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Icecast Server/Streaming to Icecast with Nicecast

2018-07-08T00:24:50Z

RogueAmoeba: Added a note that Nicecast has been retired

{{IcecastThirdParty}}

'''Note:''' Nicecast is no longer in development. To replace Nicecast, Rogue Amoeba has incorporated broadcasting into their Audio Hijack product. [[Icecast_Server/Streaming_to_Icecast_with_Audio_Hjack]] provides more details.

----

== What is Nicecast? ==

Nicecast is a commercial Icecast Source Client for Mac OS X developed by Rogue Amoeba Software, LLC. One of it's special features is that it works with a lot of VST/Audio Unit plugins.
It can be obtained from the [https://www.rogueamoeba.com/nicecast/ official Website], which provides a limited Demo version (which inserts noise on all broadcasts longer than 60 minutes)
or the option to buy it.

== The first start and some notes ==

Nicecast is special, as it has a built-in Icecast Server, allowing for one-click Streaming. As we do not provide any support regarding this feature, this guide only covers how to Stream to a stand-alone Icecast Server. If you are running a standalone Icecast Server on the same machine you start Nicecast, it can happen that Nicecast will kill the stand-alone Icecast Server and you will need to restart it!

[[File:Nicecast Main Window.png|500px]]

=== Set the Audio Source ===
First you need to set the Audio Source, this is, where the audio comes from that should be streamed to Icecast. Click on ''Source'' to select it:

[[File:Nicecast_Source_Settings.png|500px]]

=== Set the Stream Information ===
Now we need to enter Stream Information, to do so click on ''Info'' to switch to the Stream Info Settings Panel.

[[File:Nicecast_Stream_Info.png|500px]]

Here is a brief description for what each field is:

* '''Name''': The name of your Stream, usually a short title of the program you are broadcasting. Note that this should not contain Metadata like currently playing Artist/Title.
* '''URL''': An URL where more information about the stream broadcasted can be found. This is '''not the URL of your Icecast Server or Stream URL'''!
* '''Genre''': The Genre of your Stream.
* '''AIM''': This field is actually not used by Icecast so you can just leave it empty.
* '''Description''': A short description of your stream/program.

=== Configuring the Icecast Server details ===
To configure the Icecast server details, click on ''Window'' > ''Show Server'':

[[File:Nicecast_Server_Menuitem.png|400px]]

It should show up a Window with Servers like the following:

[[File:Nicecast_Server_Window.png|500px]]

To create a new Server connection settings entry, click on the ''+'' Button, which should create a new List entry and select it:

[[File:Nicecast_New_Server_Window.png|500px]]

Let's go through the fields together:

<DL>
<DT>Name
<DD>Can be nearly anything, this is just so that you remember what Icecast Server these Settings are for. (Useful if you have more than one Server)

<DT>Server Type
<DD>Select Icecast 2 here, as you are probably using Icecast 2.

<DT>Account
<DD>This is the Username you are using to login with a Source Client to Icecast, if you have not configured a specific mount username, this is usually <code>source</code>.

<DT>Password
<DD>The password for the mountpoint, or if none configured, the global source client password.

<DT>Address
<DD>The hostname where your server is running. (Not a URL, so this should '''not''' start with <code>http://</code>)

<DT>Port
<DD>The port where the server is listening, usually this is 8000, if not changed in the Icecast config.

<DT>Mount Point
<DD>This is the Mountpoint to which Nicecast will stream. This should start with a slash, i.e. <code>/coolstream.mp3</code>. (Do '''not''' set this to just <code>/</code>!

<DT>Public URL
<DD>This is the Public URL your Icecast Server is accessible. Usually it will guess the right thing, based on the hostname, so you should be able to leave it blank.
</DL>

Now make sure you click the Radiobox next to the Icecast Server name in the list, so it's selected. (This is the Server that Nicecast will use for broadcasting)

Make sure that your Window looks similar to the following:

[[File:Nicecast New Server Window filled.png|600px]]

Close the Window and restart (there is a bug in the current Version that requires a restart to apply the settings) Nicecast.

