Automation Software

[wernerradio]

This seemed to be the best board to ask about this on. Our college station is thinking about adding automation software next school year. I am just curious to get opinions on some programs for further consideration.

Our situation requires a program that can handle "network" programming that has tones to automatically fire legal IDs, along with Locally automated and live assist programming.

Some systems that are being discussed a little bit include Enco and Siman right now.

Personally I have tried out Enco before and am not a fan of it. I have also used Simian and really like it. Both should work for our situation fine.

Some other systems we brought up were AudioVault, NexGen 101, and Scott Studios.

Pricewise I know Simian and NexGen 101 are priced very reasonably. I think Scott Studios is out of our price range, and I have not the slightest clue on pricing for Enco and AudioVault (if you have any info please post away!).

We also want to go with a system that is used by stations in our area so students can be familar with a system that is used around here where they may get employment. (Simian, AudioVault, ScottStudios, and Maestro are used by the stations in the market).

I have used or seen all of the ones I mention above in action, except AudioVault. Does anyone know if there is a place or if they will give you a demo or trial version???

Finally we need a system that comes with a good support program, our engineers would like to have someone to call if there is a problem.

So based on all of this, I am looking for some comments, opinions, etc about these programs.



<P ID="signature">______________
Joshua Werner
http://www.wisconsinbroadcasting.com
90.3 WRST-FM Oshkosh
Station Manager & Webmaster
http://www.uwosh.edu/wrst
[email protected]</P>

 

[jingle_freek1]

I think for your situation, you would be more than pleased with Simian. From my experience they have good support. It will also do all of the task that you mentioned.

Audio Vault is a good program as well, more expensive than Simian, and I'm not sure if they have a demo version or not.

Something to think about if you go with Simian, if you have the funds, go ahead and go with the Audio Science sound card. BSI will probably give you a discount on one if you buy thier software and a card at the same time. They did for us. Simian does not work as good with some of the cheap sound cards from my experience.

 

[JonnyD]

> I think for your situation, you would be more than pleased
> with Simian. From my experience they have good support. It
> will also do all of the task that you mentioned.
>
> Audio Vault is a good program as well, more expensive than
> Simian, and I'm not sure if they have a demo version or not.
>
>
> Something to think about if you go with Simian, if you have
> the funds, go ahead and go with the Audio Science sound
> card. BSI will probably give you a discount on one if you
> buy thier software and a card at the same time. They did
> for us. Simian does not work as good with some of the cheap
> sound cards from my experience.
>
Josh:
I can tell you I've loved using Scott Studios SS32 from a jock perspective, the touch screen interface makes it so incredibly easy to make you look professional- but like you say, the price makes it quite prohibitive, I haven't heard of an SS32 system for under 10k - unless you buy a used SS DOS... or maybe they'd give you some sort of educational discount? And I also know, from the calls I've made to tech support, you may get lucky once or twice, but most of the time they call you back the next day to help - and what radio station anywhere can just stay off the air until the tech gets back from Taco Bell? I've heard nothing but good things about NexGen's tech support, though not sure on the pricing. BSI Simian is surely a great price, it works great. You know that.

 

[Les]

> Pricewise I know Simian and NexGen 101 are priced very
> reasonably. I think Scott Studios is out of our price
> range, and I have not the slightest clue on pricing for Enco
> and AudioVault (if you have any info please post away!).
>
> We also want to go with a system that is used by stations in
> our area so students can be familar with a system that is
> used around here where they may get employment. (Simian,
> AudioVault, ScottStudios, and Maestro are used by the
> stations in the market).

You've made a couple of good arguments yourself for Prophet's
NexGen 101. It's very widely used and, in my opinion, there
are large groups who might like to use it but don't feel they
can because of cross-ownership with Clear Channel. I've used
NexGen and, while I can't say I "love it", it has proven solid
and easy to use. Learning curve for new people is very easy.
I believe they have structured the prices so you buy only what
you need and can add on later if you ever need.

> I have used or seen all of the ones I mention above in
> action, except AudioVault. Does anyone know if there is a
> place or if they will give you a demo or trial version???

Dunno if they still do, but Prophet used to offer a demo CD
for free.

> Finally we need a system that comes with a good support
> program, our engineers would like to have someone to call if
> there is a problem.

