Lets Dispell a myth: "But FREE radio software isn't as good"?

[djgary72]

Are you one of those people that thinks FREE radio software isn't worth using because of a blog post or a post on social media telling you that FREE stuff sucks??

 

Or even maybe because of a bad experience of a previous piece of free software letting you down?

 

We quite often get people saying "OH but Free software doesn't work as well" or "Free software always comes with a hidden catch", Those people are wrong...

 

Having used RadioDJ free radio automation software for over 5 years now ... We can safely say the program has never let us down and the software has done everything we've asked it to.

 

The MYTH that free software isn't as good is usually peddled by software companies who are frightened by a rival product being better than anything they seem to be able to come out with IMHO!

 

Many businesses and individuals learn the hard way that these offers are too good to be true... Some ‘Free’ software can often come at a higher cost in the long run, with hidden fees and can be costly if you don’t foresee them.

 

That is NOT the case with RadioDJ! There are NO Catches or hidden fees with RadioDJ. The software is as you see it. I think the term is "Supplied as seen"

 

RadioDJ has great reliability and stability & holds up for long periods of time once Installed and configured it can be left alone to automate your stream.

 

One user recently posted that he hadn't had to restart the program in over 6 months and we know of another user running 6 different radio streams using this wonderful FREE software!

 

If you see someone saying FREE software like RadioDJ is bad and shouldn't be used, Please DON'T take their word for it.... See what other users say or even take it for test drive yourself.

 

Everyone I seem to tell about the program is genuinely impressed by it after they use it. As My signature says....56,000+ users of RadioDJ v1.8.2 can't be wrong!

 

Yes we're aware that RadioDJ cannot do certain things but at the end of the day it's a studio automation program NOT a full studio solution.

 

There is other software (donation ware) you can use along side to mix audio from Skype calls and talking over your stream.

 

Although to achieve a professional sound route your microphone through a mixing desk before the audio reaches the PC.

 

Just remember despite the claims The free alternatives work far better than the paid for solutions...

[SmoothJazz]

As My signature says....56,000+ users of RadioDJ v1.8.2 can't be wrong!

Since you freely admit that is the number of downloads of RadioDJ, since when do downloads = users? The truth is you have no real idea of how many people actually use RadioDJ. I suspect that is downloads of every single version ever of that pogram. I know I have downaloded it at least a dozen times sinceit's inception, didn't like it and moved on. Not saying it is bad just sayig you are incorrect about equating downloads to actual users.

[PapaBearPW]

I agree RDJ!

 

I do understand that people can be suspicious, but hopefully we can change some minds in time. There is a lot of free software out there that people create without any hidden agenda. That seems to be difficult for some people to understand. Some of us were created out of being fed up with companies that were charging what we considered to be far too much for their software. Others due to poor performance and/or bad customer support.

 

SmoothJazz,

 

I can't speak for RDJ, but, I know that my software is often downloaded by 1 user and then given to others at the same radio station by that person. It is often even uploaded by radio owners to their own server to give their DJs "easier access" to it. So, no, since it is free and there is no need to register in order to download, AND I have no call-backs written into it, I cannot possibly know how many actual (and current) users there are. But the download figure may not be all that far off when I consider the number of people who may be using it that never actually downloaded it from my site. IMHO

[djgary72]

Since you freely admit that is the number of downloads of RadioDJ, since when do downloads = users? The truth is you have no real idea of how many people actually use RadioDJ. I suspect that is downloads of every single version ever of that pogram. I know I have downloaded it at least a dozen times since it's inception, didn't like it and moved on. Not saying it is bad just saying you are incorrect about equating downloads to actual users.

 

I didn't write this post to be TROLLED! If you can't be nice don't reply! This isn't the Spacial forum where you do as you please!

 

Downloads of RadioDJ actually sit at 57,447 (at present) and that's NOT counting the downloads from my website or elsewhere the software is hosted for download!.

 

v1.8.2 is the MOST downloaded version of the software beating the record set by v1.6.0 (51687)...

 

I realise that FREE software isn't going to be popular with SAM Broadcaster users like you @SmoothJazz & Personally I think you've been blinkered by Spacial audio and their promises over the years.