To start broadcasting, click the "Start Broadcast" button. Broadcasting should start and you should be able to see the Stream appear on the Icecast Status Page.

Icecast Server/Streaming to Icecast with Nicecast

2018-07-08T00:22:55Z

RogueAmoeba:

{{IcecastThirdParty}}

'''Note:''' Nicecast is no longer in development. To replace Nicecast, Rogue Amoeba has incorporated broadcasting into their Audio Hijack product. [[https://wiki.xiph.org/Icecast_Server/Streaming_to_Icecast_with_Audio_Hjack|This page]] provides more details.

----

== What is Nicecast? ==

Nicecast is a commercial Icecast Source Client for Mac OS X developed by Rogue Amoeba Software, LLC. One of it's special features is that it works with a lot of VST/Audio Unit plugins.
It can be obtained from the [https://www.rogueamoeba.com/nicecast/ official Website], which provides a limited Demo version (which inserts noise on all broadcasts longer than 60 minutes)
or the option to buy it.

== The first start and some notes ==

Nicecast is special, as it has a built-in Icecast Server, allowing for one-click Streaming. As we do not provide any support regarding this feature, this guide only covers how to Stream to a stand-alone Icecast Server. If you are running a standalone Icecast Server on the same machine you start Nicecast, it can happen that Nicecast will kill the stand-alone Icecast Server and you will need to restart it!

[[File:Nicecast Main Window.png|500px]]

=== Set the Audio Source ===
First you need to set the Audio Source, this is, where the audio comes from that should be streamed to Icecast. Click on ''Source'' to select it:

[[File:Nicecast_Source_Settings.png|500px]]

=== Set the Stream Information ===
Now we need to enter Stream Information, to do so click on ''Info'' to switch to the Stream Info Settings Panel.

[[File:Nicecast_Stream_Info.png|500px]]

Here is a brief description for what each field is:

* '''Name''': The name of your Stream, usually a short title of the program you are broadcasting. Note that this should not contain Metadata like currently playing Artist/Title.
* '''URL''': An URL where more information about the stream broadcasted can be found. This is '''not the URL of your Icecast Server or Stream URL'''!
* '''Genre''': The Genre of your Stream.
* '''AIM''': This field is actually not used by Icecast so you can just leave it empty.
* '''Description''': A short description of your stream/program.

=== Configuring the Icecast Server details ===
To configure the Icecast server details, click on ''Window'' > ''Show Server'':

[[File:Nicecast_Server_Menuitem.png|400px]]

It should show up a Window with Servers like the following:

[[File:Nicecast_Server_Window.png|500px]]

To create a new Server connection settings entry, click on the ''+'' Button, which should create a new List entry and select it:

[[File:Nicecast_New_Server_Window.png|500px]]

Let's go through the fields together:

<DL>
<DT>Name
<DD>Can be nearly anything, this is just so that you remember what Icecast Server these Settings are for. (Useful if you have more than one Server)

<DT>Server Type
<DD>Select Icecast 2 here, as you are probably using Icecast 2.

<DT>Account
<DD>This is the Username you are using to login with a Source Client to Icecast, if you have not configured a specific mount username, this is usually <code>source</code>.

<DT>Password
<DD>The password for the mountpoint, or if none configured, the global source client password.

<DT>Address
<DD>The hostname where your server is running. (Not a URL, so this should '''not''' start with <code>http://</code>)

<DT>Port
<DD>The port where the server is listening, usually this is 8000, if not changed in the Icecast config.

<DT>Mount Point
<DD>This is the Mountpoint to which Nicecast will stream. This should start with a slash, i.e. <code>/coolstream.mp3</code>. (Do '''not''' set this to just <code>/</code>!