That's Prophet's strongest point. Their service is excellent.
The down side is that they aren't the fastest to respond to
reports of bugs or requests for new or modified features. By
bug response, I mean issuing new versions to clean them up
though they are good at work-arounds.
<P ID="signature">______________
When you're done impeaching the prez, keep on going; recall every member of congress and lock 'em up! Let's try NO govt. for a while.</P>

 

[oldiesstation]

> > I think for your situation, you would be more than pleased
>
> > with Simian. From my experience they have good support.
> It
> > will also do all of the task that you mentioned.
> >
> > Audio Vault is a good program as well, more expensive than
>
> > Simian, and I'm not sure if they have a demo version or
> not.
> >
> >
> > Something to think about if you go with Simian, if you
> have
> > the funds, go ahead and go with the Audio Science sound
> > card. BSI will probably give you a discount on one if you
> > buy thier software and a card at the same time. They did
> > for us. Simian does not work as good with some of the
> cheap
> > sound cards from my experience.
> >
> Josh:
> I can tell you I've loved using Scott Studios SS32 from a
> jock perspective, the touch screen interface makes it so
> incredibly easy to make you look professional- but like you
> say, the price makes it quite prohibitive, I haven't heard
> of an SS32 system for under 10k - unless you buy a used SS
> DOS... or maybe they'd give you some sort of educational
> discount? And I also know, from the calls I've made to tech
> support, you may get lucky once or twice, but most of the
> time they call you back the next day to help - and what
> radio station anywhere can just stay off the air until the
> tech gets back from Taco Bell? I've heard nothing but good
> things about NexGen's tech support, though not sure on the
> pricing. BSI Simian is surely a great price, it works
> great. You know that.
> This issue has been addressed many times .for your situation i strongly suggest the nexgen 101 and add the options you need and still be around the price of Simian which is a ok? system but more stations use nexgen (Prophet)so it would be a good fit for future jobs in the real world of broadchasing, whoops i meant broadcasting.i have been around plenty of automation sys and nobody touches prophet for support..ss32 is great but way over your budget for your deal right now.IMHO

 

[DudeFan]

> > > I think for your situation, you would be more than
> pleased
> >
> > > with Simian. From my experience they have good support.
>
> > It
> > > will also do all of the task that you mentioned.
> > >
> > > Audio Vault is a good program as well, more expensive
> than
> >
> > > Simian, and I'm not sure if they have a demo version or
> > not.
> > >
> > >
> > > Something to think about if you go with Simian, if you
> > have
> > > the funds, go ahead and go with the Audio Science sound
> > > card. BSI will probably give you a discount on one if
> you
> > > buy thier software and a card at the same time. They
> did
> > > for us. Simian does not work as good with some of the
> > cheap
> > > sound cards from my experience.
> > >
> > Josh:
> > I can tell you I've loved using Scott Studios SS32 from a
> > jock perspective, the touch screen interface makes it so
> > incredibly easy to make you look professional- but like
> you
> > say, the price makes it quite prohibitive, I haven't heard
>
> > of an SS32 system for under 10k - unless you buy a used SS
>
> > DOS... or maybe they'd give you some sort of educational
> > discount? And I also know, from the calls I've made to
> tech
> > support, you may get lucky once or twice, but most of the
> > time they call you back the next day to help - and what
> > radio station anywhere can just stay off the air until the
>
> > tech gets back from Taco Bell? I've heard nothing but
> good
> > things about NexGen's tech support, though not sure on the
>
> > pricing. BSI Simian is surely a great price, it works
> > great. You know that.
> > This issue has been addressed many times .for your
> situation i strongly suggest the nexgen 101 and add the
> options you need and still be around the price of Simian
> which is a ok? system but more stations use nexgen
> (Prophet)so it would be a good fit for future jobs in the
> real world of broadchasing, whoops i meant broadcasting.i
> have been around plenty of automation sys and nobody touches
> prophet for support..ss32 is great but way over your budget
> for your deal right now.IMHO
>

You should also check out MediaTouch. It runs great even on base Dell Dimensions with prosumer-grade cards lke M-Audio Deltas. The documentation if you are doing a self-install is poor, but the tech folks really go out o ftheir way to help... even if it is something that you could have done IF they had the software well documented. The current version is very very stable.

However, not as many stations use the software as Prophet or Scott. I like the MediaTouch Interface much better.

 

[rfburns]

> Something to think about if you go with Simian, if you have
> the funds, go ahead and go with the Audio Science sound
> card. BSI will probably give you a discount on one if you
> buy thier software and a card at the same time. They did
> for us. Simian does not work as good with some of the cheap
> sound cards from my experience.
>

I'll second this. Regardless of the system you buy, make sure you go with a high quality sound card - stay away from the onboard or cheap sound cards.

As for systems... if you haven't looked at it already, check out CDS32 from Pristine Systems. Price is reasonable, it is easy to learn and the tech support is quite good.

RFB

 

[BrokeEngineer]

Fact find...

We just upgraded to SS32 from Maestro and I will offer one piece of advice. Call and schedule every one in for a dog and pony and then make your decision. Seriously, they all do the same thing and if one adds something new, the others won't be far behind. Most of the companies will not have a problem coming out to see you to give you a demo. Most of the systems are great and every engineer has his preference for one reason or another. As mentioned before DO NOT skimp on the sound card. Good luck!

