next XXXX command

Hi Dmitry...  I don't think the next command is working the way I had hoped it would!  When I run it, it fades out the currently playing event but it starts the next event at the start of the fade.  To be any use it should fade out the current event, THEN at the end of the specified XXXX ms, start the next event.  Given that there are crossfades already available, the current method of operation doesn't help much. 

Can this be fixed please?  This is intended to replace the fadeout command which stops the playlist at the end of the fade.  So it will occur like this schedule example: 

8:59:55 next 5000 [current track fades for 5 seconds]
9:00:00 scheduled program/playlist starts 

 
Hi Dmitry

Unless I am mistaken, I have discovered a possible bug with the next command:  For example, when next 5000 is scheduled as a stand-alone event, the current track fades and the next track plays satisfactorily.  But if the command is incorporated in a playlist, such as to play an event as follows, the event starts at the BEGINNING of the fade rather than at the end.

11.59.55 next 5000
12.00.00 news.mp3

Also if the "stop after this track" mode has been selected and the  command is run, the fade countdown starts, but there is no fade, and (as one would expect) the next track does not play.  In this situation, it would be better if the fade did take place (same as pressing STOP).  This would enable the same command to be used whether the playlist was in automatic or manual mode and avoid confusion when a presenter changes from automatic to manual assist or vice versa.  i.e. irrespective of the selection of the "stop after this track"button, the fade would occur prior to an automatic or manually started event.  The only difference would be that in manual mode, the presenter would be required to start the next event.

Can you look into this please? 

The features in 5.9 are great  - if the above fundamental operational procedure for broadcasts can be achieved, it will make life much easier for programmers in general!  ::)  Thanks again for your great work.


 
If it's inserted to the playlist, but you have the "stop after this track" option enabled, it will not start this command at all, as it will stop after the playing track.

Can you please tell me what end result you would like to achieve?
 
Chris Deacon said:
For example, when next 5000 is scheduled as a stand-alone event, the current track fades and the next track plays satisfactorily.  But if the command is incorporated in a playlist, such as to play an event as follows, the event starts at the BEGINNING of the fade rather than at the end.

11.59.55 next 5000
12.00.00 news.mp3

I can live with this by not scheduling the "next" command in the playlist
 
Sorry if I have confused you.  What I am trying to achieve is to switch effectively between automatic mode and manual (announcer assist) mode.  The automatic functions work brilliantly at present, but the manual ones need some further attention if this is to be of greatest use. 

As you say, this can be done already in part by using the "stop after next track" button:  this enables announcer to manually start any tracks in the playlist.  Great facility!

However, when in this mode, the announcer must also turn the scheduler to "manual" to prevent scheduled events from playing.  Both actions must take place when automatic operation is restored (remove tick from manual in the scheduler and press the "stop after next track" button).  This works, but is messy, and there is a danger that a presenter might fail to reinstate one of the two actions when returning to automatic mode. 

What would be more suitable would be a single new button (AUTOMATIC/MANUAL PLAY) that achieved both actions together. 

The benefit of this modification is that the announcer could manually start any music tracks, PLUS any event (including ads) that flashed up on the scheduler to alert the announcer but did not play until RUN NOW was pressed...  or even better if a double mouse click could be used to start an event in the scheduler as it does for the music tracks.    I hope this clarifies our suggestion.    :P 
 
Chris Deacon said:
What would be more suitable would be a single new button (AUTOMATIC/MANUAL PLAY) that achieved both actions together. 
Yes, makes perfect sense. We can add an option for the "Stop after this track" button to sync its state with the "Manual" scheduler option. I think we'll also rename it to something more intuitive like Auto/Manual.

Chris Deacon said:
if a double mouse click could be used to start an event in the scheduler
Currently double-click is used to open event options, I don't think changing it is a good thing to do.

But what about the next command? What it was used for? In your message there's nothing about it :)
 
Hi Dmitry

The Auto/Manual modification would be great!!!!

What we are trying to achieve with all this is intuitive operation, particularly in MANUAL mode.  Therefore we need a way to manually play scheduled events in a similar way to how tracks in the playlist are started. Yes we can live with PLAY NOW, but its not as elegant as the following:


Operator switches to MANUAL mode
only single tracks play
event or ad flashes at a preset time in scheduler and automatically loads as next event in the playlist (alerting operator that it could be played next)

This means the operator does not have to use different actions as all items (including the scheduled events) are treated as tracks in the playlist in manual mode.

