Audio Broadcaster Guide Archives - Media Control Panel

Statistics

Reeve — Fri, 13 Sep 2024 02:54:05 +0000

Statistics and Reporting

The Reporting page provides historical information for the last 6 months of broadcasting by default or a maximum of 2 years. Information is updated nightly and available in several presets or custom periods. The reporting section enables you to monitor various statistics and connection information.

This feature is available on Video and Audio services.

Shoutcast 2* Icecast 2

This section provides a highlight of our reporting features and how you can use them. For a detailed explanation on what each of these fields means please review our Audio Operation Manual.

Shoutcast services do not have access to the mount points reporting tab due to limitations of Shoutcast.

On the top right of every page is the reporting period selection. By Default, this will show yesterday’s data but can be set to a custom range or these presets; Yesterday, Last 7 Days, This Month, or Last Month

The GeoIP map shows the color intensity of each country based on how many viewers come from this region.

Historical Retention defaults to 6 months but can be increased by the panel administrator to up to 2 years. Storing data for longer durations means more data is stored on the system and will use more resources.

Data can be broken down by Country and City. The tables can be sorted and data can be grouped by and even filtered by Country.

Several reports are available for downloading providing more detailed information into CSV format. Other data, charts and graphs can be directly downloaded with the Export buttons shown throughout.

For a detailed walk through of the reporting pages and each of the tracks please review the Reporting Page in the Audio Operation Manual

The post Statistics appeared first on Media Control Panel.

GeoIP Country Locking

Reeve — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 05:24:21 +0000

GeoIP Country Locking

MediaCP offers a robust GeoIP locking feature that allows the broadcaster to restrict streaming based on listener location.

GeoIP Country Locking must be first enabled as a Service Feature

Your administrator must first enable the GeoIP Country Locking Feature from Service -> Configure -> Features tab.

From the GeoIP Country Locking page you can configure countries with three options.

Disabled – Allow all listeners

Allow– Allow listeners ONLY from only selected countries

Block – Allow all connections except from the selected countries

You can then select the various countries that should be allowed or denied.

You can also use the IP Whitelist feature to set IP address to be excluded from country locking. You can specify a single IP address or a subnet.

You will need to restart the service in order for these settings to be applied.

For more information on video broadcasting and our various features check out the rest of the guide

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Icecast Live Broadcasting

Reeve — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 03:36:15 +0000

In this section we will explain how to broadcast a live audio stream to your Icecast station.

Decide your live broadcast software

To perform a live broadcast, you will require software that is capable of connecting and streaming to your Icecast server.

For beginners we recommend starting with Winamp Shoutcast DSP Plugin.

Connect your live broadcast software

Winamp SHOUTcast
DSP Plugin

BUTT Encoder

RadioCaster

RadioBOSS

SAM Cast

VirtualDJ PRO

Mixxx

PlayIt Live

Winamp SHOUTcast
DSP Plugin

BUTT Encoder

RadioCaster

RadioBOSS

SAM Cast

VirtualDJ PRO

Mixxx

PlayIt Live

The post Icecast Live Broadcasting appeared first on Media Control Panel.

Managing Your Media

Reeve — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 05:57:34 +0000

Upload and Manage Media

In this section you will learn how to check metadata and upload audio files to the Media Control Panel.

Music files typically contain meta data which includes information such as the Title, Artist, Album and other information. This is important information that is displayed on the service and is also used to obtain Album Art Covers.

It is possible to easily check this on your PC by following these steps:

Right click on media item and select Properties
Select the Details tab
You should now see meta data such as Title, Album and Year. If this information is not available, then you can enter it in the details tab and select Apply.

For checking multiple files and automatically applying meta data, we recommend instead to use software such as MP3TAG. This software is very popular and used commonly by broadcasters.

Drag and drop the media files from your PC to the Media Manager

Creating folders in the Media Manger allows you to organize your files. You can then setup playlists with AutoDJ to playout entire folders of content.

You can edit the metadata and cover art from within the panel by right click on your uploaded media and selecting Edit track

Broadcasting with AutoDJ

Learn how to manage broadcast your uploaded content with AutoDJ

The post Managing Your Media appeared first on Media Control Panel.

