<page	xmlns="http://projectmallard.org/1.0/"
	type="guide"
	id="config_apps">

<info>
	<link type="guide" xref="configuration#apps"/>
	<desc>Common applications to use as players.</desc>
</info>

	<title>Audio players</title>

	<p>On BSD/Linux systems there are a plethora of audio players. In streamtuner2 you can
	configure most of them as target application. Mostly it makes sense to use a single
	application for all audio formats. But at least the */* media type should be handled
	by a generic player, like vlc.</p>

	<table shade="rows" rules="rows cols">
		<tr><td>Audacious</td><td>audacious %m3u</td><td>audio</td></tr>
		<tr><td>XMMS2</td><td>xmms2 %m3u</td><td>audio</td></tr>
		<tr><td>Amarok</td><td>amarok -l %pls</td><td>audio</td></tr>
		<tr><td>Exaile</td><td>exaile %m3u</td><td>audio</td></tr>
		<tr><td>Amarok</td><td>amarok -l %pls</td><td>audio</td></tr>
		<tr><td>mplayer</td><td>mplayer %srv</td><td>console</td></tr>
		<tr><td>VLC</td><td>vlc %u</td><td>video/*</td></tr>
		<tr><td>Totem</td><td>totem %u</td><td>video/*</td></tr>
		<tr><td>Media Player</td><td>mplayer2.exe %pls</td><td>Win32</td></tr>
	</table>

	<p>Some audio players open a second instance when you actually want to switch radios.
	In this case it's a common workaround to write <code>pkill vlc ; vlc %u</code> instead,
	which ends the previous player process and starts it anew.
        For VLC there's however also the option <code>--one-instance</code>, which sometimes
        works better.</p>

	<p>Some applications, like Rhythmbox or Banshee, are primarily audio browsers, not players,
        and cannot be invoked with a play URL by other apps. This makes them less suitable for use with
	streamtuner2.</p>

	<section id="abbr">
	<title>URL placeholders</title>
	<p>Any listed application can be invoked with a different kind of URL or filename.be invoked with a play URL by other apps.
	Which to use often depends on the application.</p>
	<table shade="rows" rules="rows cols">
		<tr><td>Placeholder</td><td>Alternatives</td><td>URL/Filename type</td></tr>
		<tr><td>%m3u</td><td>%f %g %m</td><td>Provides a local .m3u file for the streaming station</td></tr>
		<tr><td>%pls</td><td>%url %u %r</td><td>Either a remote .pls resource, or a local .pls file (if converted)</td></tr>
		<tr><td>%srv</td><td>%d %s</td><td>Direct link to first streaming address, e.g. http://72.5.9.33:7500</td></tr>
	</table>
	<p>You sould preferrably use the long forms. Most audio players like %m3u most, while
	streamripper needs %srv for recording.</p>
	</section>

</page>
