You are running StarTrax v2.56.2 (build 2026-10-31). Newest changes are first.

Version 2.56.2CURRENT - Cloud Setup: no root needed

New

• CLOUD SETUP lists exactly which databases to make in your hosting panel (the station-list database and one per station in the platform backup on the server). With a database name prefix, station database names are kept to 32 characters (the longest a hosting panel accepts), so every station can be made in the panel without root access.

Version 2.56.1 - Cloud Setup for your own server

New

• CLOUD SETUP now works for a server with its own hosting panel (not cPanel): a "Database name prefix" setting (e.g. startrax_) so station databases get names the database user is allowed to use, a check of whether the database user may create databases, and the exact one-time GRANT to run (or the panel steps) when it may not. Cloud mode keeps its station-list database and every imported station database under that prefix.

Version 2.56.0 - Cloud Setup

New

• CLOUD SETUP (System > Cloud Setup): switch cloud (multi-station) mode on or off and set it up on a server from the website, without editing config.php by hand. It shows whether cloud mode is really working - and if it is not, the reason (StarTrax quietly falls back to one station when it cannot open the station-list database) - tests the cPanel API token, creates the station-list database, and saves the settings into config.php (the old file is kept in storage/backups).

Version 2.55.0 - Full Backup & Import

New

• FULL BACKUP & IMPORT (System > Full Backup & Import): one .zip with the whole station - the database AND all the audio. It is built in small steps so a big library never hits the host's time limit, checked when finished, kept on the server and downloadable.
• IMPORT: put a backup back from a file on your computer (sent in pieces, any size) or from the server's storage/backups/full folder. Choose database, audio or both; a copy of the current data is saved first; audio already here is skipped unless you ask to replace it; the Audio folder setting of the server you restore onto can be kept, so moving to a new server just works.
• CLOUD (MULTI-STATION): the platform owner can back up the WHOLE PLATFORM in one .zip - the station list and, for every station, its database, audio and website folder - and import it onto a new server. Station databases are created on the new server as needed (named for that server), the owner's station keeps the server's own Audio folder, linked station groups are kept, and you can import just some stations.
• Safe by design: only audio-type files go in the audio folder, no paths outside it, and only database structure/data statements are run.

Version 2.54.0 - Upload Audio: release sheets

New

• UPLOAD AUDIO - RELEASE SHEET: choose a label / distributor spreadsheet (.xlsx or .csv) and audio files named UPC_Disc_Track.wav (e.g. 00602557835588_1_01.wav) are matched to their row: title with version, display artist, album, ISRC, label, writers, publisher, P-line and release date come from the sheet. The list shows the match before uploading; other files are added as before.

Version 2.53.1 - StarTrax Bridge for the Music Catalogue

New

• STARTRAX BRIDGE: a small program for the back-office PC (startrax_bridge.py + Start Bridge.bat). The Music Catalogue only listens on its own PC; the bridge listens on port 888 and passes StarTrax's requests to it and the WAV files back. Only the StarTrax server and the local network are let in.
• GET SONGS: clearer messages when the bridge is running but the Music Catalogue app is closed, or the PC cannot be reached.

Version 2.53.0 - Get Songs from the Music Catalogue

New

• GET SONGS (Library > File Management > Get Songs): search for a song (exact spelling, album, year, length and cover), press Get, and the Music Catalogue downloads it as WAV; StarTrax fetches it and adds it to the library like Upload Audio - MP3, silence trimmed, BPM, Song Card and album cover. You can also type the artist and title, with an optional source address for an exact version.
• Songs already in the library are marked and asked about before spending a credit. A Credits box shows the credits left (Check asks the Music Catalogue). The list of songs being fetched keeps going even with the page closed.
• The Music Catalogue address and API key are set once on that page and kept on the server only. Cloud: other stations can use the main station's Music Catalogue only when the main station allows it.

Version 2.52.0 - Autopilot: never off air without a playlist

New

• AUTOPILOT: when the hour on air has nothing left to play, StarTrax first makes it from your programming. If there is no programming for that hour (or nothing could be made from it), it puts the station into automation (AirPlay Fully Automatic, Studio automation on) and makes just that one hour from the music library - a station ID at the top and about every 15 minutes, songs not played in the last 3 hours, no artist twice close together, and AI DJ links when the AI DJ has a voice. It carries on one hour at a time (the next hour is made in the last 3 minutes) until you make a playlist. Hours that have their own playlist are never touched. Turn it off in System Settings > Playout.

Version 2.51.0 - Stay Tuned: the AI DJ talks like a real DJ

New

• SECRET WORD: like a real DJ, the AI DJ first says the song that just played, then gives the secret word, then introduces the next song (or says it is coming after the break).
• LISTENER CLUB ON AIR: the AI DJ now talks about the Listener Club between two songs - the song that just played, how to join, the prize, who is leading the leaderboard, then the next song. Choose how often in System > Stay Tuned Campaign (every 1 to 6 hours, or never), within the Secret Word hours.

Version 2.50.1 - AI DJ lines play in full; websites update themselves

Fixed

• STREAM: an AI DJ line that was voiced at the moment it came up (AirPlay and the Studio closed) could be played for only the few seconds StarTrax guessed before it had audio. The stream now checks the real length and plays the whole line.
• STATION WEBSITE: the new Listen & Win box did not show until the website was saved again. A station website now brings itself up to date the moment someone opens it (and the server checks every minute too).

Version 2.50.0 - Stay Tuned Campaign: keep listeners listening

New

• STAY TUNED CAMPAIGN (System > Stay Tuned Campaign): three ways to keep people listening, each switched on with a tick and run by itself.
• COMING UP TEASERS: just before a break (adverts, news, announcements, a program or a talk segment) the AI DJ says what is coming up after it - "Don't go anywhere! Right after the break, it's ..." - and, if you like, between songs too (at most one every 10-60 minutes).
• SECRET WORD (LISTEN & WIN): at random times in the hours you choose (1-6 a day) the AI DJ reads out and spells a secret word, the prize and your website. Listeners enter it in the new Listen & Win box on the station website within the time you set. See the entries and press Draw winner; recent winners show on the website.
• LISTENER CLUB: listeners join on the station website and earn a point for every minute they listen there. The website shows their minutes, their place and the top 10 of the month; the page shows the leaderboard with contact details, last month's top listener, and a CSV of all members.
• Published station websites now update themselves to the newest version within a minute (no need to press Save on Station Website).

Version 2.49.1 - AI DJ speaks with the same real human voice as Text to Speech

New

• AI DJ VOICE: System Settings > AI DJ > Voice can now be "Same real human voice as Text to Speech". The AI DJ then uses the Text to Speech voices and key (Alloy, Ash, Coral, Echo, Fable, Nova, Onyx, Sage, Shimmer). This is the automatic choice whenever Text to Speech is set up.
• REAL HUMAN SOUND: "How it sounds" - Real human radio presenter (the natural-speech voice, told to talk like a relaxed, friendly Australian presenter with natural pauses) or Standard HD voice. If the service does not offer the natural-speech voice it uses the HD voice instead.
• If no voice is chosen, the AI DJ uses the voice last used in Text to Speech in the Wave Editor.

Fixed

• Text to Speech "Write the script" mentioned Life FM 99.3 on every station - it now names the station you are on.

Version 2.49.0 - AI DJ: weather by postcode, voice and length per line, plays without AirPlay

New

• AI DJ WEATHER: type your postcode (and country) in System Settings > AI DJ and the AI DJ reads the weather for that area, naming the suburb. The page shows the weather it will read right now.
• INSERT AI DJ LINE: a "Voice" choice (the station default, or any voice of your voice service for just this line) and a "How long to speak" choice (about 10 seconds to 2 minutes). For a longer time the AI turns the facts - time, weather, the last and next song - into a natural DJ link of that length.
• AI DJ SETTINGS: the Voice is now a list of the voice service's voices (OpenAI, Google Australian voices, ElevenLabs) instead of a box to type an ID into.

Fixed

• AI DJ: lines are now voiced and played by the stream even when AirPlay and the Studio are closed - the stream voices a line on the spot if it was not made ahead, and the AI DJ is on whenever a voice key is set (unless switched off).

Version 2.48.0 - Quick Record: detect the song intro with AI

New

• QUICK RECORD: a "Detect the song intro with AI" tick box (it remembers your choice). When the song is saved, AI listens for the first sung word and sets the track's intro - the time before the vocals start - for AirPlay's intro countdown and voice tracking. It uses the AI speech key (included for every station); without one, or if the AI cannot be reached, the intro is estimated from the sound. Works in CD mode too, and the save message says what was found.

Version 2.47.0 - Progress bar for Schedule Music

New

• MUSIC ONE - SCHEDULE MUSIC: a progress bar with a percentage and a status line while it works - reading the library, building each hour from its format, choosing songs (category, time and "120 of 300"), checking the rules and tempo flow, and saving each hour to the log - plus the seconds taken. It ends with what to do next (Save to log, or choose a song where it stopped).

