One of my guest DJs has a very old computer (2004 - Win/XP) which has been working fine for broadcasting a pair of 96K and 24 k Shoutcast streams. But she is experiencing some "crackling" noises in her stream to Loudcaster at 128k IceCast. I suspect we are at the limits of her hardware. Does anyone have other ideas?

Thanks, Rick

Crackling (in my experience) usually has something to do with the song files....She might need to re-rip them.

It's also possible she might have to play with which encoders to use. i.e: Normal, Lame, etc.

She could have a problem with your soundcard too. Try setting her output to "Silent". This will bypass the soundcard. The only problem with this is you wont be able to monitor your station from your broadcast computer.

I was going to mention something about soundcard but SAM defaults to its own encoders.....That is a section of the prog that should be checked though....Usually it's better to let SAM use its own instead of your system's board.

If you are having issues with Sam not sending correct/complete track info, try configuring your encoder to use this: $artist$ - $title$ - $album$

Does SAM take less resources than RadioBoss? I had to broadcast in 64K OGG and set the sample rate to 22Khz in order to save processor recources. I did play with SAM a few years ago using Windows XP and I think for the Windows 7 64 bit premium OS there is SAM Broadcaster 4.74 now. I did like the separate catagories for playlists in SAM but noticed it took resources back then has that changed a bit?

I really don't look at how much resources Sam uses. I have it installed on two dedicated machines, so as far as I'm concerned, it can use as much as it wants. One thing you can do to conserve resources is use the AGC on the final mix and disable it on everything else. I would notice a spike in CPU usage when I used AGC for each player separately, especially when crossfading.

Oh yea I never thought about AGC taking resources. I use this on RadioBoss and I've noticed my CPU spiking to 25-30% when I used Mp3 128K but now that I'm usiong OGG my CPU stays between 7-10%. Do you think 64 bit software for my 64 bit OS may solve some of my issues as I didn't see a 64 bit version of RadioBoss? I'll keep watch for any more issues and save my $$ and I'll just have to see of SAM is worth that $300 to invest in. The economy is bad for everyone now and my transmission in the car I bought for my fiancee to drive me around went bad and its a cost of 3K to fix and that took my $$ for SAM unfortunately.

Have another question and this is a license issue. Here it is:

Say a person decides to get out of broadcasting and he spent his hard earned $$ on sSAM and decided to sell it to me at a huge discount. I'm not talking about using a cracked version we know that is illegal as S### but a legal version with serial # and everything. is this just as bad as using will you know what I'm saying? If a person on say this site were to try and sell me his or her copy of SAM is that illegal? And if not how would I get it registered in my name? I'm thinking about buying a used copy since I can't afford a new one and see if this works better for me than RadioBoss does on resources and the like. maybe some one who knows legal issues can tell me since I don't need to get in trouble because if my station ever gets inspected by SoundExchange the last thing I need is to get put in the pockie for "Pirated" copies of SAM.

Real Album Rock
http://thelegacyrocks.24ex.com

If that person who sells you the license does not use the same license, I would not see a problem with that. I would ask for his client log in information with Spacial Audio and you might be able to change the name of ownership with them. What is nice about Sam is if they upgrade the software, you get the new version at a fraction of the cost as an upgrade. Upgrade is $99 instead of $279 for a full version. Then you get a link to the full version and can use that instead.

As far as SoundExchange goes, I doubt that they would ever get that involved in an investigation. Their main concern is royalty payments. Now, if you had a ton of tracks that you downloaded from a P2P network like Limewire, then you might have a problem. Not as big a problem as if you downloaded it and then shared it yourself.

Sorry to hear about your Tranny, that really blows!

Do you know of where I may obtain a legal used version of SAM anyone throwing in the towel and sayint "I Quit" and yes I'd see if I can get the login info so I cn log into the forums and ask questions if there was a problem. Luckily I've experimented with SAM a version I borrowed but it was an older one I think 4.36 or 4.54 and this was when I was not a Loudcaster either. I did notice one quirk with the older version but this probably won't be a problem since I'm only streaming one stream now.

1. If I streamed with 2 Mp3 encoders I'd have plenty of drop outs.
2. SAM's Firebird software crashed on me and even though I did try and re do it I could not get it back in shape. Is MySql really better than Firebird as I don't need to send in any reports and Firebird is easy to install. I have never worked with MySql so I don't know how hard this is to work with VS Firebird.
3. I tried to create a 490 hour no repeat playlist and SAM could not do it. Now I have way more than 490 hours worth of no repeat Rock and I want to have a station like no other where I can have a huge non repeating playlist. Has the new SAM 4.74 got this bug worked out? I'm just so afraid of paying huge $$ only to find this error has not been solved. This is why I use RadioBoss cuz I can have a massive playlist and it will keep running. However there may be an internal error I'm causing from time to time in RadioBoss due to my huge demand.
4. Problems with AudioRealm I'd like to have my station listed and I know the ip and port to the Mp3 server so I could make my relay public in order to get more exposure.

Sure hope I can get a used copy of SAM or wait till they have another sale when I pay $50/Mo like they did when this person I borrowed their copy from did. Since I had problems with the program I stopped using it so he could use his copy again and this was again a few yrs ago. I was gonna buy it but since at the time it didn't work like I wanted I never did buy it. The demo only works for 14 days hardly enough time to see if all my tracks get played before SAM crashes.

Best regards and thanks for your help.

Real Album Rock
http://;thelegacyrocks.24ex.com

The client log in area is where you would find a download link and the license key for Sam. There you can change the name on that particular license. It has nothing to do with the forums.

1. I have 2 licensed copies of Sam and both stream multiple mp3 streams. My guess is if you are having issues streaming up, it could be how you have your network set up.

2. While I have heard of people having issues with Firebird, I have used it for over 4 years and never had any issues.

3. The key to using long playlists is be sure you configure your clockwheel with the proper playlist rules. In Sam the use minutes. So, for every ten hours, it's 600 minutes. For 1 day it would be 24 x 60 = 1440 minutes for each day. Then use a PAL script to tell Sam where to get the music from. In the PAL, be sure to use a random logic. But, leave some time between the total length of your playlist and how many minutes you use for no repeats. This will allow for Sam to randomize your playlist quite a bit better.

4. If you plan on using AudioRealm, be sure you have a way to pay for the royalties. My understanding is they provide the stream and that's all. I don't send anything to AudioRealm just for that reason.

Hopefully this will help you with your initial set up for Sam4.

1. All the settings you will need to configure Sam can be found in your Broadcaster Dashboard under the "Help" area. This screenshot is what you are looking for:


2 Once you have installed Sam, you will want to start the program. In Desktop "B", you will find several windows. The first window you will want to deal with is the "Encoders" window.


3. Just click on the + sign in the Encoders window. This window will appear. Select the Lame mp3 plugin. Then click "OK"


4. In the Lame Encoder and Stream Configuration window, you want your settings to look like the settings in the screenshot below.


5. Click on the "Server Details" tab. Here you want to select Icecast as the server type. Then select Icecast 2. Then in the server details, you enter the info from your Broadcaster Dashboard. If you want to, you can change the entries in the Station Details area. Be sure to change where it says Website URL to your website URL. Where it says Caption Template, change where it says "$combine$" to "$title$ - $artist$ - $album$". This will ensure that the correct track info will get sent along with the track to the Loudcaster servers.


6. Next we will set up your Statistic Relay. This feature will enable you to monitor listener trends for approximately the past hour. In Desktop "B", click on the "+" in the Statistic Relays window.


7. In the window that pops up, select the Icecast 2 Statistic Relay. Then click "OK"


8. In the next window you can enter the info that is found in your Broadcaster Dashboard where it says Statistic Relay Settings. I always check the box by "Private Statistic Relay", this is my own preference, it's not required.


You are now set to start your live broadcast. To start your broadcast, just cue up a track, hit play in the player window, then highlight the encoder you created in the Encoders window and just click the "Play" button. Your Loudcaster stream will automatically switch from your DJBot to your "live" feed from Sam.

These are just basic settings to help you get started. There are other things you can adjust such as AGC (your audio processor), graphic eq and crossfade to name a few. If you still need help, just post your questions in the forums or contact support.

Good luck and have fun!!!!

