Getting Started with CentovaCast

---

CentovaCast is our control panel of choice for both our Shoutcast and Icecast hosting plans. Getting your stream started basically requires you to chose between a couple of methods, which we will outline below.

Using Auto-DJ¶

 Recommended

Auto-DJ is like your own personalised DJ - It plays your own playlists, sets up schedules and can have its own advertisements played on your behalf. It all runs seamlessly within your streaming account and is our recommended method choice, especially for starters.

 Setting up your stream with AutoDJ

Advantages

• Can play audio 24/7
• Live broadcasts are still possible by connectiong with a DJ account 
• Less maintenance required once setup
• Easier to manage than a live broadcast setup
• Access to advanced playlists 
• Don't need a fast/decent internet connection to stream audio as Auto-DJ streams the music from the server directly
• Saves storage space on your computer as all playlists are stored on the server and won't need to be present on your computer

Challenges

• Connecting with a live encoder is a lot more complicated
• Streams tend to be more predictable than live broadcasts for listeners if the same playlists are looped
• Can be limited by your streaming plans storage space if on lower plan tiers.

Using a Live Encoder (Without Auto-DJ)¶

Using a live encoder basically allows you to connect to your stream from your computer directly, this allows you to perform live shows and interact with your listeners while they are listening in real-time, much like a traditional radio station.

Live encoding is done from an encoder like Mixxx, which we recommend due to its ease-of-use.

 Setting up your stream without AutoDJ

Advantages

• Can interact with listeners in real-time and adjust accordingly (Requests, call-ins, react to events in real-time, etc)
• Full control over station's broadcast
• Ability to use a microphone for live broadcasts
• Playlists are managed locally and thus storage limits are based on your local storage rather than the plans limits

Challenges

• Requires a decent and stable internet connection
• Can be much harder to manage than when running from Auto-DJ
• Can be tricky to setup
• Requires a lot of local storage for playlists
• Disconnecting will put your stream offline
• Recommended to live stream by using a DJ Account instead

Using a Live Encoder (With Auto-DJ)¶

Using a live encoder with Auto-DJ basically allows your stream to run 24/7 while you are able to host live shows whenever you would like too. This is possible by using a DJ account that is created within CentovaCast that can connect directly to Auto-DJ from your encoder. Once you go offline, Auto-DJ will also start back up automatically.

Live encoding is done from an encoder like Mixxx, which we recommend due to its ease-of-use.

 Connecting to Auto-DJ from an encoder

Advantages

• Can interact with listeners in real-time and adjust accordingly (Requests, call-ins, react to events in real-time, etc)
• Can play audio through Auto-DJ while your offline
• Ability to use a microphone for live broadcasts
• Built-in fall-back to Auto-DJ incase you stop live streaming
• Can create DJ accounts that you can set permissions and schedules for
• Has both the advantages of using Auto-DJ and a Live encoder

Challenges

• Requires a decent and stable internet connection when live broadcasting
• Can be much harder to manage than when running from Auto-DJ only 
• Initial setup can be complex

---

Share

---

Comments (0)

Leave A Comment

Name:
Comment: Characters left: 1000