 When
Apple announced that iTunes would provide playlist
sharing among users on a local network, people rejoiced.
Rogue Amoeba's Nicecast went a little further.
The software allows you to broadcast your playlists to
THE ENTIRE WORLD!
Here's
5 simple steps to turn iTunes into your own personal
internet radio station. |
|
WHAT
IS NICECAST?
- Nicecast
is to internet radio what Napster was to mp3 sharing.
It is simple, fun, and powerful.
- Rogue
Amoeba's Nicecast is both a server and a broadcaster
wrapped into one. You can use any audio emitting
source from your mac; for example, your favorite
computer game, iTunes playlist, or even your Microphone,
and Rogue Amoeba will allow you to send the sound
in real time, to your girlfriend, your neighbor,
your therapist, or to Saved By The Bells' Mario
Lopez...or to all of them at once!
- It's
the easiest way to broadcast music from Macintosh
OS X. SImply put, Nicecast is a personal radio
station. All you need is an internet connection
and a Mac and you are an instant DJ.
OPERATING
SYSTEMS:
Mac: OS
X 10.2.7 or higher
PC: N/A. PC
users who want to start their own internet
radio station should try Live365
GET THE GOODS
- Download the
Demo of Rogue Amoeba's Nicecast*
- Install Nicecast
and open it.
|
*NOTE:
This tutorial does not require the purchase of the full version
in order to complete.
BUILD YOUR STATION
 |
Go
to the Source tab and set your audio
source. If you would like to broadcast your iTunes library,
select iTunes. If you would like to use any other application,
pull it down from the Select list to the right. (Hint:
To see a list of ALL open apps on your computer, including
hidden ones, hold down the option key) |
| Navigate
to the Info tab and name your radio
station. Input all fields you would like people to see
including AIM name, the web site to find your stream
(if you have one), and the Genre of music being played. |
 |
 |
Third,
go to the Quality tab. For this tutorial,
we selected High Quality. Based on your internet connection
and desired quality, choose accordingly. |
| Fourth,
go to the Share tab. You will see both
an Internet address and a Local address. If you are only
interested in broadcasting your audio on a LAN, manually
copy the Local address. If however, you have aspirations
of being the next Casey Casem, Save the internet address.
This will be the file you will send out to your listening
audience, either by e-mail or by placing it on your web
site This will be the file that, once opened, will allow
the world to hear what you hear. |
 |
| Clicking
on Server Checker will probably bring
up a dialogue box indicating it "could not connect" if
you are broadcasting behind a firewall or through a router
or "could not get status" if you are the only
computer on your network. If you are on a network with
a router or firewall, you will need to tell your computer
to work around that. Go HERE to
learn how to do that. If not, and for the sake of this
tutorial, we assume not, continue. Ignore MacStreams
checkbox for now. It's not essential to complete this
tutorial. |
 |
You
can leave the Effects tab empty if you're
a loser. But, if you want to get funky, try adding the Phaserifier
Effect under VST effects. It will give your broadcast
the feeling of the theme music to the film, The
Warriors. To make your listeners and yourself sick,
try putting the mda RoundPan Effect on top of
the Phaserifier and tweak the settings until
you and your fans are running for the nearest toilet.
Nicecast supports its own SW4FX plug-ins as well as AudioUnit
and VST as well. |
TWEAK
THE SETTINGS
Ok,
you're almost there. You just need to bring up the Server
Panel to edit some basic information. Go to WINDOW > SHOW
SERVER in Nicecast. In order to edit information in this
window, you need to hit STOP at the top right.
 |
Notice
that your IP address, Port, Listener Limit, and Rendezvous
name have all been filled in. Make any desired changes.
The listener tab will show you who is connected at any
time. The console tab works as all other consoles work
in other apps: super informative for troubleshooting
tips, but the tradeoff, has that early 90s chat room
feel and is about as fun to read as the phone book. |
GO
ON AIR
Click
Start Broadcast. iTunes will immediately open. Hit PLAY in
iTunes and you will see levels and an ON AIR status in the
Nicecast Broadcast window.
Your
listeners can listen to your broadcast with any mp3 player
that supports streaming audio. Find the "Open URL/Open
Stream/Open Location" option in the player, and enter
the IP address as seen in the Nicecast INFO scroller right
on the Broadcast window or just open the .pls file you saved.
Congratulations!!
And now, go out there, and make something of yourself.
OTHER
COOL FEATURES
|
 |
You
can archive all of the music you listen
to or broadcast. Go to CONTROL > START ARCHIVING.
Each stream that is played will be archived to your MUSIC
folder on your Mac in a folder called "Nicecast
Broadcast Archive." This is a great way for you
to add some funky effects to your music as we showed
you above, and save them out as AAC, MP3, AIFF, or ALAC
files. |
|
The
Nicecast icon in the dock can animate!
Go to NICECAST > PREFERENCES and check the Dock Icon:
Animated checkbox. |
|
Use
your Nicecast as a way to broadcast your own talk radio
show. Go to the source tab and change your source to
your Input Device. Navigate to the Select tab and select
the appropriate mic option. If you don't have a microphone,
you may want to think of getting a USB mic like MicFlex or
the Logitech
USB Desktop Microphone. |
|
Use
your Nicecast as a baby monitor. Hook up one of the above
mentioned microphones, or use your computer's built in
mic, and broadcast the sounds of the baby's room. Listen
to it wherever you are in the world that has access to
the internet. |
|
Nicecast
offers an extensive Help menu including a manual, access
to FAQ, discussion pages, and e-mail contacts. |
|
Broadcast
your site to MacStreams.com and upload a 50x50 pixel
custom image to identify your station to the world. |
WISHED
IT HAD... |
 |
Support
for automatically playing iTunes playlist upon clicking
START BROADCAST in Nicecast. |
|
It
also would be nice if itunes album artwork could be broadcast
along with the current track playing. |
THE
LAW
 Broadcasting
copyrighted material is made simple with Nicecast, however,
the laws of the land will help the broadcaster stay within
legal boundaries.
As
stated on Nicecast's web site: "Streaming
of audio itself is not inherently a problem. Nicecast
can be used to create a stream of your own music (to
which you own the copyright), of other copyright free
music, of your own talk or call-in show, and many other
ways. This is all perfectly legal. Streaming of copyrighted
audio has some issues and minor fees attached to it.
Please see this
link for more detail (US Only). Laws in your country
may vary."
|
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