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Streaming Servers
Streaming Servers
A streaming server or relay must be a component of any ProSTREAM-connected streaming solution. The
streaming server can be either free software from the Internet community or a paid service from a provider.
While ProSTREAM is capable of serving streams directly, a streaming server instance should be utilized for
clients to connect to the encoded stream. ProSTREAM is NOT designed to serve direct client requests.
ProSTREAM has audio outputs as well as inputs. There are stereo male XLR analog outputs mounted on
the rear panel of ProSTREAM, Livewire IP audio input/outputs, or optional AES/EBU inputs and outputs.
The audio output direct from ProSTREAM does not reflect the encoded audio that comes from the stream
container but instead represents the full bandwidth audio feeding the ProSTREAM’s stream compressor.
Both input and output audio can be monitored via the front panel headphone jack and selector, but encoded
audio still requires an external decoder in order to be monitored.
A streaming server instance will accept the continuous stream of packed data from the ProSTREAM and
replicates the packet streams to each client program, device, or mobile phone via the Internet.
As the stream’s content increases in popularity, the task of delivering the stream can require significant
Internet bandwidth may even need to be shared amongst multiple server instances and/or services. A
streaming server instance can be used in this situation to supply multiple streaming server instances or
services.
Just like a terrestrial broadcast, this distribution must all start with the single server instance to which the
ProSTREAM is delivering the compressed packet stream.
Streaming Server Software
♦
Icecast2 [http://www.icecast.org/]
♦
Wowza [http://www.wowzamedia.com/]
♦
Streamcast [http://www.radiotoolbox.com/]
♦
Windows Media
HTTP Streaming:
ProSTREAM has a built-in mini server on TCP port 8000. This server can accept only a few connections
and should not be used as the main streaming server. It is intended to be used for stream monitoring with
a player or to have another media server pull the stream from ProSTREAM allowing monitoring of the
encoded stream. This is helpful in troubleshooting server connections or just as a quick way to test every-
thing is working as expected. The HTTP server is also useful when adjusting audio processing parameters as
the audio can be monitored with compression. The audio delay should also be shorter than listening to the
stream delivered through an external server.
SHOUTcast DNAS [http://www.SHOUTcast.com/broadcast-tools]:
SHOUTcast.com is a streaming community on the Internet operated by Nullsoft and sponsored and
supported by AOL. SHOUTcast does not relay streams or provide any live bandwidth features for free.
SHOUTcast.com is the home of the following free software and services:
