How Internet Radio Works

Internet radio has been around since the late 1990s. Traditional radio broadcasters have used the Internet to simulcast their programming. But, Internet radio is undergoing a revolution that will expand its reach from your desktop computer to access broadcasts anywhere, anytime, and expand its programming from traditional broadcasters to individuals, organizations and government. Freedom of the Airwaves Radio broadcasting began in the early 20s, but it wasn t until the introduction of the transistor radio in 1954 that radio became available in mobile situations. Internet radio is in much the same place. Until the 21st century, the only way to obtain radio broadcasts over the Internet was through your PC. That will soon change, as wireless connectivity will feed Internet broadcasts to car radios, PDAs and cell phones. The next generation of wireless devices will greatly expand the reach and convenience of Internet radio.

Uses and Advantages

Traditional radio station broadcasts are limited by two factors:
y y The power of the station s transmitter (typically 100 miles) The available broadcast spectrum (you might get a couple of dozen radio stations locally)

Internet radio has no geographic limitations, so a broadcaster in Kuala Lumpur can be heard in Kansas on the Internet. The potential for Internet radio is as vast as cyberspace itself (for example, Live365 offers more than 30,000 Internet radio broadcasts). In comparison to traditional radio, Internet radio is not limited to audio. An Internet radio broadcast can be accompanied by photos or graphics, text and links, as well as interactivity, such as message boards and chat rooms. This advancement allows a listener to do more than listen. In the example at the beginning of this article, a listener who hears an ad for a computer printer ordered that printer through a link on the Internet radio broadcast Web site. The relationship between advertisers and consumers becomes more interactive and intimate on Internet radio broadcasts. This expanded media capability could also be used in other ways. For example, with Internet radio, you could conduct training or education and provide links to documents and payment options. You could also have interactivity with the trainer or educator and other information on the Internet radio broadcast site.

Internet radio programming offers a wide spectrum of broadcast genres, particularly in music. Broadcast radio is increasingly controlled by smaller numbers of media conglomerates (such as Cox, Jefferson-Pilot and Bonneville). In some ways, this has led to more mainstreaming of the programming on broadcast radio, as stations often try to reach the largest possible audience in order to charge the highest possible rates to advertisers. Internet radio, on the other hand, offers the opportunity to expand the types of available programming. The cost of getting on the air is less for an Internet broadcaster (see the next section, "Creating an Internet Radio Station"), and Internet radio can appeal to micro-communities of listeners focused on special music or interests.

Creating an Internet Radio Station

What do you need to set up an Internet radio station?
y y y y y y y y y CD player Ripper software (copies audio tracks from a CD onto a computer s hard drive) Assorted recording and editing software Microphones Audio mixer Outboard audio gear (equalizer, compressor, etc.) Digital audio card Dedicated computer with encoder software Streaming media server

Getting the Programmes live on internet:

1. The audio enters the Internet broadcaster s encoding computer through a sound card. 2. The encoder system translates the audio from the sound card into streaming format. The encoder samples the incoming audio and compresses the information so it can be sent over the Internet. 3. The compressed audio is sent to the server, which has a high bandwidth connection to the Internet. 4. The server sends the audio data stream over the Internet to the player software or plugin on the listener s computer. The plug-in translates the audio data stream from the server and translates it into the sound heard by the listener. There are two ways to deliver audio over the Internet: downloads or streaming media. In downloads, an audio file is stored on the user s computer. Compressed formats like MP3 are

the most popular form of audio downloads, but any type of audio file can be delivered through a Web or FTP site. Streaming audio is not stored, but only played. It is a continuous broadcast that works through three software packages: the encoder, the server and the player. The encoder converts audio content into a streaming format, the server makes it available over the Internet and the player retrieves the content. For a live broadcast, the encoder and streamer work together in real-time. An audio feed runs to the sound card of a computer running the encoder software at the broadcast location and the stream is uploaded to the streaming server. Since that requires a large amount of computing resources, the streaming server must be a dedicated server.

General Background History Internet radio

Internet radio (also known as web radio, net radio, streaming radio and e-radio) is an audio service transmitted via the Internet. Music streaming on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted broadly through wireless means. Internet radio involves streaming media, presenting listeners with a continuous stream of audio that cannot be paused or replayed, much like traditional broadcast media; in this respect, it is distinct from on-demand file serving. Internet radio is also distinct from podcasting, which involves downloading rather than streaming. Many Internet radio services are associated with a corresponding traditional (terrestrial) radio station or radio network. Internet-only radio stations are independent of such associations. Internet radio services are usually accessible from anywhere in the world for example, one could listen to an Australian station from Europe or America. Some major networks like Clear Channel and CBS Radio in the US, and Chrysalis in the UK restrict listening to in country because of music licensing and advertising concerns. Internet radio remains popular among expatriates and listeners with interests that are often not adequately served by local radio stations (such as eurodance, progressive rock, ambient music, folk music, classical music, and stand-up comedy). Internet radio services offer news, sports, talk, and various genres of music every format that is available on traditional radio stations.

