THE MAC DOC  The changes state "now fully compatible with Mac OS X 10.6." I jut tried running it under 10.4 (Tiger) Server and it said Nicecast can't run on this version of Mac OS X.

I had to go to the developer's web site to find out Nicecast is now 10.5 and above ONLY.

My Comment in a nutshell, as a paid owner and longtime Nicecast user, is I think that stinks.  
(Version 1.9.8)

THEARTOFWEB  Hi,

I don't mean any spam at all by posting the following. I have written a program called Naiocast that works along with Nicecast and lets you broadcast even if your are behind many Routers and Proxies or if you have a Firewall Active.

Naiocast work on a classic web hosting running Apache as server and needs Perl installed both on your Macintosh and your web host (Mac OS X comes with Perl installed by the way).

Naiocast grabs the stream from Nicecast's built-in Icecast and sends it to your web host to broadcast to listeners.

Consider that your computer's upload bandwidth may not match your expectation to broadcast to 10+ users at 128kbps, a normal server web running Naiocast can!

Also, Naiocast supports song titles.

Naiocast is free software licensed under GPL.

Download Naiocast here - http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/26323/naiocast  
(Version 1.9.4)

THE MAC  Someone pointed out that customer service is so lousy the developer in addition to responding to support emails with rudeness if at all also publishes your support emails on his blog to make fun of how dumb you are. Well, I did some looking and guess what...

http://www.pbones.com/writings/20050525stupiduseremails.php

So tell me, is THAT worth $40 to you?

It ain't to me.  
(Version 1.9.4)

MACUPDATE ADMIN  "Soundflower 1.3 isn't even available from the official Cycling '74 website yet...?"

Not that I can find. Looked everywhere. Very puzzling.  
(Version 1.9)

THREEDEE912  "Now includes Soundflower 1.3 update for capturing System Audio, now featuring volume controls"

Soundflower 1.3 isn't even available from the official Cycling '74 website yet...?  
(Version 1.9)

PISSEDOFF  this program sucks big time, it is highly unstable. i paid for it and have been trying to use it to run a radio station for the past 3 months. what you will encounter after you leave it running for awhile, is what they call "audio skipping" basically the encoder screws up, so you have to restart the software. this week i've had to restart the software 5 times to get the station back so people can connect, which has done serious damage to my station's reputation. i just can't believe they would put such an unstable build on the market, but i guess people's greed comes first in today's market/world. it's really easy to use, but they need to work out a bunch of problems before it can be relied on. i'm using version 1.8.9  
(Version 1.9d1)

ANDYT2K  This is an excellent piece of software and one of the best customer service departments I have dealt with, especially for an online company. The emails were from a real person, they were quick, concise and to the point and actually helpful, unlike many other companies on the web and on the phone.

I will definitely be looking at what else Rogue Amoeba have to offer after what i've seen from them so far  
(Version 1.8.6)

ROB SHEPARD  Very good program.

I work for an internet radio station and most of the hosts are PC users and use the SAM Broadcaster software which set each of them back by about $300. For less than $100, Nicecast is the best, if not the only, all in one broadcasting package on the Mac.

With the ability to use Audio Units as well as VST Plugins, voice overs, and any other type of effect or audio adjustments, the power to handle a live internet broadcast is all at your fingertips.

As for support, I have had nothing but the best of support from Nullsoft. Every email I have ever sent has been answered in full.  
(Version 1.8.6)

ALBION  Agreed, support for this product is useless (and often quite surly).

It does work. Not as well as it used to, but it works. If you are having difficulty with the URL/filename insanity, try eliminating the filename portion completely, such as:

http://127.0.0.1:8000/

My listeners often have to reconnect a few times, and I often have to restart the icecast server several times before they can get any connection at all. An infinite-buffering problem is also evident. The problem is definitely Nicecast and not my firewall. But once it is finally all working, it works reasonably well. Keep trying.  
(Version 1.8.6)

THEMTB  Decent app but the price is way to high and the support sucks. If you write in for help they are slow to respond and often treat you as if you are stupid. I didn't even know about the blog until I read it here.  
(Version 1.8.5)

I-RADIO  Correction - instead of this

http://:8100/listen etc

..

http://"LAN or WAN IP":8100/listen - it works (but only if entered manually in software media-player)

http://"LAN or WAN IP":8100/listen.m3u - it doesn't

http://"LAN or WAN IP":8100/listen.pls - it doesn't  
(Version 1.8.4)

I-RADIO  Nicecast is a great Internet-radio program, it does the job, and it looks good - but, unfortunately, the Nicecast manual is not accurate, when it comes to explaining what I call "single-click-on-web-page-starts-playing-Nicecast-audio-stream" issue (it's a bit long description - just in order to be 100% precise about what I'm trying to achieve).

