Coolmaps Components Club : SiteWorks : ShoutCast Review

Shoutcast is a new technology that makes it easy for anyone to stream audio over the Internet from virtually any audio format. The software designer, Sedona Arizona based Nullsoft, makers of Winamp, distribute this technology as shareware available for download from the Shoutcast website. The software falls into three distinct groups: Server, DJ, and Listener.

Listeners can tune into a server using any audio player that supports layer 3 audio (*.mp3). A listener connects to a Shoutcast server one of three ways: by opening a link to a playlist file (*.pls) from the DJ's website, selecting a station from the directory of servers provided on the Shoutcast.com website, or by entering the URL manually into their audio player. In order to become a DJ on the server, the Winamp player and a special plug-in are required. After setting up the plug-in, DJ'ing is as easy as adding files to Winamp's playlist. Configuring the server is very easy, and once it's configured, it never needs to be touched again.

There are numerous advantages to using this server and this particular format of audio streaming. For one, setting up and maintaining this software is a snap; setup takes about 10 minutes after you've read through the documentation, and the software itself is extremely simple. The version of this software available from the Shoutcast website will support up to 1000 listeners on a system spanning multiple high speed connections, or it will stream over your 33.6kbps modem to 1 user. This is a nice cushion for future expansion. Another advantage to this software is that anyone with an MP3 player (the MP3 audio format is now seeing a user base that is larger than Real Audio's) can tune in. Layer 3 audio format is also easily scalable to an appropriate bitrate for multiple situations, quality can range from a bad telephone connection to CD-quality. Finally, MP3's small size/quality ratio make it the clear choice for the bandwidth conscious audiophile.

In order to run a virtual radio station, four parts are required:

The Winamp Player
As you are probably already aware, the Winamp player has fast become the most popular audio player available on the internet, especially for the MP3 nut. Ask any audiophile what he/she uses as their player of choice; chances are you'll hear the Winamp name. Installation and use of this little device is quick, simple, and idiomatic. The player itself is 100% freeware.

The Shoutcast DSP plug-in
This plug-in for the Winamp audio player is required in order to be a DJ. The *.zip archive file contains a library file (dsp_sc.dll) that needs to be copied into the Winamp plug-ins directory. Configuration is accomplished in the Winamp player under the preferences menu, and two configuration assets must be set. The first asset is the IP address of the server, and the second is the bitrate (which must match the bitrate of the audio files that you are streaming). After you have set these two attributes, DJ'ing your own Internet radio station is as easy as putting files into a playlist.

Microsoft NetShow Tools
This piece of software provides the compression codec to convert the audio signal into Layer3 MPEG format. Installation is quick and painless, and no configuration is needed. This package is required by the DSP plug-in in order to send music to a server. The files are provided free of charge from Microsoft.

The Server
The server software for Shoutcast is simple, yet powerful, the shareware version supports up to 1000 users. Again, setup is a snap; the server will actually run on its default settings without making any configuration changes (assuming you're using windows 9x or NT 4.0). You will, however, want to change some key features, the most important would probably be the user limit, as you are required to have enough bandwidth to match the bitrate of the audio files you are streaming, multiplied by the number of listeners (refer to the chart below to see how bitrate corresponds to audio quality). Three more important assets to change would be the title that is displayed to the user (in our example "coolmaps radio"), the source IP address and password (the latter two are not required, but are a good idea to keep others from using your server). Configuration of the server is accomplished via an *.ini file edited in notepad, and all of the settings are well defined by comments in this file. The server software can be run on a remote computer, it does not need the DSP plug-in or Microsoft Netshow Server Tools to run and vice-versa. This is a handy feature to have if your server is at a remote location, and you don't have the bandwidth to handle the desired user load on your own system, but still want to DJ from the comfort of your home or office. Happy streaming!