Thanks Leo looks like there is a little difference between 4.54 and 4.74. I don't remember where I could change it to display artist title album and yours shows where you can. I'll be looking into buying SAM ASAP.

That can be found when you set up your encoder. It's in the second step. I have used Sam 3 and currently use Sam 4.71 I believe. That setting is in both versions I have used. I think it might only be available for the mp3 encoder, not sure about it though, I have only used mp3Pro other than mp3.

These are the links to Spacial Audio's Wiki and forums. If you cannot seem to find an answer here, try the links below:

Spacial Audio Forums
Spacial Audio Wiki

I know a few of the broadcasters who frequent Spacial Audio's forums and they are always willing to help out.

SAM is on version 4.8....Just an fyi

hey folks great advice reaper the icecast encoder is alot clearer then the shoutcast encoder i had already made........i do have one question about the statistic relay....it worked fine for me as the Master DJ ......in the help in the dashboard it showed my username from loudcaster and it said to use the pw that i used to register also.......works great except.....when i setup a dj and tell them to put the exact username and pw in the statistic relay username and pw with the mount given in help it doesnt work for them.....just for me....am i doing something wrong setting up the dj's statistic relay ?........thanks

ok i missed typed a few things there......i told the dj's to put their username and pw that they registered with on loudcaster as it was showing that for me in the help...along with the mount given.....am i to understand their username and pw are incorrect there ?.....thanks again

Hi Sammy, I have never used the guest mount myself, but I believe you give them the username and password that is in your Dashboard. I know there has been discussion in the forums about the option of changing that password, just in case you and your guest DJ don't see eye to eye and you don't want them to have access to your station. Be sure that you do not share the Master DJ mount with anyone

yea thanks again reaper........i have a dozen dj's some using sam some using winamp shoutcast plugin i feel funny about giving them my pw that i used to register on to the site with.....but alot of them rely on that....and i did read that in the forums about problems with dj's....all the dj's i set up so far have the guest_dj mount so im good there...maybe in the upcoming changes loudcaster makes this will be one of the considerations.......thanks again

my biggest concern right now is getting our "now playing" bot working in mirc which is on a cam/chat site......what use to power it was a plug in for winamp "amip"....u tuned into our stream on winamp and enabled the dde in mirc with a few other configurations and it announced the song being played in the chat room....because opening up loudcaster stream in winamp is not possible im trying to figure out how to do this.....if u ran into this question before or answered it before i would appreciate a link to this problem.......thanks again bro

Actually, you can open a Loudcaster stream in Winamp. All you need is your stream listed on Shoutcast through Loudcaster, and open your Shoutcast AAC+ stream with Winamp as your default media player.

got another question for you sam users if i may.......i have a few dj's using sam broadcaster and windows 7 and because im using xp i cant help them with their mic setup and they all sound "tinny".....xp i know what to do to get it right ...anyone familiar with windows 7 mic setup or a link to instructions ?......thanks folks

Okay, my SAM is connected to the loudcaster server.. yet it won't stream onto my loudcaster page.. SAM says its streaming but there isn't anything streaming on my page.

Did you upload any music into your storage area? I recommend you upload at least 3 hours of music and more more than 3 tracks from each artist. Uploading tracks basically starts your stream. Once your live stream is detected, the DJ Bot will automatically switch over to it. Be sure your encoder is set up as described above.

I have SAM and currently really like this program. The only problem I'm having is setting up the Event Scheduler for 3 hours of set music. I'm new to SAM and really could use a hand in doing this step by step. The version I have is 4.9.1. Any help is appreciated.

It should be very easy. Make a folder which you would name for your show and drag the tracks you want played during the 3 hour show into that folder. Then use the "Add files to Queue" option. Then be sure to select that fold as the target folder. Just make sure your tracks are in the order that you want them played. The other option is create a clockwheel that randomly pulls the tracks from that folder until all tracks are played. Remember, when you make a new folder, you are actually making a new playlist and not physically moving the file to that folder. You can make as many folders (Playlists) as you want.

Is there a way to stop it at a certain time?

Also, how do you make a clockwheel?

Is there a way to stop it at a certain time?

