Proof of Concept: More professional AzuraCast/Liquidsoap AutoDJ Crossfading

[Moonbase59]

Many stations have expressed a certain dissatisfaction with the curent AutoDJ crossfading, which uses balanced fade-in/fade-outs. BUT: In radio, we normally don’t use fade-ins. To station owners that are real readio people the AutoDJ sounds, well, odd.

Since this would officially be a feature request, I have tried to set up a proof of concept and would like to share my findings with you.

Typical radio crossfading (desired outcome)

In radio, we usually use a crossfading curve like this (not an exact picture):

This typically has parameters like these:

• Fade in: 0 s (There are no fade-ins in radio; DJs use that in live mixes)
• Fade out: 3.5 s
• Fade out starts at: -15 dB (refers to radio standard R128 EBU)
• Max. crossing time: 4.0 s
• Width of the power computation window: 2.0 s (Liquidsoap default)

AzuraCast situation

In AzuraCast (as of May, 2023) this is currently almost impossible to achieve, since

• there is only one Crossfading duration parameter in the station profile, which is used to set
  • the fade-out time
  • the fade-in time
  • the fading duration (by multiplying with 1.5)
• writing custom crossfading functions in Edit Liquidsoap Configuration doesn’t work out, because
  • the parameters given there for the cross and cross.simple functions (i.e., fade_in=0.00) are always overwritten since AzuraCast generates an annotation for every track that overwrites the defaults (which makes sense for modified tracks, but not for all of them)
  • when setting Disable crossfading in the station profile, an annotation liq_cross_duration="0.00" is generated, overriding the values in a custom function and thus effectively disabling crossing
  • when setting Normal Mode, a default (uneditable) crossfading function is generated in the Liquidsoap configuration, which means both a custom and the built-in crossfading function are executed

Modifying AzuraCast as a proof-of-concept

The currently only chance is modifying /var/azuracast/www/src/Radio/AutoDJ/Annotations.php within the Docker container, which of course only holds until it is restarted or updated. I’m using some hardcoded values here, just for demonstration:

    public function annotateForLiquidsoap(AnnotateNextSong $event): void
    {
        $media = $event->getMedia();
        if (null === $media) {
            return;
        }

        $station = $event->getStation();
        if (!$station->getBackendTypeEnum()->isEnabled()) {
            return;
        }

        $backendConfig = $station->getBackendConfig();

        $annotations = [];
        $annotationsRaw = [
            'title' => $media->getTitle(),
            'artist' => $media->getArtist(),
            'duration' => $media->getLength(),
            'song_id' => $media->getSongId(),
            'media_id' => $media->getId(),
            'liq_amplify' => $media->getAmplify() ?? 0.0,
            //'liq_cross_duration' => $media->getFadeOverlap() ?? $backendConfig->getCrossfadeDuration(),
            'liq_cross_duration' => $media->getFadeOverlap() ?? 4.0,
            //'liq_fade_in' => $media->getFadeIn() ?? $backendConfig->getCrossfade(),
            'liq_fade_in' => $media->getFadeIn() ?? 0.0,
            //'liq_fade_out' => $media->getFadeOut() ?? $backendConfig->getCrossfade(),
            'liq_fade_out' => $media->getFadeOut() ?? 3.5,
            'liq_cue_in' => $media->getCueIn(),
            'liq_cue_out' => $media->getCueOut(),
        ];

        // Safety checks for cue lengths.
        if ($annotationsRaw['liq_cue_out'] < 0) {
            $cue_out = abs($annotationsRaw['liq_cue_out']);
            if (0.0 === $cue_out || $cue_out > $annotationsRaw['duration']) {

                $annotationsRaw['liq_cue_out'] = null;
            } else {
                $annotationsRaw['liq_cue_out'] = max(0, $annotationsRaw['duration'] - $cue_out);
            }
        }
        if ($annotationsRaw['liq_cue_out'] > $annotationsRaw['duration']) {
            $annotationsRaw['liq_cue_out'] = null;
        }
        if ($annotationsRaw['liq_cue_in'] > $annotationsRaw['duration']) {
            $annotationsRaw['liq_cue_in'] = null;
        }

        foreach ($annotationsRaw as $name => $prop) {
            if (null === $prop) {
                continue;
            }

            $prop = ConfigWriter::annotateString((string)$prop);