 

It's actually Spacial Audio that are trying to peddle the MYTH that free radio software is Bad!

 

I have downloaded it at least a dozen times since it's inception, didn't like it and moved on.

So it isn't for you no need to throw your toys out of the pram! , We'd love to know why people see RadioDJ as a threat because it's FREE.

 

I'm suspecting you gave the program all of 15 minutes of your time and didn't test it properly or see what it's capable of You can't get used to what a piece of software does in the space 10 minutes.

 

I'm fed up with certain sections of the Internet radio crowd giving me grief or trolling me because I believe in & promote a piece of FREE software .... No one forces it on you!

Edited February 28, 2016 by djgary72

[lazydog]

There is nothing at all wrong with open source or indeed some free software IMHO.I have tested quite a few different broadcast software from Station Playlist to Rivendell, RadioDJ to RadioJar. None do everything requried some are more user friendly and some suit some situations better than others.Airtime suits me but may not suit others.

Not just broadcast software but how about other software....for example audacity been around years and very usable okay there are more features with some bought software,but are they features that are needed at all times?

Operating software now who hasn't used linux that is free and also the basis for so much in this day and age.

So from me no bashing of free software innovation is the way forward..

[djgary72]

I agree Lazydog - Audacity is a great tool for recording shows or mixes with. Used it for years.

 

I use Linux for Audio production these days and Audacity does everything I want it to do on Ubuntu Studio.... If RadioDJ ran under "wine" we wouldn't need a Windows install.

 

Hopefully one day the coders of wine will get the access to the .NET libraries so .NET compiled software runs on Linux.

 

I've used to some great free software other than RadioDJ over the years and have never had an issue with any of it. It's mostly the paid for programs that seem to have let us down time and time again. (Not Just SAM)

[riverregionmedia]

The biggest fail to me is RadioDJ's reliance upon a mysql database. both Stationplaylist and Rivendell are ready right out of the box with no ties to any SQL library.

[djgary72]

The biggest fail to me is RadioDJ's reliance upon a mysql database. both Stationplaylist and Rivendell are ready right out of the box with no ties to any SQL library.

 

Just so you know: RadioDJ relies on an MySQL server for functions such as Playlists/Rotations/events and requests. Playlists/rotations/events are saved in the database rather than the program relying on separate text files for each rotation/clockwheel like SAM.

 

MySQL isn't that scary and with RadioDJ the database has been kept simple so it's easy to program websites around. PLUS users of RDJ aren't having to constantly rebuild the database every week or month it's a really stable reliable database structure. Unlike OTHER software! We haven't had to rebuild our RDJ database since June 2014 & we take a daily backup of it using the backup tool. Having a database backup function means you can install RDJ on another machine and still have the same database and the same song/category structure.

 

What is peoples problem with having a SQL database? I never hear people moaning about the fact SAM Broadcaster requires a database & that has 4 different database options and can be complicated to program a website from. The database structures in SAM are badly written & prone to going wrong.

 

It's another MYTH about SQL databases .... If you follow tutorials on setting things up it really isn't that difficult to use RadioDJ

Edited February 29, 2016 by djgary72

[riverregionmedia]

Just so you know: RadioDJ relies on an MySQL server for functions such as Playlists/Rotations/events and requests. Playlists/rotations/events are saved in the database rather than the program relying on separate text files for each rotation/clockwheel like SAM.

 

MySQL isn't that scary and with RadioDJ the database has been kept simple so it's easy to program websites around. PLUS users of RDJ aren't having to constantly rebuild the database every week or month it's a really stable reliable database structure. Unlike OTHER software! We haven't had to rebuild our RDJ database since June 2014 & we take a daily backup of it using the backup tool. Having a database backup function means you can install RDJ on another machine and still have the same database and the same song/category structure.

 

What is peoples problem with having a SQL database? I never hear people moaning about the fact SAM Broadcaster requires a database & that has 4 different database options and can be complicated to program a website from. The database structures in SAM are badly written & prone to going wrong.

 

It's another MYTH about SQL databases .... If you follow tutorials on setting things up it really isn't that difficult to use RadioDJ

 

Again, why would anyone want to mess with the hassle of setting up a mysql server, not even wide orbit, scott studios, nexgen and other top tier radio automation systems deal with SQL databases.