Internet radio technology

Streaming
Streaming technology is used to distribute Internet radio, typically using a lossy audio codec. Streaming audio formats include "MP3, Ogg Vorbis, Windows Media Audio, RealAudio, and HEAAC (or aacPlus)". Audio data is continuously transmitted serially ("streamed") over the local network or internet in TCP or UDP packets, then reassembled at the receiver and played a second or two later. The delay is called lag, and is introduced at several stages of digital audio broadcasting.

Simulation
A local turner simulation program includes all the online radios that can also be heard in the air in the city.

History
A November 1994 Rolling Stones concert was the "first major cyberspace multicast concert." Mick Jagger opened the concert by saying, "I wanna say a special welcome to everyone that's, uh, climbed into the Internet tonight and, uh, has got into the M-bone. And I hope it doesn't all collapse." On November 7, 1994, WXYC (89.3 FM Chapel Hill, NC USA) became the first traditional radio station to announce broadcasting on the Internet. WXYC used an FM radio connected to a system at SunSite, later known as Ibiblio, running Cornell's CU-SeeMe software. WXYC had begun test broadcasts and bandwidth testing as early as August, 1994. WREK (91.1 FM, Atlanta, GA USA) started streaming on the same day using their own custom software called CyberRadio1. However, unlike WXYC, this was WREK's beta launch and the stream was not advertised until a later date. In 1995, Progressive Networks released RealAudio as a free download. Time magazine said that RealAudio took "advantage of the latest advances in digital compression" and delivered "AM radio-quality sound in so-called real time." Eventually, companies such as Nullsoft and Microsoft released streaming audio players as free downloads. As the software audio players became available, "many Web-based radio stations began springing up." In March 1996, Virgin Radio - London, became the first European radio station to broadcast its full program live on the internet. It broadcast its FM signal, live from the source, simultaneously on the Internet 24 hours a day. Internet radio attracted significant media and investor attention in the late 1990s. In 1998, the initial public stock offering for Broadcast.com set a record at the time for the largest jump in price in stock offerings in the United States. The offering price was US$18 and the company's shares opened at US$68 on the first day of trading. The company was losing money at the time and indicated in a prospectus filed with the Securities Exchange Commission that they expected the losses to continue indefinitely Yahoo! purchased Broadcast.com on July 20, 1999 for US$5.7 billion.

US royalty controversy
In October 1998, the US Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). One result of the DMCA is that performance royalties are to be paid for satellite radio and Internet radio broadcasts in addition to publishing royalties. In contrast, traditional radio broadcasters pay only publishing royalties and no performance royalties.

A rancorous dispute ensued over how performance royalties should be assessed for Internet broadcasters. Some observers said that royalty rates that were being proposed were overly burdensome and intended to disadvantage independent Internet-only stations that "while Internet giants like AOL may be able to afford the new rates, many smaller Internet radio stations will have to shut down." The Digital Media Association (DiMA) said that even large companies, like Yahoo! Music, might fail due to the proposed rates. Some observers said that some U.S.-based Internet broadcasts might be moved to foreign jurisdictions where US royalties do not apply.

Many of these critics organized SaveNetRadio.org, "a coalition of listeners, artists, labels and webcasters" that opposed the proposed royalty rates. To focus attention on the consequences of the impending rate hike, many US Internet broadcasters participated in a "Day of Silence" on June 26, 2007. On that day, they shut off their audio streams or streamed ambient sound, sometimes interspersed with brief public service announcements. Notable participants included Rhapsody, Live365, MTV, Pandora, and SHOUTcast. Some others that did not participate, like Last.fm, having just been purchased for 280 million dollars by CBS Music Group,, stated that they did not want to punish their listeners.

SoundExchange, representing supporters of the increase in royalty rates, pointed out the fact that the rates were flat from 1998 through 2005 (see above), without even being increased to reflect cost-of-living increases. They also declared that if internet radio is to build businesses from the product of recordings, the performers and owners of those recordings should receive fair compensation. Opponents argued that the purchase price paid for Last.FM reflected that it was primarily a social network service that included a radio service.

On May 1, 2007, SoundExchange came to an agreement with certain large webcasters regarding the minimum fees that were modified by the determination of the Copyright Royalty Board. While the CRB decision imposed a $500 per station or channel minimum fee for all webcasters, certain webcasters represented through DiMA negotiated a $50,000 "cap" on those fees with SoundExchange. However, DiMA and SoundExchange continue to negotiate over the per song, per listener fees.

