Filter
Previous and Next cycle through enabled favorites; station and favorite-page navigation wraps around. Without favorites, station navigation follows the normal tuning rules. NO ADS includes only confirmed ad-free stations. Apply uses your filters; Clear removes them. With no matches, Apply is disabled. Back discards pending changes.
Change visualization
The visualization icon in the info screen opens a full-screen list, including all random modes. DIRECT shows only supported effects. There are no manual mixing controls. Tap the visualization anywhere, or choose Off, to return to the main Car screen.
Car mode
Tap the microphone to start voice control; it never starts automatically. Use phone or car controls for volume. Car mode is remembered on this device and tries to keep the screen awake. Exit car mode returns to the full radio without interrupting playback.
Equalizer
- Advanced switches between five and seven bands, each with its own remembered settings. Sliders adjust by ±12 dB.
- Choose Flat, Bass Boost, Vocal Clarity, Warm, Bright or Rock. SAVE stores your own profile, including its band count; DELETE removes a saved profile.
- RESET returns the current band model to Flat. Automatic peak protection limits loud peaks when needed.
- DIRECT in the preset menu bypasses EQ and sound-reactive effects. Ambient effects and static Cover art remain available. Choose a preset or RESET to use EQ again.
- Tap the speaker icon to choose a compatible device on the same Wi-Fi. Playback switches to DIRECT; change it via EQ. Safari offers AirPlay; other supported browsers offer their own devices. Tap again to change the output.
Audio quality
- In Options, choose Data saver, Standard or High for all stations. Unavailable or failed alternate streams fall back to Standard while keeping your preference.
- The info button beside Audio quality explains the current stream, even with tooltips off. kHz is sample rate; badges show known bitrate, codec and stereo/mono. Some details hide on small screens.
- Channel cards show saved stream details. During playback, Flat and EQ can update the displayed bitrate from the stream; DIRECT uses the saved value.
- If RETRY does not restore playback, RELOAD refreshes the page and stations.
Filtered only is on by default. Tuning follows the Channels search, genre, country and advertising filters across every page, combined with Favorites only and Ad-free only. Changing filters keeps current playback. Excluded favorites and recently played stations remain selectable; no matches makes tuning unavailable.
Turn off the unlabeled switch in the display footer, or press X, to disable the current station and tune to the next eligible station, wrapping to the first. It requires another eligible station. In standby it changes selection without starting playback. Enable the station again in Channels.
Find a station
- Search by name or stream details, such as AAC, MP3 or AAC 320. Combine search with genre, country and advertising filters. The AD placard beside the heart shows advertising status; a crossed-out placard means ad-free. Custom channels start with unknown status.
- Recently played can tune stations outside the current filters. Disabled stations must be enabled first.
- Hide disabled tidies the list. Enable all enables every station, including those hidden by filters. Clear filters restores the full list.
Manage channels
- Channels appear in pages of 24. Search and filters cover the whole library. Reordering moves cards within the current page; other channels keep their positions.
- Hold and drag the grip, or use arrow keys while a card or one of its controls is focused. Filtered cards move within their existing slots; hidden channels keep their positions.
- The pen renames any channel. Your own channels also allow stream and detail edits; the bin removes them.
- ADD needs a direct HTTPS MP3 or AAC stream, not a player-page link. The share icon shares built-in stations; recipients press Play to listen.
SHOW LOGO is on by default and controls logos in favorite pills in both layouts. It is saved in backups and account sync.
Save & reorder
- Use a station-card heart, or the station choice in the display heart menu. Tap again to remove the favorite.
- Hold and drag a favorite, or focus it and press Alt + ← / →. Shortcuts 1–9 follow the new positions.
- Press Shift + F or use the panel button to move favorites beside or below the radio. Your choice is remembered; narrow screens keep favorites below.
Favorites only
- Limits the tuning knob, previous/next buttons, station arrow shortcuts and display gestures to enabled favorites, in favorite order.
- Requires at least one enabled favorite. CHANNELS and Recently played still let you select other enabled stations.
Ad-free only
Limits tuning to channels marked Ad-free. Combine it with Favorites only to tune only ad-free favorites. Excluded favorites keep a dashed border and remain selectable, including by number shortcuts. Unknown channels are excluded too. Current playback continues when you change this switch; if no channels qualify, tuning is unavailable.
Colored smoke layers translucent cyan and pink ribbons with fine glowing folds. It reacts to music with processed playback and drifts naturally in DIRECT. Available on both displays, in mixes and Random; its colors stay the same in every theme.
Six sound-reactive effects are available on both displays, in mixes and Random, with processed playback. Circular spectrum surrounds available artwork. Analog meters show mono RMS and peak levels.
The colored variants keep the original motion. Colors flow with the music only on the bars, from muted bases or centers to brighter, warmer tips.
