Stand-alone Internet Radio Receivers vs Tunein Radio (?)
Willi
Posts: 200 Forum Member
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I'm confused over the difference between the above.
For some years, I've been listening to Internet radio on an iPad with the Tunein app but I recently stumbled across a new station, Ábaco Libros y Café Radio, via a web search with my Mac. However, this excellent jazz station (www.radionomy.com/en/radio/abaco-libros-y-cafe-radio/index) does not seem to be accessible with Tunein. Could someone pse tell me the reason?
Also, because I don't want to tie up the Mac and the iPad when listening to background music, I'm thinking of getting a stand-alone Internet radio to feed an audio system via 'Aux'.
Do these stand-alone radios use the Tunein Radio app? Or will they, like the Mac, be able to bring in Ábaco Libros y Café Radio and, indeed, any others that are on the internet but not available with Tunein Radio.
I do not need an Internet radio that also offers FM/DAB.
Any tips (or snags) about stand-alone Internet radios would be greatly appreciated.
W
For some years, I've been listening to Internet radio on an iPad with the Tunein app but I recently stumbled across a new station, Ábaco Libros y Café Radio, via a web search with my Mac. However, this excellent jazz station (www.radionomy.com/en/radio/abaco-libros-y-cafe-radio/index) does not seem to be accessible with Tunein. Could someone pse tell me the reason?
Also, because I don't want to tie up the Mac and the iPad when listening to background music, I'm thinking of getting a stand-alone Internet radio to feed an audio system via 'Aux'.
Do these stand-alone radios use the Tunein Radio app? Or will they, like the Mac, be able to bring in Ábaco Libros y Café Radio and, indeed, any others that are on the internet but not available with Tunein Radio.
I do not need an Internet radio that also offers FM/DAB.
Any tips (or snags) about stand-alone Internet radios would be greatly appreciated.
W
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Well, perhaps I posted on the wrong board - anyway, partially answering my own question:
I found a Hama IR111 in an electronics superstore this afternoon and tried it out as best I could. The IR111 comes in white but is otherwise identical to the IR110 in black.
You can select the type of music and I went to 'Jazz': there was a long list of stations, and I found (already in the presets), 'Ábaco Libros y Café Radio' as well as another favourite station of mine, 'Martini in the Morning'.
The sound quality was fairly good (as far as I could tell in the busy store) but the assistant was not able to tell me whether you are limited to the pre-listed stations or whether you can enter new ones that might come along in the future. The latter would presumably have to be entered via the website URL details ... (?) ... whether this is possible or not I don't know. I also don't know whether the long list of preset stations that I saw is going to be the same on any internet radio. Do some internet radios have different stations pre-selected? And do any (all?) of them have the option of keying in a URL to bring up a new station that is not on the pre-installed list?
I've been playing around with my iPad today and discovered that 'Martini in the Morning' is receivable when I key in the URL (found via their website) but that it is no longer available via the Tunein Radio app. When you try via the latter, you get a notice saying that they have copyright problems.
So it seems that the Tunein Radio app does not offer all the stations that are available on a stand-alone internet radio such as the Hama. In this respect, the app is not so good; or am I missing something?
I would really appreciate some comments. Thanks in advance ...
W
Looking in the manual i see that it uses an unspecified station database of worldwide radio stations. You can search this database by genre, location or station name.
I would expect that other such radios have a similar approach which means that the stations available to you are only as good as the database that the radio uses.
I would suggest that you download the user manual of any radio that you are interested in and see what it says.
From what I understand, it seems that you can't simply key-in a URL as you would with an iPad or PC; rather, new stations have to be added to from an enormous list that is accessible from:
http://www.wifiradio-frontier.com/
The handbook says that new stations are being added to this list all the time; it's obviously in the interest of any new station to provide its details to "wifiradio-frontier". The book also says that if a station is not included on the list, then you can contact "wifiradio-frontier" and ask that it be added.
I presume that the pre-set stations on all internet radios can only come via this list. Anyway, that's my understanding but I'd appreciate comments from people who are familiar with internet radio.
The choice of music and other output from an internet radio is colossal ... tens of thousands of stations ... absolutely unbelievable! I travel a lot and it's good to be able to listen to BBC Radio 4 via an iPad wherever there's WIFI. The output is unbeatable as far as music is concerned: classical, rock, jazz, big bands ... you name it.
Thanks again for the tip about the manual.
W
Internet radios need to be linked to a portal because they cannot run a browser or apps such as Tunein. There are several in use depending on the chip set in the radio - you gave a link to Frontier Silicon which is also used by Roberts. You can add specific (unlisted) stations yourself but need to know the URLs of the specific audio streams - not just of a web site which (with a browser) allows you to select from a list of stations.
There are many radio portal web sites and most internet radio listeners use those instead of going via the web sites of individual stations even from a PC. For info, the link in your original post (http://www.radionomy.com/en/radio/ab...fe-radio/index) was a portal, not the web site of the jazz station you liked.
OK "witham1" about Chromecast; I had not heard about that. It's a good idea but I don't want to tie up other devices and will go for a stand-alone solution.
Thanks also, "misar", for the explanation regarding the portals. The shop assistant didn't know anything about that. I'm now listening to the jazz station via iTunes on my Mac. As a matter of interest, I wonder which portal Apple uses for the radio feature on iTunes.
I like the Hama IR111 (in white), which I saw in Germany, but they are all out of stock. It seems that in the UK only the Hama IR110 (in black) is available. As far as I can tell, the only difference is the colour.
W
https://www.alza.co.uk/hama-ir111-internet-radio-d4576687.htm
I'd pay by credit card though.
I like the look of the Hama 111IR in white and was very tempted. In Germany they go for about 149€ (approx £128). However, there were none in stock at the local stores and there was no time for an online purchase and delivery.
The Roberts is nice but I really don't need the additional FM/DAB options.
Guess that I'll hummmm and harrrrrr for a while longer but am determined to get a stand-along internet radio.
I wonder about the audio quality: I was planning to run the output through the Aux input of a sound system. On the other hand, it would be handy to use such a radio on its own. The Hama is mains-only ... wonder about the Roberts and must check to see whether it's got a battery-powered option. It might be nice to listen in the garden and this would not be possible with the Hama.
Just looked at the spec for the Roberts and it mentions an optional battery pack: is this an outboard arrangement? Or are the batteries inside? Also, about the Roberts: can I feed it into a sound system? This is not clear from my quick look at the spec.
W
The battery pack screws on the back.
There is a line out socket for connection to HiFi.
Both stations you name are included in the frontier database that the Roberts uses.
Personally I'd go for the Roberts. Similar price and belting sound quality with a built in subwoofer. You say you don't need fm/dab. Simply don't use it. I don't. I just use Internet radio and the media player sections. You aren't paying extra for them as it's more or less the same as the one you name. The Internet radio and sound quality more than justifies the cost. - currently 136 for black or 139 for white on Amazon
Also bear in mind the Hama only has 10 favourites. The Roberts has 50, the first 5 of which have dedicated buttons on the front.
Also a minor point but if you wanted to use in the garden, the Roberts has a very strong handle on the top to carry it...
So if the battery packs screws onto the back, perhaps it can be bought separately as an afterthought (?)
I'm definitely warming to the Roberts and will check around when I get back.
W
W