How to import traffic and music logs to avoid manually scheduling audio
How to set up confirmation or "as run" logs
A: Put SCHEDULED break commands throughout the automation schedules where any scheduled audio files are "supposed" to come from the traffic system. They are defined with start times and lengths. You can hit a button in an Automation Deck - specify a path/file name - and in seconds - it replaces last weeks cuts with whatever came from the traffic log - and gives you a simple confirmation pop up warning you of anything that was missing or out of date.
If you make a share path to the wire folder on the automation machine - keep in mind there's nothing stopping someone from running a WireReady instance on their own computer - and opening playlists - editing them and saving them back without actually touching the software running on the automation box.
Beginning with version 6 of our software (available if you want to try it), scheduled breaks support an AUTOFILL check box - where we can autofill a break to within a second or two using a directory of rotation files (60.rpl, 30.rpl, 20, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, etc.). A full logic range from 2 hours down to 3 seconds is supported.
Version 6 also has auto-importation commands
You can have a playlist actually grab the traffic log for you (completely hands-off operation) and it returns a TEXT file when it ingests it so you see the same report I mentioned above. Some folks setup a separate playlist that constantly watches a folder(s) on the network - so within a couple minutes of a traffic person saving it to the LAN - if they see the confirmation text file report in the same folder - they know we've gotten it. Stations who do not want an operator to actually have to use WireReady software and "invoke" the traffic or music import function - can fully automate it with this command so that WireReady literally grabs the logs each day for each station without user intervention.
Please note: Stations who use this system should still structure their organization so that an operator REVIEWS the import confirmation file we generate so that at least someone is verifying that the automatic import ran as expected so that traffic mistakes are caught BEFORE they air. AUTOFILL is a nice feature except when we are filling PSAs to substitute for commercials someone was supposed to include in the traffic log - but forgot.
WireReady can ingest any traffic or music schedule file if it's ASCII and at least one column in the file has the file name which corresponds to the names you use in our system (numbers or alpha numerics). There is no limit on the name length, and the extension of the file is not necessary for a match. A second column should have the air time in civilian or military time with HH:MM:SS or HHMMSS format. SS is optional I believe. We can adjust our software to read any format that our current user-configurable settings do not allow. Any extra columns or information lines on your log will not affect our ability to read your logs; we simply ignore that info. WireReady also supports a mode for traffic systems that provide the description or company name on spots - where we can modify our audio files to match the descriptions found on the traffic system exactly when you import. This is used by a small amount of stations for autorecon purposes.
As far as confirmation files go - WireReady can log an "as run" confirmation file using the original WireReady (DOS) format as well as user-specified formats for major traffic vendors such as VT (Wicks - version 5 and later). These and all the settings for traffic logs are contained in our INI file and information should be available on our web site. WireReady's confirmation files are enabled in the INI as is their paths. You can choose which automation decks log to which file (they can be separate) and you can steer other playback screens (live assist, on-air, notepad, etc.) to one of these as run logs if you are required to log EVERY file played anywhere in our software for audit purposes. WireReady also supports a second log file called a TRACE log that logs every single sequence in the automation deck noting how they executed and trapping errors when applicable. This is configured separately and does not impact our ability to use an AS RUN log.
For specifics on the exact INI line settings and setup procedure - consult other documentation on our web site or contact Technical Support for more information.
Look at your INI file - there are group sections for importing traffic and music, and setting up confirmation files that are fairly intuitive.
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