Events

The Digilink-HD scheduling system requires the use of

basic commands. These commands have different

functions and are used in different scheduling situations.

Understanding the purpose and function of these

commands is critical for the proper use of the automation

system.

These Events can be viewed and used in the Clocks

function, as well as in the Play Schedule screen. To

access the Play Schedule screen:

1) Go to the main DHD-Tools screen.

2) Select which studio you want to make changes

for.

3) Click on the Scheduling button.

4) Select Edit Schedule.

Start Time: Float vs Timed

You may select for any event to either start as Float or

Timed. Enter in the start time in this box MM:SS.

Floating – means that it will play in the order that it is

scheduled. Here's a good example of using a Floating

event:

03:00 – Joe's carwash – 30 sec

03:30 – Bob's video rental – 30 sec

04:00 – Source Switcher Event (Floating) – 60 sec

05:00 – The magic show with Bill

The Source Switcher event is scheduled as a Floating event, and will play in the order that it is

scheduled. In this example it will play after 'Bob's video rental' finishes playing at 4 minutes after

the top of the hour.

You must be careful when using Floating in hours that aren't completely filled, such as satellite

hours. A bad example for using Floating is:

00:00 – TOH News – 6 min

06:00 – Joe's carwash – 30 sec

06:30 – Bob's video rental – 30 sec

30:00 – Source Switcher Event (Floating) – 60 sec

In this example, the Source Switcher Event will actually start playing at 07:00 instead of 30:00 past

the hour since it is a Floating Event. It is by design that it will play as the next event in the list.

Timed – means that it will play at a designated time and interrupt whatever may be currently

playing. Here's a good example of using Timed:

00:00 – TOH News – 6 min

06:00 – Joe's carwash – 30 sec

06:30 – Bob's video rental – 30 sec

30:00 – Source Switcher Event (Timed) – 60 sec

In this example, since the Source Switcher Event is Timed, it will play at 30:00 after the top of the

hour as scheduled. This is commonly used in satellite hours. So in this case, 'Bob's video rental' will

finish at 07:00 after, it will then go to the satellite broadcast, and play the Source Switcher Event at

30:00 after the hour.

Here's a bad example of using Timed:

03:00 – Joe's carwash – 30 sec

03:30 – Bob's video rental – 30 sec

03:45 – Source Switcher Event (Timed) – 60 sec

04:45 – The magic show wil Bill

The Source Switcher event is scheduled as a Timed event, and will interrupt the 'Bob's video rental'

at 3:45 past the hour, even though it has 15 seconds left to play.

Source – Source Switcher Event

Most commonly used for top of hour news, the source switcher event is used to play a channel on

the Bridge for a set period of time. This can be for an audio source that comes into any of the 16

audio channel inputs on the Bridge docking station. To operate (on the Scheduler screen):

1) click on the Source button.

2) enter in the desired audio channel in the number entry box next to the Source button. This

can be for any of the channels on the Bridge, 1 through 16.

3) enter in the desired length for the channel to play. HR:MM:SS

4) enter in a Start Time MM:SS, and whether you want it to Float or be Timed.

5) click on Add to add it to the end of the hour, or Insert to insert it into the selected line in the

hour.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Source Switcher Events are AUDIO ONLY. It doesn't utilize closure

commands such as Liners, ID's or Commercial Breaks.

Song – Music Song Category

This is the ability to schedule a music category. Type M music files can be categorized into 1 of 21

different music categories in the Library screen. Once files have been categorized, they can then be

scheduled using the Song button. To schedule a category:

1) click on the Song button.

2) enter in a category number (1 through 21).

3) enter in a Start Time MM:SS, and whether you want it to Float or be Timed.

4) click on Add to add it to the end of the hour, or Insert to insert it into the selected line in the

hour.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Only schedule music categories that have music already assigned to

them. Any category that does not have music assigned should never be scheduled.

