Internet DJ console

a complete tool for streaming in .ogg format that enables up to 6 simultaneous streams

31/08/2008

Warning | Use it! | Tips and Bugs

• Warning

  IDJC is a complete program with lots of possibilities, this documentation covers only a way of using it for making a simple stream. For a more complete documentation, check the official homepage.

• Use it!!

  Click on the "IDJC" icon on the desktop :

  Alternatively, you can open a terminal and type the command "idjc".

  The application should start and it will ask your first to choose a profile :
  
  
  

  A profile lets you configure many options of the program and to reload them at start-up.
  The Sahabuntu livecd contains a profile "giss" that sets up a few parameters for the program ( like the streaming server .... ), so you should try to load it.

  Once a profile has been chosen, it will open the main window of the program :
  
  
  

  In this window, you can see the main part is constituted of two playlists for making a program. Each playlist has the following buttons associated :
  
  : this is the playing mode of your playlist, see below for existing modes.
  
  : this button lets move tracks up and down.
  
  : this button lets you delete tracks from your playlist.
  
  : this button activates the playlist in the stream output ( what is really broadcasted on the network ).
  
  : this button lets you activate/desactivate the local playback of the playlist. WARNING: a playlist can be muted locally but played in the stream.
  
  

  Each playlist has a separate playing mode that can be one of :
  
  

  • Play All : all the tracks will be played through once and stop.
  • Loop All : all the tracks will be played and when last one is reached, it will restart from the beginning.
  • Random : the tracks will be played randomly.
  • Manual : you will have to select every track you want to play ( manual mode ).
  • Cue Up : the player will stop at the end of the track and the next playlist item will be selected ( not played ).

  There are also some general buttons of interest :
  
  : this button will activate/desactivate the local playback of the stream.
  
  
  : this button lets you integrate internet telephone calls into your program.
  
  : this button lets you speak to some people through an internet call without being heard on the program.
  NOTE: this subject is not covered by this tutorial. For more details about his, see IDJC official homepage.
  
  : this button lets you integrate the sound of an external application into your program.
  NOTE: as for telephone calls, this option requires some knowledge of Jack audio connection kit and is not covered by this tutorial. Please, refer to the IDJC official homepage.
  
  : this button lets you activate/desactivate the microphone input.

  Finally, below the two playlists, you can see a cross-fader that will let switch softly from one playlist to the other :
  
  

  On the right part of the screen, you can visualize the audio levels of the microphone ( Mic Peak and Mic VU ) and of the stream ( Stream Peak and Stream VU )
  as well as the level of compression on the microphone input ( Comp )

  
  

  1. the first step is to configure your playlists and prepare your program
  you can add any type of audio files to the playlists, using the right button of the mouse and the option "Add File".
  You can also insert some controls between tracks like fading or some other audio effects. Finally, you should get to a configuration like this :
  
  
  
  

  WARNING : If you want to listen to what is broadcasted, the buttons "Listen" should be activated in the playlist and the button "Stream Mon" should be deselected.
  Watchout also that the "Stream" button should be activated in the playlists to broadcast it later on the internet ( when you will connect ).
  

  2. the next step is to connect and start streaming
  once you can hear some sounds coming out of your playlists and speak in the stream using the microphone button, you can connect your stream to an Icecast or Shoutcast server using the "Server" button.
  
  

  Clicking the "Server" button, the following window should appear :
  
  

  
  

  As you can see, you can configure up to 6 simultenaous streams using the tabs of this window.
  The upper part of the window contains the configuration of the server.
  To make a stream work, you will have to fill the following informations ( the fields in red are mandatory ) :
  
  

  • Host: this is the name of the server you will stream to, in our case, we will use giss.tv.
  • Port: this is the port where you will stream to, in the case of GISS, it should be set at 8000.
  • Mount: this is the name of your channel, it should be set for example to my_channel.ogg.
    WARNING : it should be an .ogg mountpoint here, IDJC doesn't support mp3 streaming.
  • Pass: this is the password you received when you opened a channel on giss.tv, it should be composed of 5 characters or numbers.
  • Login: this is the name of the user that will connect. It shouldn't be changed and be "source" as the default value.
  • Type: there, you have the option of chosing between "Icecast", "Icecast2" or "Shoutcast" server.
    this is mainly for historical reasons, now most of the time, we use the Icecast2 option, which is the default.
    Shoutcast is a proprietary server which not supported or recommended by GISS.

  In the lower part of the window, you also have the possibility to record the streams you are sending.
  The recorded file will have a name like : idjc.[2008-08-30][14:08:45].01.ogg, contaning the date and the time of the recording.
  
  

  3. the next step is to check that the streaming is working
  once you have clicked the "Server Connect" button in the server window, the stream tab should show a green light like this :
  
  

  You can disconnect your stream at any time using the "Server Connect" button again. If an error occurs when you connect, you will get the following error :
  
  

• Tips and Bugs

  • IDJC is a complete tool for streaming that can decode many audio formats, it is the best program to decode most files.
    
  • IDJC is using Jack Audio Connection Kit, so it is extensible. To make a good use of IDJC, you should have some notions of Jack ACK. You should also check that Jack is working fine on your machine using Q Jack Control program.
    
  • IDJC is starting and stopping jack daemon when starting/stopping, This works most of the time, but sometimes some processes are not stopped correctly and you get some errors when restarting IDJC.
    
  • Again this tutorial covers only a simple use case of IDJC, you can get the full documentation on the official homepage
  • You can get help at anytime on-line joining the IRC channel, G.I.S.S. has more than one admin and there always be one connected to help you.
    
  • IRC : server : irc.goto10.org, channel : #giss.