Radio Station Automation Solutions

Revolution Computer Systems is the only firm in this area that has experience in Radio Station Automation.  Our company and our people continue to work actively in the Radio Industry, and we understand how good radio works.  We have successfully completed total on-air automation systems for several stations.  This includes new hardware, setup, configuration and training of automation software, setup of production studios, and setup/configuration of traffic systems.

What automation and traffic systems can you install and maintain?

Our company realizes that radio, especially small market radio, has a tight budget.  We have found a very cost effective solution in the Broadcast Software International line of products.  Their Simian software suite provides almost endless configuration and options, is very stable, and easy for your jocks to operate.  Simian also handles network stations very well.  We also have experience with the Scott Studio line of products.  Revolution Computer Systems also is well versed in the installation, configuration, and maintenance of many Traffic and Music Scheduling Solutions, including Natural Log and Natural Music, DARTS, and Visual Traffic.  We are also proficient in the Cool Edit line of production products, and even can offer Cool Edit training to your station at a very good deal.

Tell me more about Radio Station Automation...

Radio automation has saved the broadcast industry millions of dollars, and made the overall sound of radio sound better in the past couple of years.  When considering automating your manual station, or replacing your outdated automation systems, there are some things to remember.

• Hardware - All systems, but primarily the on-air system, requires decent and up to date hardware in order to run at optimum performance.  Consumer/Home based PCs, such as the HP Pavilion line or the Compaq Persario line, are not recommended or supported for automation.  With the Simian line of products, Windows 2000 works best.  You need to make sure you have lots of RAM (preferably over 1gb), and sufficient disk space to store your music library and spots.

• Professional Grade Audio Card - Regular, consumer based soundcards, such as the Soundblaster line, simply do not work well for radio playback.  We recommend a professional grade audio card, and specifically the AudioScience line of soundcards.  They offer several features not available in "normal" soundcards.  An example - the AudioScience card have four outputs, mixed to four physical inputs.  This means you can run each output from the automation system into a different pot on your board.  They feature a Centronics brand connector on board mpeg decompression.  The AudioScience card also has an 8mb buffering system - eliminating those hick-ups and skips in audio.

The AudioScience 4344 soundcard

• Installation Team - Who you choose to automate your station is a very important decision.  You want someone who:  a.)  knows the radio business, loves it, and knows how "good radio" is supposed to sound.  b.)  knows technology, and is intimately familiar with your automation software.  c.) has the experience of automating several stations.  d.) is easy to communicate with and is capable of proving training and immediate service if you have an outage - Revolution Computer Systems is that entity!

But we have a small station - we can't afford big computer automation systems!

We have an answer...Simian! This product leverages the power of the Windows environment to give you many of the advanced features of the "super expensive" automation systems like touch-screen operation; triple overlap and voice-tracking.

Simian even provides some features that they don't, such as the ability to run other programs, self-diagnosis and repair, generate dynamic web pages with play list info and remote error notification and control via standard email (using the optional WebConnect Pro).

Simian is a powerful, yet easy-to-use, automation system with a touch screen compatible, intuitive interface.

Simian is very easy to operate. Just record your music onto hard drive with your choice of editing or recording software and Simian will play it back according to your program log. Simian is also equipped with BSI's exclusive audio file labeling technology. This allows you to insert information right into the audio file. No outside databases to get scrambled. If you transfer the file from one PC to another... or even to another station via email... the label information goes right with it.

Simian will run entirely automated or as a live-assist system. In automation mode (satellite or hard drive), Simian will run unattended for weeks at a time. In live assist, the operator can easily make changes to the program log, even while Simian is playing! The operator can also edit the log for a completely different time of day, without interrupting Simian operation.

Simian uses Microsoft standard audio files (compressed or non-compressed), MP2, MP3 files (via CODEC), and TM Century files. You can even run other programs on the same PC while you're running Simian. Remote control is easy with inexpensive software such as our WebConnect Pro or Symantec's PC Anywhere.

Simian uses no proprietary hardware, just an ordinary Microsoft Windows® (95, 98, 2000 or NT) equipped PC. You can use any Windows compatible sound card you want, from a SoundBlaster game card to a professional AudioScience audio adaptor with digital I/O. When you want to add hard drive space, you can just go down to your local computer store and shop for the best deal. NOTE THAT FOR ADVANCED AUDIO FUNCTIONS SUCH AS AUTO LEVEL DUCKING, YOU WILL REQUIRE THE AUDIO SCIENCE CARDS.

Simian can import program log data from virtually any traffic management or music scheduling system. The variable import filter makes log import a breeze. Plus, many major traffic and music system manufacturers already have the BSI format built-in to their systems. Or, if you don't have a traffic system, it's really easy to build logs manually too. Just drag files onto the program log screen and play.

We offer total and complete consultation, installation, and maintenance of Radio Automated Systems.  We work anywhere in the USA, and we would love to hear from you if you have any questions of would like more information.  Many managers and engineers simply consult with us before they purchase and/or install an automation system.  Call us before you start!

 Let us service your radio station.  We'll do it right, the first time.  You will save money.  Call us today.

  Back to Services