Rhema FM Streaming FAQ

What is streaming?
In general terms, streaming is when data is sent over the internet in a continuous “stream” to the user. In our case that data represents audio. Streaming allows the user to begin listening without having to download an entire file first. This is perfect for radio as we are on air 24hrs a day and could never create a single file to download.

What’s the difference between the broadband and dial-up streams?
In a nutshell – audio quality. Due to the faster speed of broadband connections, they can support higher quality audio streams.  We have created a dial-up stream specifically for those users still on dial-up connections that cannot support the higher quality audio.

On a more technical level, the broadband stream is a stereo 64kbps AAC+ encoded stream while the dial-up stream is encoded in mono at 24kbps also with the AAC+ codec.

My program says “server full” or similar, help!
The limit for both dial-up and broadband streams is capped at 50 simultaneous listeners. This is intentionally capped to ensure that those listeners have the best experience possible. At this stage, we are planning to boost listening capacity if our online listening audience increases. This means that if we find that our listening service is consistently full we will be looking to upgrade the capacity relatively soon thereafter.

What players does Rhema FM recommend for online streaming?
Winamp 5 and iTunes 9 are the players recommended for the best listening quality and stability. This is because they have the necessary codecs built in (don’t worry if you don’t know what this means, you’ll just have to believe that we’re telling the truth!).

If you don’t have Winamp or iTunes and are unwilling to install them on your computer system, you could try using the Online Player. For more information, please refer to our how-to-guide.

Do you support streaming to the iPhone?
Yes, we do! The way we have set-up the streaming allows iPhone users to connect and listen to Rhema FM on the go. Simply choose which stream you would prefer to listen to (broadband or dial-up) and click on the iPhone link from the Safari Mobile web browser.

Which stream should I choose when listening on the iPhone?
If your iPhone is connected to the internet via a 3G or Wi-Fi connection, you should be able to stream the broadband stream without difficulty. If your iPhone has defaulted back to a GPRS signal (the icon in the top left will change from 3G to a small circle) or the network you are connected with is particularly congested, the dial-up stream will be better suited.

Also keep in mind that streaming will count towards any internet data usage you have bundled with your plan. Listening to the broadband stream will use more data per hour than a dial-up stream. Specifically a broadband stream will use roughly 29MB/hr while the dial-up stream will use around 11MB/hr. This may be worth keeping in mind if you have a strict data allowance on your iPhone.

Is there a delay between what goes on air and when I hear it?
Yes, there is an approximate 10-30 second delay between what goes on air and what you hear. This is because the audio stream is first processed, then sent across to servers in the US before finally being bounced back to you where your software decodes and buffers the stream.

I have a question that isn’t answered here!
That’s okay, feel free to contact us and we’ll see if we can help you out.