POWER STUDIO

Players And Carts

Power Studio uses playout players for scheduled content and cart players for quick-fire audio such as jingles, beds, effects and show elements.

Playout Players

The playout players are directly connected to the Playout Playlist. They are used to play the Playout Playlist on air. Every change in the Playout Playlist is immediately reflected in the Playout Players, and at the same time, every change in the Playout Players is immediately visible in the Playout Playlist. Note that those changes in the playlist are shared immediately with all other Power Studio instances.

Operating Modes

In Live Assist Mode and Training Mode, the operator can use all playout players manually. In Automation Mode, Power Studio uses one active playout player for automated playback.

Routing And Mixer Channels

Depending on the audio routing, each player can be assigned to its own mixer channel or combined with other players. In a live studio, separate mixer channels usually make the workflow clearer for presenters and technicians.

Playout Player PFL

Playout Player PFL is different from the preview players used by the Playlist, Track Browser and Mix Editor. It is part of Player A-D itself.

When PFL is enabled on a playout player, Power Studio routes that loaded player to the player's configured PFL output instead of the player's normal output. With the default behavior, PFL only changes that route and the player keeps its loaded item, playback position and cue state.

If Auto preview on PFL is enabled in Options and Settings > General > Playout players, switching PFL on also starts a loaded player that is not already playing. This lets the operator press PFL and immediately hear the loaded item on the PFL route. Switching PFL off stops and re-cues the player only when that same PFL action started the preview. If the player was already playing, switching PFL off does not stop it.

Use Playout Player PFL when a DJ or operator wants to check the item that is already loaded in a live playout player before putting that player on air. While a player is in PFL, Power Studio does not treat that playback as normal on-air playout, and cueing the player will not advance it to the next playlist item. This allows the operator to listen, check and re-cue a loaded track without accidentally consuming it from the live workflow.

For linked playlist items, an auto-previewed PFL player can continue into the linked follow-up items as one preview sequence. Power Studio does not start an unrelated next playlist item from PFL preview in Live Assist Mode.

When a digital mixer or control-system integration is used, the operator will often control this player PFL state from the mixer instead of clicking the PFL button in Power Studio. In that workflow, the mixer cue, preview or PFL button sends the command through the configured Power Studio plugin and Power Studio updates the PFL state of the matching playout player.

The standard routing approach is to route each playout player's PFL channel to the same physical output as that player's normal playout channel. In that setup, the mixer channel, fader, cue button or monitor workflow determines how the operator listens safely. If the studio needs a separate software-level listening path, Player A-D PFL channels can also be routed to a dedicated cue, monitor or PFL output.

Player Assignment And Dragging

When Auto player select on manual start is off, each playable playlist item is assigned to its own player before it is started. When the setting is on, an item is assigned to a player only when the operator starts that item.

When playlist items are already assigned to players, an item can be moved to another player by dragging it from the display of one player to the display of another player.

Tracks can also be dragged directly into a playout player from the Tracks Browser or from another playlist. Supported files can be dragged directly from Windows Explorer into a playout player. In these cases, the dropped track or file replaces the Playout Playlist item that was loaded in that player.

For linked playlist items, choose a time mode that matches the operator's workflow. Time remaining for individual linked items counts down the current linked item while the progress bar shows the position in the linked set. This is useful when presenters need to see the end of a jingle, voice track or linked sequence without losing the larger timing context.

Common Settings

Common playout player settings include:

  • Enable manual seeking when operators are allowed to scrub through an item.
  • Smart Cue to determine whether a track was really played out or only pre-listened and should be re-cued for playout.
  • Auto player select on manual start to control when a playlist item is assigned to a player.
  • Auto preview on PFL to start a loaded, stopped player automatically when PFL is switched on.
  • Start players using keyboard to use function keys for player starts.
  • High contrast when the studio needs stronger player visibility.
  • Players time mode to choose how time is displayed.

Smart Cue controls a smart algorithm in Power Studio that determines whether a track has really been played out or whether the DJ or operator was only pre-listening to the track and the track should be re-cued for playout. This is different from the behavior of legacy systems where a track is discarded as soon as it has been played for the first time.

Cart Players

Carts are designed for fast manual operation. They are useful for:

  • Station jingles.
  • Show openers.
  • Effects.
  • Beds.
  • Presenter-triggered promos.

When using hardware controllers such as XKeys, MIDI pads or Stream Deck through Companion, test every cart mapping before live use.

The cart window can load, save, create and delete cart sets. Use cart sets for show-specific layouts, presenter-specific banks or special events. Give each set a clear name so operators do not have to guess which set belongs to the current show.

The selected cart set is remembered per user and per machine. This is useful in stations with several studios: one presenter can keep a personal cart set on a production workstation without forcing the on-air studio to use the same set.

Each cart position can be filled from the track browser or by dragging supported files into the cart player when the user has permission to do so. Empty or outdated carts should be cleared before a live show.

Supported files can also be dragged in from Windows Explorer. Use this for ad-hoc show elements, but move recurring broadcast audio into the normal audio library so it has proper metadata, backup coverage and search behavior.

Cart players can show elapsed time, remaining time or intro countdown information. Choose the display mode operators understand best. For presenter-fired jingles, remaining time or intro countdown is usually more useful than elapsed time.

When a track already loaded in a cart is updated in the database, review the cart before going on air. Power Studio refreshes loaded cart information, but operators should still confirm the visible title, timing and audio are the intended version.

Remove old jingles from cart lists when they are no longer used. This keeps live pages short and reduces the chance that a presenter fires outdated imaging.

Instant Fire

For cart-style controllers, set the cart play mode to Instant fire when buttons should start audio immediately.

This is commonly used with XKeys and MIDI control surfaces.

Choose the cart time mode and play mode in Options and Settings. After changing these settings, test both mouse operation and any connected hardware controller.