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automation software

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With several choices out there for hosting and seguing playlists for Internet radio, what do you like and what sucks?
 
As far as bang for the buck it has to be StationPlaylist. There are other systems out there, but you'll have to spend more than double to get a decent system.

I was looking at NexGen101 (which I think is now marketed as PSI101) and it was more than $1400 for the configuration that is very similar to StationPlaylist Pro.
 
Yep, Station Playlist here, too. I spent weeks playing around with demos and trying to roll my own. IMHO, there's nothing better out there for the money.
 
Marathon Don said:
Yep, Station Playlist here, too. I spent weeks playing around with demos and trying to roll my own. IMHO, there's nothing better out there for the money.

Been with Station Playlist for 4 years and wouldn't consider anything else. Creator is very powerful and studio is awesome. Works well with Live365, shoutcast, and spacial audio products.

http://www.90sandnow.com to hear how a CHR sounds on it :)
 
Re: automation software for sale

I have OTS DJ Silver edition available for sale $80.00 plus license transfer which OTS charges me to transfer. I will be glad to sell the license. Anyone familiar with it knows this runs flawless and has pretty much the necessary features of running an internet radio station.
It's the best set up for a start up. Above all the other Rhapsody's and IPODs.
 
Stationplaylist is the best. Easy, fast, flexible. You will not be disappointed. Very easy to voice track a complete show in no time. Do not mess with other low cost software, you will be disappointed. Stationplaylist also has top notch tech support with newsgroup support.
 
I totally agree....I have SP on my other server.....I want to sell my OTS so I can put another SP on this computer. So please buy my OTS from me.
 
Most of the DHM Channels use StationPlaylist, however a few channels use a program called AIR Automation which has been custom coded for the company, but i believe is just being released to the public for sale. It's a bit tricky to use but sounds awesome. A good station to sample that uses AIR is http://69.80.252.123:8080(DHM8: All Eighties)

StationPlaylist Creator is just awesome. It's such a powerful tool, so in terms of scheduling software i'd suggest Creator hands down :)
 
DHMRadio said:
Most of the DHM Channels use StationPlaylist, however a few channels use a program called AIR Automation which has been custom coded for the company, but i believe is just being released to the public for sale. It's a bit tricky to use but sounds awesome. A good station to sample that uses AIR is http://69.80.252.123:8080(DHM8: All Eighties)

StationPlaylist Creator is just awesome. It's such a powerful tool, so in terms of scheduling software i'd suggest Creator hands down :)

AIR is not going to be sold anytime soon that I'm aware of, however StationPlaylist creator can be used to generate AIR playout logs (instead of using sp32 scheduler).
 
Having 3 stations...Radio Bop on DRS2006 for 3.5 years, ROOTSofROCK.US on SAM4 for 8 mos. and Radio Bop 60s on Station Playlist for 2 weeks, Station Playlist wins hands down! I too looked at higher end options but Station Playlist is supported, adaptable, stable and sounds better in terms of transistions than the others. This weekend, we migrated ROOTSofROCK.US to Station Playlist and will be migrating Radio Bop within a couple of months (as we need to deal with in/out cues on 3,000 songs)...
 
radiobop said:
Having 3 stations...Radio Bop on DRS2006 for 3.5 years, ROOTSofROCK.US on SAM4 for 8 mos. and Radio Bop 60s on Station Playlist for 2 weeks, Station Playlist wins hands down! I too looked at higher end options but Station Playlist is supported, adaptable, stable and sounds better in terms of transistions than the others. This weekend, we migrated ROOTSofROCK.US to Station Playlist and will be migrating Radio Bop within a couple of months (as we need to deal with in/out cues on 3,000 songs)...

As I recall, when I last looked at Station Playlist, it required having to set in and out cues for all songs. To me that was a deal breaker. I'm dealing with about 8000 songs, and the idea of having to go in and "fix" them is not at all appealing. That would take a very long time to do. Am I missing something?

Station Playlist had some nice features but, regardless of price, I just didn't think it was worth the time it would take to convert to make a barely noticeable improvement. If you were starting from scratch, it might be a different story. Right now, I'm dealing with an automation system that has been working fine for six years. In that time, I've become fairly proficient at fooling it to do what I want it to do.

So far I've never had a listener call in and say "your automaton sucks." Of course, most people don't complain, they just don't listen.
 
Chuck said:
radiobop said:
Having 3 stations...Radio Bop on DRS2006 for 3.5 years, ROOTSofROCK.US on SAM4 for 8 mos. and Radio Bop 60s on Station Playlist for 2 weeks, Station Playlist wins hands down! I too looked at higher end options but Station Playlist is supported, adaptable, stable and sounds better in terms of transistions than the others. This weekend, we migrated ROOTSofROCK.US to Station Playlist and will be migrating Radio Bop within a couple of months (as we need to deal with in/out cues on 3,000 songs)...