 

[thebroker]

I've done a whole lot of test-driving over the past few months in search of a new system. After lots of demos and plenty of test-driving, we are in the process of installing Simian. It offered the most stable operation for the most reasonable price. It may be cheap, but it sure works well.

Depending upon what your price range is, I REALLY like the Scott Studios SS32 system. It's just a little over-priced for me just now because I'm overhauling three stations from mic to transmitter. If you have the budget though, I'd highly recommend it.

Finally, nobody mentioned much about AudioVault. I've never spent a lot of time with it, but I can say that out of five companies which delivered quotes, their system was the most expensive.

I hope this is helpful.

 

[wernerradio]

> I've done a whole lot of test-driving over the past few
> months in search of a new system. After lots of demos and
> plenty of test-driving, we are in the process of installing
> Simian. It offered the most stable operation for the most
> reasonable price. It may be cheap, but it sure works well.
>
> Depending upon what your price range is, I REALLY like the
> Scott Studios SS32 system. It's just a little over-priced
> for me just now because I'm overhauling three stations from
> mic to transmitter. If you have the budget though, I'd
> highly recommend it.
>
> Finally, nobody mentioned much about AudioVault. I've never
> spent a lot of time with it, but I can say that out of five
> companies which delivered quotes, their system was the most
> expensive.
>
> I hope this is helpful.
>

Wow, thanks for all the input, definatly something to chew on as this gets disucssed more. Both of our station engineers are leaning toward Enco...<P ID="signature">______________
Joshua Werner
http://www.wisconsinbroadcasting.com
90.3 WRST-FM Oshkosh
Station Manager & Webmaster
http://www.uwosh.edu/wrst
[email protected]</P>

 

[JonnyD]

> > I've done a whole lot of test-driving over the past few
> > months in search of a new system. After lots of demos and
> > plenty of test-driving, we are in the process of
> installing
> > Simian. It offered the most stable operation for the most
> > reasonable price. It may be cheap, but it sure works well.
>
> >
> > Depending upon what your price range is, I REALLY like the
>
> > Scott Studios SS32 system. It's just a little over-priced
> > for me just now because I'm overhauling three stations
> from
> > mic to transmitter. If you have the budget though, I'd
> > highly recommend it.
> >
> > Finally, nobody mentioned much about AudioVault. I've
> never
> > spent a lot of time with it, but I can say that out of
> five
> > companies which delivered quotes, their system was the
> most
> > expensive.
> >
> > I hope this is helpful.
> >
>
> Wow, thanks for all the input, definatly something to chew
> on as this gets disucssed more. Both of our station
> engineers are leaning toward Enco...
>

Josh:
If your engineers are seriously talking about Enco, get in touch with Stu Muck over at MDOGMEDIA. He's got some really great things to say about that system -He's a super helpful guy, and I'm sure he'd tell you everything he knows about it. They're running SS32 at K107, KFIZ, and WMBE right now, and he wishes he could upgrade to Enco - 921-1071 is the station number!
-JD

 

[NSRadio]

I'll throw in a 3rd vote for Simian....we've used it (and its predecessor WaveStation) for 5+ years now. It's easy to use, and pretty stable as long as you follow BSI's instructions EXACTLY. One of the cons to the system is exactly that - if your machine doesn't correspond very closely with BSI's recommendations, Simian will have problems.

But for the price, it's a great system.


> > Something to think about if you go with Simian, if you
> have
> > the funds, go ahead and go with the Audio Science sound
> > card. BSI will probably give you a discount on one if you
> > buy thier software and a card at the same time. They did
> > for us. Simian does not work as good with some of the
> cheap
> > sound cards from my experience.
> >
>
> I'll second this. Regardless of the system you buy, make
> sure you go with a high quality sound card - stay away from
> the onboard or cheap sound cards.
>
> As for systems... if you haven't looked at it already, check
> out CDS32 from Pristine Systems. Price is reasonable, it is
> easy to learn and the tech support is quite good.
>
> RFB
>

 

[DudeFan]

> Wow, thanks for all the input, definatly something to chew
> on as this gets disucssed more. Both of our station
> engineers are leaning toward Enco...


Our engineer loved ENCO. Our staff was confused by it, at least the version that was current at the time we were purchasing. Plus it was very very expensive.

 

[tpt]

Scott systems was bought by D-Marc which was then bought by Google.

D-Marc's gimmick was that they would give you a free system (in rated markets only, apparently) if you let them search your log by the internet & insert their brokered spots after that day's log closed.

That was the gimmick that attracted Goggle.

Neither company comes from a broadcasting background, unlike Dave (?) Scott, who built Scott studios.

