Using The New WMP Manager App To Control External Streams

Liam Burke • Jul 23, 2019

Learn how to use Commands to control our new WMP Manager app.

The new WMP Manager is a simple media player application that can be controlled directly using Commands within Myriad 5 Playout. This allows you to:

  • Switch web streams into your live or automated playout.
  • Pre-load the stream to allow for connection buffer delays.
  • Gracefully fade in and fade out volume of stream to segue between local and streamed content.
  • Open and close WMP Manager application as required.

To make life as easy as possible we have created a single ZIP file that includes both the WMP Manager app and a Media Pack that contains the Command Media Items you will need so all you need to do is download the ZIP file, unzip it into the root of your C drive and install the Media Pack in Myriad Playout.

Here is how!

1. Go to https://www.broadcastradio.com/myriad-5-playout-support#Download and click on the Broadcast Radio WMP Manager Pack button to download the ZIP file.

This will download the BroadcastRadioTools.zip  file to your downloads folder.

2. Right Click on this file and select Extract All.

3. You need to set the extraction location to the root of your C drive (i.e. c:\) . This is important as the Commands in the Media Pack will be set to use this location. If you want to use a different location, you can , you will just need to adjust the Commands to use the alternate location.

4. Browse to the C drive to make sure the files have extracted to the right location.

5. Now we need to Import the Media Pack . Switch to Myriad 5 Playout and click on File Menu > Install Media Pack > Import Media Pack.

6. Browse to the location of the files you extracted a moment ago (should be c:\BroadcastRadioTools unless you changed it).

7. Myriad will now import five new Media Items into the next empty slots in your default 'Basic Items' range on the Media Wall. they are just Media Items so you can move or copy them as required.

8. Next you need to Edit the 'Launch Media Player (muted) Media Item. Right click and select Edit.

9. This will open the standard Edit Window for the Command Media Item. Location the section that list the stream location ( http://streaming.broadcastradio.com:9110/PG48AAC in this example) and alter that to be the location of the stream you want to open. Once done, save and close the Edit Window.

You can copy this Media Item to create different Commands to open different streams!

10. Test your stream by double clicking on the 'Launch Media Player (Muted) Media Item.

The first time you run WMP Manager, you will be asked to allow it through the Windows Firewall. Click on Allow Access.

11. The WMP Manager will start and automatically connect to the selected stream with the audio muted.

N.B. The WMP Manager will use your PC's default sound device  to play the stream so you need to make sure that is connected to your mixing desk with the fader up!

12. Now that the WMP Manager is running and connected, let's look at the other Command Media Items added by the Media Pack.

The options are:

  • Launch Media Player (Muted) - This will launch the WMP Manager, connect to the specified stream and mute the audio.
  • Unfade Media Player - This will fade up the volume on the WMP Manager. If you edit this Command Media Item you can adjust the fade duration.
  • Fade Media Player - This will fade the volume on the WMP Manager to zero over a set time. You can edit the Media Item to adjust this time.
  • Fade and Close Media Player Manager - This will fade the volume on the WMP Manager to zero, then close the WMP Manager.
  • Close Media Player Manager - This will immediately close the WMP Manager without fading out the audio first!
You can adjust the parameters of all of these Media Items using the Edit Window but if you are unsure, we would recommend leaving them at the default settings.

Give it a try, double click on 'Unfade Media Player' and the WMP Manager should fade in your stream audio. Try the other options to see how they work!

You now have everything setup to to gracefully swicth Streams on and off using Command Media Items in Myriad Playout.

These can be used:

  • In the Log (manually or scheduled)
  • On Favourites (for manually triggering them)
  • By double clicking on them on the Media Wall (for manual use)
  • Called from within other Commands

Putting it all together!

Consider the Log Sequence bellow:

  1. This Command will launch the WMP Manager and connect to the set stream with the volume muted. In practice, this will happen instantly and Myriad will move on to the next item in the Log.
  2. Play a standard jingle. This should be long enough to cover any connection time for the WMP Manager.
  3. At the Extro of the jingle, the Command will fire that will fade in the stream.
  4. With the stream playing, Myriad can now wait for the time set in the Absolute time. In this example the Myriad will wait until 11:59 and 54 seconds.
  5. At that time it will fade out the stream, the immediately move on to the next item in the Log.
  6. Finally we play a standard jingle to end the hour.

