MP3 STATION

General description

This is a free, simple, light, LIRC-aware, text/curses frontend for mpg123 (or clones, such as mpg321), intended to be used under a generic Unix environment.
When I started writing it, I had in mind to use some old hardware to play mp3 files in a smarter way than any commercial player would, and without needing a GUI. The result is a lightweight player which is appropriate for desktop use as well as for more more limiting enviroments (like car stereo systems).

MP3 STATION has two main components, although for playback only one is necessary:

1. cm3s: Server part, that manages mpg123, that may run in background (this is the part needed for playback) and
2. client: A simple curses client that can instruct the server to change its behavior.

If you want, you are welcome to rewrite a client to suit any particular need you have. If you intend to do this you should read the Implementation and Server Protocol sections as well.
There is an example of a generic client implementation used in conjunction with lirc to control cm3s via InfraRed Remote Control. At present this is done by having irexec send commands directly to the cm3s. There is an example of this in the Doc/remores directory on the newer source releases.

You can read the Readme for more details concerning the functionality of these two components, or take a look at the Docs for any other concerns about status, bugs, server protocol, etc.
The news section should have the latest news on the project.
The documentation in the web tree may not be up to date; if this is a concern, you can find the most up to date one in the latest packages available among the downloads.

Main Features

• Restart of last playlist at last played track (even if list was randomized) if cm3s is started with no options.
• Transparent loading of directories, as if they are regular playlists, if they contain files that have mp3 or MP3 extensions. (Note: You can override this auto-loading by placing files in a subdirectory named "no_autoplay.").
• Transparent recompilation of playlists generated from directories when directory content changes.
• Optionally start playback at a given track (0 is first track).
• Optionally repeat playlist until a new one is loaded (this is the default).
• Optionally reverse the order of a playlist.
• Keep a repository of all the playlists that have been played (and relative last played track) so that when you reload the playlist by default you start at the last played track.
• A simple ncurses client for comunicating with cm3s.
• All programs run as a non-privileged user (set during configure process).
• Ifrared Remote controlled Client will be coming soon. Check here for updates.

There are some screenshots you can see of the console curses client that currently comes with the package, along with an example of the log produced by the server (with verbosity set to 1).

Work In Progress

It looks as if the Infrared Remote control system will come sooner than the external LCD panel. (Mainly due to the very good work done by the Lirc team)
Hopefully I'll also make a client for an external LCD panel in any case, so people can have some visual feedback, too.
The LCD panel will probably connect to the parallel port. This will come in very handy for those of you who intend to use it in a car. This panel will have to include a few buttons, so users can control the client even without the remote. I'll probably have to put some intelligence along with the panel (like a microcontroller). Obviously any hardware I use will be easily available, and any circuitry I make will be avalible along with any required programs for the MCU.

This software uses features common to most Unix-like platforms, so once I sort out the compilation issues it should be usable with nearly any Unix flavor. So far, I have had good success only on Linux platforms (architecture independent):

On any hardware running with Linux you are likely to be successful,
On any hardware running with BSD your chanches should now be as good as Linux, 
Digital OSF1 has good chances from version alpha1 or better,
Sun solaris has good chances too,
HP-UX has some trouble with curses,
I have no Mac OS X environment to do any testing on 
(but I'm sure that will have some trouble too).

In any case I hope to be able to sort these problems out during the configure process.

If you would like to try this software out you can download it. You are welcome to make changes to the software, but if you correct any bugs please let me know. This software is released under the terms of the GNU GPL; you should read the license terms before modifying or redistributing the software.

As with any GPL software, MP3 Station is freely usable without obligation: that is, you do not have to contribute in any way, but feel free to do so if you like. Besides all the GPL stuff, the author does appreciate recieving postcards from people who use the software, along with any constructive comments.
Have a look at the contacts for further details.