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loveageek
Premium Member
join:2009-07-10
Clackamas, OR

loveageek to 29393955

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Re: [Business] Streaming an Internet Radio Station using CC???

Thanks for your help! I hope you don't mind a few more questions...

Originally I had the idea of running Shoutcast DNAS on an Unlimited web hosting provider but I just read some reviews and it looks as if "Unlimited" isn't really unlimited but you mentioned a DC could you recommend one for audio and -maybe- future live video streaming (for local concerts)?

Since you have experience in streaming...

My partner and I are running a production studio and I was planning on streaming the tracks our clients create... I was thinking of q'ing the tracks up in SAM Broadcaster and streaming to a Shoutcast DNAS server. (seems easy) What do u think/use? Would you happen to know of any open source alternatives to SAM?

What would be a good bitrate to stream at? 48 & 96 sound the same to me but I've read that 128 is the "sweet spot" is this true or just a waste of bandwidth?

Is AAC a good, widely accepted encoder, or would an MP3 encoder be better? Do you have to licence the MP3 encoder?

And one more...

We want to embed a player on a website... How do you accomplish this?

I know its alot of questions. I REALLY APPRECIATE THE HELP!

THANK YOU ALOT

Mike
harald
join:2010-10-22
Columbus, OH

harald

Member

"My partner and I are running a production studio and I was planning on streaming the tracks our clients create.."

That's not your material - license?

Cjaiceman
MVM
join:2004-10-12
Castle Rock, WA
(Software) pfSense
Ubiquiti UniFi UAP-AC-PRO

Cjaiceman to loveageek

MVM

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I have found, by far, that SAM is the way to go. Nothing else really compares to it in that price range. Especially when you sit and make promos, IDs, and custom lists it really shines. Don't waste your time with anything else unless you are prepared to spend big bucks on something more commercial based. I run SAM on my station and love it, makes it sound just like the big boys, but on a much smaller budget, if you put the time into tweaking it.

128kbps will have a nice sound, and seems to be industry standard. I would offer a 128kbps MP3 stream and a 48kbps AAC stream. I run a 48kbps AAC, 128kbps MP3 and 320kbps MP3 stream on my CC 50/10 without issue. 2 months ago I topped 2.5TB upload in a month, not a peep from Comcast. I use the LAME MP3 encoder in SAM, so there is no extra charge there.

There are MANY free/good solutions to embedding a player in a website, Google will be your friend to help you choose. Most of them you just paste the code into the html file on your webserver, put in the URL for your stream server and it works, most don't have ads either. A little research here will go a long ways in finding the correct solution for you.

Hope at least some of that was useful to you. Good luck!
29393955 (banned)
Always the green wire
join:2011-09-11
Mount Juliet, TN

29393955 (banned) to loveageek

Member

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Heya - sorry for the delayed reply; had a workstation that required a severe thrashing

For the price, and considering you want your material to sound its best, SAM is hard to beat because of the built-in processing. DO adjust it, or have an 'audio geek' friend do it for you - out of the box it can be setup rather overly aggressive. I have found MP3 to be the format of choice overall because of the fact virtually ANY media player will play it, but AAC is sweet sounding at lower bit rates, so if that is a concern, well you have to make that call. SAM has a built-in MP3 encoder that works well, and it's included in the price. Not sure about AAC, as I use a broadcast-station oriented playback system with separate processing, and encoders for MP3 and Windows Media. I haven't touched SAM in a few years, so if you decide to pursue AAC you'll need to do a bit of research on that issue. I do remember when I last dealt with that, it included several different encoders, and could output multiple streams at once if desired.

Personally, for the material you are streaming - again because you want to 'advertise' your work with the best audio quality - I'd suggest 96k / 44,100 (MP3) as the lowest quality for stereo audio, but it is very good if processed correctly. 128k / 44,100 will REALLY sound good when processed nicely, but 48k / 44,100 sounds a bit "swishy" to me. You DO NOT want to go down to 22,050 sampling.

As far as the embedded player, the easiest to embed is Windows Media Player because it's built into the vast majority of desktop / laptop computers in use, BUT....

I'd skip the embedded player, as a proper MP3 link will generally pull up the player associated with that format on the respective device playing it, be it a Windows computer, Apple computer, iPhone or iPad, Android, etc. You might want to do 3 links - one an ASX file that says "Click Here to Listen On Windows", a PLS file that says "Click Here to Listen On Winamp", and a basic http link that says "Click Here for All Other Players" just to cover all the bases.

As far as streaming server providers, you can PM me personally through the site and I'll give you some suggestions. It would be inappropriate to openly advertise them here.

Whew - didn't realize I was writing a novel - LOL. Hope that helps!
loveageek
Premium Member
join:2009-07-10
Clackamas, OR

loveageek

Premium Member

Thank you VERY much everyone for all the input

airwavs -- thanks your awesome! I'll PM u soon about those recommendations