Wi-Fi and Internet Radios, The New "Must-Have" Devices

Wi-fi radios enable you to listen to broadcasts from all over the world via your broadband Internet connection. They do not need a PC to work, and the list of radio stations is updated every day so that your radio is always able to connect to the latest stations. In the few months since I purchased one of these units, the number of stations has increased from 2,500 to 5,242 at the time of writing.

Of course, most of us know that it is possible to sit in front of our PC and obtain the audio from many services available online. But it is almost impossible to become aware of the enormous number of such services, not to mention discovering the URLs necessary to connect. The designers and maintainers of the servers used by these Wi-Fi radios take care of all that. The radios enable you not only to connect to the live streams but also to those available "on demand". For example, the most prolific English language broadcaster, the BBC, makes available scores of programs as and when required, ranging from classic comedy series, plays, news, analysis, book readings etc at no cost to the listener. The menu in these Wi-Fi radios provides easy access to them all.

Stations are accessible either by Location/Continent/Country or by Genre—too many to list here. Would over 470 stations carrying news services be enough for you to make a choice?

The Wi-Fi radios are also fully equipped media adapters. They enable you to listen to audio tracks stored on PCs connected to the same local network as your Wi-Fi radio, enabling you to play by artist, album or play list. Naturally, the folders on your PC must be network shared to enable the required access.

It's Wireless!

Wi-Fi Internet radios could not be simpler to use. There is no software to load, no complex set-up operation and no need to be a PC expert. Simply plug it into the mains power and turn on once you have set it up for your wireless network. After that the Wi-Fi radio automatically links into your existing Wi-Fi network from anywhere in a normal sized house, and yes, this does mean that your network, or at least your router, must be wireless enabled. There is no Ethernet connection for a cable.

If the home wireless network has WEP encryption the menu allows entering the WEP key which is stored in non-volatile memory for automatic retrieval when next turning on the radio. It uses your broadband connection to access the Reciva Internet radio Gateway http://www.reciva.com. The Gateway then automatically uploads channel listings alphabetically by country and genre to the Wi-Fi radio. You simply select the station name you want using the rotary control knob and LCD display, and press "select" or press to select any of the 10 presets you have programmed.

Audio Quality

The radio audio quality is very good and is dependent more on the design, size and construction of the box and speaker(s) than anything else. Most audio streams come in at 44 kbit/s so that even our slowest so-called broadband Internet is adequate. [Tech-Ed: Even medium-fi audio at 44kbit/s would be approx 20MB/hr, 480MB/day, 14GB/month if one were so incautious as to leave one's Internet radio playing nonstop. Clearly this could be a serious issue for those on lower-end broadband plans—DB]

Stations List
Every time the radio is switched on again a new channel listing is uploaded so that the Wi-Fi radio is fully up to date with all the latest stations. If you become aware of a new service not on the menu, you can request it from Reciva after registering your unit serial number and if it can be added it will. I succeeded in getting BBC Five Live International added by doing this.

Some Technical Details