What Automation Software Do You Use, And Why?

[Mad Dog Radio Live]

What automation software do you use and why?

 

What makes this program unique? What makes it stand out from the other automation systems?

[Vanlen]

That's a BIG question Matt. Everyone will have their favourites and all are valid depending on your scenario of operation.

 

Now with that out of the way, I have been using RadioDJ software now for over a year with the stable 1.60 version and have just recently upgraded to the latest beta 1.6.2.5. Usually, in any beta you won't start using it on the air as it's a beta, but I like to live on the edge. LOL. Seriously it is darn solid.

 

What makes the program unique? For me everything is database driven which makes creating automatic rotations, playlists, live assist scenarios pretty solid.

 

What make the program stand out? Well again that is user preferance and your mileage may vary, but the interface is very Broadcast Radio Friendly which is a non windows look that make the entire screen real estate Radio ready. It is pleasing to the eye. If I have to stare at a screen for a few hours, it has to look and function well. I like the event countdown and timers, Slots view of what is coming up and what has been played and functions for going live or live assist is well thought out.

 

That's about it, and again that is my preference of RadioDJ. There are great programs out there and your mileage may vary and the most likeable reason is that this particular piece of software is free.

 

Cheers

[djgary72]

That's a BIG question Matt. Everyone will have their favourites and all are valid depending on your scenario of operation.

 

Now with that out of the way, I have been using RadioDJ software now for over a year with the stable 1.60 version and have just recently upgraded to the latest beta 1.6.2.5. Usually, in any beta you won't start using it on the air as it's a beta, but I like to live on the edge. LOL. Seriously it is darn solid.

 

What makes the program unique? For me everything is database driven which makes creating automatic rotations, playlists, live assist scenarios pretty solid.

 

What make the program stand out? Well again that is user preferance and your mileage may vary, but the interface is very Broadcast Radio Friendly which is a non windows look that make the entire screen real estate Radio ready. It is pleasing to the eye. If I have to stare at a screen for a few hours, it has to look and function well. I like the event countdown and timers, Slots view of what is coming up and what has been played and functions for going live or live assist is well thought out.

 

That's about it, and again that is my preference of RadioDJ. There are great programs out there and your mileage may vary and the most likeable reason is that this particular piece of software is free.

 

Cheers

 

 

Couldn't have put it better myself +1

 

I have to say that RadioDJ is the easiest of all the automation software I have used, Works just fine and doesn't rely on external scripts to run it. It stands out from the crowd I suppose because it's totally free.

[djsoft]

Well, everyone's advertising here. I'll do it too.

 

RadioBOSS allows you to start everything right away. No external dependences: no need to install any 3rd party apps or plugins. Minimum efforts on configuring things. Free stream hosting for RB users.

Get on air on day one.

[jonatanbarboza]

Ah bueno listo 30 segundos mas? o ok ?

[Mad Dog Radio Live]

Very good replies. RadioDJ is definitely a superb piece of software. The same goes for RadioBOSS. Both are very user friendly. Like many, I've been using SAM Broadcaster. I've used many different pieces of automation software and come crawling back to Spacial every time. I guess I'm just used to it more!

[Vanlen]

That's the best thing lately in software specific for radio broadcasting Matt is the variety of choices out there and the ever increasing feature set across the board from the new developers that were unheard of a decade or so ago and only available in the x thousands of dollar and higher range only applicable to mainstream broadcasting networks so it's great when you find one that just seems to fit like a glove and doesn't break the bank there is no turning back.

 

Cheers

[Urban Hitz Radio]

I agree. I've been using only SAM since about 2002/3. Have just grown used to and accustomed to the software.

Just am very comfortable using it.

Everyone has their own likes and dislikes about certain software and feature sets....We are entitled to that.

 

I've tested and played with many other suites around. Just not going to pull the plug on SAM.

Edited March 26, 2013 by Urban Hitz Radio

[Mad Dog Radio Live]

I agree. I've been using only SAM since about 2002/3. Have just grown used to and accustomed to the software.