            // Convert Liquidsoap-specific annotations to floats.
            if ('duration' === $name || str_starts_with($name, 'liq')) {
                $prop = ConfigWriter::toFloat($prop);
            }

            if ('liq_amplify' === $name) {
                $prop .= 'dB';
            }

            $annotations[$name] = $prop;
        }

        $event->addAnnotations($annotations);
    }

The above will not lose us the ability to manually specify cue & fade in-/out points and it generates annotations like this:

2023/05/02 22:06:05 [lang:3] API nextsong - Response (200): annotate:title="Circulation",artist="Project Pitchfork",duration="235.00",song_id="74218877f7f85c47ca71586d1d70f78e",media_id="103320",liq_amplify="0.00dB",liq_cross_duration="4.00",liq_fade_in="0.00",liq_fade_out="3.50",playlist_id="118":media:Tagged/Project Pitchfork/Project Pitchfork - Akkretion (2018 album, DE)/CD 1_ Akkretion/Project Pitchfork - Circulation.mp3

So we still get an annotation for every track, but it now has the desired values.

In AzuraCast’s station settings, Crossfade Method: Normal Mode should be selected.

Then, the Liquidsoap configuration can be edited. In the input field just above AzuraCast’s def live_aware_crossfade, enter the following:

# Be sure to have ReplayGain applied before crossing.
# This only works correctly when all tracks have valid replaygain tags!
radio = amplify(1.,override="replaygain_track_gain",radio)

# Optionally, cut off silence at start and end of tracks
# Note: This affects the duration, so the annotated value can be wrong
# and the station player appear to show "prematurely ended" tracks!
# Default: Cut below -40 dB
#radio = blank.eat(radio)

# The following doesn’t work since AzuraCast annotates all tracks,
# even when Crossfading is set to Disabled,
# and the annotations override what we specify here. :-(

# Radio-like fading:
# Fade in: 0
# Fade out: 3.5s
# Fade out starts at: -15 dB (refers to radio standard R128 EBU)
# (actually, Liquidsoap’s cross function determines the crossing point)
# Max. time: 4.0s
def my_live_aware_crossfade(old, new) =
    if !to_live then
        # If going to the live show, play a simple sequence
        sequence([fade.out(old.source),fade.in(new.source)])
    else
        # Use the transition
        cross.simple(old.source, new.source, fade_in=0.00, fade_out=3.50)
    end
end

radio = cross(minimum=0.00, duration=4.00, width=2.00, my_live_aware_crossfade, radio)

The cross() minimum specifies the minimum track duration for a cross. -1 means cross always. We should use either 0.00 or a track duration in seconds here (i.e., 30.00).

duration specifies the maximum duration of the crossfade, also the number of seconds to measure at the end of the old track and the start of the new one (each) to compute the transition between tracks.

Using all this, we’re still unable to set fading curves (sin, exp, log, lin) which per default are sinusoidal. Also, we can’t set a dB level for the crossing point.

Nevertheless, Liquidsoap’s cross function does a rather "okay" job, if used with cross.simple, so probably no need to specify a level. Do not use cross.smart, because it’s not that smart for professional crossfading.

I have tested the above patches on my station for a few days, and it sounds much better.

Conclusion

More professional, radio-like crossfades for the AutoDJ are possible using AzuraCast and Liquidsoap.

How to implement in AzuraCast?

Having had a quick glance at AzuraCast code, this should be pretty easy to implement in a useful manner in a two-step approach:

Step 1

• Remove the "Crossfade Duration (Seconds)" input and the x 1.5 calculation for the total duration.
• Set feasible defaults (like above) for non-advanced mode.
• For Advanced Mode, let the station owner input:
  • Fade-in time in seconds
  • Fade-out time in seconds
  • Max. crossfade duration; check validity (must be ≥ fade-in + fade-out)
  • Width of power computation window in seconds (width parameter for cross() ), because the default nails it at 2 s. This should probably be not larger than max. crossfade duration (I’m a little unsure here) and might be beneficial in some cases.
• Keep the per-track annotations, but in /var/azuracast/www/src/Radio/AutoDJ/Annotations.php use these new backend values where appropriate (not width).
• Use the new backend values in /var/azuracast/www/src/Radio/Backend/Liquidsoap/ConfigWriter.php to generate the correct values for the crossfading scripts. (width used here.)

Done – for most normal stations. Radio stations will be happy.

Step 2 – for advanced use

We will probably never be able to set the crossing point dB level, but Liquidsoap’s cross function does a good job on that.

What we could do is set the fader curves for fade-in and fade-out. There might be cases where that would be a nice-to-have.

