Content:

1. MAKING PROGRAMS
   1. Things to consider
      1. Why do I need to use Openserver if I have to transmit from my computer anyway?
      2. Programs you can use to broadcast live
2. How to make a live broadcast
   1. Broadcast Characteristics
3. How to upload and queue a file for broadcast
4. How to create a series of programs
   1. What is a podcast?
   2. How do podcasts work on Openserver?
5. How to have a podcast of a program
6. Creating a series
   1. Difference between series of files and series of programs
   2. How to move between a series of files to a series of programs

MAKING PROGRAMS

Things to consider

Not all editors signed up to the Openserver tool have the same assigned permissions. The welcome screen clearly indicates the choices available to the currently signed-in editor.

(click the image to amplify)

There is a clear distinction between editors who have permission to upload files and those who do not.

All editors have the capacity to use Openserver for live, direct emission.

'Live emission' means that the user will use a program capable of transmitting audio from their computer to Openserver, and that the Openserver system will retransmit this signal in order that it can be heard.

Editors who have been given permission to upload files may generate programs without needing to have any program installed on their machine. All that is needed is to upload the files and program their transmission as required.

In order to request these additional permissions, please contact the administrators via the contact area of the interface.

Why do I need to use Openserver if I have to transmit from my computer anyway?

Predominantly because of the available bandwidth. The number of people who would be able to listen to your transmission depends directly on the upload bandwidth allowed by your internet connection. In general, this tends not to be high enough to avoid system failure once even a few users are connected. Openserver acts a client of your computer, later resending the signal using the significantly increased bandwidth available.

In addition, the configuration of Openserver meas that the end user will always be able to use a standard address (URL) in order to listen to the content, and will also be able to access it in two leading formats - mp3 and ogg.

Programs you can use to broadcast live

There is a wide range of programs you can use in order to connect to Openserver and broadcast live. The following list contains some of the most popular: http://www.icecast.org/3rdparty.php.

Examples for the leading three operating systems:

Nicecast for Mac OSX.
Oddcast for Windows.
Darkice, Ices or Ices2 for Linux and related.

We are in the process of constructing a screen-shot based list of configuration instructions for a number of these programs, which you can check here: Ayuda: Screenshots de programas para emitir.

How to make a live broadcast

First and foremost you'll need to install one of the programs mentioned above. Here, we will explain how to use the Openserver suite of tools to create a broadcast.

Begin by logging in to your user area. This zone can be found in the header menu on the right-hand side, by clicking on the username (see red underline in previous image).

Following this, click on 'My Programs'. In this page you will see a list of active programs. In order to create a program which will appear on this page, click on "Publish a new program".

This is the screen which you should now see:

The most important fields are:

1. Title. Add a title to identify the program.
2. Tags or keywords. These are used in order to find programs quickly, via the tag search tool. Add terms related to the program's content.
3. First broadcast. This is a critical field, specifying the date and time when the program or schedule of programs will first be broadcast. A calendar is available via the visible icon; start times are only available in 30 minute intervals.
4. Final broadcast. This is required only in cases where a program will be broadcast more than once and has an expiry date.
5. Duration. Again in 30 minute intervals, specify how long the program will last.
6. Frequency. Specify with what frequency the program will be broadcast.
7. Live / Recorded. This allows you to specify whether the program will be broadcast live or from an uploaded file. In this case, we will choose 'Live'.

Next we click on 'Confirm and continue', which will bring us to the following screen:

Since this is to be a live broadcast, all of the information will need to configure our client software is now displayed. By clicking on 'Confirm the Program', this will also be sent to the user's email address. Fifteen minutes before the scheduled program start, a reminder will also be sent to the same email address.

Broadcast Characteristics

Editors may begin to send data to Openserver from up to 15 minutes before the scheduled program start,, in order to verify that all is working as it should.

Keep in mind that the URL for listening and that for broadcasting are not the same - indeed, the broadcasting address is not publicly available. The system picks up the signal and broadcasts the following 2 channels -
http://openserver.cccb.org:8000/live.mp3 (MP3, 48kbps, mono)
http://openserver.cccb.org:8000/live.ogg (OGG, 56kbps, stereo)

This means that you can send your data with the bitrate of your choice - bearing in mind the available bandwidth. Listeners will always be served data at the same bitrate.

How to upload and queue a file for broadcast

In this case it will not be necessary to install any software in order to make a broadcast.

By default, editors do not have this option activated - if you would like to use this functionality, please contact the administrators via the Contact tools.

