Knowledge base

Generally speaking, we are compatible with all software listed here: http://www.icecast.org/3rdparty.php but they don't all allow AAC stream for example.

Illustrated steps

Our guides for Edcast (standalone autonomous version) / Edcast (Winamp plugin version) / Nicecast / Sam Broadcaster  / Simplecast  / Mixxx

There exists also (without guide) StreamDiffusion / MB Recaster ...

More information

If you're using some software which isn't mentioned above, don't hesitate to comment on this FAQ and send us its name so we can add it to the list.

There is no difference between these terms. They are simply different designations used to talk about one and the same technology: sending content « live » (or with a slight delay) allowing it to be played as it is broadcasted.

A Flash player by default contains all the radio streams. You can select the default stream and the streams that mustn't be displayed.

In the event of failure, the player isn't updated. In the players'configuration page, there is a message in red.

When a configuration change is made to your player, it may take some time for the changes to be reflected.

The connection test provided in your control panel allows you to measure the connectionbetween your server (measured from the server/computer on which streams areencoded) and our infrastructure. Specifically, we measure the time taken tosend or receive a certain amount of data, along with the time taken toreceive a response. Our servers are located in Geneva, Switzerland. If datais being sent over a large distance, this may lead to a loss in quality anda slower response time. Please also note that these measurements may varyover time depending on network traffic and routing.

To streamradio, a good quality Internet connection is required along with sufficientthroughput. Sufficient throughput means having a sufficient margin of freebandwidth at all times. The more you share the Internet connection used forstreaming with other computers, the more likely it is that your radio streamwill be disrupted.

Our test tells you what throughput you need.It calculates the available throughput. Therefore, if your radio streams aresending audio and other transfers are also in progress to and from thecomputer in question or indeed other computers sharing the same line,measured throughput will be lower than your line's theoretical throughput.If you are unsure of anything, please send the result of this test, withmeasurements taken at various times of the day (and evening), letting usknow the technical specifications of your Internet connection and the numberof computers sharing the line.

A standard ADSL connection issufficient in most cases. Nonetheless, for the convenience of you and yourlisteners, we recommend having a dedicated Internet connection used solelyfor your radio broadcast and to rent a second connection for all of yourother needs. It is sometimes also worth asking your ISP to check the qualityof your line and measure the effective bandwidth.

You canpotentially run a longer buffering test to check for isolated instances ofsaturation (more information).

It is entirely possible. Even if the minimum invoicing period is by the month, you may consume your entire bandwidth in one month or on a single day.

Find out more

• Features of video streaming packs
• Features of audio streaming packs

It is possible to set up the automatic sending of emails in order to warn you of interruptions in your radio stream(s) (short and/or long duration).

Actions to be carried out

Log in to your administration console
Go to users and rights management
In the managing rights table, you will find a column for email alerts
You can refine the selection for your various streams (receive an alert for such radio, but not for another...)

More information

All interruptions are registered by the system and displayed in the events (in your administration console); if the daily automatic rebooting of streams is activated, we won't register any interruption within a 5 minute time frame after the hour that was defined.

Every minute, a script checks for breaks and will only send an email and create an event when the interruption lasts for at least 5 minutes. A second email is sent if the break lasts more than 30 minutes. If the stream resumes and that you have received a warning email, you'll receive another email confirming that the stream has restarted. All interruptions are logged and kept for 30 days, however you will not be disturbed for minor interruptions.

Regarding the potential reasons for these interruptions, please refer to this FAQ (click here).

You'll find within the Integration section of your radio broadcasting administration interface, a type of integration named "HTML and other players without Flash" that provide the playlists' launching buttons for iTunes, VLC etc. without including the Flash player. This format is a playlist format called xspf (supported by VLC in particular).

It is possible to have the live radio stream start with a pre-recorded advert. This is what is termed a 'pre-roll' in-stream ad (post-roll and mid-roll are not possible for live streams).

Necessary steps

The first absolutely essential step is to sign a contract with https://adswizz.com/
AdsWizz will send you the necessary configuration parameters (identifiers, tags, URLs etc).
Contact Infomaniak to enable the AdsWizz option (specifying the stream in question)
Insert the parameters provided by AdsWizz into your control panel under Flash Player -> Advanced settings
Your audio stream will then have the advert inserted at the start.

