Your First Broadcast

You've installed AutoCast, the sample station is loaded, and you're looking at the interface. Now what? This chapter walks you through the core of day-to-day operation — starting AutoCast, running in automation, going live, and stopping. Everything else in this guide builds on these fundamentals.

Make Sure You Have a Program Log

AutoCast needs a program log to know what to play. A program log is a plain text file that lives in your Station Folder at Logs/Program Logs/ and is named for the current date. The sample station includes demo logs so you have something to work with immediately.

In a real station workflow, program logs are generated by ClockWork (specifically its TuneStacker component) and dropped into the Program Logs folder automatically. For now, the sample logs are perfect for learning.

When AutoCast launches, it loads today's program log automatically. You'll see the scheduled songs and events populate the program log display in the left column.

Starting Playback

Click the Start button. AutoCast begins playing from the current position in the program log. The first song loads onto Deck A and starts playing. The progress bar fills from left to right as the song plays. Deck B shows what's coming next, along with a predicted start time in red.

That's it. You're on the air.

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If you want AutoCast to jump to the correct position in the log based on the current time — say, if you're starting mid-day — look for the right-click menu on the program log. The "Catch Up to Current Time" option scans the log and advances to where you should be right now.

Automation Mode

Clicking Start plays the current item, but it doesn't automatically advance to the next one — unless Auto mode is also on.

Click the Auto button. A green dot appears on the button to confirm automation is active. Now AutoCast runs on its own: when each song ends (or reaches its EOM point), it automatically crossfades into the next item, advances through the log, executes any commands it encounters, and keeps the station running without anyone touching anything.

This is the normal operating mode for an automated station. You turn Auto on, walk away, and AutoCast does its job.

To pause automation — stop the auto-advance without stopping current playback — click Auto again to turn it off. The current song finishes playing, and then AutoCast waits. Click Auto again to resume.

Song Transitions — How AutoCast Crossfades

AutoCast doesn't just stop one song and start the next. It crossfades between them at a precise point defined by the song's EOM (End-of-Message) marker in the music library. The EOM is the moment the outgoing song's energy naturally winds down — where a professional board op would start the next record.

When the playing song reaches its EOM point, AutoCast begins fading it out while simultaneously fading in the next song from its Cue point (the point where the new song actually starts — after any dead air or count-in at the beginning of the file). The crossfade duration is set in Settings → Audio.

Songs that haven't had their EOM and Cue points set yet will still transition — AutoCast uses a universal overlap setting as a fallback — but setting these points in Librarian gives you tight, professional-sounding crossfades on every song.

Going Live

When you need to open the mic — for a talk break, a live read, a phone call, anything — click Go Live. AutoCast immediately:

Opens your live input (microphone or board feed)
Ducks the program audio down so your voice is heard clearly
Shows the live input status on the deck display

When you're done with your break, click Go Live again (or the equivalent button that appears during the live state). AutoCast fades out the live input and resumes program audio.

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Make sure your live input device is correctly configured in Settings → System → Primary Input Device before you go live. If no input device is selected, Go Live won't have anything to open.

Previewing What's Coming Up

Want to hear what's about to play before it goes on air? Click Preview. The next queued item plays on your preview output device — typically headphones or a monitor speaker — without going to your main program output. Your audience hears nothing; you hear exactly what's coming.

You can also long-press any item in the program log or the Search Pad to preview it. The item's border blinks orange briefly while AutoCast loads it, then preview playback begins.

Preview playback requires a separate preview output device configured in Settings → System → Preview Output Device. If you only have one audio output, you won't be able to preview separately from program audio — but you can still hear what's playing on your main output.

Manual Control — Taking the Wheel

Even in full automation, you always have manual control. At any time you can:

Click the play button on Deck B to immediately start the next song, ahead of schedule
Long-press the play button on Deck B or C to crossfade into that item immediately
Drag items in the program log to reorder what's coming up
Drag a song from the Search Pad into the program log to insert it wherever you want
Right-click the program log for options to skip items, insert items, or jump to a different position

AutoCast is always ready to hand control back to you. It just handles the routine so you can focus on the moments that need a human touch.

Exact Time Start

If you need AutoCast to start at a precise clock time — for example, joining a network at the top of the hour — right-click the program log and look for the Exact Time Start option. AutoCast will scan the log to find the correct position for the current time and jump to it, then begin playing. This is especially useful if you're starting AutoCast mid-day after the station has been running in some other mode.

LiveAssist Mode — for Live-Hosted Shows

For shows where a live DJ controls the pacing — morning drive, a specialty program — there's LiveAssist mode. In LiveAssist, AutoCast plays each item once and then waits. The DJ manually clicks the play button on Deck B to advance to the next song when they're ready. AutoCast doesn't advance on its own.

LiveAssist mode can be toggled from the program log via a # LiveAssist On command (so it kicks in automatically at the right point in the log), or manually with a long press on the Auto button. More on this in Live Breaks & LiveAssist.

Ending the Broadcast

AutoCast doesn't have a "Stop" button in the traditional sense — it just runs until the program log ends, at which point it posts a notification and waits. If you need to stop playback manually, click Auto to turn off automation, and the current item will play to completion without advancing to the next one.

If you need to stop immediately, right-clicking a deck gives you options to end the current item early.

Ready to go deeper? The next stop is Program Logs — the engine that drives everything AutoCast does.