SHOUTcast Editor's Review

SHOUTcast DNAS is a popular audio streaming server.

This server is used both by home users or big radio stations because it's available under a freeware licensing. It isn't an easy to use application because most of its configuration is done by editing a configuration file.

The syntax of the configuration file is easy to understand. The file itself has a lot of commented text which explains to you every feature. The configuration is a "must" if you would like to obtain a fine tuned server.

The Mac OS X version is a console application. It doesn't provide you a graphical mode. With some extra configuration to your Mac you can install it as a service. I could find such tutorials by searching the Web.

The server needs a source client in order to broadcast the audio content. This client can be an audio player or a dedicated application which can be on the same machine as the server or it can be on a different machine. You need to configure at least an administration password in the configuration file which is going to be used by the source client.

SHOUTcast can be used as a relay server. In this mode the server acts as a client to another server and it rebroadcasts the content. In order to test this, I used my favorite Internet radio station which uses a SHOUTcast-based cluster, so I mirrored one of their servers. I tested the server with graphical audio players like iTunes or Audion, or with a console solution, mpg123.

The administration password which you can define in the configuration file can be used in the Web interface as well. The SHOUTcast generates a HTTP server which listens on the same port as the broadcast port. For example if you use the default 8000 port, then you can access the server from the local machine by using this address: http://localhost:8000/.

This Web interface is used for stream information and statistics, it provides you a playlist in the PLS format with the stream information. It also provides you an administration module.

The Web administration interface allows you to see the listener list, you can kick/ban a listener, you can kick the source client, you can reserve IP addresses, or you can see the server log file.

The supported audio formats are MP3 and AAC+. The audio format is determined by the source client.

Pluses: it is free, it is very flexible in configuration, it can act as a relay server in a distributed audio network setup, it has a Web administration interface, it has a low memory footprint and low CPU usage.

Drawbacks / flaws: it doesn't provide a graphical configuration manager. I could find 3rd party tools which can do this, but they aren't free.

In conclusion: if you forget about the lack of graphical configuration and the fact that it is a shell application, SHOUTcast D.N.A.S. is a great audio streaming tool.

version reviewed: 1.9.8