The TuneIn Radio task enables you to find and listen to internet radio using the vast and powerful TuneIn Radio directory. You can find radio stations and shows by either browsing or searching the TuneIn Radio database.
At its core, the TuneIn Radio task works in exactly the same way as other media tasks. Instructions on how to use this type of task can be found here
It is also assumed that you have already configured SpeakOn with the username and password for TuneIn Radio - see the previous page for instructions on how to do this.
The TuneIn Radio directory supports stations and shows. 'Stations' are internet radio stations transmitting over one or more streams of the same content. 'Shows', known also as programmes, refer to radio programmes. These can be broadcast either simultaneously or at different times. Both stations and shows are represented by the directories' structure and both can be preset.
The TuneIn Radio directory also contains thousands of podcast episodes. For a short description of what a podcast is, refer to the explanation here
The TuneIn Radio directory and SpeakOn support out-of-the-box common formats - mp3 and wma.
You can enable support for additional audio formats, notably Real and AAC, by easily installing external applications / plug-ins and this is explained here
Once you have installed these, the Player will automatically engage the right format behind the scene - depending on whether you have used all these formats before, you might be prompted by your firewall to let it through. Note that sometimes your firewall will block you without telling you about it - be aware that if the Player does not work, this can be the reason but once you sort it out, it should work smoothly.
The TuneIn Radio directory is vast and while every effort is made to keep the database accurate, it is inevitable the some stations' information may be incorrect. The station may have moved to a different URL in which case you will get an error message in the Player. If you find that a station is consistently giving an error please report this to TuneIn Radio using the built in facility from the Main menu described further below. Also note that some stations do not broadcast 24 hours a day; this may either generate an error message or the station will simply be silent.
The following are basic instructions to get you started; please read the following pages for more information and examples of use.
Similar to other media tasks, the TuneIn Radio task contains both Player and Library controls. The Library control presents the Radio Time directory tree. Explore the tree, select the station or show that you want to listen to and the focus is moved automatically to the Player and after a few seconds the station starts to play.
As mentioned above, every station has one or more streams. You will normally not need to navigate between streams as they broadcast the same content in the Player. The highest bitrate and most reliable stream always appears at the top and starts automatically. However, if you want to move between streams, just use the Up and Down keys in the Player in the usual way.
The tree in the Library contains a number of directory categories which are self explanatory. If you signed in, two additional categories are available; 'Local radio' and 'Favourites'.
What appears under the 'My local radio' directory in the Library depends on where you are geographically located. In the US, you should see your local stations (available on the internet of course); these are based on your IP address and the information you entered when registering with TuneIn Radio. Outside the US you will see the stations of your country; stations are categorized based on major cities.
Beside the usual SpeakOn way of operating the Player and Library, the task is operated using menu items under the Radio and Website sub-menus.
Note that detailed instructions of some operations follow further down the page.
The following applies if a station is played and the focus is on the Player. There are two TuneIn Radio specific sub-menus; 'Radio' and 'Website'.
Schedule for the playing station
This is a sub-menu from which you can view schedules for seven days ahead for main stations which supply this information to Tunein Radio. These include, for example, all major BBC stations. There is more information on schedules further below.
'On Demand shows for the playing station'
This is a sub-menu from which you can view all 'On Demand' shows for main stations which supply this information to Tunein Radio. These include, for example, all major BBC stations. There is more information on 'On Demand' shows for a particular station further below.
Index for all stations
This will take you to the Index view in the Library. Note that the Index view is still present as an additional library node in all other views so you can navigate to it by simply pressing rapidly left a few times and when reaching level 0, navigating down. You can also navigate to this view by pressing the 'Nav' [F4] (1) key which will take you to 'My presets' and then navigating up as you wish.
Search for radio stations or shows
This brings the 'Search for Radio stations or shows' task as before. You can also use the * 'Find' [Ctrl + F3] key to bring up this task.
Station recommendations for the playing station
This takes you to a recommendation view in the Library which gives you useful station recommendations you may like to explore, based on the station you are listening to.
Preset - add or remove
Add or remove stations or shows presets; more information about presets is provided further down this page.
TuneIn Radio Main page
Visit the Tunein Radio website.
Station's website
Visit the website of the station you are listening to.
Report problems with the playing station on the Tunein Radio webpage
This takes you directly to report a problem with the station you are listening to on the specific problem reporting page on Tunein Radio's website, where you can fill in details of the problem. Errors are usually corrected within a few days.
Note that with the above three items, your default web browser is started and you are taken automatically to your destination page.
Relevant items are displayed also when the focus is on the Library. Note that the choice is restricted when you listen to an episode from a show. For example, a specific episode cannot be preset.
When the focus is in the Library control, in the Main menu under the Radio sub-menu, you will find the 'Search for stations or shows' menu item. If you select it, a task appears with an edit box - enter your search keywords and press 'Select' [Enter] (5). A new directory called the 'Search Results' directory will appear in the Library with the results of your search - just browse it in the usual way and select a station or show to listen to.
Note that when you look for a station or show you can enter as many keywords as you like and they are logically 'AND-ed', similar to Google search. You can search for a station or show name, a genre, country, or a state etc.
When the focus is on the Player, you can add or remove station presets. Under the Radio sub-menu, you will find the menu items either 'Preset - add' or 'Preset - remove'.
Any station you preset will appear in the Library directories tree under Index > Favourites > Stations
(they are stored on the TuneIn Radio server).
This can be done from the Main menu when the focus is on the Library control only.
As mentioned above, the words 'Show' and 'Programme' refer to the same thing - if you navigate to a show in the Library, you get the stations that currently broadcast the show. Under each entry, you get the time remaining for the show or if it is not currently being broadcasted, the time remaining until the show starts somewhere.
You can also search for a show as described above or find a list of shows in a schedule described further below.
You can preset the show and you can find it then directly under
Index > Favourites > Shows
You can find brief information about a station and the current show if available by pressing the 'Info' [F2] (F: Info > Up 8) key. Similarily, you can find information about the current stream by pressing # 'Info' [Shift + F2] (F: Info > Right 6) key.
You can obtain schedules for 7 days for main stations which supply this information to Tunein Radio, from the Main menu when the focus is on the Player. Under the Radio sub-menu, navigate to 'Schedule for the playing station' and navigate right again; all 7 days' schedules are available to you.
Similarily, you can also find schedules when the focus is on a particular station in the Library. You will probably look at Today's schedule more often than for a few days ahead, and you can get this easily by pressing the 'Custom' [F9] key.
A schedule is displayed in the Library and you can find a list of all shows and their starting times. You can preset a show when the focus is on a particular show and you can navigate Right to either listen to the show if it is currently broadcasted live or find previous episodes in both podcasts and BBC 'Listen again' formats if available.
You can obtain a list for 'On Demand' shows for main stations which supply this information to Tunein Radio, from the Main menu when the focus is on the Player. Under the Radio sub-menu, navigate to 'On Demand shows for the playing station'.
Similarily, you can also find a list of 'On Demand' shows when the focus is on a particular station in the Library.
You can also get this list by pressing the * 'Custom' [Ctrl + F9] key.
The 'On Demand' list is displayed in the Library and you can find all shows. You can preset a show when the focus is on a particular show and you can navigate Right to either listen to the show if it is currently broadcasted live or find previous episodes in both podcast and BBC 'Listen again' formats if available.
As in all tasks, you can press * 'Select' [Ctrl + Enter] (0 + 5)
while positioned on the media in the Library. The media is loaded and available in the Player but the Player does not start to play. You can then browse the streams available and start to play in the usual way by pressing the 'Select' [Enter] (5) key.
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