Posts

I'm FED UP With Having To Defend Myself

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As most of you know I happen to be the Worlds Biggest fan of RadioDJ ITS A TITLE I'M PROUD OF! RadioDJ is the most perfect piece of radio playout software and works everytime I need to use it. However I get a lot of people having a dig at me for the way I defend the program. Gary is acts in a sectarian way by defending the software tooth and nail I'm fed up with people having a POP at me everytime I go to stick up for the software. OK so I'll admit it RadioDJ isn't 100% FOOLPROOF BUT It performs better than other radio playout solutions. Some Users seem to EXPECT far too much from Marius he codes the software in his spare time and some people can't grasp that. I champion other software as well such as Voicemeeter so my posts are not always about RadioDJ Even in BETA RadioDJ software has been stable and just for the record I've pointed out the flaws with the BETA versions. Flaws have always usually been...

Dear Arthritis (How You Have Robbed Me)

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I used to walk & cycle most places and had no issues walking long distances I used to take walking for granted. I carried Record cases to/from gigs and a full record case could be heavy when packed with Singles & Albums. In 1995 I was a bar cellarman and I was throwing 22 and 11 gallon barrels around a cellar and lifting crates with NO ISSUES. In 1998 I worked in a huge cellar in the West end of London that went through over 50 barrels a week. it was 2002 when I started to realise that something wasn't right when I had a back spasm while out shopping. Back spasms can be extremely debilitating and I have to rest when they happen & theres no cure for my Spondylosis. I was diagnosed with Osteoarthrtis & Spondylosis in 2010 and I had a reasonable(ish) quality of life back then. Around the time of my Arthritis diagnosis I started usi...

There Is No Malware In RadioDJ

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Sometimes antivirus programs flag up the RadioDJ program files as suspicious. Avast, AVG, Bitdefender, Kaspersky & Norton keep deleting and quarantining files from the RadioDJ website. I had issues with AV software deleting RadioDJ a while back. I sent the RadioDJ.exe file to an antivirus company and they came back with this. Sorry, it was a false detection. It will be fixed in the next update After the next update the Antivirus Deleted the RadioDJ program files again so I binned that piece of Antivirus software off. It annoys me when Antivirus Software flags up a perfectly SAFE program as being infected when it isn't You can be rest assured there are ZERO Viruses in RadioDJ. Marius sometimes has issues with the way he packages the Installer He tries to protect his code from being stolen by other developers The AntiVirus thinks the packaged files are Infected when they aren't! Q: Do you need Antivirus softwar...

Important: When You Make A Change In RadioDJ Backup The Database

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Its pretty much self explanatory... BUT IT IS IMPORTANT RadioDJ saves most of the settings in the database these days although there are some settings still taken care of by XML files. Whenever you EDIT a track be it Cue Points or Artist/Title/Album etc... You must Backup your RadioDJ using the Database Setup tool this will preserve your changes to the database. YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY DATABASE BACKUPS! Its probably best IF YOU Backup your database onto an external Cloud server such as Google Drive. I have Google Drive monitoring my SQL backup folder as soon as I take a backup it goes up to the fluffy cloud. Its so much easier when you have settings taken care of in the database because you can set and forget. Its also dead easy for you to transfer Radio DJ to a new machine Other well known radio automation software offerings have NO way of backing up the database which is quite some FLAW. Its just ano...

HeidiSQL A Simple Database Editor (MySQL/MariaDB)

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I love HeidiSQL as a database editing tool, It also allows me to do maintenance on my databases should the worst happen. MariaDB should automatically install Heidi SQL alongside the database engine Its taken me a few years to feel confident around editing MySQL databases but now I find it really easy to do. I have two instances of SQL servers on this PC I have Oracle MySQL 5.5.9 on Port 3306 and MariaDB 10.5.8 on Port 3007. MariaDB databases shouldn't require much housework once installed I rarely touch my databases but on the odd occasion I have to give them a quick repair. I can easily log onto to sort it with HeidiSQL and its easy to keep on top of your MySQL Server. I knew next to nothing about how to maintain an SQL server 12 years ago but I learned by reading tutorials on the Internet. HeidiSQL makes my life so much simpler I'm not having to rebuild my databases regularly like I was back...

