Rocket Streaming Blog

We're pleased to announce the release of Rocket Broadcaster 1.3.43. This is a minor maintenance release that mainly brings a couple of bugfixes.

Here's what's new in Rocket Broadcaster 1.3.43:

• Audio Input volume control now saves across restarts
• System Audio Capture can now be disabled in the Preferences dialog.
• Improved compatibility with high DPI displays and display scaling. Rendering is greatly improved on 4K displays with display scaling.
• Improved the way soundcards are enumerated, to improve device compatibility and fix some bugs:
• Fixed a bug causing some MME sound devices to open in mono.
• Fixed some inconsistencies with devices that differed in capabilities depending on the selected Audio API.
• Fixed a bug causing the Broadcast Wizard settings to not apply.

Download the Update

• Free Edition - Download the latest update here.
• Pro Edition - If you're a Pro Edition user, click the download link in your purchase confirmation email again to get the latest update, or visit My Products in the Oscillicious Shop.

We're pleased to announce the release of Rocket Broadcaster 1.3.42, which includes a number of small bugfixes and minor features.

Here's what's new in Rocket Broadcaster 1.3.42:

• Added support for new metadata formats:
  • AudioVault AVAir
  • Westwood One Storq
  • Arrakis New Wave Format 5
• Show a low disk space warning in the Preferences dialog if there is insufficient space for recordings.
• Fixed a rare issue where dozens of consecutive automated reboots could eventually cause the application to fail to launch on startup.
• Fixed a compatibility issue with screen readers (bug introduced in version 1.3.39)
• Fixed an issue caused by attempting to record with less than 30% disk space free

Introducing HLS at Radio Mast

We're also pleased to announce HLS support for MP3 and AAC streams is now available as a free upgrade for all users on the Radio Mast Streaming Network. HLS provides a better listening experience for mobile listeners by allowing listeners to seamlessly switch between Wifi and cellular networks interrupting playback, as well as improving battery life.

Getting an HLS audio stream is now easier than ever before - simply create a stream on Radio Mast and connect your encoder. Your MP3 or AAC stream will be available not only as a conventional HTTP(S) stream, but now also as an HLS stream. No reconfiguration or expensive extra software is required, and this feature is available at no additional cost to Radio Mast users.

Learn more about HLS at Radio Mast on our blog.

New to HLS? Check out our quick primer, "What is HLS for Audio?"

Download the Update

• Free Edition - Download the latest update here.
• Pro Edition - If you're a Pro Edition user, click the download link in your purchase confirmation email again to get the latest update, or visit My Products in the Oscillicious Shop.

Feedback

Rocket Broadcaster development is driven by your feedback, and all of the changes above were made as the result of feedback from users. If you're looking for a missing feature, or have ideas for how we can make Rocket Broadcaster even better, please let us know!

We're pleased to announce the release of RSAS 1.0.3 and Rocket Broadcaster 1.3.37! Rocket Streaming Audio Server (RSAS) is a high-performance webserver for distributing live streaming audio through the web, with low latency and high listener capacity. Rocket Broadcaster is a streaming audio encoder for capturing live audio and sending it to a high capacity server, such as RSAS, for distribution to listeners.

RSAS 1.0.3

RSAS 1.0.3 is primarily a bugfix release that includes a fix for HLS on Windows and a rare issue that could cause source connections to get stuck on Linux.

Get RSAS 1.0.3 today from our downloads page.

Changes include:

• Webhook source auth: Added http_status field, which passes through the original request's full status line.
• Webhook source and listener auth: Pass through client HTTP headers as HTTP headers (with the header_prefix), in addition to POST body params (backwards compatible). Read more about this change in the webhook authentication docs.
• Bugfix: Persistent relays could in certain situations not kick relaying listeners when failing, preventing downstream failover.
• Bugfix: Fixed rare issue causing read timeout mechanism to fail, leading to stuck source connections or webhooks.
• Bugfix: Fixed compatibility with older FLAC encoders
• Bugfix: Fixed preroll truncation on Linux and force audio frame sync after preroll.
• Bugfix: Windows GUI: Fixed hostname setting not saving (HLS)
• Bugfix: Windows GUI: Fixed empty max-listener-duration causing error on startup.

Rocket Broadcaster 1.3.37

Rocket Broadcaster 1.3.37 is a cumulative update that contains important bugfixes for Radio Mast users along with some minor features.

