Rocket Streaming Blog

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.

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.

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.

We're pleased to announce the release of Rocket Broadcaster 1.2! This new update focuses on improving compatibility with Shoutcast servers, but also includes a number of other useful refinements.

Here's what's new in Rocket Broadcaster 1.2:

PRO Shoutcast 2 Support

Rocket Broadcaster Pro can now stream to Shoutcast 2 servers using the Shoutcast 2 protocol (also known as Ultravox 2.1). Providing the best performance with Shoutcast 2 servers, this new protocol also supports adding station artwork to your stream.

The Free Edition of Rocket can stream using this protocol for up to 30 minutes, so everybody can try it out.

Improved Shoutcast 1.x Support

While we were at it, we also improved our existing Shoutcast 1.x protocol support, which can be used on both Shoutcast 1 and 2 servers. This is a little confusing, but it turns out there's really three separate variants of the Shoutcast protocol and so we've split them up inside Rocket:

• Shoutcast 1 (Legacy) - Compatible with Shoutcast 1.x servers only. Does not support the SID or DJ username field.
• Shoutcast 1 - An extension that's compatible with Shoutcast 2.x servers only. Adds the SID and DJ username fields.
• Shoutcast 2 - A completely different protocol that provides slightly better performance, and supports more metadata. Supports SID, DJ username, and station artwork.

Rocket Broadcaster Pro now supports all of these. However, we did discover a couple quirks in the Shoutcast 2 software during testing, so if you're setting up your own server, be sure to read our Streaming Server Compatibility Notes.

Other New Features and Bugfixes:

• Accidentally unplugged your USB soundcard? No problem - Rocket now detects an unplugged sound device and automatically restarts streaming when it's plugged back in.
• Improved reliability of the "Window Title" metadata capture method. Fixes not being able to grab metadata from VLC.
• Added an option in the preferences to show a large label on the window with the project name, to make it easier to identify what's being broadcast in multi-instance setups.
• Improved audio device error handling
• Fixed advanced metadata fields not saving.
• Duplicate metadata is now ignored when captured from an external source (TCP/UDP/Text File)
• Text file metadata capture: Blank text files are now ignored.
• The feedback dialog no longer prompts if the application exits during system shutdown or for multi-instance setups.
• Fixed a benign error message after automated Windows restarts.
• Fixed text file browse dialog filter being applied incorrectly.

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.

What's Next?

• SNMP support
• Recording / Stream Logging
• Cloud Transcoder for Radio Mast - Update: Cloud Transcoder for audio launched!

We're excited to unveil a couple of new things we've been working on recently:

Get Support with Rocket Broadcaster Studio

Thousands of radio stations around the globe depend on Rocket Broadcaster to power their streaming 24/7. To better support these stations, we're now offering email and telephone support through a support subscription called Rocket Broadcaster Studio Support.

Some of the benefits of a Studio Support subscription are:

• Email and telephone support - Get help with installation, configuration, and troubleshooting.
• Backup PC license - Install Studio on a backup encoder PC. Studio licenses includes an extra seat for this.
• Always up to date - The latest version of Studio is always available to subscribers.
• Avoiding the risk of running an unsupported streaming encoder - Get help when you need it.

New Documentation Site

We're pleased to unveil our brand new Documentation website. The new site contains reference documentation, how-to guides, and a detailed set of technical specifications for Rocket Broadcaster.

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

We're pleased to announce the release of Rocket Broadcaster 1.1.14! This update includes another round of improvements and bugfixes, that were again made in close collaboration with many of our terrestrial broadcast customers. Your continued feedback keeps us going, so thank you!

PRO Capture Metadata from RCS Nexgen Digital and Scott Studios SS32

Rocket Broadcaster Pro can now receive XML metadata from the RCS Nexgen Digital radio automation software. We've also added support for receiving metadata from SS32, via our new Metadata TCP Client. We've found SS32 works best in "Host Mode", and we've added a TCP client in Rocket Broadcaster to support it.

Other Automation Software

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

PRO Multiple Instances on one PC

You can now officially run multiple instances of Rocket Broadcaster Pro on one PC. Multiple instances of Rocket can be used to stream separate audio for different stations, if you've purchased multiple licenses.

To set up extra instances, click Help->License->Add Additional Installation... in the menu in Rocket.

PRO Remote Control and Monitoring through Radio Mast

Do you ever need to change your stream settings or check on Rocket Broadcaster while you're away from the studio?
With our new Radio Mast platform, you now can. If you run a radio network, Radio Mast lets you centrally manage and monitor your Rocket Broadcaster installations to save you time, from anywhere in the world.

