Everything on Demand…now includes radio

Most know all about TiVo and other personal video recorders (PVR’s) and how these devices have made major changes in how we watch television (when *we* want to see content vs. when it’s on!) and now this time-shifting ability has come to live radio.

One of my frustrations with radio is that great things are on (Science Friday, Sound Money, Prairie Home Companion on Minnesota Public Radio alone) and I seem to never be in a position or with the time to listen when they’re on.

My team at work gave me a generous gift of a card for the Apple Store for my birthday. One of the items I purchased with it was the radioShark. Connecting it up to a USB port on my computer, tuning in my favorite channels and setting up the recording schedule, I immediately set it up and recorded a couple of shows off the air.

I can easily copy the recorded audio files to my iPod and listen to these shows when I feel like it vs. when they’re on. In fact, one thing I enjoy is the ability to set a preference to ensure the radioShark will sample the audio at a high bit rate (by using the MPEG-4 AAC Standard for great quality). Though the software needs a little work to be a true TiVo-like time-shifting experience (an internet-based radio schedule of when terrestrial programs were on by city, etc. would be best) I’m very pleased with it.