This post explains what SHOUTcast and easySHOUT! are all about and also includes documentation with screenshots so you can fully understand how our easySHOUT! web-based control panel works.

What is SHOUTcast?
SHOUTcast is a server for streaming media developed by Nullsoft. The actual server software is free, but hosting for the server is not as it requires a large amount of bandwidth in order to stream. SHOUTcast permits anyone on the internet to broadcast audio from their PC to listeners across the Internet or any other IP-based network (Office LANs, college campuses, etc.). SHOUTcast’s underlying technology for audio delivery is MPEG Layer 3, also known as MP3 technology and AAC+. The SHOUTcast Radio system can deliver audio in a live situation, or can deliver audio on-demand for archived broadcasts. This documentation/blog is mainly focused on easySHOUT so, if you would like to learn more about SHOUTcast and how it works, you can click here to visit the official SHOUTcast website.

How does SHOUTcast work?
The SHOUTcast audio homesteading system is comprised of a few simple components. Some are explained in detail below:

LISTENING
Listeners tune in to SHOUTcast Radio broadcasts by using a player compatible with streaming MP3 audio. Users can visit the SHOUTcast Radio directory to locate a stream they’d like to listen to. Recommended players are listed below:

(1) Windows users should use Winamp.
(2) Mac users should use iTunes.
(3) Linux/X Windows users should use XMMS.

BROADCASTING
Persons wanting to broadcast will need to obtain SHOUTcast hosting from B2NetSolutions. To do so, select our available SHOUTcast hosting packages that best suits your needs. If you do not find a package that best suits your needs, you can request a quote from us. If you would like to proceed with a quote, email us or open a ticket and provide us with all the information we need (# of listeners, bitrate, etc.) If you have any other questions or concerns that need to be addressed before you purchase hosting, you can send us an email or you can take advantage of our live support chat. When you are connected, please ask your question and wait patiently for a response.

What is easySHOUT!?
EasySHOUT! is a web-based SHOUTcast control panel that is always under constant development by the B2NetSolutions programming team. The main purpose of easySHOUT! is to make it easier for clients to control their SHOUTcast server(s). easySHOUT! is completely web-based excluding the FTP server where you can upload your music for AutoDJ, which is described below. All configuration is done through the control panel; You can change your DJ stream password, administrator password and stream title/description along with a few more stream-based options.

FEATURES
easySHOUT! has many useful features including AutoDJ(1), a playlist editor(2), statistical information(3), server logs(4) that can be sent to your email, the ability to start, stop and restart(5) your server directly through the control panel and server configuration(6) also directly through the panel. To learn more about the features of easySHOUT! and how to use them, continue reading below!

    • AutoDJ <1> AutoDJ is easySHOUT!’s most important and popular feature. With AutoDJ, you do not have to DJ/stream from your home connection. If you choose to use our AutoDJ feature, you will receive 2 gigabytes of FTP storage where you can upload the mp3s that you want streamed. AutoDJ is an extra $5.00 per month plus whatever SHOUTcast hosting package you choose. You can also customize the AutoDJ package if you need more than 2 Gigabytes of FTP storage space for the music you want to stream.
      AUTODJ USAGE
      Below is the AutoDJ panel that is inside our easySHOUT! SHOUTcast Control Panel. When you want to initiate AutoDJ, you would click “start”, when you want to disable AutoDJ, you would click “stop.” If you wish to skip to the next track in your playlist, click “next song.” Each time you upload new audio files, you will need to “stop” AutoDJ and update the playlist by clicking the “update playlist” button you see below.

