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Internet Radio

ECHO’s internet radio feature is simple: paste a playable http:// or https:// stream URL and play it.

The important distinction is this: a radio web page is not the same thing as a radio stream URL. ECHO needs the direct audio stream, such as:

https://example.com/live.mp3
https://example.com/stream
http://example.net:8000/radio

Quick Setup

Section titled “Quick Setup”
  1. Open ECHO’s Connect page.
  2. Find the Internet Radio section.
  3. Play one of the built-in stations first.
  4. To add your own station, find a direct public stream URL.
  5. Enter a station name.
  6. Paste the stream URL.
  7. Click Play.
  8. If it works, click Favorite.

Current ECHO radio rules:

ItemRule
Supported URLhttp:// and https://
Unsupported URLmms://, rtsp://, rtmp://, URLs with username/password
Saved stationsUp to 40
PlaybackECHO plays the live stream directly
MetadataStation name becomes the title; artist is Internet Radio
ConnectECHO disconnects active Connect casting before radio playback

Playing A Built-In Station

Section titled “Playing A Built-In Station”
  1. Open Connect.
  2. Scroll to Internet Radio.
  3. Click the play button next to a built-in station.
  4. Check the bottom player.
  5. Confirm audio plays.

If built-in stations work, ECHO’s network playback path is working. If a custom station fails afterward, the issue is usually the URL, the station server, or your network route.

Adding Your Own Station

Section titled “Adding Your Own Station”
  1. Enter a readable station name.
  2. Paste a direct stream URL.
  3. Click Play.
  4. If it works, click Favorite.
  5. The saved station appears in the list.

Test before saving. Many directories list multiple stream links, and some links are stale, browser-only, or region-limited.

Where To Find Stations

Section titled “Where To Find Stations”

Use legal public station directories and official station pages. Avoid pirated relays, private member APIs, packet-captured temporary URLs, and sources that bypass access control.

Radio Browser

Section titled “Radio Browser”

Radio Browser is an open community radio database. It is useful for searching by country, language, tag, codec, and bitrate.

Recommended workflow:

  1. Search by station name, country, language, or genre.
  2. Open the station entry.
  3. Copy the direct stream URL, not just the web page.
  4. Prefer MP3 or AAC when multiple streams exist.
  5. Paste the URL into ECHO and test.

Useful searches:

GoalSearch terms
Japanese popjpop, j-pop, anime
Classicalclassical, baroque, piano
Jazzjazz, smooth jazz
Ambientambient, downtempo
Newscountry name plus news

TuneIn

Section titled “TuneIn”

TuneIn is useful for discovering station names, regions, and official websites, but it may not expose a direct stream URL.

If TuneIn does not give a stream URL:

  1. Open the station’s official website.
  2. Look for Listen Live, Stream, MP3, AAC, M3U, or PLS.
  3. Copy the direct stream URL into ECHO.

SHOUTcast And Icecast

Section titled “SHOUTcast And Icecast”

Many internet radio stations use SHOUTcast or Icecast. Their directories often expose .m3u, .pls, /stream, or /live.mp3 links.

Common clues:

  • listen.pls
  • listen.m3u
  • stream
  • live.mp3
  • ;stream.mp3
  • :8000/

If you get an .m3u or .pls file, open it as text and copy the real http/https URL inside.

M3U And PLS

Section titled “M3U And PLS”

M3U example:

#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:-1,Example Radio
https://stream.example.org/live.mp3

Paste the https://stream.example.org/live.mp3 line into ECHO.

PLS example:

[playlist]
NumberOfEntries=1
File1=https://stream.example.org/live
Title1=Example Radio
Length1=-1

Paste the File1= URL into ECHO.

Format Advice

Section titled “Format Advice”
FormatAdvice
MP3Best compatibility
AAC / M4ACommon and efficient
OGG / OpusMay work, but compatibility varies
FLAC radioHigher bandwidth; more sensitive to network issues
HLS .m3u8Prefer a normal MP3/AAC stream first

For radio, stability matters more than the highest bitrate.

Troubleshooting

Section titled “Troubleshooting”

No sound

Section titled “No sound”
  1. Test a built-in station.
  2. Try a different MP3 stream.
  3. Check system and ECHO volume.
  4. Switch audio output back to System or shared output.
  5. Disable proxy or VPN temporarily.
  6. Test the URL in a browser or another player.

ECHO says the URL is invalid

Section titled “ECHO says the URL is invalid”

Check:

  • It starts with http:// or https://.
  • There are no leading/trailing spaces.
  • It is not a web page URL.
  • It is not mms://, rtsp://, or rtmp://.
  • It does not contain username/password credentials.

It stops after a while

Section titled “It stops after a while”

Possible causes:

  • The station server is unstable.
  • The URL uses a temporary token.
  • The bitrate is too high.
  • Proxy, VPN, campus, or company network routing is unstable.
  • The station blocks some regions or clients.

Use an official long-lived stream URL when possible.

Section titled “Legal Boundary”

Use legal public streams. ECHO does not provide radio content, host audio, bypass region locks, crack member APIs, or document how to capture protected temporary URLs.

References

Section titled “References”