and choose your station

  4. On TiVo Central, select Music, Photos, & More

  5. Select Playlists

  1. Select Sirius Stream > Sirius > Play

Notes

If you run into problems, make sure your SHOUTcast and Galleon ports are available through any PC firewall software you may be running. Additionally, you may have to futz with the options in your sound card's Recording applet to pass the audio. If use the Voume Control applet to lower the sound on your PC, you'll also lower the volume on your TiVo. Therefore, you should lower the volume on your external speakers only. Eventually you may want to modify various SHOUTcast DNAS settings (C:\Program Files\SHOUTcast\sc_serv.ini), such as password and port, using the guide found here.

The software referenced in this tutorial is also available for OSX, so in theory it will work on your Mac... though we wouldn't count on it. We haven't forgotten the DirecTV TiVo owners in the house – if you've hacked your box, JavaHMO will stream audio in lieu of Galleon.

Those of you with XM subscriptions may want to check out XM Portal, a TiVo HME app under development for recording, playback, and channel control.