Icecast hosting · Icecast 2.5 · New York
Icecast hosting.One Icecast server per station.
Our Icecast hosting runs a separate Icecast 2.5 process for every station on our New York radio node: its own port, its own system user and its own limits, so another station's crash, encoder or audience never reaches yours. We manage it; you get the encoder settings and an https listen link.
- Managed Icecast 2.5
- https listen links
- SHOUTcast encoders accepted
- AS19624
Point any Icecast source at the station port and mount, or a SHOUTcast-protocol encoder at the port above it. Listeners connect over https. On Premium and Platinum the mount falls back to Auto DJ when no source is connected, so the stream never ends.
Encoder settings
Six fields, printed in the panel
The Go live tab lists server type, server, port, mount, username and password, each with a copy button. Type them into BUTT, Mixxx, OBS, Liquidsoap or a hardware encoder and the station is on air.
Two ways in
- Icecast source
- ny1.radio.serverroom.net, your port, /stream, user source, your password
- SHOUTcast source
- ny1.radio.serverroom.net, your port plus one, the same password
- The SHOUTcast way in is a bridge we run in front of Icecast: it answers the classic handshake and passes the audio on, so RadioBOSS, SAM Broadcaster and the old SHOUTcast DSP connect on every plan
- Titles in any script, Arabic, Cyrillic, Greek or Chinese, reach players intact, because every mount keeps its metadata in UTF-8
- On the paid plans the browser studio and DJ accounts go live through the same station, with nothing to configure
Your station starts on Icecast, and one switch in your control panel moves it to a SHOUTcast DNAS 2.6 server, on every plan including Free, with its own DNAS admin and status pages, a listing in the SHOUTcast Directory, and every panel feature Icecast stations have.
Mounts and fallback
/stream is what listeners open; Auto DJ waits behind it
On Premium and Platinum the public mount, /stream, falls back to the Auto DJ mount whenever no live source is connected, and a live source takes the listeners back the moment it connects. Nobody is dropped at either change. On Free there is no Auto DJ, so the stream is live only and ends when your encoder stops.
Auto DJ plays out MP3 at the highest bitrate your plan allows. Send MP3 at the same rate from your encoder and the handover in both directions is seamless.
Live source on air
Your encoder, the browser studio or a DJ account is what listeners on /stream hear.
Source gone
When the encoder disconnects, or sends nothing for 10 seconds, listeners move to Auto DJ.
Auto DJ playing
The schedule and clocks run until somebody goes live again.
Extra streams on Platinum
3 streams in all: /stream plus lower-bitrate relays of it, each with its own https link.
The server
Managed means we run the parts you would otherwise script
Each station is an Icecast 2.5 process of its own on hardware we own in New York, on our network, AS19624. These are the parts Icecast leaves to the operator, and how we handle them.
Isolation
One process, one port and one system user per station, with its own limits. A misbehaving encoder or a crash on another station stays on that station.
Bitrate cap
Icecast relays whatever a source sends. Our node agent reads each source's bitrate and drops one that goes over the plan's cap of 32, 128 or 320 Kbps.
Admin interface
Icecast's admin pages answer only to a random password that nobody is shown. What you would read there, listeners and status, is in your panel instead.
Configuration drift
Every station's configuration is generated, and the node reports a hash of what it applied. A hand edit or a half-applied change shows up on our side before it shows up in your stream.
TLS
Listeners reach Icecast through an https proxy on the node, on port 443 with a Let's Encrypt certificate. Plain-http listening to the station port is refused; encoders still connect there.
Restart and stop
Two buttons at the top of the panel. You never need a shell on the box to keep the station running.
Listeners
How many can connect, and what happens at the limit
Each plan has a hard cap on listeners at once: 1,000 on Free, 2,500 on Premium, 5,000 on Platinum. The paid plans also carry a monthly allowance of listener hours, 500,000 and 1.5 million, roughly 690 and 2,080 listeners around the clock.
- At the monthly allowance, Icecast refuses new listeners while everyone already connected keeps playing, until the month turns or you move to Platinum
- An email at 80% and at 100%, and the running total on the overview
- Bandwidth is not metered on any plan
- Past 5,000 at once we quote a setup mirrored across several of our servers
Plans
The same Icecast on every plan
Free is $0 a month after a one-time $5 setup. Premium is $39 a month and adds Auto DJ; Platinum is $79 and adds the extra streams. The server software and the settings are the same on all three.
| Feature | Free | Premium | Platinum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadcasting | |||
| Concurrent listeners, hard cap | 1,000 | 2,500 | 5,000 |
| Listener hours per calendar month | no allowance | 500,000 | 1.5 million |
| Maximum bitrate | 32 Kbps | 128 Kbps | 320 Kbps |
| Streams (extras are lower-bitrate relays) | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| https listen link and web player | Included | Included | Included |
| Icecast and SHOUTcast-protocol encoders | Included | Included | Included |
| Live shows | |||
| DJ accounts, each with its own login and hours | Not included | 5 | 20 |
| Browser studio, nothing to install | Not included | Included | Included |
| Live takeover, Auto DJ resume, emergency cut | Not included | Included | Included |
| Dead-air detection | Not included | Included | Included |
| Backup source, seamless DJ handoff | Not included | Not included | Included |
| Guest links, no account needed | Not included | Not included | Included |
14 days free on Premium and Platinum. The card or PayPal account goes on file at checkout and nothing is charged until day 14 ends; cancel before then and the trial costs nothing. One trial per new customer, and a Free or Premium station gets one when it moves up a plan.
Answers
Icecast hosting questions
What is Icecast hosting?
Renting an Icecast streaming server that someone else runs. Your encoder sends audio to it and it hands the stream to every listener. Here each station gets its own Icecast 2.5 process in New York, an https listen link and a control panel, from a free plan up.
Which Icecast version do you run?
Icecast 2.5, one process per station, configured, watched and restarted by us. You never edit icecast.xml; the panel holds every setting a station owner needs.
Can I use a SHOUTcast encoder with an Icecast server?
Yes. Point it at the station's port plus one with the station password, and our bridge answers it the way a SHOUTcast server would, then hands the audio to Icecast. It works on every plan.
Can I get the Icecast admin password?
No. The admin interface is locked to a random password so nobody can reconfigure a station from outside. Listeners, status, restart and stop are in your control panel, and the source password is yours to reveal there.
What format should I stream in?
MP3 at or below your plan's bitrate: 32 Kbps on Free, 128 on Premium, 320 on Platinum. A source over the cap is disconnected. Auto DJ also plays out MP3, so matching it keeps the handover between live and Auto DJ clean.
Is the listen link http or https?
https only, on ny1.radio.serverroom.net with your port and mount. How SSL radio streaming works here.
Is there a free trial on the paid radio plans?
Yes, 14 days on Premium and Platinum. You add a card or PayPal at checkout, the first charge comes when the trial ends, and cancelling before then costs nothing. Each new customer gets one trial, and a Free or Premium station gets one when it upgrades.
Your own Icecast server, run from one panel
Free carries 32 Kbps to 1,000 listeners at once for a one-time $5. Premium adds Auto DJ behind the mount.