There Is No Need To Use Expensive Encoding Software

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I've recently retested a couple of pieces of PAID for stand alone encoding software. I tested Radiocaster ($59) and SAM Cast ($200) RadioCaster was easy enough to setup and configure I had a stream setup within 3 minutes. Feb 24th 2022: As RadioCaster is coded by a Russian developer I am asking people (NICELY) to BOYCOTT software from DJ Soft What's happening in Ukraine is quite frankly appalling by anyones standards The demo of Radio Caster comes with an annoying BLEEP over the stream every 15 minutes. Since I first tested RadioCaster its always buffered after 10/15 minutes of streaming I don't know if its a codec issue but something isn't right with RC The buffering has happened on different computers and ISP connections over the space of 5/6 years. SAM Cast has real issues trying to populate Now Playing metadata. SAM Cast encoders have a nasty habit...

Is There A Way to Get Metadata From SAM Cast?

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A user on a forum was looking to get the now playing information into SAM Cast so his listeners knew what he was playing. I tried and tried and failed in the past to get now playing metadata into the streams from SAMCast formerly Simplecast. There are users who claim to have title streaming working but when I follow their instructions it still doesn't want to work. This was a post by a user on the Spacial Audio Forums Having paid for Sam Cast I was determined to make title streaming work I now realise that it won't The File Poller application still didn't read or update metadata from a file The user on the forums stated that he's tried everything he can think of including trying to use Serial Ports. SamCast title encoding won't work. I tried installing it on the same PC as RadioDJ as well as a serial cable from the Radio DJ PC to the SamCast PC The stand alone encoders I promote read text files to stream the now playing metadata from soft...

Its Really Easy To Sort Your Music Library With RadioDJ

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After 7 and a half years with my RadioDJ database I've decided to rebuild my song library from scratch. My SQL database hasn't crashed its just I felt like doing a rebuild. I've spent a lot of time staring at tracks manager over the past couple of days. Knowing the categories my music was previously catalogued under has made life a lot easier. You can setup and create multiple subcategories and genres. Top Tip: Whenever you make a change to any of your songs you need to take a backup this will preserve your changes. This is where RadioDJ excels compared to other expensive radio automation software Other software doesn't come with a way to backup your database data IF you manage to get your database backed up in other radio software you may just find it doesn't backup all your table data. Whereas the RadioDJ database setup tool backs up your entire database and ALL your table data. ...

Cash Strapped & Potless - Can't Afford Subscriptions?

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I know from watching broadcasting websites that Internetradio station owners don't always have endless pots of cash. SOME Radio software subscriptions can be expensive and sometimes users get taken for a ride by the company. Users buy the software then they find the support is horrible Its among one of the reasons I ditched Spacial Audio and their lacklustre software. I could never get a sensible answer on the Forums or got called rude names by one of the moderators. This is where software such as RadioDJ is miles better than a lot of the paid for automation programs. For starters RadioDJ is 100% FREE and has a great support network on the RadioDJ Community Forums Reasons to Use RadioDJ: Once installed it's stable and works for days/weeks without needing to keep an eye on it Great Music library support add as many categories & subcategories you re...

Its Really Easy To Stream Audio From Your Computer

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As the title of the post suggests it need not be a faff when you want to stream audio on the Internet. IT can seem daunting setting up an Streaming Encoder for the first time. Its not difficult to setup a streaming encoder all you need is a Rocket Broadcaster, Shoutcast or Icecast Server to stream your Audio to. The hardest part is configuring the soundcard and encoder options. Once thats done the world really is your Oyster. I currently use Sound Empire Caster to stream audio and its rare to have an issue. I've certainly not noticed any buffering. I know other users of Sound Empire Caster have only good things to say about it. Sound Empire Caster 1.1.5 Sound Empire Caster 1.1.6 Sound Empire Caster 1.2.7 Sound Empire Caster 1.2.8 How To Configure An Encoder After configuring the encoder you then need to configure the audio from whichever audio source you want to broadcast live. ...