SoundExchange has also offered alternative rates and terms to certain eligible small webcasters, that allows them to calculate their royalties as a percentage of their revenue or expenses, instead of at a per performance rate. To be eligible, a webcaster had to have revenues of less than $1.25 million dollars a year and stream less than 5 million "listener hours" a month (or an average of 6830 concurrent listeners). These restrictions would disqualify independent webcasters like AccuRadio, DI.FM, Club977 and others from participating in the offer, and therefore many small commercial webcasters continue to negotiate a settlement with SoundExchange.

An August 16, 2008 Washington Post article reported that although Pandora was "one of the nation's most popular Web radio services, with about 1 million listeners daily...the burgeoning company may be on the verge of collapse" due to the structuring of performance royalty payment for webcasters. "Traditional radio, by contrast, pays no such fee. Satellite radio pays a fee but at a less onerous rate, at least by some measures." The article indicated that "other Web radio outfits" may be "doom[ed]" for the same reasons.

On September 30, 2008, the United States Congress passed "a bill that would put into effect any changes to the royalty rate to which [record labels and web casters] agree while lawmakers are out of session." Although royalty rates are expected to decrease, many webcasters nevertheless predict difficulties generating sufficient revenue to cover their royalty payments. In January 2009, the US Copyright Royalty Board announced that "it will apply royalties to streaming net services based on revenue."

Popularity
In 2003, revenue from online streaming music radio was US$49 million. By 2006, that figure rose to US$500 million. A February 21, 2007 "survey of 3,000 Americans released by consultancy Bridge Ratings & Research" found that "as much as 19% of U.S. consumers 12 and older listen to Web-based radio stations." In other words, there were "some 57 million weekly listeners of Internet radio programs. More people listen to online radio than to satellite radio, high-definition [sic] radio, podcasts, or cell-phone-based radio combined."

An April 2008 Arbitron survey showed that, in the US, more than one in seven persons aged 25 54 years old listen to online radio each week. In 2008, 13 percent of the American population listened to the radio online, compared with 11 percent in 2007. Internet radio functionality is also built into many dedicated Internet radio devices, which give an FM like receiver user experience.

General
The following tables compare general and technical information for a number of streaming media systems both audio and video.
FIRST LATEST STABLE PUBLIC VERSION RELEASE (YYYY-MM- (RELEASE DATE) DD) ? 0.1217

NAME

CREATOR

COST (USD)

LICENSE

MEDIA

MEDIA PLAYER

PeerCast

Giles Macromedia/Adobe Systems

Free

GPL

Audio/Video

{?}

Flash Media Server

2002-07-9 3.5 (2009-01-13)

$4,500

proprietary

Video

Flash Player

Wowza Media Server

Wowza Media Systems

Any with appropriate protocol support, including Flash players, Free Developer Silverlight players, QuickTime license, $995 players, VLC players, Safari 2.1.2 (2010-07Perpetual, 2007-02-17 proprietary Audio/Video/Data (HTML5), iPhone/iPad/iPod touch, 20) $65/mo 3GPP (Android, Blackberry, Subscription Symbian, etc.), IPTV set-top boxes, game consoles (Wii, PS3 and other). 5.5.5 (2007-0510) 0.6.1 (2009-0909) Any with appropriate protocol support. Any with appropriate protocol support.

Darwin Streaming Server

Apple Inc.

1999-03-16

Free

APSL

Audio/Video

Flumotion Streaming Server

Flumotion

2004-11-30

Free

GPL

Audio/Video

Firefly

Ron Pedde

0.2.4.1 (2007-1021) 2004-09-14 2006-06-29 11.1 (2006-0610)

Free

GPL

Audio

Any with appropriate protocol support. FreeCast client Any with appropriate protocol support.

FreeCast

Alban Peignier

Free

GPL

Audio/Video

Helix DNA Server

RealNetworks

2003-01-22

Free

RCSL/RPSL

Audio/Video

Helix Universal Server

RealNetworks

14.0 (2010-041994-01-01 14)

Free for 12 months (Basic) proprietary and $1,000$10,000 Free proprietary

Audio/Video

Any with appropriate protocol support (PC & Mobile devices).

Windows Media Services

Microsoft

Video

Windows Media Player

Broadwave

NCH Software

2006-07-21

1.01

Free (Personal), $136 proprietary (Commercial)

Audio

Any with appropriate protocol support.

Icecast

Xiph.Org Foundation

1998-12

2.3.2 (2008-0602) 0.9.0 (2010-0127) 1.9.8 (2007-0228)

Free

GPL

Audio/Video

Any with appropriate protocol support.