Version 2.46.1 - AirPlay plays its own station - the real fix

Fixed

• AIRPLAY: on a station other than the main one, AirPlay showed and played the MAIN station's playlist. The cause: while loading the playlist AirPlay also checks website song requests, and that code thought AirPlay's own "api" folder was a station website with no station.txt, so it switched the request to the main station. Only real website folders (with their own index.php and api.php, directly in the StarTrax folder) are treated as websites now, so AirPlay always loads, plays and marks its own station's playlist.

Version 2.46.0 - Remove Main-Station Tracks

New

• REMOVE MAIN-STATION TRACKS (Library > File Management, other stations only): finds tracks in this station's library that are the main station's songs (same title and artist) and have no audio of this station's own - left over when the main station's library was copied in - and removes them after you check the list. It can also clear the unplayed playlist so AirPlay and the stream rebuild it from the station's own songs. Tracks booked on runlines are kept; the main station is never changed.

Version 2.45.3 - AirPlay never plays another station

Fixed

• AIRPLAY: every time it loads the playlist, AirPlay now checks that the server answered for the station the screen was opened for. If it ever gets another station's playlist it plays nothing, stops, and shows a red "Wrong station" message saying which station and database it got and why, so the cause can be found.

Version 2.45.2 - Text to Speech uses the station you are on

Fixed

• TEXT TO SPEECH: the AI script writer (Fix / Improve / Write / Rewrite) was told it was writing for "Life FM 99.3, Brisbane, a Christian station" on every station. It now uses the name, call sign and place of the station you are on, and never another station's name.
• NEW STATIONS: the sample station IDs and promo use the new station's name instead of "Life Fm" / "Win With Life FM".

Version 2.45.1 - Each station keeps its own audio

Fixed

• AUDIO: in cloud mode a station other than the main one could save its audio into the main station's folder (storage/audio) when its Audio path setting was empty or copied, so the two stations' files overwrote each other. Every station now ALWAYS uses its own folder, storage/tenants/<station>/audio, whatever the setting says. System Settings > Paths shows the folder in use.

Version 2.45.0 - Restore Missing Audio

New

• RESTORE MISSING AUDIO (Library > File Management): lists the tracks whose audio file is missing from the server (OFFLINE in Check Availability). Pick the original audio files - a whole folder at once is fine - and each one is matched to its track by title and artist and put back under the track's own file. The track keeps its number, categories, timings, history and playlists; nothing is duplicated, and files that do not match a missing track are ignored.

Version 2.44.2 - Station Check page

New

• STATION CHECK (stationcheck.php, platform owner only): for every station it shows which database it uses, its station name, how many tracks it has, the most played artists, what is marked playing and its playlist around now. It warns when two stations share one database. It changes nothing.

Version 2.44.1 - Pick the station for AirPlay

Changed

• ON AIR: the "Which screen would you like?" page (Studio button) has a Station choice, so AirPlay or the Studio can be opened for Coulston Lakes (or any station you can use) even while you are on Life FM.
• AIRPLAY: the station's name is now shown in the title bar in every look (and in the browser tab), so it is always clear which station an AirPlay screen is running.

Fixed

• AIRPLAY: if it is asked for a station this login cannot use, it now says so instead of quietly showing the main station's log.

Version 2.44.0 - Song on air in the website's browser tab

New

• STATION WEBSITE: the browser tab now shows the song on air - "Title - Artist | Station" - and uses the song's album cover as the tab icon. It changes with every song. Phones also show the song and cover on the lock screen while the website is playing. Each station: press Save on the Station Website page once to add it.

Version 2.43.3 - AirPlay and Studio stay on their own station

Fixed

• AIRPLAY: an AirPlay screen opened for one station (e.g. Coulston Lakes) switched to Life FM when the station was changed in another tab or with the station bar, and then played and marked Life FM's log. Each AirPlay screen is now locked to the station it was opened for (its address ends in ?stx=station), including its audio and covers.
• STUDIO: the "monitor the stream" player played the main station's stream on every station. It now plays the station's own stream.
• ALL SCREENS: pages left open keep working on their own station when another tab switches station.

Version 2.43.2 - Code check and layout fixes

Fixed

• CODE CHECK: every PHP and JavaScript file was checked, then StarTrax was run on a test server with two stations and every page was opened as ADMIN (over 1,400 pages) plus the public pages, AirPlay in all three looks, the Studio and the station websites. No code errors were found.
• STATION WEBSITE: the QR code box now sits beside its text instead of above it.
• AIRPLAY (Original v2.1 look): the screen theme box is smaller, so the date in the title bar is no longer cut off.

Version 2.43.1 - Directory shows every station

Fixed

• STATION DIRECTORY: stations whose "built-in stream" setting was off were left out, even though they stream through StarTrax. Every active station is now listed (unless it is hidden with In directory), and a station whose settings cannot be read is still shown with its stream.

Version 2.43.0 - QR code on every station website

New

• STATION WEBSITE: a "Take us with you" box with a QR code of the website's address, so visitors can open the page on their phone by pointing the camera at it. It hides itself on phones. Turn it off with "Show a QR code" on the Station Website page. Each station: press Save on the Station Website page once to add it.

Version 2.42.4 - StarTrax screenshots on the Features page

Changed

• FEATURES PAGE: a new AirPlay section with the Original StarTrax v2.1 screen, and a StarTrax screenshots gallery with every screen - click one to see it full size and use the arrows to look through them.

Version 2.42.3 - Full screen after choosing a screen

Changed

• ON AIR: after choosing AirPlay (any look) or the Studio on the "Which screen" page, the screen goes full screen on your first tap or key press - for AirPlay that is the "tap here to go on air" box. Browsers only allow full screen after a tap, so it cannot happen on its own. Press Esc to leave full screen.

Version 2.42.2 - Studio button asks which screen

Changed

• MAIN MENU: the Studio button now asks which screen you want - AirPlay in Modern, Classic or Original StarTrax v2.1 look (your choice is remembered), or the live-assist Studio.

Version 2.42.1 - Studio button opens AirPlay

Changed

• MAIN MENU: the Studio button now opens the AirPlay on-air screen. The live-assist Studio page (playlist, cart walls) is still in Programming > Studio (live assist), next to the new Programming > AirPlay (On Air screen).

Version 2.42.0 - AirPlay Screen Theme in the Actions menu, no crossfade under 1 minute

New

• AIRPLAY SCREEN THEME: Actions > AirPlay Screen Theme... on every StarTrax window (also System > AirPlay Screen Theme and the Studio's File menu) opens a page to pick Modern, Classic or Original StarTrax v2.1, or follow the station default. Administrators can make their choice the station default from there.

Changed

• CROSSFADE: items shorter than 1 minute (short songs, jingles, sweepers) are never crossfaded, in or out, on AirPlay and on the stream. Set the length in System Settings > Playout > Never crossfade items shorter than (0 turns it off).

Version 2.41.1 - Screen theme box on AirPlay

Changed

• AIRPLAY: a Screen theme box now sits at the top right of the AirPlay screen - Modern, Classic or Original StarTrax v2.1 (the blue DOS screen). Before, it was only in the F1 menu. Each user keeps their own choice; the station default stays in System Settings > Playout.

Version 2.41.0 - Station pages from the directory

New

• STATION DIRECTORY: every station has a Station page button, and its name and logo are links too. They open the station's own website, or its listen page if it has no website yet.

Version 2.40.3 - Station website uses its own existing folder

Fixed

• STATION WEBSITE: a website folder made by hand (with no station.txt in it) now belongs to the station whose name matches the folder - e.g. CoulstonLakesRadioCountry - instead of the main station. Saving no longer tries to make a second folder such as "CoulstonLakesRadioCountry-coulstonlakesradiocountry".
• STATION WEBSITE: that folder's website now shows its own station even before station.txt is written into it.

Version 2.40.2 - Audio storage shows the real space

Fixed

• AUDIO STORAGE: the owner's station (and a single-station install) no longer shows a fixed 30 GB. It now shows the real server disk: the audio already stored plus the free space left. Other stations still show their plan (20 / 40 / 50 GB).
• AUDIO STORAGE: the Main Menu now measures the audio folder every time it opens, so uploads and deletes show straight away.

Version 2.40.1 - Cron notice removed from the Station Website page

Changed

• STATION WEBSITE: the "Keep it running" box (cron job line, web-address fallback and the 503 cleanup command) is no longer shown to station users. The server keeps the playlist on time for every station by itself.

Version 2.40.0 - Main menu buttons open their own page

Changed

• MAIN MENU: Programming, Advertising, Library and System now open a page with all their options as tiles, grouped under the same headings (Reports, File Management, Security...), with a "Find an option" search box - instead of a drop-down list.

Version 2.39.0 - Alerts pop up as bubbles; new mail count on the menu

New

• ALERTS: messages (saved, errors, warnings, "StarTrax has been updated - see what's new", storage nearly full / full) now slide down as bubbles at the top of the screen on every page. Ordinary messages fade after a few seconds; warnings and errors stay until closed.
• MAIL: a red number on the Mail tile shows how many unread messages you have, with a bubble when new mail is waiting.

