Audio Hijack is one of the few 3rd-party Playout software programs designed for macOS that you can use in conjunction with Live365. With Audio Hijack, you can broadcast live to your Live365 stream from a Mac device using the computer's sound, application sound, and any external audio devices.
Note: Audio Hijack can be purchased from the developer's website. Rogue Amoeba is the same company that developed the better-known software encoder for macOS called Nicecast, which is currently at the end of life. There is a free version of the software available, however, that has limitations and it is only for testing purposes.
First, make sure you are editing the station where you want to do the LiveDJ session on. Highlight and click the station name to select it. If you are unfamiliar with how to navigate this part of Live365, please see this help article which describes dashboard navigation.
Once you have selected the appropriate station, you will be taken to that Station's Menu page. From this page, you will be able to navigate and make changes and adjustments to your station.
Here are step-by-step setup instructions for Audio Hijack
- Purchase a copy of the software.
- Open your Live365 Dashboard (Login Required).
- Select Sources → Live DJ from the left column Station Menu. Locate the Encoder Settings area as shown below:
Please leave the Encoder Settings window open as you will need to input this information into Audio Hijack's interface. For accuracy, it is recommended that you Copy (Command+SHIFT+C) and Paste (Command+SHIFT+V) this information directly into the required fields. - Open Audio Hijack, then click on the New Session button.
- Select the Internet Radio feature from the Template Chooser.
- Select the external audio device that is connected to your Mac or the software application that you wish to pull sound from (for example iTunes).
- Double-click on the Broadcast box and input your Live365 station's streaming details, then turn the broadcast on. Please make sure the server connection type is set to "Icecast2," and set the appropriate encoder type, bitrate, format, and channels.
- Setup tab: This information can be retrieved from the Live365 Encoder Settings window (Step 3).
For optimal audio quality and streaming performance, we recommend configuring the AAC or MP3 codec to be close to the bitrate you've selected as output within the Live365 Dashboard.
To adjust your Live365 station’s preferred output format and bitrate simply navigate to Station Settings → Output Encoding and then ensure your encoder aligns with those specifications. One requirement is that the sample rate must always be set to 44.1 kHz.
If you are uncertain about what encoding settings to use, please refer to the following blog article for additional information and guidance: Understanding Radio Streaming Formats & Bitrates
- Metadata tab: This information is all your choice, please also make sure that you select the right software to pull metadata from and make sure that the Title Format is Artist - Track Title.
When you enable the live broadcasting, you will immediately start to broadcast live. You will override any scheduled Events and AutoDJ currently playing in the Live365 Dashboard. The Live365 AutoDJ system may be used as a fallback, in the event your application crashes or goes offline.
Please remember that even when you are broadcasting live, your files must transmit the correct metadata for copyrighted content (Artist - Title). If you are part of the Ad Revenue Share Program , you need to also manually insert our ad trigger files.