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Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio or visual mass communications medium, but usually one usingelectromagnetic radiation (radio waves). The receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset thereof. Broadcasting has been used for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange ofmessages, experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication such as amateur (ham) radio and amateur television (ATV) in addition to commercial purposes like popular radio or TV stations with advertisements.

The term broadcast was first adopted by early radio engineers from the Midwestern United States, treating broadcast sowing as a metaphor for the dispersal inherent in omnidirectional radio signals. Broadcasting is a very large and significant segment of the mass media.

Originally all broadcasting was composed of analog signals using analog transmission techniques and more recently broadcasters have switched to digital signals using digital transmission.

Telephone broadcasting (1881–1932): the earliest form of electronic broadcasting (not counting data services offered by stock telegraph companies from 1867, if ticker-tapes are excluded from the definition). Telephone broadcasting began with the advent of Théâtrophone ("Theatre Phone") systems, which were telephone-based distribution systems allowing subscribers to listen to live opera and theatre performances over telephone lines, created by French inventor Clément Ader in 1881. Telephone broadcasting also grew to include telephone newspaper services for news and entertainment programming which were introduced in the 1890s, primarily located in large European cities. These telephone-based subscription services were the first examples of electrical/electronic broadcasting and offered a wide variety of programming.

Radio broadcasting (experimentally from 1906, commercially from 1920): radio broadcasting is an audio (sound) broadcasting service, broadcast through the air as radio waves from a transmitter to a radio antenna and, thus, to a receiver. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast common radio programs, either in broadcast syndication, simulcast or subchannels.

History of television broadcasting (telecast), experimentally from 1925, commercial television from the 1930s: this television programming medium was long-awaited by the general public and rapidly rose to compete with its older radio-broadcasting sibling.

Cable radio (also called "cable FM", from 1928) and cable television (from 1932): both via coaxial cable, serving principally as transmission mediums for programming produced at either radio or television stations, with limited production of cable-dedicated programming.

Direct-broadcast satellite (DBS) (from circa 1974) and satellite radio (from circa 1990): meant for direct-to-home broadcast programming (as opposed to studio network uplinks and downlinks), provides a mix of traditional radio or television broadcast programming, or both, with dedicated satellite radio programming. (See also: Satellite television)

Webcasting of video/television (from circa 1993) and audio/radio (from circa 1994) streams: offers a mix of traditional radio and television station broadcast programming with dedicated internet radio-webcast programming.

Wikipedia

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The first live internet only broadcast of a live band was Seattle based space rock group Sky Cries Mary on November 10th, 1994, by Paul Allen's digital media start-up Starwave, also based in Seattle A week later, during November 1994, Rolling Stones concert was the "first major cyberspace multicast concert." Mick Jagger opened the concert by saying, "I wanna say a special welcome to everyone that's, uh, climbed into the Internet tonight and, uh, has got into the M-bone. And I hope it doesn't all collapse."

On November 7, 1994, WXYC (89.3 FM Chapel Hill, NC USA) became the first traditional radio station to announce broadcasting on the Internet. WXYC used an FM radio connected to a system at SunSite, later known as Ibiblio, running Cornell's CU-SeeMe software. WXYC had begun test broadcasts and bandwidth testing as early as August 1994. WREK (91.1 FM, Atlanta, GA USA) started streaming on the same day using their own custom software called CyberRadio1. However, unlike WXYC, this was WREK's beta launch and the stream was not advertised until a later date.

In 1995, Progressive Networks released RealAudio as a free download. Time magazine said that RealAudio took "advantage of the latest advances in digital compression" and delivered "AM radio-quality sound in so-called real time." Eventually, companies such as Nullsoft and Microsoft released streaming audio players as free downloads.[9] As the software audio players became available, "many Web-based radio stations began springing up."

In 1996, Edward Lyman created Sonicwave.com, the first American internet radio station, legally licensed by both ASCAP and BMI, to broadcast live, 24 hours a day on the internet.[citation needed]

In March 1996, Virgin Radio - London, became the first European radio station to broadcast its full program live on the internet.[10] It broadcast its FM signal, live from the source, simultaneously on the Internet 24 hours a day.

Internet radio attracted significant media and investor attention in the late 1990s. In 1998, the initial public stock offering for Broadcast.com set a record at the time for the largest jump in price in stock offerings in the United States. The offering price was US$18 and the company's shares opened at US$68 on the first day of trading. The company was losing money at the time and indicated in a prospectus filed with the Securities Exchange Commission that they expected the losses to continue indefinitely.[12] Yahoo! purchased Broadcast.com on July 20, 1999[13] for US$5.7 billion.

With the advent of streaming RealAudio over HTTP, streaming became more accessible to a number of radio shows. One such show, TechEdge Radio in 1997 was broadcast in 3 formats - live on the radio, live from a RealAudio server and streamed from the web over HTTP.

In 1998, the longest running internet radio show, "The Vinyl Lounge", commenced netcasting from Sydney, Australia, from Australia's first Internet Radio Station, NetFM (www.netfm.net). In 1999, Australian Telco "Telstra" launched The Basement Internet Radio Station but it was later shut down in 2003 as it was not a viable business for the Telco.
From 2000 onwards, most Internet Radio Stations increased their stream quality as bandwidth became more economical. Today, most stations stream between 64 kbit/s and 128 kbit/s providing near CD quality audio.

The Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.

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Stancil Hoffman MiniTape portable tape recorder used by radio station KXOA. KXOA was a Sacramento, California, USA, radio station that existed on both AM and FM (in various incarnations) between 1945 and 2004

These pages are for reference of the media segments we hope to create in the museum.  We are looking for persons and organizations who have historical collections and would like to work with us in creating this facility and its contents.

The MultiMedia Museum Broadcast Section is a project of the Museum of Magnetic Sound Recording

© 2013 MultiMedia Museum • Museum of Magnetic Sound Recording