Changes include:

• Added CPU usage monitor for encoders linked to Radio Mast.
• Added support for Smarts Broadcast Skylla metadata format
• Added support for "Hyphen Delimited" metadata format.
• Added "%ignore%" token for Window Title metadata capture, to allow ignoring certain parts of a window title.
• Network optimizations
• Fixed rare instability caused by the "Link to Radio Mast" feature.

Rocket Broadcaster Pro customers can download the latest version by logging into the Oscillicious Shop and clicking "My Products".

Free Edition users can download Rocket Broadcaster here.

We're pleased to announce the release of Rocket Broadcaster 1.3.34, which includes a number of small bugfixes and minor features. This is a cumulative update and includes changes made since January.

The new features in Rocket Broadcaster 1.3.34 are:

• Improved reconnection logic, optimized for high reliability platforms like Radio Mast.
• "Generic INI file" metadata format parser, allowing INI files to be parsed for metadata.
• Metadata remapper: In the Metadata Processor, there is a new "Advanced" button which can be used to remap metadata fields. This is particularly useful when parsing generic INI files, allowing you to map various key/value pairs onto standard fields like "artist" or "title".

Bugfixes and other tweaks include:

• Allow @ symbols in Legacy Shoutcast 1 Passwords, and warn about forbidden characters.
• Fixed a bug where muting a channel could cause distorted audio over time
• Fixed a recording bug where leftover audio could sometimes be saved when splitting files or toggling recording.
• Disabled Audio Output (for local monitoring) by default, to reduce likelihood of misconfiguration

Download the Update

• Free Edition - Download the latest update here.
• Pro Edition - If you're a Pro Edition user, click the download link in your purchase confirmation email again to get the latest update, or visit My Products in the Oscillicious Shop.

Feedback

Rocket Broadcaster development is driven by your feedback, and all of the changes above were made as the result of feedback from users. If you're looking for a missing feature, or have ideas for how we can make Rocket Broadcaster even better, please let us know!

We're pleased to announce the release of Rocket Broadcaster 1.3.27. Over the last year, we've quietly released several incremental updates with small bugfixes and support for new metadata formats. The cumulative number of changes is now substantial and worth an upgrade for most users.

The changes in Rocket Broadcaster 1.3.27 are:

• Improved WASAPI compatibility with some soundcards with limited sample formats. This should fix the dreaded "Audio Device Error" with some finicky soundcards.
• Fixed compatibility issue causing distorted output with some ASIO devices
• Fixed ASIO input volume control and master monitoring

Other recent features and fixes include:

• Allow disabling Audio Output and using Input Device as the clock source. (A valid output device is no longer required.)
• Multiple application instances will now use separate log files.
• Support for Seamless Takeover with RSAS. Broadcasters can now takeover a stream and boot an existing source.
• Implemented restarting of System Audio Capture if it fails (useful with Microsoft Remote Desktop)
• Accessibility improvements. (We provide a VPAT too here.)
• Improved firewall compatibility with Icecast protocol
• Fixed iMediaTouch XML metadata setting not loading correctly.
• Fixed rare issue that could cause metadata updates to fail on some PCs.
• Fixed Stream Diagnostic with Shoutcast 2 connections

Since our previous major update, we've added support for the following metadata formats:

• RCS Zetta Lite XML
• RCS Master Control
• Dinesat Pro Radio
• Axel Tech DJ Pro
• Jazler SOHO
• Dalet XML

For more information, please see our full list of supported metadata formats or our list of compatible radio automation systems.

Download the Update

• Free Edition - Download the latest update here.
• Pro Edition - If you're a Pro Edition user, click the download link in your purchase confirmation email again to get the latest update, or visit My Products in the Oscillicious Shop.

Feedback

Lastly, your feedback is what helps drive Rocket Broadcaster development. If you're looking for a missing feature, or have ideas for how we can make Rocket Broadcaster even better, please let us know!

RSAS Status Update

RSAS is still under heavy development and we've quietly released many alphas of the 0.1.21 series, which is now likely to evolve into a proper "1.0" release. This next release will see improved HTTP/1.1 support for serving static files and podcasts, support for preroll and postroll jingles/ads, the option to auto-stop relays, a significant number of bugfixes, and with any luck, some form of HLS support. All of those feature are already complete, but HLS still needs some polish before we can ship it. Stay tuned for RSAS 1.0 news!