 

You aren't making any selling points, you are just copy and pasting vague answers that any ued car salesman would use.

[djgary72]

You aren't making any selling points, you are just copy and pasting vague answers that any ued car salesman would use.

 

I haven't copied or pasted anything, I'm NOT a salesman.... All I've done is written several VALID points about the plus points of having a Database.

 

So MySQL isn't for you.... Doesn't make using a MySQL database a BAD thing.

 

why would anyone want to mess with the hassle of setting up a mysql server

 

Because they might want some form of website functionality like Listener requests & now playing information.... although they could do that just using the NowPlaying.txt file that RadioDJ generates and uploading it to their servers via the web export in the now playing plugin..

 

RadioDJ is a free program that OUTPERFORMS other PAID for radio software that's on the market IOHO!

 

This post was written to try and dispel myths I hear about the program that I see people spreading on Social media or Blogs...

 

I seriously give up with people and their bad attitude to free software!

 

NEXT!!

Edited March 1, 2016 by djgary72

[djgary72]

why would anyone want to mess with the hassle of setting up a mysql server

 

Also I'd like to point out that MariaDB isn't that difficult to setup when it comes to an SQL server to run RadioDJ with and it's also pretty damn rock solid, rarely goes wrong rarely screws up.

 

Yet again NO ONE FORCES YOU TO USE IT!

 

P.S: I'm NOT selling anything because the product I'm trying to PROMOTE is FREE.

[riverregionmedia]

Nobody has a bad attitude around here except for you when someone points out the flaws and you don't like it.

 

Nobody said RDJ isn't a good product, many of us are saying that 1) the # of download's doesn't equal the amount of people who are actually using it. @) SQL servers are not always reliable, and not everyone has a good understanding of how they work.

[shoutcaststreaming]

This isn't the Spacial forum where you do as you please!

Speaking of bad attitudes, that statement is completely false.

 

I am a moderator on the Spacial forums and all posts are highly scrutinized before they are allowed to be posted and a lot are pulled down.

 

I haven't said a word about your post, so I'd really appreciate if you tell the truth and not make stuff up !!

[riverregionmedia]

Speaking of bad attitudes, that statement is completely false.

 

I am a moderator on the Spacial forums and all posts are highly scrutinized before they are allowed to be posted and a lot are pulled down.

 

I haven't said a word about your post, so I'd really appreciate if you tell the truth and not make stuff up !!

 

Exactly a simple point i tried to reason with him earlier, i'm sorry but downloads do not prove that many people are actually using it.

[djgary72]

Enough already!! I didn't write this post to get a load of Vitriol/Attitude back from TROLLS lurking in the shadows... That's the biggest problem with this forum!

 

It's NOT me with the bad attitude either.... Take a LONG hard look in the mirror!

 

I'm totally fed up with being beaten into a corner or being talked down to like a child for promoting software I believe passionately about.

 

RadioDJ is a great radio studio automation tool but it seems YET AGAIN people have a problem with ME promoting a piece of software.

Nobody forces the software on you!

P.S: @riverregion @shoutcaststreaming Please drop the attitude & In future DO NOT reply to any posts that I make... I don't care much for your tone/attitude/hatred towards me!

I started this post to quash the Myths I hear people spreading about RadioDJ ... But it appears I can't even do that without being bombarded by people who seem to have a problem with FREE software!

 

I GIVE UP!!

[James]

There is no attitude or finger pointing RDJUser/djgarybaldy.

The points raised are completely valid and justified. Nobody has attacked you or Radio DJ software, they simply have preferences on which radio automation software they prefer to use, and thats fine. Not everyone will use Radio DJ, or like Radio DJ. Personally I use it myself but some of my presenters prefer other software. That's fine.

 

Nobody has a problem that it's free, nobody has a problem that it runs a database as the backend (thats a good thing anyway), and nobody is cornering you Gary. Please relax, use the constructive criticism to base some more informative posts for your blog and if you ever feel offended by anything in future, try to ignore it. The internet is a powerful place, fortunately text written in 1's and 0's don't spread past your computer unless you let them.