To get started, sign up with Radio Mast today.

Compact View

A new compact user interface mode has been added. This is especially useful if you're running multiple instances of Rocket on one PC and you want to fit all the windows on one monitor.

Other Recent Improvements and Bugfixes

• Revamped AAC encoder, now with support for the HE-AAC v1 codec.
• Added ability to restart individual streams (right-click on a stream and select "Restart")
• Added a hint when you have changes to your streams that are unapplied.
• Revamped stream panel - The mount and hostname are now visible for each stream.
• Simplified the set up of multiple installations on one PC - (Help->License->Add Additional Installation...)
• Improved soundcard compatibility
• During a Windows reboot, Rocket will no longer show any prompts.
• If your PC reboots after a Windows Update, Rocket will now automatically start back up.
• If no username is specified for Icecast streams, it now defaults to "source" (by convention of the protocol).
• iMediaTouch track durations are also available as a nice human-readable string via the %DurationHuman% template variable.
• Bugfix: Recording devices now refresh immediately when changing the Audio API setting in the preferences.
• Bugfix: Reconnection logic improved.
• Bugfix: Ignore GENERICMSG tags in TRE XML metadata.

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.

What's next?

Here's what's on our roadmap:

• Shoutcast 2 support
• Expanded support options for terrestrial broadcasters
• More thorough documentation

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 1.1.12! This is another cumulative update, including performance improvements, bugfixes, and a couple new features. These new changes were designed in close collaboration with a number of FM and digital broadcast stations, and we'd like to thank our amazing broadcaster community for their feedback and direction.

Lower Latency, Improved Performance

This new update significantly lowers the audio latency throughout the application, improving performance and synchronization between your audio stream and metadata. Broadcasters who have in-stream advertisements triggered by metadata will see a marked improvement in timing synchronization and precision.

PRO Capture Metadata from iMediaTouch, WideOrbit Automation for Radio, and The Radio Experience

Rocket Broadcaster Pro can now receive XML metadata from the radio automation software used by many FM broadcasters, keeping your stream metadata in sync with your broadcast. Metadata updates sent by UDP are now supported too.
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

• Metadata read from a text file can now be in any of the supported formats.
• Metadata sent to Icecast can now be customized to use any extra metadata parsed from XML via TCP/UDP. (Added the "Output Format" tab in the Metadata Capture window.)
• Added option to remove your Pro license from a computer (Help->License->Remove License...)
• Reduced soundcard latency, and latency between stream audio and metadata.
• Added ability to receive metadata via UDP, for compatibility with more automation systems.
• Added support for receiving XML metadata from iMediaTouch, WideOrbit Automation for Radio, and The Radio Experience.
• Bugfix: Fixed automatic reconnection to Shoutcast servers failing during adverse network conditions.
• Bugfix: Improved compatibility with certain VST plugins.
• Bugfix: Improved compatibility with certain soundcards.

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.

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 1.1.8! This is a cumulative update adding new ways to ingest metadata and offers some compatibility improvements as well.

PRO Capture Metadata over TCP

Other software applications can now directly update your stream's metadata automatically and remotely using the new TCP metadata server.

PRO Capture Metadata from a Text File

Stream metadata can now also be read from a text file, which can be updated by scripts or other radio automation software.

PRO AAC and AAC+ Encoder

To support you in operating your radio station legally, we're pleased to announce this release includes licensed AAC and AAC+ encoders.

Other Recent Improvements and Bugfixes

• 1.1.8 - Improved error messages when loading invalid VST plugins.
• 1.1.8 - Icecast metadata improvement: Stream genre and description are now configurable on a stream-by-stream basis.
• 1.1.8 - Added 56 kbps as a supported bitrate.
• 1.1.7 - Windows XP compatibility (unsupported, but it works).
• 1.1.7 - Added command-line options. Run rocketbroadcaster.exe --help for usage.
• 1.1.5 (April 2017) - Fixed compatibility with 32-bit Windows. Previously, 32-bit users would be unable to connect to Icecast or SHOUTcast.
• 1.1.5 - Fixed an issue causing instability with long window titles.
• 1.1.4 - Fixed "Other Applications" audio slider not syncing with system volume level at startup.
• 1.1.4 - Removed support for ASIO due to buggy drivers and the ASIO SDK causing instability. Microsoft's WASAPI audio API provides a low-latency, stable experience for every broadcaster, and we stand by it.
• 1.1.3 - Improved compatibility with PCs where "Other Applications" audio is unavailable.
• 1.1.2 - Improved compatibility with certain VST plugins.
• 1.1.2 - Fixed a bug connecting to Icecast servers using passwords that include punctuation.

