Unfortunately we're in the same boat but I do have a question If one were to change to AzuraCast / MediaCP or EverestCast even is there anyway to keep the stream link up so the app doesn't need to be deleted and then reuploaded?
Same IP / Port / Username and Password basically or is that not a thing yet.
I can answer that one.
The answer is a qualified "yes". You can configure Azuracast to use the same connection credentials and passwords as Centovacast, but:
1. Azuracast won't let you configure for ports that are already doing something else, so you'll have to configure for whatever ports are available, then shut down Centova, then reconfigure Azuracast to match whatever your old port configurations were.
2. With Centovacast, you could hand edit the Icecast serv.conf file to set your IP addresses for your station to anything you want. You won't be able to do that with Azuracast, as it expects to be managing all those settings itself.
3. Where adding additional streams with differing stream rates was tricky and unreliable in Centova, in Azuracast it just works.
4. Azuracast does not support streams unprotected by SSL. This is actually fine, because if you link to an unprotected stream from a web site, your whole site gets marked as a security risk anyway.
5. Centovacast requires that a scheduled playlist play at a certain time for any number of days you select. Azuracast lets you arbitrarily specify any time and date you like.
6. On Centova, DJ logins tends not to work, forcing everybody to use the same 'source' login name. The "now playing" metadata on Centova shows not only what your DJ is playing, but what your auto DJ thinks it is playing as well. This is very confusing for your listeners, and though DJ logins purportedly fix ths problem, a) the fact that it requires a workaround even after all these years of it being a known problem is ridonkululous, and b) the fact that DJ logins usually don't work means a workaround is impossible. Azuracast handles this correctly.
7. Recording a DJ's show for later broadcast was a touch and go situation with Centova. You could write an external script that would record the show all right, but a) it counted as an extra listener, distorting your audience statistics, and b) there was no way to start and stop the recording process automatically when a DJ connected to broadcast. Azuracast handles show recording seamlessly (though you still have to write a little Python to get it to take that recording and schedule it for later playback for encore performances).
8. Centova has no facility for playing tracks directly in the interface. Azuracast does.
9. Centova cannot generate monthly play reports that include the album data for each song as required by SoundExchange and Re:Sound and many other performance rights organizations, requiring stations that use it to pay for blanket licenses. Azuracast does this correctly out of the box.
10. Centovacast can only normalize volume levels from track to track if gain information is included in the MP3 files, and suggests that the responsibility for doing that should rest with the DJ's. Azuracast offers a selection of various times of stream conditioning, track mixing and buffering.
11. Centovacast offers no system for automatic backups of your station install. Azuracast has this built in, and you can set it to run at any time of your choosing and even tell it how many versions back you want to keep on a revolving basis.
And, best of all, with Centova if there is some billing issue with Centova or the license server goes down for a week with no warning (which has happened) you are mostly just stuck. It takes the developer days or up to a week to respond to a ticket. With Azuracast, not only is there no license server (because you don't need a license), trouble ticket response is generally within 24-48 hours.
And to answer your next question, yes, Azuracast is free, as in beer, and is every bit as capable as Centovacast is and then some.
Had Enough