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Intro & Features
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Overview and Uses |
In this section we'll learn about how the manual is structured, the crucial role BeOS plays, the many ways this system can be used, and in two very important sections, how the TuneTracker System™ does what it does. Every part of this section is important to read, but be especially sure to read "Know Your Attributes," "How the System Works," and do the "Basic Step-by- Step Instructions" tutorial. |
Setup
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Planning Your Station |
The goal of every radio station is listeners, and the best way to get them is by presenting them with something they want to hear. There's no substitute for good planning, and in this section we guide you through the thought processes that will assure you of a well-designed, professional-sounding radio station, targeted toward the audience you are attempting to reach. |
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Preparing Format Clocks |
We mentioned format clocks in the introductory part of the manual. Now, in this section, we go into depth, explaining how our system uses format clocks, and providing you with resources you can use in devising your own. Don't forget to open up the TuneTracker System's "Templates" folder and look at the sample format clock while reading through this section, since it will help to illustrate what we're describing. The most important part of this section is the one covering "Creating Your Own Format Clock." |
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Preparing Master Logs |
Making a master log is really simple. It's just a matter of pulling some hourly format clock files together to make a full, 24-hour day's worth of programming. A tool included in our system lets you do it in a split-second. This brief section should contain all the explanation you need. |
- Introduction
- Supported Audio Formats
- Network Configuration
- The Station Folder
- Recording Announcements
- MP3 Ripping Overview
- Fast, Uncompressed Grabs off CD
- Marking Ramp Times
- Adding "Info" to Your Songs
- Marking Your Songs' Segue Points
- Trimming The Front and End of Songs
- Editing Audio Files for Automation
- Army Knife
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Importing and Prepping Audio Files |
You can bring audio into your TuneTracker™ computer via the Internet, your local area network (LAN), audio CDs, data CDs, and hard drives, including hard drives formatted under other operating systems. You can use many different types of audio files. In this section we go over some of the most common methods, explain how to set yourself up for networking, and provide a significant amount of information on ripping music from audio CDs, since that is the most common method for new stations. By using our TunePrepper™ music selection software, you can rip, trim, normalize, and database your songs all in one shot. If you don't have it, seriously consider getting it, because it'll save you tons of time. |
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SoundPlay Setup |
There's not really much you need to do here. SoundPlay is the audio player portion of the TuneTracker System, and does its job very transparently. The main reason to change anything in SoundPlay will be if you plan to do streaming of your broadcast over the Internet or an intranet, in which case you should read "Broadcasting over the Internet." It explains how to set up the streaming server. There's also some information here on using audio processor plugins, which some stations like to add to their audio chain. |
TuneTracker System in Action
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Using TuneStacker™ |
TuneStacker™ music selection software turns your station's master logs into broadcast-ready program logs. It does all of your music and other audio file randomization and rotations, using the special TuneStacker™ "commands" (don't worry, they're easy) in your master logs. If you're using the Command Center version of TuneTracker System™, TuneStacker™ can also import commercial traffic logs. A big part of the power of the TuneTracker System™ comes from its use of "file attributes" built-into BeOS, to do almost any imaginable format with unlimited variations and music mixes. To do so, be sure you learn how to include a few very simple "commands" in your format clocks and master logs. They let you randomly grab songs and other files based on all kinds of interesting criteria. |
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Using TuneTracker Basic™ |
This section covers use of TuneTracker Basic™. Command Center owners should skip down to the next section. In this section, the Interface page does a good job of introducing you to the buttons, bells, and whistles in the TuneTracker interface. Setting TuneTracker™ Preferences walks you through the many settings you can personalize, including time-updating, overlapping, reboot recovery, and many others. Be sure to read the section on TuneTracker™ Commands, because they'll let you take full advantage of all of the system's automation capabilities. The more you read in this section, the better you will understand the depth and capabilities of the TuneTracker System. |
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The ChannelCaster™ Switcher Interface |
ChannelCaster is a special set of switcher control features for the TuneTracker System, which allow Command Center to interface with the Broadcast Tools line of switcher boxes. It lets you put audio from a variety of sources on the air automatically, via your program logs, and manually, using Command Center's configurable buttons. This section covers the Command Center side of things, and basic connection instructions. For detailed documentation on the switcher box itself, and advanced connection details, please refer to the manual included with your Broadcast Tools switcher. |
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The TouchCaster Touchsreen Interface |
This section covers setting up, connecting, calibrating, and most effective use of the TuneTracker touchscreen and interface. |
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Using TimeTracker™ |
TimeTracker lets you record live audio for broadcast at a later time. You can schedule as many unique recordings as you like, and each one can be recorded in your choice of formats, including MP3. Recordings can be set to occur once, or repeatedly, so TimeTracker can be used to grab hourly newscasts, daily actuality feeds, weekly special broadcasts, and any other live audio you choose to broadcast at a time other than when it originally occurred. This section quickly gets you up-to-speed on how to use TimeTracker. |
- Army Knife Attribute Editor
- CSacker Report Generator
- CRconverter
- Lightning (free w/ Commmand Center)
- BeShare Chat & Filesharing
- Spicykeys hotkeys
- TSConvert (For TT 1.0 Upgraders)
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Bundled Special Utilities |
The Army Knife tool (also listed under Importing and Prepping Audio Files) is an extremely important component you'll be using when importing audio files. It lets you copy the valuable embedded "ID3" tag information found in MP3 files to their corresponding BeOS file attributes so that TuneStacker™ can search the files for that information. You can manually add that information too, but Army Knife makes it fast and automatic. CSacker is a quick, easy report generator program that reads the text "output log" created by TuneTracker™ and lets you filter out a list of specific items you want to know about, such as how many PSAs or commercials ran. Some other very valuable tools are also covered in this section. |
- TuneBacker™ Double Backup System
- TunePrepper™ Music Ripping/Preparation
- TT Anywhere Remote Control
- Temperature Announcements
- "Hourless" Time Announcements
- Natural Log Traffic Software
- DayTracker Audio Logging
- TimeTracker Timeshift Recording
- TuneBridge Music Database Builder
- Lightning Request finder (option for TT Basic Users)
- Available Video Training DVDs
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Orderable Extras |
While DayTracker audio logging software is intended for special circumstances where stations must keep an audio recording of their entire broadcast day, TunePrepper™ and TuneBacker™ are important for everybody, and TT Anywhere will be of great help to many. TunePrepper™, in particular, is so helpful in ripping and professionally preparing audio files for broadcast that we strongly recommend all our owners get it. It'll save you a huge amount of time, and make your station sound better, because it not only rips, but also preps, songs for broadcast. TuneBacker™ is also an awfully good idea, because it assures you won't lose all your precious radio station content in the event of a lightning spike or hard drive failure. If you need to be able to remotely control TuneTracker™, or work on your station from another workstation in the building via LAN, or anywhere else in the world via the Internet, get TT Anywhere. It lets you bring TuneTracker System's desktop up on almost any computer, regardless of its operating system. It's great for station administration as well as remote broadcasts. |
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Remote Administration Options |
You can access the TuneTracker System™ remotely via FTP, Telnet, and TT Anywhere, to transfer files in and out of the system, generate program logs, and control the TuneTracker™ interface remotely from anywhere. This is especially important among smaller radio stations, where staff is limited and remote access can be crucial. |
Resources
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Technical Assistance |
Here are a bunch of other helpful resources. If we can add others you think would be useful, let us know! Please be sure to see the QuickTips archive online, which is extremely helpful, and if you aren't receiving them already, sign up to receive our weekly QuickTips e-mail. |
Table of Contents