<DT>Public URL
<DD>This is the Public URL your Icecast Server is accessible. Usually it will guess the right thing, based on the hostname, so you should be able to leave it blank.
</DL>

Now make sure you click the Radiobox next to the Icecast Server name in the list, so it's selected. (This is the Server that Nicecast will use for broadcasting)

Make sure that your Window looks similar to the following:

[[File:Nicecast New Server Window filled.png|600px]]

Close the Window and restart (there is a bug in the current Version that requires a restart to apply the settings) Nicecast.

To start broadcasting, click the "Start Broadcast" button. Broadcasting should start and you should be able to see the Stream appear on the Icecast Status Page.

File:AudioHijackBroadcastMetadata.png

2018-07-08T00:13:51Z

RogueAmoeba:

File:AudioHijackBroadcastSetup.png

2018-07-08T00:13:17Z

RogueAmoeba: Server settings in Audio Hijack's Broadcast block

Server settings in Audio Hijack's Broadcast block

File:AudioHijackBasicBroadcast.png

2018-07-08T00:12:41Z

RogueAmoeba: Basic broadcasting setup in Audio Hijack

Basic broadcasting setup in Audio Hijack

Icecast Server/Streaming to Icecast with Audio Hjack

2018-07-08T00:12:11Z

RogueAmoeba: An overview of using Audio Hijack to broadcast to an Icecast server.

{{IcecastThirdParty}}

== What is Audio Hijack? ==

Audio Hijack is a commercial digital audio workstation for MacOS, which includes the ability to stream audio to Icecast servers. Audio Hijack is developed by Rogue Amoeba Software, and can be obtained from [https://www.rogueamoeba.com/audiohijack/ their website]. The free download provides time-limited trial, with the option to buy the full, unlimited version.

== Setup Notes ==

To set up a broadcast, you'll construct an audio pipeline which includes a Broadcast block. Audio Hijack can capture audio from hardware devices like microphones, as well as other software applications running on the Mac. Audio effects can also be applied to this audio before it's sent to a streaming server with the Broadcast block.

Here's a very basic broadcasting setup:

[[File:AudioHijackBasicBroadcast.png|500px]]

Once you've got your pipeline set, you'll need to configure the Broadcast block to stream audio to your server,

=== Server Setup ===

Configure the Broadcast block with your relevant server information:

[[File:AudioHijackBroadcastSetup.png|500px]]

Here's an overview of the relevant fields:

<DL>
<DT>Server Type
<DD>Select “Icecast 2” here to stream to an Icecast 2 server.

<DT>Server Address
<DD>The hostname where your server is running. This is not a web URL, so it should '''not''' start with <code>http://</code>.

<DT>Port
<DD>The port where the server is listening, usually this is 8000, if not changed in the Icecast config.

<DT>User
<DD>This is the Username you are using to login with a Source Client to Icecast, if you have not configured a specific mount username, this is usually <code>source</code>.

<DT>Password
<DD>The password for the mountpoint, or if none configured, the global source client password.

<DT>Mountpoint
<DD>This is the mountpoint to which Audio Hijack will stream. This should start with a slash, i.e. <code>/coolstream.mp3</code>. (Do '''not''' set this to just <code>/</code>!

=== Encoding Setup ===
Below the Server setup, you'll need to configure the Encoding information. In the screenshot above, this is set to 128 Kbps MP3.

=== Set the Station Info ===
Finally, you'll want to enter Station Info, in the Metadata tab.

[[File:AudioHijackBroadcastMetadata.png|500px]]

Here is a brief description for what each field is:

* '''Name''': The name of your stream, usually a short title of the program you are broadcasting. Note that this should not contain metadata like currently playing Artist/Title. That can be set in the “Track Titles” area.
* '''URL''': An URL where more information about the stream broadcasted can be found. This is '''not the URL of your Icecast Server or Stream URL'''!
* '''Genre''': The genre of your stream.

== Start Broadcasting ==

To start broadcasting, click the "Run" button in the lower left of the Audio Hijack Session window. Audio Hijack will start capturing audio from your specified sources, and the Broadcast block will stream it to your Icecast server.