Files queued for broadcast are included in a play list that is not live - that is to say, in order to set up a broadcast you will need to follow the steps described above, and then select the choice "Recorded".

Once you have chosen this option you will see the following screen:

How this section works:

• Zone A: Available files. In this zone you will see all of the files available to the signed-in user. You can manage these files through the file area.
• Zone B: Files added to the playlist. These are the files whose contents will br broadcast. You can add files to this list by simply clicking on them in zone A.

1. File type. Files must be grouped by type - either OGG or MP3 - and the corresponding option selected. Mixed playlists cannot be created.
2. Playlist options. These icons will allow you to order the files in the playlist, remove a given file or duplicate it in order that it plays more than once. Bear in mind that the system will not broadcast the same file consecutively.
3. Total duration. This is the total in minutes that our playlist lasts. If the playlist is longer than the allotted time for the program, the remaining content will not be heard; if it is shorter, it will be repeated until the programmed time is reached.

How to create a series of programs

Series are the mechanism used in Openserver in order to create collections of programs. Each series is a list of files organised by age such that the newest move to the top of the list.

This list of files automatically generates a podcast.

What is a podcast?

The term "podcast" is a portmanteau of the name of Apple's portable music player, the iPod, and broadcast. In general terms, a podcast is represented by a subscription to receive updates of radio program which are posted on the internet by its authors. On connection of a given device or software, these updates are downloaded automatically and can then be read using any MP3-comptible player.

Technically, a podcast is an XML file which links to a set of files ordered by date. It is similar to RSS in that software is used automatically to obtain updates for all services or podcasts to which one is subscribed.

How do podcasts work on Openserver?

There are two ways of making podcasts on Openserver.

1. The first type of podcast is that which corresponds to a given series. Every series has a visible button with the RSS PODCAST logo which will allow us to subscribe to the podcast via our preferred software.
2. The second podcast is nothing more than a list of all the series which have been broadcast via Openserver, including the last publication in each series. This makes it possible to remain constantly up to date with the available series. The subscribe button for this global podcast is on the last page of each series.

How to have a podcast of a program

In order to have a podcast of any given program it is necessary to create a series. We can in fact have more than one program associated with this series.

In order to create series, you will need to request this ability explicitly via the contact page.

Creating a series

Once you have the necessary permissions for creating a series, you will be able to create them via the Series menu. Click on the link 'Create a New Series' - if you don't see this link then you don't have access to create series.

Once the series creation screen appears, you will need to fill in the form that appears:

Details:

1. These are the standard fields for providing the information related to the series title, a short description and any tags.
2. This field specifies the type of series that you are creating and, in turn, the details that we will need to provide. You will note that changing this option causes the form itself to change instantly.
3. If you have selected to create a series of programs, here yoou will be able to indicate which programs you would like to include in this series.
4. If, on the other hand, you have chosen to create a series based on a number of uploaded files, this will allow you to specify which files you would like to include.
5. You can create an item in a series of files which is based on a group of files if you would like by simply adding in a description for the group and selecting the files that will make it up.

Difference between series of files and series of programs

Both types of series are essentially the same - a collection of files organised by date, from the oldest to the newest. The key difference can be stated simply as follows: a series of programs corresponds to a way of archiving active programs in Openserver, and a series of files is the way in which we can publish files that have no related or active program in Openserver.

Either way, the difference rests in the way in which the files are administered - in series of files the process is not automated. We need to create the series, choose the associated files - creating a group of files if necessary - and this will be what is visible on the public area of the site. Any time that we want to add another file to this series, we have to repeat the exercise.

In series of programs, the difference is principally that we don't choose the files but instead the programs that we want to include. Subsequently, all of the files associated with these programs will be automatically broadcast in their given groups.

What's more, if the program is scheduled periodically, or if it is broadcast again later, any new files will be included - in the case of a live program, the new additions will be automatically recorded.

How to move between a series of files to a series of programs

As these two groups are technically the same thing, it is possible to change the type of a series between a series of files and a series of programs, and vice versa. The only change required is to edit the type (point 2)

1. If it is a series of programs and we change it to be a series of files, we will automatically see all of the related files in the file list. We can use this method to delete any file we no longer want to keep, saving the series and then republishing it as a series of programs. It's also useful to do this if we want to stop the series from being broadcast, but want to keep it archived.

2. If we pass a series of files to a series of programs we can still add files in the way explained above - all of the files in the series will be preserved.