Welcome back to our BP2X regular newsletter.

In this edition, we announce the release of version 2.5.5.5 of Broadcast Power, the free radio automation software, and explain about some of the changes in this version.

Also, we announce the release of the web streaming utility for Broadcast Power and two new video tutorials.

1. Added support for streaming
2. Created a streaming utility (limited availability)
3. Updated the NowPlayingWebExportPlugin
4. Added remote business objects service

I will discuss each in detail, below.

1. Streaming Support
In order to allow Broadcast Power to stream the audio it plays, I had to add new functions to provide support for such a feature. The installer now will copy new binaries to the installation folder which will allow third parties or the Broadcast Power streaming utility to stream audio out to SHOUTcast or ICEcast servers.

Also, I had to modify the plugin interface and update the default plugin that ships with Broadcast Power.
I am certain you will enjoy these new additions.

2. Streaming Utility
I have created a new streaming utility that allows Broadcast Power to stream the audio from the default device to a SHOUTcast or ICEcast server.

Soon, I will have a link on my website for a demo stream published directly from Broadcast Power, using the streaming utility.

I have found a great streaming service to allow me to demonstrate Broadcast Power's capabilities which I will be sharing with you more on in later editions of this newsletter.

So, what do I need to stream my radio online?
1. Broadcast Power
2. Some audio files
3. Broadcast Power Streaming Utility
4. SHOUTcast or ICEcast server
5. Some time to configure it all and run it

We can help you with 1, 2, and 4.

Don't hesitate to contact me now for more info.

You will have to provide 2 and 5.

3. NowPlayingWebExportPlugin
In addition to publishing the audio file currently playing, performer and album names, we now are able to support listing up to 10 previously played audio files.
Special tags have been added for that purpose:
{%Previous_1%}
{%Previous_2%}
{%Previous_3%}
{%Previous_4%}
{%Previous_5%}
{%Previous_6%}
{%Previous_7%}
{%Previous_8%}
{%Previous_9%}
{%Previous_10%}

You can use these tags in your html template file.

Checkout the file "Template.html" under the plugins directory and follow the example of the performer name to include these new tags in your webpage.

If you have not yet played 10 songs in this session, the values of the those tags will be replaced with an empty string.

Hint: You can add those tags to table cells.

4. Remote business objects service
Some of our valued users wanted to use the remote connection to read / write data to and from the database instead of through a direct connection to the database.

As you know, Broadcast Power was designed as an enterprise application with the capabilities and ruggedness of such systems.

The client application, WinUI.exe, can interact with the database to schedule programs, create audio or media records, and record a log of playback, using a direct connect. In other words data flows from the client to the database directly.

The advantage here is that a simpler setup is required.

Also, Broadcast Power is capable of adding another indirection layer to this mix by preventing the user interface to interact with the database directly, and instead, it will have to connect to a service which in turn talks to the database and then hands the data to the client.

Of the many advantages of remotely connecting the client to the data instead of directly to the database, security, central / ease of management, and scaling out are some that come to mind.

The first thing that you will notice is that the installer now has a new component listed, the "Business Objects Service".

This will install the required files to run the service.
It will also register the service with Windows (see image below).

This service should always be running to allow the client to connect to it in remote mode.

Also, you will have to change the client configuration file.

this:

 becomes:

And ensure you have the proper values configured for this key:

The values for the "Remoting Settings" key should match those in the file "BPHostService.exe.config".

New Tutorials
You can access the new tutorials from our website's Tutorials section.