SubscribeHOW TO SETUP YOUR OWN INTERNET AUDIO/VIDEO STREAM
Willsjojo Incorp # Revised
Willsjojo Incorp # Revised
There are any number of streaming systems or services you could use, such as SHOUTcast,
Live365, or Real Server, along with many others, but these are either very complicated to set
up, require listeners to install special software, or have additional charges involved.
I recommend setting up a station using Windows Media Encoder rather than one of the other
systems for several reasons;
1. Windows Media Encoder and its transmission is free
2. Windows Media Encoder is simple to set up
3. A Windows Media station can be received by just about any computer running Windows
(and most Macs too, with the correct free plug-in)
4. All of the other systems I have looked at, require the listener to install proprietory players
to hear your station, some of which force 3rd party advertisements onto your listeners
NOTICE: Sept 15, 2010. Microsoft is replaced Windows Media Encoder with a newLive365, or Real Server, along with many others, but these are either very complicated to set
up, require listeners to install special software, or have additional charges involved.
I recommend setting up a station using Windows Media Encoder rather than one of the other
systems for several reasons;
1. Windows Media Encoder and its transmission is free
2. Windows Media Encoder is simple to set up
3. A Windows Media station can be received by just about any computer running Windows
(and most Macs too, with the correct free plug-in)
4. All of the other systems I have looked at, require the listener to install proprietory players
to hear your station, some of which force 3rd party advertisements onto your listeners
program called Microsoft Expression Encoder. As far as I can tell, Expression Encoder
can not be used to stream media directly from your computer like Media Encoder. A live
stream output of Expression Encoder must be fed through a Windows Media Server.
The Media Server component is now free but it will only run on a Windows 2010 Server
platform.
As of today, the link below in #5 will download Media Encoder from Microsoft, but I do
not know how long the older encoder will be available. Get it while you can. If this link
fails, you can try searching Goggle for wmencoder.exe, you might find a working link
somewhere.
You can use Expression Encoder to create content, for streaming or simple http
download, however, local streaming is not included. I am still investigating Expression
Encoder as I get the time and will update this page when I learn more. But that may be
a few months.
What you will need:
1. A high speed Internet connection.
2. An understanding of how to program your router to forward ports.
3. A source for your music.
CD player, MP3 player, computer, microphone, or even a radio tuned to your favorite
station.
4. A computer running Windows Media Encoder to stream your music.
See below for minimum requirements.
5. Windows Media Encoder version 9.
This is a free program. Download the encoder from Microsoft's website and install it.
6. You will be using Unicast streaming, as most home users cannot transmit Multicast
streams. If you don't understand that, don't worry about it, it's not important for the
beginner, but the following block contains a brief explanation.
Unicast vs Multicast
Unicast
In a Unicast environment, your server must have a dedicated stream to each individual listener or viewer.
Using Windows Media, the best audio stream is 148k per listener. The best quality video stream is 1,128k
(1.2 megs) per viewer.
To Unicast a 37k audio stream to say 100 people, your upstream bandwidth would need to be about
3,700k or 3.7 megabits per second. To Unicast a highest quality video stream on Windows Media to 100
people, your upstream bandwidth would need to exceed approximately 1,200 megabits or 1.2 gigabits per
second, and of course you would need server(s) to deal with that kind of output.
Multicast
I have no actual experience in setting up a Multicast environment, but the basic concept is your server
outputs a single stream which is then split by the routers along the line between you and your listeners or
viewers. All these routers, including your local router and across the Internet, must be configured to
accommodate Multicasting.
At the current state of the Internet, only high end router equipment can be configured for outgoing
Multicasting and you pay a premium to your Internet provider for such services. I don't believe this is a
service you are likely to have available in a home environment for some time to come. That's what
streaming media hosting services are for. You push a single stream to their servers and they deal with the
configuration, bandwidth, and complicated stuff, for a price $$$$.
Minimum configuration to capture and broadcast audio:
266 MHz processor, such as an Intel Pentium with MMX, Windows XP or Windows 2000, 64
MB of RAM. Supported sound card.
Keep in mind that these are the MINIMUM computer requirements. If your computer only meets
the minimum requirements, don't expect this computer to be able to do anything else.
Recommended configuration can also capture video:
866 MHz processor or higher, such as an Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon, Windows XP, 128
MB of RAM or higher. Supported audio-capture device.
If you are going to use a computer running Windows Media Player as your source, don't use the
same computer to stream your station as the one playing your music. It won't work, unless you
have a very powerful late model computer which isn't doing much else. Media Encoder will not
run smoothly and you will get some most peculiar results, such as sputtering, sound speed
fluctuations, dropouts, and more. While the results are quite entertaining for a minute or two, it is
unusable as a webcast station. I learned this the hard way. I spent a lot of time setting everything
up and then had to start over again.
Now comes the more complicated part
You will need to select a port that your listeners can connect through. It has to be a port that your
Internet provider does not block and that isn't being forwarded elsewhere on your network. I use
port 444 because of some port conflict issues with my setup, but since the default port for
Windows Media Player is 1755, this would be a better one for you to start with.
Chose the streams you want to make available. There are three major points to consider when
choosing the stream speeds you want to offer.
- What quality you want your listeners to have available
- What your upstream bandwidth is
- The fact that each listener will occupy the fastest stream you are offering which their
The higher the stream speed you offer, the better the quality of your music or webcam image.
However there is a trade off. If you are net casting from your home, your upstream speed is
probably limited, and the higher your stream speed, the fewer simultaneous listeners you can
have.
