TUNETRACKER SYSTEM IN ACTION - TuneTracker commands

# GetPlay

# GetPlay is a huge time-saver and an excellent way to assure that a program whose content changes every day gets played consistently. It behaves similarly to the TuneStacker™ command called "Play," except, instead of finding the files at the time you generate your program log in TuneStacker, # GetPlay tells TuneTracker™ to do the work instead, as it is playing out your program log. One of the big benefits of this approach is that it is very forgiving about missing files. By letting TuneTracker™ retrieve the files a split second before they are needed, you'll have the opportunity to add files right up to the very last minute.

To get a sense of how # GetPlay works, let's use an imaginary situation. Let's say you have a daily one-minute program called "Today in Tech History." It arrives on CD once a week, and you normally dub the shows into your /boot/Station/Programs folder as soon as the CD arrives in the mail each week. From now on, dub them in with filenames that look like this:

TechHistory_11-03-06.mp3
TechHistory_11-04-06.mp3
TechHistory_11-05-06.mp3
TechHistory_11-06-06.mp3


Then, in your format clocks/master logs, the line you add to your programming should look like this:

•   Example:
  
  # GetPlay /boot/Station/Programs/TechHistory_%D.mp3
  

TuneTracker™ will see the line and automatically substitute the current day's date for %D (Date) when looking for the file. Thus, you only need to add the line once to your master log, and from then on you never have to touch the logs again! Just make sure your files follow the same naming scheme all the time and you'll be all set.


YOU CAN INCLUDE THE HOUR TOO! (Command Center 3.3 and above)

Imagine a format clock versatile enough to chose the correct voice track for every hour of every day, without your ever having to create more than one format clock!

Just name your files like these (07 represents the 7 a.m. hour, while VT1, VT2, etc., represent the positions in the hour.

VT1_11-06-08_07.mp3
VT2_11-06-08_07.mp3
VT3_11-06-08_07.mp3
VT4_11-06-08_07.mp3

Then, in your format clock, add a %H item to each GetPlay line, which causes Command Center to get the file for not only the corret date, but also the correct Hour...as shown below:

•   Example:
  
  # GetPlay /boot/Station/Programs/VT1_%D_%H.mp3
  
  # GetPlay /boot/Station/Programs/VT2_%D_%H.mp3
  
  # GetPlay /boot/Station/Programs/VT3_%D_%H.mp3
  
  # GetPlay /boot/Station/Programs/VT4_%D_%H.mp3
  
  

You can use those same four lines in all of your hours, all day long, and Command Center will take care of automatically retrieve the correct files on the current days for the correct hour, all day long. Potentially, those four lines might be all you need to retrieve all your station's voice tracks!




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