Break – Manual Break (Live Assist ONLY)

This command is useful in Live Assist hours. When scheduled, it will stop the automation playlist,

and hold the events following the Break in cue until you click on Start Automation again. For

example:

03:00 – News – 60 sec

04:00 – Jerry's Furniture – 30 sec

04:30 – Break (Manual Break)

04:30 – Song 1 – 3 min

07:30 – Song 2 – 4 min

In this example, the News will play, then Jerry's Furniture. Once Jerry's Furniture finishes playing,

it will hit the Manual Break and stop the automation playlist. At that point, Song 1 & Song 2 will sit

in the playlist waiting for the user to click on Start Automation to start the playlist again.

This is useful for when a DJ is live and wants to have the automation automatically stop the playlist

at specific spots for speaking live.

Since this command stops the playlist, it can only be used during Live Assist hours, and requires an

operator present during that hour. To enter a Break:

1) click on the Break button.

2) enter in a Start Time MM:SS, and whether you want it to Float or be Timed.

3) click on Add to add it to the end of the hour, or Insert to insert it into the selected line in the

hour.

Fbreak – Floating Break (Satellite ONLY)

This command is to be used in a Satellite hour for commercial breaks. When the Bridge is wired to

a satellite receiver, it has the capability of receiving closures to trigger commercial breaks. Floating

Breaks are the commands to enter into the schedule for these types of closures.

For example, a typical satellite clock will list local breaks at certain times in the hour. They may say

that these breaks will come around :15, :30, :45 & :55 after the hour. These closures will then be

received with in + or – 5 minutes of the designated time. So the :15 break can happen at :12 after, or

it can happen at :18 after. These breaks are Floating in their start times. These Floating Breaks will

work with these types of satellite breaks.

Floating Breaks need to be scheduled to start before the expected start time.

Here's an example of a satellite hour using Floating Breaks (this is for a satellite hour that has a :15,

:30, & :45 break schedule):

00:00 – News – 5 min

05:00 – Jerry's Furniture – 30 sec

05:30 – Mary's car wash – 30 sec

10:30 – Floating Break

10:30 – Bob's video rental – 1 min

11:30 – Harry's cats – 1 min

12:30 – Samantha's trucks – 1 min

20:00 – Floating Break

20:00 – Drink Cola – 1 min

21:00 – Public Message

35:00 – Floating Break

35:00 – Bob's video rental – 1 min

36:00 – Harry's cats – 1 min

37:00 – Samantha's trucks – 1 min

OPTIONAL VS. MANDATORY

Satellite schedules will often designate a local break as either Optional or a Mandatory Fill.

Optional breaks will either have network spots or audio playing in the background if for some

reason you did not sell that ad space and scheduled in the break. Mandatory Fill breaks will usually

have nothing in the background and will cause you to have dead air if there is not a break

scheduled.

Floating Breaks have the ability to be set as Opt or Fill. Opt is an optional break, and means that it

won't use the auto-fill function if the break is scheduled short. Fill means that it will attempt to use

the auto-fill function to fill the designated break length. For example, lets say that you have a 3

minute mandatory break. You setup the Floating Break as Fill, and you give it a length of 3 minutes.

But lets say you only schedule 2 minutes worth of spots. DHD will then try to use an autofill type

'A' file that is 60 seconds in length and fill that break for you. This does require you to have a 60

second type 'A' autofill audio file for this function to work. Otherwise you will still have dead air.

Floating Breaks can be used ONLY for satellite automation hours. To enter a Floating Break into the

schedule:

1) click on the Fbreak button.

2) enter in the length of how long the break should be.

3) select Opt or Fill.

4) enter in a Start Time MM:SS, and whether you want it to Float or be Timed.

5) click on Add to add it to the end of the hour, or Insert to insert it into the selected line in the

hour.

NOTE: If for some reason the commercial break closure isn't received by the end of the hour, it will

then drop the Floating Break and spots from the playlist and start the next hour schedule. Floating

Breaks will only play if a specific closure is received.

Tbreak – Timed Break

Timed break events can be used to force the automation system to play a series of events at a

specific time. The Timed break command acts in the same manner as a Timed event. When the

Timed Break's start time is reached, it will fade out whatever is currently playing, and then begin

playing whatever is scheduled after it in the list.

