LDR integrates with several automation systems, including Audiovault v9.20 and higher. This article is primarily geared toward your station's IT/engineering staff, but it's also beneficial for program directors to have a general understanding of this information at a higher level.

There are three basic pieces to integrating Audiovault with Futuri:

• Now Playing information - Song elements and some song cart "commands" will be configured to export from Audiovault to Futuri. 
• Voting session integration - We'll install a piece of software called Echo to copy winning songs into "placeholder" carts, so that the winning song can play wherever those placeholder carts are placed in the log. 
• Music Logs - Echo will also be configured to monitor the folder where your station's music logs are saved. These music logs are used for two primary purposes:
  • Voting Sessions - Depending on the voting feature your station uses, music logs help Futuri determine the vote options (or identify songs for separation purposes). Echo will then modify your log files to insert the corresponding placeholder cart for each voting session. 
  • Instant Alerts - Users can sign up to receive alerts when their requests are about to play on your station. Futuri's system compares what your station is playing now with what's scheduled in the near future, so that we can send these alerts ahead of when the request actually plays (so there's time for the user to turn on the radio).

Installation

To work through this installation process for the first time, please contact Futuri VIP Support.  A remote session with one of our Support Agents should take about 30-60 minutes per station.

This process includes the following steps:

• Now Playing Setup
• Crowd Control Setup
• Setting up the LDR Category in Audiovault
• Echo Setup
• Configuring Your Music Scheduler to Export Logs to Echo's Import Folder
• Testing

Now Playing Setup

Now Playing data from Audiovault to Futuri's Echo software is handled through TRE. These instructions assume that your station already uses TRE for other Now Playing exports (such as RDS or your stream), but if you don't already have TRE, Futuri VIP Support can help you obtain a license for it (and initial TRE installation instructions) from BE.

To pass data from TRE to Echo, you will need either the Listener Driven Radio or XML Primary output enabled from TRE. If you do not already have this output enabled (or if your existing XML outputs are already in use), Futuri VIP Support can assist you in placing a purchase order with BE for the Listener Driven Radio output, which is available at a discounted rate compared to the standard XML output. Once BE licenses the output, they will send back a new tre.bin file, and you can replace the existing tre.bin with the new one, and then restart TRE.

To enable the Listener Driven Radio (or XML) output, open TRECfg.exe and navigate to that output's tab. Check the Enable box, and enter a folder path in the Path box. This could be something like C:\np, or you could place it in the station's Echo folder (likely C:\Echo), especially if Echo is the only utility that will use this file. Finally, type a filename into the File box. It doesn't matter what the filename is, as long as its extension is .xml.

You'll also want to navigate to the Event Mapping tab and enter "LDR" under the Music list of categories. You'll create the LDR category in Audiovault further down in these instructions.

You may need to save TRECfg.exe and then restart TRE to implement these changes.

Crowd Control Setup

Note: If your station has a Futuri Mobile app but does not have a license for LDR, this section is optional.

Crowd Control is an Audiovault feature that BE has discontinued selling, but they have allowed Futuri to re-use its basic infrastructure to deliver winning songs with LDR. It basically works like this:

• Echo fetches winning songs from Futuri's web servers and writes the winning cut ID to a file.
• The Crowd Control script reads the cut ID from the file and copies the audio associated with that cut ID to a "placeholder" cart called {ccSlot}.
• Audiovault plays the audio from the winning cut ID when the {ccSlot} is played. It should also copy over artist/title metadata.

Installing Crowd Control is fairly simple. On the on-air machine, navigate to C:\audiovau\Config\Scripts\AVAirEngine. You will need to add an avair.py file to that folder (which you can download here).

On line 16 of avair.py, set the file to equal the folder where you want Echo to write the winning song to. You probably don't need to change it from its default (C:\audiovau\CrowdControl\ccDownload.txt>), but you should make sure that folder exists on the computer.

Once this has been done, restart the computer.

Setting up the LDR Category in Audiovault

The commands to trigger LDR voting features will live in an LDR category in Audiovault, and that category will be treated as "music" by TRE.

