Radio2Podcast script

About script

Short destription

I created a Radio2Podcast (with help from GPT-4¹) to record radio shows and make them into podcasts. Some stations charge a subscription fee for access to archived broadcasts - this script is a clever workaround. The script also generates an RSS feed automatically, making it easy to listen later in a podcast app. Script can be used to archive radio broadcasts. You can choose a station, set the recording duration, and save the files locally, to an FTP server and NextCloud.

Script can be downloaded here: Radio2Podcast 0.051

Usage

Before first use

Dependencies

If you are using debian based distro you can install everything at once by running this command in your terminal:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y python3 python3-pip ffmpeg && pip3 install webdavclient3 pod2gen paramiko

This will ensure all the necessary tools and modules are installed and ready to use.

Config file

The script relies on a configuration file named config.json to manage various settings. This file is essential for specifying how and where the recorded audio files should be saved, as well as controlling the format and quality of those recordings.

If you want to send recorded files to FTP server or NextCloud fill details like hostname, username, password. You can choose codec (mp3 or opus), bitrate, channels (stereo or mono) for every destination. If you do not need a different file format and quality - set them all the same. This way, the script won’t need to convert the local file before uploading it to FTP or NextCloud, which will reduce CPU usage.

The parameters local_max_files, ftp_max_files, and nextcloud_max_files allow you to control the number of recordings kept in each location. When set to 0, there is no limit on the number of recordings, and all recorded files will be saved without restriction. When set to a positive number, only the most recent recordings up to the specified number will be kept, and older recordings will be automatically deleted to maintain the specified limit.

Stations

Edit the stations.json file to include the radio stream URLs you want to record. If you’re unsure how to find a stream URL, you can use tools like FMStream to locate it. If the station website provides a .pls file, open it in a text editor to find the URL inside. In cases where the stream URL is hidden, you may need to inspect the website’s source code to extract it.

First use

This is example usage:

python3 r2p.py "BBC Radio 1" "Night Show" 15 -s local sftp ftp nextcloud

This will record 15 minutes of BBC Radio 1 stream. Audio file will be saved localy in folder /recordings/BBC Radio 1/Night Show, next file will be also send to FTP, SFTP and NextCloud.

So this is all parameters:

• Station name (e.g., “BBC Radio 1”)
• Program name (for organization in folders and filename)
• Recording duration (in minutes)
• Choose where to save (use -s or --save to specify where the recording should be saved. Options include local, ftp, and nextcloud. You can select one or more locations.)
  • The parameters -s or –save allow you to choose where the recording should be saved. For example:
    • Use -s local to save the file only locally.
    • Use -s ftp to save the file only on FTP.
    • Use -s local nextcloud to save the file locall and on NextCloud.
    • Use -s sftp to save only to SFTP.
    • Use -s local ftp sftp nextcloud to save the file in all fours locations.
• Pause and recording segments (use -p to set a sequence of recording and pause times in minutes):
  • For example, -p 10,2,8,1 means recording for 10 minutes, pausing for 2 minutes, recording for 8 minutes, pausing for 1 minute, and so on. This is useful for skipping parts like commercials.

This provides flexibility for your recordings. So another example:

python3 r2p.py "BBC Radio 1" "Morning Show" 25 -s local nextcloud -p 10,3,15

In this case, the script will record the BBC Radio 1 stream for a total of 25 minutes, saving the audio locally and on NextCloud. The recording will start for 10 minutes, then pause for 3 minutes, and resume recording for another 15 minutes. This allows you to skip unwanted sections, such as advertisements, by controlling the recording and pause segments.

Schedule recording

On Linux you can use crontab (Cron Table). This is guide how to do it. Sample line of crontab should look like this:

0 19 * * 1 python3 r2p.py "BBC Radio 1" "Night Show" 15 -s local ftp nextcloud

This will execute the script every Monday at 19:00, starting a 15-minute recording of the BBC Radio 1 Night Show and saving it locally, as well as uploading it to FTP and NextCloud.

RSS Feed Generation

The script automatically generates an RSS feed whenever a file is uploaded to the FTP server, turning your recorded shows into a podcast. Here’s how it works:

• The RSS feed (feed.xml) lists all audio files in the specified FTP directory, including details like podcast name, description, and publication dates.
• The feed references a cover image (podcast.jpg), which should be manually uploaded to the same FTP directory. In the future, the script will be able to generate a thumbnail image automatically.
• Each time a new recording is uploaded, the RSS feed is updated to include the latest episode.

This feature simplifies distributing your recorded radio shows as a podcast, making it easy for listeners to subscribe and receive new episodes automatically.