Version 2.38.0 - AI and Song ID included for every station; storage limits enforced

New

• CLOUD MODE: the AI Programmer, AI DJ, online voices (Wave Editor) and ACRCloud Song ID keys come from the owner's station. A station with no key of its own uses them, with the same service and model; their settings pages hide the key fields and say the service is included in the plan, and the keys are never shown to them.
• STORAGE: the Audio storage bar on the main menu shows the station's plan (20 / 40 / 50 GB) instead of a fixed 30 GB, warns at 90 % and says when it is full. When full, uploading, Quick Record, Wave Editor / Multitrack saves, recording voice tracks and replacing a track's audio are stopped.

Fixed

• Plan limits (storage, tracks, users) were not checked since v2.32.0: a line that loaded the station's plan had been commented out by mistake.

Version 2.37.0 - AirPlay screen themes, including the Original StarTrax v2.1 screen

New

• AIRPLAY: choose the look of the on-air screen - Modern (PlayoutONE style, as before), Classic (dark blue) or Original StarTrax v2.1: the blue DOS screen with grey title and status bars, the ruled START / TYP / TITLE / ARTIST / LENGTH log, the teal bar on the song on air, the big green NEXT EVENT countdown, AUTOMATIC MODE with the [E----F] gauge and "Next Hour Starts in". Each user picks theirs in AirPlay > F1 Menu > Screen theme...; the station default is in System Settings > Playout.

Changed

• CROSSFADE: only a song going into another song is crossfaded now, on the stream and in AirPlay. Station IDs, adverts, promos, news and talk start and end cleanly with no overlap; the Gap Killer still cuts their silence so they run tight.

Version 2.36.0 - Setup Wizard: a new station on air in ten minutes

New

• SETUP WIZARD (System > Setup Wizard): opens by itself the first time an administrator logs in to a new station (fewer than 20 tracks). Step by step: station details; music categories explained (Power, Current, Recurrent, Gold suggested - the first plays most); upload or record Station IDs, adverts and promos; upload music into each category; build the hour (format) with a live preview; then build the playlist for the next 24 hours and switch the stream on. "Do this later" and "Don't show again" close it.
• The wizard can book the adverts uploaded during setup into every break (a simple house contract), and points the week's day formats at the new hour when the week has no formats of its own yet.
• Help: new Setup Wizard, Station directory and Features topics; the Platform console, Contracts, Audio Processing and Account help now cover the owner login and station bar, ad rotation, the new Gap Killer settings and the directory.

Version 2.35.1 - New Features page with real StarTrax screens

New

• WEBSITE: a Features page (features.php, "Features" in the website menu) showing what StarTrax really does, with screenshots of the Studio, Format Clocks, Voice Tracking, Catalog, Wave Editor, Advertising, the listener player, the station website, Audio Processing, the Play Log, the Platform console and the Station directory, then the full list grouped like the StarTrax menus. The home page shows the first six.
• The feature list lives in includes/features.php and the pictures in assets/features/, so it is kept up to date with every release, like this What's New list.

Version 2.35.0 - Station directory on the StarTrax website

New

• STATION DIRECTORY (directory.php, "Stations" in the website menu): every station on the server that is on air, with its logo, colours and tagline, what is playing now (updated every 20 seconds), a Listen button that plays it right on the page (HLS, with the MP3 stream as a fallback), and links to its player and its website. A search box finds a station by name.
• Stations can be left out: the owner uses the "In directory" button in the Platform console; a station's administrator can untick "Show my station in the public StarTrax station directory" on the Account page. Stations with streaming switched off are not listed.

Version 2.34.0 - No more gaps at the end of songs and voice tracks

New

• GAP KILLER (System Settings > Audio Processing > Mix Time & Gap Killer): the end of a song is now cut at its own level ("End of songs - cut quiet tail below"), so long quiet tails go too, not only true silence.
• Voice tracks and recorded announcements have their own level ("End of voice tracks - cut below", default -35 dB): room noise and breath after the last word used to count as sound, leaving up to several seconds of dead air. Up to a minute can be cut from the end of a voice track.
• No dead air (on by default): when an item ends early, the next one starts straight away instead of the stream waiting in silence for its slot. The stream stays at most 3 minutes ahead and eases back onto the clock by itself; the top of the hour is still kept.

Fixed

• Gap Killer remembered each track's silence for ever, so a re-recorded or re-made voice track still used the old measurement. It is now measured again whenever the audio file changes.

Version 2.33.1 - Every station gets its own website

Fixed

• CLOUD MODE: a station website worked out which station to show from whoever was logged in, so visitors could see the wrong station and one station could write into another's website folder. Each website folder now carries a station.txt naming its station (written when you save the Station Website), and its pages always show that station. A folder without station.txt belongs to your own station (the website from before cloud mode). If a station's folder name is already used by another station, the station address is added to the name (for example LifeFM-hopefm) instead of writing over it.

Version 2.33.0 - Manage every station from your own login

New

• CLOUD MODE: when you are logged in as the platform owner, a bar across the top of every page shows which station you are working on, with a Switch to list of every station. Pick one and you are inside it at once as its administrator - schedule, library, advertising, settings - then press Back to (your station) to return. The bar turns orange while you are managing another station. Station administrators do not see it.

Version 2.32.2 - Your station keeps its plain stream address

Fixed

• CLOUD MODE: broadcast.php, hls.php, listen.php and nowplaying.php without ?s= were refused ("Unknown station"). They now play the owner's station, so Life FM stays at broadcast.php exactly as before cloud mode, and every other station is at broadcast.php?s=<station address>. The links StarTrax shows and writes into the station website follow the same rule.

Version 2.32.1 - New stations get the full database

Fixed

• CLOUD MODE: a station made from the Platform console or the sign-up page only got the first tables (schema.sql), so pages like the Catalog and Now Playing failed with "Unknown column parent_id / artist2_id". Every station's database is now brought up to the same structure as the owner's - when it is made, and once after each StarTrax update. Missing tables, columns and indexes are added; nothing is ever removed. Stations made before this fix repair themselves the next time they are opened.

Version 2.32.0 - Platform console for the owner: every station and every user

New

• CLOUD MODE: the ADMIN account on your own station (config.php owner_station / owner_user) is now the platform owner. A Platform tile on the main menu opens the Platform console - no separate key needed.
• Platform console > Stations: every station with plan, storage and status; Open goes straight into a station as its administrator (you stay the owner); Suspend / Activate; Remove keeps the data, Delete everything removes the database, music and settings (type the station address to confirm). Your own station cannot be removed and has no plan limits.
• Platform console > All users: everyone on every station - change level, set a new password, switch off, delete or add users. A station always keeps at least one administrator, and the owner account cannot be switched off.
• Platform console > New station: create a station (name, address, administrator, plan) or add one whose database already exists. On cPanel hosting the database is made through cPanel (set cpanel_user and cpanel_token in config.php).
• Switching on cloud mode adds your existing station to the station list automatically, using the database it already has.

Version 2.31.0 - Cloud plans by storage: 20 GB, 40 GB and 50 GB

New

• CLOUD PLANS: plans now go by how much audio a station stores - 20 GB, 40 GB and 50 GB (the free trial has 2 GB). Tracks and users are unlimited on every paid plan. Stations already on Starter or Pro move to 20 GB and 40 GB.
• Uploading a track that would go over the plan's storage is stopped with a clear message. The Account page shows the audio stored against the plan, with a warning at 90 %, and the Platform console shows every station's storage.

Version 2.30.1 - Adverts that don't fit in an hour now play in other hours

Fixed

• ADVERTISING: when more adverts were booked into an hour than its Format has Ad slots, the extra adverts were simply dropped - so the same contracts took every slot and others hardly played. Now the adverts that don't fit move to the next hours: they go first in the next hour, an advert never plays twice in the same hour, and it only moves inside its runline's own hours. Every contract gets a fair share of the slots.
• Advertisement Contracts: new tick box "Ads that don't fit move to other hours" (on by default) and a line showing today's ad plays booked against the Ad slots available, with a warning when the station is overbooked.

Version 2.30.0 - Song Loudness: level every song to the same peak (89 %)

New

• SYSTEM SETTINGS > Song Loudness (new): goes through the songs and brings each one to the same peak level - default 89 % of full scale (about -1 dB). A song that peaks lower is turned up, one that peaks higher is turned down, and a limiter at the target stops anything going over it. An optional compressor runs first, using the values from Audio Processing.
• "Check levels" only measures and lists the biggest differences without changing anything. "Level the songs" does the work with a progress bar and a Stop button (it carries on where it stopped next time, and songs already levelled are skipped so they are never compressed twice). The first untouched version of every song is saved, and "Restore originals" puts them all back.
• The song length, trim and intro are kept as they were. Run it on one server, then use Station Sync to copy the audio across.

Version 2.29.0 - Compressor and limiter now work on the live stream

New

• STREAM: the compressor and limiter from System Settings > Audio Processing are now applied to the live stream (both the MP3 and the HLS stream used by iPhones and the website). They run on the finished mix after the crossfades, so songs, station IDs and voice tracks come out at an even level and never go over the limiter ceiling. Before this they only worked in AirPlay and Quick Record, not on the stream.
• Audio Processing page: new "On the stream" tick box (on by default) to switch this off for the stream only. The compressor still needs its own "Compressor on" tick; the limiter is on by default. A change is used when the stream engine next starts (within the hour) or straight after Restart Stream.

