1

In our space, there are 8 x TV's each tuned to a different TV station. Due to the environment, we cannot have the TV speakers turned on.

I would like to create a network which streams audio from the 8 separate TVs over local wifi. The idea is the end user can open their browser and listen (by way of headphones) to any of the eight different channels. For example;

  • 192.168.1.100:8081 (TV1 Audio),
  • 192.168.1.100:8082 (TV2 Audio),
  • 192.168.1.100:8083 (TV3 Audio),
  • and so on...

My current thoughts on a solution is connecting an audio cable to each TV and plug them into a single 8-channel external hardware soundcard device such as this >

M-Audio Fast Track Ultra High-Speed 8x8 Soundcard USB 2.0 Interface [url]https://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-Fast-Track-Ultra-High-Speed/dp/B000Z8U0IY[/url]

Is it possible to connect this hardware via USB to something like a Raspberry Pi (RPi) and run an open-source audio server that can serve the eight separate audio streams over the local wifi network?

A few points;

  1. WiFi is mandatory as most of the users connect to the network this way.
  2. Some of the channels are delivered by cable so DVB TV tuner cards are not an option.
  3. The Linux box needs to be something compact hence the RPi reference.
  4. Audio quality can be lo-fi - thinking 128kpbs mono - should this keep resources / stream more reliable.

A couple of questions;

  1. Is there a piece of Linux software with a command-line interface that can read the USB data from the hardware soundcard and stream the different audio channels?
  2. If the software is available, will the RPi be powerful enough to serve approx 100 concurrent users over wifi?

Any help or feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you :-)

Improve this question

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
1

If the audio inputs are correctly configured, you can use the method in this answer (or any answer to that question).

The only difference would then be multiple instances of VLC.

(Sorry for the short answer, but I can't currently test the method. Hopefully it'll be the direction you're looking for.)

Improve this answer
1

There is hardware commercially available today that will accept multiple audio inputs and broadcast them over Wi-Fi to smart devices (phones, tablets...) with the use of apps. See Listen Technologies, Williams Sound, Sennheiser, along with a few other smaller companies.

Improve this answer
-1

I've been doing some experimenting with audio networks. As a musician, I've longed to be able to produce music with friends virtually.

This should help: https://learn.adafruit.com/usb-audio-cards-with-a-raspberry-pi/instructions

Improve this answer
1
  • Can you please read How to Answer to understand what we need. Link only answers are not useful here.
    – Rory Alsop ♦
    Commented Dec 13, 2017 at 9:04

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.