Reliable & scalable solutions for live audio streaming?

Question

I wonder if you could share your thoughts / resources about live audio streaming (to run on-line radio station). I have to admit, I am a complete newbie to the subject, so please excuse me lack of details.

What are the most recommended platforms / software setups?

Opinions based on personal experience would be highly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

Answer 1

The reliable ones are:

• Shoutcast
• Icecast2

Shoutcast may crash from time to time if You try to switch the introfile on the run. See the icecast2 vs shoutcast performance comparsion. There are many easy-to-use tools like sc_trans or winamp's DSP shoutcast plugin that You can easily configure to start streaming Your own radio on those servers. See here and generally browse on the topic, there are lot of guides on how to start Your own radio.

Both Icecast2 and Shoutcast can serve several thousands of clients with no problems (I had it on production on heavy load for years).

Answer 2

Shoutcast has always worked well for me. I know a few others that use it as well. Reliable and fast.