So this would provide you with an hour in your Log that included a jingle at the beginning and end with an external stream playing for the rest of the hour.

You could manually build a sequence like this but you can also build the same sequence in your Clocks on either Myriad Schedule or AutoTrack (Standard and Pro).

Let us know how you get on with the WMP Manager.

by Liam Burke 28 Mar, 2024
In anticipation of the release of SmartSign 3, we are looking back at the history of our screen studio signage system as well as a quick look at what the future holds. SmartSign 1 (well just SmartSign) was originally conceived as a simple ‘tally’ indicator to how real world events such as when microphones are active or a phone is ringing. At the time, we were working on the BR Hardware Service as part of the general Myriad 5 development cycle, and wanted a way to showcase the virtual hardware events the BR Hardware Service introduced. One of the aims was to make the system as cost effective as possible so work began on building an application that would run on Windows IOT on a Raspberry Pi. The Pi was ideal as it included physical hardware I/O built in meaning that SmartSign could use both physical and virtual GPIO and even convert physical inputs to virtual inputs for use in other BR software such as Myriad Logging or other SmartSigns.  We soon started to add other ‘tiles’ to the system to allow clocks, date / time, text, images, RSS feeds and more. SmartSign was released in 2016 and was an instant hit with our customers.
Artists Group Management
by Liam Burke 27 Mar, 2024
Learn how to use Artist Groups to prevent Songs from associated Artists from scheduling close together.
by Peter Jarrett 08 Dec, 2023
The latest feature from Broadcast Radio can really make your station stand out from the competition
by Peter Jarrett 12 May, 2023
Myriad v6 Public Beta testing has been going well... REALLY well!
by Liam Burke 19 Apr, 2022
This smart microphone may be ideal for Myriad Anywhere users.
by Blanca Jonathan 28 Jun, 2021
Image Source: Pexels
by Liam Burke 26 Feb, 2021
We are often asked for recommendations for smaller, low cost mixers for stations that are launching on a tight budget or looking to add additional studio capacity as cost effectively as possible. Type 'stereo mixer' into Google and literally hundreds of options will come up but the vast majority of them are not really suitable for use with Myriad because they do not have enough stereo inputs, are designed for sound mixing or do not offer the basic facilities needed to present a radio show. But there are a few that could be considered as a possible alternative to a full broadcast mixer. The Behringer DX2000USB may be the ideal mixer for smaller stations, as long as they are willing to live the compromises it brings when used in a broadcast radio environment.
by Arran Hodges 04 Dec, 2020
This post was originally posted on Arran's blog https://thisisarran.me/index.php/2020/12/04/the-technical-side-of-a-radio-station/ and is reproduced here by his kind permission. If you have a post you'd like share, please contact us and let us know!
Home Studio Mixer Review For Myriad Anywhere
by Liam Burke 28 Jul, 2020
With the World still struggling to adapt to the 'new normal' of working from home and minimising social contact, more and more stations are using Myriad Anywhere to enable presenters to record Remote Voice Tracks or even prevent live shows from their own home studios. Generally, all you need is a good microphone and a pair of headphones (we recommend a headset if possible) but we are hearing from a number of customers who are looking to create a home studio setup to allow them to get more creative and emulate their studio experience. So we thought we would take a quick look at a couple of home mixer options that work well with both Myriad Anywhere and fully installed Myriad Playout.
by Liam Burke 29 Jun, 2020
Sometimes you want to repeat complete Log hours in your schedule. Under normal circumstances, Myriad Schedule (or AutoTrack) will generate a new Log Hour for every hour of the week. But once you have edited and Voice Tracked an hour, it is sometimes good to be able to re-use that Log Hour elsewhere in your schedule or maybe even on another Station (if you are running more than one. This can be done using the Log.CopyHour Command.
Show More
Share by: