Playing Internet Streams in XBMC and OpenElec

1 Playing Internet Streams in XBMC

There are two ways this can be done, either via a custom .STRM file or a standard playlists (.PLS or .M3U).

1.1 The .STRM file method:

Create a normal text-file and rename the .txt extension to .strm then open it up with a text-editor (like Notepad in Microsoft Windows) and input the the direct URL-link of the stream.

This should look like:

http://host/path/stream

or

mms://host/path/stream

or

rtsp://host/path/stream

Other protocols are supported such as http://host/path/to/somefile.mp3. Then save/copy the .strm file to somewhere where you can open it from XBMC, (like on a SMB/SAMBA, XBMS or UPnP share, or just your local hard drive), like you would with any video/audio file. Open it using play in XBMC under My Videos (if it is a video stream) or My Music (if it is an audio stream). If the video stream does not work then the URL-link could be wrong, or possibly the codec/format or the network-protocol it uses it not supported by XBMC.

If you are creating a list of playlists (for example internal and external Shoutcast streams), save the pls or strm files into a directory accessible by XBMC and add the directory as the source, not the files themselves.

1.2 The standard playlists (.PLS or .M3U) method:

Download a supported playlist (like .PLS or .M3U) file from the internet, (these playlist files can often be found on the website of the web-radio stations or TV web-casts websites). For example stream.pls or something else, (you can rename it to whatever you want but keep the same extension). Then save/copy the .strm file to somewhere where you can open it from XBMC, (like on a SMB/SAMBA, XBMS or UPnP share, or FTP it to the local hard-drive in the XBMC device), like you would with any video/audio file. Open it using play in XBMC under My Videos or My Music (if it is a video stream, respectively a audio stream). If the video stream does not work then the URL-link could be wrong, or possible the codec/format or the network-protocol it uses it not supported by XBMC. You can check and edit playlists with a normal text-editor (like Notepad in Microsoft Windows).

2 Adding STRM files to the library

You can associate meta-data, such as cover art and summaries, to a .strm file just like normal entries in a library by using an NFO file, just as you would for a normal video file.

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If you have a stream on the internet which is shown in a flash video player: most of those streams use adobes rmtp prtotocol which is supported by xbmc. So basicly, if you want those channels as a file in your OE box you will have to find out the correct parameters for the stream. The best solution i found:
Download Mediabox and install: www.hensence.com/en/mbox/
Run it (requires admin rights)
Run your browser with admin rights (right click 'run with admin rights')
go to your streaming site and watch stream,
now, mediabox will detect the stream, if it is rmtp you are lucky and can use it in xbmc...
open mediabox(double click in system tray) right click on corresponding stream > download with blader...
blader will open and display a context menu window with a textarea where the right options are displayed. Copy those and put everithing into a *.strm file
I discovered that flash version and tcUrl can be dismissed. YOu will have to try on your own.

Here is an example:
Blader shows:

url: rtmp://109.163.230.194/live/pro7
app: live
flashVer: WIN 10,3,183,7
pageUrl: http://www.youfreetv.net/index.php?section=channel&value=pro7
swfUrl: http://www.youfreetv.net/includes/player.php?id=1
tcUrl: rtmp://109.163.230.194/live
playPath: pro7

Line in *.strm file:

rtmp://109.163.230.194/live/pro7 app=live pageUrl=http://www.youfreetv.net/index.php?section=channel&value=pro7 swfUrl=http://www.youfreetv.net/includes/player.php?id=1 playpath=pro7

save your file in OE filesystem and play it just like you would with a video. But DONT try to use your up/down keys to switch 'programs'. You would have to use stop and select another file...