POWER STUDIO

VisualRadioAssist Link

Use the VisualRadioAssist Link plugin to connect Power Studio playback information to a visual radio workflow.

Typical Uses

Typical goals are:

  • Let the visual radio system know what is playing.
  • Trigger visual behavior based on playout state.
  • Keep radio automation and visual automation aligned.
  • Send upcoming rundown items to VisualRadioAssist so output players and visual automation can prepare what is coming next.
  • Keep music clips, titles and visual actions in sync with Power Studio playout.

Configure

Configure the VisualRadioAssist connection in both Power Studio and VRA Cloud.

  1. In Power Studio, open Options and Settings.
  2. Open Plugins.
  3. Select the VisualRadioAssist Link Plugin.
  4. Enable the plugin and click Configure.
  5. In VRA Cloud, open Advanced Studio Settings for the active studio.
  6. Add the Power Studio Automation integration.
  7. Generate the Automation Dump URL.
  8. Copy the generated URL.
  9. Verify the host IP address or hostname in the URL. The address must be reachable from the Power Studio computer that will send the automation data.
  10. Paste the URL into the Power Studio VisualRadioAssist Link plugin configuration.
  11. Configure how many upcoming rundown items VisualRadioAssist should process. The VRA default is 5; use a higher value only when the visual radio workflow needs to prepare further ahead.
  12. Apply the settings, restart Power Studio and test the link.

Do not leave the URL unverified. If VRA Cloud generates a URL that contains a local IP address, hostname or tunnel name, make sure that exact address is valid from the playout computer. If Power Studio and the VRA component are on different machines, localhost or 127.0.0.1 will usually be wrong unless the endpoint is actually running on the Power Studio machine.

Multiple Power Studio Instances

When a station runs multiple Power Studio instances, VisualRadioAssist can filter on a specific Power Studio machine identifier. Use this when only one studio, workstation or playout instance should feed a specific VisualRadioAssist setup.

Keep the machine identifier stable and document it in the station configuration notes. If the identifier changes, VisualRadioAssist may ignore the data or may accept data from the wrong Power Studio instance.

Data Sent To VisualRadioAssist

Power Studio sends detailed automation data to VisualRadioAssist, including:

  • Artist.
  • Title.
  • Duration.
  • Timestamp.
  • Content type ID.
  • Content type name.

VisualRadioAssist can use this data for Output Player rundown conditions, automations, graphics, music metadata and other conditional actions. The timing data is intended for accurate visual synchronization, such as starting music clips or title visuals in sync with the audio playout.

Item Groups And Content Types

Configure content types in Power Studio clearly, because VisualRadioAssist can use them to categorize automation data.

In VisualRadioAssist, use Item Groups to distinguish between music, station items, jingles, commercials and other audio types. Item Groups can then be used in VRA conditions and automations. For example, a station might show music clips for music items, a station logo during station IDs and a different overlay during commercials.

When changing content type names, content type IDs or Item Group identifiers, retest the VRA conditions that depend on them.

After configuration, test with real playlist material:

  • Music tracks with artist and title.
  • Jingles and station IDs.
  • Commercials or other non-music content.
  • Cart player starts if the station uses carts to trigger visual actions.
  • Empty or unloaded players.
  • Several upcoming playlist items, so the VRA rundown preview can be checked.

Confirm that VisualRadioAssist receives the current item, receives the expected number of upcoming items and categorizes the data through the correct Item Groups.

The VisualRadioAssist documentation describes the setup here: Link Power Studio to Visual Radio. More background about VRA automation data and Item Groups is here: Radio Automation Data.