The next command was referred to in my post above and works OK if I don't include it in a playlist. Doesn't seem to work for me if its part of a playlist as the next track plays at the start of the fade... 

 
Chris Deacon said:
Operator switches to MANUAL mode
only single tracks play
event or ad flashes at a preset time in scheduler and automatically loads as next event in the playlist (alerting operator that it could be played next)
Do you mean it would be better if it also inserted scheduled events to the playlist without playing them? (when in Manual mode)
 
djsoft said:
Do you mean it would be better if it also inserted scheduled events to the playlist without playing them? (when in Manual mode)
Yes in manual mode only - it would enqueue and play once selected manually after the currently playing event.  It is a nice way of alerting presenters that they "must play" a particular event as soon as possible after its normally sheduled time.   
 
Dmitry

I have noticed an anomaly with the next command.

3.59.55 next 6000
4.00.00 scheduled event [news]

At 3.59.55 the currently playing track starts to fade out
but just before the news plays, a second of the next music track in the playlist is heard before the news starts. 

This can be fixed by programming the next command to start fading at 3.59.56 (ie allow 2 sec overlap) but shouldn't the operation be more accurate?

I just want to  make a simple playlist fade of 5 seconds at 3.59.53 or 3.59.55 and take an immediate scheduled event at the TOTH. 

If I use fadeout 5000, it works OK but if there happens to be no subsequent scheduled event available for some reason, RB stops and the silence detection wont get it re-started. RB stalls.

So I suggested a fadeout command without a stop - if the scheduled event is absent, RB just continues with the playlist music and all is well.  In response, you kindly added the next command to try and solve this problem, but Dmitry it needs to be more reliable and accurate with program fades as this command is used many times each day when a new event such as a prerecorded program begins.  Can it be tweaked so odd items in the playlist don't play before the end of the fade?  Is the problem related to crossfade settings perhaps? :P

How would one add a small pause between the next fade and the start of the scheduled event? 
 
Chris Deacon said:
How would one add a small pause between the next fade and the start of the scheduled event?   
You can add pause using Playlist->Add pause menu.

Chris Deacon said:
So I suggested a fadeout command without a stop - if the scheduled event is absent, RB just continues with the playlist music
If you stop the playlist, it won't play the next track. It will stop and that's it. That's why next command is moremsuitable for this.
 
djsoft said:
If you stop the playlist, it won't play the next track. It will stop and that's it. That's why next command is moremsuitable for this.
The next command still stops the playlist when using tracklist!
 
Chris Deacon said:
The next command still stops the playlist when using tracklist!
Can you please provide additional information? A screenshot of how RadioBOSS windows looks will help, so we test it here with the same settings and playlist contents.
 
Dmitry, it appears there is a problem when running the "fadeout" command followed by "next".

At 7:59:55 fadeout 5000 [fades current playlist track x OK then stops]
At 8:00:00 next starts the playlist again but track X repeats.

The reason why we have a next command in there is to make sure the playlist continues if there happens to be no event at 8:00:00.    If there is a scheduled event at 8:00:00 it works fine.    But often the event has to be dis-enabled depending on the content and this requires the "next" command to ensure continuation of the playlist music.  Modifying "next"so it plays track X+1 would work....however....

Wouldn't it be more elegant to have a new "fade" command option that did NOT STOP the playlist?  It is dangerous if someone removes an event and there is still a fadeout command in there, as RB will stop and stay stopped and the silence detector will never activate.  :P

We are using latest version of RB.  I hope this is a feasible bugfix.

 
Why not use the next 5000 command instead of the two commands you use? It will fade out the current track and move to the next track.
 
Welcome back!  Yes this does seem to work for me now.  Sorry for the confusion.

While experimenting I did notice however that in MANUAL mode, with "Stop after the track"selected, -  that the next button does not play the next track; it repeats the last track again.  Maybe this can be corrected....or am I mistaken?

 
 
Chris Deacon said:
While experimenting I did notice however that in MANUAL mode, with "Stop after the track"selected, -  that the next button does not play the next track; it repeats the last track again.  Maybe this can be corrected....or am I mistaken?
Indeed it starts the same track that was stopped. We'll fix it, but most likely in the next major update (RB 6.0).
 
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