Simian, How do you roll into next hour if running early without Dead Air?

[ocradiofreak]

I work part-time as a Music Director for a small group of stations that use BSI/Simian. They are all music formatted that play music strictly from the harddrive (scheduled from Natural Music software). The way it's set up now, if the hour is running early (meaning all elements that are scheduled are played) it will stop and be dead air until the top of the next hour. It currently has "+" signs next to each element except for the Legal ID that starts off each hour and it has a "#" sign.

So the questions I have are:

1. Is there anyway to set Simian to keep going (roll into the next hour) if it runs early and plays all events without any Dead Air?

2. Is there a "resync" type function with this system. Like telling it to drop anything after a certain time? Like at :59 past each hour. The way it is set up now. It will drop any songs that don't play before the end of the hour if it's running late, but won't go into the next hour if it is running early.

I have never worked at a station set up like this. I have worked with NExgen, Scott Studios, Enco and all will go into the next hour if running early, not sit and wait for the top of the next hour. It makes it really hard to schedule music for these stations because the commercial load is up and down. Can anyone please help me??? Thanks!!

Rich

 

[TomT]

Yes to all, but it's been a while since I've had to set up the programming. Our ops manager does that now, and is more familiar.

As I recall, you can "over-program" a music hour, then set up a command to start the next hour with an approximate time. That way, when the top of the hour approaches, the last song will play but the program will load up your next hour programming to play when the song runs out. This way you can get your ID in, then reset your music clock for the next hour (e.g., open with a current). However, not good if you have to hit a newscast or other timed event. But I gather that's not your problem.

Just off the top of my head, you would use the @ command for the next hour's first event. E.g. @11:59 Station ID 1111 (I may be wrong) Go read the manual! It's on-line.

 

[SuperQ]

Use the # command to start your next hour with Natural Log.

In Simian program options, make sure "autostep through timed events" is checked. If you don't have that checked it will stop at that @ or # event.

 

[ocradiofreak]

I appreciate the replies. If an hour is over scheduled is works fine. The issue is if their is a shortage of commercials in an hour and every scheduled song in that hour has played the Simian system stops and won't play the next hours music until the time actually hits :00.

Every other system I have worked with will keep going and for instance if by 10:55 every scheduled song/commercial has played the systems will keep going and start playing the next hour early. But not the way this Simian system is set up now, it will just sit with Dead Air. That's my main concern here. We do have a # sign on the Legal ID for each hour, and if an hour is overscheduled it will bump out any extra songs. But still wondering how to make it keep going if running early like Nexgen and Scott do.

I looked through the manual and didn't see a section on this.

 

[OKCRadioGuy]

Has anyone else noticed that their documentation isn't exactly complete? Also, even paid support from them seems to be pretty much when they feel like they'd like to talk to you? I'm not impressed. The couple stations I have that use their stuff seem to be stable, but the support is pretty lame.

 

[Grounded Grid]

I appreciate the replies. If an hour is over scheduled is works fine. The issue is if their is a shortage of commercials in an hour and every scheduled song in that hour has played the Simian system stops and won't play the next hours music until the time actually hits :00.

I looked through the manual and didn't see a section on this.

I think you'll find that the first song at the top of each hour does not have the autostart "+" in it. That's why your log is stopping.

As others have suggested, you should build your Natural Music template so that there's more material than you need. Allowing your system to go into the next hour early is doable, but you're assuming the system will catch up with itself at some point.

 

[Grounded Grid]

One more thing. Check "tools/program options/general". If the "autostep through time events" button is unchecked, and you use a time-immediate line to get to the next hour, then the system will stop as you describe.

If you flag this button, the system will behave thussly:

If you've overfilled the hour, a time-immediate will still jump you to the next hour. If you run the hour out early, then the system should roll into the next hour on its own (assuming you haven't broken the autostart (+) chain somewhere else.

This can cause problems elsewhere, depending on how you build your logs, so give this some thought before you change the flag. In any case, you can always put it back if you find it creates other problems.

 

[TomT]

OK, found it. The discussion is on pages 71~72 of the current Simian pro manual.

I remembered the process but not the commands. My experience has been that you DO NOT want to use the "autostep through time events" because I've had problems with this command (at least in older versions of Simian. Instead, for a local music format, you will want to have your music scheduler over-program each hour. That way you are not at the mercy of sales & traffic.

The commands are Time Immediate which is the @ sign, and Time Next, which is the #. (I had them backwards--so much for memory). Let's take a typical log and see how this works:

+ Ridiculous/Ludicris 4:15
+ Let's Have Another/Charlie Daniels & Jim Beam 2:30
+ Station ID :10
+ Weather :30
+ Farmer In The/Adele 3:30

If the Ludicris song hits at :50, then the ID will play at 56:45, and your current will be done before the hour ends, throwing your next hour off. On the other hand, if your Ludicris song hits at :57, the ID will not run until 03:45 in the next hour.

Now, if you use the time immediate command, which I remember as something like @10:59:50;
for the ID, then two things may happen--If the music runs short so the Charlie Daniels song ends at 10:57; then the system will sit as you describe, since it's run though things to do. Then at 59:50 the ID will play, and the next hour will start. If the music runs long, then the ID will play even if the last song isn't finished, and jump into the TOH stop set.

Using the #10:59:50 command for the ID, then again two things will happen. Again, if the music runs short, the system will sit, then the ID will play at 10:59:50 and the next hour will start. If the music runs long--let's again assume the Ludicris song starts at 10:57; then at 10:59:50 the system will kick out the Charlie Daniels song and load up the ID and weather. When the song ends at 11:01:15, the ID will fire, followed by the weather and the Adele current to open the next hour.

So the solution lies with the music scheduling. Each hour is over-scheduled with more than an hour's worth of music. If you have a light log, then extra music plays. If Sales has a BOGO special, and the log is loaded, then the system will kick out the extra songs at the "time next command" and your clock will remain more or less on time.

 

[xmusicmatt]

[[ Never mind ]] others already provided correct info

 

[ocradiofreak]

Thanks for all of the tips on this, and the examples you both gave. I appreciate it. Sounds like this system won't do what Prophet and Scott, meaning no way to have this set up where it can do both functions in resyncing songs out in an hour that is running either normal or behind (without cutting a song off for a timed event), and run into the next hour if the station is running early. On the Classic Rock station we have the issue lately has been that every so often an hour will run short and stop at dead air until the top of the next hour. But most hours it usually is on time or has a an extra song. That is why I was hoping it could be set up to go into the next hour if running early because it will catch itself up the next hour. Adding an extra song each hour is going to be hard on rotations, the program we use is Natural Music and it is really hard to do projected turnovers in that, anyone have experience with this?

 

[techdir895]

As others have said "Auto Step through time events" will do what you're asking. It's under Tools/Program Options/General tab/System Options. It won't hurt to try it for awhile and see how it works for you.

 

[Grounded Grid]

There are recent versions of Simian which, with the right sound card, will adjust an hour to exact time. You have to have a fairly new version though. Earlier versions would stretch/compress, but could not look into carts far enough ahead to work properly. The new version(s) will do this... possibly something for you to consider.