Broadcaster Support

Where can I find the setup Instructions?

The Broadcaster would have been supplied with printed setup instruction and a copy of these put on the right hand monitor desktop as a PDF.  If this have been accidently deleted, please send an email to support@andertontiger.com with your school details and we will immediately sent you another PDF copy.

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How do I turn The Broadcaster On?

If the mains cable is connected to a standard 13amp socket and the supply is turned on you should see the mains power light illuminated on the power distribution board which is part of the rack mounted components.  Unlock the access panel to the computer if it is locked and open the flap, press the push-on power button to start up the computer.  If the computer does not start, take a look at the powered fader control desk to see if there are any lights or numbers being displayed.  If you cannot see anything on the fader desk then it is very likely that the mains trip has activated.  This will have happened the last time you turned the system off and it is a failsafe device that monitors mains leakage.  Some mains sockets can produce a slight arc when switched off and it is very likely that our RCD device has detected this and shut off the internal power.  To correct this, locate the RCD mains trip switch, it is protected from accidental activation by a cover.  Reverse the position of the switch, the fader desk will now illuminate and the PC power switch will start up the system.  If this occurs again, try using another mains socket nearby.

 

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How do I adjust the monitor speakers volume?

The master volume control for each powered speaker is securely positioned behind a locked access panel on the back of The Broadcaster.  To open these panels you will need the keys that were supplied with the system.  If you have lost these keys, don't worry we have the serial numbers in our database and can easily supply additional keys.  Before you open the access panel ensure that the mains supply is disconnected.  Open both of the panel doors and find the two powered speakers, the volume control adjustment is a rotary knob on the back of the speaker, make sure any adjustment is mirrored to the other speaker so ensure a good stereo balance.  You may want to adjust this control if you are working in a particularly noisy classroom or if you are working in studio location where higher volumes aren't necessary.  When you have completed your adjustment, ensure that the panels are locked again.  Test the volume setting by playing a jingle or music file from the control screen.

 

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I want to add more music to The Broadcaster

Two things have to happen before you can drag music content or jingles onto the cue stack or jingle stack players.  First the media needs to be copied onto drive D:  Drive D are the two 500Gb RAID 1 Mirrored drives that comprise the data drive, you can create any file structure that supports your purpose.  We recommend, either year group, followed by class name or media project name.  Whatever you decide on just ensure that the folder structure is below d:\Broadcaster Library.  The Broadcaster software will currently play any MP3 or WAV file and these need to be copied to the drive first.  If you don't have a copy of the file in this format you can use the DVD Writer to RIP CD music onto the drive.  Using Windows Media Player, select the RIP feature after a music CD has been inserted, music will be converted and placed in the Music folder on the computer's drive C:  Select which tracks to move and then drag and drop them into the newly created folder on the Drive D:  This is a useful and necessary technique when complying with Music Licence requirements, your Dubbing Licence Fee need only reflect media stored on the Broadcaster media disk not the boot drive.  Now that you have the media in the right place this media needs to be imported using the Library Manager, this action creates an entry in the database and allows you the option of using a real name for the file.  You can also at anytime add an Intro period and an Outro period to any track, this informs the operator of the show of the time elapsed during the introduction to a music track and also warns of the time during the outro.  Without this feature it wouldn't be possible to talk over the instrumental start of a song accurately without knowing the track. 

To start this process, press on the screen or use the track-pad to select Import New Track.  This opens a dialogue box, find the track that you want to add, no other drive should be selected other than drive D:  It is not possible to import files from a memory stick or any other portable device in this manner.  The importing element is only recognising the content placeholder and name, the material should have already been copied onto the system.  Once the track has been selected confirm, you will then be asked if you want to Preview the track, only say yes to this if you aren't in the middle of a live show, or don't have the time to complete this task.  Preview actively searches the data file of the importing track and presents it in a time line so that you can set the intro/outro positions using the Scrubber Bar.  If you aren't planning on completing this task at this time, say no and come back another time to edit this data. 

