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This blog contains posts regarding broadcast, computer programming, technology and general life stuff. It'll include anything that I wish to write/rant about - including new gadgets, software and news in the radio and software industry. This main blog page contains the 5 most recent entries - to see more, please click an entry title or date from the links below.
New Phone and Gubbins for 2012
In case you haven't noticed, I've recently added Meridian and SoundFusion to the website. They are currently both in Beta although SoundFusion is about 90% complete. You are welcome to try them but, of course, not everything is complete and there may some issues to iron-out. The good news is that you can purchase SoundFusion until 5th February at 50% of the official price: Just £50 and that includes additional licences at this 50% rate for life.
Meridian will come in 2 flavours: Admin and Full. The Admin licence will be for importing and managing your audio files as well as creating Clocks and editing Schedules. It will not have any scheduling functions but can be used as an "editing workstation". The Full licence will include scheduling on an unlimited number of stations. The expect prices are £25 and £150 respectively.
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SoundFusion - a playout application designed for simple live-assist/automation with not too many complex (or expensive) features. M3U Playlists, HotKeys, Editor/Recorder, Script window and extensive Library database including on-screen keyboard. SoundFusion works great with a touchscreen. |
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Meridian - a playout application designed for simple live-assist/automation with not too many complex (or expensive) features. Admin-only Licence is great for managing your audio files, creating Clocks and editing Schedules while the Full Licence will offer scheduling for an unlimited number of stations. |
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I also got myself a new Android phone - Having been impressed with the 'droid operating system and my original Orange Monte Carlo/ZTE Skate, I decided to take the plunge and get myself something a bit more sexy - Enter the LG Optimus 2X.
It's a 1GHz dual-core phone offering 8GB internal storage, 480x800 pixel screen, HDMI port, microSD slot plus 8MP rear and 2MP front-facing cameras. I'm already running a custom ROM - Having been through a few since before Xmas: MCR Gr6, BlazingDragon and now KANG. The KANG ROM is CM7-based and very stable and good on battery life. I do miss the stock LG "nudge" feature where you can tap the phone with you finger and move the cursor to correct typing errors but the rest of the system more than makes up for that.
Posted: Sunday, January 22, 2012 and filed under:
android,
gubbins,
software,
technology
Keywords: audio automation broadcast cart cartchunk LG optimus 2X mp3 radio playout software studio vb6 visual basic wav
It's 30 years since the BBC "Beeb" Microcomputer was released (well, sort of) - BBC News posted an article this morning on it and I thought I'd scribble-down a few words as the Model B was the first computer I used.
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I think I got my Beeb in 1989 and remember the slightly awkward method of using SHIFT-BREAK to get a floppy disk going - This was when floppy disks really were floppy: the 5.25 inch variety which stored a massive 360Kb.
The User Guide binder was regular bedtime reading for me!
Games such as Arcadians, Castle Quest, Elite, Imogen, Killer Gorilla, Meteors, Moon Cresta, Palace of Magic, Repton and Sim City - Yes, Sim City on a 32k microcomputer!
The Play It Again Sam game packs were also good fun - a collection of several games for about the same price as a single one. Writing my own programs also got me started on the road to software development although aged 10 I doubt that a Cartwall or Playout system was at the front of my mind! |
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The Micro User magazine appeared in our house regularly - Especially when I started entering in the code from it to write games. One particular game that I coded from the magazine was Fruits , a simple fruit-machine game - All good fun and no real money lost! For a while, I had to make do with a 14" black'n'white TV when using the Beeb but eventually I was given a proper monitor - Ah, glorious colour but still no Channel 5.
Even my high school had the Beebs - Although they opted for the Master 128 model
Then, in 1992, my Dad got himself a Compaq Deskpro 286. I was well jel... I think it had 2MB of RAM but I know it had the math coprocessor (effectively making it a 287). In 1993, I was given my own PC - a 8088 XT, a speedy 8MHz CPU with a huge 640Kb of RAM and a 5.25" 20Mb hard-drive. It ran MS-DOS v3.3.
...and 20 years later, my original Beeb is still in the loft along with some rather rare original games on floppy disk.
