Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Specialty Hosting and Markets : VOIP etc : Cheapest way to start a Online Radio

[Peter65]

Hi..

I have a good collection of Religious songs. I just want to play them in 24hrs repeatedly in an online radio channel.

Can somebody guide me the cheapest way to start an online radio?

How much it would cost?

What are the requirements?

Thanks

[tnndotnet]

We actually have a customer doing something similar... They use a BEoS machine (I dont reccommend using this)... using a utility called TuneTracker... I would reccommend going on a Linux server to do this no doubt.

You could also use Shoutcast, but it all depends on what your trying to do.. TuneTracker allows you to embed the station into a website so that the listener does not need additional software.

Your going to need a dedicated server or VPS to do this, you are also most likely going to need a GUI (Like Xwindow or something similar) to manage the songs.

Let me know if you require any assistance!

[tnndotnet]

Looks like you need to use BEoS to do this.. it comes with the purchase of TuneTracker.. So blah... you will have to use BEoS if you want to use it... the basic version (all you really need) is 199.95...

[dean1012]

I do something similiar.

I use CentOS 4.5. I installed icecast and use ices to stream the MP3s from the server's harddrive to the icecast station.

This will allow you to broadcast 24x7 and won't use bandwidth unless someone is listening.

A few problems with this setup though. First, you can't really *control* the playlist. You set it to random or sequential - that's essentially it. Second, you will have to talk to someone else about licensing.

[SagoMax]

Your best bet for cheapness is none of the options listed so far.

There are two common programs online that people use to run the backend of Internet Radio stations.. SHOUTcast and Icecast. SHOUTcast is no longer in production(but still widely used), however it has a VERY large user & server base. It has a large listing online and ranks all their stations. Icecast is not quite as organized in that area, but it is at least still being updated.

Your best bet would be to pick out a SHOUTcast or Icecast stream hoster. Then use Winamp from your house internet connection, and stream your mp3's to the stream hoster. They take care of broadcasting your signal to your listeners, and running the server itself. All you do it stream the mp3's from your house.

The best part about this setup is that you can, on-the-fly, change the song to any that you want. So you have total control over what is broadcasted.

As time progresses and your station becomes larger, you probably want to do what some of these others have suggested and purchase a dedicated server and run your own SHOUTcast or Icecast. But by far it is cheaper to purchase from a streamhoster, at least to start.

I hope this helps you make your decision! You might want to check out the "Other Hosting Offers" forum for stream hosters.
http://www.webhostingtalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=132

[Amalia]

Originally Posted by Peter65

Hi..

I have a good collection of Religious songs. I just want to play them in 24hrs repeatedly in an online radio channel.

Can somebody guide me the cheapest way to start an online radio?

How much it would cost?

What are the requirements?

Thanks

I myself want to find the answer for this question!

[SagoMax]

Please let me know if my answer was not sufficient or did not answer your question and I would be happy to take another stab at answering it.

[Peter65]

Hi.. SagoMax,

Thank you for your detailed reply.

I always check the Dedicated server offers, but never checked this "Other Hosting offers", which turn out to be a very interesting one.

I have heard about ShoutCast, but never heared about Icecast. I am just searching information about them. Then I am going to find a good stream host.

Do you have any recommendation for such hosts?

I will go with low budget 10-20 listeners package initially.
What are the aspects I must see while joining a stream host?

[gigzone]

Cheapest way i can think of is Winamp + DSP Plug-in. Once you have Winamp running with the DSP Plug-in ready to connect to a server look for a Stream Provider who can host the ShoutCast server for you.

Winamp 5.35 = FREE
ShoutCast DSP Plug-in = FREE

Stream Host = $$$$

If you are looking for Stream Host providers you can visit radiotoolbox.com there you can see how they rate as well.

Personally i can recommend you fast-serv.com , i have use them before and their network has 100% uptime

[gigewebzach]

Cheapest way legally, is if you own the cd's to all of your music on your computer, simply use Shoutcast. There is plenty of software to use to manage and randomly play your music with the dsp plugin embeded. You can also set it up in an .rm format easily and stream it on any website without the user having to use winamp or a similiar program to play .pls files.

[Jeremy]

Well these guys covered one way, but what about using flash?
It might not be what your going for, but it works for me.

http://musicplayer.sourceforge.net/

[Darylngch]

I think like what people say up there, shoutcast should be the way to go. But, you must choose the right host. Most host do not allow streaming of video or audio (Due to bandwidth concerns).

[Mr. Obvious]

Hehe, I recently traveled down this road! Try www.listen2myradio.com it's free

Up to 500 listeners at any bitrate, only problem is that your server sometimes stops in the middle of a broadcast, but it's been getting better lately

[JoJo MoJo]

Shoutcasting is the way to go here! Of course with the help of Winamp.

[Nsillcl]

I had no idea that Shoutcast was no longer in production. It is still the best way to go I feel.