(Part 2 in a series of articles that help people understand the NexGenetics that have made their way into Zetta and how they work in the new platform.)
Satellite Mode was a new concept to me when I first got involved with Audio Wizard a lifetime ago. I was impressed by how “packaged” the functionality was for the end user. In NexGen, we took those concepts and added to them. For operations that need this mode, it simplifies the configuration, maintenance and visibility into these recordings greatly. Other vendors have you sit down and type out complicated text files to configure this stuff. We have always centralized that configuration so that you can do it from any computer, not just the machine running the station.
In Zetta, we have taken this to brand new levels which not only further simplifies configuration, but greatly increases power. In the legacy system, Shifts were a nice way to direct the right imaging to play during satellite programming. However, in Zetta a Shift has much more power. You can direct what GPI is active during each Shift, you can also execute command events or macros to occur when Shifts start, or end. And of course like the legacy systems your routes are automatically managed when you go into and come out of commercial breaks. You direct these, as always, with “Default Source” designations which can change during the day. This makes for very clean clocks, with no need to clutter them with macros and commands to turn routes on and off, etc.
And of course Zetta also handles stretching and squeezing (using time scaling) your breaks to time out perfectly against the network. Zetta’s On Air screen (as well as Zetta2Go’s On Air Screen) shows the current Shift, and the On Air screen also shows you the current routes, their current state, and allows you to manually turn on/off a route with the click of a button.
Lastly, Zetta has a “Stretch to ETM” function which allows you to easily intermix non satellite programming with satellite programming and hit the network every time. You have the power to decide what items can be stretched or squeezed, and you can even choose (if you like) to have certain items be droppable in the quest to meet up with an exact time marker. There is a load of cleverness awaiting you in Zetta’s take on Satellite Mode.