Arrakis Systems Automation

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Settings

There are a handful of settings that can be applied to the APEX Automation. This section describes what those settings are, and how to adjust them. You may find the Settings options by selecting MENU and then choosing Settings.

this is the main window that displays the current time & the selected User. This is also the window that allows you to adjust settings for the APEX software.

Call Letters

Adding your Call Letters to the Settings screen does two things. (1) it displays your call letters on the Main MENU screen. (2) These are the call letters that are used when sending support files to Arrakis Support staff.

Set Sound Card Channel

APEX allows you to use one, or more sound cards. You may use any sound card that is seen by the Windows OS. You may choose to only have one audio output, or multiple. If you decide to use multiple sound cards, you can assign which order the Automation and Hot Keys will play.

The use of multiple sound cards in the Automation Playlist is only allowed in Manual Hours. Live Assist, Automation and Satellite Hours will use the "Program Out" Bridge sound card or the "Output 1" Harmony sound card.

To assign sound card assignments:

Go to MENU and choose Settings.
Select Set Sound Card Channel.
Select a sound card. Assign a number starting with 1, and going higher. This will enable APEX to automatically switch between sound cards as it plays through the playlist. For example, if you assigned 3 sound cards, it will play sound card 1, then 2 and then 3. It will then go back to Sound Card 1 after playing the 3rd audio file.

You can also assign numbers that correspond to the input channels of your audio mixing console that the sound cards are connected to.

IMPORTANT NOTE - if for some reason you don't see the desired sound card in the sound card list in APEX, then that means the Windows OS does not see the particular sound card. Double check your sound card hardware & drivers. Restart the PC and check your Windows OS settings. Additional help may be found here.

On the Playlist and Hot Keys window, it will display which sound card it is currently playing on, as well as the next sound card. The images on the right displays 1 as the currently playing sound card. 2 is the next sound card to play from. These settings are adjusted from the Playlist and Hot Keys Options screen.

Volume Control Duck Level

In the Volume Window you may Duck audio. This will auto lower the volume level of currently playing audio files on the fly. The default level is 50 or half.

To adjust the Duck Level:

Go to MENU and choose Settings.
Select Volume Control Duck Level. Choose a number 0 to 100.

Stop Fade Length

Use this feature to adjust the Stop Fade length. In the Playlist and Hot Keys when a file is playing, you have the option of stopping its playback. This will immediately end the file, with a certain length of fade. The amount of time a playing file is faded when it is stopped is based off of the Stop Fade length. The default length is 1.0 seconds.

To adjust the Stop Fade Length:

Go to MENU and choose Settings.
Select Stop Fade Length. Choose the number of seconds for a stop fade.

Fade Length

Use this feature to adjust the Fade length. In the Playlist & Hot Keys windows, when a file is playing, you have the option of clicking on Fade. This will immediately fade out and stop the file, using a certain length of fade. The default is 3.5 seconds.

To adjust the Fade Length:

Go to MENU and choose Settings.
Select Fade Length. Choose the number of seconds for a fade.

Reload Settings

There are many settings that are assigned in the DHD-Tools application, such as enabling Start-Kill Dates and Cart Rotations. Whenever a setting is changed in DHD-Tools you will need to reload the settings in APEX for the change to be recognized by APEX. To do this, select MENU, choose Settings and click on Reload Settings.

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