As I recall, when I last looked at Station Playlist, it required having to set in and out cues for all songs. To me that was a deal breaker. I'm dealing with about 8000 songs, and the idea of having to go in and "fix" them is not at all appealing. That would take a very long time to do. Am I missing something?

Station Playlist had some nice features but, regardless of price, I just didn't think it was worth the time it would take to convert to make a barely noticeable improvement. If you were starting from scratch, it might be a different story. Right now, I'm dealing with an automation system that has been working fine for six years. In that time, I've become fairly proficient at fooling it to do what I want it to do.

So far I've never had a listener call in and say "your automaton sucks." Of course, most people don't complain, they just don't listen.

Chuck,

I was a similar situation with my web station. I was running the DOS version of the Digital Junkbox ... oops, Jukebox for about 5+ years and it would flake out without any warning whatsoever. With more than 9000+ tracks, not including imaging and holiday songs I wasn't all that thrilled with the work that would be ahead of me. I bit the bullet and did all the work and it was well worth it. StationPlaylist gave me a much better presentation and in the rare case I misprogrammed the scheduler StationPlaylist didn't take me off the air.

In my case it was my old automation that was causing me to lose listeners and it was StationPlaylist that make a marked improvement of the on-air sound.
 
Bill DeFelice said:
Chuck,

I was a similar situation with my web station. I was running the DOS version of the Digital Junkbox ... oops, Jukebox for about 5+ years and it would flake out without any warning whatsoever. With more than 9000+ tracks, not including imaging and holiday songs I wasn't all that thrilled with the work that would be ahead of me. I bit the bullet and did all the work and it was well worth it. StationPlaylist gave me a much better presentation and in the rare case I misprogrammed the scheduler StationPlaylist didn't take me off the air.

In my case it was my old automation that was causing me to lose listeners and it was StationPlaylist that make a marked improvement of the on-air sound.

I've been using Raduga, which I think was a lot better than Digital Jukebox at the time I purchased it. It probably still is. As I mentioned, that purchase was over 6 years ago. I think it still is a superior product when compared with many other offerings that are now available. Basically, this is one of those "if it ain't broke,don't fix it" situations. I can think of some features that would be nice to have, but they certainly aren't "show stoppers." Usually, there is a simple work-around. Station Playlist seems to address some of those issues, but their scheduler program is also sold as a module that does the same thing for Raduga. Being a "thrifty" sort of guy, (read cheap, if you like) I figured out a simple way to organize files that seems to give decent artist protection and keeps things from sounding repetitious. That was simpler than setting in and out times for 8000+ tracks. YMMV

My primary audience listens over the air. Although low power, we do cover a lot of people and are the only station in the market with our format. People either love it or hate it. We have a loyal Internet following as well, but it is nothing that results in positive cash flow. Even so, I have met some really great people through our web presence. Some of them contribute to the station in one way or another. You will even hear some of them on the air.

So far, nobody has complained about the automation system.
 
Chuck said:
As I recall, when I last looked at Station Playlist, it required having to set in and out cues for all songs.

Not true. StationPlaylist will find suitable in and out points for you based on general settings you can configure. You will have to put in intro ramps, but if you have that information already you can simply bulk transfer them across to the tags.
 
First, disclaimer - I am the southern region sales manager for BE Studio Systems...

If you can budget a bit more, you should look at our system. Full-fledged, industrial-strength automation. We deliver a completely set up system right to your door.

Also - we can provide the streaming service as well.

www.audiovault.com

Steve Burgess
[email protected]
 
Steve,

You say "If you can budget a bit more, you should look at our system", but how much is a bit more? You can buy the complete StationPlaylist Pro automation system for $400. The last time I took a look at something like AudioVault it was quite a bit more expensive (not to mention a bit more cumbersome and a little finicky judging from the last station I was at who used it). I'm sure your system offers quite a bit but for the budget-strapped operator, solutions like StationPlaylist offer a bang for the buck that others like Prophet just can't touch in a sub-$1000 automation system.
 
Bill:

You're right - not every tool is right for every application. I am sure that you wouldn't purchase a Cadillac Escalade to run the French Grand Prix - you'd build a F1 car. Thus the differentiation.

Not here to argue the fine points - just to point out that we can provide a rock-solid solution for those who need it.
 
mediadude said:
Bill:

You're right - not every tool is right for every application. I am sure that you wouldn't purchase a Cadillac Escalade to run the French Grand Prix - you'd build a F1 car. Thus the differentiation.

Not here to argue the fine points - just to point out that we can provide a rock-solid solution for those who need it.

Great point and certainly on target. Somebody, probably in a more corporate environment or with significant backing, would opt for a more feature-filled and probably a bit more expensive solution like Audiovault, Prophet or the like. I would have loved to have done that when I was webcasting but I needed to watch my own pennies. Of course, there is the all important "what you get for the money" view as well - I was happy to abandon my Digital Junkbox for StationPlaylist Pro.
 
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