RadioBOSS 4.8 [beta]

[Casey]

Under the Crossfades screen you will see File Types listed.  You might want to try adding some file types like Jingle, ID, etc to these.  Make sure to leave the Mix point and Fade out unchecked and thier times left at 0 sec.  Now the important thing is that the files name itself must contain the name of the file type...like Jingle, Legal ID, etc.  Now when the scheduler plays them it will read the file name and can see they have no fade.  This is how it works for me.  Hope this helps. 

David

Thank you Dave, that solves that one.. I have that part figured out and working. 

Casey

 

[djsoft]

RB crashed when I ran a schedule - probably my fault because I asked it to generate 360 hours of music!

It shouldn't crash no matter what you do in the program. Does it always happen? If yes, please send the playlist generator preset (click Settings->Open Settings Folder, zip and send Presets folder).
What was the error message was by the way? In the Settings folder there are "bugreport_XXX.txt" files - please send them for analysis.

It restarted fine but did not remember that I had regisered a licence key and asked for one to be entered. It looks like it has re-started several times as I only have 30 Tries left ?

What operating system are you using?
Regarding restarts, yes, after 5 trial hours passed, it will close the program, but the "restart" feature still works.

 

[Casey]

You should use File Types to achieve what you need. In addition to David's answer, here's user manual page about File Types: http://manual.djsoft.net/radioboss/en/using_different_types_of_files.htm

Regarding folders, maybe you're right. From time to time people complain about using the AppData folder (especially that Voice Tracks and Libraries being stored there)... But it's the correct way to store the settings under Windows, and we're following MS guidelines. It will be possible to change settings folder in the future, in one of 4.8 updates.

Currently you can make RB store setting in its own folder: just delete the uid.ini file. It won't work if program is installed in Program Files (because of securrity restrictions), so you should install it somewhere else, eg. D:\RadioBOSS.

Yes.. I should have done some more reading! 

I have previous experience in beta testing an have written help files for some smaller programs. From this I have learned a few things. 

- Programers, in many cases, know the program so well they do not relate to how the users see and understand things.  - The same can be true with experienced users.

- Many users do not take time to read manuals (I'm guilty, sometimes) - this accounts for so many basic questions being asked over and over in user forums.. (run a few of these)

I hope that my input can be of help understanding and relating to how a new user see things in the program.  Sometime little tweaks to things can help.  For myself,  I have used many other broadcast software programs, both free & commercial demos. This can also lead to confusion in how things work..  For the record, RadioBOSS is my favorite!

More to come.. I'm keeping notes.. 

Casey

 

[dave-t]

I believe that it has "crashed" a couple of times. When it does it re-starts fine but ask to continue with the trial or enter a license key. After entering a license key, I re-start and everythbing is fine. It has now run for nearly 10 hours without any problem.

I cannot find any bug reports in the settings foulder ???

I am running Windows 7

I will send over the pre-sets to you and keep an eye on the system.

 

[Christian]

Hi,

It greatly increases a change of a false detection - music can contain DTMF frequencies as well... 4-6 digits is more reliable. You can make DTMF tones shorter, like in the file attached.

The file you published sounds great! DTMF is nicely mixed with the jingle. Could you please published advices on DTMF signaling for proper operation, i.e. numbers of digits, DTMF minimum duration per digit, minimum duration of separation between two DTMF digits, confirm detection is only done on left channel.

Could you please confirm you will add an option for "in stream" detection and not only "Line In" so it can work without soundcard.

Could you please also add the DTMF option in the Ads Scheduler tool. So advertisements can be triggered by DTMF from within the ?main stream?. This is going to be used in conjunction with the ?Overlay Playback? so it will smoothly replace the audio from ?main stream? by the local Ad and get back to main stream at the end without disconnecting RB from main stream.

Old minor bug remaining: on my XP pro with the Scheduler window/tab. If I change columns display organization , in case using RDP or restarting Explorer.exe process, columns content are reset to  default organization hence not corresponding to columns titles.


But once again congratulation for this new version.

Christian
http://clubbingstation.com

 

[nelson c]

Christian: the idea of ??using "Overlay Playback" for a perfect mix, is very good. But I found a great limitation when I tried it: The simultaneous player only works if only one track (and obviously we need to issue several commercials)

Russian forum I read that pressing control + "D" is the DTMF that RB is detected.
Since then I have been watching the detection in songs, and I get the feeling that goes with any song accidentally activated, so I think we need more information to create DTMF tones that are safe.

