Post by Flash on Apr 13, 2008 19:50:49 GMT -5
Internet radio remains one of the web's largely undiscovered secrets.
David Flynn looks at good sites from which to start your journey.
Tired of the same lack of variety of local radio stations - the
talkback loonies, chattering breakfast crews, endless repeats from the
top 100 charts or the safe-ratings formulas of latest hits and
greatest memories? Then flick the dial from AM or FM to "www" and add
thousands of new stations to your listening menu.
It's all thanks to internet radio, which opens up a new world of
entertainment by letting radio stations around the globe broadcast
their signals online rather than over the short-range local airwaves.
(The technical boffins refer to this as "streaming audio", mainly
because it lets them use one more bit of jargon to befuddle the rest
of us.)
There's nothing incredibly fancy about this: any station can play a
continuous live audio feed of its on-air signal over a special web
address. And don't confuse internet radio with digital radio, which
uses digital signals to replace analog radio transmissions - just as
digital TV supplants the current less-efficient channels - and will
launch in Australia in January.
Internet radio remains one of the web's largely undiscovered secrets
and thus an under-appreciated joy.
You can listen to stations from just about any city or country around
the globe. It's perfect for expats wanting to enjoy a slice of life
from "the old country" and a very practical resource if you're
studying a foreign tongue.
Some of the internet's most popular stations
like ZFM at www.radio2doublev.org/ can't even be heard on AM or
FM - they broadcast only online. Foremost among these is Radio
Paradise (radioparadise.com), which plays a broad range of music mixed
by professional DJs and maintains a playlist on its web page so you
can find more details about the song you just heard.
There are also networks boasting multiple channels of their own, such
as .997 (www.977music.com) and SomaFM (somafm.com). Live365
(www.live365.com), meanwhile, has many channels set up by individuals
playing music from a spare PC in their bedroom.
It's relatively easy to justify running online-only stations with a
very specific choice of programming - and without radio transmitters,
studios, large staff or other overheads.
There might not be a large local audience for 24/7 jazz, heavy metal,
reggae, bluegrass or even 100 per cent non-stop Beatles but a spin
around the online radio dial will uncover stations dedicated to every
possible flavour of music. We're not kidding about those nothing-but-
Beatles stations - Beatles-a-rama (beatlesarama.com) and Beatles Radio
(beatlesradio.com) are both dedicated to the music of the Fab Four,
including their solo efforts, cover versions by other artists and the
odd sound-alike Beatle-esque band.
To all that music, add news, sports, talkback plus dozens of oddball
shows - such as the air-traffic control channel at major airports -
and you can see that internet radio truly has something for everyone.
Not only is it impossible not to find a station that's perfect for you
but you'll also probably discover dozens of favourites and flick
between them as the mood takes you.
LISTEN UP
So just how do you tap into all of this goodness? If there's a
specific AM or FM radio station that you want to listen to, visit its
website and look for a button labelled "Listen Live", "Listen Online"
or similar. This will sometimes play the music through your web
browser, although it can also launch your PC's music player software
(usually iTunes or Windows Media Player).
If you're looking for stations from a particular country but don't
know any of them by name, try directory sites such as Live-radio.net
or the more convoluted radiostationworld.com - or just search Google
using key words such as "Vietnamese radio stations online". Or simply
browse through a net radio portal such as Radio Roku (radioroku.com),
which has a directory of thousands of stations.
However, if you're more interested in the type of programming than the
country of origin, fire up iTunes or the Windows Media Player on your
Mac or PC. Both come with a directory of hundreds of online radio
stations sorted by genre. Browse through the list and, when you find
one that looks appealing, just click to play.
Don't expect an internet broadcast to be as strong and steady as a
local radio signal: it can sometimes be a little more like AM than FM,
and there's also the unavoidable problem of net radio channels
stuttering and temporarily losing their connection as they make their
way over the internet to your PC.
When browsing the online radio channels you'll sometimes see a station
listed several times, each with a different number or "bit rate" next
to it. Those figures will typically range from 32Kbps to 128Kbps - the
higher the number, the better quality the signal.
However, listening to online radio also eats into your monthly
download allocation. A 128Kbps channel consumes 60MB an hour, so
listening for eight hours chews up 480MB. For people on some low-rate
plans, this can exceed their download limit for the entire month. So
check your plan and do the maths before you get hooked on internet
radio because it could prove very expensive.
You may need to choose a slower connection and certainly avoid using
net radio as mere background music throughout the day and evening.
Note also that some ISPs such as Internode include a selection of free
net radio channels in their plans that can be used without counting
towards your download limit.
If you'd rather not be tied to your PC, there are several gadgets that
let you listen anywhere anywhere around the house - all you need is a
home wireless network to rebroadcast the signals from the internet.
