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Ravenova / Streaming guide

HOW TO STREAM
A DJ SET

Everything you need to broadcast a set to an online radio station, on Windows or Mac. No jargon, and nothing you have to pay for.

First: does your software already do it?

This one question decides everything else, and most guides skip it.

  • YESVirtualDJ and MixxxBoth connect to a radio server on their own. No virtual cables, no second program, and they send your track titles across so the station shows what is actually playing.
  • NOSerato, rekordbox, TraktorThese cannot broadcast to a radio server. Their sound has to be captured and handed to an encoder. It works fine — it is just an extra step.

If your software can broadcast

  1. 01Open the broadcast settingsVirtualDJ: the Broadcast / record panel. Mixxx: Preferences → Live Broadcasting.
  2. 02Choose the server typeIcecast or SHOUTcast, whichever your station uses, then enter the address, port and login they gave you.
  3. 03Set the quality128–192 kbps, 44100 Hz, stereo is a sensible place to start.
  4. 04Hit broadcastCheck the station's site — it should show you as on air.

If it cannot: capture the sound

You need a free encoder — BUTT (Broadcast Using This Tool) is the usual choice on both Windows and Mac — and a way to get your audio into it. There are two ways, and the boring one is better.

  • 1A cable (recommended)Run a physical cable from a spare output on your mixer or controller back into your computer's input. It is unglamorous, it always works, and it skips every driver problem below.
  • 2A virtual audio driverSoftware that creates a fake cable inside your computer. On Windows that is VB-Cable; on Mac it is BlackHole. Point your DJ software's output at it, then set it as BUTT's input.

Levels

Aim for peaks around −3 dB on the encoder's meter, with nothing touching the top. Loud is not the same as good: once you clip, every listener hears the crunch and nothing at the station's end can undo it. Set it during your first track and then leave it alone.

Why it may say "LIVE SET" instead of track names

If you are capturing audio with BUTT, the encoder only receives sound — it has no idea which record is playing, so there is no title to send. A station that shows "LIVE SET" is being honest rather than broken. Software that broadcasts on its own sends titles automatically.

Want a slot?

RAVENOVA is a 24/7 online rave radio station from Ontario, Canada — techno, hard techno, house, drum & bass, trance and hardcore. We give residents their own page, a slot on the weekly schedule, their stream login, and a longer version of this guide with the exact settings filled in.

If you can hold one slot a week, we would like to hear from you.

Apply to play Listen first

Common sticking points

  • ?Nothing reaches the stationNine times in ten the encoder's input is still set to your microphone.
  • ?You can hear it, listeners cannotYour DJ software is sending to your headphones, not to the virtual cable.
  • ?It sounds crunchyYou are clipping. Pull the master down until peaks sit near −3 dB.
  • ?It drops outRaise the encoder's buffer before you blame your connection.