SHOUTcast 2.0 FAQ

LISTENER QUESTIONS:

Q: What are the new improvements in SHOUTcast 2.0?
Q: I don't want to use the SHOUTcast flash player so how can I listen with my preferred media player (Winamp/iTunes/Windows Media, etc.)?
Q: What is the *.PLS file for a specific station?
Q: I already know the station Im looking for. How do I search by Station Names?
Q: Why when I search for "Pop stations" in the search bar, I get a bunch of random stations and not the pop stations?
Q: What happened to the Station's website links? How do I go to a station's website?
Q: How do I search for my favorite artists/songs, stations or find stations belonging to a specific genre?
Q: I can't find the station I want through the search.
Q: I like to listen to SHOUTcast on my mobile phone's web browser, but the Flash web player doesn't work. How do I play SHOUTcast stations on my mobile browser?
Q: Why do some stations show "Now Playing" and "Coming Soon" info but others just show "Recently Played" info?

BROADCASTER QUESTIONS:

Q: My station is not appearing in the SHOUTcast Directory even though the stream is up and running. Help!
Q: I cant see my station listed on the site anymore even though I didn't do anything. Why isn't it there?
Q: The genre I had my station(s) in is no longer listed as a choice for listeners, what do I do?
Q: I am having issues installing SC_SERV2 Beta -- how can get help and find documentation?
Q: Is there a simple easy to use GUI version of SC_SERV DNAS 2?
Q: Why did you remove the "Listener Max" info from the website and how do I get this info now?
Q: How do a get a "static ID" for my station?
Q: Why do some stations show "Now Playing" and "Coming Soon" metadata but others just show "Recently Played" info - how do I get my station to display "Now Playing" and "Coming Soon" metadata?
Q: Where did the link with the TTSL (Total Time Spent Listening) stats go?
Q: My question was not answered here. How do I get in touch with the SHOUTcast team?

LISTENER QUESTIONS:

Q: What are the new improvements in SHOUTcast 2.0?

A: For a complete list of features in SHOUTcast 2.0, click here: http://www.shoutcastblog.com/2010/06/29/welcome-to-shoutcast-2-0/

Q: I don't want to use the SHOUTcast flash player so how can I listen with my preferred media player (Winamp/iTunes/Windows Media, etc.)?

A:

1. Please go to the 'Help' menu on shoutcast.com, and then the 'Settings' tab (or visit the page directly here: http://shoutcast.com/settings)
2. Select 'Play SHOUTcast stations in default media player (eg: Winamp / iTunes / Windows Media Player)' [the second option] and scroll to the bottom and hit 'Save Settings'.
3. Please make sure you have cookies enabled so that Winamp remains your default choice every time you visit SHOUTcast.com.

Q: What is the *.PLS file for a specific station?

A: In the SHOUTcast directory, hover over the 'Play' blue button and right click your mouse button and select 'Copy link address' or 'Copy link location'. The URL for the PLS file for that station is now copied to your system's clipboard.

Q: Why would I want to use *.PLS file to listen to a specific station?

A: SHOUTcast pls files are direct launch links to stations. Users that wish to play SHOUTcast stations in their default media players like WINAMP, iTunes, etc should use these pls links. You can also use these pls files to bookmark stations in your Winamp or iTunes playlists.

Q: I already know the station Im looking for. How do I search by Station Names?

A: Our search engine gives preference to 'Station Names' when you type in a search term. So a search for 'Station XYZ' will return 'Station XYZ' as the top-most search result. Further, we have added a new 'Station Name' filter to the search results page to further refine the search by station names only. Please see this blog post for more information.

Q: Why when I search for "Pop stations" in the search bar, I get a bunch of random stations and not the pop stations?

A: When doing a search on SHOUTcast.com, the search engine will search all genres in the SHOUTcast Directory but will also include stations, artists and songs matching those search terms as well.

Q: What happened to the Station's website links? How do I go to a station's website?

A: Hovering over a station's name pops a dialog that lists more information about that station, including a link to their website.

Q: How do I search for my favorite artists/songs, stations or find stations belonging to a specific genre?

A: In the Search Bar at the top of http://www.shoutcast.com, enter in your search term. It will automatically search all stations, genres and station names and produce results most resembling your search query.

The search functionality on SHOUTcast will match your search term in this order:

1. Now Playing (Artist, Song title)
2. Genre
3. Station Name

In other words, if you type in a search term like 'Lady Gaga' SHOUTcast search will search for 'Lady Gaga' songs being played on SHOUTcast stations, followed by genres called 'Lady Gaga' and finally, stations called 'Lady Gaga.' Using the filters on the left, you can refine your search results. Please note that we are working on add a new 'Station Search' filter to limit searches by stations, based on your feedback. Look for that filter to be added very soon.

Q: I can't find the station I want through the search.

A: If you find that there are several results, please broaden your search to make your search more general. If too few results show up, please make your term as specific as possible. If you are looking for a specific station, try to put the search term in quotations. eg: if you are looking for SOMA, type in "SOMA" (including quotes) for a more targeted search. Additionally, we are working on add a new 'Station Search' filter to limit searches by stations, based on your feedback. Look for that filter to be added very soon.

If you believe that a station is not coming up in error, please submit an email to us so we can investigate.

