QUESTION What does importing content do?

SAM VIBE needs to transfer your content from your computer and store them on the cloud, which is just a fancy way of saying we store your music on our computers so SAM VIBE can broadcast them – even when your computer is off.

So when you import a new track into SAM VIBE the following happens automatically:

1. SAM VIBE reads the meta-data from the tag and stores it in the SAM VIBE database.
2. The audio file is then uploaded to be stored in the cloud.
3. In the cloud, the file is further processed to make it ready for broadcasting.
4. Finally, the file is marked as ready for broadcasting.

QUESTION Why can I not drag files into SAM VIBE?

As a security feature Windows does not allow dragging between applications in different user levels. So if you started Windows Explorer with the “Run as administrator” option then you may not be able to drag to SAM VIBE.

QUESTION How can I import content into SAM VIBE?

There are two ways you can import content into SAM VIBE:

Method 1: Drag directly from Windows File Explorer

My personal favorite method of importing new content is to open the standard Windows Explorer and browse to my music folders and then simply drag the items I want imported onto the SAM VIBE Library, Queue or Playlists.

You can drag:

• audio files
• playlist files
• or even directories.
  (Dragging a directory will add all audio files in that directory including also files in subdirectories)

Method 2: Import files button, Keyboard shortcut keys or Context Menu

On some Library filters and Playlists you can find the Import button. If you click this button you will be presented with a context menu giving you the option to import specific Files, Directories or Playlist files.

Alternatively (if the keyboard focus is on the list of items) you can use the shortcut keys of Ctrl+O, Ctrl+D or Ctrl+P.

You can also right-click on the list of items to bring up a context menu from which you can access the import options.

Upload status and storage capacity

Every item that has this icon next to it still needs to finish uploading and being processed in the cloud. When this icon disappears the item is ready for broadcast.

You can monitor the upload progress from the Library or Playlist tabs.

Also monitor the storage capacity available in your account. (If you need more space you can always upgrade to a bigger package.)

QUESTION Does my SAM VIBE subscription cover music royalty payments?

No! Your SAM VIBE subscription package doesn’t include any kind of copyright royalties. When using SAM VIBE, you either agree to play content that you own or that are not subject to copyright royalties (e.g. public domain), otherwise, you need to make sure you obtain all required licenses and pay any applicable royalties or other fees to display/reproduce/perform/post your content through our technology.

QUESTION Why, when I start SAM VIBE does a window appear asking me to “pick your station” and then disappear?

The “pick your station” window is available for station owner managing multiple radio station from the same SAM VIBE account and music library. If you have only one station, that window is automatically skipped. SAM VIBE can handle over 100 simultaneous radio stations from the same music library. If you would like to add stations to your account, please contact us at support@samvibe.com.

QUESTION How can I know how many listeners are listening to my station?

Your SAM VIBE software will show you in real time how many listeners are currently connected and will also give you the amount of peak listeners within your actual session. For an historic view of your listenership statistics, please login to your client zone at http://samvibe.spacial.com. Under My Services -> Tools -> Statistics, you will be able to generate daily or monthly graphs of your statistics.

QUESTION How can I report my music royalties?

Reports can be retrieved within your client zone at http://samvibe.spacial.com. Under My Services -> Tools -> Reports. Our history export tool allows you to download statistics for any given month in order to report your music royalties.

QUESTION Can I have multiple DJs for my station?

Yes, you can even run them at the same time. However, do be aware that if you run multiple copies at the same time then changes must be merged by the SAM Vibe cloud. For example if both modify the queue, the changes will be applied and synced to both computers – but it might look a bit different than what you expected.

• Content – this is your music, podcasts, promos, news, voice or any other recorded audio that you wish to broadcast.
• Cloud – the process of moving operations and data from your computer to a cluster of computers hosted elsewhere to perform the actual work and storage.
• The “cloud” basically frees you from the hassle of maintaining hardware, infrastructure or software.
• Meta-data – the information about your content, like Artist, Title, Album, Duration, etc.
• Tag – most audio files contain a Tag where the meta-data for the content is stored.
• Queue, Library, Playlists, Schedule, Library Filters – these are all internal SAM VIBE sections and objects that we will describe in more detail as the lessons progress.
• Playlist vs. Playlist file. Often we will talk about playlists and playlist files and there is a big difference. Playlist files are physical files containing a list of audio filenames. These playlist files typically have extensions like .m3u, .pls, .wsx, .mil.
• Playlists on the other hand are logical groupings of ordered content inside SAM VIBE and can be found under the Playlist tab.

QUESTION How does SAM VIBE work?

This section contains some very important information on how SAM VIBE operates.

To properly use SAM VIBE you will need to understand the concepts below.

SAM VIBE is a mix of software and cloud. You download the SAM VIBE software, use this software to upload your music to the cloud, create playlists and configure your radio station. When you are ready, change your ON AIR status to ON and your station will continue to play, even if you shut down your computer or disconnect from the Internet.

Near real-time operation

SAM VIBE is not meant to be a real-time DJ solution where you pick the next track seconds before the the current track is about to end. The concept for SAM VIBE is as an always-on, hosted broadcasting solution that you configure and then leave alone so all the hard work can happen in the cloud!

That being said it is indeed possible to operate SAM VIBE in a near real-time fashion where you manually build and organize the queue.

The problem is best explained with an example:

John is listening to his own station and just got a request from a listener that asks if John can play “James – Sit down” next. John hears that the current track “Dido – Thank you” is about to end and quickly searches for “James – Sit down” in SAM VIBE and drags it to the top of the Queue. But, a few seconds later “INXS – Need you tonight” starts playing and “James – Sit down” is still at the top of the queue. Why?

There is several reasons why John’s action was not in time.

1. Firstly, the streaming introduces a delay. The streaming server keeps a minimum buffer of between 20 and 30 seconds. This not only allows the stream to start playing instantly when a listener first tunes in, but also protects the listener from internet problems and reduces the chance of buffering and audio anomalies – Thus what you hear is several seconds behind what is happening in the cloud currently.
2. Any change you make to SAM VIBE first needs to be synchronized with the cloud. This can take anything from 1 second to 20 seconds for a very big change.

A safe delay to work on is to assume that what you hear is 60 seconds behind real-time and schedule your content accordingly.

Don’t worry – after a while you will be quite used to this delay and learn how to manage your schedule accordingly.

TIP: If real-time is a MUST for you … then SAM Broadcaster is really the product for you. The right tool for the job as my dad used to say.

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