• In Advanced Mode, I’d use dropdown selections for both fade-in and fade-out to enable the user to select from the supported curves. Currently available are
  • sin
  • exp
  • log
  • lin
• The generated crossfading scripts would have to be modified a little to incorporate the curve selections.

Done again – for the demanding station.

---

Tried this with very different kinds of music and genres: From smooth to loud, from Easy Listening and New Age to Pop, Electronic, Rock and Heavy Metal. Also tested with and without master_me enabled.

Finding all this out, studying documentation and code, setting it up on a real station took me a few days. I hope it can be useful.

[radiobellissima]

@Moonbase59 could you guide me to reach this path? I'd like to test the change but I can't find it via ftp.
/var/azuracast/www/src/Radio/AutoDJ/Annotations.php

[Moonbase59]

Note: The above is strictly experimental, not for the faint of heart, no guarantees, you might break your station if doing something wrong and you should have a good knowledge of Linux, Docker and PHP! It will also only work until the next container restart.

I added nano to my container (for editing) in my azuracast.env:

INSTALL_PACKAGES_ON_STARTUP=nano

Then went into the container using:

./docker.sh bash

There you can then move around, edit the file above and save it. Afterwards, in the station UI, edit your Liquidsoap Configuration as desired and restart broadcasting. Voilà!

[radiobellissima]

Thanks, I'll try.

[BusterNeece]

@Moonbase59 Another perk of LS 2.2.x is that we don't actually have to send "resetting values" on annotations on a per-song basis, as by default now those annotations will all reset with new tracks. That'll let us simplify the annotation code, and will likely let your fade function work with no PHP modification.

[robbedoeske]

Works defenitely perfect!

[Moonbase59]

Note: As of Rolling Release #35a6c8c (2023-06-05 12:18), you don’t need to patch Annotations.php anymore – AzuraCast now uses Liquidsoap 2.2.x and removed now unneeded annotations. Thanks @BusterNeece for implementing this!

You still need to edit your Liquidsoap configuration, as shown above.

Note 2: Should custom fade-in and fade-out times of 0 seconds not work with your jingles, simply set them to 0.1 seconds.

[blindndangerous]

I tried adjusting my liquidsoap configuration, but got this error.
alert LogicException at /var/azuracast/www/src/Radio/Backend/Liquidsoap.php L246: At line 359, char 351-357: Error 6: Cannot apply that parameter because the function at line 359, char 0-365 has no argument labeled "protocol"!
Powered by AzuraCast • Rolling Release #35a6c8c (2023-06-05 12:18) • Docker • PHP 8.2

[Moonbase59]

I cannot see your line numbers here, of course. If using LS 2.2.x, the syntax has changed a little:

Instead of

 if !to_live then

you must use

 if to_live() then

Could that be the cause?

[blindndangerous]

That fixed that error, but now I have another one.
alert LogicException at /var/azuracast/www/src/Radio/Backend/Liquidsoap.php L246: At line 196, char 7-14: Error 5: this value has type () -> _ (inferred at line 33, char 10-20) but it should be a subtype of bool
LogicException at /var/azuracast/www/src/Radio/Backend/Liquidsoap.php L246: At line 196, char 7-14: Error 5: this value has type () -> _ (inferred at line 33, char 10-20) but it should be a subtype of bool.
I'm not sure if it's a problem with your code or if I should open a separate issue. I can paste my liquidsoap if you need, but apart from what you wrote above, I've made no other changes.
radio = amplify(1.,override="replaygain_track_gain",radio)
def my_live_aware_crossfade(old, new) =
if to_live then
# If going to the live show, play a simple sequence
sequence([fade.out(old.source),fade.in(new.source)])
else
# Use the transition
cross.simple(old.source, new.source, fade_in=0.00, fade_out=3.50)
end
end

radio = cross(minimum=0.00, duration=4.00, width=2.00, my_live_aware_crossfade, radio)

[Moonbase59]

From what you pasted, it looks like the parenthesis after to_live are missing. It should be to_live().

[blindndangerous]

Weird, that still fails with the protocol error again. I'm sure my spacing is correct, I just copied and pasted your code block from above and double checked the formatting.

[blindndangerous]

Looking again, it might be something to do with liquidsoap and rolling release as removing the code doesn't fix things.

[Moonbase59]

It’s a good idea to remove personal changes and re-check, yes. In Liquidsoap, it’s rather easy to mess things up. ;-)

[blindndangerous]

I'll wait a bit and see if more ls fixes come through. For now it's back to the way it was (meaning no changes) but is still erroring.

