ProppFrexx and an exact 60 minute hour . . . .

[jnpbroadcast]

Hello,

I'm quite new to ProppFrexx and still getting to grips with it.

I was wondering if it was possible for the software to auto time an exact hour?

Before I was using the radio version of OTS AV and it had a great command as: target=60 that you could use in your playlist.

Using that OTS would create an EXACT (+ or - 1 second) 60 minutes timed playlist that would end bang on 60 minutes.

For radio stations that one feature alone was worth the money for OTS.

So I was wonder if anything similar exists in ProppFrexx to achieve this?

[jnpbroadcast]

Here is a script that I used on OTS - using the "target=60" command, OTS takes the instructions from the script and chooses the tracks that will fit into an exact hour in the order of the script. There are NO blank tracks or gaps - just an exact 60 minutes of audio that ends seamlessly at 59:59 or 60:00 minutes

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

#START - General Music Hour

# Global options:
~length iterations=1, target=60

# Clean up any drift
@TimeSync=*:00:00

#Loads the Top of the Hour. This iteration shows
# that you can reference a item directly.
C:\OtsLabs\OtsFiles\TOH.mp3

#~iq=2 tells OtsAV to select two 1980s songs.
~iq=2 avail & 1980s & rating > 0 & itemsep artist > 10 & itemsep title > 10 & lastplay > 6 hours

#Selects an optional New Wave song
~optional group=1
~iq avail & 80sNewWave & rating > 0 & itemsep artist > 10 & itemsep title > 10 & lastplay > 6 hours

#~iq tells OtsAV to select a Jingle.
~iq avail & 80sJingles & lastplay > 60 minutes

#~iq tells OtsAV to select a single New Wave song.
~iq avail & 80sNewWave & rating > 0 & itemsep artist > 10 & itemsep title > 10 & lastplay > 6 hours

#Selects an optional 1980s song
~optional group=1
~iq avail & 1980s & rating > 0 & itemsep artist > 10 & itemsep title > 10 & lastplay > 6 hours

#Selects a spot from the Spots category.
~iq avail & ADS & lastplay > 30 minutes

#~iq tells OtsAV to select a single jingle.
~iq avail & 80sJingles & lastplay > 60 minutes

#~iq=2 tells OtsAV to select two 1980s songs.
~iq=2 avail & 1980s & rating > 0 & itemsep artist > 10 & itemsep title > 10 & lastplay > 6 hours

#Tells OtsAV to select a 1980s song if there is room.
~optional group=1
~iq avail & 1980s & rating > 0 & itemsep artist > 10 & itemsep title > 10 & lastplay > 6 hours

#~iq tells OtsAV to select a single jingle.
~iq avail & 80sJingles & lastplay > 60 minutes

#Selects three New Wave songs
~iq=3 avail & 80sNewWave & rating > 0 & itemsep artist > 10 & itemsep title > 10 & lastplay > 6 hours

#Selects an optional New Wave song
~optional group=1
~iq avail & 80sNewWave & rating > 0 & itemsep artist > 10 & itemsep title > 10 & lastplay > 6 hours

#Selects a spot from the Spots category.
~iq avail & ADS & lastplay > 30 minutes

#~iq tells OtsAV to select a single jingle.
~iq avail & 80sJingles & lastplay > 60 minutes

#Selects three 80s songs
~iq=3 avail & 1980s & rating > 0 & itemsep artist > 10 & itemsep title > 10 & lastplay > 6 hours

#~iq tells OtsAV to select a single jingle.
~iq avail & 80sJingles & lastplay > 60 minutes

#In reality the following Dance songs should not be played as OTS should have enough already to create a full hour

#Selects three optional 80s Dance songs
~optional group=1
~iq avail & 80sDance & rating > 0 & itemsep artist > 10 & itemsep title > 10 & lastplay > 6 hours

#~iq=2 tells OtsAV to select two 1980s songs.
~iq=2 avail & 1980s & rating > 0 & itemsep artist > 10 & itemsep title > 10 & lastplay > 6 hours

# END

[jnpbroadcast]

Its just a really easy, clever way, of making an exact hour . . . . . on my wishlist for PF

[radio42]

The same way of selecting tracks (script-line rules) is already possible within ProppFrexx.
But it still doesn't answer my question.
Let's take the following example:
- What will happen, if each given OTS rule (as shown above) would only result in a very few tracks
- and as such the list of resulting/available tracks can not be combined in such a way that 60 min. can be achieved?
The only way then is to 'cut' some tracks...