Internet Radio Listeners Can Be So FICKLE

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When it comes to Internet radio the hardest thing a radio station owner can do is try and attract listeners to their stream. I found in the past when I was streaming that most listeners only tended to tune in for 1 maybe 2 songs. I would play 2 Classic 80s songs together and then I'd lose a few listeners If those listeners heard those two songs played together on mainstream 80s radio those people would think the DJ was amazing. There is no DJ on most mainstream radio stations most of its Voice tracked, Computerised & Networked from remote Studios. Sadly it seems despite Internetradio station owners promoting their stations people only want to hear what they want to HEAR. Internet radio is losing out big style to Streaming services such as Spotify Spotify wants to KILL Internet Radio as we know it! Yes its nice when you do get listeners sticking around bu...

If Only RadioDJ Had Been Around In 2002

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I've been into Internet radio and streaming for years now. It started out with me tuning into a LIVE365 Station in 1999. In that time I've spent a lot of time using and testing various radio automation solutions. Although my interest in Internet radio had started in 1999 it was 2002 before I had a Broadband connection. Radio automation software offerings back in 2002 were PANTS. You didn't have a great deal of choice. I tried Winamp with DSP plugins to try and stream but I ended up with large gaps of silence between songs so that wasn't ideal. Winamp would casually crash when you least wanted it to. An unstable DSP Plugin was usually to blame for that. Badly written Plugins were common back in Winamp's heyday! A lot of the DSP and General plugins from the Winamp website either wouldn't work or they would cause Winamp to freeze. You also had to change playlists manually and...

Important: Turn Off Windows Sounds And Other Audio Settings

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I quite often see new DJ's asking how they stop the sounds from their PC going over onto their stream. This is another good question & it's really quite simple to fix. You need to right click on the speaker icon in the taskbar and choose "Sounds" or use Control Panel>Sound Right click on the sound output you use and choose properties. The sounds tab is where you need to be. In the drop down menu choose "No Sounds" and click apply then you shouldn't hear Windows sounds over your audio. There is another audio setting you should change 1) Find your soundcard in the list of sound devices and right click choose properties. 2) Under the Advanced tab uncheck the tick boxes under exclusive mode and click Apply. TIP: Also do the same for your default recording device and/or Virtual Audio Cables. 3) Under the Communications tab you need to set it to "Do Nothing" Most settings ...

Switch Off User Account Control Windows 10

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There are certain pieces of software out there that just don't work or interact well with UAC. For anyone else who may come across this topic here is how you Disable UAC (User Account Control) on Windows 10 In order to switch off UAC in W10 you need to go to the Start Menu and search for Regedit & run it as administrator. You need to navigate to Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System In the right hand pane you need to find EnableLUA right click and choose Modify and change the value to 0 When you have done this Restart your computer and UAC should now allow you to install software on your Windows 10 PC Important: This tutorial involves changing registry settings so you run the instructions at your OWN RISK I cannot be held liable for any damage or data loss that comes from changing UAC settings.

Run Multiple Internet Radio Stations With RadioDJ

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Running an online Internet radio station can be a fun thing to do. However running one radio station isn't enough for some people they want to run more than 1 station. I know of several users running multiple streams & stations using RadioDJ free radio automation software. It's another reason why why RadioDJ is so great and flexible. You can run as many stations as you WANT without it costing you hundreds of $$$ Did You Know? It costs HUNDREDS of $$$ to run multiple copies of OTHER radio playout software Running 3 stations with SAM Broadcaster would cost $897(USD) I attempted to run two copies of SAM Broadcaster on Windows XP once upon a time, I'll let you guess how that went. Whereas I used to run 2 copies of RadioDJ v1.6.0 together with Virtual Audio cables with zero issues. Obviously there's a limit to how many copies of RadioDJ you can run on one machine but you get the idea!...

