for the
Coastal Empire & Lowcountry
Alternative Listen Links, and why you might want to use them
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High-Quality
online radio stations for the Coastal Empire & Lowcountry Alternative Listen Links, and why you might want to use them |
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Here is a list of the various links
we support for reception of our streams. These can be useful in cellphone
& Internet
radio applications. Savannah's Cool Oldies:
Wave 1049 Online:
The Bridge:
ASX links are also supported - just substitute .asx for .m3u . The relevant data are identical between the two file types. "Most efficient" means that the link listed in the tables (above) uses the 64 kb AAC+ stream. This is why 3 links can be labeled 'most efficient.' So, what's this all about, then? This is the part of the site where the brain starts to hurt. Only the very brave need proceed. Each station supports 3 streams at 3 different bit rates, using either AAC+ or MP3 encoding. Each station's streams carry identical program content - the only difference is how good they sound, and how much Internet bandwidth they use. Better-sounding streams use more bandwidth than do their slightly-less-awesome-sounding counterparts. Note, however, that our lowest-quality streams sound as good as, if not better, than FM. The first stream uses very efficient AAC+ encoding at 64 kbps (bits per second), and is very good for listening on any device (computer, Internet radio, or cellphone) which has anything from cheesey in-the-monitor speakers, desktop speakers, or an average subwoofer. If you don't have a really good subwoofer & speaker system, this stream will probably suit your needs just fine, as it sounds about as good as the 96 kb MP3 stream (next). The second stream uses MP3 encoding at 96 kbps, is best suited for Internet radios which can't decode AAC+, such as the iLuv or the Wolverine mentioned on the Internet radio page (the Grace Digital that we reviewed can play AAC+ streams). This stream is also good for computer users whose default media player is Windows Media Player (most common), as WMP cannot decode AAC-encoded streams. None of the other widely-used players suffer this limitation - RealPlayer, Winamp, & iTunes are all AAC-capable, as are the dominant players for Linux (Amarok, Totem, gxine, Gnome MPlayer, Dragon Player, MPlayer, Songbird, VLC...). The third stream uses MP3 encoding at 128 kpbs, and is intended for the more discriminating ear. It is well-suited for any listening device with a good speaker system attached. If you use a table-top Internet radio, this stream won't sound significantly better than the 96 or even 64 kbps streams. But if you connect that table-top Internet radio to your stereo system (did you know that you could do that?), then this is the stream for you! The main listen-links on the most of the stations support the 96 kbit MP3 stream. This is because the dominant media player in the world doesn't support AAC+ streaming. We were not happy to learn this, but it's more important for us to support as many media players as we can than to use the most efficient streaming technology on planet Earth. Take it up with Microsoft. Good luck. So which stream should you use? Efficiency vs. sound quality. A more efficient stream has a lesser impact on other users of your network. If you're not going to crank it up and rock out (at the office, for example) why consume the unnecessary bandwidth to support that? Or the complaints from your IT staff? If ya ain't got the ear or the gear, go for efficient. You won't notice much of a difference. A more efficient stream has a lessor impact on your ability to 'surf the 'net.' For one person in a home or office, efficiency isn't much of an issue, but in an office, 10 people streaming at 128 kbps might have a noticeable impact on Internet performance for the entire office, whereas 10 people streaming at 64 kbps would only have half-as-noticeable an impact. But... most people have Windows Media Player, which just won't decode the most efficient streaming technology in the world (AAC+). Sooo, if you're in a workplace, and you want to stream audio, and you don't want to unnecessarily bog-down your company's Internet connection, you're going to want to want to use the most efficient stream possible, which is an excellent reason to ditch Windows Media Player altogether and install Winamp instead!  If switching to WinAmp is not an option for you, then just use the default listen links. They should work on just about any system. They should also work on most Internet radios as well. If you're listening on a 3G wireless phone, use the AAC+ links if you can. They sound great and are less likely to drop out on you. The all-inclusive listen-links (above) contain all 3 streams: the 64 kbit AAC+ stream, then the 96 kbit MP3 stream, and finally, the 128 kbit MP3 stream. This worked nicely with Windows Media Player for Windows XP & newer operating systems, so we pointed our primary listen-links to these locations. This worked because all media players EXCEPT Windows Media Player would just jump onto the 64 kbit AAC+ stream and start playing it. Windows Media Player, on the other hand, would jump onto the 64 kbit stream and recognize that it couldn't play it, then move-on to the next stream and play that one instead. This seemed to be the best solution until we found out that if you're running an older version of WMP or any Windows operating system prior to XP, WMP will jump onto the 64 kbit stream, realize that it can't play it, then present an error box with an OK button. Upon clicking OK, the player would just sit there and do nothing. Swell. It turns out that there are a LOT of pre-XP PCs out there, so we had to switch to the 96 kbit MP3 streams for the default listen link. So once again, the software company that thinks that it can do everything better than everyone else has forced us compromise, to bend our will to support their media player product, which is the dominant media player on the planet, whether or not it deserves this distinction. . |
| ©2009 | Savannah Radio Online |
| 11511 Abercorn Street #142 | |
| Savannah GA 31419 | |
| (912) 658-6377 |
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