RADIO AUTOMATION SOFTWARE - BROADCAST POWER BP2X

The username and password are well documented in the help file, which can either download or read online.

http://www.bp2x.com/bp2xhelp/howtostart.htm

or

Help file

Quite simply, the username is "Administrator" and the password is "123", unless you have changed them.

The error you are getting when opening the "Remote Player Host" indicates that, either MSSQL is not reachable, or the user "mediabonza" does not have access to the database (MSSQL). It seems you have changed the username used to install the MSSQL database. the installer default username for MSSQL is "sa" and the default password is "mediabonza". You have to change it to the right value by modifying the config files.
Here's the link to the help file about the config.
http://www.bp2x.com/bp2xhelp/remoteplayerhost.exe.htm
Or by uninstalling BP2X and reinstalling using the right username and password for SQL Server.

This application was built as an enterprise application and not a stand-alone application. It is supposed to run on a network, on multiple computers, with multiple users, each having a different login name and password and different access rights to the system. It is centrally managed and has strong communication encryption. It uses an enterprise level database and not a data file or text file (mdb, text, xml, etc...) to store data. It has a report generator, can send data over the Internet, manages multiple sound devices, etc...

Better depends on the use. If you want to simply use an audio player, there are definitely easier applications out there and I wouldn't recommend using BP2X. Even for radio automation, you might find easier applications out there, but it all depends on what you want to use them for. Simple audio list automation, definetely don't use BP2X. Winamp and an add-in to cross fade songs would be sufficient.
However, if you need to have complex audio scheduling, with fine tuned mixing controls and cue points, and be able to schedule commercials with great ease over a long timespan, then definitely use BP2X. But it comes with a learning curve.

The idea of BP2X is to have an enterprise grade application and not a desktop application. Inevitably, you will get with that some complication. Unless you are skilled with computers, you are correct in saying it is difficult to install. However, this doesn't mean it is difficult to use.

Standard install = easy
Modified install = difficult (if you change settings)
SQL install = medium - difficult
Scheduling = medium
Commercials setup = medium
Commercial scheduling = easy
Playback = easy
Station ID's and Jingles = easy
...

In order to reduce difficulty for simple one computer installs, the setup program downloads and installs .NET 2.0, then downloads and installs MSSQL 2005 Express, then installs the application, then configures it based on your input, etc...
However, as you start modifying the installer settings, things can go wrong.

Each computer is different. If you had MSSQL 2005 and tried to install another instance, things become even more complex if issues arise during installation of MSSQL's second instance. Which one is wrong now? How do I recover? Which files do I delete to reinstall? Any registry entries I need to worry about, etc...

If you change any of the settings on the setup screens for BP2X, you may also get errors if the changes don't match your systems configuration (computer name, SQL username, SQL password, SQL instance name, SQL database name or schema name, SQL user access settings, TCP/IP ports, firewalls, services using the same ports as BP2X, anti-virus programs, logged in user access, etc...).

Please remember, the MSSQL installer and the .NET installers are not my installers. They are Microsoft's. I have minimal control over how they install and no control at all on how they behave during installation. If they fail to install on your machine, my application will surely fail to start.

As with any software, there is a learning curve. The more feature rich the application, the higher the learning curve.

I hope this extensive answer meets your expectations.

I would be happy to install the application for you remotely. Just let me know.

Would you volunteer to fund that exercise?

I would not, and frankly your sarcasm isn't helping matters.

I open "Broadcast Power" and it asks for a username and password, which, of course, I don't have.

I open "Remote Player Host" and an error message says "Login failed for user 'mediabonza'", then launches a page full of technical mishmash.

Again, I ask: why make this so difficult? There must be a better way.

I agree.

The installation part is the most complex part because of SQL server.

90% of the issues are related to installing MSSQL.

The unfortunate thing is that the majority of business objects use MSSQL's stored procedures to do their work.

Converting to another DB (firebird, postgreSQL, or MySQL) at this stage is not a simple exercise and will require extensive testing.

Would you volunteer to fund that exercise?