By Dan Moren
June 28, 2018 7:18 AM PT
Last updated May 18, 2022
Audio Hijack 3.5 adds broadcast support
Live podcast fans will welcome the news of Rogue Amoeba’s latest Audio Hijack update. Version 3.5, released Thursday, adds support for internet broadcasts to Icecast and Shoutcast servers. That functionality was previously included in Rogue Amoeba’s Nicecast app, which the company discontinued back in March.1
Audio Hijack 3.5 adds a Broadcast block which you can slot into your audio workflow, allowing you to easily stream content to a compatible server. And I can say that with some assurance because I’ve been using it to stream live episodes of The Rebound, Clockwise, and various Incomparable shows over the past month or so.2 It’s an elegant interface and the results sounds great. In particular, the ability to save specific servers as presets and toggle back and forth between them has saved a lot of time.
The Broadcast feature supports both the MP3 and AAC formats, including the better sounding HE-AAC format. It can also automatically pull track names from some sources if you’re broadcasting music, and even lets you broadcast to multiple servers at the same time (if, for example, you want both an MP3 and AAC stream, or if you want to provide multiple bitrates for listeners).
And the Audio Hijack update also includes another useful innovation: an input switch block that lets you quickly toggle between two audio sources. Handy if, for example, you want to play music for your live stream up until you’re ready to switch over to your broadcast.
Current Audio Hijack users will get version 3.5 as a free update; a full license costs $59, though Rogue Amoeba offers several bundles as well. Nicecast customers can also snag a $20 discount.
- If you’re migrating a live stream from Nicecast to Audio Hijack, Rogue Amoeba has put together this handy page to help out. ↩
- Full disclosure: Rogue Amoeba CEO/Lackey Paul Kafasis is a long-time friend. ↩
[Dan Moren is the East Coast Bureau Chief of Six Colors. You can find him on Mastodon at @dmoren@zeppelin.flights or reach him by email at dan@sixcolors.com. His latest novel, the supernatural detective story All Souls Lost, is out now.]
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