Getting started with Audio Streaming

Reeve — Thu, 21 Mar 2024 06:08:35 +0000

The Media Control Panel provides an interface to manage your audio streaming services with a ton of features including a powerful AutoDJ system, DJ Manager, and Scheduling.

Stream Live

Shoutcast

Icecast

AutoDJ

Audio Streaming Features

The post Getting started with Audio Streaming appeared first on Media Control Panel.

Managing Media Using FTP

Reeve — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 00:56:48 +0000

In this section we will describe how to upload and manage media using FTP.

What is FTP?

The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard communication protocol used for the transfer of computer files from a server to a client on a computer network. In the case of MediaCP it is useful to manage your media library manually.

Find Your FTP Login

Before using FTP, you will need to find your FTP login

Login to your control panel
Select Services
Select Overview button next to your service
Select Media from left side menu
Select the Upload Icon on the top right
Select UPLOAD MEDIA TRACKS VIA FTP
You will now be shown the server address with FTP port as well as your username and password.

Connect to FTP & Upload Media

You can then use the FTP access details we found above to connect to. In this guide we will be using Filezilla as it is a cross platform and popular client but there is a plethora of options, you can even just use ftp in your terminal.

Download and install and launch Filezilla
Input the server Hostname, the provided username, password and port
Select Quick Connect
You may need to accept the certificate on first connection

You can then drag and drop files to and from your services media library as well as delete and organize them.

The post Managing Media Using FTP appeared first on Media Control Panel.

Mount Points

Martin — Wed, 02 Jun 2021 06:02:06 +0000

Mount points allow the creation of multiple broadcasts within a single streaming instance. By default services in the Media Control Panel will have a mountpoint named “/stream”. Additional mount points can be created to allow for additional broadcasts or fallbacks.

The following service types support multiple mount points; Shoutcast 2.5, Shoutcast 2.6, Icecast 2, Icecast KH

Multiple Mount Points

The primary usage of this feature is to broadcast at different audio qualities depending on listener requirements. It also allows you to stream different formats (aac and mp3) to maximize device support.

Imagine streaming a high quality (128Kbps AAC), medium quality (96Kbps AAC), low quality (48Kbps) as well as an MP3 48Kbps all from a single service.

Configuring Multiple Mount Points with AutoDJ

Each audio media service includes a default mount point, configured with an AutoDJ service (if AutoDJ is enabled). The customer can configure mount points for their service, as well as add or remove mount points (where limits permit).

The number of mount points can be configured from the limits tab in the service overview. By default this will be set to 1, only an admin level account can update this setting.

If the service permits more than one mount point, a button to create additional mount points will become present on screen.

Clicking the ‘create mount point’ button will display the form below. Here you can set the mount point name, configure a fallback and enable autodj for the mountpoint. You will need to hit the ‘save’ button and then restart your shoutcast/icecast service to apply the changes.

Once the mount point has been saved it will appear in the list of available mount points.

AutoDj can be configured be configured across each mount point this is a good way to broadcast at different audio qualities for your listeners. The number of AutoDJs that can be configured on mount points is managed from the service configuration under the limits tab.

If a service is configured to allow multiple AutoDJs you can update your mount points to enable AutoDJs for specific mount points.

In the mount point form you will need to tick the AutoDJ setting to enable the feature, once enabled you will see the form below which will allow you to set the; Bitrate, Format, Channels and Sample rate for the AutoDJ. Additionally you will be able to add the stream information for AutoDJ.

After enabling autodj on the mount point you will need to save the changes by hitting the save button. This will take you back to the mount points page where you will see autodj now running on the mountpoint with the new bitrate.

Configure Multiple Mount Points On Reseller Plans

From the Reseller Plan page under the Resource tab, you can configure how many mount points the reseller is allowed to configure between all their servers. You can also configure how many Mount Points the reseller can configure Per Server.

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Broadcasting with AutoDJ

Matthew Lear — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 23:48:47 +0000

Stay online 24/7 with our powerful AutoDJ

AutoDJ allows you to broadcast to your Icecast or Shoutcast service 24/7 without the requirement of connecting a source encoder from your computer. Providing recurring event scheduling that starts on time, advanced jingles, and intuitive playlist builder.

