How Broadcast Audio has Grown

Author: Gen Wright
Shoutcast was launched about a decade ago. It was introduced as an application which helped broadcasting one's content on the internet similar to any radio station. The only difference between the radio station and Shoutcast server was that Shoutcast catered to the audience on the internet.

Shoutcast is commonly used to create and listen to audio broadcasts on the internet. The concept of broadcasting the data on the internet was very unique. It soon became very popular and empirical data shows that the number of listeners to the Shoutcasts as well has the shoutcast hosts are constantly increasing.

Shoutcast provides a server-client model which communicates through a network protocol which intermingle audio data with the metadata e.g. song titles and the name of the station.

The reason for the success of Shoutcast hosting is that it allows setting up a broadcasting station at a very low cost. The quality of the service provided by the shoutcast hosting servers has also improved significantly. Radio network owners and hobbyists use shoutcast so as to establish their very own broadcasting network at a fraction of cost of traditional broadcasting. Many radio stations have started using Shoutcast in order to provide their service on the internet as well. This is the prime reason why audio broadcasting is becoming very popular and its popularity is increasing day by day.

The usage of Shoutcast as a broadcasting tool on the internet has grown significantly over the last few years. It was launched about a decade ago and its popularity has increased rapidly since then. According to the Shoutcast statistics, there were about 600,000 listeners during the peak hours in the year of 2008. The minimum and maximum number of listeners varies throughout the day. There are about 3 times more listeners during the peak hours as compared to low traffic hours.

The quantity of servers provided for the purpose of shoutcasting has also increased over the years. Today, there are more than 20,000 stations hosted by Shoutcast.

Today, the Shoutcast servers as well as clients are available on different Operating Software including Microsoft Windows, Palm OS, FreeBSD, Mac OS-X, Linux and Solaris. Customized versions are available for Windows Mobile, iPhone, series 60, Nintendo DS, Wii and PlayStation Portable.

A number of clients support the output format of a Shoutcast which include Winamp, Totem, Amarok, VLC media player, Zinf, XMMS, Apple iTunes and Songbird.

Much of the rapid increase and growth in internet broadcasting that we see today can be attributed to Shoutcast Hosting's innovation and success. As we see a number Shoutcast hosting websites pop up throughout the internet, it can be safely said that the popularity of Shoutcast and broadcast audio will continue for a long period of time.

About the Author:

For more information on broadcast audio and Shoutcast Hosting, visit stream101 (dot) com. They offer several options in broadcast audio as well as Shout Cast Hosting for those with streaming audio needs.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - How Broadcast Audio has Grown