Glyn, I too support a community station (http://www.leithfm.co.uk), so I know what you mean.
OK: the problem is indeed that you are using AUTO mode when you should be using ASSIST mode. AUTO mode is intended for unattended playout, hence it will always try to play everything in the Playlist without any human intervention. Therefore, if the Playlist is empty and you put another item in it, that item will always play immediately. This is what it is supposed to do!
As you say, you do want to ‘automate’ things like ad. breaks even though you are in ASSIST mode, and that is precisely what the Link feature was designed to do. Please try it: it does do what you want!
Try this:
- Put mAirList into ASSIST mode.
- Put a music track or short interview into the Playlist.
- Add your ads. and a jingle to the END of the Playlist.
- Add a music track to the end of the Playlist.
- Click the Link column in the Playlist on EACH of the ads.
You will see an icon in the Link column beside those items, AND some of them will ‘disappear’ from the Players, to be replaced by the final music track in your Playlist. They have NOT actually disappeared, they are now all ‘stacked’ in a single Player with the first ad.
Now play your first item and let it complete. Nothing else will play.
Now start your ad. and watch the Player it is in. When the first ad. finishes, the second will appear and play in the same Player; ditto for the third ad. and the jingle. And then: everything will be STOPPED again, just as you wanted.
Incidentally, it’s better practice
to go straight to music from an ad. break (or its closing jingle). To do that, you need to click Link on the final jingle, so that the following music track will also be ‘automated.’
Genuinely, Link is what you should use for the situation you describe. If the presenters find this baffling, you can always prepare an ‘ads. Playlist’ in advance with all the Links set (inclduing on the final jingle, as mentioned above). Your presenters can then Append that Playlist and not need to worry about remembering to add the Links themselves.
Good luck with your RSL!
BFN
CAD