Icecast ROCKS!

I have wrestled Icecast version 2.3.2 onto the linux box that hosts my feed(s) and really like how much better it is for me and my listeners.

If the feed is not streaming when you hit it, it plays you the fallback message instead of just bombing out. It also has less latency between when the live audio gets encoded and when it trickles out your speaker, which is important for live scanner feeds like this.

The format of the feed link is different: instead of each feed having its own i.p. port number, it has a memorable name after the fixed port number. So the feed link will always be colostreaming.com:8000/ with the 'mount point' as the feed name after it.

My long-time Fort Lauderdale scanner feed will be /botemixer and my mobile feed on long road trips will be /botemobile . This makes it much easier to remember and to figure out what the feed might be from the name of the mount point.

In the coming weeks, probably after New Years, I will cut over all my feeds to Icecast. They will still stream in mp3 format so you can continue to use WinAmp, VLC, iTunes, or Windows Media Player to listen. I will announce here in writing and in spoken word on each feed in preparation for the cutover.