Thanks for listening to KSAU 90.1FM
Live Streaming. It has come to our attention that some
of you are having problems connecting to the live
stream. We'll attempt to answer some of the more common
questions here.
Q: When I click on
the link from the main page of the KSAU website, my
browser prompts me to download a file, then nothing
happens.
A: Most likely,
you do not have any software that is properly configured
to play the stream. The streaming service KSAU employs
is called ShoutCast.
It uses a file with an extension of .pls, which stands
for "playlist." This file contains all the information
needed for your software to connect to the server and
play the live stream.
If you find that this is the case,
users of the Microsoft Windows™ operating systems are
strongly encouraged to use
Winamp,
a free application for playing music. Mac (OS9 and
above) users are encouraged to use
Audion,
and XMMS for *NIX
users.
When setting up any of these
applications to play music, ensure that in the "File
Types" option, you have set that application to play .pls
files. You may need to restart your application and/or
your computer before the change is applied.
Q: When I click on
the link to open the live stream, my player opens, but
nothing plays.
A: This is
usually a problem that stems from your connection being
fast and connecting to the stream before the entire .pls
file is downloaded. This problem can be solved by either
clicking the link to open the stream again, or pressing
the stop button on your player, and then pressing play
to attempt to open the stream.
Q: Can I use Windows
Media Player, RealOne Player, iTunes, MusicMatch
Jukebox, or other media player?
A: Yes, you can
use any of those applications. However, be cautioned:
They are not specifically designed to handle .pls files,
and are prone to having connection problems.
Q: I've set up
Winamp (or another media player) to play .pls files, but
RealOne Player keeps starting when I try to listen to a
live stream. What gives?
A: Real, Inc.,
the corporation who markets RealOne, is aggressive in
becoming the number one provider of streaming content.
As a result, their software is customized to retain
control of file formats, such as .pls. They accomplish
this through the RealOne Smartcenter, a program that is
set up to run every time you start your computer.
Smartcenter will retain file formats for RealOne player
on every startup. To eliminate this problem, simply
disable Smartcenter from starting up during boot.
To do this, after your computer is
started, you will see a small RealPlayer icon in the
bottom right of your screen, also known as the system
tray. Right click on the icon, and select to disable
Smartcenter. Also, open RealOne Player options and edit
the file extension associations to not include .pls
files, then close RealOne. Once this is completed, open
the media player you want to use (preferably Winamp) and
edit the file extension associations to include .pls
files. Once you restart Winamp, it should retain the
settings you specified.
Q: I want more
information about ShoutCast and how it works. Where can
I go?
A: Check out the
ShoutCast source documentation. It contains
information bout creating a live streaming server, as
well as being a listener.
Legal stuff: All software
applications mentioned here are the property of their
respective owners, and are mentioned purely as support
for their end users. Some information for this Q&A was
compiled from available information at the ShoutCast web
site.
This Q&A was written by
Corey Terrell, and may be revised at any time without
prior notice.
Date of last revision: 05-13-04. The digital generation
lives on.
