HoofSounds FAQ

What is HoofSounds?

HoofSounds is a pony/brony radio, video and chat browser extension for Google Chrome, Firefox and Opera. You can listen to a diverse collection of 24/7 pony/brony internet radio, watch brony video streaming and connect them to brony chat.

The majority of the radio stations and video streams are provided by various stations in the Ponyville Live! network, while chat is provided by the Canternet IRC network.

(If you don’t know what a “brony” is, we encourage you learn more by clicking this link).

What do I need to use HoofSounds?

We currently support the latest versions of Google Chrome, Firefox and Opera. (If you are using Firefox, then please check the “Why isn’t HoofSounds working on Firefox?” question if it’s not working for you)

Since HoofSounds allows access to different kinds of internet streaming, different internet connection speeds may be required.

Our testing has determined that you need at least a 50 KB/s (equivalent to 400 Kb/s, 0.05 MB/s, and 0.4 Mb/s) to run all of the audio streams on HoofSounds. (Generally, half of this speed is required for most of the streams)

The video streams, due to the nature of video, require a much faster connection. The chat has the least internet demand and even dial-up speeds should be sufficient to run it.

How do I get HoofSounds?

First, you need to be using Google Chrome, Firefox or Opera, and then visit the HoofSounds install page.

Why isn’t HoofSounds working on Firefox?

HoofSounds on Firefox relies on the operating system’s codecs and features to play MP3 files.

If you are using Windows, you may need to adjust your about:config settings:

Open a new tab and go to about:config If you see a notice telling you to be careful, click the button to continue On the list of preference names, right-click it and click New → Boolean Enter media.directshow.enabled and click OK Make sure the new entry is set to true . If it isn’t, double-click it to change it Repeat steps 3 to 5 for media.windows-media-foundation.enabled Restart Firefox and try using HoofSounds again

If you are using Linux, you need to install the MP3 codecs (often bundled as ‘restricted extras’), depending on your distribution, it may not be available.

It’s also recommended to use the official versions of Firefox, forks such as Pale Moon/Waterfox may not be supported.

Why does HoofSounds request permissions on Google Chrome/Opera?

Read and change your data on all little.my sites and hoofsounds.little.my : Allows the installer page to detect the presence of HoofSounds and offers to update instead.

: Allows the installer page to detect the presence of HoofSounds and offers to update instead. Display notifications : HoofSounds can show notifications when the current playing song changes, this option can be turned off in HoofSounds settings.

: HoofSounds can show notifications when the current playing song changes, this option can be turned off in HoofSounds settings. Modify data that you copy and paste: To enable the ‘copy song info’ feature.

Why does HoofSounds request permissions on Firefox?

Access your data for sites in the little.my domain and Access your data for hoofsounds.little.my : Allows the installer page to detect the presence of HoofSounds and offers to update instead. These permissions might appear multiple times due to a Firefox issue.

and : Allows the installer page to detect the presence of HoofSounds and offers to update instead. These permissions might appear multiple times due to a Firefox issue. Store unlimited amount of client-side data : To save the settings that you have chosen for HoofSounds. It’s also used as a cache to enable faster loads.

: To save the settings that you have chosen for HoofSounds. It’s also used as a cache to enable faster loads. Display notifications to you : HoofSounds can show notifications when the current playing song changes, this option can be turned off in HoofSounds settings.

: HoofSounds can show notifications when the current playing song changes, this option can be turned off in HoofSounds settings. Input data to the clipboard: To enable the ‘copy song info’ feature.

Why isn’t HoofSounds available for other browsers besides Google Chrome, Firefox or Opera?

We would love to bring HoofSounds over to other browsers. Extension versions for other browsers may come eventually, depending on what the browsers support in the future and time to develop the browser-specific versions. If it was doable, we’d probably have already done it.

While they may not be available on the extension, you can still enjoy all the same streams by visiting Ponyville Live! and the other radio stations on their webpages.

Why can’t I see the HoofSounds icon on the top-right of my browser after installation?

You may have hidden the HoofSounds icon, follow the steps to bring it back:

For Google Chrome, click the top-right three dots/bars icon (⋮ or ≡) and see if HoofSounds is hidden on the menu. You can right-click the HoofSounds icon and click Keep in Toolbar to keep the HoofSounds icon always visible.

For Firefox, click the top-right three bars icon (≡) and click Customize . Drag the HoofSounds icon to your desired location and click Done .

