DJ Disconnect/Reconnect Client

[essexradio]

For a very long time i have been searching everywhere to find a piece of software that will create a connection to shoutcast and play adverts/music whilst it waits for a live stream to start.


Heres my dilemma...

I run a radio station in essex, its a dance music station aimed at djs, where djs get a 2 hour set, to play what they want. The djs play from home and stream over the internet to our shoutcast server. Now we have a computer that is tuned into this server and re-broadcasts the audio over onto the FM dial. It is very simple up to this point.....

Connecting the djs, disconnecting, making sure the stream doesn't go dead, IS THE HARDEST JOB EVER.

Firstly, if someone is connected to the server (I.E) our main studio, and im not available to stop it, the dj will not be able to connect, and they miss their set. secondly, if the dj manages to connect and then disconnects at the end of their set, it will break the stream and it will stop the pc, connected to the FM from continuous play. The FM is then left with no music playing. I think many stations have this problem but not as bad as they are not re-broadcasting it.

WHAT I NEED TO KNOW IS: Is there any kind of software that will create a barrier between shoutcast and the dj.
I found this, and its exactly what i need, but i want to run it on my own server. Please watch the video if you haven't got a clue what im talking about LOL.

Wavestreaming / Cloud DJ / Cloud DJ

 

[General Lighting]

The software you suggest would do the job but there is a cost implication to the streaming company and extra support burden (assuming whoever makes it is even willing to share it, since the economic depression has kicked in "open source" has unfortunately become a lot less open.)

There is no free lunch here, any solution it will need time, effort and resources.

For a variety of reasons, I would strongly suggest that you and your DJ's invest in another "private circuit" method of getting the audio to the main studio. It does mean a bit more hardware and software involved but if coded properly will allow you to switch between remotes and main studio playout at near real time.

A major problem you will have with online broadcasting in this manner is not just lag (due to encoding) but a varying amount of such lag which will depend on what kit each presenter has at their home studio, so unless someone is monitoring at the studio end anyway you will still get gaps, dead air, autoplayout content being abruptly halted and replaced by the live content (which most online stations put up with due to cost implications).

This is one project for low cost near real time audio links.

OpenOB by JamesHarrison

this has less lag (50ms even across broadband) so you should be able to remove any gaps. you probably will still have to automate the audio switching if there isn't someone in your main studio.

Another more important factor is that you haven't given many details or whether you have a Band II license, I haven't heard of any new community stations being licensed in Essex (though there might be).

This issue doesn't bother me personally as I used to be a pirate myself, most of ICR's night time presenters are formerly from Flex FM and (and I to tune in to Mystery FM when it was on air) but if you are unlicensed, the what you are doing is putting the streaming company in a very difficult position, as their service is essentially being used as a studio to transmitter link and being used to facilitate illegal broadcasting. the laws about this got beefed up as long ago as 1990

This is from current UK legislation (link below, its was put up on Party Vibe some years ago)

(2) The acts referred to in subsection (1) are—

(a) participating in the management, financing, operation or day-to-day running of the station knowing, or having reasonable cause to believe, that unauthorised broadcasts are made by the station;

(b) supplying, installing, repairing or maintaining any wireless telegraphy apparatus or any other item knowing, or having reasonable cause to believe, that the apparatus or other item is to be, or is, used for the purpose of facilitating the operation or day-to-day running of the station and that unauthorised broadcasts are made by the station;

http://www.partyvibe.com/forums/pirate-radio/658-pirate-radio-law-uk.html

This creates a situation whereby the streaming company can be forced by Court Order to divulge personal details of both who is funding the service and who is listening to law enforcement agencies and the Communications Ministry of perhaps more than one country!

This is hassle for everyone involved and increases the burden and cost to the streaming company and reputational damage as "being a grass isn't cool" - but they could be given the Hobsons choice of coughing up the user details or losing their business!

streaming companies are by and large run as small businesses by people with a passion for music and alternative broadcasting, but who don't have the resources to fight big legal battles.

OTOH if you are licensed you can do it the other way round, use your Band II FM aircheck receiver which is feeding the Ofcom compliance recording PC to run Eddcast reborn and stream from there - simples (and does double duty as engineers can monitor the station quality online even if they are out of the TX range). TBH even as a pirate you could do that, it means more effort at the studio end.

Or just do it the old skool way and get the DJ's to come to a single studio, way easier :rofl:

 

[essexradio]

Yes the station is pirate, the online server is not connected to the fm broadcast. We have a private icecast server to hold just 1 listener. then it gets sent to the transmitter and shoutcast online.

1 way i used to do it to create the barrier was to setup 2 shotucast servers and relay 1 into the other. so it would be...

ENCODER>>>>SHOUTCAST>>>>MAIN SHOUTCAST

This worked but if the dj was late or didnt turn up, it would still crash and go dead air, and also it was more like a recording due to the fact that it took almost 2 mins to play out. ideally, i want something that will outstand being left for hours with no audio, and as soon as i connect my live feed, it will carry on playing again.

at the moment i am using fallback files to stop it from disconnecting, but there is always that day you get when you switch the radio on to find its crashed due to one of the djs.

 

[General Lighting]

at the moment i am using fallback files to stop it from disconnecting, but there is always that day you get when you switch the radio on to find its crashed due to one of the djs.

if you are using icecast then the fallback files should work, (why not let the DJ's just connect into the icecast machine?) but the other scenario (which from your description means a DJ has left the connection active after finishing) is better solved by better tech training of the DJ's.

Many stations use silence detectors and they aren't that hard to implement in hardware or software but it still will mean some custom coding. I will ask my friends in Scotland who use icecast for their station if they have any ideas...

That said my preference is for "right first time". it is no different from any other radio station using remote contributions, either someone needs to manage the audio feed at the studio end as well, and the person producing the remote audio needs to signal that the circuit is cleared after they are done with it!

 

[essexradio]

With the icecast server, its just one i setup on the studio pc so that djs can connect to that (as it is very fast, only about 5 seconds delay)

From icecast its then sent to shoutcast and transmitter at the same time. so all the connections are sorted before it hits the main server. but with everything, its not always that simple lol.

 

[General Lighting]

connections are sorted before it hits the main server. but with everything, its not always that simple lol.

I was discussing just this with some of the ex-pirates on our local station crew (and they are the ones what kept the place going when we had to shift studios at very short notice.) TBF I would say you have made it as simple as possible for the DJ's - the ball is now in their court to be professional if they want to stay with your station!

After all there is if anything is an oversupply of DJ's and radiostations - however finding a good one isn't as easy!

One reason (apart from getting older and supposedly wiser/more sensible :rofl a lot of us here swallowed our pride and moved into community radio is that the slightly more formal management structures (and less need for paranoia/secrecy) actually increase professionalism. If you don't have to worry about hassle from authorities you can work with a far wider range of people in more stable environments.

I can however see the dilemma you have in Essex as most of the community station licenses for all areas from CO / CM / SS areas are taken up - we were lucky here in Ipswich as there is already a solid core of people with both a passion for dance music and the organisational skills required to run a licensed community station radio who became part of ICR at the start many years ago (I only recently joined myself after the outreach worker there contacted me following a post on Partyvibe).

Its a shame in the UK that we do not have the more enlightened attitudes of Holland or Belgium, where it seems far easier to legally set up a smaller scale local FM station (and broadcast online) playing specialist music as well as the big names doing this...

As for the online streams, a silence detector could be a handy thing to have anyway..