Just am very comfortable using it.

Everyone has their own likes and dislikes about certain software and feature sets....We are entitled to that.

 

I've tested and played with many other suites around. Just not going to pull the plug on SAM.

 

Exactly how I am Urban... I've been using it for years now and have grown to it. It's an excellent piece of software for any station!

[jamesdean]

I like Direttore and Zara radio. Both have free versions which do plenty and are stable. I have tried all the others but these two are my favourites. Short answer but factual.

[Peger]

JAZLER RADIO STAR - Simple is the best!

[axisdj]

I use NextKast, mainly because I wrote it. more info at www.nextkast.com. I tried many of the other software out there a couple of years ago and decided that I could create something better for my particular application and use.

 

I think it would be great if everyone posting here lets us know what station you are running with your software. I have been running www.saDanceRadio.com with nextkast for about 2 years now, we have over 400,000 tune ins a month and play mainly dance music.

 

The reason I think naming the station is that there are over 50,000 stations out there, and I believe the quality of broadcast definetly effects audience size over time. I think it is important to use the right software for your station in order to get the best chance of a sucessful station.

[johny c]

I have been using ZaraRadio for over 5 years now with no problems. It is very easy to setup and use. The scheduling events is great and theres not much you cant do with it. You can even get ZaraRadio to run .bat files to run other programs on your pc. It dosnt use SQL which I see as a plus. No problems doing live shows with it and it comes with an extra 4 players which you can assign to separate sound cards and also has preview in the main playlist and other music files on the pc. It may not be the best to look at, but that dosnt take any thing away from from using it and at the free price what more can you say.

[Mad Dog Radio Live]

I've used Zara a few times.. I do like that it doesn't need an external database to store files, etc.

[PapaBearPW]

I use NextKast, mainly because I wrote it. more info at www.nextkast.com. I tried many of the other software out there a couple of years ago and decided that I could create something better for my particular application and use.

 

That is almost exactly the same reason I created LunarCaster DJ. Add to that, we had many folks wanting to try their hand at being a DJ but, they didn't want to spend a small fortune just to maybe find out that they didn't really care for it after all. Hard to believe that it's been 5 years already since I started on it. o.O

 

Server side we use sc_trans for full-time automation to our Shoutcast server. LCDJ is used mostly for remote DJ's to connect to the server (via sc_trans) and do their shows (which is what it was originally written for anyway). I find this method more reliable than trying to run automation software from my home PC to our remote server as the radio does not have to rely upon my internet connection to continue playing.

 

The radio station LCDJ was originally built for: http://www.bluemoon-radio.de

[scott s.]

zararadio for me also....spent a year looking at different systems, one of the requirements was that it was stable on older systems, which it is. Running on XP pro a 3.0 ghz machine with 1 gig of ram. I don't need all the bells and whistles that eat up RAM...I process with a hardware compressor/limiter looping through an analog console so I can go live with carts and vinyl if I want. It also easy to program, and I really don't want to spend time learning a new computer language. The price makes my wife happy. You can't beat that. I wish it had a better option for music rotation and scheduling, but you weigh the pros and cons. besides, I really don't have time to schedule music. I want it to be totally automated.

[jessewillem]

Running my own piece of software here to automate my (personal) radio station. Supports encoding to Shoutcast/Icecast servers with MP3, MP2, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis and Opus. Automatic playlists, winamp DSP and stuff like that.

 

 

Works nicely together with my audio processing program for the FM transmitter.

[djgary72]

Running my own piece of software here to automate my (personal) radio station. Supports encoding to Shoutcast/Icecast servers with MP3, MP2, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis and Opus. Automatic playlists, winamp DSP and stuff like that.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]952[/ATTACH]

 

Works nicely together with my audio processing program for the FM transmitter.

 

Looks like a nice layout like the look of the players nice big numbers so your not having to squint at the screen.

