Creating splits in PlayoutONE
Split items can be scheduled as part of a music or traffic log or played from a quick key. This is particularly useful for localised production, sweepers, legal IDs, news etc.
This page explains how to set up, load, and use split audio in PlayoutONE Pro.
Setting up multiple stations or splits
Where you intend to use PlayoutONE for splits, each station or split requires a "split ID" to identify it. This ensures the correct version of the audio item is played on the correct transmitter.
To set up a new split:
In PlayoutONE, select the station you want to set up as a split, starting with your primary station if you have one.
- Open the Settings window and go to the Splits tab.
Once there, enable 'Split Station ID' and type in the two-digit ID you want to use.
- Repeat steps 1-3 for each station/split on your system.
Loading split audio
Once you have configured your splits, you can begin loading split audio items into PlayoutONE.
First, upload the primary version of the audio. This could be a generic bit of production without any localisation or one of the localised versions. If it's something like production audio or a news bulletin that you will play again and again, you may want to give it an easily recognisable UID.
Once you have loaded the first version, each "split" version of that audio should be created with the same UID, followed by a # and the split ID you set.
For example, if you create a split sweeper, the initial cart could have the ID SWP01, but localised versions for the northeast and southwest would be SWP01#NE and SWP01#SW.
You will only hear the version of the file you have scheduled, so if you scheduled SWP01 in a log used for your station's online stream, SWP01#NE in the log used by the transmitter in the northeast of town, and SWP01#SW in the log used for the southwest transmitter.
Scheduling split audio
You should schedule the dummy audio in your music scheduling system to trigger a split item.
When PlayoutONE comes to play it from the log, it will send a command to each split to play their respective version. PlayoutONE on the music log station will wait for that item to complete.
To trigger a split audio item from a Quick Key, make sure the primary version of the audio is assigned to the key.
If you want to ensure your splits are working correctly before scheduling, you could create a test file with silent audio in each split and try firing it from a hotkey. For example, if you loaded a TEST file and saw TEST#NE and TEST#SW play in the appropriate logs, you know everything is set up correctly.