[Icecast] Fwd: source setup tutorial

Thu Feb 6 01:05:54 UTC 2014

It seemed to me like tossing this one out to the mailing list was a
good first thing to do :-)

Monty

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: AeSix Reficul <AeSix at aesix.com>
Date: Mon, Feb 3, 2014 at 11:41 PM
Subject: source setup tutorial
To: webmaster at icecast.org

Hi, I've written a pretty simple source setup tutorial that allows the
use of nearly any audio software or capture device without having to
reconfigure everything when changing from one source to another - or
even stopping the stream.

My tutorial is pretty basic, but with some imagination and
experimentation they can be used much like a hammer and saw can build
a bench or build a house. I did have to include non open source
software, however I believe this is an acceptable use situation.

The full text of the tutorial is below. Please see that this is
available on your website. I give full permission to modify this as
enabled by the Creative Commons By Attribution and ShareAlike liscense
(CC-BY-SA).  Hopefully there will be a fully open source replacement
for the various bits of software that should be.

Thank You,
AeSix

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

To the streaming community  ←
                                                       4 Feb 2014
>From AeSix Reficul

   Icecast2 Source Tutorial

Poor man's basic Icecast source setup instructions.
Everything needed to set up a basic streaming system without the mess.

This tutorial assumes you've successfully setup icecast2 for this.
This tutorial also assumes you've got audio files to use to stream to icecast2.
You will also need a method seperate from your source computer to tune-in to the
stream - another computer or a friend with a PC you can be in
communication with.

We will be using several programs to achieve this. These are:
VB-Cable from Pagesperso-orange.fr
edcast reborn from code.google.com
LAME MP3 from rarewares.org
VLC from videolan.org

First, you will need to download and install several pieces of software.
We will do this before continuing to configuration. Please follow the directions
as given as not doing so may cause errors in setup or configuration which cannot
easily be traced with issue diagnosing.

Go to:
   http://vb-audio.pagesperso-orange.fr/Cable/index.htm
download CB-Cable Driver (center coloumn)
unzip to a fodler on your desktop and open the folder
right click on VBCable_setup and choose "Run as Administrator"
**Note: If using Windows 64bit, instead use VBCable_Setup_x64**
Click install on the screen that opens (if nothing, use other setup file)
allow the software to be trusted (check the box) and install
Verify this was installed by:
   open Sound control panel
   verify "CABLE Input" exists on "Playback" tab
   verify "CABLE Output" exists on "Recording" tab
   close Sound control panel

Go to:
   http://code.google.com/p/edcast-reborn/downloads/
download edcast_standalone_3.37~~
Open Edcast Standalone Setup
click "Next>"
click "I Agree" (after reading and understanding the liscensing and terms)
click "Next>"
click "Install" (yes, use the default path)
Verify edcast is installed:
   open the icon on the desktop for EdcastStandalone
   Verify edcast opens, providing a window with several controls
   close edcast

Go to:
   http://www.rarewares.org/mp3-lame-bundle.php
Download LAME 3.99.5 with a size of 636kB (top download)
(DO NOT download the 64bit version)
open your edcast installation directory (C:\Program Files (x64)\edcast)
open the lame3.99.5.zip archive
copy lame_enc.dll from the zip to ~\edcast (it will be in with
ogg.dll, vorbis.dll)
close the zip archive
close the edcast install directory
Verify LAME is installed:
   open edcast (shortcut on desktop)
   click "Add Encoder" button
   See that a new entry was added under "Encoder Settings" and it is
the only one
   right click the new Encoder Setting selection, choose "Configure"
   click the "Encoder Type" drop down, choose "MP3 Lame"
   (it will not allow you to select it if it's not instaleld properly)
   click "OK" button
   close edcast

Go to:
   http://www.videolan.org
download VLC (big blue "Download VLC" button)
open VLC install
follow instructions on screen to install
use "Recommended" install type (just press next on "Choose Components" screen)
Verify VLC is installed:
   open VLC (shortcut on desktop)
   play any media file with audio to make sure VLC is working
   close VLC

Now, go get some coffee, mt dew, take a bathroom break or just stretch.
You now have all the base software installed on your computer.
When you get back, it will be time to put all these bits together and stream!

OK Good! You're back. At this point it would be ideal to have either another
computer, or a friend you can communicate with to help with testing. Their part
will be minimal, they just have to connect to your icecast server and listen.

Now, it's time to configure VLC and edcast to work in tandem via VB-Cable.
VB-Cable shouldn't need to be configured, but we will touch it's options.

Open VLC (shortcut on the desktop)
open VLC's Preferences (ctrl-p)
under "Show settings" click "All"
Go to Audio > Output modules
for "Audio output module" select "DirectX audio output"
go to Audio > Output modules > DirectX (You will have to expand the
list to see it)
for "Output device" select "CABLE Input (VB-Audio Virtual Cable)
uncheck "Use float32 output"
for "Speaker configuration" select "stereo"
click "Save" button
Close VLC
re-open VLC (This is required to set the audio output properly)

set VLC aside for a bit, but leave it open.

Open edcast (desktop shortcut)
under "Live Recording" select "CABLE Output..."
right click on the MP3: selection under Encoder Settings, choose "configure"
Basic Settings tab:
   change "Server IP" to the *IP* address of your server
   change "Server Port" if you chose something other than 8000 in icecast2 setup
   change "Encoder Password" to the password you used when setting up icecast2
YP Settings tab:
   uncheck "Public Server" (This disables your server from being in
icecast directories)
   change "Stream Name" to your website/domain/station name
   change "Stream Description"
   change "Stream URL" to your website or icecast2 url
Advanced Settings tab:
   (nothing to change, but look anyways for familiarity)
click "OK" button
click "Edit" to the right of "Metadata"
put your station name and your dj handle in the "Metadata" field
click "OK" button

Now it's time to get your client computer or friend to tune into the stream
Be advised the audio may be very loud, so the volume on the client
should be down

go to VLC
load up the playlist with files, enough for 20 minutes, or hit repeat
press play, ensure you cannot hear audio from it from your speakers
turn the volume all the way up to ensure audio quality to edcast and beyond

go to edcast
click the large black bar towards the top, it should start showing two
green and yellow bars bouncing left and right
press "Connect" button and let your friend know to tune in

You should now have a live stream going from VLC to edcast to icecast2
to your friend.

There are additonal features of edcast that can be set or configured.
Such as the
Metadata being able to pull the song title from VLC's window (this did
not work for me)
Take note of what you change in case it breaks something and you need
to revert it.

Play with the settings so you know what everything does, and remember
it's better to
have the audio player's volume very high and use edcast to limit it so
as to keep the
audio quality higher.

This has been brought to you by yours truly, AeSix Reficul. Copyright
2014 CC-BY-SA
This document is liscensed under the Creative Commons By Attribution &
ShareAlike