As noted in the user tutorial,
liveCaster runs in one of two possible modes, transmitting
either (MPEG) audio data, or textual attributes.
The remainder of this page describes the receiving of
audio data.
(A separate page covers the receiving of
attribute data.)
To receive and play audio data from liveCaster, you will, of course,
need to be part of the
Multicast Internet
(aka. "MBone")
- or, failing that, be on the same local network as liveCaster.
You will also need a
MP3 player tool that can receive
RTP-encapsulated
MPEG audio data
(RTP payload type 14).
Here are some possible tools:
- RealNetworks' "RealONE Player"
can play a RTP MP3 stream by opening
a SDP file (with extension ".sdp") that describes the session's parameters
(multicast address & port).
(A recent version of RealOne Player is recommended.)
Note that liveCaster automatically generates such a file - in the same directory as "SELF.txt" - whenever it starts up. You can drop this file on "RealPlayer" to play the session.
- Users of AOL/Nullsoft's
"Winamp" MP3 player
(for Windows)
can download and install a free
multicast input plugin
that will allow MP3/RTP streams to be played through Winamp.
- The "Zinf" (formerly "Freeamp")
MP3 player (for Windows or Linux)
has built-in support for RTP.
To listen to a MP3/RTP stream, use a
"rtp://" 'pseudo-URL' - i.e.,
FreeAmp rtp://<multicast-address>:<port>
- The
"Audioactive"
MP3 player (for Windows)
can play RTP streams
(using a "rmc://" 'pseudo-URL').
(Note: RTP support is present in version 1.9 beta or later only.)
- The Open Source
"VLC"
and
"MPlayer"
media players
can play RTP MPEG audio (and video) streams.
- LIVE555.COM's
"playRTPMPEG"
tool
(for Windows, and several Unix versions)
can be used
to receive multicast MP3 data, and play it using a separate,
non-multicast-enabled MP3 audio player tool - such as
RealNetworks' "RealPlayer G2",
Lycos/Mediascience's "Sonique" (Windows),
"XMMS" (Linux or Solaris),
or
"Xaudio"
(several platforms).
- Cisco Systems'
"IP/TV" viewer
(release 3.0 or later)
can play RTP MP3 streams (and other MPEG-1 & 2 audio/video).
(Like "RealPlayer", IP/TV can use the ".sdp" file that liveCaster generates.)
- The University of Oregon's "MIM/XMIM"
application (for Unix)
can receive and play MPEG-1 & 2 RTP audio/video streams,
We are compiling a list of RTP-capable MP3 players;
if you are a provider of such a tool
(not already listed here), please
let us know.
Advertising multicast sessions
Multicast sessions - such as liveCaster's audio sessions - are usually
announced in a multicast session directory.
liveCaster will automatically make an announcement for
its session
(unless the user asks that the session not be announced).
You can also advertise your session on the World-Wide Web,
by publishing a "*.m3u" file
that contains a "rtp://..." 'pseudo-URL'
(as described above).
To do this, your web server should be configured to publish
"*.m3u" files using the MIME type
"audio/mpegurl".
Web users can then launch your session by accessing the "*.m3u" file,
provided that
- They are connected to the "MBone"
(or, at least, are on the same LAN as the liveCaster source)
- They have a helper application - such as "Winamp" - that can handle
the "audio/mpegurl" MIME type
- This helper application can handle the "rtp://..." 'pseudo-URL'.
("Winamp" users can handle such URLs by downloading and
installing the "in_rtp.dll" plugin.)
Learning about multicast sessions
To view (and launch) announced multicast sessions, you will need a
multicast session (SAP) browser.
liveCaster's audio sessions are usually advertised in either the
"SDP default" directory, or the "Low-Bandwidth Sessions" directory.
(The latter directory can be found in the "SDP default" directory.)
Return to the main liveCaster page