We have been monitoring the recently discovered Log4j vulnerability (CVE-2021-44228) and have taken action to audit and monitor our infrastructure for potential risks. As creators of streaming audio software and a global streaming audio platform, we wanted to reassure broadcasters about the status of our products:

• Rocket Broadcaster - Not vulnerable to the Log4j security vulnerability. Rocket Broadcaster and its third party components do not use Java nor Log4j.
• Rocket Streaming Audio Server (RSAS) - Not vulnerable to the Log4j security vulnerability. Does not use Java.
• Radio Mast - Not vulnerable to the Log4j security vulnerability. More details here.

For more information about the scope of this Log4j vulnerability and the steps we've taken to assess our infrastructure and keep broadcasters safe, please see our Log4J Vulnerability Update on the Radio Mast blog.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact support.

Resources for Broadcasters:

• US CISA Apache Log4j Vulnerability Guidance
• NIST NVD page for CVE-2021-44228

We're pleased to announce our first release of 2020, Rocket Broadcaster 1.3.3. This cumulative update was developed in close collaboration with a number of radio stations, and is focused on improving support for high-end soundcards and adding support for two new metadata formats.

Here's what's new:

Soundcard Compatibility Improvements

Audiophiles will be pleased to hear that we've improved support for high-end soundcards. We've also added support for mono inputs, which is particularly useful if you need to capture many streams from a single soundcard (via multiple instances of Rocket Broadcaster Pro).

• Added ASIO Support
  • Improved compatibility with high-end soundcards via the ASIO audio API. ASIO can now be chosen in the preferences, and supports up to 96 kHz.
  • Improved support for UAD soundcards.
  • ASIO channel names are now shown, which is especially helpful on soundcards with many inputs.
• Reintroduced Windows MME and DirectSound audio APIs, to improve compatibility with certain legacy soundcards with older drivers.
• Added mono input support. This allows you to capture from individual mono inputs on a soundcard, and automatically handles upmixing to stereo if needed.

New Metadata Ingestion

Metadata can now be ingested from more automation and metadata systems:

• Added Artic Palm CSRDS XML metadata support
• Added Enco DAD XML metadata support

Other Improvements

• Fixed saving Shoutcast 2 artwork and "private stream" preferences
• Increased the max number of saved recordings

Download the Update

• Free Edition - Download the latest update here!
• Pro Edition - If you're a Pro Edition user, click the download link in your purchase confirmation email again to get the latest update, or visit My Products in the Oscillicious Shop.

Feedback

Lastly, your feedback is what helps drive Rocket Broadcaster development. If you're looking for a missing feature, or have ideas for how we can make Rocket Broadcaster even better, please let us know!

We're pleased to announce the release of Rocket Broadcaster 1.3. This much anticipated release adds new features like recording to disk and the option to hear your master output, which are available to both Free and Pro Edition users. This version also includes a slew of refinements and bugfixes.

Here's what's new in this release:

New Features

• Recording to Disk
  • Record your broadcast to any supported audio format / codec, not just the format you're streaming.
  • Automatically remove old recordings when there's low disk space or when there's a certain number of recordings.
  • Manually split recordings on-demand
  • Automatically split recordings at the top of the hour
• Master Output Monitoring: Added the ability to listen to your master output (Options->Monitor Master Output). This is particularly useful when tweaking VST effects.
• Added a button to "Clone" a stream in the Streams window.
• Added option to auto detect the character encoding with the Text File metadata ingestion method.

Bugfixes

• Improved FLAC encoding compatibility (eliminated glitching) and optimized bandwidth. (FLAC works great with the newly released RSAS 0.18 too!)
• Fixed FLAC and Opus streams disconnecting after sustained silence.
• Removed an old DLL that could cause intermittent metadata connectivity issues on certain systems with wifi.
• Fixed remote encoder monitoring connectivity issues the "Link to Radio Mast" feature.
• Failed metadata updates are now logged.
• Fixed tab order in Streams dialog.
• Fixed muted VU meters appearing unmuted after opening the Preferences window.
• When using a custom metadata output format, the fully formatted metadata is displayed in the main window.
• LINK metadata for RCS Zetta Lite XML format is now parsed.

Download the Update

• Free Edition - Download the latest update here!
• Pro Edition - If you're a Pro Edition user, click the download link in your purchase confirmation email again to get the latest update, or visit My Products in the Oscillicious Shop.

Feedback

Lastly, your feedback is what helps drive Rocket Broadcaster development. If you're looking for a missing feature, or have ideas for how we can make Rocket Broadcaster even better, please let us know!

Rocket Broadcaster 1.2.14 is now out! This new release can ingest metadata from even more radio automation software, and includes a number of bugfixes. We'd like to thank many of our customers for working with us to develop metadata support for these additional automation systems.