It seems the only way to listen to online Nicecast radio is to open audio stream *manually* in a software media-player (like iTunes etc), which may be tricky for some people - anything else simply does not work, even though Nicecast manual claims it does.

Especially frustrating is the lack of technical support from Rogue Amoeba (no matter that I paid for Nicecast license) - in essence, so far I only received from them some very general bits of advice, like explaining the difference between LAN and WAN addresses - thank you very much, I knew all that - but nothing to the point.

http://:8100/listen - this opens audio stream OK, but only if entered *manually* or Copy/Pasted in software media-player under "Open stream" (it does not open audio stream in web-browsers)

http://:8100/listen.m3u

or http://:8100/listen.pls

- both forms described in Nicecast manual, but none of them works (if I'm missing something, I would appreciate your advice).

(8100 - a port number, set in both Nicecast and DSL router, it can be 8000 or another port number, as long as there's no conflicts with other software)

I hope that one day Rogue Amoeba will sort that out - but right now, if any of you guys have managed to resolve this "single-click-on-web-page-starts-playing-Nicecast-audio-stream" issue - I would really like to hear from you, many thanks!  
(Version 1.8.4)

COURAGESTER  As someone who needed to get a small radio station online, this product proved immensely useful to me! I was skeptical of the marketing claims, but it really was a snap to setup. Like the user below, I had a snafu with my home network, but the same support person (Paul) pointed me to the help files, and with a bit of work on my router, I was all set. So as far as I can see, their support was great. I rated this as five stars all around, because I haven't had a problem yet! Definitely worth your time.  
(Version 1.8.2)

DISAPPOINTED  I first came upon Rogue Amoeba after reading about their products in a user review. I purchased almost all of Rogue's product line in good faith, thinking that although I'm not a programmer, I would be able to enjoy the software. Although I do like certain aspects of Rogue Amoeba's products, I have had some difficulty, no doubt, due to my lack of experience with networking technology. But instead of being greeted with any form of patience on the few occasions when I have written for support, I have been consistently stunned at the are-you-stupid style of reply to my queries, specifically from Paul Kafasis, "CEO / Lackey."

Mind you, these were questions about adjusting ports on my home network; not brain surgery but certainly not something I would think one should be abused for asking questions about. I often think that the reason people my parents age don't bother with computer technology is because they think they will feel too far behind the curve. I also think it is this kind of snobbery that proves them right.

So yesterday, after getting the usual, snide customer non-support from Paul Kafasis that I've come to expect, I discovered that Paul keeps a blog of letters written to him at Rogue Amoeba for customer support entitled "stupid user emails!" This is where email from people who might not be the most savvy at using Rogue's products are chided without their knowledge for not meeting Paul's "awesome" idea of Cool Geekery. Sort of the next step down from selling a user's email address to spammers. Paul clearly aspires to be Maddox without being funny or irreverent or interesting.

Like many, I consider some part of a product's usefulness its level of customer support and functionality. Which is why this seems like a pretty unfair way to thank people for bothering to purchase Rogue Amoeba products. I'm going to hazard a guess that R.A.'s customers do NOT know that they can and will be used in this way.  
(Version 1.8.1)

BOSIE  It took a while to get the license but now that I have it I can say with hand on heart this application is truly wonderful. QTSS streaming has less features and is less robust when trying to connect through NAT and firewalls. Nicecast has a very useful server check to establish whether or not your stream is reachable from outside your LAN. Brilliant! Thanks very much.

My stream:

http://212.158.202.214:8100/  
(Version 1.7.3)

BOSIE  36 hours after payment I'm still waiting for the developer to send me a license. Is this usual, how long should i wait?

PS no replies to e-mail chaser either.  
(Version 1.7.3)

ANONYMOUS  The new version doesn't work...  
(Version 1.7.3)

ANONYMOUS  This is where you are supposed to share your opinions. If you don't like that people think this app is overpriced, don't pay attention to them.  
(Version 1.7.2)

ANONYMOUS  Excelente aplicación. Tu radio más fácil que nunca. Altamente recomendable.  
(Version 1.7.2)

ANONYMOUS  awesome app!  
(Version 1.7.2)

SEAN WIGHTMAN  you can moan about the price of it blah blah blah but essentially I got an internet radio station up and running in less than 10 minutes which I think speaks volumes.. reccomended.  
(Version 1.7.1)

ANONYMOUS  Fun app but for $40 I can get apps but out by a real company. With the money they are saving on CDs, shipping and packaging, you would think they could price it more reasonably.  
(Version 1.7)

GENE WEED  Without question, Rogue Amoeba Software has created a truly integrated and highly professional broadcast station right on our own computer.