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 registration email again to get the latest update.

Once again, we owe a great deal of thanks to all the users who've sent in feedback and error reports. Your feedback helps us improve each version of Rocket Broadcaster and drives development of new features, and I look forward to hearing more!

We're pleased to announce the release of Rocket Broadcaster 1.1! This update brings a number of new features, including support for VST plugins, support for High DPI / Retina displays, a master VU meter, auto-start on launch, and more!

PRO VST Plugin Support

Process your radio's sound with your favorite effects and DSP plugins. Rocket Broadcaster now supports 32-bit VST 2.x plugins, the leading standard for audio effects plugins, and has been tested extensively with Stereo Tool, a broadcast mastering processor used by over 1,000 FM radio stations. VST plugin support is available today for all Pro Edition users, and if you're a Free Edition user, you can still try out VST plugins for 10 minutes at a time to hear how good your broadcast could sound.

Looking for some good VST plugins to try out on your station? Check out our list of top VST plugins for radio broadcasters.

PRO Auto-Start Broadcast on Launch

Professional broadcasters running Rocket 24/7 or in Windows server environments can now automatically start broadcasting each time the program is launched. An option is available in the preferences to toggle this behaviour.

High DPI / Retina Display Support

For Windows users with high resolution displays and display scaling, Rocket Broadcaster now looks better than ever with improved visuals and High DPI support.

Master VU Meter

To help you visualize the effects of a VST plugin, Rocket Broadcaster now includes a master VU meter. For example, if you're using a compressor/limiter VST plugin with sufficient makeup gain, you should be able to see your master sound levels peaking near the top more often. You might also notice there's a small (~100ms) delay between the input and master stages in Rocket, and this is due to the input and output processing being fully decoupled and protected with extra buffering, to enhance streaming stability.

Other Tweaks

• Increased the default buffer size to 2048 samples, which improves performance on older PCs.
• Added extra buffering to "Other Application" audio capture, to improve stability when your system is under load.
• Fixed a rare condition that impacted stability at launch for a small number of users.

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 registration email again to get the latest update.

Lastly, I'd like to thank everyone who has submitted ideas or comments about their experience through our feedback form, or sent in an error report. I read every single one of these carefully, and features like VST plugin support were a direct result of your feedback, so please keep it coming! (And the error reports help me track down hard-to-find bugs too.)

Can't connect to a stream? Yeah, we've been there. And there's so many potential causes that it's not usually clear what's wrong. We've got good news though - This release adds a couple new features to help broadcasters out when troubleshooting streaming issues. The new Stream Diagnostic Test aims to give you a better clue about what's wrong and some suggestions on how to fix the problem. You can run the diagnostic by clicking "Test Stream" in the "Streams" screen.

Here's a breakdown of what's new:

1. Stream Diagnostic Test - In the Streams dialog, you can now test each stream, and Rocket Broadcaster will run a suite a tests to ensure your stream will work correctly. If there are any problems found, Rocket Broadcaster will tell you what they are and some hints on how to fix them, which should hopefully make stream troubleshooting easier.



2. PRO Logging - For Pro Edition users, Rocket Broadcaster now logs information about each stream to a log file located in your My Documents/Rocket Broadcaster folder. This is particularly useful for seeing a history of how long each stream stayed connected for, and seeing if there were any disconnections. The logs are rotated every couple of megabytes to ensure they won't consume too much disk space.
3. Some minor tweaks to the Radionomy broadcast wizard were made to further improve compatibility with some stations.

To download this new version, visit our downloads page. Pro Edition users should click the link in their registration email again.

Today's update for Rocket Broadcaster introduces the new Broadcast Wizard, which simplifies stream setup for new users, and includes 60 minutes of free streaming in case you don't have a streaming provider yet.

Here's a breakdown of what's new:

• New Features:
• Added the Broadcast Wizard, which is shown on first run and is accessible at any time from the File menu.
• Rocket Broadcaster now comes with 60 minutes of free streaming, so you can still broadcast right away even if you don't have stream hosting or are new to internet radio broadcasting.
• Usability:
• You can now right-click on streams in the main window to edit them or copy their streaming link.
• The "Broadcast Now" button has been split into separate "Start Broadcast" and "Stop Broadcast" buttons.
• Creating a new broadcast project automatically opens the Streams window.
• The Streams window now remembers which stream you were viewing last.
• Better feedback is provided if you try to start a broadcast with invalid stream settings.
• Other:
• The mount and username fields are disabled for SHOUTcast, since they aren't used for that protocol.
• Improved artwork

To download this new version, visit our downloads page. Pro Edition users should click the link in their registration email again.