Setting up the AutoDJ and 'File Manager' in Centova Cast v3

Support

Level 1 Support
Staff member
This following guide explains how to enable the AutoDJ feature on your servers account and also use the AutoDJ's 'File Manager' interface in the Centova Cast v3 control panel. The 'File Manager' is a complete management system for the uploading and organizing of your radio station's media files for use with the feature.


Enabling the 'AutoDJ' feature

First off, you are going to need to enable the AutoDJ feature on your account. In order to do this, first navigate to your servers 'Configuration' menu and then the 'Settings' link below this. Under the 'AutoDJ' tab's settings you will see the 'AutoDJ Status' drop down menu. Upon your account registration, this is automatically set by default to “Permitted, but disabled”. All you need to do is use this drop down menu to select “Permitted and enabled” and then click on 'Update' in order to enable the AutoDJ feature on your account. *Please note that you will first need to 'Stop' your server before you are able to enable the feature under your 'Configuration' settings.

Under the 'AutoDJ' settings you can also enter your stations 'Genre'.

*UPDATE Sept 2021 - In order to set up your streams 'Genres' when using the AutoDJ feature with Shoutcast v2.6+ servers, you now need to register an authhash with shoutcast.com to add them. For Icecast users, the 'Genre' settings can now be found under your 'Mount Points' settings 'Metadata Overrides' tab.

You also have various 'Crossfade' options and the ability to 'Apply replay gain' which will detect the volume levels of all of your uploaded tracks and then match them to one consistent level so that some tracks are not too loud or too quite.

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*Please note that if you have the AutoDJ feature enabled on your account, in order to 'Start' your server you will first be required to upload some Mp3 files and have them added to an active playlist in order to start the server.

If you attempt to start the server without any files or playlists, you will not be able to start the server and you will receive the following error message “Stream could not be started: Unable to prepare playlist for source startup: Error creating playlist: No tracks exist in the active playlists for this account.”


Configuring the 'Mount Points' settings for the AutoDJ

Next you need to navigate to the "Mount Points" tab of your 'Configuration' settings. You then have the following settings to configure for your default "/stream" mount point under the 'AutoDJ Settings' tab:

Use autoDJ –Select 'Yes'.
Mount point name – Enter your stations / stream title here.
Public – Set this to 'Yes' for a publicly available stream or 'No' to keep this private.
Audio encoder – Choose from either Mp3, Ogg/Opus or AAC.
Encoding type – We recommend leaving this set to 'Constant bitrate encoding (CBR)'.
Bitrate – Use the slider to determine the output bitrate for your stream.
Channels – Leave this set to the default of 'Stereo'.
Sample rate – Leave this set to the default of '44100 Hz'.

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The 'File Manager'

Next, to use the 'File Manager', just click on the 'Files' link under the AutoDJ menu in your severs control panel main overview.

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The 'Folder Browser' and 'File Browser'

By following the 'Files' link you are then presented with the 'Folder Browser' window to the left, and to the right is the 'File Browser' window. The 'Folder Browser' page provides an overview of the folders in your station's media library. The 'File Browser' provides a list of the files and sub-folders within a selected folder of your media library.

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With the 'Folder Browser', you are able to expand or collapse any of your folders. To do this just double-click on a folder on the list. To view any files within a folder, click on the folder within the browser list. Any files that are contained within this folder will then be displayed in the 'File Browser' in the right window. For further menu options in the 'Folder Browser' you can right click on a folder which then provides options to 'Upload' or 'Paste' (These functions are described in more detail below).

With the 'File Browser', to select a file or sub-folder, just click on the file / sub-folder from within the list. Multiple files / sub-folders can be selected by holding 'Ctrl' or 'Shift' on your keyboard whilst clicking on the files / sub-folders. For further menu options in the 'File Browser' you can right click on a file / sub-folder which then provides options to 'Upload' / 'Copy' / 'Cut' / 'Paste' / 'Delete' / 'Rename' and to create a 'New Folder' (These functions are described in more detail below).

'File Manager' Operations

Along the bottom of the 'File Manager' window is a toolbar which provides several options to carry out the common file operations.

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These operations include:

UploadThis will launch the 'File Uploader' interface. With this you can upload your audio files to your selected folders.

CopyThis copies any selected files to the clipboard so that they can then be copied into another folder.