A good example of using the Tbreak command is:

00:00 – TOH News – 6 min

06:00 – Joe's carwash – 30 sec

06:30 – Bob's video rental – 30 sec

30:00 – Tbreak – Timed Break

30:00 – Source Switcher Event – 60 sec

In this example, since the Source Switcher Event has a Tbreak scheduled prior, it will play at 30:00

after the top of the hour as scheduled. This is commonly used in satellite hours. So in this case,

Bob's video rental will finish at 07:00 after, it will then go to the satellite broadcast for 23 minutes,

and play the Source Switcher Event at 30:00 after the hour.

Here's a bad example of using the Timed Break command:

03:00 – Joe's carwash – 30 sec

03:30 – Bob's video rental – 30 sec

03:45 – Tbreak – Timed Break

03:45 – Source Switcher Event – 60 sec

04:45 – The magic show wil Bill

The Timed Break will interrupt the Bob's video rental at 3:45 past the hour, even though it has 15

seconds left to play. It will then start the 60 second Source Switcher Event.

Timed Breaks are commonly used during satellite hours, while Timed Drops will be used in hard

disc hours.

To enter a Timed Break into the schedule:

1) click on the Tbreak button.

2) enter in the length of how long the break should be.

3) select Opt or Fill.

4) enter in a Start Time MM:SS.

5) click on Add to add it to the end of the hour, or Insert to insert it into the selected line in the

hour.

Manual – Manual Play Mode

Every hour has the ability to be assigned as a Satellite, Automation, Live Assist & Manual type

hours. This is done in the Air Schedule screen. Each has their own function and special rules.

The Manual Play Mode event gives you the ability to set it to change to Manual mode at a

designated time or point in the playlist. This is useful if part of the hour is another type (and is setup

in the Air Schedule as such), and the other part of the hour needs to operate in Manual Mode.

To enter a Manual mode into the schedule:

1) click on the Manual button.

2) enter in a Start Time MM:SS, and whether you want it to Float or be Timed.

3) click on Add to add it to the end of the hour, or Insert to insert it into the selected line in the

hour.

Assist – Live Assist Play Mode

Every hour has the ability to be assigned as a Satellite, Automation, Live Assist & Manual type

hours. This is done in the Air Schedule screen. Each has their own function and special rules.

The Live Assist Mode event gives you the ability to set it to change to Live Assist mode at a

designated time or point in the playlist. This is useful if part of the hour is another type (and is setup

in the Air Schedule as such), and the other part of the hour needs to operate in Live Assist Mode.

To enter a Live Assist mode into the schedule:

1) click on the Assist button.

2) enter in a Start Time MM:SS, and whether you want it to Float or be Timed.

3) click on Add to add it to the end of the hour, or Insert to insert it into the selected line in the

hour.

Automate – Automation Play Mode

Every hour has the ability to be assigned as a Satellite, Automation, Live Assist & Manual type

hours. This is done in the Air Schedule screen. Each has their own function and special rules.

The Automation Mode event gives you the ability to set it to change to Automation mode at a

designated time or point in the playlist. This is useful if part of the hour is another type (and is setup

in the Air Schedule as such), and the other part of the hour needs to operate in Automation Mode.

To enter a Automation mode into the schedule:

1) click on the Automate button.

2) enter in a Start Time MM:SS, and whether you want it to Float or be Timed.

3) click on Add to add it to the end of the hour, or Insert to insert it into the selected line in the

hour.

Satellite – Satellite Play Mode

Every hour has the ability to be assigned as a Satellite, Automation, Live Assist & Manual type

hours. This is done in the Air Schedule screen. Each has their own function and special rules.

The Satellite Mode event gives you the ability to set it to change to Satellite mode at a designated

time or point in the playlist. This is useful if part of the hour is another type (and is setup in the Air

Schedule as such), and the other part of the hour needs to operate in Satellite Mode.

Satellite mode is different than a Source Switcher event in that it is able to accept and utilize

closures for things like commercial breaks, station ID's, & Liners.

To enter a Satellite mode into the schedule:

1) click on the Satellite button.