Basic restores the original free-running trace. Mono and stereo keep the refined timing. Colored stereo flows from a muted center to brighter, warmer outer peaks.
Random gives the Oscilloscope family one slot per shuffle, cycling through its variants. It never pairs two Oscilloscopes or follows an Oscilloscope selection with another.
Station logo shows the tuned station’s brand, or a radio symbol when missing. Available on both displays, DIRECT, mixes and all Random modes.
Choose & mix
- Tap or click the main display to cycle effects. ≋ opens the menu: choose one, or use +/− or Ctrl + click to mix two. A third replaces the oldest; removing the last selects Off.
- Cover art shows available song artwork, or programme artwork during non-song broadcasts. It can join mixes and Random, alongside effects such as Fish tank.
- Random shuffles effects; dual shows two; fast changes sooner. Easy read enlarges text; Off hides effects. These and Wake-up light cannot be manually mixed.
A second screen on the cover
- The small circle beside POWER covers the controls. Choose an effect using the cover’s ≋ menu, then use its fullscreen button to expand it.
- Both displays have independent effect selections. These are saved and backed up; after a reload the controls are uncovered.
- W shows the cover with its saved effect; press again to cycle its effects, including in fullscreen. Shift + W uncovers the controls and exits cover fullscreen.
- Tap the cover background to uncover the controls. While its display is fullscreen, tap cycles effects and double-tap returns to the cover.
Tune & go fullscreen
- Swipe to tune, or hold and drag to preview a station and release to select it. Drag the main display’s tuning indicator to sweep across stations.
- Double-tap or double-click the main display to toggle fullscreen. The fullscreen button works too; Esc returns. These tuning gestures also work in the cover’s fullscreen display.
Liked songs & info
- When an artist and song are known, the display heart offers both a station favorite and a song like. SONGS lets you search your likes, open info and music-search links, or remove songs.
- The display’s info follows what is playing. Info opened from SONGS stays on that saved song. Album, duration, genre and programme details appear when available.
- Use the artwork’s fullscreen button in song info to enlarge it. Close with ×, Esc or a double-tap.
- ≈mm:ss beside volume estimates remaining broadcast time when supplied. Stream delay can make it differ from what you hear.
Song recognition
NTS automatically identifies music when a match is available. Short, silent samples of the station stream produce a fingerprint sent to Shazam. This works in every playback mode, uses no microphone and saves no audio recording.
Sleep timer
Choose 15, 30 or 60 minutes in Options. Tap the countdown below the radio to cancel. When prepared for wake-up, Sleep leaves playback ready at 0% volume.
Wake-up & Bedtime
- Set a time and repeat days in Options, then confirm your station, blackout and sound choices. Wake-up uses a six-minute sunrise and sound ramp. Keep Music open and the device awake.
- BEDTIME beside the saved wake-up time prepares the next night. Choose silence or quiet Rain, Waves or Brook for 15 or 30 minutes, fading out gently. Playback is prepared in Flat.
- Changing station, volume or power ends Bedtime; set BEDTIME again when ready. The wake-up schedule remains.
- Without interaction after the ramp, a fallback tone can ring for up to 15 minutes. Interact with the radio to dismiss it. The × beside the wake-up time removes the schedule.
- Wake-up light can also run alone from the visualization menu. It is excluded from Random and mixes.
Appearance & feedback
- Choose Retro - wood, Modern - metallic, Modern - black, Midnight or Matrix in Options, or press T to cycle themes. D toggles light/dark mode. Midnight and Matrix stay dark.
- Choosing Matrix also selects Matrix code rain. You can change the visualization afterward.
- Compact view hides the speaker. Tap the speaker itself to remove or replace its grille.
- Control sounds adds clicks, Show tooltips adds hints, and Show focus indicators highlights the focused control. Help info buttons work with tooltips off.
- Require “Radio” before voice commands is off by default. “Radio” is currently optional; commands work with or without it.
Backup & reset
- Export saves settings, custom channels, names, favorites, liked songs, EQ profiles and both display selections. Import previews a backup before you apply it.
- Reset lets you select categories to restore or remove. It stops the radio and reloads; export first to keep a copy.
Voice
- Tap VOICE, allow microphone access, then say “Next”, “Previous”, “Mute”, “Play” or “Stop”.
- Also accepted: “Skip” for next, “Back” for previous, “Pause” for mute, “Start” / “Unmute” for play, and “Off” for stop.
- “Radio” is currently optional; commands work with or without it. Change Require “Radio” before voice commands in Options.
- Tap VOICE or the microphone indicator to stop listening. Keep the app visible and screen unlocked. Your browser handles recognition; Music does not save recordings.
- Heard words and voice actions appear at the top for 10 seconds. A voice command panel appears beside the radio when there is room.
- Voice stays on while you are quiet and automatically resumes if the browser ends a listening session. Tap VOICE to turn it off.