VOX type encoder?

[VFN05]

Does anyone know of a VOX style encoder? I'm trying to find something that will stream data only when it is receiving audio. While I understand that the current setup uses minimal bandwidth, I find that my internet provider (cox.net) "locks out" my modem around 3 AM anytime I am streaming. While I found a workaround by doing a hard reset every morning at 3 AM using a digital light timer, I'm thinking there has to be a better way. Perhaps if I conserve bandwidth, or at least make the stream intermittent, I might fall under the radar. Also, less bandwidth used would mean that I could add virtually an unlimited number of streams. I have the radio and computer resources, just not the cooperating ISP.

Thanks in advance,
Jason

[Chauffeur6]

It sure would be sweet to have an "on demand" VOX encoder that only sends data when necessary. A lot of these ISP's are very sensitive to any activity that appears to be a server being run. Continuous uploading from streaming audio is definitely one such activity that can raise a red flag, and might even be against your ISP's TOS. In some cases, the ISP will cap your upload bandwidth and reduce it to paltry dialup type speeds, or in extreme cases they may terminate your account altogether. Considering many of the streams people are providing are silent a good deal of the time, VOX encoding would definitely be a huge benefit.

[KMA367]

I got similar grief from my former ISP, when I started streaming through a guy in the San Francisco Bay Area.... they threatened to cut off my broadband. With as few listeners as I had back then (especially compared to now at RR), I simply pulled the plug and hardly anybody noticed.

I'm only an "appliance operator," but it seems there could be a problem - probably not insurmountable - knowing whether a particular feed, when it's not streaming, is merely quiet or has gone offline.

[VFN05]

Agreed that differentiating a "slow" feed vs an offline feed could be an issue. I'm sure such an encoder could "ping" the server every minute or two when inactive. I am sure the bandwidth used for pinging would be far less than a continuous stream of data.