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Automation Systems

wilbo

wilbo

Hey all. I'm pretty frustrated with our current automation software. I keep running into the most esoteric and intermittent issues. I've been thinking about moving us to something different the last year or so. I've had excellent luck with iMediaTouch from OMT in the past. I really appreciate that you get the whole package last time I bought from them, and features aren't a la carte like other providers. I have a little experience with Wide Orbit, but not enough to have an opinion other than a lot of commercial stations use it. RCS Zetta looks promising. We don't do any voice tracking, at least not in the traditional sense for historical reasons. We are a Dante plant, so Dante Virtual Soundcard compatibility is a must.

Anyone have a lead on reliable software?
 
I've had very good experience with Simian from BSI. One price and you "own" it. Lots of flexibility and reliable. Have used Rivendell. Free and reasonably reliable but a pretty steep learning curve and so flexible you can get lost in it.
 
PlayoutONE from Aiir. Definitely, the best way to go.
 
bigdonho said:
I've had very good experience with Simian from BSI. One price and you "own" it. Lots of flexibility and reliable. Have used Rivendell. Free and reasonably reliable but a pretty steep learning curve and so flexible you can get lost in it.
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Simian. Ugh. Had a couple stations that used it. Very non-intuitive to set up and factory support is almost non-existent.
 
We have been very happy with DJB radio products for many years. Very stable with lots of features. We use their Radio Spider for program injest (works with other automation systems also) I'd recommend taking a look. Don't go cheap on the automation software since this is used 24/7 Ray
 
I'm absolutely not planning on going cheap. I did consider Rivendell for our internet streams and HD 2 and 3 services up until I realized that Dante virtual soundcard won't work in a linux enviorment without major experimentation. We'd need something with 24/7 support from a reputable company. Just testing the waters to see if anyone has a good lead
 
wilbo said:
I'm absolutely not planning on going cheap. I did consider Rivendell for our internet streams and HD 2 and 3 services up until I realized that Dante virtual soundcard won't work in a linux enviorment without major experimentation. We'd need something with 24/7 support from a reputable company. Just testing the waters to see if anyone has a good lead
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Another plug for Simian, they have a demo version that will run for an hour if you want to try it out. I have the stations I take care of setup with VNC over a VPN to allow me to make changes or work with the folks at the studio to make changes or resolve a problem. I have the same setup of my Rivendell clients.

I don't know of anyone that comes with 24/7 support. Most of them is 9-5 Mon-Fri. I will add that I have never had to contact Simian support. There is a pretty good users group on the web, as well.
 
wilbo said:
I'm absolutely not planning on going cheap. I did consider Rivendell for our internet streams and HD 2 and 3 services up until I realized that Dante virtual soundcard won't work in a linux enviorment without major experimentation. We'd need something with 24/7 support from a reputable company. Just testing the waters to see if anyone has a good lead
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PlayoutONE Pro from Aiir with Audio Engine. We are currently set up for 4 streams and are running 2 streams off the same box right now. We are not using Dante (yet), but I am confident that Aiir can definitely integrate it. I have seen live demos of PlayoutONE integrated into AoIP.

Aiir's support is located both in the US and UK so there is a wide service span. It's not the 24 hour call center with agents following scripts, but I can tell you from my own experience, when you contact Aiir support, they are right on it. They can remotely diagnose and fix issues. If I have an issue, I email support, they give me a link to an application that lets them on the desktop, I just sit back, relax and let them make things right. They have some of the best support in the industry.

Aiir will be at NAB at W1167.
 
We had a on-air server failure last year very early morning Eastern Time that took us to backup audio. DJB (Pacific Time) has a 24/7 support line and they woke their folks up to help us immediately. I don't see dedication like this very often anymore.
 
I've had some mixed results with DJB products, as great as their support is. I've been messing around with Rivendell on my own time, and I've been thinking that it may end up being a great cold backup automation system in case of a major catastrophe. I wouldn't want my staff to have to interact with Rivendell. Like most, they're extremely adverse to change.
 
iMedia...a few comments. Their "training", which you get when you on-board them, is like drinking from a firehose, you won't absorb much. Their support (when they're "open") is ok, but is typically confined to them taking control with TeamViewer, clicking through a bunch of things too fast to track, and fixing your problem without telling what they did, or how to prevent it in the future. IT people hate their requirement for continuous admin login. And you'll have to restart every workstation and server once a month or it's not stable. Otherwise, its ok.
 
Rivendell is not a bad playout system. Once you get it up an running it is not much different that other systems and the typical users (programing, traffic, etc) don't really have to do much different than they would with AudioVault or one of the other commercially available systems. The latest version has had some issues but the older versions are rock solid.
 


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