Posted: Thursday, December 01, 2011 and filed under:
gubbins,
programming,
software,
technology
Keywords: bbc beeb microcomputer basic
Radio Stations Evolve, They Don't Revolve
Radio stations sometimes change formats, they sometimes apply to OFCOM so that they can alter their music format and/or music/speech ratio and so on... Radio forums "go viral" when this of thing happens, sometimes with good reason - Other times, it's because "most of the output will come from London".
So, here are 2 statements - Which is more valid?
- The licence was awarded with a promise of performance: music/speech ratio, music style, news content and how much of the programming was "local", ie: made in the transmission area.
Or, alternatively:
- A commercial radio station is a business, therefore it must evolve to cater for the changing market
Should the owners of a radio station be forced to sell to another company if they can't run it at a profit on the given remit? Or, should they be allowed to evolve, tweak and change as required?
Posted: Saturday, November 26, 2011 and filed under:
broadcast,
programming,
radio
Keywords: radio station programming ofcom
Rode Broadcaster, dBx286s and Triple C
This week saw the arrival of some sexy audio equipment - A dBx286s microphone channel-strip and a TC Electronic Triple C processor. These are to be used in conjuction with the Rode Broadcaster microphone that I recently purchased.
The Rode and the dBx sound very nice - I love the sound of Rode microphones, from the original NT1 to the newer NT1a and the original NT2 (the 2nd mic I ever owed) - they sound crisp, clear and offer the lowest self-noise around. The Broadcaster mic is modelled to resemble the infamous Electrovoice RE20 - seen in many American radio studios (and a few UK ones, too). Unlike most Rode mics, it features an end-fire design with integral blast-filter. From my tests, I'd say that it's about 75% effective and you really do need the stock Rode foam windshield for pop-free use unless you (or your presenters) have excellent microphone technique!
The dBx286s is a lovely unit - The controls are simple yet powerful and allow you to get a good sound from the moment you switch it on. It has a good compressor with just 2 controls - these are plenty, it's impossible to get a bad sound from it. The EQ/Enhancer allows you to put a bit of extra "bass" and/or "top" into the sound - Useful if you've engaged the high-pass filter to remove mic-boom rumble. The Expander/Gate has Threshold and Ratio controls allowing you to keep ambient (or computer) noise off the recording.
The TC Electronic Triple C has been discontinued for a while but they turn up on eBay from time-to-time. I got mine from the SoundonSound Reader's Ads webpage - The Triple C offers 3 bands of digital processing and a brickwall limiter. It's original purpose was that of a budget master processer - costing around £600 when new! Most of the settings (on a "per-band" basis") can be set either on the front panel or via the Edit menu. There's a lot to tweak but it can give a basic microphone sound that "broadcast ready" feel.
My initial test of this set-up can be found on my SoundCloud page - There's also a link to the original WAV version if you're of the linear persuasion.
Posted: Friday, November 25, 2011 and filed under:
broadcast,
radio,
technology
Keywords: rode broadcaster tc electronic triplec dbx286s microphone review
Ordering from Digital Village DV247
UPDATED - see end of entry
Having ordered from DV247.com (Digital Village) several times in the past, I was reasonably confident that this latest order would follow along similar lines - that wasn't to be.
Offering a good price on a dBx286s voice-channel, I placed an order at 12:20 on 15th Nov. I knew that the item was not in stock and subject to a lead-time of 3-12 working days (as stated on their website). At 12:34 I received the following e-mail from DV247:
Dear Sir / Madam,
Once again, thank you for placing an order with us. We are in the process of placing a new order with our suppliers for your item. Once the ETA has been received we will inform you immediately. However, please allow up to 3 working days for this information to be received from our suppliers. We appreciate your patience in this matter.
Kind regards
Customer Services
On the 4th working day (Monday 21st Nov) at 17:05, I e-mailed back to with the following:
Any update on this order - I know it's on order but I'd like to know when you'll be getting it in t deliver to me.
At 10:09 the next morning I received the following reply:
Dear Sir / Madam,
Once again, thank you for placing an order with us. We are in the process of placing a new order with our suppliers for your item. Once the ETA has been received we will inform you immediately. However, please allow up to 3 working days for this information to be received from our suppliers. We appreciate your patience in this matter.