Shoutcast Icecast

It is important that the files uploaded for AutoDJ contain accurate metadata. This is important information that is displayed on the service and is also used to obtain Album Art Covers. We have a guide for managing media for your station, including checking metadata.

The MediaCP AutoDJ service provides features to:

Upload music to the control panel
Organise music into Playlists
Schedule Playlists
Schedule Intervals / Jingles to play by number of songs or by minute interval
DJ account managment and scheduling

Before scheduling a playlist, you will need to upload music to the control panel.

Login to your control panel
Select Media Services
Select Overview button next to your service
Select Media from left side menu
Drag and drop files from your PC here. You can also create folders to organise your music tracks. You also have the option of using FTP to manage your media files.

Music is shared between other Shoutcast or Icecast services attached to the account.

Playlists allow you to organise tracks and control when and how you would like the tracks to be broadcast. The MediaCP allows you to create and configure an unlimited number of playlists.

General Rotation Selecting a playlist to play on general rotation will set to play automatically when no scheduled playlist. The rotations can be configured with a Playback weight as well as at what times the playlists should play.

Jingles are played in between General Rotations or Scheduled Playlists. They can be set to play hourly or after a set number of tracks or minutes. Just like other playlists you are able to setup repeat protection, configure shuffling or interrupting and more.

Playlists need media to be selected before you can start AutoDJ or schedule them.

Select the Tracks button
Drag or select content to add it to the selected playlist
Select Save to apply the changes to the playlist

You can now schedule your playlists and start AutoDJ

You will need to start AutoDJ in order for your playlists that are enabled as general rotation or scheduled to playout.

Return to the Service Overview by selecting Overview
From the service overview select the button labelled “SOURCE: NOT CONNECTED”
In the popup window select Start AutoDJ

AutoDJ should now show as online and begin playing your content. If AutoDJ fails to start please follow our Liquidsoap AutoDJ Troubleshooting Guide

The scheduling calendar allows you plan your stations broadcasts, and adjust them on the fly. Simply create an event at the time you would like and select the playlist you would like to play.

Then you can choose between the comprehensive recurring options. You can choose if playback will loop, shuffle and interupt. Using the interrupt setting you can have the event start exactly at a specific time and interrupt any existing content.

If you are encountering issues with AutoDJ playing the wrong track, please follow through the steps in this KB article: AutoDJ playing the wrong track

If you are seeing issues with AutoDJ not starting or not playing any audio, please review our Liquidsoap AutoDJ Troubleshooting page

Learn how to check metadata and upload media files to your Radio Station

Embed and customize our powerful HTML5 Audio Player with copy and paste embed code for your website.

Learn how to configure GeoIP Country Locking

The post Broadcasting with AutoDJ appeared first on Media Control Panel.

HTML5 Audio Player

Matthew Lear — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 05:08:31 +0000

The audio player is compatible with all modern browsers, it supports native HTML5 and SSL streaming and comes in 3 different sizes: Large, Small and Compact. The player is available only with the MediaCP software and it cannot be used with external streams outside of the MediaCP.

The Audio Player includes the following primary features:

Automatic Album Cover Art from iTunes or LastFM
Fallback custom background where a relative image cannot be located or cover albums are disabled
Direct Player Links
Mount Point Selection
Listener Count
Domain Restrictions – Play only on specific websites

The Audio Player is heavily cached, with nginx level caching on all player related end-points as well as a redis cache of stream information and player configuration. The player should be capable of handling thousands of visitors without struggle.

HTTPS / SSL & Stream Proxy

The Audio Player is designed to work either with native SSL from the streaming service (Shoutcast or Icecast) or with the MediaCP Stream Proxy. If the stream proxy is enabled on a service, this method is used as the preferred streaming url by the player. The stream proxy is delivered through nginx proxy_pass feature and provides minimal overhead and CPU consumption.