The delivery server is the server to which your encoder connects to serveyour stream. Streaming servers then connect to the delivery server andstream your audio to listeners. If the delivery server goes down, a backupserver takes over. This architecture allows streaming to tens of thousandsof listeners while minimising downtime. In the event of an outage, our teamsare automatically alerted and will do their utmost to rectify the situationas quickly as possible. There is therefore no need to phone or e-mail us. Ifnecessary, we will then e-mail all of our radio streaming clients withinformation about what caused the outage.

If a streaming servergoes down, this will cause tens of thousands of listeners to disconnect atthe same time, all of whom will then attempt to reconnect. This then leadsto an overload and causes listeners to receive the password request. Theythen need to attempt to reconnect half a minute or so later. In general, thesituation will return to normal within a few minutes.

In terms ofour live statistics, every listener connection request calls a script whichrecords the data and forwards a connection authorisation to our streamingservers; this is done quickly and transparently. For all streams in generalor for any individual stream, customers may also configure a script to be called that will authenticateusers in the case of premium streams and display the password window.

Unfortunately, when a server goes down, all listeners connected tothat server, for all radio streams, are disconnected and obviously attemptto reconnect. The load balancing system does not know whether the server isdown and therefore sends some connection requests to that server.

Even when a server is starting up and working normally, there is always asmall delay before the situation returns to normal, given that there are alarge number of connection requests. It is also possible that if a large ISPhas an outage, listeners will suddenly disconnect and reconnect at the sametime, causing a bottleneck. 99% of the time, our server operation remainsstable and fortunately, they rarely go down.

Note that:
- the streams is interrupted whenever this prompt appears
- the prompt also appears when streams are unstable

There can be various reasons for disconnections occurring. If there are no apparent issues with our infrastructure or the Internet, please firstly check your encoder configuration in accordance with the instructions given in the corresponding guide.

You might also check that upstream components are working properly:

• if you are streaming an FM radio, check that your capture board is working correctly
• if you are broadcasting a web radio, check that your streaming software (WinAmp, SamBroadcaster, Station Playlist, etc.) is working correctly

Ensure that you have not scheduled a daily restart of your stream (in the general settings for your radio) or if you really need this, specify a time that will not affect the majority of your listeners depending on which country they are listening from. Note, however, that a weekly restart takes place just before dawn on Tuesdays (Swiss time).

If may be that your ADSL line is no longer able to keep up with the data being sent to the server. You should have a minimum equivalent upstream bandwidth (or "upload" speed) to match the total of all streams being uploaded to the server (e.g. for one radio streamed at 128kbs plus another streamed at 48kbs, this gives 130 + 50 = 180kbs).

Generally, radio stations have a dedicated ADSL line for uploading their audio streams to avoid all of the available upstream bandwidth being used up whenever, for example, a large e-mail with an attachment is sent at the same time (bearing in mind that upload speed is never the same as download speed) which would then saturate the line in the upload direction and cause streams to break up (during encoding), meaning in turn that users experience this breakup as the stream is downloaded.

Your ISP may also cause an outage on the line which, however short, will also cause a break in the radio stream.

If your encoder (Oddcast/Edcast etc) is configured to upload metadata to our servers via a text file hosted with another provider and the latter experiences disruption, the stream may also be disrupted!

Also, pay attention to the load on your computer's CPU: make sure that this is not the bottleneck by checking that you have enough memory if you are carrying out other operations in addition to the AAC stream encoding, which is a particularly memory-hungry task!

Note that if all streaming goes down, our teams are notified automatically and will take action immediately. We log all connections and disconnections to the encoder on our incoming stream server and will send you an e-mail notification.

The diagnostics page in your control panel provides access to various information:
The "Network Status" section provides information on the overall status of our infrastructure.
The "Incoming Streaming Servers" section tests that incoming and outgoing streaming servers are working correctly (more information).
Finally, the "Internet Connection" section allows you to test the connection between your server and our infrastructure.