Backtiming

[Richard1968]

mAirListDB: Backtiming and Hour Transition Issue – Next Hour’s Items Scheduled Before 18:00

Hello everyone,

I am using mAirList 7.4.12 Advanced (Home) with mAirListDB for music scheduling at my internet radio station, Radio 888.

I am experiencing a problem with the playlist generator and the transition between two hours. My goal is for the generator to create a complete hourly playlist and backtime the music so that the hour ends exactly at the top of the next hour. This used to work correctly, but I am now seeing items from the next hour scheduled before the intended hour change.

I would appreciate some help identifying the cause. I would also like to avoid changing settings that are already working correctly.

1. What I want to achieve

The playlist generator should create each hourly playlist so that:

• The music for the current hour is correctly backtimed.

• The end-of-hour marker is scheduled at the top of the hour.

• Items belonging to the next hour appear in the correct position in the playlist.

• The general TOTH and the programme-specific TOTH play in the correct order.

• The first music track of the new hour does not start before the intended hour transition.

I want this to happen automatically, without having to correct each hourly playlist manually.

2. Hour template settings

I checked the hour template Radio 888 Golden Classics from the 70s.

End-of-hour marker

The properties of this template item are:

• Timing: Soft Fixed Time

• Fixed time: 01:00:00

• Time frame: 60 seconds

• Prevent auto-float around this item: checked.

This is the end-of-hour marker in the hour template, not a TOTH item.

Music block – Block 1

The properties of the music block are:

• Infinite/fill: checked.

• Timing: Backtimed.

• Prevent auto-float around this item: unchecked.

• Overflow by: 00:00:00.

My understanding is that the music block should be backtimed against the end-of-hour marker at 01:00:00.

3. Programme-specific TOTH

The item 888_TOTH_GOLDEN_CLASSICS_FROM_THE_70s has the following settings in the generated playlist item properties:

• Timing: Fixed

• Fixed time: 00:00:00

• Linked to the next item: checked.

• Prevent auto-float around this item: checked.

As far as I understand, the Fixed timing type currently behaves like Normal timing in mAirList. I do not know whether this is relevant to my problem.

4. General TOTH

The item TOTH_AI_DEEP_VOICE has the following settings in the active playlist:

• Timing: Soft Fixed Time

• Fixed time: 16:00:00

• Every hour: checked.

• Time frame: 60 seconds.

• Prevent auto-float around this item: checked.

I previously also checked this item’s properties in the database. The timing setting appeared to be different there from the setting in the active playlist. I do not know whether this difference is normal when an item is generated or loaded into a playlist.

5. Playlist generator and end time

I generated a playlist in mAirListDB for Sunday, 18 October 2026, covering the hour from 17:00 to 18:00.

The generated playlist ends with:

• Lay Back In The Arms Of Someone – Smokie, scheduled at 17:51:39.

• We're All Alone – Walker Brothers, scheduled at 17:55:38.

• End of hour, scheduled at 18:00:00.

The last track has a duration of 4:21 and, according to the scheduled times, finishes at approximately 17:59:59.

Based on this playlist, the generator appears to calculate the end of the hour correctly.

The problem becomes visible when I look at the transition to the next hour in the active playlist.

6. What happens at the hour transition

In the active playlist, I see the following sequence:

1. Lay Back In The Arms Of Someone – Smokie.

2. We're All Alone – Walker Brothers, scheduled at 17:56:14.

3. End of hour.

4. Begin of hour.

5. TOTH_AI_DEEP_VOICE, duration 16 seconds.

6. 888_TOTH_80s_Rewind, duration 8 seconds.

7. Such a Shame [Single Version] – Talk Talk, scheduled at 17:59:48, duration 4:01.

The first music track of the next hour is therefore scheduled to start at 17:59:48, before 18:00:00.

This is the specific problem I want to solve. I do not understand why items from the next hour are scheduled this way when the previous hour’s end marker is set to 18:00:00.

I would like to emphasise that the end-of-hour marker and the TOTH items are separate items with different purposes. I do not want to confuse the end of the previous hour with the TOTH of the next hour.

7. Playlist and automation settings

In Configuration → Playlists → Playlist 1 → Options, the following options are checked:

• Allow automation mode.

• Use only one player in automation mode.

• Move played/skipped items to the Recycle Bin.

• Only move items at the top of the playlist to the Recycle Bin.

• Automatically jump to fixed-time items in automation mode.

• Wait for hard fixed-time items.