[LordHelmchen666]

I try with Azuracast Rolling Release #6398009 (2023-06-17 4:08)
AutoDJ setting
-> Disabled Crossfade
-> Disabled Replaygain

# This only works correctly when all tracks have valid replaygain tags!
radio = amplify(1.,override="replaygain_track_gain",radio)

# Radio-like fading:
# Fade in: 0
# Fade out: 3.5s
# Fade out starts at: -15 dB (refers to radio standard R128 EBU)
# (actually, Liquidsoap’s cross function determines the crossing point)
# Max. time: 4.0s
def my_live_aware_crossfade(old, new) =
    if to_live() then
        # If going to the live show, play a simple sequence
        sequence([fade.out(old.source),fade.in(new.source)])
    else
        # Use the transition
        cross.smart(old, new, fade_in=0.00, fade_out=3.50)
    end
end

radio = cross(minimum=0.00, duration=4.50, my_live_aware_crossfade, radio)

Seems to work correct. No loudness jumps so far.

@Moonbase59 Thanks for your very good explanations!

[Moonbase59]

@LordHelmchen666 Thanks for sharing! We all learn from each other, and help each other. That’s what it’s all about, ain’t it? :-)

[pozhiloy-enotik]

This masterpiece of engineering should achieve the desired outcome

def liquidpoop(old, new) =
   def add_transition_length(_) =
      [("liq_transition_length","5.")]
   end
   add(normalize=false,
          [ sequence([ blank(duration=3.111),
                       fade.in(duration=0.666,new.source, type="sin") ]),
            fade.out(duration=5.,old.source, type="sin") ])
end
radio = cross(minimum=0.00, duration=5.0, width=20.0, persist_override=true, liquidpoop, radio)

Took me a month to find out as this part of documentation is removed in the new docs https://www.liquidsoap.info/doc-1.4.4/cookbook.html#switch-based-transitions

[blindndangerous]

Let's give it a try. I left in this.

This only works correctly when all tracks have valid replaygain tags!

radio = amplify(1.,override="replaygain_track_gain",radio)
But replaced the rest with your code. Right above the insert telnet driven metadata.

[Moonbase59]

This masterpiece of engineering should achieve the desired outcome […]

Depends upon what "the desired outcome" is.

Your code makes every crossfade a fixed-timing sequence (with added silence). This may be undesired for jingles/sweepers/bumpers/etc. Any per-track crossfading values set in AzuraCast will be ignored. The power computation width of 20s adds to CPU usage, plus it may fail on jingles/sweepers/bumpers that are shorter.

[pozhiloy-enotik]

An example of a professional crossfade is as follows

Suggest your solutions to this problem

Not a single line of the code above was able to delay the second stream as intended. The cross duration(previously erroneously named as start_next) parameter does nothing useful to offset the second sound, but only cuts the overall duration of the fade since liquidsoap is clearly not for radio, but only for entertainment purposes. For the same reason I guess you have to raise the calculation width to 2x the duration, otherwise you'll get a tiny audible crackle 4-6s after a successful transition.

[pozhiloy-enotik]

I definitely can't insist that my code shouldn't be rewritten, the next step would be to fix blank.eat()

if there is a silence at the beginning or end of the song, the silence should be cut for a nice transition

the docs suggest using the radio = blank.eat(radio) method but not mentions the max_blank parameter which actually🙃 allows silence up to 20.0s.

The working code could have been as follows:
radio = blank.eat(max_blank=0.001, radio, at_beginning=true, threshold=-40.0, min_noise=0.2)
......
You wonder if it really works ...
Place this line above the def liquidpoop(old, new) = and get the desired result but also another audio crackle 4-6s after a transition.
Place this below cross and get nothing

[Moonbase59]

@pozhiloy-enotik Looks like you may have found a bug. The ideal place to report that would be upstream to the LS developers: https://github.com/savonet/liquidsoap/issues

Unfortunately I currently don’t have the time to re-test everything that once worked (or seemed to).

[blindndangerous]

I gave this a try, and while it works relatively well it seems to be messing up the now playing. It either gets stuck and doesn't update at all or will be one song behind. After taking it out everything went back to normal.

[Moonbase59]

Thanks for jumping in @gAlleb! I’m ill and bed-ridden at the moment, so I’ll have to step down a few days. But I’ll be back ;-)

Thanks @BusterNeece for updating LS (and "hourCycle" & Cron). That helps avoid confusion with the autocues and should allow everyone to use either "integrated" autocue version.