2) select the source channel to play.

3) select the jock folders to play from.

4) enter in a Start Time MM:SS, and whether you want it to Float or be Timed.

5) click on Add to add it to the end of the hour, or Insert to insert it into the selected line in the

hour.

Game – Ball Game

This operation allows you to schedule a ball game to start at a designated time.

To enter a Game start command:

1) click on the Game button.

2) Select the source channel that the game will play on.

3) Enter the EXACT name of the ball game file that was created previously. If it says that the

game file doesn't exist, then the filename is incorrect.

More information can be found in the Scheduling section of the manual on how to create and

operate the Ball Game feature.

End Game – End Ball Game

This event, when scheduled, will end the game at a designated time. More information about the use

of ball games can be found in the Ball Games section of this manual.

To enter an End Game command:

1) click on the End Game button.

2) enter in a Start Time MM:SS, and whether you want it to Float or be Timed.

3) click on Add to add it to the end of the hour, or Insert to insert it into the selected line in the

hour.

Note

The Note function can be used for placing a custom note into the Scheduler, and therefore the

playlist. This may be useful for giving a Live DJ a cue or note about what to say at a designated

time. An example may be for the DJ to read a specific spot or promo at the given break.

To enter a Note:

1) click on the Note button.

2) enter in the custom text in the Note box.

3) enter in a Start Time MM:SS, and whether you want it to Float or be Timed.

4) click on Add to add it to the end of the hour, or Insert to insert it into the selected line in the

hour.

Drop – Timed Drop

The Drop button is a command typically used in Automation, or Music hours. It is an alternative to

the Timed Break command. When scheduled, it will let the currently playing audio file finish

playing, and then drop the extra audio files that were scheduled beyond the Timed Drop.

The Drop function is useful for music hours since music hours need to be overscheduled by

approximately 5 to 8 minutes.

For example:

02:55:00 – Song 1 – 3 min 2pm hour

02:58:00 – Song 2 – 3 min

03:01:00 – Song 3 – 3 min

03:04:00 – Song 4 – 3 min

03:07:00 – Song 5 – 4 min

03:00:00 – Drop (Timed Drop) 3pm hour

03:00:00 – Station ID – 10 sec

03:00:10 – Song 6 – 3:50 min

03:04:00 – Song 7 – 4 min

In this example, the 2pm hour is overscheduled by 11 minutes. With the Timed Drop scheduled in

the 3pm hour at 3:00:00, it will allow Song 2 to finish playing since it was currently playing at the

start time of the Timed Drop. It will also drop Songs 3, 4 & 5 off the playlist, and then start the next

event which is the Station ID. In a music on hard disc hour, the Drop command has a much more

professional sound than a Timed Break since it lets the currently playing audio file to finish and

then start the next event.

In the example, the Station ID will in fact play after Song 2 has finished, and have an actual start

time at 03:04:00. If for some reason this is not acceptable, and you require the event to start at an

exact time, then a Timed Break may be more appropriate.

Command – RS232 Command

This command allows the user to send a serial command from the On-Air PC to another device.

More specific information on how to setup and use the funciton can be found in the Logic Outputs

and Serial Control Commands portion of the Bridge Switcher Hardware section in this manual.

Non-exist – Non-Existing Audio File

It is sometimes necessary to schedule an audio file to play, but the audio file does not yet exist in

the DHD system. An example would be a news report that is scheduled to play later in the day, but

the news report hasn't been created yet. It is critical that the audio file that is scheduled has a cart

number that matches the cart number of the file that will be created. Otherwise it will skip the

scheduled file.

To enter a Non Existing Audio File into the schedule:

1) click on the Non-exist button.

2) add a cart number to the cartnum box.

3) enter in a length for which the audio file will have once it is recorded. It isn't important to

have an exact time, this time is to help gauge how full the hour has been scheduled.

4) enter in a title.

5) enter in a type for the file in the last box.

6) enter in a Start Time MM:SS, and whether you want it to Float or be Timed.

7) click on Add to add it to the end of the hour, or Insert to insert it into the selected line in the

hour.