Questions regarding Internet Radio

Talk about Audio On Demand or Streaming
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Sandy978
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Joined: Wed May 23, 2007 12:50 pm

Questions regarding Internet Radio

Post by Sandy978 »

I hope this is the right board to post to: My company is just now in the beginning and research stages of looking into starting up an internet radio station. We have looked into Live365 and Shoutcast… and have decided Shoutcast would be a better option since we are not wanting advertising and a more customizable media player. I guess one of my questions would be Is Shoutcast the best and most cost effective option? Or is there anything else out there?

Also, we are looking to be able to integrate an html code on other individuals websites that will allow them to offer listening to our station form their website as well… and want to look into either purchasing or having someone design a cross-browser-compatible media player that is compatible on PC and MAC. We were looking into a Flash interface, but are not aware of what would be the best option for listeners. If it is possible to have no unique software downloads required by the listener to access an audio player, that would be great. However, if a plug-in is required that is not a problem. I have listed a few questions below:

1. If we choose to go with Shoutcast, does anyone know of any lowcost hosting solutions? I have looked into Setnine and Crucial Servers, but their prices are pretty high I think, but maybe not.

2. Would it be more cost effective to have a dedicated server instead of using a hosting solution company?

3. Would anyone recommend anything other than Shoutcast (besides Live365)

4. Does anyone know where I could obtain someone to build a cross-browser-compatible media player interface using flash, or other means? Or where I could purchase a pre-designed one (similar to what liquid compass offers)?



Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Sandy
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Jay
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Re: Questions regarding Internet Radio

Post by Jay »

Sandy978 wrote:I hope this is the right board to post to: My company is just now in the beginning and research stages of looking into starting up an internet radio station. We have looked into Live365 and Shoutcast… and have decided Shoutcast would be a better option since we are not wanting advertising and a more customizable media player. I guess one of my questions would be Is Shoutcast the best and most cost effective option? Or is there anything else out there?

Also, we are looking to be able to integrate an html code on other individuals websites that will allow them to offer listening to our station form their website as well… and want to look into either purchasing or having someone design a cross-browser-compatible media player that is compatible on PC and MAC. We were looking into a Flash interface, but are not aware of what would be the best option for listeners. If it is possible to have no unique software downloads required by the listener to access an audio player, that would be great. However, if a plug-in is required that is not a problem. I have listed a few questions below:
MP3 is your best option if you want cross platform compatibility.
Sandy978 wrote: 1. If we choose to go with Shoutcast, does anyone know of any lowcost hosting solutions? I have looked into Setnine and Crucial Servers, but their prices are pretty high I think, but maybe not.
Check out our stream hosts section.
Sandy978 wrote: 2. Would it be more cost effective to have a dedicated server instead of using a hosting solution company?
This depends on several factors. When you buy streamhosting you are paying for expertise as well as bandwidth. If you are familiar with running in a dedicated environment then you can definately save money as there are more options in dedicated and colo setups.
Sandy978 wrote: 3. Would anyone recommend anything other than Shoutcast (besides Live365)
Icecast, Steamcast, Windows Media Server. They all do the same thing effectively with some having benefits towards certain needs over others. It depends on your needs.
Sandy978 wrote: 4. Does anyone know where I could obtain someone to build a cross-browser-compatible media player interface using flash, or other means? Or where I could purchase a pre-designed one (similar to what liquid compass offers)?
Wish I did but most of the freely available flash players are broken in later flash versions. Contracting a reputable individual is a must and they are definitely in high demand. Just make sure that they are aware of the caveats with streaming in flash before hiring them (browser caching of streamed content, policy limitations under certain browsers.
- Jay
Sandy978
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Joined: Wed May 23, 2007 12:50 pm

Thanks

Post by Sandy978 »

Thanks so much for your help!
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