Friday, October 29, 2010

Understanding Internet Radio

By Jane Dimes

There are different kinds of radios in the world today. Terrestrial radio is the most common, and in this, a brick and mortar radio station transmits waves, across geographical regions, which are picked up by radio antennas. Satellite radio is the next, and this one moves from a terrestrial platform to a satellite one, where waves are transmitted from satellites. This kind needs subscription though. Internet radio is the next kind of radio there is. It is usually transmitted wirelessly over the internet. As long as the connection is maintained, the audio programming is streamed. With an unlimited connection, and a good PC, you can tune in everyday, as it is completely free. Its different from wireless sharing, and its more of a webcast with media being streamed, instead of being downloaded. In other words, you are not allowed to pause or replay streamed media, which is similar to traditional radio.

Some internet radio stations operate hand in hand with their terrestrial radio networks and broadcast the same thing. This is done to reach a wider audience both locally and internationally. But there are stations that forego the establishment of a traditional radio station first, and go straight to internet radio. These kinds of stations are broadcasted over the internet only, and a traditional AM/FM receiver cannot be able to receive the transmission.

Geographical limitations are overcome with internet radio, as the transmissions are not dependent on any hardware. It is the global nature of the internet that makes this possible in the first place. This favors the distant listeners who have developed a passion for programs outside their country or continent, and those on travel who still prefer their local programs.

Internet radio has clear advantages over traditional radio, and one that has already been discussed is the freedom of roaming that is availed. Because of the magnitude of channels that can be streamed, this kind of radio offers the biggest variety of stations you can ever find. You get access to more stations that play specific genres of songs, like country, contemporary Christian or jazz. This is to the listeners advantage since they get to listen to the kind of music they love, without having to withstand other genres that dont appeal to them. More interesting is the fact that some of these stations do without advertisements, meaning your listening is continuous and uninterrupted.

An increasing trend has been observed with the number of listeners tuning in to internet radio. If anything, this suggests that internet radio will soon be a necessity to be included in mainstream media devices like stereo systems and mobile phones.

About the Author:

No comments:

Post a Comment