How??? internet question

[Bruce Volden]

If I have 2 or more radios and tune them to a certain station I will hear the same song.
If my wife listens to her Pandora in one room and then goes to another room with a different device and calls up Pandora she will never hear the song she "left behind" in the other room.

I don't know how it works? I have a static IP address. I don't know how it works?

Bruce

[Sam Murdoch]

Your wife needs to walk faster

Sorry - a wise guy answer. I have an internet radio in the shop. When I am listening to the same radio stream in the shop (on the radio) as in the office (on the computer) if I go from one room to the other I always hear time lag - will hear the same bit twice. Don't know the answer to the why of that either .

[Bruce Volden]

I see, she is getting a little older! In this case however she is using 2 separate devices and calling them up at different times.

I used to be in this field 10 years ago then I retired. No more getting called in at 1AM to "fix" stuff. Don't miss it one bit but I still feel - hey-I should know this!

Bruce

[Jason Beam]

Streaming is not 100% analogous to a radio broadcast. For starters, digital audio is nearly always buffered - which means what you are hearing is actually coming from a queue as the data manages to pile up. Buffering is good for time-based things like video and audio because it allows the connection to tolerate some variations in network throughput. This means what you're hearing isn't immediately what is sent from the service, it's what you piled up. A lot of buffers may exist between your ear and the sending service - their computers likely buffer broadcasts to some extent, their servers also probably buffer the network output to best balance with load (they also may stagger connections as well), then your ISP can potentially buffer (tho, i don't know any that do outside of corporate proxy type stuff) as well as your playing device (which usually do). All of this is to explain why it's not like radio - which is simply over the air, whatever signal passes by basically gets put out the speakers. Clear as mud, eh?

[John Coloccia]

If I have 2 or more radios and tune them to a certain station I will hear the same song.
If my wife listens to her Pandora in one room and then goes to another room with a different device and calls up Pandora she will never hear the song she "left behind" in the other room.

I don't know how it works? I have a static IP address. I don't know how it works?

Bruce

Pandora isn't a broadcast. When you make a Pandora "station", it's not really a station like you'd think. It's more like a box that Pandora stuffs with all of the music that matches what you asked for. When you start it up, it grabs one of them and starts playing it on demand. It's just like if you go to YouTube and start a video, and then go onto another computer and start the same video, it doesn't just pick up where you left off.

Incidentally, Pandora has a lot more than just music. I often stream some comedy as well.

[Matt Day]

Like John said, it doesn't have a set list of songs for you and starts fresh each time it is opened.

It also learns what you like based based on the thumbs up/down buttons, so it changes.

That all being said, I find that both pandora and iheartradio tend to play the same 20 or so songs per station. For instance if I'm listening to my Avett Brothers station, I don't hear as much "new" music as I'd like.

[Pat Barry]

Pandora radio is like a box of chocolates...you never know what your going to get.

[Dan Hintz]

That all being said, I find that both pandora and iheartradio tend to play the same 20 or so songs per station. For instance if I'm listening to my Avett Brothers station, I don't hear as much "new" music as I'd like.

Initially, I was somewhat unimpressed with Pandora... turns out I just didn't know how to use it. You really have to spend time giving thumbs up/down recommendations (like, many months, and a year or more is best... but if you don't continue to do it from time to time, it will eventually get stale). When you start hearing the same stuff over, click the "add variety" button along the lefthand side. You will get in some stuff that's of no interest, but you'll also likely get some more enjoyable stuff, too. Once I clicked that button once or twice, my thumb ups have increased quite a bit and my approved song list is pretty long.

[Bruce Volden]

Thanks guys! Buffering, packeting , TCP/IP layers......
I'll tell the missus just listen to the music instead of ruining my brain next time.

Bruce

[Pat Barry]

Initially, I was somewhat unimpressed with Pandora... turns out I just didn't know how to use it. You really have to spend time giving thumbs up/down recommendations (like, many months, and a year or more is best... but if you don't continue to do it from time to time, it will eventually get stale). When you start hearing the same stuff over, click the "add variety" button along the lefthand side. You will get in some stuff that's of no interest, but you'll also likely get some more enjoyable stuff, too. Once I clicked that button once or twice, my thumb ups have increased quite a bit and my approved song list is pretty long.

I gave up on Pandora. I couldn't stand or understand their suggestions. Now I just tune actual radio stations. I can live with the commercials