I feel exhausted and disappointed with "Ads Scheduler," "Playlist Generator Pro," and "Scheduler."

[originalprod]

Here’s what’s happening:
When I schedule music, ads, and podcasts, RadioBoss doesn’t play them at the scheduled time but several minutes later.

Let me explain...
Here’s what I need to schedule:

1. At minute 58 of every hour, I want ads to play. These ads last about 2 to 3 minutes.
2. At the top of the hour, at minute 00, I want a playlist generated by “Playlist Generator Pro” to start playing.
3. At minute 58 again, I want the ads to play without interrupting the current song.
4. I want this cycle to repeat.

I need this to happen exactly as scheduled. I don’t want it to play 1 or 3 minutes later. If the ad block starts at minute 58 and a show is scheduled to start at minute 00 of the next hour, I want the show to start exactly on time. I don’t mind if the ads start earlier than minute 58.

If I schedule the ads before minute 58, RadioBoss keeps playing the previous playlist after the ads. I don’t want this to happen because, after the ads, a new hour begins, and I have a different set of music scheduled for that hour.

I have thousands of songs in my library, so RadioBoss has plenty of options to ensure the ads and the new music block start exactly at the scheduled times. But it doesn’t work this way...

There seems to be a disconnect between the “Playlist Generator Pro,” the “Event Scheduler,” and the “Playlist.” I don’t know how else to explain it.

I’m really frustrated. I need help, please. Keep in mind that I also schedule podcasts.

I hope you can understand me.

 

[djsoft]

Looks like the problem here is with creating the playlist. If you use the generate command, it will not start the playlist immediately, because creating a playlist will take some time (depending on the template). So you should create the playlist in advance.

How much in advance - please start the Playlist Generator, load the preset you need, and press the Generate button. Measure how time does it take to create a playlist. Just in case, multiply this time by two. Create a scheduled event to generate a playlist and save it to a file, and make it start [time you want playlist to play] minus measured playlist creation time.

Then create another event to start this generated playlist when needed.

 

[originalprod]

I have configured RadioBoss to generate a playlist every hour, 30 seconds before it starts playing. RadioBoss generates the playlist correctly but does not calculate the timing properly. If I configure RadioBoss to generate a 1-hour playlist 1 minute before it plays, it works fine. The issue lies in the moment it plays the playlist—RadioBoss starts the playlist several minutes late.

I have configured it to play advertisements at minute 58, but RadioBoss plays them several minutes later.

I can configure RadioBoss to wait for the current song to finish before playing, but this would cause the ads to no longer play at minute 58 and instead several minutes later. Additionally, after the ads, RadioBoss finishes playing the hour of music generated by the Playlist Generator before moving on to the next hour’s playlist. This causes the schedule to be misaligned, with no content playing at the configured times.

 

[originalprod]

What do you recommend I do to ensure my ad block always plays before the hour, regardless of how long it lasts?

What do you suggest to make the playlist generator create one hour of music a few seconds earlier so it starts playing exactly on the hour?

The priority is the ads, not the music. It doesn’t matter if the last song doesn’t play. What’s needed is for the ad block to start before minute 00 and for a new block of music or a radio show to start right at minute 00.

For example:

00:00 1-hour music playlist
00:58 Ads block
01:00 1-hour music playlist
01:55 Ads block
02:00 Radio show
02:56 Ads block
03:00 1-hour music playlist

It’s very exhausting to manually generate ad blocks at 00:55, 00:56, 00:57, and 00:58 to ensure everything plays at the exact time.

 

[djsoft]

I have configured RadioBoss to generate a playlist every hour, 30 seconds before it starts playing. RadioBoss generates the playlist correctly but does not calculate the timing properly. If I configure RadioBoss to generate a 1-hour playlist 1 minute before it plays, it works fine. The issue lies in the moment it plays the playlist—RadioBoss starts the playlist several minutes late.

That's because creating a playlist takes time. Please read my previous reply. You should create the playlist in advance and then start it. This way it will start at the exact time needed.

I have configured it to play advertisements at minute 58, but RadioBoss plays them several minutes later.

It depends on how a scheduled event is configured. Looks like it's set to put the ads in the queue, and they start playing after currently playing track finishes. You can read about event options here: https://manual.djsoft.net/radioboss/en/eventoptions2.htm (this, and other scheduler-related articles).

I can configure RadioBoss to wait for the current song to finish before playing, but this would cause the ads to no longer play at minute 58 and instead several minutes later.

If you enable "Run scheduled launch without waiting for current track to finish" then it will start exactly at the scheduled time. If not, it will wait for the current track to finish. There's also an option to specify the maximum time to wait after which it will play.

 

[djsoft]

What do you recommend I do to ensure my ad block always plays before the hour, regardless of how long it lasts?

You can use the "Start earlier to make it end at Start Time" option to make it end at the time specified.

What do you suggest to make the playlist generator create one hour of music a few seconds earlier so it starts playing exactly on the hour?

Not few seconds, better give it several minutes to create a playlist. Just in case. It really depends on template complexity and amount of music. Please read this post: https://www.djsoft.net/community/th...-generator-pro-and-scheduler.12291/post-52166

It’s very exhausting to manually generate ad blocks at 00:55, 00:56, 00:57, and 00:58 to ensure everything plays at the exact time.

There's no need to. The Scheduler can do it automatically.

