Track editor
Hi Emile,
Great piece of software! I got it up and running for a few months now on a local machine , just to see if it's doing the job right..and it does!Even the line in and 2nd sound card are doing what they are supposed too..
Easy to use and very stabile!
But there are just one or 2 things I really miss;(or at least couldn't find)
First of all , all the radiostations I've worked for use some kind of countdowncounter for the introtime of each seperate song played . Wich is very useful when voicetracking or in live assist mode.Most times it's a countdown from the beginning of the track until the lyrics begin..We always put it there using a cue-editor.I couldn't really find one like that in BroadcastPower..
1st cue is the start of the song , second point is the end of the intro (also the END of the VOICEtrack and BEGIN of normal soundlevel), third point is the beginning of the outro and lower soundlevel (where you're allowed to talk/BEGIN of voicetrack..)and the last one is the startpoint for the next song or item.
On your test stream everything sounds nice, but not always really " radio like " ..overlaps in 2 songs are sometimes too" slow/soft" , silence-gaps between some songs or jingles , fade times all sound standard.
With a CUE editor it's easy to make (and save) seperate and unique CUEpoints for each song, commercial , jingle and local news bulletins.With extra's for the overlaps, intro and outtro times (and voicetracks).Just edit the song once and you always have the right cuepoints.
I've worked with different types of radiosoftware, they all have their own complete editor, it would be cool to have one in BroadcastPower!
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And the other feature I really miss as a programmaker/DJ is an integrated voicetrack recorder.(multifunctional since most local communitystations also use it for newsbulletins and messages )
With voicetracks as a seperate item , it should be possible to schedule them in a playlist , then use a local machine to produce voicetracks for that playlist and then AIR them on the already scheduled time.
I hope my comments are useful ,
Kind regards,
Max (M-FM) the Netherland
Track Editor (Cue Points Editor)
Hi Max,
I have implemented this feature.
What a huge difference it made to the overall quality of the mix.
I wanted to go one step further and define additional cue points, but I thought it would be better to start with a simplistic setup and as users take it up I can add some more.
As this version is still under testing, I will not publish or release on my website until I have ran it for at least a week.
Expect to hear the result on my stream sometime next week :)
If you are free and want to lend a hand in testing it, please drop me a line.
Cheers,
Emile
Hi Emile, I most certainly
Hi Emile,
I most certainly would like to help testing!Just tell me what you expect me to do..I should have some spare time left this week..
Kind regards,
Max
BP2X 2.5.5.8 Testing
Hi Max,
I just sent you a private email with a link to download the application.
There is now a new button on the Media Editor window which allows you to set those cue points. Once set, you need to save the media record and then you're ready.
As you know, this is a pre-release, so some features might not be implemented yet.
I would like you to test installing this version on top of your existing one to see if the upgrade scripts work as expected. If you have got time, it would be good to test if you can install it on a fresh computer which doesn't have BP2X.
As for functional testing, you need to import some songs, set their cue points and then run automation on them to confirm that they are mixing as you expect. Do that with a schedule that has generate songs with jingles, commercial spots and non defined program elements.
Below are the changes I've made in this version, so far:
1. Added filler for commercial spots where commercials don't line up properly to length of spot. There is a new media type "Filler". Only "Filler" audio files will be used to fill the gaps for commercial spots.
2. Fixed elementRule selection which was randomizing after applying criteria.
3. Jingle mix length was being set the same as the element rule. Now it is set to 0.5 seconds.
4. Changed commercial generation routine in order not to create child program elements. Child program elements were not automating as they should.
5. Removed support in client application for multi-level program elements (parent-child relationships for program elements).
6. Added reportviewer to the installer. This application was missing and users might not have been able to view the reports generated by BP2X because of it.
7. Fixed a null pointer during import of MP3 by dragging and dropping on Media Desk. Also, I have changed the code that reads MP3 tags. You should notice now that MP3 tags will be imported consistently.
8. Changed commercial generation routine to allow commercial spots less than 1 minute in length. Instead of minutes, the dialog box now allows you to enter the duration of a spot in seconds.
9. Added a new plugin (LOVE & HATE). This plugin allows you to tag a song as LOVE or HATE which translates to enabling/disabling the media file. Disabled media files are kept in the database and can be manually played, but the automation engine will not consider them when randomly or by criteria selecting songs. It also allows you to change the style of the currently playing audio file, as long as it is a song.
10. Fixed an index out of bound bug in Commercial Scheduler. This bug was happening when you are scheduling more than 31 days ahead. The code that was retrieving the commercials was returning one day too much.
11. The jingles window can now be floated and displayed at the same time as the other players. This is very handy if you have got two touch screens connected to your PC.
12. Fixed? a bug in the player levels exceeding the maximum of 100.
13. The automation player was retrieving files every 58 minutes just to refresh its list. However, I have chosen to remove that condition and only refresh the list of files to play when the list currently playing is empty. It takes less than 2 seconds on my P4 3.2 GHz HT desktop computer to retieve the next list. It can be quicker on faster machines.
14. Added cue points to media files: start, intro, Outro, mix in, and mix out. There is now a new button on the media editor dialog which allows you to set those values. Save the media file if you make any changes to the cue points.
15. Changed the player automation playback to use the cue points defined for media files.
TODO:
1. Add a new option to the graphical media editor to allow you to mix selected songs using their cue points instead of time based mixing only.
2. Add display of intro/outro to the players with count-down.
Cheers,
Emile
Hi emile, Just downloaded
Hi emile,
Just downloaded the test version.I'll install it on top of 2.5.5.4 and I'm going toplay with it tomorrow (monday).I hope to have some useful feedback in a few (2) days..
Kind Regards,
Max.
RE: Track editor
I totally agree with you.
The application has the concept of an intro but is only used for display purposes only.
I'll see what I can do and update you through my newsletter.
Thanks Max.