Live Audio Only NSV Streams

Live Audio Only NSV Streams
(AAC Plus streaming audio)
Submitted by ken52787 Home

This guide shows you how to use the NSV format to stream in AAC Plus live. Streaming live allows for using multiple sources (Winamp and a microphone) and allows you to play music without encoding first.

Step 1: Getting the AAC Plus codec
If you've been part of the NSV movement, you probably have already done this. Go to you Winamp5 plugin folder (ie. C:\Program Files\Winamp\Plugins). Find a file called enc_aacplus.dll. Copy that file into you nsvtools folder (ie. C:\Program Files\NSVTools). Rename it to nsv_coder_aacp.dll

Step 2: Configuring the encoder
To do live streaming, we'll use nsvenc instead of nsvcap. The reason being, nsvcap won't work unless there is a video source, which you may not have. nsvenc works with or without one, which is what we want. Get to a command prompt. Do so by going to Start>Run, typing cmd and pressing enter. Now navigate to your nsvtools folder. If you have it in it's default place, you can get there by typing:

cd "c:\program files\nsvtools"

Now we need to configure the encoder. Type nsvenc /config and press enter. Make sure "Drop/repeat frames..." is checked and change the frame rate number to 5.0. Then make sure the audio resampling is set to 44100. Select whether you want it in Stereo or Mono. When that's done, click NSV Encoder Configuration. Select AAC Plus for the audio codec and choose the bitrate. Change the video codec to No Video. Hit OK for both windows.

Step 3: Capturing
Now we start the capture. Make sure your shoutcast server is up and running. In the DOS window, type:

nsvenc cap:0,0 sc:host:port:header.txt

Plug in the appropriate info for host and port. Your header.txt should have the appropriate header details, with your password on the first line.If you don't have a header.txt, use this one as a example. (edit and save it in the nsvtools folder).

Header.txt

changeme
icy-name:AAC Test
icy-genre:Music
icy-metadata:1
icy-pub:0 ( 0 - Not publicly listed )
icy-url:
icy-irc:
icy-icq:
icy-aim:
content-type:video/nsa ( not nsv )
icy-br:128
icy-reset:1

If you fail to set the header txt to non-public ( pub:0 ), your stream will be banned from the YP Directory for running an audio-only stream.

If you use use the different content-type header the server will just ignore the stream and not ban it.

Now, double-click that little speaker icon in your system tray. Go to Options>Properties. Click the Recording option, make sure all the boxes below are checked, and press OK. Enabled which sources you want to use (Winamp would fall under WAVE, Stereo Mix, or a similar name). It'll take some testing to get the levels set right, but most work best at around 1/4th of the way up (close to the bottom). Close out of that when you're done. Now, whatever is played in Winamp and whatever sources you selected gets encoded and played on your server. But there's a problem, no song titles are getting sent...

Step 4: Sending song titles
Having no song titles isn't very attractive to listeners, so we need a solution to this. I've continued my love affair with Visual Basic and wrote a program to remedy this situation. Download and install nsvplay. You can download kens nsvplay software from here : www.scvi.net/software.htm.

Go to the installed directory and open config.txt. Change the host, port, and password to reflect your server. Now run the program. It will now update your server with whatever is playing in Winamp.

If you want to add something custom to the title info, just change the syntax. It will show everything that is typed in there, replacing <song> with the song playing.