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Radio broadcasting has changed ever since its inception. Today we make use of several latest technologies for radio broadcasting that takes us to another world of entertainment. In the olden days, radio broadcasting was done using AM and FM stations. Some of the latest technologies of radio broadcasting are listed in the following article.

Satellite Radio: The first American satellite radio was introduced in the year 2001. Two American satellite radio companies joined hands to offer people a radio program through satellite. Listeners have to pay a subscription fee and pay for the specialized equipment that they provide. Here program is transmitted from the earth to the satellite which is then sent back to the earth. You have to make use of antennas or repeaters to receive the digital signals from the satellite.

HD Radio: In this technology, the radio programs are transmitted through existing AM and FM signals. There are nearly 1700 HD stations which are broadcasting 2432 HD radio channels as of June 2008. It is said that when you make use of this technology your AM would sound like FM and FM would sound like the CD.  HD radio offers FM multicasting where it is possible to broadcast several programs streams by making use of a single FM frequency. The output would be crystal clear and static free.

Internet Radio: It is also called simulated broadcasting or streaming audio. It would sound like a radio, but it is not a radio. It creates an illusion of radio for the listeners. This is done by creating small packets of digital information which contains audio. This is sent to another location which is then reassembled into a continuous stream. You can know how Internet radio works by making use of podcasts.

The above article would be useful for knowing about the latest technology that is being used for radio broadcasting.

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People who are interested in working in the radio broadcasting industry should be familiar with specific terms and abbreviations. The following are some of the radio glossaries of terms.

Aircheck: This is the term which refers to the demonstration recording made by an announcer for exposing their talent. It is also regarded as off the air recordings.

AM: AM stands for Amplitude modulation, and it is broadcast signal which changes the amplitude of the carrier wave. You might require an AM receiver for receiving AM signals. The ideal frequency range of AM signal is 530 to 1710 kHz.

Analog Transmission: It is a signal which varies continuously in AM or FM.

Bumper: It is an element that acts as a signal for the transition from a commercial break. Usually, bumpers are songs or music.

Dead Air: This is the situation which occurs when the radio staff had made some error or if any of the equipment fails in the radio station. An on-air silence would exist, and listeners would assume that the station has gone off the air.

Drive time: This is the peak hours where the radio programs have a tremendous response, and there is a vast number of listeners. The ad rates are also too high during drive time.

Payola: It is an illegal practice that was done by radio staffs in the year 1950 to 2000.  It is an act of paying specific benefits for the radio staffs for playing certain songs on the radio. Now the radio companies pre-record the songs and it not possible for payola in the current days.

Playlist: It is nothing but the list of the songs that are to be broadcast on the radio.

The above are some of the standard terms that you must be aware of when you wish to work in a radio broadcasting station.