VLC – VideoLAN

VLC is a media player – Open Source and free – and capable of playing just about any type of sound or video file you might enouncter. As an added kick, it allows you to record web streams such as Radio nan Gàidheal, apart from all its other snazzy features. You can download it here; it will get installed in English first but switching to Gaelic is easy, just go to Tools (or on MacOSX, to VLC) » Preferences » Language » Menus Language » Gàidhlig. That’s it!

There’s a beta for Android phones too (here). After installing it, you have to do the following:

Open VLC and press the Menu button on your phone:

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Usually at the bottom left of your handset. The tap Preferences:

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And then Advanced:

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Then Set Locale (lovely name, I know…):

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Put Gd (the ISO code for Gaelic):

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The you have to restart:

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But that’s it:

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FAQ

1. Can I bookmart RnaG so I don’t have to enter the path every time?

Yes but not inside VLC itself as it has no bookmarks or favourites. But here’s what you can do in Windows (it might work onMacs too, not sure): Right-click on the screen and pick New » Shortcut:

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Now, copy the following string (all of it, including the two ” “) and paste it into the address field: “C:\Program Files (x86)\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc.exe” http://bbc.co.uk/radio/listen/live/rng.asx

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The click Next and give it a name:

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That’s it, it will put an icon with a shortcut on your desktop and if you click it, it will open (in this case) RnanG for you:

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2.Na, I just want to play it

Sure. You’ll need the RnanG link, http://bbc.co.uk/radio/listen/live/rng.asx, copy it and then open VLC and click on Meadhan » Fosgail sruth lìonraidh:

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Paste the link:

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and then click Cluich. That’s it:

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3. And how do I record stuff?

Quite similar to opening a stream. Copy the link http://bbc.co.uk/radio/listen/live/rng.asx and then open VLC and click on Meadhan but then Sàbhail/Iompaich:

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Past the address into the field:

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Then click on Brabhsaich and tell VLC what you want to call the file and where to put it:

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Putting the file extension, in this case .mp3, is important. Then click Save and on the next screen, click on the dropdown and select mp3 again:

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And then Tòisich:

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That’s it recording now.

3. I won’t be around when my program comes on, can I time this?

Errr… yes but it’s not entirely straightforward. Craig wrote a bit of code which will do that for you but unless the thing below looks vaguely familiar to you, you probably don’t want to try:

rem %1 = feed http://bbc.co.uk/radio/listen/live/rng.asx
rem %2 = duration 10 seconds
rem assumes dd/mm/yyyy format (UK)
SET DAY=%DATE:~0,2%
SET MTH=%DATE:~3,2%
SET YR=%DATE:~6,4%
SET HR=%TIME:~0,2%
SET HR0=%TIME:~0,1%
IF “%HR0%”==” ” SET HR=0%TIME:~1,1%
SET MIN=%TIME:~3,2%
SET SEC=%TIME:~6,2%
SET MYDATE=%YR%%MTH%%DAY%-%HR%%MIN%%SEC%
set feed=%1
IF %1.==. set feed=”http://bbc.co.uk/radio/listen/live/rng.asx”
call :get_file %feed%
SET duration=%2
if %2.==. set duration=3000
cd %USERPROFILE”\Documents\Internet\Radio”
“C:\Program Files (x86)\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc.exe” –run-time=%duration% %feed% –sout=”#transcode{acodec=mp3,ab=128,channels=2,samplerate=44100}:std{access=
file,mux=raw,dst=’%_name%-%MYDATE%.mp3′}” vlc://quit

exit

:get_file
SET _name=%~nx1
set _name=%_name:~0,3%
GOTO:EOF

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