Cut - This cuts any selected files to the clipboard so that they can then be moved into another folder.

PasteThis allows you to paste any files from the clipboard that have been cut or copied (as above) into a selected folder.

DeleteThis permanently deletes any files.

RenameThis allows you to rename any selected file or folder.

'File Manager'

The 'File Manager' is used for uploading your Mp3 files to your media library. This interface can be launched by either using the 'Upload' button on the Folder / File browsers bottom toolbar, or by right clicking on a folder within the 'Folder Browser' or 'File Browser' menus.

Queuing Files for Upload

To begin uploading your files, you first need to queue them in the 'File Manager'. To select one or more files to upload, you need to click on the 'Select Files' button in the 'File Manager' window. You will then need to navigate to the location of your files on your computer and then select the chosen files and next click the 'Open' button of the pop up window. These selected files will then be added to the upload queue and instantly they will begin to be uploaded to the server.

Upload Progress

The 'File Progress' bar located at the bottom left of the window displays the real-time upload progress of the currently uploaded file.

The 'Overall Progress' bar located to the bottom right of the window displays the real-time progress for the entire upload queue.

Completed uploads are automatically removed from the queue.

Cancelling an Upload

You can cancel an upload at anytime by clicking on 'Cancel' next to the files name in the upload queue. If you wish to cancel all of the uploads just click on the 'Cancel All' button on the right of the 'File Manager' window.

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'Folders Overview'

This section provides a brief overview of the folders that can be found in the 'Folder Browser' menu.

/media

This folder contains all of the media files for your stations AutoDJ media libraries. Any files that are uploaded to this folder are automatically added to your media library.

/ondemand

This folder contains any files that are for your stations 'On-Demand Content' widget. Any files that are uploaded to this folder are automatically added to your on-demand content.

/sounds

This folder contains files that are used for your stations 'Introduction' and 'Fallback' files. (* Please note that you should not change these files from within the 'File Manager' itself. We recommend using your servers 'Configuration' settings under the 'Files' tab to add or remove these files).

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:)
 

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Support

Level 1 Support
Staff member
AutoDJ "Automatic Restart" After Live DJ Stream

Another handy new function that is available in the Centova Cast v3 control panel is the AutoDJ's ability to automatically restart itself after a live DJ has been streaming and may have forgotten to reconnect the AutoDJ source on your server after their show.

If a servers AutoDJ feature is set to "Permitted and enabled" and Centova Cast detects that a live DJ has used the "Stop the AutoDJ" button to deactivate the AutoDJ, if after they disconnect their live stream they do forget to reactivate the AutoDJ source, it will automatically start itself again anyway if no other source is connected within around 2 minutes. ;)

*Please note that this will not work if the AutoDJ is set to "Disabled" in your 'Configuration' settings.
 

Support

Level 1 Support
Staff member
Setting up your 'Playlists'

Once you have uploaded your music files into the AutoDJ's media library. You next need to create your playlists in order to start the AutoDJ feature.

To set up your playlists navigate to the 'Playlists' menu option under 'AutoDJ' from the navigation menu on the left hand side of your control panels 'Overview' page.

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By default, your accounts AutoDJ feature has 5 playlists all set up and ready to go automatically. You have three 'General Rotation' playlists, one 'Interval' playlist and one 'Scheduled' playlist.

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Below is a short description of the various playlist types that are available to you. Each of these playlist types allows for different configuration options.

General Rotation

General Rotation playlists are the most common type of playlist, these are used to play a random selection of music from your media library when no other playlists are due to be played.

*Please note that you MUST have at least one 'General Rotation' playlist active in order to be able to start the AutoDJ feature and your server. If at least one 'General Rotation' playlist has not been created (or is not active), then the control panel will give you an error message when you try to start the server and it will not start.

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Scheduled

Scheduled playlists are used for scheduled broadcasts such as daily countdowns, "Top 10" lists, pre-recorded shows and other similar content.

Interval

Interval playlists are used for station identification, advertisements, and other similar repeating content that needs to be played every few minutes or after every few tracks.

Immediate

Immediate playlists allow tracks to be queued for immediate playback and are useful for on-the-fly content such as song requests or special announcements.