This new version speaks well of Rogue Amoeba Software, in their quest to listen to us users, and actually implement those changes into the updates. No other software manufacture even comes close to listening to its clients, and as a result, falls way short of what is truly needed from the standpoint of the end user.

This new version comes complete with a very easy to use patch-bay. This intuitive router lets the broadcaster select his plug-ins with ease. Selecting and wiring of your VST’s is so much easier and cheaper than hard-wired units (which cost thousands), and are ultimately hard to audition in an A-B for comparison. With NiceCast, just switch them on and off, and adjust the limiters/compressors as needed.

I highly endorse this product for anyone who uses streaming audio over the net to feed any client.

This is truly a world-class product that saves time, money and eliminates thousands of dollars worth of audio processing equipment. We threw out all our processors out the window.

As a professional broadcaster, I highly recommend NiceCast. FIVE STARS

Gene Weed

IFX Radio Network

iFXFilms.org  
(Version 1.7)

POLANDS  A great app, and this update makes the Voiceover feature much nicer. I started off using this to broadcast Realplayer audio to my Airport Express, but now I'm using it to play DJ as well, and it's loads of fun. I really don't know what the $#!$ people are whining about - $40 is hardly a high price to pay for all this does. Just being able to broadcast my Realplayer streams to the APE was worth it, not to mention the radio streaming. Download it and try it out, don't be scared off because it isn't free. 5 stars all around!  
(Version 1.7)

ANONYMOUS  Still not worth the $40 to me. You may have $40 to spend on a download of an entertainment app but a lot of us don't.  
(Version 1.7)

ANONYMOUS  And people aren't allowed to share their opinions when a developer charges to much for his app?

I thought that was the point in this review section.  
(Version 1.6.1)

BIGC  I've been using this for months, and it just keeps getting better, through small improvements. I checked here to see if a new version was available, and I all I found were wankers complaining about the price.

This is a great value, and it saves countless hours and frustration from setting things up manually. Further, it lets me broadcast right from iTunes, there's no other way to do this. $40? That's nothing.

To Rogue Amoeba: Don't change a thing. But add the ability to select multiple bitrates for the stream. So change that thing.  
(Version 1.6.1)

ANONYMOUS  Icecast may be easy to set up, but Nicecast does far more than just provide a user interface to Icecast: it's the ability to broadcast right from iTunes (or RealPlayer, or...) that is most useful for me. There's just no comparison with editing text files or using a Web page interface. In fact, I don't even use the built-in Icecast server, I use a separate Shoutcast server (which was pretty easy to set up :-). I've been using Nicecast for about six months and haven't run into any bugs; the one feature request I had was fulfilled within three hours (!). It is very much worth the price for me, for excellent software from a responsive developer.  
(Version 1.6.1)

ANONYMOUS  Overpriced for such a streaming solution.

Icecast isn't hard to configure manually, so this thing is isn't needed.

Hint: Talented developers should do useful apps...  
(Version 1.6.1)

ANONYMOUS  skip it, there has to be another alternative to this overpriced POS  
(Version 1.6)

ANONYMOUS  Just donwloaded it, not to bad an app, set up was easy although the program itself is a little buggy and it is very expensive.  
(Version 1.6)

PEETYX  This is a great application, and well worth the price some have called "outrageous". The features (broadcasting from any application, including iTunes, archiving, sound effects, easy setup) are unmatched. Anyone who's ever tried to set up QTSS or Shoutcast will know just how cheap $40 for this really is. I understand that for some little pissants that's 2 whole weeks of allowance just to set up a stream of your favorite N'Sync hits, but jesus, just ask mommy and daddy for it for your birthday.

