Internet radio allows you to transmit audio streams consisting of stored content. This content is usually MP3 files or live voice transmitted through a microphone.
To create an Internet radio, you need the following components: a source, a server, and listeners.
The source can be a home computer, which must be connected to the Internet. It is he who is used for mixing (mixing) all audio sources, which, in turn, will pass through the sound card. The computer will convert the sound information received from the sound card into a specific "stream" and send it to the server. And he already forwards to listeners the stream of information received from the computer. At the same time, the server settings can allow you to control the metadata of the received stream (name, genre), as well as the broadcast quality.
Any Internet user anywhere in the world can connect to this server and listen to the created radio.
To successfully create Internet radio, you do not need a "fleet" of high-performance systems or expensive equipment. The most important factor in launching it is the use of a wide internet channel.
Also, for Internet radio to work, you need to install special programs on your computer: Winamp (a player that plays music files), Radio Boss SHOUTcast Server, Sam Broadcaster, SHOUTcast Plug-in (serves as a special connecting mechanism that establishes a connection between SHOUTcast Server and the player through which information goes to the "people"). After downloading these programs and plugin, install them on your home computer.
Broadcasting on the Internet is legal, so there is no need to obtain a special license for the right to own a frequency in the FM / AM band. But if the content of the information streams of the broadcast contains materials protected by copyright, and the user does not have the rights to reproduce this file, then this will be a violation of the law. Therefore, it is necessary to obtain the appropriate rights that can be granted to individuals or companies by the organizations that own these copyrights. As a rule, for this you need to pay a certain amount of money.
