Listening to radio on the Web

Cheese,
I first came across listening online when my AM
radio kicked the bucket and my favorite talk radio program needed to be listened to. I then went to
the host's web-page and voila , I was tuned in. I use, in addition to my laptop and PC, a
device only sold in the U.S. called webtv which
enables me to hook-up a Linn Numerik to my
internet connection and on some "stations" the
sound is superb. Unfortunately webtv only has
access to half the software out there, so that
format gets only about half the stations. As Wally stated above, every station has its own software
for its own specific station so quality varies
substantially.
There are also now various sound cards on the
market designed specifically to run into high-end
audio and video systems as this form of listening
becomes more popular.
I've found radio stations by doing simple
searches, ie."where can I listen to the Rolling
Stones live on the internet". In the U.S. and
Canada there are sites which list the call letters and sites of all licensed stations. Most of their
web addresses are their call letters.
I also occasionally listen to this cool
Yugoslavian station that Arye Gur accidentally
turned me onto(euro techno). The music is good but I can't understand a word. I'll post a few more
addresses in the next few days but WDET is hard to beat!

Ron The Mon

P.S.
If you want funny, listen to the show "Car Talk" on WDET or various other U.S. stations as it's syndicated.

Thanks for your help, but the result is somewhat unsatisfying. Indeed, the music stops every 10 seconds or so just to get some more data (and that takes a long time!). See the picture.

Is it due to my analogue connection ?

Cheese - may all beings be happy

Cheese,
Contact the webmaster of the site. I'm sure (s)he will be more helpful.

Ron The Mon

Radio on the Web is terrible.

CD holds around 600MB of data.

For 72 minutes thats over 8MBytes per mintue or over 1Mbits/s (20 times a dial connection).

Download a MP3 at a low 128kbits/s and it sounds bad, ISDN full band width.

Listen to web radio at typically 28kbits/s and it sounds really bad.

So web radio is a rather poor source for sound, digital radio however....

Matthew

1byte = 8bits

I buy a lot of music, ten or twelve records a
week. I keep a log-book handy and jot down the
name of a record, song, or artist I hear which I
want to buy. Many of the records I used to buy
came from recommendations from record shop clerks
(a good place as they do it full time) and
friends. My main sources of listening now are
satelite(digital radio), and the web (as well as
WDET on FM radio ).
Recommendations of new music to buy from record
store clerks, hi-fi store salespeople, and members
on this forum are fatally flawed in that you can't hear it ! Even though the fidelity
today of listening on the World Wide Web
can be classified as poor there are 2 advantages:
1) At any time of the day I can get on the
internet and listen to music from all over the
world and be turned on to music that can then be
purchased and played on my LP-12. I even like that I can hear segments of music on musician's own
web-sites to find if it's to my liking and have
the advantage of ordering direct and not driving
to a store or calling to see if it's in stock! A
few months back, I heard a song that just knocked
my socks off and spoke to me. I quickly jotted
down "Groovy Little Thing" by Ted Hawkins as I had to buy it!! I still haven't met anyone who's heard of Ted or this song or album and I had to special
order it, but the music is enjoyable and the sound quality is superb! And there are many records in
my collection that wouldn't otherwise be there
because of listening on the web.
2) Sound quality will get better. My Toshiba
"Satellite 115CS" laptop when bought new had no
sound capability! A few years ago, a "Backpack"
CD-ROM was purchased and I then got sound which
through my Naim isn't half bad. Now I have a new
DVD-ROM for it which has RCA audio, composite
video, and component video outs. Through my 50
inch projector TV and Naim hi-fi I get very
acceptable audio and video and can type with the
lap-top on my lap! Yes, the sound on the internet
can be lousy but it is better than it was a few
years ago and it will get better. In fact when you use these audio web sites, it registers as a
"hit". Radio stations that get more "hits" will
continue to improve their quality as there is much more advertising dollars on the net than "off-air". And since most companies in the U.S. and abroad own more than one station, it improves quality exponentially.
Contacting web-masters also helps. The biggest
improvements to my hi-fi in the past year have
come from getting set-up hints on the web from
engineers. I had trouble receiving a European
radio station on the web and the audio engineer
e-mailed me back with excitement on how to get the best sound and he even checked back recently to see if it worked!! I also had trouble picking-up a local TV station(for watching hockey) and the
transmitting engineer gave me the best advice I've ever heard on antenna choice and proper
positioning and even offered to come by my home if I had any more trouble. And this advice was given
over the internet.
Matthew, the point I'm trying to make is that the
internet is not an end in itself, but a means to
the end. It is a tool that if used properly will
turn you on to more good music than you can
imagine is out there.

Ron The Mon

P.S.
Station listings still to come

Jacques,
Thanks for the above post. The site has stations I've listened to before and then some! And categorized by style to boot!

Ron The Mon