Selecting preview can tie the system up for up to 1 minute depending on the size of your file.  For a standard music track the time to read the file will only be a few seconds.  You will know when the file has been read as the track total time appears or updates if you are adding lots of tracks during this session.  Pressing the play button will start the playback of this track, at the pre-selected monitor volume level, if any Microphones are open then this will not be heard through the monitor speakers, instead the sound can be heard using the presenter's headphones.  Press Pause when the desired place is reached for the end of the intro and press the Intro Marker button, intro time is automatically copied into the intro time box, this can be done manually if desired, and time is calculated in millionths of a second.  Repeat this activity for the outro, either listen to the rest of the track or use the Scrubber Bar to advance the time-line, when the desired outro point is reached press the Outro Button and this data will be stored in the Outro Box.  Fill out the other boxes, track name, note that no slashes or full stops or commas can be used in these boxes.  The Artist Name can be split across two boxes, so first-name and surname can be kept separate.  Or you can use the Surname Box for Show Names, allowing the search feature to easily find content quickly during a live show.  For example for good practice we recommend that you use the Artist Surname as YR7 Show, or something else suitable for yourself.  Content can easily be repurposed in this way making it even easier to find what you are looking for in a hurry. 

When everything has been entered you can then press the save button and this item will immediately be saved to the Library and is available for playback straight away.  The most recent items added to the Library will appear at the bottom.  Each track added has a unique Library Number assigned to it. Content can also be deleted from the Library, to do this just select the track item using and then on the other screen select Edit Selected Track.  The track data will be brought into the Library Manager for editing, or deleting.  To delete select delete track and the track information will be removed from the library.  This will not remove the track from drive D:  The recording will still be stored, if this is to be removed, then delete the file in the usual way.

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The Illuminated sign isn't working
 

The Illuminated sign is powered and controlled by a separate relay housed inside the base unit.  Check that the XLR connectors are all correctly and firmly pushed in.  Under some circumstances when another USB device is removed without dismounting the device, it is possible for the control relay to lose the connection with the host computer.  To restore the connection, shut down the computer, then disconnect the power supply wait 5 seconds, reconnect and power the system on again.  If you should have to follow this procedure please note that the sign will require one additional activation before the sign is illuminated.  This is only necessary on the very first ON AIR activation after following the above procedure and normal operation will then be restored.  The MIC LIVE sign should work as normal once the ON AIR light has been activated at least once.

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I can hear an echo when I pull up fader 4

The Broadcaster uses the onboard Realtek sound card for streaming output, the soundcard comes with a system tray application that offers specific routing and DSP (Digital Sound Processing) options.  It is impossible to completely disable this functionality and it is possible that a sound processing effect has been selected.  If this is the case it will be easy to spot, one of the sound effects will be clearly illuminated on one of the top round buttons, you will also see a description of this effect in the pull-down menu on the right-hand side.  Deselect this effect or pull-down the right hand menu and select No-Sound Effect.

If this doesn't remove the echo sound there is one other possible cause.  Within the windows Audio Mixer settings there is a channel called Mic and this should be checked MUTE.  Having this channel selected and the volume level up will also cause a delayed echo type of sound effect to be present with all sources when fader 4 is open.  The Windows Sound Mixer is available inside the Program Accessories or within the control panel.  If you are unable to see the mic channel displayed, click properties and check the mic channel to have it displayed.  Once visible you can then select MUTE. 

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Audacity isn't getting any input audio

Audacity is setup when originally installed to playback audio on Realtek output channel and record on the 1st instance of channels 7/8 in the soundcard settings.  To access these settings if they have become altered you simply load Audacity and go to the EDIT then PREFERENCE settings and make these selections.  We recommend the channel 7/8 routing so that you can play audacity output into your show or podcast, however this does mean that if you wish to pre-fade listen to Audacity, you will have to take fader 4 off the Programme Bus and pull the fader up.

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