Version 2.28.0 - Wave Editor: Text to Speech with a choice of voices, and an AI script writer

New

• WAVE EDITOR > Text to Speech (button next to Rec, and Generate > Text to Speech...): type or paste text, choose a voice and speed, press Preview, then Insert into editor (it goes in at the cursor) or Save as new track (saved to the library as a .din file like every other track).
• Voices: online AI voices (Alloy, Ash, Coral, Echo, Fable, Nova, Onyx, Sage, Shimmer - needs an API key, pasted once in "Online voices setup...", kept on the server and never copied by Station Sync), the voices installed on the studio Windows PC (David, Zira and any you add), and espeak-ng voices where a server has it.
• AI help in the same window: Fix spelling & grammar, Make it better (sounds natural read out on air), Write another version, and Write script from my idea (type rough notes, pick 15-90 seconds, and the AI writes the script without inventing facts). An optional Ask AI box takes your own instruction, and Undo AI puts the old text back. The AI uses the same API key.

Version 2.27.5 - HLS stream: a short pause from a phone no longer stops the stream

Fixed

• STREAM: the HLS engine stopped itself when no listener had asked for new audio for 45 seconds (an iPhone that locks the screen, switches app or tab, or loses signal for a minute). The stream stood still until the phone asked again and the engine started again, and the player could give up. The engine now waits 4 minutes before it stops, so a short pause just carries on. Upload includes/hls.php.

Version 2.27.4 - Station Sync no longer restarts the stream

Fixed

• STATION SYNC: copying Settings also copied the stream restart marker (stream_epoch). The receiving server saw it change, ended its stream engine and disconnected every listener (iPhones included) until they reconnected. Stream and station state settings are now left alone by a sync. Upload sync.php to BOTH servers.

Version 2.27.3 - Station Sync: one button to send everything, one button to receive everything

New

• STATION SYNC > One-button sync: "Send everything to the other server" and "Receive everything from the other server". One press copies the audio files that are missing, then the whole database (library, programming, schedules, advertising, settings and users) with the progress bar. It asks once to confirm, never deletes anything and saves a safety copy of the database first. Untick "Include the users and their passwords" to leave the logins alone.

Version 2.27.2 - Station Sync: settings with an empty value now copy

Fixed

• STATION SYNC > Database: copying Settings finished with problems ("Unknown column '0x' in 'VALUES'"). A setting whose value is empty was written in a form the database does not accept, so those settings were skipped. They now copy. Install this version on the server that SENDS the data (and on the other one too).

Version 2.27.1 - Station Sync: progress bar for the database copy, and no more "Operation too slow"

New

• STATION SYNC > Database: a progress bar with a percentage, what it is doing right now (packing each table with its row count, sending, saving the safety copy, writing each table) and the time taken. It works for Send and for Get, and it shows what the OTHER server is doing while it packs or writes.

Fixed

• STATION SYNC: "Cannot reach the other server (Operation too slow. Less than 512 bytes/sec transferred the last 60 seconds)" when a big database was copied. The other server is silent while it packs or writes its tables; StarTrax now waits for it (and the other server sends a keep-alive), so slow copies finish. Both servers need this version for the keep-alive; an older other server still works but may take the old way.
• STATION SYNC: the result line after a database copy said "true statements ran"; it now shows the number of statements.

Version 2.27.0 - Buy button on the station website (Amazon Music)

New

• STATION WEBSITE: a Buy button next to every song - On Air Now, Up Next, Last 7 Songs, the music chart and the request list. It opens Amazon's music search for that song and artist so the listener can buy it.
• Station Website > Buy button: switch it on or off, choose the Amazon store (USA, Australia, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, India) and enter an Amazon Associates ID to earn commission. When an ID is set, the website footer carries the line Amazon requires ("As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases").
• Track > Names page: new Buy link box. Paste the exact Amazon (or other shop) page for a song and the Buy button goes straight there; type a single - to hide the button for that song.

Fixed

• Station website on phones: long song titles could push a list wider than the screen.

Version 2.26.1 - Song lengths: scan them, and songs with no length no longer make an hour short

New

• Settings > Song Lengths: measures how long every song really is and saves it on the track (only songs with no length, or every song). Afterwards it can rebuild the upcoming hours that used a song whose length changed. Also in the Settings menu as Song Lengths...

Fixed

• SCHEDULE: songs imported with a length of 0:00 (browser recordings in WEBM have no length written in them) filled no time in the hour, so that hour came out about one song short and the song played for only a second or two. The generator no longer picks a song shorter than 10 seconds for a music slot, and Song Lengths repairs the songs themselves.
• SCHEDULE: the end of the hour is planned a little closer to 60:00 - a last song that is up to about 45 seconds too long is accepted, because the song stretcher squeezes the hour by a percent or two.

Version 2.26.0 - HLS stream: listeners are no longer cut off, and iPhones keep playing with the screen locked

New

• STREAM: the built-in stream now also comes as HLS (hls.php). Listeners download a small playlist and 6-second pieces of audio one after another, instead of one download that never ends. The web host can no longer cut them off (it was closing every stream connection after exactly 60 minutes), and iPhones and Macs play it natively - also with the screen locked.
• The station website and the Listen page use HLS automatically: Safari / iPhone natively, Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Android through hls.js (included, Apache-2.0 licence). If HLS does not work in a browser or on a host, the player switches to the MP3 stream by itself.
• When the stream engine restarts (Stop & restart, the host ending a process, a new engine taking over), HLS listeners keep playing: piece numbers and audio timing carry on and players keep about 18 seconds in hand.
• Nobody has to hold a connection open to keep the station running: when an HLS listener arrives and no engine runs, hls.php starts one in a request of its own. It stops by itself about a minute after the last listener leaves.
• HLS listeners are counted once per device and are never "replaced" - two phones on the same Wi-Fi no longer knock each other off.
• Station Website > Built-in streaming: new "HLS stream for the website and phones" switch (on by default) and the HLS address. The MP3 stream (broadcast.php) still works for VLC, Winamp and car radios. HLS is about 15-20 seconds behind the MP3 stream.

Fixed

• STREAM: when the listener whose connection was running the stream engine left (or was cut off by the host) while others were still listening, the engine stopped keeping to real time and raced through the schedule - songs started and finished within seconds and filler songs were added (the hundreds of songs an hour seen overnight on 5-6 October). It now keeps to real time for as long as it runs.
• Station website: a song without a cover picture caused a "NOCOV is not defined" error on every now-playing refresh.

Version 2.25.2 - Top of the hour: the hour ends, the next one starts with its station ID

New

• AIRPLAY + STREAM: when the hour ends, whatever is still playing is faded out (over the last 3 seconds) and EVERYTHING left over from that hour is skipped - songs, IDs and adverts - so the new hour starts on time at :00 with its top-of-the-hour item.
• The top-of-the-hour item (the first item of each hour, normally the station ID) is never skipped and never cut. If it was put somewhere else in the hour it is moved back to :00.
• While the hour is running, if a station ID, advert or other non-music item would not finish before the top of the hour, the song before it that fits best is dropped so it still plays. Missed IDs and adverts in the current hour still play next.
• Live items and long programmes are not faded out at the top of the hour.

Version 2.25.1 - No gaps: the stream closes up silence and fills the end of the hour

New

• STREAM: the schedule is now kept gap-free. If an item would start late or early because something before it was skipped, the items after it are closed up. Fixed-time and live items are never moved.
• STREAM: if the hour would run past its end, the last upcoming songs are dropped (never station IDs, adverts or news). Missed IDs/adverts are re-timed to play next instead of being skipped.
• STREAM: any silence left before a fixed item or at the end of the hour is filled with songs from the library (not played in the last 3 hours). The last filler song is faded at the top of the hour if it would run over. Turn off with the setting stream_close_gaps = 0.

Fixed

• STREAM: "Stop & restart" dropped songs from the end of the hour and left several minutes of silence ("Off air: Nothing is scheduled for the current time"). The gap is now filled straight away.

Version 2.25.0 - Songs never run over the top of the hour

New

• AIRPLAY: if a song is still playing when the hour ends, it now fades out and the next hour starts on time (it no longer plays on into the new hour).
• AIRPLAY: while an hour is running long, upcoming songs are dropped (the last ones first) so the hour still finishes on time. Station IDs, adverts, news and other non-music items are never dropped for this - only songs are.
• Songs left over from the hour that just finished are skipped; any station IDs / adverts left in it still play. Applies in Fully Automatic mode.
• STREAM: the built-in stream does the same - a song still playing at the top of the hour is faded out (3 s) and the next hour starts on time, and station IDs / adverts / news missed while the stream was running behind are played instead of skipped (only songs are skipped to catch up). Turn the fade-out off with the setting stream_hour_cut = 0.

Version 2.24.6 - Stream engine no longer stopped the moment a listener joins

Fixed

• STREAM: a listener who joined before the stream had produced any audio wrongly decided the engine was stuck and stopped it ("produced no audio for 0 s"), so the stream kept restarting and Winamp reconnected every few seconds. A fresh stream is now given time to start.
• Reminder: "Off air: Nothing is scheduled for the current time" means the schedule has a gap - add a format/schedule for now (or run the schedule builder) and the stream will play.