• Wait for soft fixed-time items.

Automatic replenishment is disabled.

The Event Scheduler is configured to append the playlist for the next hour at approximately minute 57, using Append Database Playlist. The options Load playlist for next hour and Use a soft fixed time are enabled. The number of hours to load is set to 1.

I have not changed these settings arbitrarily because I first want to understand where the problem originates.

8. Questions

I would appreciate advice from anyone familiar with mAirListDB, hour templates, backtiming and hour transitions.

My main questions are:

1. Why is the first music track of the next hour scheduled at 17:59:48 when the previous hour has an end marker at 18:00:00?

2. Is it normal for TOTH_AI_DEEP_VOICE to have a Soft Fixed Time of 16:00:00 with Every hour enabled in the active playlist?

3. Is it normal for the general TOTH’s timing setting to differ between the database item properties and the active playlist?

4. Could the combination of the end-of-hour marker, programme-specific TOTH, general TOTH and backtiming cause the first track of the next hour to be placed before the top of the hour?

5. Which setting should I check to ensure that the generator schedules each hour correctly and the next hour’s playlist starts at the intended hour transition?

I am particularly interested in understanding the difference between the apparently correct end time in the generated database playlist and the incorrect timing of the next hour’s items in the active playlist.

Thank you in advance for your help!

[tinus102]

Hi Richard,

Thanks for the detailed write-up. It’s quite a long question, so I’ve done my best to understand your setup correctly. Some of what follows is based on assumptions, so please correct me where I’ve got it wrong. And music scheduling is a study in itself, so there’s rarely just one right answer. That said, a few things stand out to me:

1. Generated vs. live timing
In your generated playlist, “We’re All Alone” is scheduled at 17:55:38. In the active playlist it’s at 17:56:14, so 36 seconds of drift has already built up during the hour. Backtiming in the generator is a calculation made at generation time, based on durations and cue points. As far as I know, it doesn’t correct itself during playout. Segues, jingles and cue points that don’t quite match will always cause some drift, so a fully backtimed hour will rarely land exactly on the second.

2. Your whole hour seems to be one backtimed block
If I understand correctly, Block 1 has no interruption in your template, so the entire hour is a single backtimed block with Overflow set to 00:00:00. That makes it hard for the generator to find a combination that fits exactly, and all the drift of the hour ends up at the transition. You could split the hour: insert an item around minute 45 (a jingle or sweeper, for example), so you get a Block 2. Let Block 1 use normal timing and backtime only Block 2 against the end-of-hour marker, ideally with a small overflow margin (30–60 seconds). The generator then only has to make the last 15 minutes fit.

3. The 60-second time frame
Both your end-of-hour marker and TOTH_AI_DEEP_VOICE are Soft Fixed with a 60-second time frame. My guess is that mAirList treats a start within that window as on time, so “Wait for soft fixed-time items” doesn’t kick in. That could explain why the TOTH is shown starting around 17:59:24. I’m not sure about this, but it’s easy to test: set the time frame to 0 or a few seconds and see whether the timing shifts.

4. Check the template of the next hour
You checked the “Golden Classics from the 70s” template, but the 18:00 hour seems to use “80s Rewind”. The start of that hour is determined by that template, so it’s worth checking its begin-of-hour item and the timing of its first music block as well.

About your other questions

• A Soft Fixed Time of 16:00:00 with “Every hour” enabled looks normal to me. Only the minutes and seconds count, so the item is effectively set to xx:00:00.
• Different timing between the database item and the active playlist is usually normal too. The hour template and the Event Scheduler (“Use a soft fixed time”) override the item’s timing when it is generated or loaded.

An alternative approach
On my own station I don’t backtime at all. I slightly overfill each hour: the last one or two items (a jingle plus a track) fall after the end-of-hour marker and have no start time. If the hour runs short, they move up; if it runs long, they’re dropped. The start of each hour is a fixed anchor, so any overrun never accumulates beyond one hour. In practice my hours sometimes end a few seconds after the top of the hour, which no listener will notice. Of course, if you have news or a network feed on the hour, you need a hard fixed time and have to accept that the last track may be faded out.

One last question: did the first track of the new hour actually start early on air, or is it only shown that way in the playlist? A screenshot of the active playlist around the hour transition would help.

Hope this helps!

Martijn

[Richard1968]

Hi Martijn,

Sorry for the late response, I will thank you so much because the blok 2 trick was the solution. Everything works now for 90% so a lot to do. If i have any more questions i come back! Again thank you!