My roadmap for autocue.cue_file (when I’m well again):

• Scrap autocue2 and concentrate on autocue.cue_file as the supported integrated solution for LS 2.2.5.
• Update docs.
• Try to fix "new fade-in > old fade-out" problem with @toots.
• Testing with LS 2.3.x.
• Work with @BusterNeece on tighter integration (file tags, visual cue editor, possible pre-processing).

In the meantime, if you are on the latest AzuraCast RR, you can use the files from my integrate-with-liquidsoap branch and follow the steps outlined above.

Don’t forget to also update your cue_file executable in your AzuraCast (i.e., in /var/azuracast/bin)—it has new features!

Since AzuraCast is usually run in a Debian Bookworm Docker container, almost every AzuraCast user should set:

settings.autocue.cue_file.nice := true  # Linux/MacOS only!

cue_file will then run ffmpeg’s CPU-intensive track analysis at a nice level of 18. CPU loads shown will be the same but it lets the kernel scheduler know not to block CPUs for ffmpeg, but also give time to other processes that need it. This can really help avoiding "catchup" errors.

Thanks all for testing and patience!

[sander816]

To what version should i update now, and what are the correct scripts to use? Op do 16 mei 2024 4:44 p.m. schreef RM-FM ***@***.***>:

…

@netbladenl <https://github.com/netbladenl> is this internal autocue? I put internal autocue into operation on our station without any issues. Do you have manual cue points or fades set? If so, make sure that the crossfade duration is set to a value of at least 0.1! 0.0 causes Liquisoap to behave strange as it is not a valid duration for a crossfade. Are you using radio = crossfade(radio)? — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#6252 (reply in thread)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AIODLJKMBCPTCZV47CXCSFTZCTA3BAVCNFSM6AAAAAAXTUOU76VHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43SRDJONRXK43TNFXW4Q3PNVWWK3TUHM4TINJZGE2TE> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[RM-FM]

@sander816 what autocue integration are you using or would you like to use? The internal one or @Moonbase59 integration (cue_file)?

For the internal one there is nothing else required than adding enable_autocue_metadata() to the first LS config box. Add radio = crossfade(radio) to the 3rd box. Make sure you have disabled Azuracast crossfade before in the settings and remove anything else from the LS config boxes.

I'd suggest to use the latest Azuracast Rolling Release as it uses Liquidsoap 2.2.5 stable version.

[Moonbase59]

@sander816 For my autocue, the same advice holds: Use the latest AzuraCast Rolling Release, and the latest code from my integrate-with-liquidsoap branch.

[sander816]

still have some seconds silence with some songs. And i hear a short fade in when i use radio = crossfade(radio)

[toots]

Hey there! Any one interested in presenting this whole thing next week during Liquidshop? :-)

[Moonbase59]

Presentation ready, registration done ;-)

[BusterNeece]

This has been a long time coming, but we've made enough progress across the board with AutoCue that I feel comfortable shipping it in the Rolling Release version of AzuraCast. As of the latest Rolling Release update, you can now enable AutoCue with a single on/off switch in the "AutoDJ" tab of the station profile.

The version of AutoCue we're using is the one @Moonbase59 has been working on, as it offers us a secondary advantage of allowing us to independently call that cue_file binary. A later phase of our rollout will include adding the AutoCue functionality as a pre-processor option, so it processes once for a given file as it's uploaded and then never has to re-process that same file, saving a ton of CPU during playback.

Power users can still use either AutoCue implementation directly through the "Edit Liquidsoap Configuration" page, and they can also customize any settings they want to tweak via the second custom code block.

I look forward to testing and feedback from users as we begin to roll this functionality into AzuraCast so everyone can enjoy it!

[RM-FM]

@BusterNeece @Moonbase59 @toots Thank you all for the hard your work on AutoCue to push it to the next level! The native integration into AzuraCast makes things for users much more straight forward. At a later stage it might be helpful to also add the most important settings of AutoCue to the GUI (like dB thresholds for crossfade + cue in/out detection).

[Moonbase59]

The first 6 stations (I know of) are running this new latest AzuraCast Rolling Release, works nicely so far. Thanks @BusterNeece for working with me on the implementation!

Now we really have something to tell on the "Liquidshop 4" presentation, to be held on May 27, 2024!

[LordHelmchen666]

I am also using it.

[LordHelmchen666]

@BusterNeece Maybe you could hide "Enable Replaygain" also like you did with Crossfading when Autocue enabled?
And thanks to all for your amazing hard work!