Kind regards Customer Services
Notice anything familiar? Yes, it's exactly the same text from the e-mail they sent last week. Looking at this e-mail, DV247 do not know who I am or when they can fulfill my order - Going by the wording, they haven't actually placed the order from their supplier (Soundtech) and it's been a week since I placed the order. Incidentally, I telephoned Soundtech and they confirmed that had ample stock of the dBx286s which could be shipped for "next day delivery". Armed with this information, I then telephoned DV247 and spoke with Gareth who, to his credit, was very helpful and even offered a similar (and more expensive) unit as a replacement - He explained that because they out-source their warehouse to a company in Oxford, they can't just order a single item otherwise it'd be chaos.
He promised to look into the status and get back to me with an expected date of when they'll have the item to send out to me. He then sent me 2 further e-mails explaining that the original purchase of dBx stock had been held up due to a pricing query and still didn't have an ETA from Soundtech on delivery. Funny, they told me they could ship "next day"...
This morning (23rd) at 09:34 I received the following "update" from DV247 regarding the order:
Some of the products you have ordered are not currently in stock. The estimated dates of arrival from the supplier are below: ETA: late November
If I was being pedantic, it's already "late November". The e-mail gave 3 options: 1) Wait for item to arrive, 2) Refund card and keep order, then re-charge card upon stock arriving or 3) Full refund and cancellation. I opted for the full refund which they charmingly inform me will take 3-10 working days for my bank to clear. Great!
My grumble is mainly to do with the logistics of getting non-stock items shipped - Gareth (based in Romford) was very helpful and explained why they don't keep stocks of everything and how the ordering of non-stock works. The other issue is the lack of clear and concise information regarding time-scale of delivery plus, of course, the robotic nature of the e-mail/s received.
What has pissed me off is the polite+fair review of this experience (far nicer than this blog entry) was removed from their Facebook page within 15 minutes of writing it. Also, a quite follow-up has also just been removed (within 5 minutes of posting) - This must be why they have trouble ordering stock, they're playing on Facebook all day!
In the meantime, I contacted StudioSpares were my 2nd choice to order from - They offered to match the DV247 price (a different of £3) but the item wasn't in stock so I was back to square one. In the end, I went to GAK who were £17 more but had the dBx286s in stock.
My follow-up e-mail to DV247 (a recent order solicits feedback by a dedicated e-mail address) was as follows:
Thank you - It's frustrating that my card is debited instantly, I am given vague dates for stock+delivery and then may have to wait "up to 10 working days" for a refund. That's an interest-free loan of £210.01p that you've had from me for 2 weeks. I think I may have to open my own PayDayLoan business!
I am annoyed that after a week, there was still no fixed date other than "late November" for stock+delivery and my follow-up e-mail to ask for a specific date was replied to with the same stock e-mail that I received upon ordering. That e-mail was sent from Outlook Express so a human was involved - At no time did it address me by name or give the details asked for - It was a complete copy/paste of the original order+stock confirmation. Not acceptable.
Upon leaving a fair+polite posting on your Facebook page, checking back less than 15 minutes later showed that it had been deleted. I actually praised one of your staff members for being helpful over the phone and made some observations regarding the logistics of ordering and getting non-stock items to your Oxford warehouse. I hope your future ordering of non-stock items is as efficient as your Facebook housekeeping!
What makes this issue even more frustrating is that Soundtech, the UK distributor of dBx, say they can get the items to you "next day".
I have made several purchases over the last couple of years and have always received them "next day" but on this occasion there have been a number of issues that will make me think twice about ordering in future no matter how competative your prices.
Hopefully, I'll have a shiny new microphone channel to play with tomorrow...
Update : Giving DV247 their right of reply, I've had an e-mail from Senion Manager, Robin Heyworth who has gone into some detail towards explaining the issues that I encountered. Although I've had to purchase elsewhere, I will say that Robin did offer the unit for £190 inc delivery and that they'd made a "special order" yesterday for me. Although I wasnt' aware of that when I cancelled - I have declined the offer.
I'll still puchase from DV247 again but I felt that this had to be written to highlight the increasing automated nature of many online stores when receiving enquiries from their customers. Firing exactly the same e-mail back a week later isn't what I'd call proper customer service or attention to detail.
Posted: Wednesday, November 23, 2011 and filed under:
gubbins,
whinge
Keywords: dv247 digital village romford dbx286s consumer problems
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