Question

Want a player (easy enough to put up) that plays back a directory of mp3s in such a way that if you join at 3:33:33 pm, you hear what others hear, not track one. like a pseudo broadcast/stream. how do i achieve that – what looks nice / is probably minimizable / is easy?

i am trying to use mirvling but no such luck. any ideas?

Answer 1

It’s unlikely you’re going to find something to drop in place. Plus, this isn’t typically handled on the client side of things. You neglected to specify what languages and what not that you are using, so I’ll provide a general answer.

There are two methods to accomplish this.

Method 1: Encode the stream on the server

Basically with this, you create an audio stream on the server that is made up of the audio files being played back. The clients play an audio stream like any traditional “live” internet radio station, without knowledge of how the stream was created. You can use SHOUTcast/Icecast for the servers, and a number of different source stream encoders, such as Ices.

Method 2: Make the media available and let the clients figure it out

For this, you’ll be starting from scratch. Have a JSON feed or similar served up that contains a playlist of the audio files that should be played and when. On the client side, you can use JWPlayer or similar, and seek to the desired position of the current track when it starts, and then play tracks in order from there.