Music Library vs. Folders

[Maestro232]

Brand new to both radio broadcasting and RadioBOSS. Could someone explain what the advantage is of creating libraries in RadioBOSS rather than just organizing audio by file structure?

Also, if there are a few threads in these boards with good instructions on basic setup of the system that anyone would like to direct me to I would love that as well.

Thank you for your help.

 

[djsoft]

Music Library is used for quick search in RadioBOSS (the Search tab in the main window). It can also be used in the Playlist Generator Pro as a track source - compared to folders, it will work slightly faster, as tags and durations already cached in the music library and not need to be loaded again.

If you don't need to use the Search feature, and don't need to speed up playlist generation process, then you don't need to create music libraries.

Regaqrding basic setups, there's no universal guide, as RadioBOSS can be used in various ways... You can start with the Quick Start guide here: http://manual.djsoft.net/radioboss/en/radioboss__quick_start.htm
Then read other sections, especially
- Internet Broadcasting
- Scheduler
- Playlist Generator
- Using different file types

Feel free to ask any questions here or contact our support: support@djsoft.net
-

 

[Maestro232]

Thank you. That was a very helpful description. So I am trying a very simple setup to start with which is basically like this:

>> From 8am-9am play random tracks from within Folder A (tracks are in subfolders only)

>> At 9am play a specific mp3 file from Folder B based on naming convention (This will  have approximate but not exact length...say approximately 30 minutes)

>> From 10am-11am play random tracks from Folder C (tracks are in subfolders only)

>> At all other times from 8am to 8pm when the above scheduled are not playing, play random tracks from Folder D (subfolders)

I was able to schedule the specific track at specific time based on the file naming. Very cool! But I couldn't figure out how to do an hour worth of music from one folder and then fill in all other time with random tracks from another folder (specifically when the tracks are in subfolders.

In other words, my file structure is like:
Rock
  70s
  80s
Jazz
  Cool
  Fusion

So I want to say "Play Jazz for an hour at such and such a time. Then start up this specific mp3 file at such and such a time. Otherwise, play Rock. Can this be done without the library?

 

[djsoft]

You should consider using the Playlist Generator Pro for this - see the Generating a playlist section in the manual to get the idea how it works. Basically, it generates a playlist based on template, like select 2 files from one folder, then one file from another etc.

If you have time announcements or advertising, it should be started from the scheduler.

Neither of this requires creating a music library.

 

[Maestro232]

Thank you. I see that the playlist generator looks very powerful. There are still questions, though.

1. Is there no way to pick a folder and have music selection be from all the sub-folders? It does not look to be the case.

2. I still cannot see how to have a certain music play in between other scheduled events when the exact end time of those other things are not exact. For example, I know I want to start a recorded lecture series every day at a certain time, but the lecture could be anywhere from 30 minutes to 45. So I need to "fill the time" until the next scheduled event. I don't see how to do this with playlist generator.

Maybe I am missing a few obvious things! Thank you for your patience.

 

[djsoft]

1. It's possible in the Playlist Generator, the option is located in the Tracks tab in category properties.

2. The idea is very simple: you generate playlist for whole day (for instance, you can have different day/night parts if needed). The playlist is then loaded in the playlist window and music plays. When it's time to play some scheduled event - the playlist will stop, scheduled event will play, and then playlist resumes. There are various queuing options, e.g. start immediately or wait for the current track to finish, it can also pause the current track and resume it after an event.

 

[Maestro232]

Thank you. This sounds like exactly what I need. A simple question then. Let's say I generate a 24 hour playlist that is interrupted by an hour or two of scheduled content. In theory I would have an hour or two of the playlist that never played that day. Would the next day's playlist simply start things over (that's what I would want I think), or would the unused time continue to "stack up" as the days go by?

 

[djsoft]

You can do it both ways. If you don't want tracks to build up in the playlist, then use the "Clear playlist" option for the event which generates a 24 hour playlist for that day. This way, you'll have a "fresh" playlist every day.

 

[Maestro232]

Got it!  I love this program!