[nurv]

I use SAM Broadcaster, and I love it most of the time.. But it is unstable and freezes way to often. I'm always on the lookout for some new and better software but so far I haven't found anything with the same funcionality when it comes to both automation and live broadcasting.

[djgary72]

I use SAM Broadcaster, and I love it most of the time.. But it is unstable and freezes way to often. I'm always on the lookout for some new and better software but so far I haven't found anything with the same funcionality when it comes to both automation and live broadcasting.

 

Try RadioDJ it has pretty much the flexibility of SAM only it doesn't crash or freeze as often http://radiodj.ro/download Works perfectly for doing live shows with.

[Urban Hitz Radio]

I am testing this other software called ProppFrexx...very nice program. Been at this for a few hours just getting used to the ins and outs. Messing around with the program. I've heard of this before, but never thought about even giving it a shot...let me tell you...I'm impressed. And it takes a lot to impress me in software. Now I just have to figure out the DSP configuration in full, and their play list structure....

Add PAL from SAM and their playlist structure...This would be end all be all!

It looks solid, and when you open it and start playing with it, it has a grown up feel to it...like everything's gonna be alright...lol

 

Does anyone else have experience with this program?

 

...very nice guys. ...WOW!

http://s2.postimg.org/ws63ws7t5/PROPPFREXX_SAMPLED.png

 

Clearly this software is top notch. It comes with 4 players for your Playlist, and apparently up to 99 Aux/Standby players...and yes, it handles ALL types of media files for your input...damn! Can stream to Shoutcast, Icecast, WMAcast and Homecast...not bad. Also, you're able to assign an individual mixer channel to each player. And that's just the easy stuff so far I've learned. IT DOES NOT USE MySQL!!! And all of my tracks have accurate lengths to them. None of that -0:00 mess.

 

PF needs a user base to populate their forums for asssitance, etc. The user manual has way too many "more to come soon" gaps about the most important aspects to be useful. But radio42 does provide help is asked on the forums himself. User manual also has too much writing with too few pictures to illustrate how to do stuff.

 

I'm intrigued...very. Let's see if this becomes more mainstream among internet radio. It has all the bells and whistles and can do everything the major players can do. I'm on training wheels and like it a lot. Good eye candy.

 

I tried to test Sonica, but it's seems as if it's more geared towards terrestrial radio, and the guy over there never relly seemed interested in talking to me, to get me the demo.

 

As for the other software suites: Jazzler, downloaded and tried that before. It's like a big color box. I didn't know what to do with it, so I uninstalled it.

 

Simian, tried that. Never gained an interest, as it's for terrestrial radio. The engine is great, not so good looking in terms of GUI.

 

Another good one is Zetta by RCS. It has a nice revamped GUI. I believe this is just for terrestrial radio. They could make more money, if they has Shoutcast/DSP support.

 

I've pretty much tried every other software suite out there, to gain an interest, in terms of the GUI, then comes the engine,etc.

It's high time that programmers step into 2013 with broadcasting software...get creative. As their user bases are no longer the older FM/AM heads. There are younger people out there that have no interest in the older way of doing things...imho

Even some of the older cats out there want something that looks good, is easy to navigate and friendly.

There's a HUGE market out there taking advantage of internet radio, and *most* of em are on shoutcast, and we know what software they are using. It's widely popular, and available and has a sizeable user base. I have used it since 2002.

And no one really has stepped up to the plate to challenge em. Image is everything, even if you have a pos, it better look good.

If it's not that one, it's Winamp, because most of us (internet broadcasters) started on Winamp.

 

Get your demo now: http://www.proppfrexx.radio42.com/v3/index.html ***END of frustration!

Edited April 20, 2013 by Urban Hitz Radio

[PapaBearPW]

Yep, it's written by radio42 from un4seen I think, so I'm sure it is well worth the $$.

 

Edit: I've never actually used it myself. I just know the folks over at un4seen do some great work.

Edited April 20, 2013 by PapaBearPW