Frequently asked questions

Instantly. As soon as your Stripe payment succeeds, our system creates your SHOUTcast server and control panel automatically and shows your login details on screen and by email. Most stations are on air within 60 seconds.

With StreamWithQ you can start from €5.90/month (Q Start: 100 listeners, 128 kbps, 5 GB AutoDJ). Most growing stations pick Q Plus at €12.90/month for 500 listeners at 320 kbps. Add music licensing for your country on top. See our full cost breakdown.

Every paid plan comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. If StreamWithQ is not right for you, contact us within 30 days of your first payment for a full refund – no questions asked.

Yes – migration is free. Our engineers move your AutoDJ library, playlists and settings, and help you point your players and apps to the new stream with minimal downtime.

We run SHOUTcast v2 by default (best directory support and compatibility with every encoder) and Icecast on request. Both are managed through the same MediaCP control panel. Read SHOUTcast vs Icecast.

Yes. Besides radio we offer live video streaming (RTMP/SRT ingest, adaptive HLS, simulcast), ad-free video on demand and 24/7 web TV channels with scheduling – all delivered through a global CDN.

Our streaming servers run in EU data centres (Germany/Finland) and video is delivered through a global CDN with 100+ edge locations. We are an EU company (Thessaloniki, Greece) and process data under the GDPR.

Prices are shown excluding VAT. EU VAT is added at checkout based on your country; businesses with a valid EU VAT number are charged with reverse charge.

Yes. There are no contracts. You can cancel or change plan from your account at any time and your service stays active until the end of the paid period.

SHOUTcast hosting means we run a SHOUTcast server for you in a data centre with a fast connection. You send audio to it (live or from AutoDJ) and it distributes the stream to all your listeners, so your home or studio internet only needs to upload one stream.

AutoDJ is a server-side playout that plays your uploaded music and scheduled playlists 24/7. It is included in every StreamWithQ radio plan; storage ranges from 5 GB (Q Start, roughly 1,200 songs) to 300 GB (Q Network).

Plans are sized by concurrent listeners – people listening at the same moment. A typical new station averages 5–25 concurrent listeners, so Q Start (100) is plenty to begin with. Use our bandwidth calculator to size your plan.

128 kbps MP3 sounds good for talk and most music. For music-first stations 192–320 kbps MP3 gives near-CD quality; for mobile listeners add a 64 kbps AAC+ mount. Q Plus and above support up to 320 kbps.

Yes. Your SHOUTcast stream can be listed in the SHOUTcast directory, TuneIn, Radio Garden, radio.net, Streema and more. We help with submissions on request.

If you play copyrighted music you need licenses from the collecting societies of your country (for composers/lyricists, performers and record producers). Hosting and licensing are separate – we provide playlog exports to make reporting easier.

YouTube shows ads, recommends competitors next to your video and can mute or remove streams. With StreamWithQ your stream plays on your website in your player, with your branding, analytics and monetisation – and you can still simulcast to YouTube at the same time.

Plan for 1.5× your stream bitrate. For 1080p at 6 Mbps you need at least 9 Mbps of stable upload; for 720p at 3.5 Mbps about 5 Mbps. SRT handles unstable connections much better than RTMP.

There is no hard viewer limit – plans include a monthly CDN delivery allowance. 1 TB is roughly 740 viewer-hours at 720p. Extra bandwidth is billed at a clear per-TB rate or you can upgrade anytime.

RTMP is supported by every encoder and works well on stable connections. SRT adds error correction and encryption and is the better choice over mobile, Wi-Fi or long distances. Read RTMP vs SRT.

Video plans are activated by our engineers within one business day (usually within hours) – we configure your channels, test ingest with you and send your stream keys.

Yes. Standard encoding into adaptive streams is included in every VOD plan. You only pay for storage and CDN delivery allowances included in your plan.

YouTube shows ads and competitor videos around yours. Vimeo applies bandwidth soft caps and charges in USD. StreamWithQ gives you an ad-free branded player, EU hosting and unlimited views from €15/month.

Yes. VOD Business supports pay-per-view, rentals and subscription libraries, paid through Stripe directly to your account.

Upload your videos, arrange them in the weekly scheduler and publish. Your channel plays continuously on a player you can embed on your website, share as a TV page or load into Smart TV apps via M3U8. Read our step-by-step guide.

Yes. On Channel HD and TV Network, when you start a live stream it automatically takes over the channel and returns to the schedule when you stop.

Web-only channels generally do not need a broadcasting licence, but you must have the rights for all content you air. Rules vary by country – in Greece check with the NCRTV (ΕΣΡ) if you also broadcast terrestrially.