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Streaming - Internet Radio vs. Terrestrial Radio - What's the Difference?
- Thread starter H82BL8
- Start date
Terrestrail radio is broadcast over the air, and picked up by receivers. Internet streams are streamed as data packets on the internet to receiving computers which are connected to the stream.
No difference!
Any stream is an audio source and the internet.
I see many internet only stations processed poorly compared to stations that plae a processed stream on the internet.
Any stream is an audio source and the internet.
I see many internet only stations processed poorly compared to stations that plae a processed stream on the internet.
ChiefEngineer said: "I see many internet only stations processed poorly compared to stations that plae a processed stream on the internet."
But, as I understand, the bitstream captured by the stream server comes from the soundcard prior to being mixed or processed. So, how is the audio source processed stations prior to being sent to the net?
But, as I understand, the bitstream captured by the stream server comes from the soundcard prior to being mixed or processed. So, how is the audio source processed stations prior to being sent to the net?
O
OttoM
Guest
H82BL8 said:ChiefEngineer said: "I see many internet only stations processed poorly compared to stations that plae a processed stream on the internet."
But, as I understand, the bitstream captured by the stream server comes from the soundcard prior to being mixed or processed. So, how is the audio source processed stations prior to being sent to the net?
Let's get back to basics here. Audio streaming - as noted above - is an audio source and the Internet. That "audio source" can be anything from a single sound card to an entire broadcast studio. Doesn't matter what "captures the bitstream" - there's a myriad of ways to "hook it up" but from a technical perspective there's essentially no difference between streaming terrestrial signals and internet-only signals.
ChiefEngineer said:No difference!
Any stream is an audio source and the internet.
I see many internet only stations processed poorly compared to stations that plae a processed stream on the internet.
It SHOULD be different, because not all content coming from a studio is allowed to be streamed without prior licensing and copyright issues ironed out.
Not all internet streams use processed audio. They could be streaming directly from the playout system itself. It's cheap that way. It sounds only as good as the sound card's settings, which explains the sound quality.
Some "pure" Internet Radio has good audio, some has bad audio.
Some "Terrestrial" Radio has good audio on the Internet, some has bad audio on the Internet.
Radio stations with studio and transmitter co-located can grab audio after it has been processed fully for consistent level. Stations with remote transmitters do some compression, limiting at the transmitter so they feed a RAW audio with variations in gain to the Internet.
Some Internet Radio comes from some kid's bedroom and he/she has no budget for fancy-smancy audio processing so what you hear from the stream is pretty granola. Some Internet Radio is a hobby or business operated by someone who can afford some perfectionist choices of hardware and software so you get a stream that rivals that of any Terrestrial Radio anywhere.
There is no one answer to your question.
The pattern I see is that stations in large markets where the talent doing recorded commercials are unionized are the ones feeding different audio on the stream than goes to the transmitter. Small market stations do not seem to have this same constraint. I do come across small market stations that ONLY stream sports so they may have to "strain the stream" of any production commercials containing music if they choose to not obtain music licensing for the Internet.
Some "Terrestrial" Radio has good audio on the Internet, some has bad audio on the Internet.
Radio stations with studio and transmitter co-located can grab audio after it has been processed fully for consistent level. Stations with remote transmitters do some compression, limiting at the transmitter so they feed a RAW audio with variations in gain to the Internet.
Some Internet Radio comes from some kid's bedroom and he/she has no budget for fancy-smancy audio processing so what you hear from the stream is pretty granola. Some Internet Radio is a hobby or business operated by someone who can afford some perfectionist choices of hardware and software so you get a stream that rivals that of any Terrestrial Radio anywhere.
There is no one answer to your question.
The pattern I see is that stations in large markets where the talent doing recorded commercials are unionized are the ones feeding different audio on the stream than goes to the transmitter. Small market stations do not seem to have this same constraint. I do come across small market stations that ONLY stream sports so they may have to "strain the stream" of any production commercials containing music if they choose to not obtain music licensing for the Internet.
The processing which works well on-air does not necessarily work well on streams, which are normally fairly low bit rate. Anymore, most stations process differently.
The commercial problem has not to do with market size, so much as national spots. Virtually all of them are cut by AFTRA members, who demand an extra royalty for streams. Several companies sell software for spot replacement, the one's I ve seen can be made to work fairly seamlessly. This is made much easier by digital storage/playback systems, because each audio file can be tagged and the substitution software need only look at the tag to decide whether the piece of audio should be passed on or replaced.
The commercial problem has not to do with market size, so much as national spots. Virtually all of them are cut by AFTRA members, who demand an extra royalty for streams. Several companies sell software for spot replacement, the one's I ve seen can be made to work fairly seamlessly. This is made much easier by digital storage/playback systems, because each audio file can be tagged and the substitution software need only look at the tag to decide whether the piece of audio should be passed on or replaced.
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