So... Is Wide Orbit the only system with a good Back Timer?

[TheRealTVGuy]

I'm evaluating automation systems and pulling my hair out trying to find one with a good back timer. Is Wide Orbit the only one?? Also, why does everything else look like it was designed to run on Windows 95?

If anyone can point me in the direction of a good automation system with a good back timer, I'm all ears. Anyone have an old SS32 for sale? Lol.

 

[Chuck]

Maybe I'm missing what you are looking for. Zara, even the free version, shows "Time Remaining" and the exact end time. I'm surprised that expensive automation systems don't have that.

 

[Kelly A]

Maybe I'm missing what you are looking for. Zara, even the free version, shows "Time Remaining" and the exact end time. I'm surprised that expensive automation systems don't have that.

Exactly. Not sure what automation they're using, but all that I've seen you can select count-up, count down, or both, right on the main screen. It runs off the PC clock, so unless your clock is completely screwed up, a minute counting down on one automation system, would be the same as another.

 

[awsherrill]

Wonder if OP is talking about a feature that would automatically insert designated audio files (instrumental cuts, etc) at the end of an hour if the programmed music ran short. Assuming you were trying to hit the news at TOH. I believe most systems on the market these days have some facility to adjust for timing issues at the end of an hour.

I recall that the Scott SS32 had a feature that would insert audio cuts to pad out certain critical timing situations...for example, if your traffic person didn't fully populate the breaks during syndicated programming, the SS32 could be set to dump in PSAs automatically to make the stopset length correct. In my experience it didn't always work as intended.

Not sure what the "Windows 95" appearance comment is all about. Radio automation/playout systems all do pretty much the same thing, so they tend to look similar. Some of them allow you to customize appearances to an extent.

 

[Kelly A]

Wonder if OP is talking about a feature that would automatically insert designated audio files (instrumental cuts, etc) at the end of an hour if the programmed music ran short. Assuming you were trying to hit the news at TOH. I believe most systems on the market these days have some facility to adjust for timing issues at the end of an hour.

I recall that the Scott SS32 had a feature that would insert audio cuts to pad out certain critical timing situations...for example, if your traffic person didn't fully populate the breaks during syndicated programming, the SS32 could be set to dump in PSAs automatically to make the stopset length correct. In my experience it didn't always work as intended.

Not sure what the "Windows 95" appearance comment is all about. Radio automation/playout systems all do pretty much the same thing, so they tend to look similar. Some of them allow you to customize appearances to an extent.

A couple of the higher-end systems will insert designated fill songs to back-time into a break or TOH. Some systems like RCS Zetta, will drop in a fill song and even time-squeeze or stretch the song or audio file to nail the TOH, network feed, news, whatever.

 

[awsherrill]

A couple of the higher-end systems will insert designated fill songs to back-time into a break or TOH. Some systems like RCS Zetta, will drop in a fill song and even time-squeeze or stretch the song or audio file to nail the TOH, network feed, news, whatever.

I'm wondering exactly what OP meant by "back timer".

When I did live air shifts (not for very long, and listeners were thankful for that), "backtiming" meant figuring out how many more songs you could play before you hit TOH and the news. I did it long enough to get fairly good at it. It helped that I worked in a format with lots of two- and three-minute songs.

Maybe he is looking for a countdown timer that shows exactly how much time is left in the hour. Most systems have some version of that, some work better than others. Possibly the ones he is complaining about don't update very well as the hour plays out.

 

[davideduardo]

A couple of the higher-end systems will insert designated fill songs to back-time into a break or TOH. Some systems like RCS Zetta, will drop in a fill song and even time-squeeze or stretch the song or audio file to nail the TOH, network feed, news, whatever.

The bigger point is "why?" Most stations now record incoming short-form material, from traffic reports to news, and fit them in at a natural break in programming (to use the FCC's term on another subject) by playing them back on cue.

The idea that people set their spring and gear wrist watches to the top of the hour on a radio station went away more than a quarter century ago.

 

[PTBoardOp94]

I'm sure the ask is for the automation to manipulate the log to sync up to news or something else that starts at an exact time. I've never used an automation package that has this, unfortunately.

For my station, I'd use it to sync up to sports events.

 

[Kelly A]

The bigger point is "why?" Most stations now record incoming short-form material, from traffic reports to news, and fit them in at a natural break in programming (to use the FCC's term on another subject) by playing them back on cue.

The idea that people set their spring and gear wrist watches to the top of the hour on a radio station went away more than a quarter century ago.

Mainly joining a network, whether that's a sports broadcast or network newscast.

 

[bossbill]

The bigger point is "why?" Most stations now record incoming short-form material, from traffic reports to news, and fit them in at a natural break in programming (to use the FCC's term on another subject) by playing them back on cue.

The idea that people set their spring and gear wrist watches to the top of the hour on a radio station went away more than a quarter century ago.

A listener of a radio station that includes 24/7 top of hour news will expect it to be at the top of the hour, even in 2020. One of the national music syndicators has a pretty good system for inserting various lengths of liners throughout the hour along with tracks to make every hour end at exactly the same time to allow for top of hour news.

 

[Kelly A]

One of the national music syndicators has a pretty good system for inserting various lengths of liners throughout the hour along with tracks to make every hour end at exactly the same time to allow for top of hour news.

The syndicator's also provide a TOH GPO that one can use to trigger their automation or a router for a switch or time sync.