The XStudio Backtimer is a tool to help determine how much audio content remains to be played in the current hour versus how much time is left in the hour. Comparing these values produces an "over/under" time value that can be used as a reference in making on-the-fly adjustments. If XStudio is short of content, a negative value is displayed and if long, a positive value is displayed. The backtimer assumes that all log content remaining in a given hour and present in the audio inventory will be played to completion.
The backtimer is a part of the floating clock window and can be either enabled (visible) or disabled (hidden). When enabled, the clock display appears similar to the example shown.
XStudio Clock with Backtimer Enabled
The backtimer display can be enabled or disabled in either of two ways: a) Use the clock's pop-up menu; or b) Use the XStudio main menu item View | Show Backtimer.
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Because the backtimer is an integral part of the clock display, if the backtimer is shown, the clock display is also forced to a visible state. When hiding the backtimer, though, the clock remains visible unless explicitly hidden. |
How the Backtimer Works
To arrive at the over/under value, the remaining air play time of any item playing in Deck 1 (the on-air channel) is summed with amount of content remaining in a given hour, starting with the "Next-to-Play" item on the log.
Backtimer starting point for remaining log content
The remaining content total is compared with the time left in the hour (top of the next hour less current clock time) to produce the over/under value displayed in the backtimer. If remaining content to play is less than the amount of time remaining in the hour, a negative (-) value is displayed. If remaining content to play is greater than the amount of time remaining in the hour, a positive (+) value is displayed.
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For best results, the log should contain a non-audio item (Directive, Program Title, Log Note) at the top of each hour to clearly mark the start of an hour. If the first non-audio element in a given hour is at a later time, audio elements intended for the hour end up being a part of the preceding hour, which could distort the backtimer value. |
Backtimer resolution is one second, with each audio item rounded to the nearest second.
Backtimer Notes
Here are some additional points of interest that apply to the XStudio Backtimer:
1.When calculating the remaining playable log content, it is always calculated forward from the current "Next-to-Play" position on the log to the end of the current actual clock hour. If the Next-to-Play item is in a previous hour, remaining content is the sum of playable items between Next-to-Play and the end of the current hour on the log. If Next-to-Play is an hour beyond the current hour, as might happen when starting a log item for the 3:00 PM hour at 2:59 PM, the remaining current hour log content value is zero.
2.Only items playing in Deck 1 are used in backtimer calculations. Items that might be played ad-hoc on Decks 2, 3, or 4 are not used in calculations.
3.To be included in the remaining playable log content, the log item must be present in the audio inventory. Missing audio is not included in calculations.
4.if Enforce Cart Dates (in Preferences) is enabled, then in addition to being in the inventory, the log item must also be valid for today’s date to be included in calculations.
5.Hourly time calculations look strictly at log content for a given hour without regard for Hard Sync or Cast-Off (Soft Sync) directives. The calculation assumes that all playable content will be played to completion.
6.If multiple items are playing on Deck 1, only the last-started element is used in the calculation.
7.If the Display Countdown to Aux Mark option (in Preferences) is not enabled (the default), the backtimer value will have a tendency to change a bit even though the log has not changed. This is particularly true when XStudio is transitioning from one item to another. The backtimer value is based on calculations to the Aux Mark, so when transitioning from one audio item to another, the backtimer value will decrease slightly (the difference between the Aux Mark and actual audio end) and then increase slightly - the difference between the Aux Mark and actual audio end of the new item. Depending on the audio item currently playing the backtimer value could be off by several seconds. To increase accuracy, turn the Display Countdown to Aux Mark item (in Preferences) on (checked).
8.The maximum calculated hourly length is 23:59:59 (essentially one day). If calculations produce a greater value, errors will occur.
9.If no log is present, the backtimer will display remaining time in the hour minus any item playing on Deck 1.