Red5

Free

LGPL

Audio/Video

SHOUTcast

Nullsoft

1998-12

Free

proprietary

Audio

Any with appropriate protocol support. Flash, Windows Media, UMedia players Flash

Unreal Media Server

Unreal Streaming Technologies http://www.casparcg.com/

2003-10

7.0 (2010-03-22)

Free, Commercial Free

proprietary

Audio/Video

CasparCG

Audio/Video

Mammoth Server

http://mammothserver.org/

Audio/Video

Free

Flash

Operating system support

Name PeerCast Firefly Flash Media Server Wowza Media Server Darwin Streaming Server Flumotion Streaming Server FreeCast Helix DNA Server Helix Universal Server Windows Media Services Broadwave Icecast Windows Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Mac OS X Yes ? No Yes Yes Yes No ? No No No No Linux Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes BSD Unix ? Yes No Yes Yes ? Yes Yes No No No Yes Solaris ? ? No Yes Yes ? Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Other Unix ? ? No Yes Yes ? Yes ? No No No Yes

SHOUTcast Unreal Media Server Name

Yes Yes Windows

Yes No Mac OS X

Yes No Linux

Yes No BSD Unix

Yes No Solaris

Yes No Other Unix

Container format support

Name PeerCast Firefly Flash Media Server Wowza Media Server Darwin Streaming Server Flumotion Streaming Server FreeCast Helix DNA Server Helix Universal Server Windows Media Services AVI ? No ? No ? ? ? ? No ? ASF ? ? ? No ? Yes ? ? Yes Yes QuickTime ? ? ? Yes Yes Yes ? ? Yes ? Ogg Yes Yes ? No ? Yes Yes ? Yes ? OGM ? ? ? No ? Yes ? ? No ? Matroska ? ? ? No ? Yes ? ? No ? MP4 ? ? Yes Yes Yes Yes ? No Yes ? MPEG transport stream ? ? No Yes ? ? ? ? Yes ? FLV ? ? Yes Yes No Yes ? ? Yes No

Broadwave Icecast SHOUTcast Unreal Media Server

? Yes Yes Yes

? ? ? Yes

? ? ? Yes

? Yes Yes Yes

? ? ? Yes

? ? ? Yes

? ? ? Yes

? ? ? Yes

? No No ?

Protocol support
Name HTTP RTSP MMS RTP RTCP UDP TCP RTMP MPEGTS ? ? Real Data Transport ? ?

PeerCast Firefly Flash Media Server

Yes ?

? ?

? ?

? ?

? ?

? ?

? ?

? ?

No

No

No

No

No

Yes

No

Wowza Media Server

Yes (Apple HLS, Silverlight Smooth Streaming, Adobe Dynamic Streaming)

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes (RTMP, RTMPE, RTMPTE, RTMPT, RTMPS)

Yes

No

Darwin Streaming Server

No

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Flumotion

Yes

Streaming Server FreeCast Helix DNA Server Helix Universal Server Yes Yes No Yes No No ? Yes ? No ? Yes ? Yes ? ? ? ? ? Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Windows Media Services

Yes (WM-HTTP, plain download&play HTTP via IIS)

Yes (WMRTSP)

Yes

Yes (WMRTSP)

No

Yes (MMSU, MMSMCAST, MSBD and WM-RTSP) ? ? ?

Yes (MMST, WMHTTP and HTTP)

No

Broadwave Icecast SHOUTcast Unreal Media Server

Yes Yes Yes

No No No

No No No

? No No

? No No

? ? ?

? ? ?

? ? ?

? ? ?

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes

No

Name

HTTP

RTSP

MMS

RTP

RTCP

UDP

TCP

RTMP

MPEGTS

Real Data Transport

Supported website
The design website is a dynamic website that changes or customizes itself frequently and automatically, based on certain criteria. The websites can have two types of dynamic activity: Code and Content. Dynamic code is invisible or behind the scenes and dynamic content is visible or fully displayed , so that the current propramms and the future programme will be automated . This type of website displayed in plain view. Variable content is displayed dynamically on the fly based on certain criteria, usually by retrieving content stored in a database. A website with dynamic content refers to how its messages, text, images and other information are displayed on the we b page, and more specifically how its content changes at any given moment. The web page content varies based on certain criteria, either pre defined rules or variable user input. For example, a website with a database of news articles can use a pre-defined rule which tells it to display all news articles for today's date. This type of dynamic website will automatically show the most current news articles on any given date. Another example of dynamic content is when a retail website with a database of media products allows a user to input a search request for the keyword Beatles. In response, the content of the web page will spontaneously change the way it looked before, and will then display a list of Beatles products like CD's, DVD's and books.

Purpose of dynamic websites

The main purpose of a dynamic website is automation. A dynamic website can operate more effectively, be built more efficiently and is easier to maintain, update and expand. It is much simpler to build a template and a database than to buil d hundreds or thousands of individual, static HTML web pages.