Version 2.24.5 - Built-in stream now starts on Windows (XAMPP)

Fixed

• STREAM: on a Windows server such as XAMPP the stream encoder could not start (it used a Linux-only "/dev/null" device), so listeners joined and dropped within seconds. Windows now uses NUL. The same fix covers song-cover extraction.
• The Error Log no longer shows nonsense such as "nobody was feeding the stream for 1791265306 s" when the stream starts for the first time, and a stuck stream engine is now stopped correctly on Windows too.

Version 2.24.4 - Restore big backups without uploading them

New

• BACKUP & RESTORE: backups can be downloaded as a smaller .sql.gz, and a backup that is already in the server's storage/backups folder can be restored straight from a list on the page - no upload, so the server's upload limit (post_max_size / upload_max_filesize, 40 MB on XAMPP) no longer matters. Copy the big .sql file into the storage/backups folder, pick it in "Or restore a file that is already on the server" and type RESTORE.

Version 2.24.3 - Backup & Restore: clear answers instead of "something unexpected"

Fixed

• When a restore finished but the page showed "The server answered with something unexpected (HTTP 200)", a PHP warning or a stopped script had spoiled the answer. The restore page now collects stray PHP messages and shows them in the result, turns a stopped script (for example out of memory) into a readable message, and the error box now quotes what the server actually said.
• Restores that fail because the database server refuses big rows (song covers) now say so in plain words and how to fix it: raise max_allowed_packet to 64M (XAMPP: C:\xampp\mysql\bin\my.ini under [mysqld], then restart MySQL). The checker page (diag.php) shows the current value.

Version 2.24.2 - Complete backups, and restore between different MySQL / MariaDB versions

Fixed

• BACKUPS could be cut short: on a station with many song covers the backup ran out of PHP memory part-way and the .sql file ended after the covers table, without the tracks, track types or users that come after it. The backup now reads every table row by row, so it is always complete (the covers table makes the file larger). Check that a backup you rely on ends with "SET FOREIGN_KEY_CHECKS=1;" and contains a CREATE TABLE for tracks, track_types and users.
• Restoring a backup (Backup & Restore, or a database copy in Station Sync) made on a newer database server (for example your cPanel host, which uses the utf8mb4_uca1400_ai_ci collation) into an older one (such as XAMPP on your computer) stopped with "Unknown collation: utf8mb4_uca1400_ai_ci". StarTrax now swaps collations the older server does not know for a compatible one (utf8mb4_unicode_ci) while it restores, and if a server still refuses a collation it retries the table without one. Your data is not changed, only how text is sorted inside the table definition.

Version 2.24.1 - Station Sync: works without SSL, clearer errors, lighter on memory

Changed

• Station Sync no longer needs https on either server: it works over plain http, and the warning banner is now a small note. The audio key can be sent or taken over http too (type SYNC to confirm).

Fixed

• Getting or sending the database could fail with "The other server could not send its data (HTTP 500)". Big tables (such as the song covers) are now read one row at a time instead of all at once, so the other server no longer runs out of memory. If the other server still hits a problem, Station Sync now shows its real error message instead of just the HTTP number.

Version 2.24.0 - Station Sync - keep several stations' audio and database the same

New

• STATION SYNC (System > Station Sync): for stations that run at more than one location, copy audio files and database data between two StarTrax servers (for example a studio server and a remote server) from the website. Connect the servers once: tick "Let the other server connect", make a Sync key on one server and paste the same key on the other, and enter the other server's web address. Test connection shows the other station, its StarTrax version, how many audio files it holds, the time difference, and warns if the versions differ or the link is not https.
• AUDIO: send to the other server, get from the other server, or sync both ways. StarTrax compares the two audio folders, copies every library song (.din) and audio file the other side is missing, and where a name exists on both with different sizes the newer file wins. Files go across in 1.5 MB pieces, so large files work on any host, an interrupted copy carries on where it stopped, every file is checked (size and checksum) before it is saved, and the original date is kept. Nothing is ever deleted by a sync, and only audio files can travel.
• AUDIO KEY: library songs are encrypted .din files that only play on a server that holds the same audio key. The page shows whether the two servers' keys match and can send or take the key (only over https or a private network).
• DATABASE: choose what to copy - Library (songs, artists, categories, covers), Programming (format clocks, rules, day formats), Schedules, Advertising, Settings (never paths, keys, passwords, station name or the sync set-up itself) and Users - and send it to or get it from the other server. Row counts here and there are shown side by side. A copy of the receiving server's tables is saved first (storage/backups, sync-before-...), you confirm by typing SYNC, and only the tables you chose can be written.
• AUTOMATIC SYNC: tick "Sync by itself" and choose how often (5 minutes to a day) and what - audio both ways, and optionally a database part in one direction. It runs from the same cron job (cron.php) that keeps the stream on time, works in small time slices so it never holds the job up, and continues big libraries on the next minute. Recent activity (manual and automatic) is listed at the bottom of the page.

Security

• Every request between the two servers is signed with the Sync key (HMAC-SHA-256, valid for five minutes) and nothing works until an administrator switches "Let the other server connect" on. Wrong keys are refused after a short delay, file names are checked (audio files only, no folders), and uploaded data is limited to the tables of the parts you chose.

Version 2.23.0 - Studio in the cloud, a Remote VT-style Voice Tracking screen and a live Playlist Editor

New

• STUDIO (Programming > Studio, or the Studio tile on the Main Menu): StationPlaylist Studio as a cloud screen, plugged into the station's built-in stream. Last Main Track / Playing Now / Next Main Track bars, date, clock and "minutes past" display, listener count, the playlist with hour markers, big Elapsed and Remaining timers (red in the last 10 seconds) with a level meter taken from the stream, Track Starts / Track Starts in, PL Remain (with the overrun) and Total for Hour, and a status bar. Buttons: Play (the selected item, or the next one, goes on air now), Stop and Instant Stop (stop the song on air and hold the stream), Automate (the clock runs the playlist by itself; off = the stream finishes the song and waits), Insert, Skip Next, Restart, Mic (opens Voice Tracking) and Line In (not used in the cloud). Tick Monitor to hear the stream in the Studio. TrackTool in the Playlist Editor opens the library page of the song and Ok / Cancel there return you to the editor, same hour, same item. Songs you hear in the library search or in Voice Tracking can be stopped at any time (Stop button, or Esc in Voice Tracking).
• Cart wall: four banks of 12 carts (Main, Shift, Ctrl, Alt) on the keys F1-F12. Switch Cart Edit on, click a cart and choose a song to assign it. Click or press the key = the song plays next; Shift+click = on air now.
• PLAYLIST EDITOR (Programming > Playlist Editor): the look of the StationPlaylist Playlist Editor - toolbar (Open, Save, Print, Delete, Insert, Traffic, Record, Find, Properties, TrackTool), Day / Hour / Now / Prev / Next, Total Duration, and the colour-coded Artist / Title / Duration / Intro / Category list (songs green, IDs red, adverts purple, voice tracks magenta, Break Notes blue, the item on air green).
• LIVE PLAYLIST EDITING (Studio, Playlist Editor and Voice Tracking): every change is saved the moment you make it and the stream uses it. Drag a row to move it (even to another hour in the Studio), right-click for Insert song / Insert Traffic / Insert Break Note / Insert voice track slot / Move up / Move down / Delete / Properties, Delete key removes the selected rows, Alt+Up / Alt+Down move a row one place. Items that have played get a green tick and, like the item on air, are locked. Times after a change close up automatically, and the Break Note is a new item type: a reminder for the announcer that takes no time.
• The stream now notices changes while a song is playing: an item inserted, skipped or removed after the song on air is used when that song ends (before, the next song was chosen when the previous one started).

