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JockMaster
[PREVIEW - LAYOUT AND FEATURES SUBJECT TO CHANGE!]
JockMaster may have a rather rubbish name (fancy choosing a better
one?), but the features and performance make up for it.
Basic Features
...includes a variety of DJ-friendly
features and is more than enough to run an Internet, Community or RSL station - not to mention enough outputs and buttons to keep a
bedroom DJ up way past his bedtime... Much of JockMaster's
layout is designed to be touch-screen friendly, ideal for
fast-paced shows.
A variety of features will be available
such as: multi-channel outputs, mixdown of playlists, real-time
effects and plugins (such as processing/streaming). Although
designed to operate with multiple output soundcards - JockMaster
will be able to utilize the surround outputs of a domestic audio
card: So a 7.1 card would allow up to 3 stereo outputs.
The
basic JockMaster package allows you to drag 'n' drop MP3/WAV files
from the FileBrowser into the Player or HotKey modules ready for
playout. The Player module is a live-assist/automated
playback tool which can intelligently sequence a playlist of audio
until a) a pre-set time, b) a command tells it to stop, or c) the
playlist runs out.
Various
"modules" make up the JockMaster package and they may be ordered
during your initial purchase or later on should you decide to
upgrade. Upgrade is simply a matter of paying some money and I send you a new code - no re-install, just type the new code and
the extra features become available for use. This allows you
to licence various copies for full-blown on-air use, production,
news booth or office desk use where you wouldn't want to waste
un-used features (or your money)!
One of the problems (or is it
a bonus?) of RSL and Community stations is the frequent deviation
from a pre-scheduled playlist and playing songs that the presenter
wants to hear (or the listener). JockMaster will feed back to
Trust the details of played items allowing the next schedule run
to take into account latest song playback history.
Additional Modules
The following modules may be added at any time simply by
entering a new activation key...
Database Support
If you need
advanced features such as an audio database and/or voicetracking -
these are optional modules and can be bolted on at a later date -
or you can buy the whole lot... It's up to you! Even without
a central database, audio cuts can still hold data such as cue in,
intro and segue points using data files which sit along-side your
existing audio.
The optional
Database Module (shown below) allows for quick and easy searching
of your JockMaster library - you can filter by Item Type
(Commands, Adverts, Jingles, Packages, Promos, Songs or
VoiceTracks), find a particular genre/style and even list all
songs with the word "love" in the artist/title... Subject to user
privileges, audio items can be opened in the Editor window and
their properties (cue points etc) can be modified.
USB Hardware I/O
Permits control of external switching equipment (such as
satellite feeds, studios etc). Also allows JockMaster to be
controlled (Start, Stop, Next etc). Using the
DigiBee USB board, up to 16 inputs and 16 outputs may be
defined.
HotKey Panel
A sizable hotkey button panel suitable for viewing on a 2nd
monitor.
Now Playing
If you need to send your song playing data to a website,
streaming server, Twitter or somewhere else - this module is
needed.
One of the problems with a 1hr or 3hr pre-record is that you
cannot update your website with "now playing" information. This
becomes possible with JockMaster as you can listen to a show via
the editor and add library items to the Now Playing List
so that they are output at the exact moment they play ;)
If you record the show via the in-built Record Module,
JockMaster can add the songs for you as they are played - bloody clever if you ask
me!
VoiceTracking/Level Ducking
Whilst the basic JockMaster licence allows for the simple
adjustment of segue transitions, the optional segue/voicetracking feature
will allow you to
finely-tune each item overlap as well place sweepers and
voice-tracks over song transitions. This includes
level-ducking of the music tracks so that your sweeper/voice-track
is heard clearly.
For simplicity, I have
decided not to re-produce waveform views as part of this feature
(yet) - instead I will be using coloured bars to indicate portions
of the file see image below.
Because
every playlist segue is unique - not only do presenters want to
ensure that the overlaps are correct, but in a live situation
you'd adjust the fade-level of the song to match it's level
wouldn't you ? Of course you would - so why should this not
work in automation as well ? JockMaster's global "sweeper/voicetrack
ducking level" can be overridden for every segue if you so desire.
A good
example of this would be love songs - a global ducking level of,
say, -12dB would all but completely mute most soft intros so you
will have the option of increasing/decreasing the level
accordingly. This setting can also be applied on a
per-song-basis so that louder intros are always ducked more than
softer ones.
Overlap
Example in JockMaster: A voice-track element has been added to the
overlap and the incoming song has been brought forward to match
the duration. The yellow portion of the bar shows the intro duration
- This will turn red if the sweeper/voice-track crosses the intro.
It is also possible to 'trim' the finish point of the outgoing
track by dragging the white bar at the track's end. The
small black line indicates the track's Segue point.
The "Hit The Vocal" button will align the middle and incoming
tracks so that they overlap and meet the intro as per the example
below. A scroll-bar allows you to view up to 40s of the
incoming song's intro.
The image
below is the current Segue Editor view - it's still work in
progress but you can try it out as a stand-alone application.
The download looks a bit different as it was the final version
before I added audio support - this sample doesn't do anything audio related as yet but you can move the
tracks and click some buttons!
Download it here.
With the Voicetracking module you are also able to mixdown a
playlist to a single stereo PCM WAV file - including overlaps and
level ducking during the sweepers/voice-tracks. This permits
you to compile a show, record voice-tracks, set/adjust overlaps
and then mix down to a final "master" audio track... This is ideal
for presenters who produce syndicated shows.
News Module
Ideal for your news booth - a newsreader friendly screen
combining news scripts with audio cuts.
API External Control/Events
Using an optional DLL, you can control JockMaster from
external applications or have them react to JockMaster events.
Typical examples would include:
An e-mail/sms alert if things go wrong
A track ending (or starting)
Gathering playing data for an external database/web-site
Current Status
The actual program is working well and much of the GUI is
complete - the bits left to do are code the automation/voicetrack
routines and get the database finished. Below is my "to do"
list for this project, and I'll remove them as I complete them:
Segue/VoiceTrack Editor and
Recorder Admin Module for Database Digibee IO Code User Security tidy-ups Now Playing FTP tidy-ups API Example Projects Help File -
traditionally the final thing to get done!
...probably more but these are the
obvious ones!
Support
Having looked at the many other playout systems available -
all of which offer some type of support, I can't help wonder
why there needs to be such extensive support in place ?
Peace of mind obviously - but it seems that there are 101 ways to
configure these programs and 102 ways in which the average DJ can
screw them up!
It seems logical that the installation and set-up process should
be as simple as possible with a simple step-by-step guide to
getting up-and-running with JockMaster. At present, you can
simply unzip the program - set a few basic options and run it: no
complex installs or SQL worries. Of course, every station is
different (unless you're called Heart), so minor tweaks
will need to be made to each config to suit the user.
JockMaster
Editor Screen - managing audio properties
JockMaster
Admin - setting-up the Hardware I/O Options
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