[Icecast] Icecast? what it is? will it work for me?

[Michael Smith]

On 6/17/05, Eric Robinson <eric at wearesp.com> wrote:
> Thanks mike
> let me get more detailed for you all then.
> 
> As i understand it - ICECAST - is actually the streaming server itself
> but where does it reside?

Right, icecast is the server. It resides on a server, somewhere -
somewhere with enough bandwidth for your needs.

You can either run your own server, or there are companies which offer
hosted services for this sort of thing (anyone running something like
this, feel free to contact Eric, but only off-list).

> 
> I am looking to go back to broadcasting from a streaming server on a 24/7
> basis.
> I was looking through the documentation on the icecast site but
> it talks of detials that i did not have to handle and my host company did.
> What im looking for is:
> A) How would i gain access of use of an icecast streaming server

You either run your own, or pay someone to run one for you.

> B) What are the costs involved (per listener or per block of listeners)

If you run your own, you need pay only for your bandwidth. If you pay
someone else, they will provide you with pricing. Icecast itself is
just software, we don't provide hosting services.

> C) Will i be able to have direct access to uploading the audio for streaming
> D) Will i be able to have direct access to setting / editing a playlist of
> the files.

If you run your own, of course. If you use a hosted service, you'd
have to ask them.

> F) When my djs Do their shows LIVE, what tools are usualy used or best
> implemented for streaming directly to the icecast server from the djs remote
> location.

There are many, I personally use ices2 (of which I'm the primary
author, so I'm a bit biased :-), but I can't recommend anything in
particular, since what's good depends on precisely what you're doing,
and on what platform you're running on (ices2 only runs on unix-like
systems, for example).

Mike