Preview Player

Using the Preview Player

The Preview Player lets the user audition an Audio Library cart without placing it on air or changing the automation playlist. Preview audio is played locally through the computer and web browser displaying APEX, independently of the station’s on-air player.

Loading a file

1. Locate the desired cart in the Audio Library.

2. Click the cart’s row to select it.

3. Click Preview.

4. The cart loads into the Preview Player and begins playing automatically.

Loading another cart stops the previous preview, resets the player, and loads the newly selected file.

Preview Player display

The player displays:

• Cart Number — The selected cart’s library number.

• Title — The cart title.

• Artist — The artist or descriptive information.

• Runtime — The amount of preview time remaining.

• EOM — The cart’s End-of-Message overlap setting.

An EOM display such as EOM: 6.1 (3:12.9) means the EOM is 6.1 seconds before the end of the cart and occurs at approximately 3 minutes, 12.9 seconds into the playable audio. The calculation uses the cart’s effective runtime after any Start or End trimming.

Play and Pause

Click Pause to temporarily pause the preview. The button changes to Play. Click Play to resume from the same position.

When the file reaches its end, playback stops and the position returns to the beginning. Press Play to hear it again.

LAN and WAN previews

When connected over the local network, the preview normally begins as soon as the file is retrieved from the station server.

When connected remotely over WAN, the preview may take longer. The AAE must request the audio from the station server and make it temporarily available for the browser before playback can begin. Wait for the loading message to finish before pressing additional controls.

Important notes

The Preview Player does not add the cart to the playlist, trigger a Hot Key, or interrupt the on-air audio. Its sound level is controlled by the browser and local computer rather than the AAE’s on-air volume and mute controls.

Closing the On Air Playlist screen stops and unloads the current preview. If a file does not play, verify that it still exists in the station’s Audio Library, that the browser can play its audio format, and that the computer’s local audio output is enabled. The status area will report problems such as a missing file, an unsuccessful WAN request, or audio the browser could not load.