Zara Automation Software

[Desert Ear]

I heard about this, but when I went to their web site a few minutes ago, there was no download for their free version. I got a "404 Error". Tried it several times.

Anybody know where I can get this download?

 

[radioboy]

Try this:


http://www.zarastudio.es/


I don't read Spanish well, so I switched to the English language version. It takes a little poking around but they did
still offer the free (1.6) version.

Zara has worked well for my over-the-air signal.

 

[Bongwater]

Try this:


http://www.zarastudio.es/


I don't read Spanish well, so I switched to the English language version. It takes a little poking around but they did
still offer the free (1.6) version.

Zara has worked well for my over-the-air signal.

I'm using ZaraRadio under WINE in Ubuntu Linux. Have to admit, it has some bizarre quirks (the PLAY button does not appear when a song is playing, when changing a single file in the EVENTS folder, I have to readjust the start time. And when I click on View, the drop down menu will freeze on the screen when the system is playing. Even when I minimize to the bottom toolbar.) Otherwise, it functions and very well. But I really wish ZaraRadio or somebody can make a version that runs only on Ubuntu/Debian Linux. It is the fastest growing operating system in the world. And it's FREE.

Campcaster and Rivendell are a wee bit complex because they don't install from .deb files (the Ubuntu answer to the Windows .exe install) And code hashing all night with compiling files in Terminal isn't my thing. It's nice, because if you're really good at it, you can even IMPROVE the software to make it run exactly the way YOU want it to (that's the BEAUTY of open source Ubuntu Linux.) I just don't have the will (or time) to really hit the e-docs and tutorials the way I REALLY SHOULD (who knows what I could turn that lowly Totem Media Player into, an all-in-one SUPER radio/TV automation system?)

 

[audioguy]

I couldn't download it either.

Fortunately I think I have an older version stashed away on one of my Linux machines somewhere that I'll have to look for.

 

[kd8hho]

Campcaster and Rivendell are a wee bit complex because they don't install from .deb files (the Ubuntu answer to the Windows .exe install) And code hashing all night with compiling files in Terminal isn't my thing. It's nice, because if you're really good at it, you can even IMPROVE the software to make it run exactly the way YOU want it to (that's the BEAUTY of open source Ubuntu Linux.) I just don't have the will (or time) to really hit the e-docs and tutorials the way I REALLY SHOULD (who knows what I could turn that lowly Totem Media Player into, an all-in-one SUPER radio/TV automation system?)

i noticed that with campcaster. i played around with it on ubuntu. IIRC it also uses a funky sql database (i dont remember which but its not mysql) which i think is its major drawback.

some things with wine are just buggy as hell. i can never pin it down to being the wine package or poorly written program code

 

[JamieD]

Campcaster and Rivendell are a wee bit complex because they don't install from .deb files (the Ubuntu answer to the Windows .exe install) And code hashing all night with compiling files in Terminal isn't my thing. It's nice, because if you're really good at it, you can even IMPROVE the software to make it run exactly the way YOU want it to (that's the BEAUTY of open source Ubuntu Linux.) I just don't have the will (or time) to really hit the e-docs and tutorials the way I REALLY SHOULD (who knows what I could turn that lowly Totem Media Player into, an all-in-one SUPER radio/TV automation system?)

If your running linux, Rivendell is worth the effort to get running. It is a very feature rich system that just keeps getting better with each release. It does take some time to get up and running, but there is lots of help available. It is designed to run on older versions of suse, but can be complied for any distro.

Alban Peignier maintains Ubuntu complied versions. The latest is available here. http://blog.tryphon.org/alban/archi...es-for-debian-and-ubuntu-with-jaunty-support/

You can get help from the wiki that is linked to the Rivendell main page or by subscribing to the mailing list.

 

[LibertyNT]

http://zararadio.org/index.php?centro=main.php&lang=en

thats The Zara Radio Link.

 

[Prais]

I 've used ots for 6 years.

 

[audioguy]

LibertyNT, you are awesome! Even had the time files there. The English lady has a great voice! Love it! Thanks!

 

[lilburncommunityradio]

Zararadio is KING at least for my fm station. It does the job I want, there are small problems with it, I have tried and tried to fix, LIKE... Trying to run a dry liner in front of a song, not a sweeper, just a dry liner, it will jump to the next element, and cut off the ending of the liner.. Other than that, a great automation program.
Again it's got its bugs, but it works for the most part.

 

[Tom Wells]

Zararadio is KING at least for my fm station. It does the job I want, there are small problems with it, I have tried and tried to fix, LIKE... Trying to run a dry liner in front of a song, not a sweeper, just a dry liner, it will jump to the next element, and cut off the ending of the liner.. Other than that, a great automation program.
Again it's got its bugs, but it works for the most part.

