ProppFrexx ONAIR User-Forum

Hi Bernd,

I've got a new reccurent problem regarding news on our station.
it's absolutely not a proppfrexx issue. but I need a solution.

here's the situation:
I Have news at 8, 10, 12, 16 and 18

A reminder is downloading from ftp the news from my provider Fifteen minutes before the flash, then a script take it and put an intro an outro and a specific bed. Everything went fine for months.

the problem is; the news provider changed the time that the flash is available to download on the FTP now around 8 mn before the time.

as the playlist allready loaded the flash in the player. Propfrexx isn't able to save the file that is allready in use.

and if I put the reminder earlier, there's nothing do download.... is there a trick to achieve this ??

thanks,
Thomas.

Is the issue because, that you are using 3 DJ Players and thus the 3rd one (where the News are just loaded) is loaded more than 8 minutes in advance (i.e. the other 2 players do play for more than 8 minutes remaining)?

I am not sure how your script actually looks like, but if the news track is a singe track loaded to a DJ Player, you can set the "Load Tracks into Memory if not bigger than" option (see general settings, section Player Settings). If the value is big enough to hold the track into memory, the file wouldn't be blocked. Still the new file wouldn't effectively be used this time, but with the next news block.

Another option is to not play the News via the DJ Players, but via an Overlay Scheduler entry (e.g. by using the Advert and News Management). In that case, you can much better control when the Overlay Player is shown in advance. This is typically only 60 or 70 sec. in advance and thus gives you enough time to download the news beforehand and on-time.

no it's an embed container with a script that pick up an intro an outro and bed

Then I recommend to use the News Management and play it via the Overlay Player; here you can also define Intro/Outro and a Soundbed.

Yes but I wont be able to voice track correctly, cause the overlay wont appear in the session. right?

Was thinking, using a shortcut could it make the file writing possible???

However, the copy operation should actually work regardless, as files in the Player are opened with FileShare.Read and .Write!

Please make a quick test and load a single track into the player (e.g. a file called test.mp3).
And then open the command line in that directory and try to copy another file onto that test.mp3 file: This should actually work without an error!

But the FTP download wouldn’t use the FileShare option and as su h fails.
Regardless of this (even assume, that the download would work while the track was already loaded)...
...as you are using an embedded container, the stream timings and mixing of the intro, outright and sounded are already calculated based on the previous file!
So if the new downloaded file is shorter or longer - this would all not work.
In the end it is not only a physical issue, but a logical problem, which cannot really be solved correctly.
Except by loading the track after it was downloaded. Which I guess is only possible by the Overlay Player.

:-/ that's a really annoying problem...

I think I got an idea... maybe a could copy this file on my webserver and then use a stream link in place of the audio file...

Yes, but it is a logical problem, as you cannot use a track (and apply/calculate all segues) - while the track is unknown resp. changing
I'll also see, if I can find any other options, but so far I am not sure about any...

I just released a v4.1.4.2.-update.
In this version the EXEC_DOWNLOAD_FILE would also use the FileShare.ReadWrite option, i.e. would allow overwriting a file which is already loaded to a player.
In addition, the command got an optional 5th parameter called 'resetPlayers'. In case this is set to true any future DJ Player (beyond the next one) will be reset once the download is finished, this should reload and reset the new file in that case.
Hope this might help.