Changed

• VOICE TRACKING now looks like Remote VT: menu bar, toolbar (Open, Save, Print, Delete, Record, Find, Properties), Day / Hour / Now / Prev / Next, the colour-coded playlist, a floating Voice Tracking window that shows the three items before and after the voice track marker (click one to hear the end of the last song or the start of the next), Auto Next / Auto Record / Override Default with Intro Timing, Next / Record / Play / Close, and a floating Recorder with a timer, level meters, Duration and Format (Record, Stop, Save, Play back, Discard, microphone choice). The recorder, saving, 128 kbps MP3 storage and slot tools are unchanged; Add Slots moved to Tools. The playlist on this screen can be edited live too.
• STUDIO: Stop now pauses. The song stops where it is, the Playing bar shows "Stopped" with the time it stopped at, and Play carries on from the same second (before, Stop ended the song and Play started it again or played whatever was selected). To play a different song instead, double-click it. Instant Stop still ends the song for good, and Automate carries on a stopped song too.
• STUDIO: the Hour Markers no longer repeat. When an hour ran a little long or short, rows were sorted by start time and the 9am / 10am markers appeared again and again; the list is now in playlist order, one marker per hour.
• VOICE TRACKS THAT ARE EMPTY OR SILENT ARE SKIPPED: if a VoiceTrack slot has no recording, or a recorded voice track is missing or completely silent, the stream skips it and goes straight to the next song (the rest of the hour closes up behind it, and the skip is written to the play log).
• PLAYLIST EDITOR (also Studio and Voice Tracking): Insert AI DJ Line... (pick Say time and weather, Say time, Say date, last/next song, or type your own words) and Insert Request Note... (who asked and for what, as a Break Note for the announcer). They are in the Edit menu, the right-click menu and, in the Playlist Editor, the AI DJ and Request toolbar buttons.
• FIXED - STUDIO LED METERS STAYED EMPTY even with Monitor ticked: one missing reading from the server could jam the meters for good. They now recover from that and always follow the Monitor sound when it is on.
• STUDIO LED METERS are now live: two stereo LED columns (left and right) with a white peak-hold marker that move with the sound as it is sent, They update every frame, use the stream engine level as a back-up if the browser reads silence, and show the exact left and right levels when you point at them. The Studio keeps a silent connection to the stream so the meters always follow the real sound, with Monitor on or off (Monitor only turns the sound up). The meters start as soon as the page loads (a muted connection, which browsers allow, makes the stream engine report its level), and switch to reading the sound directly after your first click or key press. They sit at zero when nothing is being sent.
• FIXED - AI DJ LINES WERE BEING SKIPPED: an AI DJ line only gets its voice when it is made, and until now that only happened from the old AirPlay screen, so on the built-in stream the line had no audio, was passed over and was marked skipped when its slot ran out. Now the voice is made the moment you insert the line in the editor, the cron job (cron.php) makes any AI DJ line due in the next 15 minutes, and Play in the Studio voices a line first if it has no audio. The AI DJ must be switched on with a key in System Settings > AI DJ; if it is off you are told when you insert the line.
• MAIN MENU live strip tidied: the cover, the song on air (larger title, artist below), the on-the-clock status, Listening now and Time left now sit in clean boxes, and the Stop and Start station buttons have their own row underneath. The line with the time now, the scheduled and started times and the up-next time has been removed. It stacks neatly on a phone.

Version 2.22.6 - AirPlay now looks like PlayoutONE

New

• AirPlay now follows the PlayoutONE screen: a toolbar with a large clock and the station name, an On-Air Dashboard (title, time remaining as 00:00:00, a big green play button, the mode button and a Next Ready / Loading box), Quick Keys in colour, and a colour-coded Log with hour tabs (click a tab to jump to that hour) and the columns AirTime, Status, UID, Item, Intro, Length, Category, Year and Chain. Music rows are grey, IDs orange, ads green and announcer items white; the item on air is blue with its progress shown in the AirTime cell. FOUR PLAYERS run along the bottom (Player 1 is on air, the next three are cued, and they rotate as songs start) with title, artist, time played, time remaining that turns red in the last 10 seconds and flashes in the last 5, an intro marker, and Play / Pause / Fade / Eject buttons. The log footer shows the hour and its total length. Keys, mouse, modes and remote screens work exactly as before.
• The original StarTrax look is still available: add ?classic=1 to the AirPlay address (airplay.php?classic=1).

Version 2.22.5 - AirPlay bug test: play log times, hand-over to the stream

Fixed

• AirPlay recorded the END of each song as its start time (marking a song Played overwrote the time it started). The play log (APRA) and the listener counts were therefore one song out. Songs played from AirPlay before this update still have the old times; new plays are correct.
• Leaving AirPlay (Esc or Shutdown) while the built-in stream is the output used to mark the song on air as Played, so the stream jumped to a different song part-way through. It now carries straight on with the same song.
• An AirPlay screen left waiting at the GO button no longer switches the background playout off (the stream used to lose its crossfades and go quiet between songs while that screen was open).
• Replacing an item in AirPlay no longer keeps the old item's speed setting.

Version 2.22.4 - Runaway playlist stopped (hundreds of songs in a night)

Fixed

• Found in the database: from about 7:55 pm on 5 October until 5:23 am, 600-700 songs were added to EVERY hour (a normal hour has about 35), each marked played within seconds and never heard. Cause: when a song produced no sound, the stream marked it played at once and put the next filler song on, over and over, and because nothing was being sent to the listener it never noticed the listener had gone, so it kept going for hours. That is what made the music jump, move on or skip when people reconnected.
• A song that gives (almost) no sound is now marked Aborted, written to the Error Log as an ERROR with what ffmpeg said, and the stream waits 3 s, then longer (up to 30 s) before trying the next. The wait is sent to the listener as silence, so a listener who has left is noticed and the engine stops.
• The filler can no longer pile up: if 3 songs are marked played within 90 seconds of starting, no more filler is added and a "Runaway stopped" error is logged.

Version 2.22.3 - One stream per device

New

• The stream now keeps only ONE connection per device. When a phone, VLC or the website player reconnects, the new connection replaces the old one instead of both staying open, so a listener is counted once. A device is recognised by a private id the website player keeps in the browser, or (for VLC, Winamp and other players) by its address plus player name. The Error Log shows a REPLACED line when this happens. Setting stream_one_per_device = 0 turns it off.
• The Error Log now also records ENGINE lines: when a listener takes over as the stream engine, or stops a stuck one - the moments a song can jump mid-way.

Fixed

• On a phone the website player opened 3 to 6 stream connections at once when the screen woke (page shown, back online and a stalled-audio check all fired together), and each spare connection was dropped a second later. Reconnects are now combined into one, so a listener is counted once and the extra work on the server is gone.
• Error Log: a "LEFT" line now says how long the connection lasted and flags very short ones as spare/duplicate connections, instead of always saying the server ended it.

Version 2.22.2 - Songs skipping when more people listen - fixed, and a song log

Fixed

• The built-in stream skipped songs when more people joined (and when a player reconnected after a few hours with an extra connection). Every listener connection moved the shared schedule on by itself, and the second connection to reach the end of a song did not see the song the first one had already started, so it jumped on to the one after. Now a connection joins the song that is already playing, so any number of listeners hear the same song at the same point.

New

• System > Error Log now keeps a song log. Level "play" lines show what started and finished and when listeners joined or left; level "skip" lines show every song that was skipped, stopped, paused, held for its slot, moved on or replaced by a filler song, WITH THE REASON in plain words (missed its slot while nobody was listening, started more than 5 minutes late, listener disconnected, Stop & restart dropped it to finish the hour on time, and so on). Two buttons filter the log; Download CSV includes it. Song-log lines are kept 21 days and never push real errors out of the log.

Version 2.22.1 - E-mail Test page

New

• System > E-mail Test...: sends a test e-mail (through your E-mail server, or with PHP mail()) or a test SMS and shows every step of the conversation with the e-mail server - connect, greeting, TLS, log-in, sender, recipient, message - so you can see exactly where it fails, with a plain-words explanation and what to change. "Check which mail ports are open" tests ports 25, 465, 587 and 2525 on your E-mail server and on this server's own mail (localhost), and a "Use this" button saves a port that works. Added after an error log showed "Could not connect to the e-mail server ... :587 (Connection refused)".
• Server Check's test e-mail failure and the listener-alert error log entry now point to the E-mail Test page.

Version 2.22.0 - E-mail and SMS when someone listens to the stream

New

• Settings > Company > "Tell me by e-mail (and SMS...) when someone starts listening to the stream": every time a new listener connects to the built-in stream you get an e-mail and an SMS (Email2SMS, to the Company mobile, when sending SMS is enabled) with the Date, Time and IP address, plus their device, location (when known), the song on air and how many are listening now.
• Built to avoid floods: the same IP address is not alerted again within a set number of minutes (default 30), a list of your own IP addresses can be ignored, and monitoring robots are skipped. Alerts are queued when the listener connects (so the stream starts at once) and sent within a minute by cron.php, or sooner when the Main Menu or website is polling. If several people join at once you get one e-mail listing them all and a short summary SMS.
• System > Listeners now has a "Send a test alert" link to check that your e-mail and SMS arrive.

Version 2.21.0 - Smooth Flow (BPM + AI) mode in Schedule Music

New

• Schedule Music > Mode now has Smooth Flow (BPM + AI). Your scheduling rules still decide which songs are allowed; Smooth Flow then takes, from the songs that break no rule, the one whose tempo (BPM) sits closest to the song before and after it and to a target for that hour, so the music drifts gently and never jumps up or down. Half-time / double-time readings are folded together (170 counts as 85) and songs without a measured BPM use their Tempo code. It never stops for a decision: where no rule-free song exists it uses the least objectionable one.
• Smooth Flow settings (shown when the mode is chosen): lowest and highest BPM to aim for, the biggest comfortable step between neighbours, how many songs to look through per slot, a sound code to favour (name one "Uplifting" in System Settings > Sound Codes) and a sound code to avoid.
• AI tempo plan: with AI Programmer switched on, one AI request per day sets a target BPM for each of the 24 hours from your Station brief (for example "uplifting, good for the soul") and the real BPM range of your library - gentle overnight, lifting through the morning, bright in the afternoon, easing in the evening, never more than 6 BPM between hours. It is cached, so re-running the day does not call the AI again. With AI off, a built-in curve is used.
• After the day is built, a smoothing pass swaps songs of the same category (within two hours) when that makes the tempo flow better and no rule gets worse. The status line reports the average and biggest BPM step and how many steps were over your limit; each slot and each choice shows its BPM.

