PeerCast can broadcast streams either directly from a local source (such as a Shoutcast or Icecast server), or from the Internet.

The simplest way to broadcast is to enter the URL of an already existing stream into the Broadcast page, and click Create Relay. PeerCast will then fetch the stream`s description, genre, bitrate etc. and start relaying it onto the PeerCast network.
The URL can be a playlist such as .pls .m3u .asx or a direct stream such as .mp3 .ogg .wmv etc.

Another way to broadcast is to set up a Shoutcast or Icecast server and tell it to send the stream to PeerCast, by default PeerCast listens on port 7144. You will also have to set the password in PeerCast to be the same as the Shout/Icecast server password.

1. Open your PeerCast Settings page

2. Under Basic Settings, enter a password.

3. Click save settings.

4. Tell Shout/Ice cast to broadcast to localhost on port 7144

Once you have your channel started, head on over to the Yellow Pages and it should appear within a minute or so.

Direct streaming

PeerCast can also act like a normal direct stream server such as Shoutcast. To enable this feature you must tell PeerCast how many direct streams you will allow it to serve. PeerCast always allows a minimum of 1 P2P relay, so please be careful not to use more than your upload bandwidth allows.

1. Open your PeerCast Settings page

2. Under Basic Settings, change Max. Direct streams.

3. Click save settings.

People will now be able to connect to your channel via direct URL such as this:

http://[your ip]/pls/[channel id]

PeerCast`s main interface is via HTML served directly from the client. This allows you to change settings remotely via any web browser. But in order to use your PeerCast client remotely you must set a password beforehand:

- Enter it in the Windows GUI

OR

- Enter it from the HTML Settings page, you must be connected from localhost (127.0.0.1) in order to do this when there is no password.

OR

- Edit the file peercast.ini that is located in the directory that PeerCast was installed in.

Authentication is made by using either Cookies or HTTP Basic Authentication, PeerCast defaults to using session based Cookies. Please see the Settings page to change this.