How to Use Byurside (Formerly Known as iTunes Now Playing) Byurside is a popular open-source software tool designed for streamers, content creators, and music enthusiasts. It allows you to display your currently playing music directly onto your live stream or desktop overlay. Formerly known as “iTunes Now Playing,” the application has expanded its features far beyond Apple’s ecosystem.
Here is a comprehensive guide on how to set up and use Byurside to elevate your stream setup. 1. Installation and Initial Setup
Getting started with Byurside requires a quick download and configuration process.
Download: Visit the official GitHub repository or the developer’s website to download the latest release for your operating system.
Extraction: Extract the downloaded ZIP file to a permanent folder on your computer.
Launch: Run the main executable file (Byurside.exe on Windows).
Permissions: Grant any necessary administrator or firewall permissions if prompted by your system. 2. Connecting Your Music Players
Byurside supports a wide variety of media players. You need to tell the app where to look for your music.
Supported Players: The software reads data from Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, VLC, Foobar2000, and various web browsers via extensions.
Selection: Open the Byurside settings menu and navigate to the “Players” or “Sources” tab. Toggle Sources: Enable the specific media players you use.
Prioritization: Arrange the order of your players if you use multiple apps simultaneously, ensuring Byurside reads from your primary player first. 3. Customizing the Output Text
Byurside writes your music data to local text files. You can customize exactly how this text appears.
Output Files: The app automatically generates files like nowplaying.txt, artist.txt, and title.txt in its directory.
Formatting Tags: Use variables like %artist%, %title%, %album%, and %duration% to structure your output.
Custom Strings: Combine tags to create custom layouts (e.g., 🎵 Listening to: %title% by %artist%).
Blank State: Configure what the file displays when no music is playing, such as a custom message or absolute silence (blank text). 4. Setting Up the Album Artwork
Visuals add high value to your stream layout. Byurside handles album art seamlessly.
Artwork Extraction: The software automatically extracts the album cover art of the active song.
Image Output: It saves this artwork as a static image file (usually nowplaying.png or cover.png) in the application folder.
Automatic Updates: Every time the song changes, Byurside overwrites this image file with the new artwork in real-time. 5. Integrating with OBS Studio or Streamlabs
Once Byurside is running and generating files, you need to import them into your broadcasting software. Adding the Text Overlay Add a new Text (GDI+) source to your scene. Check the box labeled Read from file.
Browse and select the nowplaying.txt file from your Byurside directory.
Style the font, color, and scroll filters within OBS to match your stream aesthetic. Adding the Album Art Overlay Add a new Image source to your scene. Browse and select the nowplaying.png (or cover.png) file. Resize and position the image box on your screen.
OBS will dynamically update the graphic whenever the underlying file changes. Troubleshooting Common Issues
Text Not Updating: Ensure your media player is fully supported and that Byurside is running with proper system permissions.
Artwork Missing: Some web browsers or local files do not embed artwork metadata. Try testing with a standard streaming platform like Spotify or iTunes.
OBS Lag: If the text updates slowly, check the refresh rate settings inside Byurside to ensure it is writing data every few seconds.
To help tailor this guide further, let me know if you need help with browser extension setups, specific OBS CSS styling, or integrating alternative music players.
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