I have been using the (free!) Linux-based Rivendell Radio Automation in a professional environment since 2004 and find it to be a robust and very versatile system. If you have ever wrestled with trying to install it on a Linux computer, I'm sure you have experienced a rough time.
I recently found out that the folks behind Rivendell have issued an "Appliance DVD" which contains an entire Linux operating system, MySQL, and the Rivendell environment. It requires very little thought to install an entire automation system on completely blank computer hardware. Drop in the disk, answer a few questions, come up with a user name and password, then start importing your audio.
If you have never used Rivendell before, be warned that it is not a common click-n-drag playlist-type audio player. This program does voicetracking, time-sensitive events, auto-logging, and delayed playouts (so newscasts don't have to start at exactly the top of the hour), and requires a little bit of open-mindedness and curiosity. It is real easy to just say, "Oh, this isn't like [my current software] and its too hard to learn so to hell with it." But it about as powerful a system as you can get if you spent a few thousand for it.
If you are already using a favorite Windows software suite now, great. Don't change. But if you just want to noodle with Rivendell and check out its features (perhaps for future use), look for the download at;
http://rivendellaudio.org/ftpdocs/rivendell/appliance/rdappliance-DVD-0.9.7.iso
thanks for this. i'm going to check that out.
Rivendell is a wonderful automation system. However, if you are intending to have DJ's across the country do remote internet voice tracking on your station, Rivendell is not currently capable of the task. From my vantage point, that seems to be the only real drawback to the system.
Marshall - There is a community of Rivendell Users at:
http://lists.rivendellaudio.org/mailman/listinfo/rivendell-dev
...and these guys have the answers to just about everything. If you haven't posted your concern there, give it a go. I'd like very much to know if this is possible myself.
Marshall - I ran your concern up the flagpole at the Rivendell Users Group and got two valid responses:
Robert Jeffares from new Zealand answered:
"We have several cyber jocks who deliver voice tracks from home. Each
has a Dropbox and RD catch just carts them, provided they have the right
label.
We don't say "...that was/this is..." One jock includes musical items in the voice tracks.
The voice track carts are scheduled and integrate seamlessly with talk
over and talk in handled by RD
We have a number of remote inputs, from what you might call the "hog
report" which is done on the stock agent's H-Pac audio recorder to a
number of fully contained shows. All get dropped in the dropbox and it
just runs.
We could get cute and run logs and have people announce titles, but our
format it presumes you know what we're playing and you don't need us to
tell you what you know already.
Admittedly we don't sound live all the time so we are adding time checks. Our system works even if we re create the log."
-----------------------------------
And from Rob Landrey out on Cape Cod:
"My client, Cape Cod Broadcasting, has been doing it on their World
Classical Network for three years.
They have a server open to SSH connections on the public Internet.
Announcers record their tracks at home and upload them to the server.
Then, once a day the Rivendell machine at each affiliate station connects
to the server and grabs the daily schedule. The schedule is imported into
the Rivendell database using a Perl script, and periodically throughout
the day another script connects to the server, grabs the tracks, and
rdimports them.
I hope some of this is helpful.
You are correct; these are valid responses. However, real remote internet VT-ing really requires the voice talent to be able to download or connect to the server to view the real air log with the specific event label or number. By having this information and the capability to bring up the specific VT file, the talent can record the exact length and pace to fit seamlessly into the automation system and thereby sound live and local. Most remote internet VT systems allow the air talent to preview the end and beginning of audio content around the specific VT event. The remotely recorded VT file is loaded to the specific event to be played later without the manipulation of someone who is in direct local control of the "on-air" server.
Rivendell, even in the aforementioned examples, requires manipulation of the recorded audio to actually play in the prescribed programming. Long form programs, such as the Hog Report, are different in that they are stand alone programming elements, not content created to fit between elements dependent on the flow of the program. You wouldn't need to add separate time checks with real remote internet VTs because the time check would already be recorded and included in the VT, if its required.
Rivendell's capacity to work with other music selection and traffic programs has grown over the years. However, the system has never really brought external music selection software into the automation scheme as an integral part. So remote internet voice tracking still remains as part of a local creative work-around option (previous examples) that is not very user friendly for the computer challenged.
There are a variety of automation software packages available that are reasonably priced (for the small budget) that have remote internet voice tracking built in with the needed server utilities that are downloaded and used by the remote talent. A search for these titles online is where I found mine.
Since my original posting last October, the site for downloading the Rivendell appliance has changed. Find it now at: http://paravelsystems.com/appliance.html
The developers have moved it up from 32-bit to 64, and switched the base operating system from SUSE to CentOS.
Still free.
-ap