What is Internet radio?
There are tens of thousands of radio stations streaming their digital audio over the Internet. These stations are broadcast by a variety of entities, from large companies to independent broadcasters. With Internet Radio, you can hear more of the music you love and discover new favorites; you can also listen to free news, sports, weather, and talk radio from around the world. Internet Radio offers many more stations than Satellite Radio, and most of them are free. Every kind of music and many talk programs are available. Listen to stations in other countries, or from the home town where you grew up!
Internet radio is very similar to broadcast radio. It allows listeners to tune in to shows from their computer. Since it is streamed, listeners don’t need to download anything to access the broadcast. Instead, they log onto a particular web site to listen in. This form of communication is sometimes known as webcasting. It is not the same medium as podcasting, since a podcast must be downloaded to the listener’s computer or MP3 player before it can be listened to. The broadcast is sent out over the network and listeners will experience a lag time of up to 10 seconds depending on the server when listening to a broadcast. The lag time occurs because the data is sent out over a TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) connection and then reassembled before the user can listen to it. Many Internet radio broadcasts are produced by existing broadcast stations that share their programming with Internet users. They may choose to offer a simulcast of the live broadcast or change
Internet radio is essentially the same as regularly broadcast radio, with a few distinguishing characteristics. Whereas there is a minimal lag time with regular radio because it broadcasts through the air, Internet radio has a lag time of 2.5 to 10 seconds or so, depending on the server. Internet radio is streamed, and so does not involve downloading. You simply log on to the particular site and in it comes.