As you add tracks to your new playlist, it will show you how long the playlist is. Just make the playlist 3 hours long. Or just make a new event that would take you to your normal playlist at the 3 hour mark.

Also, how do you make a clockwheel?

When you use the "Add files to Queue" option a new window appears where you can select the folder/playlist and then set up your playlist rules/clockwheel.

I suggest that any broadcaster who uses any live broadcasting software take that software and do a mock broadcast for at least a week. Get to learn the software. I see a lot of broadcasters who take the software, install it and expect it to broadcast. It doesn't work that way, all broadcast programs will have a learning curve, some more than others.

Yea thats what I noticed. I finally was able to figure out how to make a clockwheel last night. It seem like it took a few tries to take off as I was playing with it. I think I will just make another clockwheel to start back on the regular playlist.

I have 2 more questions. How do you set your station id's? I want mine to go every 30 minutes.

Also, how do I set a show intro with a clockwheel. The 3 hour block of music will be slow jams and I plan to have an intro for it.

Thanks for all your help thus far since I been with LC.

Just have your intro be the first track in that playlist.

Here is the script I use for top hour ID's. Just make 4 and name them ID1, ID2, and ID3. Change the time to what time you need the ID to run. Use a new one for each time you want to run one but just change the time. Be sure to put all your ID's in a separate folder, I just use IDs.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
PAL.Loop := true;

// Station ID at the top

PAL.WaitForTime('XX:58:00');
CAT['IDs'].QueueTop(smLemmingLogic,NoRules);
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Copy and paste this script into notepad and save as a .pal. I saved it to my documents and then go to the Pal Scripts window and click load (the + sign), find the script and select "Start Automatically".

The only thing about that its that I like to save my clockwheel as random so I don't have to keep changing up the playlist.

@Reaper the folder you titled IDs, is that folder in SAM or on your hard drive?

Nevermind, I figured it out. I finally got my station ids to play, but the only problem now is that they are playing one after another none stop. It's not playing one and then going back to the music. And I copied as you have above and I changed the time. I don't know what else is wrong. Any Ideas? Is it possible that there is some info missing out of that code?

I also run a Clockwheel in my Playlist Rotation Rules under the config area. If you are not that could be a reason why. Mine looks like this:

Clockwheel Logic Module Version 2.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Cat['Currents'].Queuebottom (smLemmingLogic, EnforceRules);
Cat['Currents'].Queuebottom (smRandom, EnforceRules);
Cat['90s'].Queuebottom (smLemmingLogic, EnforceRules);
Cat['Currents'].Queuebottom (smLemmingLogic, EnforceRules);
Cat['Currents'].Queuebottom (smRandom, EnforceRules);
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
This pulls 2 track in a row from my Currents folder but with two different Logic and then pulls a track from my 90s folder and then 2 more from my Currents folder. So I play 1 90's track to 4 currents every 5 tracks played.

You can make as many folders as you would like and really fine tune your broadcast.

@Reaper So, this clockwheel you have setup works perfect with the Station ID pal you posted earlier?

Yes

I finally got everything going. It sounds pretty good now. I wasn't understanding how the station id worked until I read what the codes meant. Thanks for the help.

Well, you know more than me :-). I have no clue how they work, I just know they do.

I find SAM repeating a lot of the same songs despite the fact that everything is set to random like the format that you posted. Is there a way around this?

Yes, you must edit your Playlist Rotation Rules. They use minutes, so 600 minutes = 10 hours.

Does signing up to audio realm even matters when you have sam?

I never send any info to AudioRealm. I don't know if anyone can listen from their site or if it's just a listing site.

Yes, people been listening from there for years. Audio Realm is or use to be part of SAM. It is a listing and listening site.

There have been some times where my SAM will stop because it wasn't able to load up the next song to play in my random list. It'll say try to 20 ATTEMPTS TO LOAD A SONG BUT WASN'T ABLE to. Have you ever seen this message before and if so, what did you do to fix it?

I have had that error. I think it usually means that the file it is looking for has moved or is missing.

Oh ok. I was wondering cause that happens quite often. especially through one of my segments during the day.

Does anyone know how to hook up a phone line to were you can take live phone calls while on air?