 

[originalprod]

You can use the "Start earlier to make it end at Start Time" option to make it end at the time specified.

Where is "Start earlier to make it end at Start Time" in Ads scheduler?

Not few seconds, better give it several minutes to create a playlist. Just in case. It really depends on template complexity and amount of music. Please read this post: https://www.djsoft.net/community/th...-generator-pro-and-scheduler.12291/post-52166

"Playlist Generator Pro" creates a 1-hour playlist, generating it 1 minute before playback, and it works perfectly. Then, the "Ads Scheduler" places the ads in the playlist, but neither the new playlist nor the Ads Scheduler removes the leftover songs.

 

[djsoft]

Where is "Start earlier to make it end at Start Time" in Ads scheduler?

This option is not available in the Ads Scheduler yet. We'll add it in the upcoming RadioBOSS 7.1 update.

"Playlist Generator Pro" creates a 1-hour playlist, generating it 1 minute before playback, and it works perfectly. Then, the "Ads Scheduler" places the ads in the playlist, but neither the new playlist nor the Ads Scheduler removes the leftover songs.

If you want to replace the current playlist contents, you should set the "Replace playlist" option for the event that starts the new hourly playlist.

 

[originalprod]

If you want to replace the current playlist contents, you should set the "Replace playlist" option for the event that starts the new hourly playlist.

But, if I use 'Replace playlist' in RadioBOSS, it deletes the block of advertising commercials.

 

[djsoft]

But, if I use 'Replace playlist' in RadioBOSS, it deletes the block of advertising commercials.

In this case, the order of when the events start matter. You should first run the new music playlist with "Replace playlist" option and then run adverts event.

 

[originalprod]

If I enable the "Replace playlist" option at the 55th minute of the hour and then trigger the ad event at the 56th minute, it won't work.
If I have a 2-minute ad block and another 3-minute block, the next hour of music will start early and not at the scheduled time.

 

[djsoft]

One other possible solution would be to create a separate event with the clearplaylist command to clear the playlist, start it at :54 minute or so.

Alternatively, you can enable the Queue Mode for the playlist tab, it will remove tracks after they are played.

 

[originalprod]

What you're saying doesn't work either because I program the playlists with "Playlist Generator Pro." "Playlist Generator Pro" generates a playlist every hour, and when the commercials play, the playlist gets deleted. If I create an event to clear the playlist with "clear playlist" at minute 54 of each hour, there will be a long silence until the "Ads Scheduler" event plays the commercial ads. Enabling "Queue Mode" won’t work because there will still be songs waiting to play while the commercials are running.

I need RadioBoss to schedule one hour of music and play the commercials before the next hour starts so that the next hour’s program starts right on the hour. It doesn’t matter if the commercial block lasts 1 minute or 5 minutes.

I need RadioBoss to always finish the commercial block at minute 59 and 59 seconds of each hour so that the next playlist starts at minute 00, regardless of whether the commercial block starts at minute 55, 56, or 57. Additionally, when the show starts at minute 00, there should be no remaining playlists from the previous hour.

 

[djsoft]

There's clearplaylist command, and there's "Replace playlist" option that both allow clearing the playlist contents. Also the clearplaylist command can have a parameter: clearplaylist up - to only delete what's above the command and leave the tracks that are below.

This is documented here: https://manual.djsoft.net/radioboss/en/scheduler_commands.htm

Please test those tools and find the solution that's good for your situation.

The "Start earlier..." option will be added to the Ads Scheduler in the next update.

 

[originalprod]

If I use the clearplaylist command or option, this will clear the entire playlist, including the ads. If I use the clearplaylist up command, this will leave the songs that are below the playlist, so the ads play first and then the remaining songs will play.

 

[djsoft]

If I use the clearplaylist command or option, this will clear the entire playlist, including the ads. If I use the clearplaylist up command, this will leave the songs that are below the playlist, so the ads play first and then the remaining songs will play.

I'm not sure what else to offer in this case. There are multiple ways to clear the playlists and various options for when to use them. I think you should try different approaches to find the one that will suit you.

 

[originalprod]

Don't worry, I understand.

Please give me the step-by-step process for doing the following:

1 - I need to generate a 1-hour playlist using the "Playlist Generator Pro" that plays exactly at the beginning of each hour, such as 00:00, 01:00, 02:00, etc.

2 - I need the "Ads scheduler" to finish playing the ad block at minute 59 and second 59... 00:59:59, 01:59:59, 02:59:59.

Since the music is programmed for 1 hour, and the ads should be played around minute 54 or 58, it doesn't matter if the playlist doesn't play the last songs.

In this way, music plays at the 00th minute of each hour, then the ads play, and the ads finish right before the next hour starts, so the next playlist or show can start at the exact hour.

 

[djsoft]

1 - I need to generate a 1-hour playlist using the "Playlist Generator Pro" that plays exactly at the beginning of each hour, such as 00:00, 01:00, 02:00, etc.

The process is described here: https://manual.djsoft.net/radioboss/en/automatic_playlist_generation.htm
Except for the last step, where you would want to save the playlist to a file and then make it run when needed.

2 - I need the "Ads scheduler" to finish playing the ad block at minute 59 and second 59... 00:59:59, 01:59:59, 02:59:59.

For this, as I have said previously, you should wait for the next update where "Start event earlier..." option will become available.