WODS-HD2 Automation Problem

[Rick]

This shows you how much people are NOT listening to HD Radio. Since WODS's format moved to HD2 and online at wods.com, there has been a problem where most of the library of songs are not found on the hard drive and/or network when they go to play. If you tune in (since Thursday 12 noon), you will hear primarily '80s songs (which were songs played and loaded into automation years back for Mix 98.5's airplay). There are a few seconds of dead air in between sweepers/jingles. '60s or '70s songs next up in the playlist are supposed to play, but it can't find it and it skips to the next item. As a result, you hear dead air for a second or two and sometimes 2 or 3 sweepers/jingles play in a row. Someone's not paying attention, but I hope someone sees this and gets this fixed. It must be a hard drive mapping issue since the server streaming the HD2 was the Cove's machine (presumably). Come on... someone reading this in radio-info.com land must have noticed this?!

 

[pqgeorge]

Yeah, it's basically all 80's, and practically nothing else. No 60's or 70's. This is NOT the WODS format we lost 2 days ago. Their automation really doesn't cut it. They would be better off using Zararadio for automation, than this. Frankly, they'd be better off feeding K-Earth Classics (KRTH HD2, Los Angeles) on the 103.3 HD2 and call it a day. It seems to me that they are not paying any attention to the HD2. So, I'm not paying attention to their HD2 as well. Adios.


Try http://player.radio.com/player/RadioPlayer.php?version=1.2.14023&station=3021 (KRTH HD2, Los Angeles) pretty good sounding station.

 

[4CX1000A]

What does CBS Boston use for automation these days?

I am partial to Rivendell. I've built at least a dozen Rivendell machines, and find them easy to deploy, user-friendly, and very reliable. I had one in Rhode Island run more than four years without a reboot.

 

[nd2023]

Did they import WODS's music logs on to the machine used to stream 103.3 The Cove? That would explain why it's mostly 80s, it's playing only the music contained in both WODS's and The Cove's music library. If they cared, they would have spent a few hundred bucks on a new computer for Amp 103.3, used the computer for WODS for the HD2, kept The Cove on HD3, and put the religious format on HD4 at lower quality. 101.9 in Baltimore has music formats on HD1-HD4, and they sound good.

 

[raccoonradio]

CBS figured they could make more money this way--by making a run for Kiss's listeners. Going after a station that does well. They talk of "more desirable demos" (so we're getting older and not desirable?). I noted that the other day WODS played a song almost as old as I was: I Wanna Hold
Your Hand (2 yrs younger than me...) You'll notice WODS added 80s before the switch and it looked like they would eventually get rid of 60s the way they got rid of 50s. And now from what we hear the HD2 is 80s,
maybe occasional 70s, but no 60s.

There's quite a bit of us and as you've seen from comments on the WODS facebook, etc., quite a few of us are upset. Yes the kids are happy--the ones who haven't abandoned FM in favor of mp3/Ipod/phone etc. What are the alternatives? WROR may be, though it might be more hard rockin' than some would like. And the HD2...you ask about getting it in your car.

You could get a car unit with HD or maybe buy a portable..I'm not sure how well this would work but:
1) get a portable HD radio, about 50 bucks at best buy etc
2) for about $20 you can get a mini fm transmitter--FYE, Walmart etc have them--plug that into HD portable and select a freq., 88.1 to 88.7. Of course many of those frequencies already have
legit stations on them! Then tune car radio to that freq

Also if you want to spend about $40-50 min for the unit, and maybe $15/mo there's satellite radio which has some "decades" channels etc. I have XM myself and figure it costs me 50 c a day for the service. (I saved some money by going for "family friendly" tier but then spent what I saved on the "listen online" service, which I admittedly don't use much)

I'm sure many people would like CBS to bring back WODS as it was; the way it looks now it
prob won't happen (maybe in a yr or two 103.3 could even be an FM home for WBZ AM). If anything maybe someone else will switch to a 60s-70s-80s format. Is this what Clear Channel
might do with 101.7? Would Greater switch 96.9 to oldies-oriented? (Prob not as I think they like talk)
If Amp flops in ratings maybe they'd consider it. Maybe.

 

[jlehmann]

Did they import WODS's music logs on to the machine used to stream 103.3 The Cove? That would explain why it's mostly 80s, it's playing only the music contained in both WODS's and The Cove's music library. If they cared, they would have spent a few hundred bucks on a new computer for Amp 103.3, used the computer for WODS for the HD2, kept The Cove on HD3, and put the religious format on HD4 at lower quality. 101.9 in Baltimore has music formats on HD1-HD4, and they sound good.

The 80s songs playing were definitely not on the Cove, they are the songs that were playing on WODS. The only non 80s song I've heard is Billy Joel - Big Shot, but that was 1979, so it's close. I've heard jingles/liners being played 4 or 5 times in a row, dead air, etc... it's a train wreck.

 

[raccoonradio]

At WMWM we use a version of Jockey Pro that's either free or reduced in price and it tends to work well, but if you enter wrong date or if a date hasn't been programmed yet, it plays all PSAs etc and then you get dead air. Usually no prob though, moves swiftly. C'mon CBS, you can afford something like that or even better (or you're just not putting the time into it)

http://www.11software.com/products_jockeypro.htm

 

[Rick]

nd now from what we hear the HD2 is 80s, maybe occasional 70s, but no 60s.

