Stream Your Own Music at Home
Did you ever wonder if there is an easy way to share
music from your PC with other computers on your home network, or even
your home entertainment system? Well there is, and it is called
streaming audio.
Streaming Audio Basics
Streaming Your Music with SHOUTcast
Streaming Your Music with iTunes and AirPort Express
Streaming Audio Basics
Streaming audio starts with digital audio data encoded into a
recognized format. Then, a streaming audio server transmits a
continuous stream of small packets of digital audio data to connected
clients via the Internet network protocol (TCP/IP).
There are various streaming audio data formats:
- MP3 (for example, SHOUTcast)
- AAC (iTunes Advanced Audio Coding)
- WMA (Windows® Media Audio)
- Others (for example, Real Media Audio)
Each stream has a certain bitrate, which determines how many
packets of data per second the server sends to the client. Higher
bitrates typically offer better quality, but also require a faster
connection.
Streaming Your Music with SHOUTcast
Nullsoft’s SHOUTcast offers a particularly easy, flexible, and
cost-effective way to enable all computers on your home network to
listen to music broadcast by one machine.
Start by downloading two items from SHOUTcast’s website:
- The latest version of SHOUTcast’s Win32 Server
- The SHOUTcast DSP plug-in for Winamp
The SHOUTcast installer creates and opens the “SHOUTcast DNAS.” From
there, select “Edit SHOUTcast DNAS configuration,” and then replace the
default password with your own. (Ignore the other options under
“Required stuff” if you have fewer than 32 machines on your home
network.)
“Logging configuration” is the first sub-window under “Optional Parameters.” You need make no changes here.
But the items under “Network Configuration” are important:
- “SrcIP” determines where the server will source the audio it broadcasts; type in SrcIP=127.0.0.1 so the server will accept audio only from its host machine
-
“DestIP” determines who can hear the music you broadcast; enter the
fixed IP address of the client device(s) you wish to connect with your
home network, which should read something like “DestIP=192.168.0.2.”
Finally, scroll down the “Server Configuration” page until you reach “Public Server”:
- Set “PublicServer” to “PublicServer=never”
- Set “AllowRelay” to “AllowRelay=No”
- Set “AllowPublicRelay” to “AllowPublicRelay=No”
Run the DSP plug-in installer, which will automatically locate your
Winamp folder. Launch Winamp, select “Preferences” from the “Options”
menu, go to “Plug ins” -> “DSP/Effect,” and select “Nullsoft
SHOUTcast DSP.”
When a new window pops up, select the “Output” tab and click the “Connection” button:
- Enter “localhost” in the “Address” box, making sure you use the same password you entered in the server’s configuration file
- Click the “Yellowpages” button
- Uncheck the “Make this server public” box
- Enter into the “Description” box the server name of your choice
At the “Encoder” tab, select “Encoder 1,” and then select “MP3
Encoder” in the “Encoder Type” drop-down box. A second drop-down box,
“Encoder Settings,” allows you to select the bitrate and sampling
frequency of your audio stream, and to choose between mono or stereo.
(It is best to match these values to the quality of the music you
stream, or plan to stream, over your home network.)
Launch the server application “SHOUTcast DNAS GUI,” which opens a
console window relaying status information. You can minimize this
console while the server runs, but make sure you do not close it.
Select a song or playlist in Winamp and play it, then go to the
“Output” tab in the DSP plug-in’s window and click the “Connect”
button. Your server is now set up and ready to accept connections from
your home network client(s).
As long as your clients have media player software capable of playing
streaming audio, they can run any type of operating system – Windows®,
Linux, Mac, and so on. Just select “Open URL,” “Play URL,” or “Open
Stream” from your player’s menu, and enter the IP address of your home
network server, followed by a colon and the number 8000.
Streaming Your Music with iTunes and AirPort Express
If you own an iPod music player it is probably best to stream digital
audio using Apple’s iTunes software and AirPort Express, which features
a 3.5mm audio jack and optical connections to connect directly with
your home entertainment system or a pair of powered speakers.* You also
need wireless LAN functionality (802.11b or 802.11g) on at least the
computer that will stream music to the AirPort Express.
Once you configure your AirPort Express, iTunes will automatically find
it and offer a “Remote speakers” option at the bottom of the window.
Select the desired speakers or home entertainment system and listen
away.