Version 2.20.0 - Christian radio clock (60 minutes on the dot)

New

• Formats > Christian Clock...: builds a Christian radio hour from the programming manual using Top 20, Current, Recurrent, Gold, Mainstream Old, Worship, Word For Today, Station IDs and Ads, with Top Up as the gap filler. Three 20-minute blocks, each with a Current/Heavy, a Recurrent and an oldie, a spot break, a Station ID and a Word For Today. The ad breaks are sized from the real average song lengths in your playlists so the hour adds up to 60:00; the Song Stretcher and Top Up take care of the last seconds, and the last Gold is the over-fill song.

Version 2.19.0 - Do not play box on a category

New

• Category > Parameters now has a Do not play box. When it is ticked, no song in that category (including songs added to it as an extra playlist) is scheduled or used to fill gaps, in the format-clock scheduler, the Music One scheduler and the stream filler. The songs stay in the library; untick the box to use them again. Songs already in a made schedule stay until you make that day again.

Version 2.18.2 - Stop station / Start station button

New

• Main Menu > Stop station (administrators): switches the built-in stream off completely - the playlist stops, every listener is disconnected, the stream address refuses connections and no off-air or silence alerts are sent. The button turns into Start station to go back on air. If AirPlay is open on a studio PC it is separate and must be stopped there.

Version 2.18.1 - Cover, category and time left on the Main Menu

New

• The "now playing" panel on the Main Menu now shows the CD cover of the song on air, its Category (playlist, e.g. Current or Gold) and a large Time left counter that counts down every second and turns red for the last 10 seconds. The now-playing data (nowplaying.php) also carries the category.

Version 2.18.0 - Manual format clock

New

• Formats > Manual Clock...: makes a ready-to-use hour clock from the programming manual using Top 20, Current, Recurrent, Gold, Station IDs and Ads. Three 20-minute blocks, each with a Current, a Recurrent and a Gold song; 4 Top 20 (one per quarter hour), 3 Current, 3 Recurrent, 3 Gold, 3 Station IDs, 3 ad breaks, and the last Gold marked as the over-fill song that is dropped if the hour runs long. Missing playlists are created.

Version 2.17.1 - Choose a category in the Catalog

New

• The Catalog toolbar now has a category box (All categories, Current, Recurrent, Gold, Music Rotation, Hold...). Pick one to see only the songs in that category, including its packets and songs added to it as an extra playlist. It works together with the type menu and the No Intro button.

Version 2.17.0 - Rotation Limits for Current, Recurrent and Gold

New

• Music Chart > Rotation Limits...: each of Current, Recurrent and Gold gets a maximum number of songs and a maximum time (months) a song may stay, and a playlist the extra or old songs move to. Starting values follow the programming manual: Current 25 songs / 6 months to Recurrent, Recurrent 30 songs / 8 months to Gold, Gold 150 songs / 5 years to Archive. Oldest songs go first; applied once a day, or press Save and apply now.

Version 2.16.0 - Songs that leave the chart go to Current

New

• Whenever a song comes off the Music Chart (removed, replaced by an import, pushed out by a shorter chart or by the web chart) it is moved to the Current playlist and its chart number is cleared. The playlist name can be changed (or switched off by leaving it blank) on the Missing Songs Watch page.
• Missing Songs Watch can now keep the Music Chart the same as the web chart: songs we have go in, in the web chart's order, keeping their weeks on chart; songs that dropped off go to Current; missing songs are still mailed.

Version 2.15.1 - Missing Songs Watch reads topchristianhits.org

Improved

• Missing Songs Watch now starts with http://www.topchristianhits.org/christian_top_40.html, reads chart tables by their headings (TW, LW, Title, Artist) and checks the first 20, and matches artists written as "Artist feat. Someone" or "A & B".

Version 2.15.0 - Missing Songs Watch for the Top 20

New

• Music Chart > Missing Songs Watch...: reads an outside Top 20 (web address, CSV, JSON or pasted text), checks every song against the library and sends the songs you do not have to the internal mail (From: CHART WATCH) of the chosen users, or all administrators.
• Checks automatically once a day (cron job or Main Menu open) and only mails when the missing list changes. Check now / Check and mail now buttons show every chart line as in the library or MISSING.

Version 2.14.0 - Quick Record CD mode

New

• Quick Record > CD mode: leave a CD playing and it records non-stop, cuts a new song at every gap between songs, and saves each one (artist, title, cover and BPM filled in, into the Hold playlist) in the background while the next song is already being recorded - no songs are missed while saving.
• Choose how short a gap starts a new song (0.15 s to 2 s) and the shortest song; the disc is finished after the "N s of silence" you pick, or press Stop.

Version 2.13.1 - Quick Record songs go to Hold only

Fixed

• Songs saved with Quick Record were getting the Top 20 playlist (the first playlist of their type) as the main playlist and only Hold as an extra. Hold is now the song's main playlist.

Version 2.13.0 - Temporary block for wrong logins

New

• After 5 wrong passwords (from the same address, or against the same User ID) logins are refused for 2 minutes, with a message saying how long to wait. A correct login clears the count. Both numbers can be changed in Settings > Company.
• Blocked attempts are written to the Login Audit report.

Version 2.12.4 - Remove unused artists

New

• Artists > Tidy Artists... (was Split Combined...) now has Remove unused artists: deletes every artist that has no songs, in one click, after showing how many.

Version 2.12.3 - Fix First Name / Last Name in bulk

New

• Artists > Split Combined... now also has Fix First Name / Last Name: finds artists whose whole name (e.g. Alannah Myles) is in the Last / Group Name box, proposes First Name and Last Name, and fixes them in one go. Groups can be unticked or kept; if the person already exists as an artist the songs are merged into it.

Version 2.12.2 - Three artists on a song

New

• Songs can now have an Artist 3 as well, so names like "Ashton/Becker/Dente" split into three separate artists (Split Combined... handles the / separator). The schedule and the Play Log show all names.

Version 2.12.1 - Split combined artists

New

• Artists > Split Combined...: finds artists such as "Aaron & Jeoffrey" (joined with &, and, +, /, comma, semicolon, feat., with...) and splits them into separate artists in one go. Check or edit the proposed names, untick real bands (Hall & Oates), and press Split selected. Songs move across (Artist and Artist 2), the acts are linked so they are not played close together, and the old combined artist is removed when unused.
• Keep as one act remembers real bands so they stop being listed.
• Songs with an Artist 2 now show both names ("Aaron & Jeoffrey") on the schedule and in the Play Log.

Version 2.12.0 - APRA AMCOS play log

New

• Reports > Play Log (APRA AMCOS): every music track played with Date, Time, Artist, Title, Album, Record Company and the number of Listeners connected while it played (plus Composer, ISRC and duration). Pick a date range, Download CSV or Print.
• Each play is saved permanently a couple of minutes after the song ends, so the listener counts stay correct. The connection log is now kept 400 days instead of 30.

Version 2.11.0 - Instant alert on 5 seconds of silence

New

• The stream engine now measures the real sound level it sends. If the stream is silent for 5 seconds (change it in Settings > Company: "Alert at once when the stream is silent for this many seconds", 0 = off), an e-mail and SMS go out immediately. The planned wait for the next scheduled time is not counted as silence.
• The "back on air" message follows when sound returns. Works while at least one listener is connected; otherwise the once-a-minute check applies.

Version 2.10.0 - Error Log with CSV download

New

• System > Error Log records every PHP error, warning and crash, stream trouble (silence, missing audio), failed e-mail/SMS alerts and errors in the browser, with the file, line, page, user and time.
• Download CSV gives a file you can send for fixing; filter by level or date; Clear log empties it. Repeats are counted rather than listed again, and entries are kept 90 days.

Version 2.9.9 - SMS alerts (Email2SMS)

New

• Off-air and back-on-air alerts can also be sent as a text message to the Company mobile phone through the Email2SMS gateway (number@sms.teltel.com.au), signed off with two blank lines as the gateway requires.
• Settings > Company: Company mobile phone, Enable sending SMS messages, SMS gateway domain, and Send SMS from (verified address). Server Check has a Send a test SMS button.

Version 2.9.8 - E-mail alert when the station goes off air

New

• The station now e-mails the Company e-mail (and an optional extra address) when it goes off air or gets stuck: nothing scheduled for now, the audio file missing, or the stream engine stopped or sending silence. It waits a few minutes first, repeats while the problem lasts, and sends a "back on air" e-mail when fixed.
• Settings > Company: alert on/off, extra address, how long to wait and how often to repeat. Server Check has a Send a test alert e-mail button.
• Uses the E-mail server from Settings > AirPlay when set, otherwise the web server's own mail.

Version 2.9.7 - Quick Record goes to the Hold playlist

New

• Songs saved with Quick Record on the Main Menu are now also added to the playlist called Hold (it is created if it does not exist yet).

Version 2.9.6 - Upload size follows the server

Fixed

• The program's .htaccess forced uploads down to 64 MB. It no longer sets any upload limit, so the limit is whatever the server's PHP allows (for example 1 GB).

