I use the Chromecast and Radio App to listen to the radio scheduled.
I have found most Radio Stations.
But some radio streams I want to use are not MP3, while chomecast does support it.
I can not get my Chromecast to accept that URL.
But if I visit the website of the radio station, and stream from there, I can cast to Chromecast without any issue. So Now I am wondering what the URL is that the Chromecast is using while casting from the website.
How to find that?
Or even better how to cast M3U streams to Chromecast from my Homey, as that would also solve my issue.
It is most likely casting the website url to chromecast and chromecast simply passes the audio playing on the page through. I tested that with an early version of my Plex to Chromecast app for Homey. So I used an webpage embedded player to play audio but I ditched that approach for various reasons.
Maybe I am getting off topic, but as I have understood it is possible to stream m3u8 links to chromecast with Home assistant, see https://community.home-assistant.io/t/svt-play-and-chromecast/72713/2, without using any other apps. Obviously Emile has a bigger technical knowledge than me (the understatement of today, ha!) but it isn’t solvable in some way by defining that the m3u8 link actually contains a mp4 file, similar to the HA example?
When you cast the http://icecast.omroep.nl/radio1-sb-mp3 you might notice that the stream starts very fast. To compare it with http://icecast.vrtcdn.be/stubru-high.mp3 you can click on both links so it opens up in for example chrome browser builtin player (or VLC if you like). You will see the VRT link needs at least 5 seconds more to start compared with the omroep.nl stream.
Why the difference you might ask?
To test I installed icecast on a local debian 10 server (icecast from debian repo which was in fact the latest version). I configured a permanent (on-demand=false) relay of the studio brussel stream. Then I tweaked all possible settings (from http header to buffer/no buffer, burst/no burst, http/https, port 80/8000, …) searched for all I could find on the internet. Nothing could resolve the issue.
In the end I checked the version of omroep.nl icecast and noticed a small detail => Icecast 2.4.0-kh15 (mind the kh15!!!)
I removed icecast from debian, downloaded the source code of Icecast 2.4.0-kh15 and compiled it on my debian. Then configured the relay from stubru and POEF → casting from the local icecast works like a charm, stream loads as fast as the omroep.nl stream.
So in the end, my chromecast devices (Marshall multiroom radio) could not process the delay/buffer and failed to stream the original iceast stream from VRT, but relaying it through my local Icecast 2.4.0-kh15 the delay/buffer disappeard and all works well.
In conclusion: the icecast KH version pushes the stream way faster, I don’t know why… Anyway, I shared this all here for fellow listeners who want to fix this sort of issue. (but you need your own server)
I doubt that the radostation will even try to do what I did when I would suggest it
One small downside: I only have a partially functional http interface of icecast (no admin interface), something to figure out when I have a lot of free time, but it is far from critical as the page with mountpoints is available.
