RadioBOSS 4.8 [beta]

[Casey]

I did find a problem using the controls on my USB soundcard.

The mute and volume controls on the USB soundcard also control the main soundcard. ??  I didn't catch this before..  I turned down the monitor volume, while on the phone, then didn't  turn it back up right away.. A bit later when I checked my off air signal, I  had very low audio on the transmitter..  (On the positive side, it did make me aware of a power supply problem.. hum..  I need a different PS or some more filtering.)

Update on this observation..

This situation is either something that windows or this computer is doing. I verified this by playing an internet stream direct from my browser, with RadioBOSS turned off.

So knowing this, I don't think there is anything you can do about it.. 

Casey

 

[djsoft]

dave-t
If you want to generate one playlist you can use "run" command in the scheduler to do it. If you want to generate several playlists by a single event, a .bat file should be created for this (and then you start that .bat file via the scheduler).
I hope RB will work good on your new system

Joshua
Ability to use DSP for microphone will be added, it's already planned. Should be in one of the 4.8.x updates.

nelson c
500 tracks limit will be removed, many people complain about it... Other requests will be considered as well.

Casey
Now 12 hours with On Air and PreListen both using the DirectSound driver.
Setup this way,  I have had no problem with loosing the On Air audio..
It looks like sound card's driver doesn't like when card is used in DirectSound and WASAPI modes by the same app... This will be checked.

One thought, would it be possible to add a volume control for when you are playing and editing voice-tracks? Like in the PreListen player..
Yes, that's possible, will be added soon.
I also think adding a sort of Normalization/Auto-Level for recorded voice tracks... Sometimes VT's are quiet and program would be able to fix that.

pety
Looks like you're using a very large font
The problem will be fixed.

 

[djsoft]

This situation is either something that windows or this computer is doing. I verified this by playing an internet stream direct from my browser, with RadioBOSS turned off.
Casey

Probably those buttons on the sound card function like multimedia buttons on keyboard. And you're right, there's nothing RB should do about it.

 

[Casey]

RadioLogger added to setup

Early this morning, I installed RadioLogger to see how it world play with my soundcard setup. I happy to report that all is working fine. 

OT.. A comment on description - uses for RadioLoger..

All licensed radio stations in Canada (I believe it's in the same in the USA) are required to have audio logging of all programing. This is the law here. RadioLogger should satisfy this requirement. 

CPU Usage

I notice that RadioBOSS indicates much higher CPU usage than Windows shows.

        RB = 38%
Windows = 17%

This is with RB, RL, Firefox, MSE. Total Commander and several other small programs running. 

So as far as my computer is concerned, CPU usage is very light.

Casey

 

[Casey]

One thought, would it be possible to add a volume control for when you are playing and editing voice-tracks? Like in the PreListen player..

Yes, that's possible, will be added soon.
I also think adding a sort of Normalization/Auto-Level for recorded voice tracks... Sometimes VT's are quiet and program would be able to fix that.

This will be great!

Casey

 

[djsoft]

Yes, audio logging is a must in many countries. I'm not sure about good wording to mention it in the description... Probably just add a bulleted list with the use cases.

Regarding CPU usage, the number in the status bar doesn't really show CPU load - it's a data provided by audio engine on how reliable audio playback is (numbers close to 100% indicate problems). I think this indicator should be removed - it was added to the program in the first versions, almost 10 years ago, mostly for debugging reasons. Now it only confuses users and nothing more...

 

[Casey]

Production work while broadcasting

Sometime I need to edit audio file and/or add voice tracks to an existing file.  Currently I am trying Audacity on the RB machine, it lets me select the soundcard for output. This, however, does not work well as there is no way to mute the On Air audio on the monitor soundcard. This makes it necessary to use another computer to do some production work. Another option may be adding another soundcard for PreListening. (I've ordered a few more of these USB soundcards to try this)

Some thought on options to make this possible in RB..

The voice-track recorder and edit function work well... but.. have you considered the possibility of extending it's functionality?

Or this could be separate function built on the voice-track recorder concept, with a different name.

1) - add the ability to load existing files
    this would allow previewing and editing various files while broadcasting.

2) - have the ability to add voice track to an existing file...
    a) - add VT at beginning or end at cue mark
    b) - mix VT with existing file beginning at cue point - voice over ..

3) - mute On Air audio while this is being used!

This would add a real production tool.