Version 2.9.5 - Stream no longer freezes while waiting for a slot

Fixed

• The stream could freeze for hours (sending silence) when it finished an item early and waited for the next scheduled time: the wait was written to the encoder in one huge piece which jammed it. Waits are now sent in small pieces.
• If the stream engine ever does get stuck, the next listener now stops it after about 25 seconds and starts a fresh one, so it recovers by itself.

Version 2.9.4 - Stream connects again

Fixed

• Players such as Winamp stayed on "Connecting to host" and never started: the stream no longer sent its first audio straight away (introduced in v2.8.4). Listeners now connect instantly again.

Version 2.9.3 - Less waiting silence on the stream

Improved

• When the stream is only a few seconds ahead of the schedule it now goes straight into the next item (with the crossfade) instead of waiting in silence; it only waits for the slot when more than 15 seconds early.

Fixed

• Server Check no longer reports the Stream engine as FAILED while it is correctly waiting for the next scheduled time.

Version 2.9.2 - Stream box shows the time

New

• The Main Menu stream box now shows the time now, the time the playing item is scheduled on, and the time the next item is due, updating every second.

Version 2.9.1 - Stream lines up with the schedule; restart from the top of the hour

Fixed

• The stream could run ahead of the schedule (crossfades make songs finish early and it was allowed to start the next item up to 90 minutes early). Items now start at their scheduled time: small differences are absorbed by a barely audible tempo change and larger ones are held until the slot.

New

• The Main Menu stream box shows whether the stream is on the clock or how far ahead or behind it is.
• Stop & restart stream now also starts the playlist again from the top of the current hour (re-timed from now, trimming music at the end of the hour so the next hour stays on time).

Version 2.9.0 - Change a track's Type

New

• Catalog: Change Type... (toolbar and right-click) changes the Type of all the selected songs at once.
• Song editor: the Type on the Names page is now a drop-down so a single track can be changed.

Version 2.8.4 - Listeners are never cut off

Improved

• The stream no longer disconnects listeners after 4 hours. A connection now stays open until the listener leaves. (Only the administrator's Stop & restart stream button disconnects everyone.)

Version 2.8.3 - One-click save in the Wave Editor

New

• Wave Editor: Save Over Original (button, File menu and Ctrl+S) saves straight over the library track you opened without typing anything. The old version is kept and can be restored.

Version 2.8.2 - Missing songs list on chart import

New

• Importing a chart CSV now lists every song missing from the library, with its chart number, and lets you download the list as a CSV or copy it, so you know what to get and add.

Version 2.8.1 - Chart as a Format Clock

New

• Music Chart > Make a Format...: creates a Format Clock of chart songs to assign to any hour.
• Format lines that use the chart playlist now play the chart in countdown order when the schedule is built.

Version 2.8.0 - Chart programme and chart playlist

New

• Music Chart > Schedule as Programme...: put the chart into one or more hours of the schedule as a countdown show (or from number 1 down), keeping the adverts and IDs in those hours.
• Music Chart > Chart Playlist: makes a playlist of the chart songs that stays in step with the chart, so it can be used in Format Clocks and hourly playlists.

Version 2.7.2 - Quick Record onto a chart number

New

• Music Chart: right-click a chart number and choose Quick Record. It waits for sound, records through the compressor and limiter, stops automatically on silence, saves the song with Artist, Title, BPM and CD cover filled in, and places it at that chart number.

Version 2.7.1 - Import the chart from a CSV

New

• Music Chart > Import CSV...: load a chart from a CSV file (Position, Title, Artist). Each line is matched to a library song for you to confirm, then replaces the chart or is added to the end.

Version 2.7.0 - Music Chart (Top 10 / Top 20)

New

• Music Chart (Programming and Library menus): build a Top 10 or Top 20 and set the order by dragging songs up and down, using the arrows, or typing a chart number.
• The Catalog has a Chart column; right-click a song to Add to the Chart, Move on the Chart or Remove from it.
• Start New Week remembers the order so the chart shows up, down, same and NEW arrows and weeks on the chart.
• The station website shows the chart with covers and arrows (switch it on or off in Station Website; press Save there once after updating to publish the new website files).

Version 2.6.0 - Multitrack Editor

New

• Multitrack Editor (Library > Multitrack Editor): put songs, voice and sound effects on separate tracks, move, trim, split and fade clips, set each track's volume and pan, mute or solo tracks, and record a voice over the other tracks in Stereo or Mono.
• Mix the tracks down to one new library song (128 kbps MP3) or download the mix as a WAV, and save and reopen projects.

Version 2.5.2 - Right-click: Open in Wave Editor

New

• Right-click a song in the Catalog (Music Track, No Intro and the other track lists) to get Open... or Open in Wave Editor, which loads the song straight into the Wave Editor.

Version 2.5.1 - Record in Stereo or Mono

New

• Quick Record and the Wave Editor Rec button now have a Stereo / Mono choice. Stereo is the default; Mono makes a smaller file. A stereo recording dropped into a mono document (or the reverse) is converted to match.

Version 2.5.0 - Wave Editor

New

• Wave Editor (Library > Wave Editor): edit audio in the browser with a zoomable waveform, selection, cut, copy, paste, trim, undo and redo, play, pause, loop and record from a microphone.
• Effects: Amplify, Normalize, Fade, Channel Mixer, Echo, Stereo Delay, Reverb, Flanger, Compressor, Limiter, Distortion, Quick Filter, 5-band Graphic EQ, Noise Reduction (from a captured noise profile), Reverse, Invert and Stretch (tempo, pitch or speed).
• Generators: Tone, Noise, DTMF telephone tones and Silence.
• Scripts: every effect you apply is recorded with its settings. Save them as a named script, run it later with no dialogs, export or import script files, and apply a script to many library tracks at once with Batch.
• Open library tracks or files from your computer, and save back over the library track (the previous version is kept and can be restored) or as a new track, stored as 128 kbps MP3.

Improved

• Every effect dialog has a Preview button that plays up to 12 seconds before you apply it.

Version 2.4.1 - Menu fix and help up to date

Fixed

• The main menu tiles (System and others) stopped opening because of an apostrophe in the new What's New menu item.

Improved

• Help pages updated for Quick Record, Shift-select and ID Selected, the Catalog search box, the stream staying on the clock, phone listening and Replace the whole day.

Version 2.4.0 - Voice tracking by the hour, smarter Quick Record, stream that stays on the clock

New

• Voice Tracking now shows the full playlist for the hour you choose. Record into a slot, remove items, or insert a voice slot or any song from the library.
• Quick Record waits for sound before it starts, can run through the compressor and limiter from Audio Processing, and stops, saves and identifies the song by itself when it finishes (Artist, Title, cover, BPM, Song Card).
• "Then wait for the next song" mode in Quick Record to capture a run of songs hands-free.
• Shift-click selects a range of songs; "ID Selected..." identifies them all in one go and fills in the details and CD cover.
• Schedule Music: "Replace the whole day" overwrites played songs and the one on air to remake the full day.
• This What's New page and a version number on the login screen and About box.
• A live search box on the Catalog (and every list): type any part of a title, artist or number and the list filters as you type.
• A "Listen now" text-to-speech button on What's New and every Help page reads the page aloud (choose the voice and speed).

Improved

• Everything you record or upload is stored as 128 kbps MP3 (files already MP3 are left alone).
• The built-in stream now stays in line with the current hour and drops back to the clock if it ever runs late.
• Stream connections last 4 hours instead of 25 minutes, with quicker reconnects, a stall watchdog and lock-screen controls so phones (iPhone) are not dropped.
• Song ID now gets the CD cover from the exact recording (ISRC), then the album, then title and artist.

Fixed

• Clearing the day in Schedule Music no longer leaves old audit rows behind.

Version 2.3.0 - Song Cards by AI, Clock Rules Wizard and Help for every page

New

• Song Card AI detect: Tempo, Gender, Ending, Chart position and Hit date, from a button, on upload/save, or for the whole library with Scan Song Cards.
• Clock Rules Wizard suggests the best rules for the songs in your database and explains what each one does.
• Help for every page: a searchable help centre and a Help button on each window.
• Schedule Music: view, unschedule and remove saved items for a day, hour, item or the future (including played items).
• Dashboard Quick Record button for recording a new track straight from the microphone.
• Check if a song is already in the database while recording or editing a song.

Improved

• Station website folder names no longer contain spaces (existing folders are renamed automatically).
• Songs without a CD cover show your music-notes picture on the website and in the app.

Fixed

• Progress bars on the scan pages now move and show "Song N of M".

Version 2.2.0 - Built-in stream upgrades and Listeners

New

• Listeners page: who is listening, where they are connecting from and what they are hearing.
• Artist - Title now shows in the stream itself (ICY metadata) for players and car radios.
• Dashboard shows how much audio storage is used out of your allowance.
• Never-silent stream: it fills the hour automatically and puts a song on air if the schedule runs dry.

Improved

• One shared stream engine feeds every listener, so more listeners do not mean more load.
• Server Check gained a Listen test and a Stream engine report for diagnosing silence.

Fixed

• The stream sending silence when an hour had nothing scheduled.

Version 2.1.0 - PHP / MySQL edition

New

• Login, main menu, AirPlay, Library, Programming, Advertising, Reconciliation, Users and System Settings. See About > Release Notes for the full list.