SoniXCast's ShoutBox Project delayed by Radionomy
New York, NY, September 8, 2014 (Newswire.com) - SoniXCast announced today that the release of their ShoutCast management control panel (code named: ShoutBox) has been delayed once again. Originally slated for release in August 2014, SoniXCast CEO Brian Walton stated that Radionomy's support for ShoutCast (acquired by Radionomy from AOL in the beginning of 2014) has become non-existent. A new release date has not been set.
"They've essentially fallen from the face of the earth." says Walton. "There has been no response whatsoever regardless of what means we use or how often we try. They told us in June (2014) that they would be taking ShoutCast in a different direction, which is the reason why we will base future projects on open source, but we never dreamed that they would become absolutely non-responsive."
"We will continue to support ShoutCast as long as necessary, but ShoutCast and Radionomy are no longer considered strategic assets."
Brian Walton, CEO -SoniXCast
In 2008, SoniXCast developers engineered a specialized proxy to interface ShoutCast with their patented content delivery network AnyCastIP, but over time and due to the rise in customer volume, the management of the proxy has become untainable.
"We keep costs down through automation. With ShoutCast being proprietary, we do not have access to develop essential mechanisms which would help ease administrative duties and keep costs down. Either we raise our prices or find an alternative." stated Walton.
The ShoutCast forum abounds with complaints about service and support. Radionomy has made many changes to their infrastructure and software with little to no warning or documentation leaving developers and hosting companies scrambling to develop last minute workarounds.
ShoutBox development will be put on the back burner in favor of SoniXCast's own streaming service solution (code named: BoomBox).
"The consumer doesn't care which streaming server they are connecting to. All they care about is broadcasting or listening to music. We cannot allow the behaviour of Radionomy to further frustrate our business. There are just too many others out there who are willing and able to work with us. We will continue to support ShoutCast as long as necessary, but ShoutCast and Radionomy are no longer considered strategic assets." stated Walton.
The BoomBox project (which has been under heavy development since June 2014) consists of 2 parts. A streaming server which is a fork of IceCast 2.2.4 with extended support for rtmp (Flash Video) and icy (ShoutCast) protocols, developed for exclusive use in the AnyCastIP network. And a user interface which involves highly customized forks of diverse open source projects to provide full online radio automation. Including; stream and media management, scheduling, broadcasting (WebRTC), advertising, publication and social networking features.