For Opera, type about:extensions in the address bar and press the Enter key. Find HoofSounds in the list and uncheck Hide from toolbar.

If you still can’t find HoofSounds after completing the above steps, then HoofSounds might have been uninstalled from your browser, visit the HoofSounds install page to reinstall HoofSounds.

How do I uninstall HoofSounds?

To completely remove Ponyhoof from your browser, follow the steps below.

For Google Chrome, type about:extensions in the address bar and press the Enter key. Find HoofSounds in the list, then click Remove or the trash can icon. Confirm that you want to uninstall HoofSounds by clicking Remove .

For Firefox, type about:addons in the address bar and press the Enter key. Go to the Extensions section, find HoofSounds in the list and click Remove .

For Opera, type about:extensions in the address bar and press the Enter key. Find HoofSounds in the list and click the remove icon at the top-right. Confirm that you want to uninstall HoofSounds by clicking OK.

Why doesn’t HoofSounds have this feature?

We strive to give HoofSounds as many features as necessary while working to not overbuild things. That being said, we’re only pony-loving humans, so we’re bound to overlook things.

If you have a feature suggestion, please post it on the HoofSounds Facebook page, tweet to @HoofSounds or email us.

What is Ponyville Live?

You may be asking because the Ponyville Live! (PVL) branding is featured on many different HoofSounds graphics, or noticed the video stream or chat channels bearing their names.

Quite simply, Ponyville Live! are pony media outlets. Ponyville Live! is a new pony media network, with many different radios, video streams, podcasts, and otherwise which it makes available.

The stations and streams HoofSounds uses for audio and video are mostly PVL-affiliated. That being said, many stations affiliated with Ponyville Live! are free-standing and have their own websites and staff.

Is HoofSounds a part of Ponyville Live?

HoofSounds and The Ponyhoof Team are not “a part” or “under” either Ponyville Live!. We consider ourselves friends with both organizations, though our friendship and support is not exclusive to them.

Because fandom organizations can get involved with drama and other such conflicts, we’ve resolved to keep HoofSounds as independent as we can.

Who created HoofSounds?

The HoofSounds extension was created by The Ponyhoof Team, primarily by the Developer Ng Yik Phang and Art Manager/Liaison Archive_Alicorn. The stations, streams, and chat network were developed independently by their creators. For more information on those, visit their websites by right-clicking their station on HoofSounds, and click “Visit station website”.

General: HoofSounds Facebook page, @HoofSounds on Twitter, or email hoofsounds@little.my

Developer (Ng Yik Phang): Email

I found a bug, how do I report it?

If you experience a bug, first test it repeatedly to make sure it’s not a fluke, and if you find it’s still there, please contact us. (See the “How do I contact HoofSounds staff?” section)

Please tell us what browser and operating system you are using with your bug report, and if you can, please list the steps to reproduce the problem. Doing so will only make it easier to quickly and accurately diagnose and fix bugs.

How can I get my brony radio or video stream on HoofSounds?

If you’re an owner or manager for a brony radio or video stream interested in being featured in the HoofSounds extension, we thank you for considering us. First thing you’ve got to consider is the following paragraph:

We can’t include every stream in the fandom. If we did, the extension would become bulky, overwhelming, and most stations would be neglected. We don’t wish that to happen. So, the care has been taken to try to balance quality with quantity, promoting the best user experience we can.

With that being said, if you’re interested in having your stream on HoofSounds, the stream needs to meet our requirements.

Audio stream requirements:

Stream is MP3 at least 128kbps sound quality

Regularly updating (at least every 20 seconds) JSON containing the currently playing song title and song artist

Stream runs 24/7 (except for periodic stream maintenance)

Video stream requirements:

Stream uses service (i.e. Livestream, Justin.tv/Twitch.tv, YouTube Live, etc.)

At least 480p video quality (720p+ preferred)

Well put together, correct streaming, audio mixing, etc.

Runs at least three times per week for an hour or more per run

Chat channels:

If your audio or video stream gets approved and added to HoofSounds, you also get the choice of featuring one existing IRC chat channel in our chat selector. This has two requirements:

The channel must be on Canternet IRC

The channel must have been put together decently

If you want to request your brony radio or video stream be added to HoofSounds, please contact us. (See the “How do I contact HoofSounds staff?” section)

Open source licenses

HoofSounds uses various open source projects and software libraries.

The HoofSounds website uses additional software libraries.

Special thanks to Autoprefixer, ESLint, Flow, Jest, less.js, Prettier and Pug.