Windows Media Services Due To Be Discontinued

26 Sep 2011 | 2 Comments | posted by James M | in Network Updates, Product News

As of 31st October 2011 we will no longer be providing Windows Media Services as we have made the choice to slowly phase it out over the past year, the 31st of October will serve as the final deadline that we provide these services. (Please Note: This does NOT affect any other services such as SHOUTcast Hosting or Auto DJ)

We formed this decision after some very careful consideration and observations. We have noticed that over recent years (probably since 2008 or so) there has been a drastic decline in demand for Windows Media specific streaming that there was when we first launched in 2004 and it is now at the point, where it isn’t longer commercially viable for us to offer it, there are not the volumes of customers who choose it and we are largely moving our systems to Linux servers – phasing out our Windows 2003 and 2008 Servers. As with the uptake of alternatives such as SHOUTcast and increase in Apple Mac and Mobile / Smartphone users – the Windows Media format is somewhat now out of date and is not widely adopted in the radio broadcasting industry. On top of this, Microsoft have not released a new version of Windows Media Services since 2003. We stopped publicly accepting orders for new Windows Media accounts around 1 year ago and now have only a handful of clients left using them.

It used to be the case that Windows Media Player was the most widely used Media Player app – although its likely that iTunes has now overtaken it. Back then, it made sense that radio stations offer Windows Media streams – however, now its more sensible to stream in good old MP3 as it does indeed offer access onto the most users’ computers and devices!

At Wavestreaming we always aim to focus our efforts on the most widely compatible and fresh technology and we have recently developed a whole suite of new tools and resources for our thousands of SHOUTcast customers.

If you are currently a Windows Media client – we have sent out an email to you explaining the above – we are sorry to announce this as we never like to cause problems or inconvenience for customers, however, we believe that switching to SHOUTcast is a great step forward for anyone using the old WMA stream format as it will open up a world of extra listeners to you. Any remaining Windows Media Services will be discontinued at the end of October and servers will be permanently cut off at this point.

If you are a Windows Media customer of Wavestreaming – please review the following options:
1. (Recommended) Move onto SHOUTcast MP3 broadcasting
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We suggest this as we have a brand new control panel about to be released, it offers far, far more functionality than our Windows Media platform.

It will also allow you to reach a larger audience as broadcasting in MP3 format will let you reach listeners on both PC and Mac. They can listen with Windows Media Player, iTunes, Winamp and more. You can also use our flash players and embed the stream onto your website.

2. Cancel Your Windows Media Service

If you do not wish to move to SHOUTcast – you may cancel your service on or before the 31st October and either cease broadcasting or source windows services elsewhere.

Either way – please get in touch with our support team with any questions and let us know your decision at your earliest convenience.