NPR Digital Services Blog

Here are some of our top posts on  live streaming gathered together for your convenience.

Live Streaming Reports
How many people are listening to your stream? How can you see what your peak listening is? We offer live streaming reports via our streaming provider (CDN). Contact us for your log in information. 

http://blog.digitalservices.npr.org/2010/12/01/live-streaming-reports/

Stream Offline: First, Reboot the Encoder
What to do if your stream is offline.

http://blog.digitalservices.npr.org/2011/01/26/streaming-support-tip/

Updating Streaming Links for Apps and Livio
Changed your streaming links? Here’s how to update your stream information for the various mobile apps out there, and also the Livio NPR radio.
http://blog.digitalservices.npr.org/2010/12/01/updating-streaming-links-for-apps/

Streaming: Select the Output Tab in WinAmp
Your stream is offline and you’ve rebooted the encoder, but it still isn’t streaming. There IS one more thing you can check on yourself, if you’re so inclined.
http://blog.digitalservices.npr.org/2011/02/02/streaming-select-the-output-tab-in-winamp/

Your stream is offline and you’ve rebooted the encoder, but it still isn’t streaming. There IS one more thing you can check on yourself, if you’re so inclined.

Check Winamp, and make sure the ‘Output‘ tab is selected. There’s an odd bug with the Shoutcast plugin for Winamp. It doesn’t always establish an upstream connection if a tab other than the ‘Output’ tab is selected.

It’s best practice for anyone working on the encoder to always make sure that the ‘Output’ tab is selected before they leave the machine.

We can also edit the encoder configuration files to put a workaround for that into place as well, so if this happens to your encoder, let us know and we’ll make that adjustment.

Don’t know what any of this means? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Just write to us at help AT publicinteractive.com.

What should you do if you think your web stream is down or offline?

1. Make sure your encoder is on. I know, I know, this seems basic, but we have run into more than one instance in which they have been accidentally unplugged or lost power. It’s a little embarrassing for everyone.
2. Make sure your encoder is receiving an audio feed.  It has happened. Again, see above.
3. Please verify that the stream is offline. Try to listen from more than one computer, location or device. If you can hear it from one, but not another, then the stream is online, and the problems lie elsewhere. Check with your local IT support or internet provider.
4. Are you hearing just the gateway/intro, but not the stream? If so, read more about that here.
5. Always try rebooting (restarting) the streaming encoding computer first. This solves many problems.

To maintain your streaming encoder and provide ongoing support, we need to be able to access it remotely.

We use LogMeIn, which is easier to use than VNC (the old way, for those of you that go way back).

While some of you have LogMeIn already set up on your encoder (thank you to those who recently set this up), if you’ve been using our live streaming service for more than 9 months, you may not.
To see if it’s installed, look for the blue and white circular icon in the system tray (bottom bar, lower right).

Changed your streaming links? Here’s how to update your stream information for the various mobile apps out there, and also the Livio NPR radio.

The PRX PRP Public Radio Player iPhone App.
Go to http://www.publicradioplayer.org/?page_id=80
and update your stream link information.

NPR News iPhone app, NPR Android app, NPR Livio Radio:
These two pull stream information from NPR Station Connect (https://www.nprstations.org/ NOTE: be sure to use the m3u stream link), so they’re calling the same stream URL.)

NPR News app:
This one also pulls a tiny bit of information from us. Let us know at help AT ds.npr.org

HINT: When entering your stream info into NPR Station Connect or with PRX, please use the url ending in .m3u.

Why do you have to update information in so many places? Long story. We know it’s a pain, and we’re working on it.

We’re thinking about a lot of things around here. One thing we’re thinking about is streaming and revenue, and so we’re wondering about general interest and readiness for in-stream underwriting. Would your station be interested in in-stream ad insertion, if the monthly and per impression fees were low enough that you would make a little (or more) money, as long as you could sell locally at $3-4 CPM?

This would mean that you would run online only spots in your online stream, swapping out for what you’d hear on air.

• Do you have capacity to sell around that?
• Do you have an in-house automation system that could handle that could handle this – one that could send out tones around each spot?

You can have preroll audio, aka a gateway, play before your live stream starts. Here’s how to add that if you use our streaming services:

• Length: Recommended 8-16 seconds long.
• Electronic Format:
  • For MP3 streams, mp3 format file is required.
  • For Windows media steams: .asf file (note, if you have .wma file, you can manually change the extension to .asf).
  • Sound Quality/Bit Rate: We strongly recommend encoding the gateway files at the same bitrate as your live stream. If you’re not sure, encode at 64kbps.
• FTP the file into JukeBox using an FTP program such as Filezilla or CuteFTP. Enter FTP Host/Server name: ftp://ftp.publicbroadcasting.net and enter the same username and password you use to access the Admin Tools.
• Add Metadata: After you’ve FTP’d the file, log on to your JukeBox admin toolset:
  http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/xxxx/ondemand.ondemandadmin (subst your call letters) and click “Add Metadata”.  You should see the files you just uploaded.

We are excited to announce that we are going to reduce our streaming service fees from 10-40% starting April 1, 2010.

Current customers: If you’re thinking about increasing your stream quality (the bit rate, e.g 32kbps, 64kbps, etc.) or increasing your listener capacity to avoid or reduce your overage (the streaming pack, e.g.  100 concurrent listeners, 200 max concurrent, etc.), now is a good time to consider making that change. Contact Suzanne Brendle for more information.

New customers: Why Public Interactive Streaming?

• Reliability: Through our partnership with one of the world’s largest CDNs (Content Delivery Network) we are able to provide unmatched reliability through a global and redundant infrastructure of interconnecting servers around the world
• Flexibility: With our Live Streaming, your audience can access the highest quality streaming signal in multiple formats on your stations website.  And if you are in streaming in MP3 format, you are now able to broadcast your signal to the ever-increasing iPhone audience!