[Icecast] Using freeswitch and Icecast

[Basil Mohamed Gohar]

On 08/06/2013 07:40 PM, Jorge Núñez wrote:
> Hi I am trying to use icecast to broadcast a realtime conference from
> freeswitch. But I am having a delay like 20 seconds then I reduced it to
> 12s. But I don't know if somebody can help me how to reduce it as lower
> as possible.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Jorge

Jorge, first I'd like to know what you did to reduce the delay from 20
to 12 seconds.

Secondly, the delay can also be related to the following two issues:

1. The audio codec being used
2. The amount of buffering on the client side

Using Ogg Vorbis for the audio, for example, will incur some delay, but
that wouldn't explain 12 seconds.  More than likely, a good portion of
the delay is related to buffering on the client side.

VLC media player allows you to set the buffering on the client side, you
may consider trying that and experimenting with different settings to
see how little delay you can get by reducing buffering.  But keep in
mind, a smaller buffer exposes your client to more network-related
transmission errors, which may result in Icecast dropping your client
altogether or the sound coming through with stuttering.

The fact of the matter is that while Icecast can be used for
broadcasting live audio, it's a very simple protocol that does not have
any mechanism to ensure that all clients are receiving the audio at the
same time.  The audio is being broadcast as basically an HTTP download
without a Content-Length header.  It's up to the client (i.e.,
application) to present it to the user with or without delay, depending
on configuration as I mentioned above.

-- 
Libre Video
http://librevideo.org