Streaming Audio with Nicecast : A How to Guide

Streaming Your Own Internet Radio Station & Voice over Prim Radio (VOPR) : A How-to Guide for Mac Users using Nicecast.

As a recent newcomer to SL I often feel that Mac users are last to benefit from the SL client. So here's a how-to contribution specifically for Mac users; I hope it will help some of you stream your own music (and voice) over a prim radio (the free ones with configurable notecard) using Nicecast.

The streaming music FAQ elsewhere mentions Nicecast as a good choice for streaming on OS X but no implementation detail is provided. This contribution provides more detail. It assumes you have the following :_

Nicecast (from RogueAmoeba)
a USB microphone (optional, for VOPR)
an iTunes playlist ready to play*
ideally 2 macs** - one for broadcasting, one for inworld listening

*SL won't play playlists .pls or .m3u, but by the time it reaches your prim radio it's a stream - not a playlist .

**If you have only one then you have to bear with the cacophony of iTunes playing, the broadcast from the Nicecast server, and what you hear on your inworld prim radio - each with its own delay.

Broadcasting Set up
--------------------

1. Make sure your firewall is configured to receive incoming connections on port 80 (TCP) - Nicecast requires this.

2. Launch Nicecast and select iTunes as Source. Start the iTunes playlist.

3. Start the Nicecast broadcast. Click the 'Share' panel and do a Server 'Check Now' - this should tell you if your playlist is broadcasting. You don't need to click to broadcast on Macstreams.com if your listeners are inworld. The Nicecast Server window should tell you what's playing.

4. In the Nicecast Broadcast window - Share panel, note the address used by Nicecast. It will be in the form :-

http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:8000/listen.m3u

Configuring your prim radio
----------------------------

5. In SL open your prim radio's configuration notecard (assuming its one where you can add/edit radio stations and their streaming URls)

6. Add your own 'radio station' using the URL in part 4 above EXCEPT for the trailing '/listen.m3u' - you must drop this, so that the streaming URL is :-

http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:8000

7. Save the configuration file, and start up the prim radio, selecting your station for playing.

NB. If you have a dynamic ip connection (where the dotted quad address may change from time to time) you can map to a 'static' address with dyndns.org or no-ip.com services using utilities such as RunDNS for OS X.

Voice over Prim Radio (VOPR)
-----------------------------

This is really cool feature, mind blowing to some listeners when they are least expecting to hear your own voice on the radio. Very easy to do :-

8. Plug in microphone (I use a logitech USB headphone and mic; these instructions assume the same)

9. Check system preferences to make sure USB mic is selected as sound input

9. In the Nicecast Broadcast window change the Source from iTunes to 'Audio Device' and in the 'Select' pull down menu select the USB microphone.

10. Start Broadcast and start talking .... and wait. Listen to your dulcet tones on your prim radio.

Sadly, there is a delay. Depending where you are broadcasting from, and where your listeners are receiving your transmission - expect long delays. The round trip for my voice broadcast is 12 secs (from start of utterance broadcast in Northern Europe, to its playback on prim radio heard in Northern Europe). Not very satisfying if your listener has to wait 12 secs for a response from you ..... .

Maybe stick to Skype...

So, enjoy, and any thoughts on improvement welcome.

Cathal

There are many of us (esp) musicians who have been using Nicecast in SL for a long time now, If anyone needs help setting up inworld, you are welcome to contact me for more information.
I run classes on Musician performances, Live streaming into SL, Band co-ordination, inworld promotion, troubleshooting etc. I soundcheck everyone to ensure that levels are good before performance. I provide this all free of charge. UK and Europe and USA time catered for.So no matter where you are you should be able to attend the classes. You don't need 2 computers.

The Nicecast system and information as set out by Cathal above is good, However it is also based on Nicecasts built in server which is dependant upon your machine
and will only allow up to 8 listeners (max). There are other options in world, inparticular, many venues offer streams that can handle up to 50 listeners or more.
Ther are also far more options for Voice over in the nicecast application under the effects menu that I cover in my classes and greatly enhance your performance and sound.
Also as a musician you may have also a mixer/preamp, keyboards that you want to plug in and use plus the mac application that you use.

Please contact me inworld for more details.

Slim Warrior
Instructor
Classes held on Menorca inworld.

Thanks Slim for the update. Good to know about this - very helpful for all new SL residents interested in streaming music.

Cathal