insuring every file plays before a repeat is permitted

[derek]

I'm preparing a special block of programming on HKC Radio for Mother’s Day this Sunday (U.S.). One issue I’m running into is that many songs share the same title, which causes the usual repeat prevention rules to block too many tracks—even ones that haven’t actually aired yet.


What I’d like to do is generate hourly playlists where songs and voice tracks (from our Mother’s Day message line) are guaranteed to play once before they’re eligible to be used again.


Is there a way in RadioBoss to ensure that all these tracks are played at least once before any of them are repeated in the automation? Any tips or suggested workflows would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[djsoft]

If you use the playlist generator, you can create a category and change repeat protection rules there to ignore title repeat protection rule. If you make it select tracks In Order then all tracks will be selected one by one without repeating.

 

[derek]

While this works, the songs would be played in alphabetical order. I have other rules concerning timing and genre that I'd like to preserve as the playlists are being generated. I can get what I want if I add the music folder to a playlist and shuffle it, then moving tracks around if necessary, but that ruins the point of having a playlist generator.

 

[djsoft]

In this case I think you can wait for the new selection mode to be added, details in this topic: https://www.djsoft.net/community/th...ting-songs-of-the-same-genre.12484/post-54031

 

[derek]

Thank you very much,


If I understand how this upcoming mode will work, it sounds very promising. I assume the logic would go something like this:



Objective: Ensure all available files are played before any repeats occur.



As you said earlier, this would only be available if no repeat rules are enabled. — either in the playlist’s own settings tab or in the selected categories. However, constraints like filters, sorting, and duration limits could still be used during playlist generation.



Proposed Logic:

Initial Pool Creation: The playlist generator identifies eligible files based on selected folders, categories, or database queries.

1. Play Count Cache: A cached record of play counts is maintained. When a file is played (whether by the preset or manually), its count increases, and it’s excluded from future consideration until all other eligible files have been played once.

2. Performance Efficiency: Since many users have libraries with thousands of tracks, this comparison would be handled efficiently. You'd just need to look at file name and play count.

3. Persistence: The play count cache is preserved across RadioBoss restarts so that playlist rotation continues seamlessly.

4. Dynamic Library Changes.
If a new file is added to the selection pool, it becomes eligible immediately — no need to reset the cache.

5. If repeat rules are enabled or the user switches to a different track selection mode, the cache would be cleared automatically, since its logic would no longer apply.

6. Error Handling: If not enough unplayed files remain to meet the preset's requirements, such as duration or constraints, return an error just like the playlist manager already does when it can't find a suitable file.

I may be completely misunderstanding the idea, and if so, I didn't mean to confuse anyone or to be presumptuous.

 

[djsoft]

Is it AI's opinion on the matter?

 

[derek]

Is it AI's opinion on the matter?

No, but the way it was written definitely makes it look that way. My original post was much longer and brambly. It was more stream of consciousness than concise. so, I did use chat gpt to trim it down to the length I was trying to go for. For several reasons, I am very self-conscious when it comes to posting on forums; either taking too long to get to the point, or leaving out what I feel are important details. I appreciate the time and attention you give to your customers, so the least I could do is to make an effort to be succinct.