For anyone else, it's well worth it to pony up - setup is a breeze (I'm on a LAN, and the support guy helped me through setting that up), and it works flawlessly. I bought it within a day.   
(Version 1.6)

ANONYMOUS  It hisses because you haven't paid the outrageous $40 they want for it. The know few people will actually pay that much for it so they have to do something to try and pressure you.  
(Version 1.5.5)

ANONYMOUS  I worked for me for a few minutes and then got real hissy sounding  
(Version 1.5.5)

ANONYMOUS  Works pretty well for me  
(Version 1.5.5)

ANONYMOUS  funny how they only start getting good reviews after someone (who surely isn't the developer) bashes the rest of us who say its to expensive  
(Version 1.5.5)

WUDANSHAN  this app is cool as hell. i didn't think i'd have a use for it, but it's bloody cool. i broadcast itunes to my girlfriend, without even having to click anything. i just open the app, and it's streaming. i can even do voice overs. i even made my iChat status "I have a streaming radio station." haha.

seriously though, if you want to broadcast, and not arse around with settings, and have it just work, this is the app to have.

it doesn't have to be iTunes either. you can broadcast any app. i broadcast dvd audio, and my powerbook's mic, to talk to my girlfriend. she said it's like listening to me on a cd. like perfect audio quality.

really, there's nothing about this app i don't like.  
(Version 1.5.5)

BLUEONE  This sounds perfect for me...although I'm not going to try it because I'm not installing APE on my machine. Will there be a non-APE version??  
(Version 1.5.5)

ANONYMOUS  I like the app. It works well for me but I agree I that its very expensive for something you don't even get a box and CD for. I have never had to deal with their customer service though because I am just in trial mode. I mostly use it just so a friend can hear a song we are talking online about and then turn it off when it starts to get fuzzy.

So I guess I like the app but wouldn't pay the money for it.  
(Version 1.5.5)

USGBEARD  Have any of you even used this software? It sounds like there's one cheap jerk who just wants to slam this, because he only wants to pay $20 instead of $40.

You think it's too expensive? Ok. I don't. I bought it, and it's been well-worth it. If you want a free solution, try Studio365, or QuickTime Stream Server, or setting up icecast from the command-line (and good luck to you).

The features you get from this software make it well worth the purchase price, and the aggravation it saves over using other products is incredible. If it's too expensive for you, then it's obviously not that important to you. Fine - but christ, stop slamming high quality software just because you don't have any money to pay for it.  
(Version 1.5.5)

BLAKE PRESTON  The app works fine for me. My only complaint is when I wrote them a few months ago to suggest some features and make comment on the high price their response was very curt.  
(Version 1.5.5)

DAVID GAROZZO  I don't know what you guys are doing, but I've been running NiceCast for over a month now with no problems at all on my Pismo G3/500. I'm brodcasting over DSL, listening from work. Not only does the program rock, but Rogue Amoeba's developement support team is great too. They've quickly answered my emails, and even quickly added functionality based on my requests. Well worth the money.  
(Version 1.5.1)

DANIEL  $40 is a bit of money... but this program has a lot going for it. It looks very simple (which makes it that much more beauitful - and keeps on the same path of other OSX programs looking simple and sexy) but it's also very powerful (also keeping in the same path).

When you open everything it can do and step back, you see a lot! You can fine tune the broadcast quality a LOT.

You can chose how many listeners can hear you at the same time. You can see who is listening and on what program, and for how long.

You can upload your own little icon to display on the website listening current broadcasters. It works flawlessly with iTunes and the computer in-put jack. It has yet to crash on me.

I really can't find one thing wrong with this program yet.

But yes, $40 in itself is a lot of money. But I assume with this price you get all the upgrades when they come out.  
(Version 1.5.1)

ANONYMOUS  I agree they are crazy if they think people will pay that much for it but if you don't like, stop whining and just don't use it.  
(Version 1.5.1)

ANONYMOUS  I liked it, worked well for me  
(Version 1.5.1)

THE MTB  Haven't played much with the new version because the sound gets staticky after 20 minutes which isn't long enough to collect any listeners most of the time. They sign on and hear static so of course the drop your station.

I did play with the last version for awhile and only had a few minor freezes. Unless they figure out a way to bill people for listening to my music it isn't worth $40.

I say developers should be supported but this isn't a must have application and doesn't really benefit most users. The only people it benefits are the listeners and they aren't paying for it. $40 is what you charge for an awesome game or a good system utility. This is an amusing toy and worth about $15 at the most.  
(Version 1.5.1)

MARCUS  Netjuke requires you to set your computer up as a server and install server database software. Nicecast isn't worth the money they are asking for it but it allows you to stream music without all the extra hassle.

I sometimes have a problem with NiceCast locking up if I already have iTunes open and playing a song when I open NiceCast. I have found that if you quit iTunes and then open NiceCast, it will reopen iTunes when its ready and not have any problems.

