Knowledgebase

Bandwidth
Bandwidth is the generic term for data moving over a network connection. See bitrate.

Bitrate (kbps)
Bitrate is measured in kilobits per second (kbps), and can be said to be the same thing as...

Buffer
A delay is placed between the broadcaster and the listener of generally 10-30 seconds. This is...

Delay between stream and listener
We are often asked why there is a delay between the stream source and the listener, this is due...

DNAS
Short for "Distributed Network Audio/Video Server", it is the program that takes an...

DSP
Digital Signal Processing is software that can do special functions with audio or video while it...

How To Stream To Your SHOUTcast Radio

Internet Radio
The generic term for streaming music on-line. Content is in the form of MP3s, WAVs, sound card...

IP Address (static/dynamic)
IP stands for Internet Protocol. It is a numerical address separated by decimal points that...

iTunes
iTunes is a digital media player application, introduced by Apple on January 10, 2001 at the...

Latency
Is another term used to describe delay time of a connection between two servers or addresses in...

Listener Slots
All SHOUTcast Plans have unlimited monthly listener throughput -- the capacity of Internet radio...

MP3
Mpeg2, Layer 3 is a VERY popular open source compression format for audio. It allows music to be...

MP3 Encoder
The encoder takes a file in one format, and converts it to another. To broadcast, you need an...

MP3 Pro
A plus in for broadcasters and listeners alike, that is able to add additional quality into a...

NOC
Short for Network Operations Center. This is where the servers are located and where all data...

Normalizing
Done by DSP (see dsp article), normalizing eliminates the peaks and lows of audio content, so the...

Ogg
A different and less popular open-source compression format for on-line streaming music and file...

Pings
Pings or pinging, is a method of sending a packet of data to another server or address on the...

Port
Ports are commonly used in the hosting industry to define the location of a stream or other...

Quicktime Media
A proprietary compression format similar to MP3, except only Windows and Mac users using the...

Real Media
briefly known also as RealOne Player, is a cross-platform media player by RealNetworks that plays...

Relay
Since running a station requires a large amount of bandwidth, large stations use several servers...

Reserve IP (RIP)
No, it's not Rest In Peace. RIP in streaming terms is a list for Reserved IPs. A station with a...

SHOUTcast
SHOUTcast is a very popular stream service using the MP3, MP3 Pro, and NSV format. Shoutcast.com...

Sourcing
Sourcing refers to where the station content is coming from. You can either source the content...

Traceroute
A way to follow the path of data through the Internet between one IP or connection to another. It...

Winamp
Winamp is the program by Nullsoft that can play audio and video files, as well as tune into...

Windows Media Player (WMP)
Windowns Media Player (WMP) is a digital media player and media library application developed by...