The color of the Listen button is an indication of the streaming quality of that station on a scale from 1 (worst-red) to 9 (best-green). Streaming quality is my subjective opinion about the quality of each of the streams monitored by this web site. The criteria are related to my "user experience" and feedback from users of the website. Your needs and opinion may be different.
The primary considerations for the rating are:
- How quickly does the sound start playing when you click on listen?
- How pleasant is the fidelity of the sound itself?
- Do you hear the program that you expect to hear according to the station's schedule?
- Installation of software, popups, registration and other annoyances
Here is a partial list of reasons why a stream can lose points:
- Delayed connection or slow buffering at stream startup
- Forced insertion of additional audio and/or video advertisements (or pleas for money from NPR stations) - especially if Client Skip is turned on, preventing the listener from bypassing the message
- Requiring special software - if you force users to use Internet Explorer, or install Abacast, Quicktime, etc.., you get a big penalty. On the Internet, choice is what matters.
- Erratic performance of the stream - usually a sign of inadequate bandwidth or not enough streaming capacity
- Operational flaws (that may affect Over the Air as well) - 60 hz hum, overmodulation of the analog signal (God made vu meters for a reason), automation or board operator errors (commercials playing over top of the programming, or multiple satellite feeds on-air at the same time for an extended period)
- Unusually low or high average digital signal levels (note that this is different than overmodulation)
- Significant delay behind on-air programming
- Web Site schedule not matching the programming on the stream
- Frequent Sports preemption - especially if the stream is taken down without explanation (rather than playing a preemption message or providing alternative programming)
- Dead air during commercial breaks - creating confusion whether the station is in a break or is silent due to preemption or syndication limitations
- Streams for dialup users. Despite this site's costs being funded by my dialup ISP directory, if you really care about listening to streaming audio, you need to be on broadband (DSL, Cable, WiMax)... It's nice if a station offers a low speed feed, but we aren't tracking those signals and not measuring them
- Political point of view of the hosts or station format - although the stream quality should match the format - it is reasonable to offer a lower bandwidth stream on a talk-only station, but not appropriate if the station is playing music
Fred