Seriously though, who has paid $40 so other people can listen to your music for free?  
(Version 1.5.1)

ANONYMOUS  I would like to know how this compares to Netjuke, has anyone tried both?  
(Version 1.5.1)

JOHN LEWIS  Hi

I too got it to work first time once I had bought a decent ethernet modem/router.

But on the other hand I used a USB DSL modem before (bundled with Tiscali broadband) and the broadcast fell over itself - like 20 minutes of audio in 10 secs! I originally thought it may be my hard drive being too slow or the fact its running off an iMac 233, but they are both ruled out now with the new modem. All that leaves is for me to DJ on my favourite radio staion on Monday!! Only thing is I can use up to 256kb and they only want 64 :)  
(Version 1.5)

MICHAEL B.  I think this is very cool.

I downloaded it two days ago, not knowing what to expect, and now I have it running perfectly.

The tricky part is getting the networking part up. The documentation was actually helpful to me: opening the port in your firewall is a snap; all you have to do is go into the system preferences (as it says in the documentation). If you aren't on a network, then that is all that needs to be done. However, I am on AirPort, so I had to go into the admin utility and map the port there. This was an important flaw I noticed in the documentation.

If you are mapping the port, you need to be sure to set the correct private address. The manual says "...put port 8000 in the two port fields and the IP of the machine which will be broadcasting in the Private Address field." What should be specified is how to find your private address. Head over to your Sharing pane and look for "Other Macintosh users can access your computer at afp://10.0.1.2 ..." that last digit, in this case 2, needs to be used when mapping the port, or else you will not be able to have any listeners connect.

Another issue I noticed is about sharing the URL. In my experience, every user has only needed to use "http://xx.xx.xx.xxx:8000", however the default sharing address to distribute to people you want to tune in is ""http://xx.xx.xx.xxx:8000/playlist.pls" Of the people I have tested this on, that extra playlist.pls prevents the client from picking up the stream (this may vary based on MP3 player, but all of the people I tested have popular ones, i.e. WinMedia, winamp, etc.) This should be clarified so that it is not necessary to play the guessing game.

Well, other than the few hurdles in getting the stream up, I was satisifed with the performance. I have a 1 GHz G4, so my only guess with Richard is that a 350 Mhz G3 simply can't handle the load of broadcasting audio. The system requirements should be explained. As of now, I don't believe any have been established.

The effects are quite un-friendly. The interface for using them isn't very intuitive, however at first glance they look like they are too advanced to be simplifed. However, the one that is perhaps in most demand, VoiceOver, is usable.

Earlier tonight, I had one friend listening to my music with RealPlayer (on a PC) and also another family member listening on the LAN at the same time– I had no problems. I was broadcasting at 112 kb/s, and both users reported no problems and it was as easy as just playing songs from my iTunes playlist.

There is still some work to be done to make it more user friendly, but this program does work, and it is a nifty one at that.  
(Version 1.5)

M.BVS  Would love to see a menu item so as it can run in the background w/o all of the windows. Maybe it could have connect/disconnect, show the past history of songs and who is listening.

Seems like that wouldn't be too hard and most mac guys love more screen space.

Cheers.  
(Version 1.0)

M.BVS  Really love it and easy to set up and get going. Would like to track the history of listeners to track the best up-times and schedule broadcast times... other than that works nicely.  
(Version 1.0)

WOLF  I too could not get it to work properly. I tried tweeking all sorts of settings, but basically it is not possible to evaluate it the way it is currently crippled.

Needs better documentation.

Needs longer trial period

Perhaps a waixard would help.  
(Version 1.0)

NHLFAN  Not sure what Richard's problems were, but he doesn't seem to know what he's doing (100MHz ethernet??). I have it running fine on my LAN, at 192 KBps. Maybe his quality setting was too high or something, but it works like a dream for me, and it was super easy to set up. Once the final version shows up, I'll probably be buying it.  
(Version 1.0)

RICHARD BLUMBERG  I installed Nicecast on a G3 330MHz tower running 10.2.8; I use the machine as a server and an MP3 jukebox. I simply could not tune Nicecast to deliver an acceptable level of performance over a 100MHz Ethernet network, using iTunes as my source. As a client, I was using iTunes on a G4 PB, running Panther. No matter how I set the server parameters for bandwidth, sampling rate, and cpu utilization, I could not get through a single song without the system stopping and having to re-buffer. Nicecast was the only server under any load. Nice idea, but it's not working, at least OMM.  
(Version 1.0)