The Stream Proxy is enabled automatically for server types where SSL is either not available; or not ideal. This includes:

Shoutcast 2.5 – SSL support is not available in the server software

Autoplay

Autoplaying a stream is a complicated process with modern browsers, since the Chrome engine implemented Autoplay Policy Changes which prohibit a stream from autoplaying unless certain conditions are made

The policy specifies that autoplay is only possible where:

The audio is muted; or
The user has engaged with the website before autoplay starts; or
The user has previously played media on the website with sound.

Because of these restrictions, it does not make a lot of sense to start an audio-only stream muted; because it will confuse the user visiting the website.

We have implemented an “Attempt Autoplay” option which will automatically attempts to play the broadcast on load of the player at 50% volume. This will require visitor prior interaction (click, tap, previous visit with play, etc.) so that it meets the above conditions.

Mount Points

The Audio Player streams the default Mount Point URL as defined in the MediaCP so it is important that you are broadcasting to the same Mount Points that are listed in the Mount Points configuration.

When more than one mount point is specified, the player will show a dropdown selection allowing the user to change to a different stream. This can be useful for providing multiple bitrate streams.

Album Covers

Album covers are displayed on the stream by default. The image is located from iTunes or Last.fm depending on the panel configuration. If an image is not available, the configured Player Background will be displayed instead.

It is possible to disable Album Covers from the Player Configuration, by unchecking the Covers item from Display Options.

Player Configuration

It is possible to access the player configuration while logged into the MediaCP. You will see the configuration icon available on the player itself.

Permitted Domains

It is possible to lock the player so that it will only work from a specified list of domains. This allows you to control where the player can be used. The list of domains should be provided in a simple list of domain names only, not including anything additional (do not include http:// or https://). For example: mediacp.net, mydomain.com

This function works by utilizing the browser Access-Control-Allow-Origin feature in conjunction with the JSON configuration URL (where the player gets information about the stream). If a domain is not included in the allowed list, it will be blocked from accessing the configuration data by the browser itself.

The post HTML5 Audio Player appeared first on Media Control Panel.

DJ Accounts

Matthew Lear — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 22:58:51 +0000

DJ Accounts

DJ accounts can live stream to their service using their own private credentials and can be additionally by configured to allow broadcasts only during certain hours and with priority over other DJ accounts.

Icecast Shoutcast*

* Shoutcast requires AutoDJ to be enabled in order to use the DJ Manager. Icecast is able to use the DJ manager without AutoDJ but will be limited in features such as DJ Priority and Scheduled access. The DJ manager is best utilized by using AutoDJ.

You can manage and create new DJ accounts from the DJ Manager page.

To get started using the feature, create a new DJ by pressing the Add DJ button in the top right corner.

Input the DJ account details in the relevant fields, from here you can also set the Priority and Scheduled Access options if you have AutoDJ enabled.

Click the How to connect button next to the DJ you wish to connect as.

It is important to note that for priorities to work, you MUST have AutoDJ enabled and connect using an Icecast 2 compatible encoder with the mount point as specified.

Configure your encoder as described in the How to connect section of the panel.

If you have enabled scheduled access only on a DJ account, the account will only be able to connect when they are schedule using the Scheduling Calander

From the Scheduling Calander you can also set the Automatic Disconnect option to kick the DJ when the event ends.

It is possible to prioritize DJ connections to your streaming server. When a DJ priority is configured, the DJ with the highest priority will go on air.

This feature requires Liquidsoap AutoDJ to be enabled on the service.

DJ Priority will only work if the DJ is connected to their specific Mount Point with an Icecast 2 compatible encoder.

If a DJ connects to the server with a higher priority then their stream will play instead of yours.

It should also be noted that you will not be disconnected, only your stream will not be used.

The DJ Manager feature is best utilized when used in combination with MediaCP’s powerful AutoDJ. Learn how to Broadcast using AutoDJ

The post DJ Accounts appeared first on Media Control Panel.

Audio Broadcaster Guide Archives - Media Control Panel

Statistics

Features

Reporting Period

Heat Map

Data Retention Period

City Breakdown & Sorting

Export

Reporting Pages

GeoIP Country Locking

GeoIP Country Locking

Important Information

Configure GeoIP Country Locking