Nicecast

Pros

• Can stream music anywhere
• Run a real radio station
• A lot of effects and other tools
• Can stream directly to other equipment

Cons

• Only a trial version for free
• It is incredibly busy
• Might be very complex for some

For people who love music and also use a Mac, the Nicecast program is a great way to create your own radio station, broadcast your own shows, or just listen to your saved music on any streaming player.

Overview of Nicecast

Despite how much technology changes with computing, music is still just as popular as ever. The only thing really changing here is how you can download and stream it. Nicecast, for example, is a streaming program for Mac that allows users to do a lot with the music they have. You can actually create and host your own radio show, like a professional does with voice commentary, breaks, and the whole nine. You can also stream out to any compatible piece of equipment you have, so you can listen to your iTunes playlist and other stored music anywhere.

At just around 9mb, this is a relatively small program that will not consume a lot of processing power to run. It was created by Rogue Amoeba Software and is available for the Mac and Mac OS X systems. All you get with the initial download is the trial version, however, so you won't have access to all of the features.

How Nicecast Works

There is a ton you can do with Nicecast, but one thing you may notice upon opening the program is that things are a little on the messy side. It's not that the program is overly complex, but it will look that way, with multiple boxes you have to deal with and a range of different functionality features. For instance, instead of everything being on one simple page with a drop bar, you have separate pop-up boxes for the server you choose, archiving, broadcasting, effects, input modes, and your player. It's very busy.

That aside, each individual section when taken alone is pretty easy to navigate. The Broadcast feature, for example, allows you to select for quality, then you can push Share and even stop the broadcast any time you want. You just have to select the coordinating server so you know where to broadcast.

Nicecast Features

When taken individually, the features really provide a step by step guide to help you with everything from initially creating your playlist to broadcasting it out live. One very cool feature you can use, if you want to broadcast like a radio station, is that you can halt the music and then give a voice-over. You can even use the Effects tools to change your voice some.

Then you have a feature like being able to broadcast directly to whatever you plug in. This is great for party hosts who want to play DJ, or someone who wants a club-type atmosphere. Just plug it in and broadcast to some DJ equipment. Overall, there are a lot of good features here.

Pros and Cons of Nicecast

Pros

• Can stream music anywhere
• Run a real radio station
• A lot of effects and other tools
• Can stream directly to other equipment

Cons

• Only a trial version for free
• It is incredibly busy
• Might be very complex for some