---
title: "Stream service requirements"
slug: "stream-service-requirements"
updated: 2025-11-13T15:28:22Z
published: 2025-11-13T15:28:22Z
canonical: "support.iono.fm/stream-service-requirements"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://support.iono.fm/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Stream service requirements

Streaming requires a reliable internet connection from the studio where audio is captured and sent as a contribution stream to a dedicated endpoint on our platform.

          
          

The public internet is not 100% reliable for delivering a continuous stream 24x7. Customers may experience intermittent errors when streaming into our platform based on the internet connection they use to send the contribution stream.

## Internet requirements

The internet connection used for sending a contribution stream must:

- Be able to sustain a constant upload speed of at least 25% more than the bitrate of the contribution stream. If you are sending a 64kbps stream, you need at least 80kbps internet connection.
- Support for 25Gb (at 64kbps) of outgoing traffic per month, up to 60Gb (at 128kbps).
- Firewalls must allow a connection to be established to **TCP port `8000`** on an IP we provide.

## Internet recommendations

- We strongly recommend using a **dedicated internet connection** for streaming. Other devices using the same connection may cause skipping to occur if they saturate the available bandwidth even for short durations.
- The hardware or software sending the stream must be capable of **automatically reconnecting** after any network disconnect. (Our dedicated hardware does this automatically)

## Validate network access

Prior to connecting our streaming device, validate the internet connection by following these steps:

- Connect a normal laptop or desktop machine to the router the device will be connected to.
- Use the same network cable the device will be using to.
- Ensure normal internet browsing works by visiting [https://iono.fm/](https://iono.fm/) in a browser.
- Ensure port `8000` is open by visiting [http://iono.fm:8000/](http://iono.fm:8000/) in a browser.
- Test how fast your internet connection is. Visit [bandwidthplace.com](http://www.bandwidthplace.com) in your browser.
- Click on "Server: Auto Select Server" and change the server to "Europe" / "Frankfurt, DE".
- After running the test the Upload speed must be **at least 0.20Mbps** and the Ping must be **below 200ms**.

![users-stream-bandwidth-test](https://cdn.document360.io/020e2e09-46eb-4899-95e8-482c4a354f61/Images/Documentation/users-stream-bandwidth-test.jpg)

## Input endpoints and format

Customers can send their contribution audio stream to our platform as:

- Icecast 2 on port `8000` (default)
- [SRT or RTMP](/v1/docs/stream-input-rtmp-srt)

At the start of your trial publishers receive unique connection settings for sending this stream:

- the IP address to send to
- a mount point name
- a username and password

**Sample rate** We recommend incoming streams to use a `44.1kHz` sample rate.

**Audio codec** We recommend using `AAC` or `Ogg Vorbis` as the input format.

When using `MP3` we recommend always using a bitrate of `192k`.

We do accept `Opus`, but this format will **not** accept Now Playing metadata via the normal Icecast method. Customers can still use our custom [Now Playing setup](/v1/docs/stream-now-playing).

**Bitrate** Any bitrate is acceptable as long as it can be pushed reliably with your available upstream bandwidth. We recommend:

- For streams on our "Community" package, a bitrate of 128k, depending on codec.
- For streams on our "Commercial" package, a bitrate of 160k, depending on codec.

**Secondary input**

When selecting input formats, please note the requirements for [using our secondary input](/v1/docs/stream-fallback-input).

## What software can i use to publish my stream ?

Free and commercial software are widely available that can send compatible Icecast audio streams into our platform.

Some examples:

- [BUTT](http://danielnoethen.de/butt/), free cross-platform tool:
- Rogue Amoeba's [Audio Hijack](https://www.rogueamoeba.com/audiohijack/). Commercial, Mac only.
- [iziCast](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/izicast/id1462571191), Commercial, iOS app.
- See also the full list of [Icecast source clients](https://icecast.org/apps/).

## Related

- [Stream microphone audio using BUTT](/stream-butt.md)
- [Stream application audio using Audio Hijack](/stream-audiohijack.md)