Play Sirius Internet Radio on Linux Computer
Friday, November 30, 2007 at 11:26AM I am posting this because I finally found a solution to a problem that I have been unable to solve for some time. The Sirius Internet Radio player uses an ActiveX plugin to stream audio over the internet. Since computers that use Linux do not have this ActiveX plugin, I thought it was impossible to use Sirius' Internet player. I have since seen some crazy hacks in the Ubuntu forums where people bend over backwards to get it working. Recently though I found a very simple solution which uses a Mozilla Firefox Extension to redirect the audio stream to a media player within Linux and it works perfectly.
These instructions are a slightly modified version of what is found in the Ubuntu Guide which is a very useful resource for setting up an Ubuntu installation.
Enable Sirius Internet Radio for Firefox
- Install VLC
- Install the firefox media player connectivity plugin
- Launch the Sirius Player
After authenticating, you will now be able to select which stream to play. Selecting the stream will launch VLC automatically (if you have configured the plugin to do so).
Linux 
Reader Comments (11)
Dude Thanks!!!! I have been messing with this off and on for a while, found your blog, and was up and listening in 2 minutes.
Anyone else following after me, make sure you run the setup wizard for the mediaplayerconnectivity extension before trying to listen.
Glad I found your site, because I have been wondering how I would get this to work. Nice thing about Linux is that there's a solution to virtually any problem you can think of already solved by someone else. Thanks for posting this.
Works with Totem too! Great simple solution... Nice job!
By the way, just for giggles, the BEST (in my opinion) CHANNEL On Sirius is Little Steven's Underground Garage. Channel 25. Check it out. It might be me, but the vlc option seems to increase the quality of the stream too.
Thanks,
Babe Ruthless
I'm running suse 10.0. Works like a champ. THANKS!
Thanks for this blog entry, it got me up and going in nothing flat.
By the way, I don't have vlc installed, but the firefox plugin was able to use linux mplayer with no problem.
Hey just a extra link for people who maybe running a Redhat clone or something this is a great entry:
http://sabarish4u.wordpress.com/2008/07/14/install-vlc-videolan-on-centos-system/
I've been looking on and of for this too. But now that I found a free wireless AP at work, I can listen to Stern@work. :)
Listening to a Sybian ride while working is quite fun :)
Thanks!
I have no idea if you ever see comments to blog posts you made this long ago, but I had been using exactly the method you describe to listen to my Sirius subscription on my Linux netbook. Then last weekend Sirius made some technical changes I can't explain personally, but seem to be well summarized at this address: http://forums.geekstoolbox.com/showthread.php?t=25577
Anyway, the Firefox MediaConnectivity/VLC combination no longer works, although I suspect someone who is technically savvy (not me) might be able to get it to work again, incorporating the changes Sirius just made. I'll check back in a few days to see if this has drawn your attention. Cool blog. I used to do a lot of electronic assembly hobby work in the bygone days of analog-only circuits.
Joel,
Thanks for the info. I haven't used the Sirius streaming in a while so I didn't realize they had made changes. I'll have to investigate this issue further.
I've been struggling with this for a while, finally you helped me. :) Actually, I installed the plugin you suggested, but the vlc option did not work, so I had to set Windows Media to open with totem instead (AutoPlay as well as SmartPlay enabled) and that seemed to work!