Friday, January 25, 2013

How To Play TuneIn Radio Pro Recordings

TuneIn Radio Pro (Android app) makes recordings in whatever format (MP3, AAC, WMA, etc) a source streams in, but does not create legal container files, making recordings (deliberately) hard to play outside of TuneIn.

To determine the format of a given source, start a manual recording and note the format shown on the TuneIn screen.

To play a recording, copy the file from the TuneIn folder on the device to a computer, and rename the file to give it an appropriate file extension; e.g., .mp3 for MP3 audio. The file should now be playable with VLC Media Player. (See example in Comments.)

To play with other players less forgiving of file format issues, it will need to be converted with a tool like foobar2000 or Audacity.

UPDATES

  1. This method does not appear to work with WMA streams. See if MP3 stream is available.
  2. In same cases TuneIn makes a recording in multiple file segments, with additional segments named -001, -002, etc.
  3. VLC Media Player on a computer can be used to transcode a network stream on the fly to any desired format.
  4. As of version 10 (October 2013), recordings appear to have been moved from open storage to protected app storage, which can't be accessed without rooting the phone.

56 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Checked with TuneIn Radio Pro 7.1, and this method DOES still work, so try these EXACT steps:
      1. Play station KALW (91.7 | KALW) in TuneIn.
      2. Select "64k MP3" stream (Menu > Options > Choose Stream).
      3. Start recording, wait, then stop recording.
      4. Copy recording file from TuneIn folder to computer by email.
      5. Rename recording file with ".mp3" extension.
      6. File opens properly in VLC media player 2.0.5, Audacity sound editor 2.0.3, foobar2000 1.2.4, etc.
      (It does NOT open properly in Quicktime Player or Windows Media Player.)

      Delete
    2. Try this:
      1: Record the radio
      2: plug phone into computer, open it up and find the recording in the 'tunein' folder.
      3: copy file to computer
      4: right click on file and open with VLC Media Player
      5: Enjoy.

      VLC also has an option to convert audio to other formats such as MP3

      Delete
  2. Yeah, it really work for me, thks, VLC player is the best ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I had to use audacity to correct whatever Tunein Radio did to the audio file. maybe they add something to the file header so the music player does not understand but VLC can correct on the fly without telling you.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I just made a recording, but nothing works. In TuneIn the recording is played very fast and on desktop I can't get it to work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Try these EXACT steps:
      1. Play station KALW (91.7 | KALW) in TuneIn.
      2. Select "64k MP3" stream (Menu > Options > Choose Stream).
      3. Start recording, wait, then stop recording.
      4. Copy recording file from TuneIn folder to computer by email.
      5. Rename recording file with ".mp3" extension.
      6. File opens properly in VLC media player 2.0.5, Audacity sound editor 2.0.3, foobar2000 1.2.4, etc.
      (It does NOT open properly in Quicktime Player or Windows Media Player.)

      Delete
  5. thanks a lot man what u said is really working for me.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mine does not work... Please help! I tryed many ways including exacly the steps you gave here but unsuccessfully.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Checked with TuneIn Radio Pro 7.1, and this method DOES still work, so try these EXACT steps:
      1. Play station KALW (91.7 | KALW) in TuneIn.
      2. Select "64k MP3" stream (Menu > Options > Choose Stream).
      3. Start recording, wait, then stop recording.
      4. Copy recording file from TuneIn folder to computer by email.
      5. Rename recording file with ".mp3" extension.
      6. File opens properly in VLC media player 2.0.5, Audacity sound editor 2.0.3, foobar2000 1.2.4, etc.
      (It does NOT open properly in Quicktime Player or Windows Media Player.)

      Delete
  7. version 7.1 of Tunein Radio Pro is not existed. The latest one is 4.0.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tunein Radio Pro is now version 8.0 on Android.

      Delete
  8. Yes, but I'm using iPhone. The latest version for iPhone is 4.0. What can I do? Please help me.

    Thank you so much.

    ReplyDelete
  9. With recent iplayer stream recordings this method doesn't work anymore. Until now I've been able to record BBC Radio 1 and Radio 3 aac streams, copy the files to PC and add extention .acc and they play in VLC, but recent recording seem to have extra containers, possibly .mp4a which I can't extract. Now with version 8.0

    ReplyDelete
  10. With what versions of Tunein I can extract the recording ?? I'm on iphone using the latest version 4.0

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This tip is about Android, not iPhone, apologies.

      Delete
  11. In Audacity audio editor, import, save as mp3.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, but that transcodes the recording, which reduces audio quality, so it's best to play the original if possible.

      Delete
  12. In version 10 android they've now changed the folder and I can't find it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Right you are. Looks like v10 has moved recordings from open storage to protected storage, so you can't access them without rooting your phone.