Creating your own 'Playlists'

In order to create your own playlists, again navigate to the 'Playlists' menu option under 'AutoDJ' from the navigation menu on the left hand side of your control panels 'Overview' page.

Next, click on 'Create playlist' on the right hand side of the page.

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First, you will need to enter a 'Title' for your playlist. Then you will next need to select a playlist 'Type' (as outlined in the playlist types above). Then finally you will need to configure the rest of your playlists settings, with a 'General Rotation' playlist these would be such settings as the 'Playback Order', the 'Playback Weight' and the times in which you would like the playlist to be active from. These playlist settings will vary though depending on the playlist type that you have selected.

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A more detailed guide for understanding, creating and configuring advanced playlists can be found in the Centova Cast manual here.

Adding your uploaded music into a playlist

In order to add your uploaded music files into one of your playlists, navigate to to the 'Media' menu option under 'AutoDJ' from the navigation menu on the left hand side of your control panels 'Overview' page.

In the 'Media' section of your control panel you will see the 'Media Library' interface and you will see in the centre panel a list of all the artists of the tracks that you have uploaded.

To add these files into one of your playlists you can simply drag and drop your files across accordingly. All you need to do is click on one of the artists name and while still holding down the mouse button, drag this artist into your chosen playlist on the left hand side of the media library interface. This will then add all of the tracks by the selected artist into that playlist.

In order to add individual tracks rather than of all of the artists tracks, you can instead click on the artists name and then click on one of the artists albums which will appear in the panel to the right of the artist names. By then clicking on one of the albums, the individual tracks will then appear in the panel below this and you can then drag and drop any individual tracks into your chosen playlist instead.

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If you wish to add all of your uploaded music files into just the one playlist in one go. You can hold the 'Ctrl' key on your keyboard and select multiple artists all at once and then drag them all into a playlist at the same time.

Finally, once you have completed adding your tracks into your playlists. Click on the 'Save' button in the bottom right of the window to save your changes.

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:)
 

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richard slack

New Member
FalM7Qd.png


All the files on my centova are 320kbps and autodj broadcasts at 128kbps, can I - you change it so I continue broadcasting at 320 when I use autodj?

Only took me a long time to notice this,hope there is a solution.


FRy5Ui7.png
 

Support

Level 1 Support
Staff member
Hi Richard,

This is because you are still running Shoutcast v1, those screenshots are from SCv2. So we have just changed your AutoDJ's encoder bitrate to 320kbps for you. You will just need to fully restart the server in order for the change to take effect.

We would suggest that you consider upgrading to SCv2 as soon as possible really to get the most out of its new features.
 

Support

Level 1 Support
Staff member
Bonjour, pourquoi je n'est pas l'onglet auto dj, en cas de panne d'électicité ou internet .

You currently have the feature set to disabled on your account. If you wish to activate this you will first need to stop your server and then enable it under the 'AutoDJ' tab of your control panels 'Configuration' settings.
 

bubois jen

New Member
Bonjour, je n'est pas réussi à activé l'auto dj, même après avoir déconnecté, vous avez un tuto par rapport à ça svp.
 

bubois jen

New Member
Bonjour, je reviens vers vous pour une question, j'ai souscrit l'option 500 go, de dernier étant épuisé je suis passé à 750 go et le transfert n'a pas été remis à zéro, est-ce normal. j'espère que j'ai été clair dans mon explication.
 

Support

Level 1 Support
Staff member
Bonjour, je reviens vers vous pour une question, j'ai souscrit l'option 500 go, de dernier étant épuisé je suis passé à 750 go et le transfert n'a pas été remis à zéro, est-ce normal. j'espère que j'ai été clair dans mon explication.

The 'pay monthly' bandwidth allowances are reset on the 1st of each month. If you upgrade your server plan this doesn't reset the monthly allowance, it just adds the extra bandwidth onto the account!
 

bubois jen

New Member
ok, et l'ajout de la bande passe est plein tarif du coup, l'idéal c'est peut etre de prendre directement la formule à 1000 gigas vous en pensez quoi, du coup avez vous une offre en illimité.
 

Support

Level 1 Support
Staff member
Hi, how can I put a sequential standard rotation?

Hi Falcoman,

Under the 'Playlist Management' settings there is an option for 'Playback Order' and with this you can set a playlist to playback "Sequentially (in order)".
 
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