However, the main question remains: Why do you want a playlist to be exactly 60 min. long?

[jnpbroadcast]

- What will happen, if each given OTS rule (as shown above) would only result in a very few tracks
- and as such the list of resulting/available tracks can not be combined in such a way that 60 min. can be achieved?
The only way then is to 'cut' some tracks...

However, the main question remains: Why do you want a playlist to be exactly 60 min. long?

I think it is quite obvious why someone would want a 1 hour playlist to be exactly one hour long, surely? obviously so a final track of the hour ends exactly to time instead of fading out mid-track!

As for your other queries - the rule never has failed me in 8 years. If you have enough tracks in your library then it should never happen. 60 minutes is ALWAYS achieved.

[radio42]

obviously so a final track of the hour ends exactly to time instead of fading out mid-track!

Which assumes, there are:
- NO manual interactions, e.g. no live moderation, no live talking ...
- NO content with a dynamic length (like news) etc. ?!

I listen a lot to various radio stations...and there it appears a lot, that a last hourly track is not fully played until its natural end (I never found that disturbing).
So I wouldn't say, that this is so obvious...my personal opinion would be, that I wouldn't limit the content of the hour just not to fade-out the last track a bit earlier.
However, it is a valid request from your side...!

As your above script contains various Spots/Jingles entries...I would say, that it would be more obvious to make a variation here (use them as appropriate fillers) instead of limiting your track content...as you already limit it by 'lastplay'.

Even if you think it never appeared in your last 8 years...the question is what should happen, if it appears?
What is more important: your given rules or the overall 60 min. rule?
- should any of your given rule be ignored (to fulfill the 60 min.)?
- should the 60 min. be violated, if the other rules can not be violated?
- which of the script-lines would have priority, if at least one script-line rule must be violated
- which script-line gets the effective variation (which is funnily the most important question when it comes to true random playout)?

Anyhow...I'll think about it... for a future release...

[jnpbroadcast]

Obviously I was refer to an automated hour without DJ . . . . such as through the night or indeed most internet based stations that have very few DJ's and rely on automation.

Of course this would be useless for a DJ lead show.

[radio42]

Can you explain a bit more in detail, what you exactly mean by 'create an exact 60 min. playlist'?
And what the background of the question is?

Normally you want to achieve an exact start of the sub-sequent (following) program exactly on time.
This can easily achieved with the ProppFrexx Program Scheduler. It allows an accurate start of a Program up to the second.
In addition ProppFrexx supports bridge-track elements, Fixed-Time 'EndsAt' elements, an early-start option, etc.
All this to allow a most smooth transition between two sub-sequent programs.

However, ProppFrexx would not 'pick' tracks depending on their length or fill-up a playlist with dummy elements so that you achieve an exact playlist length; a this might not work together with other scripting rules (like matching certain categories etc.).

I am not sure what OTS was doing? Is it inserting dummy elements (gap fillers) or was it cutting tracks or was it picking tracks with the right length (independent if they fit into the 'style')?

[bschelst]

the advantage of that 'exact' hour in OTS, is that OTS will select the songs based on that time.
So if you fill 50 minutes with tracks, and leave the rest as "optionals", OTS will try to fit those 10 minutes exactly.
This means that , if possible of course, you will have complete songs in that 10 minute.
without that , you have the risk that -again for example- a new song starts on minute 59, 45 seconds. Then you have a song which only plays 15 seconds, what is silly.
so that's one of the reasons why the 'exact' hour in OTS is being used.

[radio42]

I understand the option and I will take a look to implement something like it in the future.

However, you might take the math yourself: How many (combination of) songs does fit exactly into 10 minutes?!
If you further combine this with additional (filter) rules you might end up in very very few combination (if any at all).