Automation & Playout software is a core component of a radio station’s operations. Most stations these days, even when running with a live announcer, will use an automation system to assist the announcer in playing and recording audio.
Here are some of the more popular radio automation and playout software packages available today. They vary wildly in price and features and it particularly hard to compare some as they are geared towards different segments of the market. If you are selecting software for your radio station, ensure you put together a comprehensive list of functionality you require and also arrange demos for the key stakeholders (make sure you include content people, as well as technical). This list of features isn’t comprehensive, as I don’t have first hand experience with all of these systems.
If you notice something I’m missing, please add it to the comments below. RCS Zetta Zetta is the big new software package from RCS. It does almost everything under the sun, and has a price tag to match. Key bullet point features:. Full automation, live assist and manual modes. Multiple stations in one system. Microsoft SQL Database.
Distributed system. Each workstation can act as a remote control for the real machines doing the actual audio playout. Time stretching/squeezing to help hit time markers. Built in recorders (automated and manual). Great support for networked programming (File & log sharing over WAN, remote voice tracking, “split” stations for local spot breaks). Auto segue features, with full manual control too. Close integration with their other products, such as GSelector and Aquira.
Price: If you have to ask, you probably can’t afford it. If you are clever with Google, there is a RCS purchase order you can find on one of those PDF sharing websites. The unit-price isn’t too far from what you might expect to pay these days.
Note: NexGen and Master Control are older software packages from RCS (used by the majority of Australian Commercial Radio Stations, I dare say), but they don’t really recommend installing these pieces of software for a new install as they are quiet old. Zetta is what they are pushing. WideOrbit Radio Automation Formerly Google Radio Automation, Scott’s Studios & SS32. WideOrbit have traditionally build traffic software for radio & TV, and WideOrbit Automation for Radio is their adventure into the world of radio playout and automation software.
There are four major components to the system:. Workstation (what you see above). Web Interface.
Playlist Editor Application. Adobe Audition Plugin The Workstation is a touchscreen-based user interface. You can load as many widgets into as many places as you like.
Widgets include:. Stack player (main station player).
Playlist editor. Library. Voice tracker. Audio asset editor. MusicMaster widget.
It’s also possible to build your own plugins and run them as widgets The Web interface is how you configure the system, but also a great way access the audio library outside of the studio. You can search through the library, update details, and also launch the audio file in the application of your choice.
When you install the Adobe Audition Plugin you have a nice and easy way of editing audio outside of the system and sending it back in without loosing metadata. The Playlist Editor is a standalone application which allows you to edit playlists. It’s fairly limited, but when combined with the web interface would work well in an out-of-studio environment such as the programme director’s office.
There is also a “Friendship Server” which allows you to connect remote systems and share content. Files and logs can be pushed backwards and forwards, to allow for sharing of resources. There are a lot of configurable rules to enable easy sharing while still maintaining control over your libraries.
Add to the list a Remote VoiceTracking server. Talent can be emailed when logs are ready to voicetrack. They can then login to their local Windows App, record the tracks, and send them back easily. If the logs change after this for some reason, they can be emailed again to request they re-voicetrack specific sections. Overall, WideOrbit is a nice system and well suited to a wide range of applications.
It’s also a lot cheaper than some of it’s larger competitors. Because it has the Web interface and Playlist Editor (which are free) you can save a lot of money by not buying everyone a Workstation license. BSI Simian Simian is very popular amongst smaller stations. Key bullet point features:. Full automation, live assist and manual modes.
Microsoft Access database (MDB). Time stretching/squeezing to help hit time markers. Built in voice tracking recorder. Price: US$1,499.00 per workstation BSI Op-X Op-X is the big-brother system from the same people who released Simian. Full automation, live assist and manual modes. Multiple stations in one system.
Distributed system. Each workstation can act as a remote control for the real machines doing the actual audio playout. Time stretching/squeezing to help hit time markers, using ASI audio cards. Built in voice tracking recorder StationPlaylist Studio StationPlaylist is also very popular amongst the smaller stations. Full automation and live assist modes.
Suitable for small stations – has a lot of nifty featured geared towards this end of the market. High accessibility for blind users.
Price US$135.00 or $259.00 per workstation Dalet Radio Suite I’ve used older Dalet 5.1 systems before, but don’t have experience with their newer Dalet Radio Suite. One thing I can say about Dalet is that they are really into the whole Media Asset Management and Program Associated Data thing. While other systems don’t focus much on the actual storage of media and it’s metadata, Dalet puts a big emphasis on it. Key features:. Full automation and live assist modes. Multiple stations in one system. SQL Database.
