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  • SHOUTcast Streaming Service: FAQ

    Streaming & Monetization support resources

    Browse this forum for helpful information about setting up and running your SHOUTcast Streaming & Monetization products. If you are an existing station and have a specific question about your stream(s), please do not post your question here. Instead send an email to [email protected] so one of our technicians can effectively address your issue. General inquiries may be directed to [email protected] Thanks!

    -------------

    How to trigger your ads?

    It's required that you include a pair of two-minute stopsets each hour in your programming for us to insert the commercials. This provides the revenue that your station will receive for being a part of the SHOUTcast Streaming Service (aka: SCSS).
    These stopsets must occur between :15 and :30 past the hour for the first stopset and again between :45 and the top of the hour for the second one. If you have additional stopsets within your programming, that is fine, however your listeners will likely hear PSA’s and comps instead of commercials.

    To activate each stopset of ads, all you need to do is schedule a pair of 2 minute MP3 files with the tag "Advert:" in the artist and title sections. Note that the audio in your MP3 file will be heard by folks in countries that don't have ads running. However the audio from the MP3 will be covered by ads in the US, several European countries - anywhere your station is being monetized. What that means is that you should put audio in the file(s) that you would want people to hear if they're not hearing ads at that time. You can make the MP3 any way you want, but the ID3 tags will have to be correct to fire the ads and generate your revenue.

    Once the metatada from the two-minute file is received by our servers, the system injects a unique set of two minutes of targeted ads for each of your listeners. The metadata to activate the ads is "Advert:" (without the quotes) in both the Artist AND Title fields.
    Note that the advertising server is case sensitive, so make sure to use a capital “A” and the colon at the end!

    A sample advert mp3 file is attached to this post.
    Note how the length is 120 seconds (2:00) and both the Title and Artist tags say Advert:

    See also:

    Tutorial: How to Trigger Ads

    -------------

    How to setup your fallback file?

    One of the important features of the SHOUTcast Streaming Service is the ability to upload an Auto DJ fallback file which will play in the event the connection from your encoder is lost temporarily (due to power outage, internet issue, etc). The file will instantly start playing for your listeners if the servers stop receiving audio from you. It will continue to play and repeat until we receive a reliable signal from your encoder once again.

    To activate this function, go to your settings at rmo.SHOUTcast.com.
    In the "Streams" tab, click on your stream and you'll see: "Fallback File -> Set Fallback".

    To upload a backup file here (we suggest at least an hour in length), click the "Choose File" button, browse to and select the backup file, then click the "Save" button. During the upload process, there is no "progress bar", but your browser should show the upload process at the bottom of your screen. Do not navigate away from the page during the upload process.

    Important
    The format and bitrate of the fallback file needs to be exactly the same as your stream for it to work & play properly.
    So if the station is configured as MP3 @ 128 kbps, then the Fallback File must also be MP3 @ 128 kbps (44.1 KHz, stereo).

    After you have successfully uploaded the file, please wait a while (~15 minutes) before testing. Listen to the stream while you disconnect your encoder. The Fallback file should play automatically. When you reconnect the encoder, the stream will return to regular programming.

    -------------
    Attached Files
    Last edited by Jean-Thomas; 16 July 2014, 14:34.

  • #2
    Troubleshooters

    1. New SCSS stations (Stream ID Not Allowed)

    After creating your SCSS station, note that it might take anything up to 15 mins before your broadcasting encoder will be able to successfully connect to our server.

    Up until the newly created station is in sync with our servers, you might receive a "Stream ID Not Allowed" error,
    but this should only last for somewhere between a few seconds up to a maximum of 15 minutes.

    If you are still not able to connect after 15 mins, then please send an email to the support address at the top of this post (or use the contact form at help.winamp.com or help.shoutcast.com) and be sure to include all the following:

    - exact name of station
    - email address of account
    - attached screenshot of your current encoder config
    - details of any error messages

    -------------

    2. Directory listings


    SCSS streams are automatically added to the SHOUTcast YP listings.
    It can take anywhere from 15 minutes up to 24 hours for new stations to appear in the directory.
    Activate your station by sending us a stream.
    If your station still hasn't appeared in the listings after 48 hours, do not hesitate to contact us
    (via the contact form or provided email address).

    Be sure to include your RMO account email and exact station name in any correspondence.

    -------------

    3. The file you requested could not be found

    If your encoder is definitely connected to the SCSS server and you are receiving this error when trying to tunein via the "listen" link in a browser etc., try the following:

    - Disconnect the encoder from the server.
    - Wait a minute
    - Reconnect the encoder.
    - Then wait a few minutes before trying to tune-in again.
    - Also try hitting Ctrl+F5 a few times in your browser.

    Unfortunately, there seems to be a cache-related issue with one of the relay servers,
    which will hopefully be fixed asap.

    After disconnecting & reconnecting, you can test your stream works via the following link:
    master.shoutcast.com:8000/stream/?sid=xxxxx
    where xxxxx is your Stream ID

    If it works, then the listen & streaming.shoutcast.com/{mountpoint} url should also start working after a few minutes
    (there's been reports of it working after anywhere between 2 and 30 minutes).

    We apologize profusely for this bug and hope to have it fixed asap.

    The problem has arisen due to the sheer volume of new SCSS stations created over recent months.

    ____________________________________________________________________


    UPDATE: 15 Mar 2017

    THIS ISSUE (3) IS NOW FIXED

    Extensive maintenance work has been carried out on the Streaming Service servers.

    If you experience any problems with buffering/stuttering, restart your broadcasting software and start sending us the stream again.

    All listen.shoutcast.com links should start working within 2 mins of your encoder connecting to our server.
    If it doesn't for you, disconnect the encoder, wait 30 seconds, reconnect.


    UPDATE: 13 May 2017

    WE'VE RECEIVED REPORTS OF THIS PROBLEM RESURFACING

    It's occuring due to the sheer volume of (active & inactive) stations on the system, and the time it takes to establish relay links for them all.
    We will be implementing a new queue system within the next few days to finally fix this issue once and for all.

    Until then, the same workaround instructions as above still apply, and we apologize for the inconvenience caused.

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