Internet Radio Technology
Once areas open only to programmers and experts in sound-processing industries, the technology that creates and broadcast internet radio content is fairly simple and able to be implemented on most personal computers. The essential aspect of internet radio is compression. This is a process where large amounts of data are simplified or shrunk to increase their speed of transmission.
Lossy audio codecs are software elements which will compress sound files into smaller bits that can be streamed on the internet. Some of the most common of these audio codecs include MP3, Ogg Vorbis, MMA, and RealAudio. However, there are many more frequently used codecs and often, they can be created by open-source programmers for their own particular use.
When audio bits are streamed over a network connection, they are sent in groups, or packets. The speed of the connection will determine how long it takes for each packet to be delivered. This range can be anywhere from 2 to 10 seconds. That time is what is referred to as “lag time.” You would notice this if you listened to a radio station on traditional radio while simultaneously tuning into their internet broadcast.
Discover more about the nature of traditional radio spectrums from the Federal Communication Commission.