  • Playlist Editor <2> The playlist editor can be a very useful tool if you plan to stream different types of music at different times of the day.  To get started creating a playlist, click on “Playlist Editor” in the menu on the left side of the panel.  Once inside, you will need to type in a playlist name, anything you like will work.  After you’ve typed in the name, click “Add Playlist.”  Once done, click on the name of your new playlist… this will take you to a page that lists all of your music files you have uploaded to your FTP.  To add songs, click on the songs you would like to add to the playlist.  You can add multiple songs by holding “CTRL” and clicking the song name.  After you have selected all the songs you wish to add to this newly created playlist, click on “Save Playlist.”  To change the playlist that AutoDJ is using, click on “Current Statistics” in the menu on the left side of the panel.  In the lower right corner of the panel, you will see the AutoDJ panel.  There is a drop-down menu where you can choose the playlist you want AutoDJ to use.  You may create as many playlists and add as many songs as you like.
  • Statistical Information <3> This is the main page of easySHOUT!.  This page shows all stream information and contains the AutoDJ panel.  The only thing you can do on this page is Refresh the stream information and control AutoDJ, ie: Start AutoDJ, Stop AutoDJ, Skip to the next song in the playlist and change the current playlist.
  • Server Logs <4> To access the server logs, click on “Log Files” in the panel on the left side of the page.  Put in the email address you wish to send the logs to and then click “Send.”
  • Stop, Restart and Update <5> On the top left side of the “Server Control” panel, you will see three options below the IP Address of your server.  They are: Start Server, Stop Server and Update & Restart.  These are pretty much self-explanatory.  If you wish to start the server, click on “Start Server.”  If you wish to stop it, click “Stop Server.”  If you wish to update the server (ie: after switching playlists), click “Update and Restart.”
  • Server Configuration <6> With our Shoutcast Control Panel, you can configure everything you need right through your browser.  Never again will you mess with another configuration file.  See below for a screenshot of our Server Configuration section of the SCP.
  • Shoutcast Password: This is where you need to set your password for your server.  If you ever wish to manually DJ, this is the password you will use to connect to the stream.
  • Administrator Password: This password (if specified) changes the behaviour of password to be a broadcast-only password and limits HTTP Administration tasks to the password specified here.
  • Relay Port and Relay Server specify that you want to be a relay server.  Relay servers act as clients to another server and rebroadcast the stream.
  • Autodump Source: Specifies how long, in seconds, the source stream is allowed to be idle before the server disconnects it.
  • Title Format: Specifies a format string for stream title.  ‘%s’ variable takes the title from the source.  Example -> TitleFormat: ‘Justin Radio: %s’ – Source plug-in’s title: Billy plays the blues.  -> Result: ‘Justin Radio: Billy plays the blues.’
  • URL Format: Specifies a format string for what URL is sent to the listener.  (Behaves like Title Format, see above.)
  • Listener Timer: Value in minutes of maximum permitted time for a connected listener.  If someone is connected for longer than this amount of time, in minutes, they are disconnected.
  • Allow Relay: Determines whether or not other Shoutcast server will be permitted to relay this server.
  • Allow Public Relay: When set to No, will tell any relaying server not to list the server in the Shoutcast directory.
  • RIP Only: When set to Yes, will only allow IP Addresses listed in the Reserved IP List to connect and relay.
  • Show Last Songs: Specifies how many songs to list in the /played.html page.  Default is 10, acceptable entries are 1-20.
  • Public Server: Public status of the shoutcast server. Options: Default, always and never.
  • Autodump Users: Controls whether or not users are disconnected if the source stream disconnects.
  • Name Lookups: Specify Yes to perform reverse DNS on connections.  Notice, this option may increase the time it takes to connect to your server.
  • W3C Enable: Turns W3C-HTTP like logging on.  It logs every track played for every listener, including byte counts those listeners took.  This data can be parsed with tools like Analog and WebTrends or given to reporting systems of Arbitron or MeasureCast.
  • Clean XML: Strips some whitespace and linefeeds from XML output which confuses some (poorly written) XML parsers.  If you get XML rendering errors, try turning this on.  Default is No.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions concerning our easySHOUT! Shoutcast Control Panel, you can contact us by emailing support@b2netsolutions.com or by accessing our Live Chat feature that is on our main site at http://www.b2netsolutions.com