360 Systems DigiCart/E - Manual (Page 60)

50 • • • • Playlists
Chapter 7
Playlists
A Playlist (also known as a Stack) is a list of audio cuts that can be stored on any drive on the DigiCart/E or
network. Some of the most powerful capabilities of DigiCart/E are its Playlist features. You can create
Playlists consisting of multiple cuts and other Playlists. You can edit and update Playlists, and select
between two types of Playlists called "Linear" and "Rotating". A third type, Quickstack, is not stored
permanently but is used to play back a particular sequence of events one time only.
A new feature of DigiCart/E Playlists is that they are now ASCII text files, and can be edited with any
common text editor program. This gives you the ability to edit a list using the search and replace features of
the editor. DigiCart/E Playlists use .PLA as the file name suffix. Playlists can be moved or copied between
DigiCart/E recorders and network servers, can be edited in place on network servers, or can be moved or
copied from network servers to another PC for editing. Remember that Playlists copied from DigiCart/E to
a Zip disk can be moved to another DigiCart/E, but cannot be read by other computers.
Playlists may be made up of files from several drives or directories, however this may present
complications later. If a Playlist refers to source files on different drives, the Playlist will only play if all
the source drives are currently mounted. Multiple users can access Playlists on network drives
concurrently, but each user must have access to all drives listed in the Playlist. Playlists copied from one
drive to another may lose their path associations and fail to play, or play with unanticipated results. To
simplify Playlist usage it is recommended that all files in a Playlist reside on the same drive as the Playlist,
however files may reside in different directories on the drive. When copying or moving a Playlist, copy or
move all of its referenced files along with it.
Playlists conform to certain basic rules of operation:
• A Playlist is only a list of events to be played and does not include audio information.
• A Playlist event can be either a single cut or another playlist.
• Playlists may only exist in a Stack (Playlist) Directory.
• Each drive contains one Stack Directory, which may contain 1000 Playlists.
• A Playlist may contain up to 1000 events.
• There is no limit to the total length of playing time in a Playlist.
• A single cut may be used in multiple locations within a Playlist.
• If a cut is edited, its edited version will play in a Playlist.
• If a cut in a Playlist has been erased or moved, or is unavailable (perhaps because a drive cannot be
accessed) a " * " will be displayed ahead of the Playlist time, and the Playlist will not play.
Restoration of the missing selection eliminates the " * " and the Playlist will play.
• Any event can be deleted from a Playlist by editing.
P LAYLIST T YPES
Before you begin using Playlist mode, it is important to understand the differences between Linear and
Rotating Playlists. They each have unique applications and different operating characteristics. Compound
Playlists are Playlists that contain other Playlists. They can be either Linear or Rotating Playlists and the
Playlists within them can be either Linear or Rotating.