Q: How can I change the background colors and the theme?

A: We have added site skinning to our future product improvement plans. Please stay tuned to http://www.shoutcastblog.com for more information.

Q: I like to listen to SHOUTcast on my mobile phone's web browser, but the Flash web player doesn't work. How do I play SHOUTcast stations on my mobile browser?

A: If your mobile phone supports cookies, please navigate to Help --> Settings and then click the second option that says "Play SHOUTcast stations in default media player ( eg: Winamp / iTunes / Windows Media Player )" and click on 'Save Settings.' All Play buttons will now link to individual stations and will start playing the stream. Additionally, if you are using an iPhone, you can download the SHOUTcast iPhone app. Android users can try any one of our Partners' apps, [which can be found here]

Q: Why do some stations show "Now Playing" and "Coming Soon" info but others just show "Recently Played" info?

A: SHOUTcast stations that have upgraded to the new 2.0 tools show "Now Playing" (real time) & "Coming Soon" (songs coming up in the next 15minutes) artist/song information. SHOUTcast stations that have not upgraded to the new 2.0 broadcaster tools have a latency of up to 15 minutes for their artist/song information to appear in the directory. That is why their metadata is captioned as "Recently Played."

NOTE: Broadcasters - In order to offer your listeners real-time (Playing Now) and upcoming (Coming Soon) metadata information for your station, you will need to upgrade to the new SHOUTcast 2.0 broadcasting tools. Please see the broadcasting tools download page for more information & download links: http://www.shoutcast.com/broadcast-tools


BROADCASTER QUESTIONS:

Q: My station is not appearing in the SHOUTcast Directory even though the stream is up and running. Help!

A: You server might be set to 'Private.' To change this setting and to make your station appear in the directory follow these steps:
1. In the SHOUTcast DSP or SC_SERV locate the 'Make this Server Public' setting.
2. Make sure this setting is set to TRUE / Checked
3. Stop and restart your server for the setting to take affect.


Q: I cant see my station listed on the site anymore even though I didn't do anything. Why isn't it there?

A: The SHOUTcast directory service recently went thru some upgrades, as a result the YP service's IP has changed. It is possible that your SHOUTcast server is still "sticky" to the old Ips. In order to force your network to update its DNS cache, please stop your SHOUTcast DNAS server, wait about 10 minutes and restart the server. Additionally, if you have sufficient permissions on the network that your servers are installed on, you may try to purge the DNS cache to ensure that you access the correct servers.

Also – please make sure your server is set to Public in the configurations.

Q: The genre I had my station(s) in is no longer listed as a choice for listeners, what do I do?

A: In order to better organize the vast variety of music genres available on SHOUTcast, and to make it easier for listeners to find your station, we recently made some changes to the way stations are categorized in SHOUTcast. Please see this link for more information including the list of music genres available, and how to change your configuration in order to be listed in the correct category: http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?t=303241


Q: I am having issues installing SC_SERV2 Beta -- how can get help and find documentation?

A: Get installation instructions, tips & tricks and help from other SHOUTcast broadcasters and developers at the SHOUTcast forums: http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?t=317230


Q: Is there a simple easy to use GUI version of SC_SERV DNAS 2?

A: SC_SERV2 is still in Beta. We are working on a GUI version of SC_SERV2 that should be out soon. Until then, we recommend you check out this developer-created GUI for SV_SERV2 thats been getting good reviews. For users that want a GUI with their SHOUTcast server, you can still use SC_SERV1 by clicking here

Q: Why did you remove the "Listener Max" info from the website and how do I get this info now?

A: In order to make the station listings as clean as possible and provide the most relevant information to our users, we moved the maximum listener / capacity of each station in the Listener column. Broadcasters that would like to monitor their station's capacity should use their SHOUTcast server's configuration files and admin panels.

Q: How do a get a "static ID" for my station?

A: Broadcasters that wish to have a unique static ID for their station will need to upgrade to the new SHOUTcast 2.0 broadcasting tools. Please see the broadcasting tools download page for more information & download links: http://www.shoutcast.com/broadcast-tools

Q: Why do some stations show "Now Playing" and "Coming Soon" metadata but others just show "Recently Played" info - how do I get my station to display "Now Playing" and "Coming Soon" metadata?

A: SHOUTcast stations running on legacy 1.0 SHOUTcast broadcaster tools have a latency of up to 15 minutes for metadata information to appear in the directory. That is why their metadata is captioned as "Recently Played." In order to offer your listeners real-time (Playing Now) and upcoming (Coming Soon) metadata information for your station, you will need to upgrade to the new SHOUTcast 2.0 broadcasting tools. Please see the broadcasting tools download page for more information & download links: http://www.shoutcast.com/broadcast-tools

Q: Where did the link with the TTSL (Total Time Spent Listening) stats go?

A: We will be adding the link back to http://www.shoutcast.com next week. In the meantime, you may visit the stat page directly at: http://yp.shoutcast.com/ttsl.html

Q: My question was not answered here. How do I get in touch with the SHOUTcast team?
A: The SHOUTcast never sleeps and is always ready to take your questions! You can reach them by using the two emails below:
TC: tcinradionyc@aol.com
Faisal: Faisal@SHOUTcast.com