MP3 is one of the oldest streaming formats, which means it's compatible with most players on most software, sound devices, and browsers. Its low-bitrate sound quality isn't as good as, say, AAC format, but MP3 is very popular.
Before you start, you must retrieve server details from your SleepEngineers account.
- Log into Your Streaming server.
- Under "MANAGEMENT" in the left menu, click on "Quick Links"
- To see your Live streaming details see "Live Source Connections".
- Either leave this page open or copy it so you can use it when setting up your MP3 encoder.
To set up your MP3 encoder, open SAM Broadcaster and follow these steps:
- Click on "Desktop B" in the toolbar.
- In the "Encoders" window, click the plus sign ("+") to add a new encoder.
- Select "MP3 (LAME_ENC)."
- Click "OK."
The MP3 (LAME) encoder window will then appear.
In the "Converter" tab:
- Set your "Bitrate" under "Setting." The bitrate is the amount of bandwidth used by a single stream. The higher the bitrate, the better the sound quality. However, a higher bitrate also costs more and will require more bandwidth. For a good cost/quality ratio, we recommend 64 kbps.
- To avoid having your streaming service suspended, select a profile that will stream at a bitrate that's less than or equal to what you signed up for on SleepyEngineers. For example, if you signed up for a 64 kbps stream, your profile must stream at 64 kbps or lower.
- Set your "Mode" under "Setting." For bitrates higher than 48 kbps, select "Stereo." For bitrates lower than 48 kbps, select "Mono."
- Select "Joint stereo" for optimized stereo compression.
- Select "Dual channel" if you have different audio content (for example, in different languages) on each channel.
- There are several "Sampling rate" options to choose from. Selecting "Auto" means the encoder will automatically select the best sampling rate for your chosen bitrate.
- Under "General options," check "Auto start encoder after" if you want the encoder to start automatically each time you launch SAM Broadcaster. If you check this option, make sure to specify how many seconds you want to elapse before the encoder starts.
- Under "General options," leave "Auto reconnect encoder after" checked so SAM Broadcaster can recover from network errors.
- Under "General options," leave "Allow scripts in stream" unchecked, since modern players don't use this feature.
In the "Server Details" tab:
- Select the server you want to send your MP3 file stream to. You have the choice between SHOUTcast (versions 1 and 2), Live365, IceCast, or no server.
- If you are setting up a Shoutcast server From SleepyEngineers you should select SHOUTCcast version 1, If you are setting up a IceCast server then select IceCast
- If you select "No server," the encoder will archive your audio content without streaming it.
- Fill in your server and radio station details.
- Your "Server IP" an be�found�in your Streaming server console.
- You can find your "Server Port" in your SleepyEngineers account details.
- Use your encoder password.
- In "Station Details," write your radio station's name, select a genre from the drop-down menu, and provide your website's URL.
- The "AIM," "ICQ," and "IRC Channel" fields are optional.
- We recommend checking "List on public station listing" to include your station in SHOUTcast directory.
- You may leave "Enable title streaming" checked to stream song information.
- We recommend keeping the "Caption template" default setting ("$combine$").
In the "Stream Archive" tab:
- Check "Save stream to file" if you want to save a copy of your stream to your local hard drive.
Once you've configured all your settings, click "OK" to close the MP3 (LAME) encoder window.
