The DRS 2006 Audio Logger (04/12/2002)
The DRS 2006 Audio Logger is a digital sound recorder that will take input and create a wav file suitable for playing in DRS 2006.

The operation of the Audio Logger is straightforward and makes creating a voice file easy. It is perfect for recording news or weather reports and getting them inserted into the playlist rapidly. This is usually created in a non-live studio, as part of a network. However its use is not restricted solely to non-live studios.

Begin by opening the Audio Logger from the Launcher. Once the Audio Logger is opened you are presented with a few controls and status displays. Starting at the top of the Audio Logger screen is the information screen about the audio file.

Beneath the status screen titled 'Temporary Logfile' is the path where you select the location where the audio file will be saved. This can be changed by clicking the folder icon to the right, and then navigating to your audio directory. This may be a separate computer on your network or an additional hard drive. The default location is "C:\DRS2006\AudioLogger.wav".

Next is the 'Recording Format of Logfile'. By using the drop down box you can select from various sample rates and decide if the audio file should be recorded as a stereo or mono file. A good sample rate for most applications is 44100Hz 16 Bit Stereo (near CD Quality audio). Roughly 10 minutes of .WAV audio at this sample rate is equal to 10MB disc space. So it is a good idea to remove unused audio files once in a while.

The drop down box titled 'Recording Audio Driver' depends on what audio drivers you have installed on your computer. If you have more than one driver, select the driver you want to use for your recordings here.

Located to the right of the drop down menu is a 'Volume' slider that will adjust the play back level of the audio file. It is a playback function only and does not adjust the record level.

Another important function is the Mixer. Click on the button labeled 'Mixer' above the CD icon. Now your Windows™ 'Play Control' settings screen should show up. You have to set the recording devices in this dialog. The DRS 2006 Audio Logger will use these devices for recording. So of course you can set more than one device, for example the mic and line in.

The three large buttons at the bottom are the familiar 'Play', 'Rec' and 'Stop' buttons.

RECORDING
Recording is really simple. A simple click on the 'Rec' button starts the recording and you can begin speaking immediately. As you record the status window will incrementally display the size of the logfile in kilobytes (KB). To stop the recording session simply click the 'Stop' button.

PLAYBACK
To playback or listen to the file you have just recorded, click the 'Play' button and you can listen to the file you have just recorded. You can adjust the playback volume using the 'P1' slider control. The playback position, playback duration and the logfile size will be displayed in the top status screen.

Audio Plugin
If you have the DRS 2006 Audio Plugin installed you can click on the 'Audio Plugin' button to change the Audio Plugin settings for the audio file. These settings do not affect recording only playback.

Saving the file to DRS 2006
There are two different methods you can use to save the audio file to DRS 2006. The first method is pretty straightforward so it will be described first. The second method is perfect for those that need to create a news cast or weather report and get it into the playlist fast.

To save the audio file for later use click on the 'Save Logfile As' button. A popup window will open showing the audio directory. Type in the name of the new file and click on the 'Save' button. The file will be saved in ".wav" format. Once you have saved the file you can add it to your database by using the Audio Manger.

You can quickly make the new audio file available to the DRS 2006 playlist by going to the Audio Manager in just a couple of quick mouse clicks. Click on the 'Export to DRS 2006' button and a pop up screen will appear showing several options.

All data fields are analog to the fields in the Audio Manager.

The field titled 'Artist' shows by default the name "ALOG" followed by the date. An example would be ALOG 05192001. You can change this to anything you like.

The field titled 'Comment' is for your comments and can be edited as you like.

In the field titled 'Information' you can enter information about the file. It will display 65 characters in a row and two rows at a time - however you can enter more information if needed by simply continuing to type. When the two row space is filled the next character will be wrapped to the third line and continue until you have finished entering text.

To view the text beyond the second row, use the up/down arrow keys on your keyboard to move between the rows. You can edit the text in any row. Only the first five rows of information will be shown when viewed in the Audio Manager.

From the drop down box labeld 'Type' you can select any type from the types list you setup erlier using the Audio Manager. If this is a file that changes often you would want to set the 'Type' as a 'Dynamic' file type. For example if you have recorded a news file and you set the type to 'Dynamic', DRS 2006 will automatically calculate the time of the file and adjust the playlist when it encounters it. If you keep the same file name for example "news.wav" you can simply overwrite the old file with the new one and your done!

The drop down box titled 'Destination Directory' displays the three audio paths you have set in the Database Connector. Select one of these locations to save the file in. For example you may have set a specific folder within your audio files directory named "News Items". This folder may be located in "E:\Audio\News Items\". Select the path "E:\Audio\" from the drop down box and type in "\News Items" in addition to save the file in this directory.

The field titled 'File Name' shows the name the file will be saved to. The default value is "ALOG" followed by the creation date. For example a file created on May 19, 2001 would by default by saved as "ALOG 05192001.wav". Again if this is a file that changes hourly, just name the file the same way as the file you are replacing it with and make sure you save it as a 'Dynamic' file type.

Once all your choices are made click on the 'Export' button at the bottom of the window and your file will be saved and added to your DRS 2006 database at the same time.

You can insert the file you have just recorded into a playlist by using the Playlist Editor. If the audio file is acceptable as it is, you can insert it into your playlist without a visit to the Audio Manger. If a file currently exists in a playlist, for example "news.wav" you simply overwrite the old file with the new one by saving it using the same name ("news.wav"). The newly recorded file will then be played in the playlist.