They provide a vast menu of pre-set stations sorted by country or
genre and you can add your own to that list.
David Flynn looks at good sites from which to start your journey.
Tired of the same lack of variety of local radio stations - the
talkback loonies, chattering breakfast crews, endless repeats from the
top 100 charts or the safe-ratings formulas of latest hits and
greatest memories? Then flick the dial from AM or FM to "www" and add
thousands of new stations to your listening menu.
It's all thanks to internet radio, which opens up a new world of
entertainment by letting radio stations around the globe broadcast
their signals online rather than over the short-range local airwaves.
(The technical boffins refer to this as "streaming audio", mainly
because it lets them use one more bit of jargon to befuddle the rest
of us.)
There's nothing incredibly fancy about this: any station can play a
continuous live audio feed of its on-air signal over a special web
address. And don't confuse internet radio with digital radio, which
uses digital signals to replace analog radio transmissions - just as
digital TV supplants the current less-efficient channels - and will
launch in Australia in January.
Internet radio remains one of the web's largely undiscovered secrets
and thus an under-appreciated joy.
You can listen to stations from just about any city or country around
the globe. It's perfect for expats wanting to enjoy a slice of life
from "the old country" and a very practical resource if you're
studying a foreign tongue.
Some of the internet's most popular stations
like ZFM at www.radio2doublev.org/ can't even be heard on AM or
FM - they broadcast only online. Foremost among these is Radio
Paradise (radioparadise.com), which plays a broad range of music mixed
by professional DJs and maintains a playlist on its web page so you
can find more details about the song you just heard.
There are also networks boasting multiple channels of their own, such
as .997 (www.977music.com) and SomaFM (somafm.com). Live365
(www.live365.com), meanwhile, has many channels set up by individuals
playing music from a spare PC in their bedroom.
It's relatively easy to justify running online-only stations with a
very specific choice of programming - and without radio transmitters,
studios, large staff or other overheads.
There might not be a large local audience for 24/7 jazz, heavy metal,
reggae, bluegrass or even 100 per cent non-stop Beatles but a spin
around the online radio dial will uncover stations dedicated to every
possible flavour of music. We're not kidding about those nothing-but-
Beatles stations - Beatles-a-rama (beatlesarama.com) and Beatles Radio
(beatlesradio.com) are both dedicated to the music of the Fab Four,
including their solo efforts, cover versions by other artists and the
odd sound-alike Beatle-esque band.
To all that music, add news, sports, talkback plus dozens of oddball
shows - such as the air-traffic control channel at major airports -
and you can see that internet radio truly has something for everyone.
Not only is it impossible not to find a station that's perfect for you
but you'll also probably discover dozens of favourites and flick
between them as the mood takes you.
LISTEN UP
So just how do you tap into all of this goodness? If there's a
specific AM or FM radio station that you want to listen to, visit its
website and look for a button labelled "Listen Live", "Listen Online"
or similar. This will sometimes play the music through your web
browser, although it can also launch your PC's music player software
(usually iTunes or Windows Media Player).
If you're looking for stations from a particular country but don't
know any of them by name, try directory sites such as Live-radio.net
or the more convoluted radiostationworld.com - or just search Google
using key words such as "Vietnamese radio stations online". Or simply
browse through a net radio portal such as Radio Roku (radioroku.com),
which has a directory of thousands of stations.
However, if you're more interested in the type of programming than the
country of origin, fire up iTunes or the Windows Media Player on your
Mac or PC. Both come with a directory of hundreds of online radio
stations sorted by genre. Browse through the list and, when you find
one that looks appealing, just click to play.
Don't expect an internet broadcast to be as strong and steady as a
local radio signal: it can sometimes be a little more like AM than FM,
and there's also the unavoidable problem of net radio channels
stuttering and temporarily losing their connection as they make their
way over the internet to your PC.
When browsing the online radio channels you'll sometimes see a station
listed several times, each with a different number or "bit rate" next
to it. Those figures will typically range from 32Kbps to 128Kbps - the
higher the number, the better quality the signal.
However, listening to online radio also eats into your monthly
download allocation. A 128Kbps channel consumes 60MB an hour, so
listening for eight hours chews up 480MB. For people on some low-rate
plans, this can exceed their download limit for the entire month. So
check your plan and do the maths before you get hooked on internet
radio because it could prove very expensive.
You may need to choose a slower connection and certainly avoid using
net radio as mere background music throughout the day and evening.
Note also that some ISPs such as Internode include a selection of free
net radio channels in their plans that can be used without counting
towards your download limit.
If you'd rather not be tied to your PC, there are several gadgets that
let you listen anywhere anywhere around the house - all you need is a
home wireless network to rebroadcast the signals from the internet.
They provide a vast menu of pre-set stations sorted by country or
genre and you can add your own to that list.