Features

This is a detailed list of all the features in Campcaster. This is meant to be technical, and it is useful if you are comparing systems or trying to determine if Campcaster fits your needs.

Inputs
Import MP3 and OGG audio files through the Desktop GUI, the Web interface, or by using the mass-import command-line script. Songs can also be downloaded from other installations of Campcaster in a networked fashion.

Audio Outputs
Campcaster has three audio outputs: one for live output, one for automated (scheduled) playback, and one for previewing audio.

Components

  • Studio: a desktop application which allows you to do live shows or schedule automated playback.
  • Web: an HTML interface which allows you to schedule automated playback.
  • Scheduler: a daemon which plays songs at their designated time. There is an XML-RPC interface for the Scheduler.
  • Storage Server: stores audio files and playlists and allows access to them via XML-RPC.

Campcaster Studio: The Desktop Application
Campcaster Studio is mainly targeted at doing live shows, though it is possible to do automated scheduling through this interface as well. Note that the Web component has a much more robust interface for handling automated scheduling.

The primary tasks in Campcaster Studio are:
  1. Creating live shows ("Live Mode"): in Live Mode, you find songs using the search window or the scratchpad, and then add them to the Live Mode window. The large "play" button at the top of the window begins the playback. You can rearrange the songs at any time.
  2. Creating playlists: creating a playlist is very similar to using live mode, except that you have the ability to save the playlist for future use and set fade in/fade out values between tracks.
  3. Scheduling playlists: scheduling a playlist allows you to select a date and time for a playlist to being playing.
  4. Importing audio files from your hard disk
  5. Edit audio metadata
GUI Windows & Features
  • Master Panel – this is a big panel at the top of the screen that shows:
    • Currently playing song: title, artist, remaining time, elapsed time
    • Currently playing playlist, and whether the current playlist in nested inside of others.
    • Pause button
    • Stop button
    • Your station logo
  • Playlist Editor
    • The Playlist Editor window allows you to rearrange the order of songs, remove songs, and set fade-in and fade-out values between the songs. Songs are added from the Live Mode window, the Scratchpad, or the Search window.
    • Playlists can have playlists inside of them. This is useful for scheduling a block of advertising in between songs, or vice-versa.
    • Entire playlists can be uploaded to the Network Hub or exported to hard disk or removable media so they can be shared with other stations.
  • Scratchpad window: this window shows you most recently used audio files. You can preview songs from this window.
  • Search window: there are two ways to search your audio archive:
    • Keyword-search: matches anything you type
    • Browse: browse by artist/album/genre/etc. You can choose up to 3 categories to narrow your search.
  • Preview: you can preview songs in Live Mode and the Scratchpad windows by right-clicking on them or using the preview buttons.
  • Automated playout: basic functionality for scheduling automated playout is included, though the Web interface has many more features in this regard.
  • Import music: you can import new music from your local hard drive and edit its metadata(song title, artist, etc).
  • Keyboard Shortcuts: most actions in GUI can be mapped to a keyboard shortcut for quicker access.
  • Sound card configuration: configure which sound card should be used for live playback and preview.
  • Search-based backup: you can backup all station archives at the click of a button, or only backup certain files based on search terms, so that backup files can be made of only a certain program or of all files created by a certain user.
  • Localization: Campcaster is multi-lingual and supports Unicode. It also is very easy to create new language localizations.
  • Network Hub – if you have a community of radio stations, you can optionally set up a "Network Hub" to which all stations can upload and download content. The following features are available in the GUI once you have this set up:
    • Network hub search: If you have set up a central "network hub", you can search through its audio archives using keyword searches.
    • Download from network hub: download audio files or entire playlists from the network hub. Current downloads will show up in the "Transfers" window.
    • Upload to network hub (available by right-clicking on any song or playlist): you can transfer your files to the network hub with a click of a button.
Web Interface
The web interface was designed to make automated playout easy. This allows your broadcasting equipment to be located anywhere and you can remotely schedule your playout from the comfort of your own home.

  • The main panel at the top shows you what is currently playing and the time remaining. Your logo also appears here.
  • Upload new music: upload new songs and edit their metadata(title, artist, etc).
  • Scratchpad: this list shows you the most recently used audio files. The length of the scratchpad is user-adjustable.
  • Users: add or remove users.
  • Search: there are two ways to search your audio archive:
    • Keyword-search: matches anything you type
    • Browse: browse by artist/album/genre/etc. You can choose up to 3 categories to narrow your search.
  • Schedule
    • Calendar shows you which days have scheduled content
    • View schedule by month, week, or day
    • Day View allows you to automatically put the starting time of a playlist at the end of the previous one, or place the ending time at the beginning of the next scheduled playlist.
  • Options
  • Network Hub – if you have a community of radio stations, you can optionally set up a "Network Hub" to which all stations can upload and download content. The following features are available in the GUI once you have this set up:
    • Network hub search: If you have set up a central "network hub", you can search through its audio archives using keyword searches.
    • Download from network hub: download audio files or entire playlists from the network hub. Current downloads will show up in the "Transfers" window.
    • Upload to network hub (available by right-clicking on any song or playlist): you can transfer your files to the network hub with a click of a button.