 

[djsoft]

- Programers, in many cases, know the program so well they do not relate to how the users see and understand things.  - The same can be true with experienced users.

Yes, I agree. Sometimes we need a fresh look on things. If you find any feature not obvious to use (or find if the feature exists) - please let me know.

- Many users do not take time to read manuals (I'm guilty, sometimes) - this accounts for so many basic questions being asked over and over in user forums.. (run a few of these)

Very few people read user manuals. Sometimes it's easier to ask a question on forums or via e-mail, and it's understandable. User manual is still helpful as links to it can be included in the answer.

I hope that my input can be of help understanding and relating to how a new user see things in the program.  Sometime little tweaks to things can help.  For myself,  I have used many other broadcast software programs, both free & commercial demos. This can also lead to confusion in how things work..  For the record, RadioBOSS is my favorite!

Thanks! Minor changes and tweaks are done in every release. The power in details.

dave-t
When it crashes it should leave a bug report on what happened... Or at least you'll see Windows error message sayint "The program stopped working" - was it there?
What operating system are you using and do you have any antivirus software installed?

Christian
Yes, DTMF is checked on left channel only, right channel is completely ignored.
Regarding speed, it detects impulses of 20ms. I'd recommend 40..60ms for better stability.
In stream check will be added, but in the later versions.
DTMF will be added in Ads scheduler.

The RDP bug, for me it looks like a Windows bug. RB uses standard ListView control for scheduler, and I have no idea why it's displaying incorrectly in Windows XP via RDP. The bug is in tracker already, but I'm not sure if it will be fixed.

 

[djsoft]

Christian: the idea of ??using "Overlay Playback" for a perfect mix, is very good. But I found a great limitation when I tried it: The simultaneous player only works if only one track (and obviously we need to issue several commercials)

Overlay player works with playlists too, so it's OK to use it for a list of commercials.

Russian forum I read that pressing control + "D" is the DTMF that RB is detected.
Since then I have been watching the detection in songs, and I get the feeling that goes with any song accidentally activated, so I think we need more information to create DTMF tones that are safe.

It's actually a little bug in RB which produces false DTMF detections. It's already fixed and updated version will be uploaded shortly. Funny that someone from here reads Russian forums

 

[djsoft]

Utility to detect DTMF in files: http://dl.djsoft.net/DTMFChecker.zip
How to use: press a button and select a file (mp3, wav, ogg), program will start its playback and show found DTMF's and postitions in the log.

 

[djsoft]

RadioBOSS 4.8.0.2
http://dl.djsoft.net/beta/radioboss_4.8.0.2_beta.exe
Changes:
- improved DTMF detection quality
- extended the Add Command (Playlist->Add command) window
- fixed several visual problems when using high DPI mode
- ability to move tabs in work zones
- several minor bugs fixed

 

[pety]

Line.IN - BUG

Line.IN Doesn't work through Windows Mixer Control.
Only through Direct Sound works.

Windows XP Pro SP3.

 

[Joshua]

If I turn on PTT and press the mic button seconds hangs the radio boss 1-2 seconds

Why was the delay ever built ? I think not so good.

Greetz
Joshua

 

[dave-t]

Yes I have McAfee is the PC is not a dedicated playout system. Will add that in  a couple of weeks.

I can see no bug report nor did I see anything on screen - but that may be due to poor eyesight. It has not crashed since although the scheduled task is not due to run for another hour.

Very impressed that I am backing my music library at the moment without any playback issues.

I have upgraded to 4.8.0.2 - I needed to enter the Beta license key again - should that have been required?

