ABSTRACT
Unlike AM and FM broadcasting, several different streaming protocols and codecs are used to deliver content on Internet radio systems. Audio streams consist of three basic components: the transport, audio codec and metadata. Most professional, high-performance streaming audio encoders run on a computer that combines features of a workstation and server. For professional, audio applications such as a live streaming audio encoder, use professional audio interface standards, which exist for analog, digital, and network audio. The streaming audio encoder application is responsible for first encoding the audio input with an audio codec and then assembling the encoded audio bitstream and metadata into a streaming transport protocol to be sent to a streaming or web server. Some streaming servers offer transcoding. Recording the stream via a virtual audio device is always possible, easy and results in excellent quality, although the user will not get the original encoded bitstream.
