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How To Create Your Own Radio Station--A Simplified Guide
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Believe it or not, it is easy to create your own radio station! In these day and age, the Internet opens up unlimited opportunities. You can set up your radio station using your own collection of MP3 and CD recordings. Plus, you can broadcast live using your own voice and a microphone. First, let us discuss the three elements of Internet radio broadcasting.
1. Audio source. This can be from the MP3 recordings you play on your computer, your CDs, your voice, or other sources. The sound card in your computer takes care of mixing these audio sources and converting them into a data stream, which can be uploaded to a server.
2. Host server. You have to have a host server who will receive the audio data stream from your computer. The server will then take care of redistributing the audio data stream to your audience.
3. Audience. Your audience is anybody who can connect to your server. Your listeners would hear anything that you broadcast from your own computer.
How does it work?
Audio digital information is compressed into bitrates. A bitrate is a measure of the quality of the sound data stream. The unit of measurement used is 'k,' short for kbps, which means, kilo bits per second. The higher the kbps, the better the sound quality. For example, a station with a 24k audio would have audio quality comparable to sounds from a telephone. Internet users who have dial-up connections can only connect, in general, to audio streams that are at most 24k. However, listeners whose Internet connections are capable of 128k of audio data stream would be hearing sounds comparable to CDs.
To widen your audience, you can offer two or three streams: one that targets dial-up users with just 24k bitrate; another stream of about 64k targeting ISDN or medium-speed broadband connections; and a 96-128k stream for high quality sounds that would appeal to most internet users who have high-speed broadband connections.
If you are planning to set up your own radio station for the first time, you need to look for a host server. You need to have a place to set-up the website of your radio station. There are a lot of host servers to choose from. Look for one that offers unlimited storage space and a generous allowance of around a few gigabytes up to two terabytes of data transfer per month.
Your host server would also offer you a choice with regards to the system for running your radio station. Some popular choices are Shoutcast and Icecast. These two systems offer free downloadable software for streaming multi-media.
Make your website design attractive and unique. Your website design is the first thing that will draw your prospective listeners to your radio station. Post other items aside from your music streaming on your website. You can post articles and other features that might be of interest to your target audience.
Take special care in designing your listening page. This is the most important page on your website. Offer a variety of methods for tuning in to your station: Windows Media, Real Player, Winamp, etc. This way, you would be accessible to the most number of listeners possible.
Aline Heller writes about digital media. To learn more about creating your own radio station, go to How to Start Your Own Radio Show and Make Money Doing It. Another resource is Internet Radio-How To Do It.
Article submitted Tuesday, January 17, 2012 & read 6 times.
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