Reception Platforms

Reception platforms: methods of programme distribution to audience; (terrestrial, satellite, internet, streaming, on demand, listen again, podcasting, blogging) cable; mobile phone

1.       Reception Platforms

Relates to how we listen or receive our radio.

Describe what terrestrial reception is?(AERIAL)  Basically in order to receive radio signals we need an aerial, (Usually a TV aerial) to receive he signals and convert them to audio through our stereo in the home or in a car stereo.

What is satellite reception? (DISH) Basically a radio signal is beamed to a satellite in space which then sends the signal to all homes with a subscription and a satellite receiver dish.  In the UK this usually means your SKY dish but there are others which receive foreign channels.

Describe what streaming is to you?

What is ‘on-demand radio’?

Describe how radio has changed for the listener and how we can now listen to or receive radio.  Mention the following;

Normal radios

Televisions (Freeview, sky etc)

Computers

Laptops and tablets

Mobile Phones

The way radio has been accessed has changed over the years, from old AM radio sets to the digital technologies of today. The wide range of ways that it can be listened to means that it can reach more people and gather a larger audience.

To be listened to, radios firstly need to be picked up by some form of platform technology. These can vary depending on the item being used and are typically a satellite dish or an aerial. A typical radio set will pick up AM or FM radio waves and convert them into the audio we hear. An AM radio will usually do this through a small metal wire which acts as an antennae in the system and picks up the thousands of waves that are being transmitted. A tuner then selects the desired wave from the rest and a detector then isolates the audio out of that wave. The sound is then amplified, so it is audible.

Other radios need a larger aerial, which will pick up the radio waves for the system. Radio stations which broadcast in the form of audio-only channels on television will use TV aerials ,as they will be broadcasting digitally through it along with TV channels. Radio is also accessible from a car. An aerial is usually situated on the outside, where it will pick up radio waves and convert them to audio, which will be emitted out of the speakers. When a car goes under a bridge, some radios will falter due to the barrier restricting radio waves. Aerials are sometimes fixed in position but are commonly movable, so the best possible reception is gathered. Aerials around the home and in the car are terrestrial receivers, as they pick up radio waves from a huge antenna from which the radio station is broadcasting.

Another way of receiving a radio broadcast is through satellite reception. This is where the radio signals are beamed to a satellite in space and are then sent to homes with a satellite dish and their appropriate subscriptions. As satellite dishes are situated outside they are more susceptible to weather and other environmental factors such as trees. A common subscription-based set is SKY. This also regularly uses a satellite dish, though it can sometimes be watched over the internet. Other satellite dishes can be bought, which also pick up channels and stations from other countries.

A typical sky satellite dish. This will be placed outside the home, on the side or on the roof. As it is part of a subscription based package, only their designated dishes will pick up their signals.







Other television sets can play radio stations, such as Freeview and Freesat. The stations will broadcast digitally along with the television channels.

Many radio's can be listened to over a computer, via an internet connection. Radio stations can directly stream music or video over the internet in 'real time' basically meaning it is live and there are no files to download and listen too later. The continuous stream of data may stop due to internet congestion or slow broadband so it will buffer. Buffering is where some of the data is stored in the PC to be used when broadband is slow.

On-demand radio is a form of listen again, where you can browse through a selected amount of content and play shows that have already ceased broadcasting.  Usually the content is from the past 7 days but, it can be from months and even years ago depending on the website and radio station.


BBC iPlayer is the BBC's on demand service, catering for both television and radio.



A listener may also get their content from a third party source. Some radio stations allow their web links to be embedded into a blog, so followers of that particular blog can follow the link and listen to the radio. Alternatively, videos can be embedded in the form of audio only content from another website, such as YouTube. This method is popular for people who wish to listen to older broadcasts.

Tablets and phones can directly connect to the internet with 3G and WiFi  so radio can be accessible to them via streaming.  Some radio stations also have Apps, which can be downloaded and then listened to through the app. Podcasts are commonly found in app stores, as they are usually of an episodic nature and are found in series. As podcasts are a form of listen again and have already been downloaded to the device, no internet connection is required to listen to them. Some older mobile phones without 3G can still listen to radio, as the earphones/headphones being used act as an antenna.