automatic downloading of programs from ftp

[jharris171185]

Hello,
I don't know if Radioboss can do this or not, but figure it is worth asking. There is a program I want to broadcast, and is made available via ftp, along with a bunch of other programs. They are organized by day/time, so each day has its own folder. I would imagine that I would have to set up a command for each day, which isn't a problem. But, the file names are not constant, as they always include variables for date and time. There are four blocks each of 26 minutes, so you can add station promos, ad breaks, etc. Is there a way to have Radioboss retrieve all four blocks at once, and have them store in a particular folder, for later playback? And, is it possible to have said files deleted later on in the day?
If this is beyond the scope of what Radioboss can do, do you know of any other program that could automatically download files with variables like what I have described?
Alternative:
Would it be possible to have Radioboss play them straight from the ftp? If so, having four blocks, How would Radioboss know what order to play them in? If I can get it to play straight from the ftp, that would be absolutely fantastic!
Thanks so much for your time, help, and for an incredible product.

 

[djsoft]

RadioBOSS can insert current date/time values to the file names, also basic calculations are possible, please see the details here (about file name templates):

Operation > Scheduling playback > Event

 

[jharris171185]

Okay, thanks for this. I will take a look and see what I can figure out from here. If I set something to play from an ftp server as part of a playlist, will it be downloaded when said playlist is generated, or streamed right when it comes up in the list? My concern is the possible lag from when item is called for and when it actually starts to play.

Could you give me an example command, including ftp path user and pass, plus the filename template including those variables? That way I have a decent idea of what it should look like when I place these in a playlist.

 

[djsoft]

If I set something to play from an ftp server as part of a playlist, will it be downloaded when said playlist is generated, or streamed right when it comes up in the list? My concern is the possible lag from when item is called for and when it actually starts to play.

It will be played like any other network stream - a small pre-buffer and then it will continue downloading as it's playing. It will not download the whole item before playback.

Could you give me an example command, including ftp path user and pass, plus the filename template including those variables? That way I have a decent idea of what it should look like when I place these in a playlist.

It can be something like this:
ftp://username:password@ftp.example.com/news_?yyyy-?mm-?dd.mp3

After processed, the values will be changed for the date at the moment:
ftp://username:password@ftp.example.com/news_2022-10-31.mp3

 

[jharris171185]

Hello,
Thanks for this. It looks a little easier than I thought, so this is good. In the help article you referenced, I see variables for week, day, hour, minute, etc, but I don't see one for second. Normally the recordings I will be pulling start at second 48, but sometimes they can start at 47 or 49, but I don't see a ss for second in the file templates, and I am worried that if a file is off from the typical 48, that it will not be able to find the right file. How might I fix this?
So, for example:
file-?yy-?mm-?dd-08-31-?ss.mp3
So, since there is no ss for second, is there a way to make it ignor that part of the file name, and retrieve the ones that fit with the rest of the established template? If so, what should I append to the example given above?

 

[djsoft]

but I don't see one for second

There is none. Seconds are not reliable, events can start a bit later sometimes e.g. if computer was busy or for other reasons - scheduler is not a real time priority so events do not start always at exact second.

So, since there is no ss for second, is there a way to make it ignor that part of the file name, and retrieve the ones that fit with the rest of the established template? If so, what should I append to the example given above?

There's ?any macro (any text) but that's for files on the disk, this way it will list files in the directory and find a file that matches the pattern. It won't work for files on FTP because it doesn't have a list of files from there.

 

[jharris171185]

Ok, so if any won't work on ftp, what do you suggest, so I can make the system find the right files? This network is not about to change their whole naming structure just for me. If there is nothing that can be done right now, can you add it to a future release? I imagine I could use a program like Webdrive to mount the ftp as a disk, and then it could work, but that is not a free program, and I would rather not have to spend the extra money.

 

[djsoft]

so I can make the system find the right files?

Depends on how the files are named, or maybe you can use the Podcast feature if they have news available in a feed: https://manual.djsoft.net/radioboss/en/stream_and_podcast_playback.htm

 

[jharris171185]

This is not meant for news. They are programs that have been split in to blocks. So, the naming is like this:
program_name-mmddyy-hhnnss.mp3, where the variables are all filled in. I know radioboss has the ability to handle most of these variables, but the one for second is important, since the people recording the programs have their recordings automated, but while most of the time, their recordings show recording starting at second 48, sometimes it starts at 49. I need something in place to account for that, so if everything else matches, it will still retrieve the file from the ftp. So, either enabling any for ftp, or enabling ss as a variable. Either one of these would be helpfull.

 

[djsoft]

As I said, it won't work reliably. And ?any template won't work either with network streams - RadioBOSS can't search for files on a server. Events in RadioBOSS may start a bit later, sometimes couple of seconds later. Maybe a solution would be to have multiple files listed in a playlist, with fixed seconds number, and one of them will play, e.g:

program_name-?mm?dd?yy-?hh?nn48.mp3
program_name-?mm?dd?yy-?hh?nn49.mp3
program_name-?mm?dd?yy-?hh?nn50.mp3

 

[jharris171185]

Can RB Cloud use all the same variables to download files that RB desktop uses?

 

[djsoft]

Can RB Cloud use all the same variables to download files that RB desktop uses?

Some of the variables are available there: https://www.radioboss.fm/radioboss-cloud/scheduler-file-name-templates/