Caveat Emptor

 

[BrokeEngineer]

> Scott systems was bought by D-Marc which was then bought by
> Google.
>
> D-Marc's gimmick was that they would give you a free system
> (in rated markets only, apparently) if you let them search
> your log by the internet & insert their brokered spots after
> that day's log closed.
>
> That was the gimmick that attracted Goggle.
>
> Neither company comes from a broadcasting background, unlike
> Dave (?) Scott, who built Scott studios.
>
> Caveat Emptor


You're close, Google bought the Ad-radio portion of dMarc. SS and Maestro are still under dMarc's control.

 

[oldiesstation]

> > > I've done a whole lot of test-driving over the past few
> > > months in search of a new system. After lots of demos
> and
> > > plenty of test-driving, we are in the process of
> > installing
> > > Simian. It offered the most stable operation for the
> most
> > > reasonable price. It may be cheap, but it sure works
> well.
> >
> > >
> > > Depending upon what your price range is, I REALLY like
> the
> >
> > > Scott Studios SS32 system. It's just a little
> over-priced
> > > for me just now because I'm overhauling three stations
> > from
> > > mic to transmitter. If you have the budget though, I'd
> > > highly recommend it.
> > >
> > > Finally, nobody mentioned much about AudioVault. I've
> > never
> > > spent a lot of time with it, but I can say that out of
> > five
> > > companies which delivered quotes, their system was the
> > most
> > > expensive.
> > >
> > > I hope this is helpful.
> > >
> >
> > Wow, thanks for all the input, definatly something to chew
>
> > on as this gets disucssed more. Both of our station
> > engineers are leaning toward Enco...
> >
>
> Josh:
> If your engineers are seriously talking about Enco, get in
> touch with Stu Muck over at MDOGMEDIA. He's got some really
> great things to say about that system -He's a super helpful
> guy, and I'm sure he'd tell you everything he knows about
> it. They're running SS32 at K107, KFIZ, and WMBE right now,
> and he wishes he could upgrade to Enco - 921-1071 is the
> station number!
> -JD
> if your engs suggest enco i would run.evidently they don't have a lot of experience with digital automation systems. clear winners today nexgen(prophet) and scott ss 32...been there done that with those other systems..been doing this since the 70's. so it ain't my first dance....2 things i know automation systems and on air processing...support means ALOT hint hint..Prophet sys, no one can touch them...hey you are college radio not Z100 New York., which just happens to run Nexgen 2 by Prophet..good luck

 

[billybee]

> > if your engs suggest enco i would run.evidently they
> don't have a lot of experience with digital automation
> systems. clear winners today nexgen(prophet) and scott ss
> 32...been there done that with those other systems..been
> doing this since the 70's. so it ain't my first dance....2
> things i know automation systems and on air
> processing...support means ALOT hint hint..Prophet sys, no
> one can touch them...hey you are college radio not Z100 New
> York., which just happens to run Nexgen 2 by Prophet..good
> luck
>
anyone for Wireready?

 

[Banjomax]

> anyone for Wireready?

I used an early version of Wireready some years ago. Worked well most of the time, but would occasionally freeze up for no apparent reason. I'm sure that improvements have been made over the years (and I'm sure it would have run better if we were running it on decent hardware...which we weren't). Knowing the owners I worked for at the time, it was probably at the bottom end of the price scale. As with any automation system, there are quirks you learn to work around...with Wireready it took well over a month for us to be able to import logs properly...lots of trial and error, as the owners "forgot" to pay the extra $ for tech support. Overall Wireready served us well for about five years. When the station was sold, the new owners threw the Wireready system in the dumpster and replaced it with Audiovault, which seems to me to have a steeper learning curve for the end user, but has much more flexibility and certainly is prettier to look at.

Peace,
User 11648

 

[tpt]

So what did Google buy for its millions?

The premise was if you installed D-Marc's software to run your station (either as a complete barter or as a future revenue sharing venture) they would then access your log each day to sell out your inventory (and everyone would make millions running "enhancement" spots at 3 A.M. Yea, right).

So now Google has these rights to a station's spot inventory based on software traded by D-Marc. Which D-Marc no longer has any incentive to support!

The whole business model sounded fishy when the D-Marc guy pitched it to my partner and I last spring (I own two FM's). Now it has a smell, and it ain't of dead fish.

 

[BrokeEngineer]

Google bought a cash cow!!!

I wasn't trying to challenge you or be a dick when I wrote that. We are running Revenue Suite at our 7 stations (3 in Oh and 4 in Mi)and other than a few minor hiccups, it has run very smoothly. I have dealt with Tech Support before, during and after the Google purchase. I am not sure what your point is but I can tell you the system has woked fine for us and has generated a nice chunk of change.
The upgrade to SS-32 for both of our groups will pay for itself very soon. Not to shabby when you figure most spots run on overnight or over PI's. Is this for everyone? I dunno but it sure the hell has worked out for us.
Seems to me you missed out on some serious money....