Here's what's new in this release:

PRO Capture Metadata from RCS Zetta, RadioBOSS, Arrakis Digilink Xtreme (Live365 XML), Audisi GML, and iMediaTouch

Rocket Broadcaster Pro can now receive and parse metadata from a slew of new radio automation suites, including:

• RCS Zetta
• RadioBOSS
• Arrakis Digilink Xtreme (via the Live365 XML export)
• Audisi GML
• iMediaTouch (LMIV format).

Rocket Broadcaster can read metadata from the applications via TCP, UDP, or via an XML file (depending on the automation software).

For a full list of radio automation software and formats that Rocket Broadcaster can ingest and embed in your stream, see our list of Compatible Radio Automation Systems.

Other Automation Software

Need to ingest metadata from other automation software? Let us know and we'll do our best to support it.

Other Recent Improvements and Bugfixes

• Fixed a rare crash that could occur if you edited your stream settings during a reconnect.
• Opus: Fixed invalid Opus samplerates being allowed, and force hard CBR mode.
• Shoutcast 1: Fixed extra \r\n being sent when connecting via Shoutcast 1 Legacy protocol.
• Shoutcast 1: Fixed Shoutcast 1 (non-Legacy) protocol not being able to connect with SID > 1.
• Shoutcast 2: Improved timeout behaviour for Shoutcast 2 protocol.
• Shoutcast 2: Fixed Shoutcast 2 encoding of special HTML/XML characters.
• Metadata: Improved UTF-16 metadata compatibility.
• Metadata: Read multi-line TCP metadata.
• FLAC bitrate is reported as 1500 kbps, to avoid confusion.
• Fixed spurious "your streams have pending changes" message.
• Minor soundcard compatibility improvements.

Download the Update

• Free Edition - Download the latest update here!
• Pro Edition - If you're a Pro Edition user, click the download link in your purchase confirmation email again to get the latest update, or visit My Products in the Oscillicious Shop.

Rocket Broadcaster 1.2.6 is now available for download. This release contains an important bugfix for the "Text File" metadata ingestion method.

We recommend upgrading to this release if you're using the "Text File" metadata capture method and your file is on a network share.

Changes in this release:

• Bugfix: Text File metadata ingestion reworked for better resilience when the file is on a network share. (Falls back to polling once per second.) Prior to this update, temporary unavailability of the network share could result in the metadata no longer refreshing.
• Added an option to ignore blank text files.
• Liquid Compass metadata: Added support for ingesting Liquid Compass metadata (tilda separated fields).
• Omnia metadata: Added support for ingesting Omnia "line parser" and XML metadata formats.
• Character encodings - The character encoding of ingested metadata can now be specified. This can fix garbled characters with non-Latin characters.
• Bugfix: Fixed a spurious "You have unapplied changes..." message.
• Bugfix: Opus encoder was incompatible with some Windows installations.
• Bugfix: Fixed duplicate metadata with Shoutcast 1 Legacy protocol.

Also included are a slew of improvements to soundcard compatibility:

• Improved compatibility of "Other Applications" audio capture.
• Fixed a rare issue causing the wrong "Other Applications" device to be opened under certain circumstances.
• Added "Device Default" as the default samplerate. This improves hotplugging compatibility and is the recommended option.
• Disabling audio input device - Added an option to disable the audio input device, to improve compatibility on PCs with no input devices.
• Improved error messages when there's no available audio input or output devices.

Download the Update

• Free Edition - Download the latest update here!
• Pro Edition - If you're a Pro Edition user, click the download link in your purchase confirmation email again to get the latest update, or visit My Products in our shop.

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Documentation Updates

We've been busy rolling out updates to our Rocket Broadcaster Documentation, including a new series of Best Practices articles on how to get the most out of your Rocket Broadcaster.

Can't find something in the docs? Please let us know! We're looking forward continuing to expand our documentation.

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What's New at Radio Mast?

We've also been expanding our Radio Mast streaming audio platform. We've upgraded our stream hosting to use new high performance streaming server software that we developed in-house. We couldn't achieve the high uptime and low-latencies we required with Icecast or Shoutcast, so we built our own streaming server software, which is a drop-in replacement for Icecast. (Looking for an Icecast or Shoutcast alternative? Send us an email and let's talk!)

We also recently launched Listener Statistics for Radio Mast streaming, as well as lower prices and flexible pay-as-you-go billing.

Need radio stream hosting? Start streaming for just $5 / month.