Yes, however the reason for this is an automation problem. Musically, WODS on HD2 is the same rotation/clock (with more positions added were stopsets were) as before Thursday. This is what is happening. Lets say we are looking at the playlist for the 12AM hour today. Don't quote me on the exact clock, because I am making this up as an example:

Sweeper/Jingle
* '60s Song
* '70s Song
Sweeper/Jingle
'80s Song
* '60s Song
Sweeper/Jingle
'70s Song
* '70s Song
Sweeper/Jingle
* '60s Song
* '70s Song
Sweeper/Jingle
'80s Song
* '70s Song
Sweeper/Jingle
* '70s Song
* '60s Song

* = FILE NOT FOUND... about 1 second of dead air while machine tries to load it, not loading... SKIP to next track...

So this is why WODS-HD2 is not sounding right. With the above scenario, this is what you will actually hear:

Sweeper/Jingle
Sweeper/Jingle
'80s Song
Sweeper/Jingle
'70s Song
Sweeper/Jingle
Sweeper/Jingle
'80s Song
Sweeper/Jingle

(with a few seconds of dead air at times between them where a file is attempting to load)

You blow through an hours playlist in about 10-15 minutes, then it chains to the next hour log in automation. I am assuming there a logs set for about a week, maybe more, but it must be getting to the end of the logs and then restarting, not sure. But this is my best educated guess on what is happening. Someone needs to fix it!

 

[cjf68]

..................It appears to be a little better today .....I have been listening for a bit (Grace internet radio)

 

[reelyreal]

What does CBS Boston use for automation these days?

Some of the CBS stations are still using NexGen, some are using AudioVault Flex. I believe Boston still uses a version of NexGen.

 

[raccoonradio]

One other way of adding HD radio to your car stereo--does your stereo have one of those 1/8" jacks for adding mp3 players, etc.? (The size of "Walkman headphone plugs"). Get the HD portable,
buy a wire with 1/8" plug on each end...plug one end into the portable HD radio and the other
into that 1/8" utility jack. The wire may serve as a bit of an antenna. Not promising miracles but could work.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

I'm not sure how well this would work but:
1) get a portable HD radio, about 50 bucks at best buy etc
2) for about $20 you can get a mini fm transmitter--FYE, Walmart etc have them--plug that into HD portable and select a freq., 88.1 to 88.7. Of course many of those frequencies already have
legit stations on them! Then tune car radio to that freq

I do that to listen to HD2 and HD3 channels in the car, I use 88.5 for the frequency, but it doesn't work very well. With the portable being inside the car, the reception is not nearly as good as outside, and because the portable uses the headphone cord as the antenna, the low-power FM transmitter and the receiving antenna for the portable are in the same cord, which further compromises the reception of the portable.

Interference and static are not actually heard when listening to an HD subchannel, it just cuts out to silence if it's not getting an optimal signal, so due to the above factors, the reception of HD subchannels in the car cuts out often using that method even right in the city within a few miles of the transmitters, and I don't get nearly the range as when just standing outside with the portable.

I'm sure it would work (somewhat) better if I plugged the portable into the car stereo audio input jack, but it's in the rear of the car stereo, and I haven't felt like pulling it out of the dashboard to attach a wire. I'd like to get a real HD car stereo receiver at some point, but I haven't had time to make it a priority "thing to do" (purchase, installation, etc...) with my little spare time yet.

 

[Jimmy128]

Did they import WODS's music logs on to the machine used to stream 103.3 The Cove? That would explain why it's mostly 80s, it's playing only the music contained in both WODS's and The Cove's music library. If they cared, they would have spent a few hundred bucks on a new computer for Amp 103.3, used the computer for WODS for the HD2, kept The Cove on HD3, and put the religious format on HD4 at lower quality. 101.9 in Baltimore has music formats on HD1-HD4, and they sound good.

Yeah, if they cared is right. I miss the Cove already.

 

[raccoonradio]

Just tuned in on my portable to WODS-HD 2
Right away I heard "you're listening to WODS-HD2, hits of the...80s" (it was almost like they edited out "60s and 70s"...hmm! or maybe a tech. difficulty. It then went into Yvonne Elliman's If I Can't
Have You...

...which is from 77.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

Just tuned in on my portable to WODS-HD 2
Right away I heard "you're listening to WODS-HD2, hits of the...80s" (it was almost like they edited out "60s and 70s"...hmm! or maybe a tech. difficulty. It then went into Yvonne Elliman's If I Can't
Have You...

...which is from 77.

Sounds like your HD reception dropped out for a moment when it said '60s, '70s...

It just played "Brown-Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison, 1967, and then the sweeper said "'60s, '70s and '80s...". Now there's an '80s song on.

 

[Rick]

I noticed last night when I went to bed that it appears someone fixed the problem (thank you!). I tuned in on my Android using the Radio.com app.

 

[KarsonWithaK]

What does CBS Boston use for automation these days?

Some of the CBS stations are still using NexGen, some are using AudioVault Flex. I believe Boston still uses a version of NexGen.

We use Audiovault.