Radio Automation Software For Schools (Free)

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Are you a teacher trying to teach your students about radio and how it works? Radio can be a fun thing for your students to learn about & who knows it could set them up for future careers media. You have software that can be used to teach your students the workings of radio streaming and automation. One of the best programs to use is RadioDJ and its really easy to setup and use RadioDJ is like the brains of the studio, Its great for automating music/podcasts/interviews etc... The RadioDJ features list includes: Compatible audio formats: mp3, wav, wma, flac Now playing artist-title exported to file, web or serial (by plugin) Custom number of auxiliary players (by plugin) Audio Processor plugin (with AGC, Compressor, Stereo widening and 10 band Equalizer) Automatically overlap sweepers over start/intro/end Now playing artist-title exported to file, web or serial (by plugin) Auto skip silence from start and end of the tracks Bac...

RadioDJ Sounds Wonderful (Professional Audio Output)

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I'm testing streaming codecs in Sound Empire Caster and it doesn't matter what bitrate I stream at the audio from RadioDJ sounds Wonderful. I've ran 3 different tests on an Icecast server. Streaming out in 64K OGG/48K AAC+/64K OPUS and all the streams sounded amazing. Sadly the OPUS stream encoded by MB Recaster kept cutting out on song change which was a bit annoying. The Audio quality from RadioDJ when you have properly ripped files can be amazing. I couldn't get this sort of audio quality from other radio playout software I wonder why. I found software such as Zararadio made everything sound awful. The AGC & EQ in SAM Broadcaster makes everything sound distorted. You cannot get a professional sound from some software that often costs $$$ I'm so glad I discovered Radio DJ when I did in 2010 I found it had great programmed audio processing from the get go. ...

Take Your Time And Have A Bit Of Patience! (RadioDJ)

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Every now and then we get new users registering on the RadioDJ forums who start kicking off Because the software isn't doing what they want it to do within 5 minutes of installing it. Woah! Back up and take stock for a couple of minutes! It takes time and PATIENCE to get to grips with what RadioDJ is capable of. People had tried helping a recent user who threw his toys out of the pram on the forums about track rotations. When I first installed RadioDJ way back in 2010 it took me a while to figure out the optimal rotation setttings. When you program a rotation you need to make sure there are enough songs in the category and subcategory for the rotation to pick items from In newer versions of RadioDJ if you click on EDIT at the right hand side of your rotation entry it tells you how many files you have available for that rotation to pick from. Its not exactly rock science...

Why Is It Wrong to Have An Opinion? (Internet Radio Forums)

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I keep getting hassle for my views about RadioDJ FREE radio playout software. When will you start to giving independent advice instead of giving the same old opinion everytime someone asks a question about a playout system I'm getting really really TIRED of people spouting BILE at me on forums about my meerest mention of RadioDJ. I suggest RadioDJ as an alternative to other (Badly Coded) automation solutions and there are lots of awful playout solutions. Its NOT my fault paid for radio playout solutions such as SAM Broadcaster Pro don't work as advertised IS IT? NO the fault lies with the often LAZY software developers programming badly coded radio playout software solutions I've paid for software & then found it didn't work and then I've ran into a brick wall when trying to get a refund. We DO NOT offer refunds because of our 14-day free trial version, which allows users to try the product for free and make sure they are sa...

Why Do I Only Promote FREE Radio Software?

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Q: Why do I only promote free radio software from this blog site? In my own experience when I've paid $$$ for software in the past I've ran into issues that stopped me in my tracks. Users like me paid hundreds $$$ for radio automation software & found the support sucked for those pieces of software Some software companies seem to plod on year after year not updating their software all the while still taking paying customers money. Spacial Audio are the biggest Cowboys when it comes to customer support You only have to search this blog to find that one out Lack of customer support is one huge reason I hate paying for software. Another is when Vendors/Authors of software suddenly disappear off the face of the Earth and then their software becomes obsolete. I find some FREE software can be absolutley Amazing sometimes. FREE SOFTWARE is my favourite sort of software because it comes to you...