[riverregionmedia]

There is no attitude or finger pointing RDJUser/djgarybaldy.

The points raised are completely valid and justified. Nobody has attacked you or Radio DJ software, they simply have preferences on which radio automation software they prefer to use, and thats fine. Not everyone will use Radio DJ, or like Radio DJ. Personally I use it myself but some of my presenters prefer other software. That's fine.

 

Nobody has a problem that it's free, nobody has a problem that it runs a database as the backend (thats a good thing anyway), and nobody is cornering you Gary. Please relax, use the constructive criticism to base some more informative posts for your blog and if you ever feel offended by anything in future, try to ignore it. The internet is a powerful place, fortunately text written in 1's and 0's don't spread past your computer unless you let them.

 

Thank you james!

[shoutcaststreaming]

There is no attitude or finger pointing RDJUser/djgarybaldy.

The points raised are completely valid and justified. Nobody has attacked you or Radio DJ software, they simply have preferences on which radio automation software they prefer to use, and thats fine. Not everyone will use Radio DJ, or like Radio DJ. Personally I use it myself but some of my presenters prefer other software. That's fine.

 

Nobody has a problem that it's free, nobody has a problem that it runs a database as the backend (thats a good thing anyway), and nobody is cornering you Gary. Please relax, use the constructive criticism to base some more informative posts for your blog and if you ever feel offended by anything in future, try to ignore it. The internet is a powerful place, fortunately text written in 1's and 0's don't spread past your computer unless you let them.

Well that explains a lot.

 

[VerdinaNET]

I think you should always do your research when it comes to free software. Whilst there are a few good ones, others may not meet your needs.

[Gsh_MM]

I think there are some pretty great "free radio software" out there that actually do great, even some better than "expensively paid for" radio software. Of course, RadioDJ being one of them, There are a couple of others out there for "beginners" or maybe for even just those that don't want all the "bells and whistles" that come with some of them. But with some people stating "You get what you pay for" is sometimes true, but it is not always 100% true on some cases.

 

I have seen some pretty great programs out there (radio software) that go beyond some of your more expensive radio software programs, that are free, and do very very well, especially for being free. With the right items and the right experience, free ones that lack 1 thing, you can change and set it up on your own so that it does work making it even better.

[Urban Hitz Radio]

I think that first of all, the whole SAM vs the world thing is kind of boring. The mere fact that SAM was there catering to the small web-caster YEARS ago when no other program was in the same arena speaks volumes. There were amateurs like me, who didn't grow up in traditional radio broadcasting, so I didn't have much knowledge of the other programs that catered to the BIG broadcasting corporations of the world. But I was computer literate. And even most of those older radio programs were ugly, with badly configured UIs with BIG fat buttons. Simply because those that worked in radio, were not that computer savvy. So, they needed an elderly like UI to navigate the programs.

I have not seen one program out there with a better build/UI than SAM, other than ProppFrexx. The fact is, the 1950's are over! So, if certain programmers want a viable level of acceptance in an arena where Automation is concerned, then build a suite with a UI that is attractive to the operator. As well as make the back-end simple and easy to understand, etc, while maintaining a 2000+ look.

I've used SAM since 2001,and I've tried other programs as well. None have appealed to me for use in the 21st century. Yes, the look SAM has is kind of outdated, but it still has a futuristic look and feel. Plus PALs work extremely WELL! I know other broadcasters that prefer StationPlaylist over SAM. SPL is one hideous program - to me. Even though these programs require a licence to be purchased. And they are not cheap. BTW, I love FREE stuff, but it has to have an appeal to the person using it.

 

The fact is, that I don't have 15+ people in a studio to control anything. There is one person controlling my entire operation - ME! With a FT 40+ hour gig. SAM fits my needs and has since 2001. The reason they have the following they do, is because of the facts I listed above. Anyone that wants to beat em, develop a better looking product with a better functioning system, website, advertising.

Seriously, you have not seen many problems other than a minuscule few that could be counted with 3 fingers on one hand over the years with SAM.

 

This is not a personal attack, it is an observation not to be taken personally by anyone.

Edited May 15, 2016 by Urban Hitz Radio