Playing your own music in world can be very nice and add personal
ambience in your regions when wanted. While there are many ways to achieve
this i show here a simple approach using the open source VLC Media Player
that can be downloaded at https://videolan.org/vlc/
. The following comments and screen captures are a quick and simple
tutorial to achieve one task: have a music playlist streaming to your
region. Please take note that i don’t pretend by any means to be an expert
in media streaming but i share a simple procedure that worked well for me.
Note: before continuing you should port forward 8080 port on router (both
tcp and udp protocols to make sure since you will need a dedicated open
port for streaming). It can be another port number but default for VLC is
8080. Look at your router settings and make sure you have an open port
that can be used for streaming.
After downloading and installing VLC start the program and go the Media/Open
File menu, select your files and open these for importing into VLC:
Once files added we will make a VLC format playlist and save to computer:
(The playlist must be a VLC native .XSPF file type.)
Before streaming that playlist we will customize some playlist settings:
make songs play randomly and never stopping until we close VLC.
Tool/Preferences:
Use radio button to show all settings and not only simple ones:
In Playlist section tick [Play files randomly forever] and [Repeat all] then
[Save] button:
Go back to Playlist in VLC player (View/Playlist):
We will now stream the playlist with Media/Stream:
Click [Add] button:
Select VLC playlist made earlier (.xspf file):
Click [Stream] at bottom:
Click [Next] on the wizard window:
Now specify the destination, which is [HTTP] in our case:
Click [Add] button:
In next window just click [Next] if you have port 8080 open in your
router. If its not the case you will have to port forward 8080 (both TCP
and UDP protocols) or another port number if you want:
See at your router settings and make sure you have port open before
continuing. Leave Path section as it is.
Streaming URL will use your IP address and specified port number with the
following syntax « http:// » + Your IP address + « : » + Port number.
Select your transcoding. Here we can choose [Audio-MP3] but there are other
possibilities:
It is possible to adjust transcoding options though default values can
be kept as they are:
Click [Next] in Stream Output window:
Click [Stream] button:
(Note: you can tick [Stream all elementary streams] if you want but it is
not necessary)
You should see the Stream starting:
You can reduce VLC window to systray; the server part is working and
streaming on the web now.
You won’t ear music at that point. VLC server part is now streaming music on
internet, like a web radio station. We now need to set our region to receive
signal and play in world.
In this example i use Firestorm
Viewer but the procedure is mainly the same with all viewers.
Go to World/Parcel Details:
In Sound tab add Music URL that way: « http:// » + Your IP address + « :
» + Port number
If you have purchased a domain then Music URL can be entered that way: «
http:// » + Your domain name + « : » + Port number
Examples
http://70.67.128.103:8080
http://mydomainname.com:8080
After done click on [+] button – Add music Stream URL to saved stream list
(PS: do not try URL above, it won’t work since it is just an example)
For those who have access to Open Simulator server, it is possible to set
music URL directly in database with [MusicURL] field located in [land]
table:
Start audio stream and music should start after few seconds. You might
need to toggle button but it should work.
While you can have your stream URL only it is also possible to add it into a
radio among other stations:
It is also possible to change the currently playing song if wanted by
working in VLC streaming playlist; selecting a new track will update the
stream after few seconds:
Feel free to explore all possibilities and enjoy the music streaming.
Note: remember that streaming requires a high speed internet connection and
gets more demanding as number of listeners increase. A home hosted region
with a decent computer and internet speed should permit a streaming for 5-10
people simultaneously without problem and maybe more, but don’t expose and
send your music URL to everyone in the metaverse. Direct streaming from your
computer isn't like if you are using a dedicated streaming server (like Shoutcast for
example). Too many simultaneous listeners will cause your streaming to lag
and grab all your uploading bandwidth; at worst case you can close port in
router and use another one. That said, it is a simple, quick and well
working free alternative to stream your music and other medias too.