Casey

 

[dave-t]

Yes I am very much looking forward to the new system which will be dedicated to RadioBoss and a major step forward in getting my station online in the new year.

Thanks for to new feature for generating playlists which I will use during overnight to generate a full days worth of playlist rather than doing it on the fly.

 

[pety]

No Direct Sound No Windows Mixer Control for Line.IN in RB 4.8.0.4

???

At least in 4.8.0.3 Direct Sound worked. Nothing good for now.

Windows XP Pro SP3.

 

[djsoft]

Casey
The Mute button will be converted to Mute Monitor. Also Monitor will be automatically muted when you prelisten a track (or use VT recorder, Track tool, etc). Other issues with Monitor device will be checked - I think all this should be done in the next update.
By the way, why do you listen your station through Monitor instead of using the Main device directly?

Regarding VT playback, it's handled during playback by RadioBOSS - you should set Intro/Outro markers for tracks and add VT to the playlist. More information about this: http://manual.djsoft.net/radioboss/en/voice_tracking.htm

pety
Are there any errors when you try using Mixer Control or DirectSound for line.in?

dave-t
Let me know if you have any questions regarding batch playlist generation.

 

[pety]

Sorry, but no error message for Line.IN. I checked line in with audacity recording and it works. In the 8.4.0.3 version Direct Sound worked fine.

 

[dave-t]

dave-t
Let me know if you have any questions regarding batch playlist generation.

Will do. My new system is on its way and I should receive it on Thursday. I have some work to do as I am replacing the hard disc with an SSD. I expect to start putting RB though its paces on Windows 8 on Saturday or Sunday  8)

 

[Casey]

Casey
The Mute button will be converted to Mute Monitor. Also Monitor will be automatically muted when you prelisten a track (or use VT recorder, Track tool, etc). Other issues with Monitor device will be checked - I think all this should be done in the next update.

This is excellent!  I'm sure users will appreciate the improvement.

Is auto monitor mute, when mic is turned on going to be possible?

By the way, why do you listen your station through Monitor instead of using the Main device directly?

This is standard operating procedure for any station I worked at. We usually listened to the monitor audio from the console. The transmitter feed and off air were only check form time to time. Of course they had all the technology in place, visual indications etc and all monitored audio was muted when you turned on the microphone. We also has alarms that warned of problems with the on air feed and transmitter.

In my setup, I may have a receiver on but have to keep the volume level very low, other wise I will have feed back when I open the mic. (a problem now.. but monitor mute, will fix this)  I also have a slight time delay between the monitor and transmitter audio, the echo effect can be a bit annoying..

To properly monitor off air, you need a way to turn off the speaker when the mic is used. While it can be done manually, being human, it is something that can easily be forgotten. To solve, using only RB, it would make things a bit more complicated from your side (programing). If you wanted to do it with RB, the program would need to send a signal to for example to a serial port that would make a pin go high (a +voltage) when the mic was turned on.. Then a transistor or low current relay could use this voltage to switch and control ext hardware. Examples, it could be used to switch off speakers when the mic is turned on and/or turn on the on an air light.

Casey

 

[pety]

Dmitry

I did not participate too much at Beta RB bug discovery becouse my father was very ill.
My father died today.

 

[dave-t]

Extremely sorry to hear that

Take care

 

[djsoft]

pety
I'm sorry to hear that too... Be strong.

 

[Christian]

Pety:
  I'm also sorry to read that sad news. All my condolences.

DJSoft:
  I am running RB beta 2 than 3 for days now without trouble, I just have be carefull with DTMF it sometime does not detect. Will install beta 4 later

Playlist Generator Pro command-line

That is great news, also something I was looing far as a workarround to a too long time generation

Christian

 

[djsoft]

  I am running RB beta 2 than 3 for days now without trouble, I just have be carefull with DTMF it sometime does not detect. Will install beta 4 later

How often it's unable to detect a tone, and can it be reproduced (eg. it doesn't detect a particular mix)?

That is great news, also something I was looing far as a workarround to a too long time generation

Long generation was also fixed in this version Not it's seconds instead of minutes... But it can still be long enough in some cases.

 

[dave-t]

Re playlist Generator Pro

Do you have a timescale for adding filter criteria for Gender, Genre and rating rather than just searching the "comments" field ?

 

[djsoft]

It will be added in one of 4.8.x updates (after 4.8.0 is out of beta). Couple of months I think.