BRILLIANT fix on the screen display - I thank you very much for fixing the DPI issue 

Looking forward to playing with running bat files from within the scheduler as I can use this to rename and copy a playlist to Repeat a program at a later scheduled date

Thank you guys, you are heroes

 

[dave-t]

OK - It did not crash this time when the schedule run but I did get the following error

00:04:39;error;"PlGen Error: 259 (C:\Program Files (x86)\RadioBOSS\PlaylistGeneratorPro.exe """"-hidden=""jukebox"") preset: ""jukebox""";

Here is the preset

object TGenSettings
  Parts = <
    item
      CatID = 'JJPOKJVSEUOFXAQ'
    end>
  UseLen = True
  Len = 360
  DontRepeatArtist = False
  DontRepeatArtistMin = 0
  DontRepeatArtistComparePercent = 100
  DontRepeatTrack = False
  DontRepeatTrackMin = 0
  ReadAdditionalInfo = True
  Priority = '012'
  Categories = <
    item
      CategoryID = 'JJPOKJVSEUOFXAQ'
      Name = 'JB-Tracks'
      LengthType = 0
      Length0 = 5
      Length1 = 0
      IgnoreDoNotRepeat = False
      SrcType = 0
      SrcBase = 'L:\RadioBoss\DataBase\Jukebox.xml'
      SrcIncludeSubfolders = False
      SrcInsertType = 0
      FYearExclude = False
      FLengthEnabled = False
      FLengthTo = 0
      FLengthFrom = 0
      FBPMExclude = False
    end>
end

 

[djsoft]

dave-t
McAfee antivirus could be an issue. Other users reported having problems using RadioBOSS when McAfee installed (random crashes, inability to broadcast and other weird errors). Most reports were about 6 months ago, so updated McAfee may be better...

License key issue was not addressed in this update, the beta key can sometimes deactivate. Please wait for the next update, it will be here within couple of days.

Looking forward to playing with running bat files from within the scheduler as I can use this to rename and copy a playlist to Repeat a program at a later scheduled date
It's already possible - click Wizard button, select "Start program" and select the .bat file you want to start.

00:04:39;error;"PlGen Error: 259
It's 'timeout' error. By default RB waits 3 minutes, and if playlist was not generated during this time, it shows this error. You can change the timeout value in Settings->General->Maximum time to generate playlist by schedule.
To speed up generation: in Playlist Generator Pro open Settings tab and uncheck the "Read additional info" checkbox.

 

[djsoft]

pety
Thanks for reporting, will be checked.

Joshua
There shouldn't be any delay... Please post a screenshot of Microphone/LineIn settings here. This will help to find what could be a problem.

 

[dave-t]

Hi

McAfee is actually part of a security package provided by my Telco so there may be additional process runnon on top of the AV program. I will NOT be be running an AV program on the playout system when I install it in a couple of weeks time. AV scanning will be overnight on a Sunday only so I don't think it wil be a real issue for me.

I am a bit concerned about the timeout error though. There are only 443 files in that particular database so not sure why it is taking so long to produce the playlist? I have much larger databases with 10s of thousands of file entries.

I really need to read additional information as I am using Track Gain during the playout.

Thanks for letting me know about the licence key issue.

Dave

 

[djsoft]

You need to use "Read additional info" option only if you're using Track Tool to edit tracks (eg. set Start and End points) - using this option will allow playlist generator to read the real track duration. If you don't use Track Tool in such way you can safely turn off that option.

443 tracks are not much, and it should take several seconds to read all of them and create a playlist... Maybe it's antivirus's access scanner which slows down the process dramatically. Try turning it off.
If you click Generate in the Playlist Generator with the same template, how much time does it take to generate?

 

[Casey]

Hi

McAfee is actually part of a security package provided by my Telco so there may be additional process runnon on top of the AV program. I will NOT be be running an AV program on the playout system when I install it in a couple of weeks time. AV scanning will be overnight on a Sunday only so I don't think it wil be a real issue for me.

McAfee and Norton are the top of our list for problem with customers computers. I'm retired but still keep a hand is the business I had ran for the past 15 yrs. We often refer to them as being another form of virus. For the past few years we have been using and recommending MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials.) We have never had any problems.

MSE is running on the computer being used for testing RadioBoss 4.8. No problems with crashing after running for hours. Even with me playing around with settings and testing various scheduling features. You may want to consider using MSE - it's free.

Casey

 

[dave-t]

I have run a few tests

I am generating a 7 hour playlist which is approx 120 tracks - this will be my overnight "Jukebox" playlist when I launch the station next year

With AV turned ON and reading additional information from file it is taking longer than 3 minutes and timing out

With AV turned OFF and NOT reading additional information it takes about 1 second !

With AV turned ON and NOT reading additonal information it takes about 1 second !

The issue therefore is reading the additional information which takes over 3 minutes with AV ON or OFF

Could a corrupt File or some spurious Metadata in one of the files be causing the problem?