We're excited to introduce Packets Beta and other helpful updates to make using Program Director even better.
Packets provide you with the capability to bundle multiple tracks into one element for playback within a Playlist. To utilize this feature you will find an "Add Packet" button located in the upper right hand portion of the Playlists Details Page. There are two types of Packets; Sequential and Rotational.
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Sequential Packet.
A type of Packet that exhibits sequenced track playback behavior.
Just like an Ordered Playlist, when a Sequential Packet element comes up within a Playlist, the Packet playout logic will consist of all tracks sequentially within the Packet itself, and then proceed to the next track within the Playlist. A common example for a rock station would be to bundle together Queen’s “We Will Rock You” and “We Are The Champions” into a Sequential Packet.
Rotational Packet.
A type of Packet that exhibits non-sequential weighted track playback behavior.
When a Playlist comes across a Rotational Packet element that contains two different tracks, each time the Playlist runs its course the logic is configured to pick Track A the first time, Track B the next time, Track A afterward, and so forth. An example of this could be two different versions of the song “War Pigs”; Black Sabbath’s original version, and Faith No More’s cover version.
You can also set a playback frequency percentage other than 50/50 for either of these versions by dropping additional instances of either track into the Rotational Packet. For example, when you add 4 tracks of the original track and 1 track of the cover, 80% of the time the Packet will play the original track.
But wait, there’s more! Program Director’s Packets functionality goes even deeper providing you with the ability to add Packets within Packets, further expanding your station programming possibilities. If you want to program a full symphony with all the movements, but each time the symphony comes up in the Playlist, you want it to be performed by a different orchestra and conductor, our multi-tiered Packeting logic provides exactly this kind of flexibility.
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Release Notes:
The team made numerous improvements and resolved many imperfections within this release in support of the Packets Beta launch.
