Wifi radio

[Bilbo]

It has seemed obvious to me for a while, that there should be some sort of portable radio which is linked wirelessly to the internet, to enable anyone to listen to any radio staion around the world without needing to have a computer on. I see that Orange are now selling a LiveRadio and that Darty have a similar wifi device from Sagem (I think)  I wondered if anyone had tried these out yet?

Some of us have Sky Gnomes, which are fine while they work but many folk have had problems with them. As it is easy to buy FM transmitting devices to enable you to hear your iPod or other MP3 device via a normal FM radio, I wondered if it possible to use one of these taking its input from the audio connections on a digibox, as used by the Gnome. I expect that some further amplification might be needed but for any entrepreneurs out there, such a device would be very popular amongst the expats who like listening to UK radio channels. I link my digibox to my hifi system, but it would be very handy to be able to use a more portable device, preferably one which is more reliable than the Gnome.

[Alex H]

investigated this recently. (google or eBay intenet radio set) most are only mono and for £100+ for a decent one i couldn't see the point. you can get cheaper £40+ in places like Currys.

Example http://www.trustedreviews.com/mp3/review/2006/06/03/Acoustic-Energy-Wi-Fi-Internet-Radio/p1

Sorry if this is not France centric - I'm in the UK more than France [:)]

 

[united]

I thought about this and was pointed to amazon where there are over 20 products and a small number have reviews. There is also another site https://www.reciva.com/ which has an internet radio knowledge base (tinyurl.com.3dpgsg).

I think I was put off when The Guardian said that if an internet radio station broadcasts at 128kpbs then its going to consume 55MB per hour, which would blow my capped broadband service.

[Nick Trollope]

I've got a Reciva WiFi radio (bought from Currys) that works well (in France). Huge number of stations available, plus the "listen again" service from the BBC.

Only problem is drop-outs which sem to be caused by Wanadoo's infrastructure bandwidth limitations at peak times.

Don't think I've got a download limit with Wanadoo - never had that sort of problem, anyway.

Interesting to note that the box was plastered with "the services available to this product may be limited in France", or words to that effect, without specifying what or by whom. Haven't seen any limitations...