Once you have created the LDR category, you'll want to add cuts in that category for each of the following:

• 9999 - UPickStart
• 9998 - Empty Song Slot
• 9997 - Begin Song Replacement
• 9996 - End Song Replacement
• 9995 - Begin Top Song
• 9994 - End Top Song
• 9993 - Begin FaceOff
• 9992 - End FaceOff Next

As you create each one, you'll want to hit Start to let it record for a couple of seconds. You can later replace the content of each of these items with a piece of call-to-action imaging, but these elements must run for at least 1 second before segueing into the next element.

Echo Setup

Futuri's Echo software bridges Audiovault and Futuri's web servers, enabling listeners to interact with station programming through the station's website and/or mobile apps.

here, and you can obtain a settings file (named station.xml) from Futuri VIP Support. Please don't run Echo.exe without first configuring the station.xml file.

To install Echo (typically on the same PC as Audiovault), create the folder C:\Echo\XXXX (where XXXX is the station’s call letters) and extract the contents of the downloaded Echo.zip (link above) to the same folder.

In the newly extracted folder, place the station.xml file from Futuri VIP Support. It must be saved in the same folder as Echo.exe.

When finished configuring, save station.xml and repeat steps as needed for other stations. Each station will need its own copy of Echo.

Note: Microsoft .NET 4.0 or higher is required for Echo. If you're running Windows 7 or later, you should be all set. However, if needed, you can download .NET 4.0 by clicking here and following the instructions. After confirming .NET 4.0 is installed, run Echo.exe and navigate to File > Boot on Startup so that Echo will start up with the PC.

Configuring Your Music Scheduler to Export Logs to Echo's Import Folder

Note:  If you configured Echo's value to be TRUE, this step is not necessary.

For Audiovault to play back winning songs, {ccSlot} placeholders for those winning songs must be present in the log. Echo will handle this as follows:

• Echo will receive the log from your music scheduler when you export it.
• For "UPick"-style voting sessions, Echo will replace the group of vote options with a single {ccSlot} placeholder.
• For Top Song and Takeover, Echo will replace each element named "Empty Song Slot" with a {ccSlot} placeholder.
• Echo will place the modified log in the folder that Audiovault reads logs from, and will place a copy of the original log in a backup folder.

To make this work, your music scheduler must be configured to export logs to Echo's new "input" folder. To do this, open your music scheduler to its log export settings and add /input to the export path (i.e., M:\WXYZ\Music\input).

Next, in the original export folder (i.e. M:\WXYZ\Music) add folders called "input" and "backup".

Because Echo is configured to export its parsed copy of the log to the original export folder (i.e., M:\WXYZ\Music), it is not necessary to change the log import settings for Audiovault (since it will continue to pull logs from the same place it always has).

Note: Make sure the log export from your music scheduler is using the correct format (should have > signs down the left side (for all audio), and should have X's down the right side). If your log doesn't look like that, you will need to get in touch with BE Support and your music scheduler support to reconfigure your exports to use that layout.

Testing

Once the steps above have been completed and Echo is running, make sure that there are no noticeable errors on Echo’s screen.

Make sure that the next song played in Audiovault is received by Futuri. Now Playing entries should also be displayed in Echo's GUI.

To test the Takeover/Top Song check-in process, you can play the “Begin Song Replacement” command. Within 30 seconds, Echo should ask Futuri for a winning song.

To test the music log parsing process, you can move the logs around to simulate a new log:

• Go to Echo’s output folder (found in the output field in station.xml, i.e., M:\WXYZ\Music)
• Cut today’s log and all future logs and paste them in Echo's input folder (found in the input field in station.xml, i.e,. M:\WXYZ\Music\input).
• Within about 60 seconds, Echo should detect a change and put the parsed copy in the output folder (and a backup in the backup folder).

To do a full end-to-end test, schedule a voting session or Takeover in your music scheduler and export the log from there. It should land in Echo's input folder, and within a minute or so, Echo will move it to the output folder. You can then import that log in Audiovault and make sure the inserted {ccSlot} placeholder audio fills with a song when the time comes.