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Live Vorbis Streams Over 802.11b From SXSW.com

Posted by timothy on from the decent-exposure dept.

chupacabra writes "SXSW.com in Austin, Texas has a group of computers in various music venues around town. The ices/icecast stream is sent over 802.11 to a main server at SXSW. There are 6 venues running as of this moment. Thanks to the folks at Vorbis and their CVS we are rocking. See sxsw.com/music/livestreams."

11 of 118 comments (clear)

  1. would it work? by SHEENmaster · · Score: 2, Interesting

    My pda's pitiful cf card would be hard pressed to send that GET request over to their WAP. Can anyone report on the usable range of the broadcasts?

    --
    You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair.
  2. This seems odd... by mbourgon · · Score: 3, Interesting

    9) An Apple Xserve, also running Gentoo Linux
    Why not run OS X? Seems more, um, natural.

    And I'm kicking myself over missing Pineforest Crunch! Dammit....drummer from Anglagard!

    --
    "Sometimes a woman is a kind of religion, she can save your soul & set you free from all your sins" - Bad Examples
    1. Re:This seems odd... by class_A · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Well you get OS X Server installed on the XServe when you buy it.

      You also get QuickTime Streaming Server:
      "You can serve standard MP3 files using Icecast-compatible protocols over http. Build a playlist of MP3 files and serve them to MP3 clients such as iTunes, SoundJam, WinAmp, or QuickTime Player for a simulated live experience."

      So that takes care of Icecast streaming.

      Then they could also use the free QuickTime Broadcaster in the clubs for a full GUI experience. They'd also then be able to use the XServe Remote Monitoring application to check on the server whilst in the club.

      If these guys wanted to go Open Source, wonder why they didn't use x86 and take advantage of hardware cost savings too.

  3. Meet me on mercury by ignoramus · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Wow. This is neat - listening to a live feed of a show somewhere in TX. There's a good show at the Mercury at this very moment (23:30 EST).

    The only thing missing is a beer and a bit of meta-info included in the stream (e.g. the band and tune names).

    1. Re:Meet me on mercury by phavens · · Score: 2, Interesting
      What I find interesting is the fact that they didn't plug into the sound mixer directly. It sounds as though they are using cheap mics plugged into the sound card instead of a balanced feed out of the mixer.

      NOTE: I had done sound for a number of years including situations where I had to setup up "hard of hearing" systems. The easiest thing to do was just treat the HOH system as a different monitor. (The boards I worked on typically had at least two seperate monitor channels... And one had five)

      --
      Patrick Havens (Mr. 573333 to you.) Graphic Artist / Coder / Father / Journeler
  4. tourist? night life? RIAA no involvement? by sublime99 · · Score: 4, Interesting
    This is a very neat idea that utilitizes machines that seem to be already in place and it is great for tourist. They can insert wireless cards in rental cars, then the people driving around the city could listen to the music in the car. Good way to get the night life broadcasted all over. Have different "stations" with different types of music for people to find something they like, while waiting for that parking spot.


    My question is would the RIAA be involved in this? If the artists they are broadcasting on this station give them permission to do this. Wouldn't it be out of the RIAA's hands, since the artist gave them permission? I know there are bands like the Grateful Dead, Dave Matthews, and Phish who allowed live recording at their shows fre of charge. You just have to bring your own recording equipment.

  5. Wrong Idea? by menasius · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It seems to me a lot of posts deal with streaming music over 802.11b to the end user.

    However, I took this to be kinda a portable internet brodcasting expirement, in that their ISP is a wireless one. Thus, just like your local radio station can broadcast from a bar during a live performance, so can these fellows. The difference being they dont have to be at a venue that came pre-wired for internet.

    As a means of delivery to the end user, I agree, why complicate things with making it an internet stream when there is good ol FM.

    However, as the way I saw it, its bringing some benefits that an FM station can have to the realm of an Internet station.

    -bart

  6. Re:Whats the point? by ramzak2k · · Score: 4, Interesting

    wouldnt make a difference to general listening but it is definitely an innovation. Think of the possibilities :

    What if they could ask what song the users would like to be played next and switch accordingly based upon wishes of the majority ?

    What if they could generate a system where people could rate songs over the same Wifi (using PDAs maybe) and systems are in place to determine what might be played next.

    What if they are able to transmit the mp3 tags of the songs also so that you can rush to the CD store and get the album for that one song ?

    --

    Siggy Say, Siggy Do
  7. Re:This will never take off by Trolling4Dollars · · Score: 2, Interesting

    To each his own. I hate "live" music. It's so... imperfect. I have a friend who swears up and down that live jazz sounds better, but all the jazz shows I've gone to see (a good number since my wife loves jazz) have pretty crappy production values. On the other hand, give me any album by Lyle Mays and I'll be on cloud nine. There is just something wonderful about well produced music that retains artistic integrity. Crap like Britney and Christina need not apply. The production is pretty shoddy there too.

    Then there is also music that just sounds awesome because it is totally artificial. Check out the latest glitch stuff by the likes of Plaid, Autechre and DNTEL. That stuff really gets inside your head and moves you more than any old bum with a beat guitar ever could. Of course... it's all subjective. Chances are if you liked the bum, you probably won't like a clean square wave being modulated six ways to Sunday...

    And that's the point. It's all subjective. I hate live music. But I love electronica. But that's just me. :P

    --
    Un-news
  8. Re:Great concept... by thrice+rocks! · · Score: 2, Interesting

    SXSW is at least partially label-supported.

    I intern at a record label that has several bands playing SXSW. Glancing at the other bands on the list, I can see that a number of others are doing the same. Understandable, considering that the festival has been going on since the 1980s. Even ASCAP is sponsoring bands.

    While I don't know off the top of my head how royalties are being paid out, I can guarantee that the problem HAS been worked out. CBGB's has been streaming live and archived shows for some time now. This isn't a new concept - only the 802.11 aspect is new. The fact they are only playing live streams at SXSW makes life a little easier (royalty-wise, at least).

  9. Re:Digital Radio by mikeb · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I've been listening to DAB radio here in the UK for over a year. The old band II TV stations (around 2/300 MHz) were kicked off the air to make room for digital sound broadcasting. Receivers are still expensive but some good stuff is coming along now at slightly lower cost (e.g. combined DAB/MP3 portable player for around $300 US.).

    I have to say that I'm a fan. You can argue about the sound quality but for overall listening experience, for me, it beats FM hands down. I live in a marginal reception area for most VHF/UHF broadcasts (can't really get digital terrestrial TV) but the DAB radio is 100% solid.