Use ShoutIRC bot as a transcoder relay

[westjgames]

Use ShoutIRC bot as a transcoder relay
Some people might want to run transcoded relays for people with slow or mobile internet. This guide is for those people.

What is a "transcoded relay"?
A transcoded relay is an exact copy of your original stream running on a different port/mountpoint at a different bitrate and/or format. It's designed to make it easier for people to listen to a station if they have poor internet. Codecs like MP3 and OGG don't sound particularly good at low bitrates, where as codecs such as AAC and AAC+ sound pretty good in comparison. The bad news? MP3 is much MUCH more compatible with software and devices, so running AAC or AAC+ is not a good idea as your main stream.

With a second IRCBot license (unless one license allows a second bot to be used in this way on the same license license - (would be nice ;])), you can make a simple and effective transcoder.

Setup your transcoding IRCBot in similar fashion to your regular bot, however, assign a different nick from your existing bot, and setup the sound server to point your transcoded stream point (NOT the same as your regular broadcasting port)

Gonna say this here, it's a good idea to not have your bot in the same IRC room as the master bot. They will react to the same commands if not set up properly (i.e !dj will result in both bots reporting the DJ line)

Setup AutoDJ (DO NOT USE SIMPLEDJ, it doesn't support transcoding!) to broadcast to the transcode port with the format and bitrates you wish to use (Good format/bitrates to use: MP3/96kbs AAC+/64kbs AAC+/32kbs. Never use MP3 with a bitrate lower than 96kbs, it sounds awful).

Create an empty M3U file, then put the following in it:

Code: Select all

#RANDOM
http://<serverip>:<port>/;<mountpoint>

Place this in a folder, and set the following in ircbot.conf:

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content: folder/to/m3ufile

This will tell the AutoDJ to play the stream as a song. Metadata from the original stream will be passed back to the transcoder, however, DJ title updates will not.

Run your bot normally, and watch the log. If it starts playing the stream on Deck B, congratulations! Your transcoder is properly configured!

If you have any issues, hit me up here: http://fillydelphiaradio.net/chat

Have Fun!
WestJ

[Indy]

Just an update to this, the bot no longer requires an IRC connection so using it as a transcoder is even easier and more convenient than before. Although it is probably still overkill compared to using liquidsoap, especially if you want more than one relay going.