Stopping/starting the autoDJ before/after streaming live
Question:
If I want to switch from the autoDJ to a live broadcast (or vice-versa), how do I go about doing so?
Answer:
Your DJs should stop the autoDJ prior to beginning a live broadcast. This is done by logging in to Centova Cast and clicking the "Deactivate source" or "Deactivate autoDJ" link. After a live broadcast, your DJs should login again and re-start the autoDJ by clicking the "Activate source" or "Activate autoDJ" link.
If you do not wish to give your DJs access to your Centova Cast account, you should use the Centova Cast API to give your DJs limited access to stop/start the autoDJ. An example script demonstrating how to do this is available here.
Is there any way to have the autoDJ restart automatically after a live broadcast?
For IceCast servers: Yes, IceCast can instantly and automatically switch between the autoDJ and a live DJ whenever a live DJ connects or disconnects. This is described in the following article:
How does the automatic live/autoDJ switching feature for IceCast work?
For SHOUTcast servers: SHOUTcast does not provide any functionality to notify Centova Cast when a live broadcast completes, so there is no way to have the autoDJ immediately restart after a live broadcast.
As of v2.2.4, Centova Cast does include an option to detect sourceless streams
as part of its cron job, and can automatically re-enable the autoDJ if it
detects that no source is connected. To enable this feature, set the
AUTODJ_FAILSAFE option in /home/centovacast/system/config.php to true. If
you do not see an AUTODJ_FAILSAFE option, just add the following line to the
config.php file:
define('AUTODJ_FAILSAFE',true);
Again, please note that Centova Cast only checks streams as part of its cron job, so there may be a delay of up to 5 minutes (depending on how often your cron job runs) before the autoDJ is reactivated.
NOTE: This article is for Centova Cast v2 only; an alternate version exists for Centova Cast v3.