Built in newsroom functionality. Built in multi-track audio editor Other Systems: Here are some other notable systems. RCS NexGen. RCS Master Control.
Tunetracker Automation
ENCO DAD. iMediaTouch. Jutel RadioMan. Rivendell.
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Radio broadcasting software, live & automation, internet streaming Home News New: Version 5.30 is released! (October 2017) Full integration with the D&R broadcast mixer console is now available. (September 2015) New: StationPlaylist affiliates with Abovecast for VPS (cloud) from $36 a month. (September 2014) Integration with the broadcast mixer console is now available via a plugin. (June 2014) StationPlaylist affillates with for more stream hosting options/features.
(May 2014) StationPlaylist offers our own reliable and affordable. For visually impaired users, a comprehensive set of scripts are available for, &. Has appointed StationPlaylist as preferred radio station software provider.
Google Radio Automation Software
An article on Radio Magazine discusses. A leading radio magazine Radio World features. Is at the Broadcasters Desktop Resource.
Home Page ' I am amazed! I've used other automation / streaming products on my webcast, and I've got to say, StationPlaylist is simply awesome. Over the last year I've used (and paid a lot for) DRS2006 and SAM Broadcaster, and Creator & Studio out performs both of them in ease of use and feature set.
' Rob Walker, Q105 Radio, Novi, Michigan. StationPlaylist Creator + Studio integrate to provide a very affordable and powerful radio broadcasting software solution for terrestrial radio and internet streaming / webcasting. Also suitable for party DJ's and in-store music automation.
Our software provides many time saving features not found in broadcasting software 10 times the price. From full live assistance for announcers / DJ's, to complete unattended radio automation, StationPlaylist will do the job reliably.
Online Internet streaming has never been easier with Studio. Stream in multiple codecs including MP3, AAC+ (MPEG-4 HE-AAC), Windows Media, and Ogg Vorbis. ' Thanks for your impressive product. I am a Master User on both Scott Studios WideOrbit and RCS NexGen, and find this to be most competitive with those two very sophisticated platforms.
' Alan Olson, KIIQ-FM, Limon, Colorado. StationPlaylist radio automation software is being used by commercial and non-commercial AM & FM radio stations, internet streaming stations, clubs, restaurants, malls, and other stores. Over 14,000 licences sold! 'In my old job at a big radio station 1995-2001, I worked with the Dalet automation which cost around $150,000.
Studio is now more stable than that very expensive system ever was!! And I am sure the listeners cannot hear any difference! ' Henrik Lyk,Vendsyssel FM, Frederikshavn, Denmark.
Studio is a simple to use on-air broadcast automation playout software for the studio and/or DJ. Plays all your media files with manual or intelligent / automatic crossfading.
Play jingles, commercials, news, songs. Live streams, live inputs from your sound card, satellite feeds etc.
Google Radio Automation Free Download
Includes an internet stream encoder, voice track / song ramp overlapping, many automation and live assist features such as 96 cart slots for instant jingles, timed events, time and temperature announcements while automated, compressor / limiter sound processing, website integration, and much more. Creator is a simple to use, yet powerful spot and music scheduler. Gain complete control over your station format using rotations of music categories and spot groups (jingles, advertisements, etc). Generate sophisticated daily or weekly playlists in seconds, with track separation rules for artist, song, genre, tempo, etc. Includes a simple scheduler utility for budget automation with free audio players.
Also includes a Playlist Editor, Voice Track recording, traffic/billing log file importer, and much more. Streamer is a stand-alone internet radio stream encoder. Stream audio from your soundcard to the world. Remote Voice Tracker enables your DJ's to record voice tracks within the scheduled playlist from home, to sound like a live show! Special Deal Purchase Creator Pro & Studio Pro in a bundle, with over 22% off!
Screenshots (click to enlarge) Traditional professional radio programming applications are designed for traditional radio stations that can and expect to pay thousands of dollars for extremely sophisticated and complex software. But what if that's not you? If you need a simple, affordable, reliable solution to automating your broadcasting needs, RadioBOSS radio automation software is the solution you've been looking for. Whether it's building and scheduling crossfaded programming for your terrestrial or Internet radio station, creating the right audio atmosphere in your restaurant or store, or broadcasting from live events, RadioBOSS has been the choice of thousands of broadcasters just like you for the past fourteen years. RadioBOSS makes it easy and fast to convert and manage audio assets, build playlists with advertising support, hourly blocks, rotations, crossfading, automatic leveling and other professional-level features and play your playlists to your local, terrestrial or Internet broadcasting system.
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