For example, let's say you have a DSL connection which is advertised as 250k upstream
bandwidth. Remember, this is your maximum upstream bandwidth, only obtained under ideal
conditions. Much of the time your bandwidth will be less. Also, remember that you are going to
have to use part of that bandwidth for yourself, such as for sending e-mail.
Now, if you were to choose the 135K stream and you get 2 listeners who connect at the same
time, they will occupy 270k - that's already over your bandwidth. With only 2 connections, your
listeners will hear audio dropouts, or even connection timeouts, especially while your e-mail is
being uploaded.
For a music station I recommend that you choose multiple bit rates, include 11, 15, 19, and 24
(see #9 in the next section). The 11 and 15 k stream will give dial-up users a connection even if
they are experiencing very slow speeds. If you have a really fast connection, add a 37 bit rate
stream. The 37 bit rate is as good as an FM radio station so there is really no need for anything
faster for just audio. Video is another matter and will occupy much more bandwidth. For a
web-cam, your choices on the low end will be more limited. Start with the 28k and 43k bit rates
and see how they look, then go from there. I have a 2mbit upstream connection, so I can support
about 28 simultaneous connections at the 37kbts speed.
Now for the fun part!
1. Program your router to forward your selected port to your server computer
(and open any firewalls if necessary)
2. Plug your player output (headphone or speaker jack) into the AUX input of the streaming
server computer (usually a blue jack)
3. Start Media Encoder
4. Choose "Broadcast a live event"
5. Uncheck the video device (unless you are setting up a webcam stream)
6. Chose your sound card from the audio select list (and camera if using a webcam)
7. Select "Pull from the encoder"
8. Enter the port you picked above
9. Choose the stream rates you want to make available to your listeners
10. Do not select "Archive"
11. Enter a Title, Author and other information for your station
12. Click "Finish"
13. Begin playing your music
14. Click the "Start Encoding" button on the server
Your station should now be online for net casting
Listening to your station
Instruct your listeners to open Windows media player, press Ctrl U, and enter the following
URL;
mms://62.24.111.242:444/ (notice that says mms:// not http://)
62.24.111.242 is your current IP address. Change 444 to the port you have chosen to use. If you
are using the default port (1755) then you can leave off the last colon and the port number. Your
IP address probably changes every few days so you will need to modify this file each time you
use it. See next section on Dynamic DNS for how to use a dynamic DNS service to be able to
use a name rather then your IP address.
(This is VERY important)
If you have a website where you want to put a link to your station, you will need to create what is
called a .wvx file. This is a simple ascii file which can be created in Windows Notepad using a
wvx extension. The file will contain the following text.
<ASX VERSION="3.0">
<ENTRY>
<REF HREF="mms://62.24.111.242:444" />
</ENTRY>
</ASX>
Substitute the port number you chose instead of my 444. You can leave the port number off if
you are using the default port.
Name the file somthing.wvx
place the file on your website and create a link on your page to that file, not to the source music.
Simply making a link to your station in a web page will not work with newer media players and
some web browsers. Some older browsers may work but not the newest ones. You MUST link to
this wvx file, not directly to your stream. The wvx file has to link to the stream.
Now, your friends can listen to your own personal Internet radio station, or watch you on your
streaming webcam.
DNS or your changing IP address
Because your IP address probably changes frequently, you may want to sign up for a DynamicDNS service so you don't have to give your listeners a new IP address each time they connect.
See my Dynamic DNS page in my webcam review section for more info.
Number of listeners
By default, Windows Media Encoder is limited to 5 simultaneous connections. You can modifythis number by editing the Windows Registry. This is rather technical and if you are not familiar
with the Registry I don't recommend you try this without help from someone who knows
computers. Most people's Internet connection could have bandwidth problems with more than 5
listeners anyway.
Click on Start > Run then type in regedit and click OK.
Now search for the following key;
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Software\Microsoft\Windows Media Tools\Encoder\MaxClientConnections\
The default is 5. You can change that to whatever number you want to allow to connect, but
remember the restrictions on your bandwidth.
Advanced setups
If you don't know what command lines or batch files are, then this section is not for you.
The problem with the above process, using the graphical interface, is that the stream will not start
on its own. You can save the profile and place it in your startup group, and the program will
start, but not the stream. You have to manually click "Start Encoding" to make it work. However,
there is a command line version which can be used if you want an unattended station to start
automatically when Windows starts up.
You need to create a Windows Media Encoder Profile. Once you have configured the encoder as
described above, click on File, Save, and save the profile to a location of your choosing using
whatever name you want. (Note: if you add or remove an audio or video device from your
computer the profile may not work correctly because the device numbers may change. If so, you
will need to go through the settings process again and resave the profile.)
Now you need to create a batch file which will start the command line process. It would make
the process easer if you save both your profile and batch files in the Windows Media Encoder
folder. C:\Program Files\Windows Media Components\Encoder\
Your batch file should look like the following...
cscript.exe wmcmd.vbs –wme My_profile_file.wme -duration 9000000
Here's what all that means. Note: you will need to include the path to where the program and
files are located in the batch file.
- cscript.exe wmcmd.vbs = the commands that makes this work
- wme My_profile_file.wme = the path and name of your profile
- -duration 9000000 = number of seconds to run before terminating the broadcast
Now that you are ready to go = don’t forget to like my page www.facebook.com/willsjojoincorp
NOTE: As this information is 100% helped you as I know it will, please send me a reference on
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on the phone. It's important that the SIM card IS NOT in the phone, during the following steps!!
, where the X's are numbers.
