Icecast mode streams audio only — no video frame, no H.264, no overlay graphics. It uses the standard Icecast SOURCE protocol to deliver AAC audio wrapped in ADTS frames directly to your Icecast server. This is the right choice for internet radio: lightweight, compatible with every Icecast-capable media player, and perfectly suited to high-bitrate music.
You need a running Icecast server (version 2.x or later) with a mount point configured. Your server admin or hosting provider should give you a hostname, port, mount point, and source password. The username is almost always source — SignalCaster uses this by default.
Open Settings and choose Icecast from the Stream Using selector. The fields change to show Icecast-specific inputs.
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Server | Your Icecast server hostname, e.g. radio.example.com. Do not include http:// — just the hostname. |
| Port | Your Icecast port number. The default is 8000; your host may use a different port. |
| Mount Point | The mount point path, e.g. /stream or /live.aac. Must begin with a forward slash. |
| Password | Your Icecast source password. This is set in your Icecast server’s icecast.xml configuration, or provided by your hosting service. |
| Bitrate | 320 kbps is recommended for music. Icecast has no minimum requirement. |
Your Icecast mount point is the URL your listeners tune in to. If your server is at radio.example.com:8000 and your mount point is /jazz, listeners point their players at http://radio.example.com:8000/jazz.
When using the Local Player or TCP Input (AutoCast) sources, SignalCaster automatically pushes song title and artist metadata to the Icecast server each time the track changes. Your listeners’ media players will display the now-playing information if their player supports Icecast metadata (most do). No configuration is needed on your end — it happens automatically.
Icecast mode is audio-only, so the Appearance button does not appear in the Settings drawer when Icecast is selected. All the overlay and image schedule features are specific to RTMP-based streaming.
If SignalCaster reports an authentication failure, double-check your password. The source password in Icecast is separate from any admin password — make sure you’re using the one listed under <source-password> in your icecast.xml, not the admin or relay passwords.