Campushopper Blogs - Blog Radio - Help

What is Blog Radio? Campushopper's Blog Radio is an audio feature that lets you play songs, audio clips, and radio stations in your blog. Users who visit your blog will hear Blog Radio, so think of it as the soundtrack to your blog. How do I turn on Blog Radio? To turn on Blog Radio in your blog, you have to first load an audio stream. Go to the 'Edit Blog Properties' page by clicking on the 'Edit Blog Properties' link (under your blog's title box and description). Click the 'Edit' button on the right side of the 'Blog Radio' row. You should now see a page with an 'Edit Blog Information' box that includes a 'Blog Radio' field and a submit button. You must paste a valid audio stream URL into the Blog Radio field. This includes streams ending in .wav, .asx, .asf, .mp3, and .ram. You can find audio streams for your Blog Radio by clicking 'Find a Station' underneath the Blog Radio field in the 'Edit Blog Information' box, or click here. To pick a valid stream from the list, right click on the link in the 'Listen/URL' column, copy it (choose 'Copy Shortcut' in Internet Explorer), and paste it into the Blog Radio field on the 'Edit Blog Information' page. Press 'Submit'. What is an audio stream? An audio stream is a music or audio file stream that can be accessed through a specific URL (web address) on the internet. An audio stream differs from a basic audio file in that audio streams are constantly being fed through the URL, unlike audio files that have a beginning and an end. Basically, audio files stop playing at some point, whereas audio streams are continuous. Campushopper will play either. Many radio stations offer audio streams, and with a little searching, you should be able to find many more audio streams online. A lot of audio clips are also available. Just try doing a search on 'Movie Sound Clips' in Google and you should find a lot. Campushopper supports audio streams and audio files ending in .wav, .asx, .asf, .mp3, and .ram. For example, http://www.hurontel.on.ca/fm945.asx is a valid audio stream. Where can I find audio streams for Blog Radio? Go to the 'Edit Blog Properties' page by clicking on the 'Edit Blog Properties' link (at the top of your blog's content area). Look for the 'Blog Radio' row and click the 'Edit' button on the right. In the 'Edit Blog Information' box, click the 'Find a Station' link, or click here. To preview each station in the list, click the link in the 'Listen/URL' column. To pick a station, right-click on the link, copy it (choose 'Copy Shortcut' in Internet Explorer), and paste it into the Blog Radio field on the 'Edit Blog Information' page. What audio file stream formats does Blog Radio support? Blog Radio supports audio streams and audio files ending in .wav, .asx (Windows Media), .asf (Windows Media), .mp3, and .ram (Real Player). For example, http://www.hurontel.on.ca/fm945.asx is a valid audio stream. Can I play short audio clips in Blog Radio? Yes. Campushopper Blog Radio will play short audio clips as long as they are in one of the formats specified above. Many audio clips are available online. Just try doing a search on 'Movie Sound Clips' in Google and you should find a lot of relevant results. My radio looks distorted and won't play? Update your browser to the latest version. 90% of the time this is the reason that Blog Radio won't play or looks distorted. Another reason that Blog Radio won't play or looks distorted is because you are running an old version of Windows Media Player, which you can update here. Note: If you are going to update Internet Explorer, you may not have to update Windows Media Player too. It should happen automatically, or you will be given an option to do so. A normal Blog Radio player looks similar to the picture below (the background color may be different) and can be found in the navigation bar at the top of your blog page after you activate Blog Radio.