Read Me

README for XDRadio

XDRadio is a simple XDialog wrapper for FM radio listening.
It use MPLayer for the listening and v4l2-ctl to commute
between stereo and mono. It also launch alsamixer with the
corresponding sound card and capture view.
XDRadio can also watch and grab a video input with the sound
from a stereo input.

The main advantage of XDradio over the other radio program is that it use PCM audio.
That way, you don't need an audio cable between the radio and the sound card.
I wrote it becuase of this, my sound card doesn't have an internal audio connection.

If you want to record the radio, the best way is to use a JACK or ALSA recorder.


As my radio card do have a S-Video input, and XDRadio is basiquely a mplayer wrapper,
I added the possibility to watch and record a video input at the same time than
a sound input.

Finally, I was not only abble to listen to the radio but also
to record my old VHS collection into my PC. So, if this software
can be usefull to you, it's just fine.
As always with software, I make no gvaranty of any kind. The license information
is into the COPYING file.


# Installation #
################
See INSTALL


# Usage #
#########
The best way ro run XDRadio is to run it from a console.
That way, you will be able to see the output of mplayer and mencoder.
The cropdetect feature is mean to work that way.

# Configuration #
#################
In this version, all the preferences are avaible from inside XDRadio.

########################################################
# If updating from a previous version,                 #
# please move or remove ~/.config/xdradio/xdradio.conf #
# before starting XDRadio                               #
########################################################

# Radio stations configuration
The system wide stations list is stored into /etc/config/xdradio/xdradio_stations.conf
The user stations list is ~/.config/xdradio/xdradio.conf. The first time you will
click on the Edit Station List button, XDRadio will create the user station list
from the system stations list before to launch the edit box.

# file xdradio_stations.conf
The syntax of this file is the following:
 - 1 station per line
 - no comment allowed
 - no blanck line, even at the end of the file. That is, no final return, or you
   will get a blanck station into the list.
The syntax of one line is the following:
<frequency>,<name>,<bool>
   each value separated by a comma ","
- <frequency> in MHz, point "." as decimal separator
- <name> is the station name. It can contain space, but no comma. Please don't use
  special characters here. I guess that the saffest choice would be [A-Z,a-z,space]
  Accented charachters are working here, but I don't tested them all.
- <bool> can be on or off. Only one station can be on into the whole list, it will
  be the default choice of the list.

# S-Video #
###########
As my radio card is also a TV card with a S-Video input, I added the capability
to easily play and record the video stream comming in there. (use mplayer and
mencoder). See this like a bonus.

# Notes #
#########
I will not add the capability to record the radio into XDRadio.
It is very easy to use any good ALSA or JACK audio recorder for that.



# Thank you for using XDRadio
Dominique Michel