I set my overlaps and fades to one second, and if a liner gets clipped, I add tailspace silence to the liner audio file until it doesn't get
clipped, or in some cases, has a natural speaking pause left in, so the next sound is in proper cadence.
When it's good it sounds like a board op on 5 espressos.
It's fun to give the 121 hour dial a good shuffle <ctrl k>, and see what new hilarious trainwrecks develop.

 

[mattthepm]

I would disable the overlap feature and add an '~n' to the name of the file, with 'n' being the amount of time for overlap into the next cut.

For example

StationID1~3.mp3

In this case, Zara will overlap the audio based on the amount of seconds before the end of that audio file.

So, this station ID will go to the next event 3 seconds before it actually ends.

This is handy for music tracks that have several seconds of silence at the end and you want to customize the segue into the next event without having to rely on the global overlap setting.

If it is a dry liner, you could do the following.

Dryliner~0.mp3.

This way, any dry liners will play in their entirety without cutting off the end of that liner.

You could almost do pseudo voice tracking with this method. . say you wanted to back announce a song up to the post. . you could disable the global overlap and insert the amount of seconds you want before the vocals started in the song in the voice track file.

Hope this makes sense (and I hope I got it correct. lol).

-M

 

[Tom Wells]

I should have pointed out that normally, ALL my files are very, very close-clipped, heads and tails, so the 1/2 second of fade/overlap
ends up having no discernable pause OR audible overlap. The tiny bit that does occur is just what we've always heard on even the biggest stations, so it sounds just right to me. The few tracks I have in the system with too much end silence get on my nerves, and I need to go back and tighten them up. When they run, it just sounds like any old webstream, NOT radio.

 

[rickradio]

I would disable the overlap feature and add an '~n' to the name of the file, with 'n' being the amount of time for overlap into the next cut.

For example

StationID1~3.mp3

In this case, Zara will overlap the audio based on the amount of seconds before the end of that audio file.

So, this station ID will go to the next event 3 seconds before it actually ends.

This is handy for music tracks that have several seconds of silence at the end and you want to customize the segue into the next event without having to rely on the global overlap setting.

If it is a dry liner, you could do the following.

Dryliner~0.mp3.

This way, any dry liners will play in their entirety without cutting off the end of that liner.

You could almost do pseudo voice tracking with this method. . say you wanted to back announce a song up to the post. . you could disable the global overlap and insert the amount of seconds you want before the vocals started in the song in the voice track file.

Hope this makes sense (and I hope I got it correct. lol).

-M

One thing I wanted to add:

You DON'T have to put the ".mp3" at the end of the file name. Just the tilde (~) and number will do, e.g.,

The Boys Of Summer~9

That number cues the system to start monitoring when the audio gets low enough to fire the next event. But you also have to set the volume level at which the system will fire, too. This is under "End of Song Detection" on the Options window. I have the FM set at -4db, and the AM at -6. So if you have a song set to fire the next event at, say, ~17, but the song is deemed too loud based on the settings you gave it, it will wait until the audio level drops to where you set it. Conversely, if the song is lower than the setting you programmed, it will fire at the number. The number after the tilde (~) is only where the system starts monitoring the file.

 

[Professor Al]

If you're running linux, Rivendell is worth the effort to get running. It is a very feature rich system that just keeps getting better with each release.

I use Rivendell exclusively, 5 days a week, in a pro environment.
It was written under SUSE Linux and may work better for you there than under Ubuntu.
P.A.

 

[Bongwater]

If you're running linux, Rivendell is worth the effort to get running. It is a very feature rich system that just keeps getting better with each release.

I use Rivendell exclusively, 5 days a week, in a pro environment.
It was written under SUSE Linux and may work better for you there than under Ubuntu.
P.A.

AWW....Damn! You mean I've been trying do all this for a Ubuntu system that NEVER runs Rivendell for NOTHING?

 

[JamieD]

If you're running linux, Rivendell is worth the effort to get running. It is a very feature rich system that just keeps getting better with each release.

I use Rivendell exclusively, 5 days a week, in a pro environment.
It was written under SUSE Linux and may work better for you there than under Ubuntu.
P.A.

I run it under SUSE as well, but i was pointing out that ubuntu .debs do exist if that is what you prefer. They are well supported and it is easier to install than from the RPMs for SUSE. There are several people running Rivendell under Ubuntu on the Rivendell mailing list.

 

[Bongwater]

Where are they? I love Linux, but this compiling stuff and installing things from .rpm and tar.gz files gets old......

 

[JamieD]

Where are they? I love Linux, but this compiling stuff and installing things from .rpm and tar.gz files gets old......

Alban Peignier maintains Ubuntu .debs. The latest is available here. http://blog.tryphon.org/alban/archi...es-for-debian-and-ubuntu-with-jaunty-support/
You have to add the debian.tryphon.org repo to your sources and then it can be installed with apt-get. There are instructions on how to install and get your first audio on Alban's Blog. The Rivendell mailing list is the best place to get help if your having problems.