      Delete
  13. Thanks for your reply. My phone is rooted, I'll try agin to find it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You may want to try ES File Explorer for root file operations.

      Delete
    2. so can you give the folder location? " protected app storage" is a bit vague.

      Delete
    3. I don't know the location. (Otherwise I would have listed it.)

      Delete
    4. Hi try

      system root/data/data/radiotime.player/cache then each recording is in a sperate folder with the extension tir

      Not sure what to do with them from here though.

      Delete
  14. I've got Root Explorer but it seems well hidden.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I have many recordings made with TuneIn Radio Pro of MP3 streams that I have copied to my computer and can, mostly, play with VLC. But I'd like to be able to edit these files or just convert them to a more standard mp3 container format without recoding. I am quite capable of using a hex editor on the headers, but I don't know where to find detailed information about the structure of the headers on TuneIn radio mp3 files.

    I've forgotten what I used to know about the structure of standard mp3 headers with ID3 tags, but I might be able to recover that knowledge by myself if I really have to. But I don't have the time or younger brain that would make it practical for me to figure out the TuneIn mp3 structure, so I'd appreciate any help I can get.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you can do this by streaming with VLC into an MP3 format file.

      Delete
  16. I have upgrade to Tunein Radio pro V11.1 and after the recording done, I can't find the file on my Android. It as a folder at /storage/sdcard0/Tunein Radio/, but it is empty ???? Help !!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Root /data /data /radiotime.player /cache
    i find archives in this local and need know what make now.

    ReplyDelete
  18. If you don't want to root your phone and want to revert back to a version prior to 10, and are worried about loosing your existing recordings, here is a simple way to get them off your phone:

    Just install Audacity on your PC
    set the line-in as your recording source
    run a patch cable from you Android headphone jack to your PC line in jack
    Press record on Audacity
    Press play in TuneIn for the given recording.

    Yes, it is a slow and putzy way to do things. but it allows you to backup what you have before reinstalling TuneIn. All that is left is to find an apk for version 9. I'll that to you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I found a copy of it online and it's i think version 8.(something i forgotten) and

      Delete
  19. I have root have any that I can make for use music in another player. But using just Android? Or I need one PC anyway?

    ReplyDelete
  20. how can i transfer a recording from my ipad to the iMac? I have completed a sync to iTunes but cannot find the file.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Te only fail-safe way I can think of is to get on Amazon and buy some blank cassettes, a cassette car adapter, an old boom box with hi-speed dubbing, and a USB cassette player, and recording that way. It's deliberately hard to convert tune-in recordings because big wigs in the music/radio industry is butt-hurt over us being able to obtain music without paying them SMH.

    ReplyDelete
  22. how to access the system root folder guys? my s4 is rooted and i have es file explorer

    ReplyDelete
  23. i did 3 long recording they keep disappearing wher do they go ? it looks like there still in my phone but how can i get to them help me please :(

    ReplyDelete
  24. Hi, there,

    I installed TuneIn Radio PRo on my iPad and where can I find the recording file? I would like to transfer it to my PC and edit it.

    Does anyone here know how to solve the problem?

    Thanks for your help in advance.

    Cheers,

    Gary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TuneIn recordings are stored in the app's cache memory. If you have recordings, you can delete them by clearing cache. How to save them from cache is beyond me. Suggestion: try then StreamHold app. It's $1, and well worth it.

      Delete
  25. Renaming .tir extension by .mp3 doesn't work. Nothing play on VLC. Maybe this trick doesn'T work anymore

    ReplyDelete
  26. Replies
    1. That's not relevant to this post, but this may be helpful:
      https://softron.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/207694617-HOW-TO-View-an-HLS-Stream-in-QuickTime-or-VLC

      Delete
  27. John... most (all?) of the suggestions and versions on this page are out of date. The files ARE stored openly on the phone, each in its own subfolder under "/TuneIn Radio" (I have v21.1 on Android) - they can easily be copied but they are not openable by any mp3 software that I have used yet - and I've tried many, many options.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I now use only VLC, which can transcode on the fly. See:
      https://tips.navas.us/search?q=vlc

      Delete
  28. As of December 12, 2018. The TIR files are no longer playable in VLC.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I now use only VLC, which can transcode on the fly. See: https://tips.navas.us/search?q=vlc

      Delete
  29. It appears as if tunein is watching this thread and every time we come with a workaround, they nix it.
    But why?? Geez.

    ReplyDelete
  30. copywright issue......of course they dont want to get screwed by radio stations. just put audio cables to your pc from your phone and record audio just like the old days......

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ugh. I much prefer to use VLC to record Internet radio.
      See my Record Internet Radio
      https://tips.navas.us/2013/02/record-internet-radio-vlc.html

      Delete