[Moonbase59]

That makes sense, since we get kinda "ReplayGain" with autocue anyway, and it can even unify that with existing ReplayGain data (settings.autocue.cue_file.unify_loudness_correction, which is true by default).

[sander816]

Is there a way to edit fade in and fade out duration?
I have some songs that for some reason have a short fade in. I dont want that

[Moonbase59]

With autocue.cue_file, you can change the default, or annotate or tag single songs in question.

Default setting

The global fade-in default:

settings.autocue.cue_file.fade_in := 0.1  # seconds

AzuraCast

For single songs, with AzuraCast, the easiest is to use the Visual Cue Editor, or the Advanced tab next to it.

File tags

Or you can use tags in the file like so:

Priorities

These are prioritized (low to high):

• default settings
• file tags
• annotations (and AzuraCast Visual Cue Edtor)

So:

• a file tag "wins" over the default setting
• an annotation "wins" over the file tag

Known problems

In Liquidsoap 2.2.5, there is currently also a bug that will cut fade-ins short when the new fade-in is longer than the old fade-out. This will hopefully be fixed in LS 2.3.0. It doesn’t affect those using "radio-style" very short fade-ins.

[sander816]

Well I have 35000 songs, thats impossible for 1 person Op do 23 mei 2024 12:33 p.m. schreef Matthias C. Hormann < ***@***.***>:

…

With autocue.cue_file, you can *annotate* or *tag* the songs in question. With AzuraCast, the easiest is to use the *Visual Cue Editor*, or the *Advanced* tab next to it. Or you can use *tags* in the file like so: Auswahl_404.png (view on web) <https://github.com/AzuraCast/AzuraCast/assets/3706922/0b306bc2-e0b5-4929-b0ce-0188e54c99f3> — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#6252 (reply in thread)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AIODLJPSAAD2H3472LSEZ4LZDXAYPAVCNFSM6AAAAAAXTUOU76VHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43SRDJONRXK43TNFXW4Q3PNVWWK3TUHM4TKMZSHEYTA> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[BusterNeece]

@sander816 You can set the default value via Broadcasting > Edit Liquidsoap Configuration, then in the second blank box, putting something like:

settings.autocue.cue_file.fade_in := 0.1  # seconds

That'll override it for all tracks.

[Moonbase59]

Well, if it affects all songs, you’d change the defaults. I have 160,000 tracks and only changed the fading parameters for my jingles.

If you’re hit by the bug mentioned, we have to wait for an upstream fix. Sorry for that.

EDIT: Buster was faster ;-)

[wegGehamstert]

Is 0.1 the default fade_in time?
I noticed it too, that my songs are played a little bit to late. but its not that much. less than a second

[Moonbase59]

Yes, out of the box we use 0.1s fade-in and 2.5s fade-out (too long sounds bad).

Here are all possible settings that can be modified in the second input box, showing their defaults:

# settings.autocue.cue_file.path := "cue_file"
# settings.autocue.cue_file.fade_in := 0.1  # seconds
# settings.autocue.cue_file.fade_out := 2.5  # seconds
# settings.autocue.cue_file.timeout := 60.0  # seconds
# settings.autocue.cue_file.target := -18.0  # LUFS
# settings.autocue.cue_file.silence := -42.0  # LU below track loudness
# settings.autocue.cue_file.overlay := -8.0  # LU below track loudness
# settings.autocue.cue_file.longtail := 15.0  # seconds
# settings.autocue.cue_file.overlay_longtail := -15.0  # extra LU
# settings.autocue.cue_file.noclip := false  # clipping prevention like loudgain's `-k`
# settings.autocue.cue_file.blankskip := false  # skip silence in tracks
# settings.autocue.cue_file.unify_loudness_correction := true  # unify `replaygain_track_gain` & `liq_amplify`
# settings.autocue.cue_file.write_tags := false  # write liq_* tags back to file
# settings.autocue.cue_file.force_analysis := false  # force re-analysis even if tags found

Hint: If you put all these in the 2nd input box and just leave the unused commented out, you won’t have to look them up every time.

Note that fade-out might work differently from what you expect: It is used to cut the overlay short. The calculated ideal "start next song here" point will be kept in all cases.

[wegGehamstert]

I noticed some weird behaviour that shouldn't be like that on my station.

This is how it looks when a song fades into the next.

My settings for AutoCue is:

# settings.autocue.cue_file.path := "cue_file"
settings.autocue.cue_file.fade_in := 0.1  # seconds
settings.autocue.cue_file.fade_out := 2.5  # seconds
# settings.autocue.cue_file.timeout := 60.0  # seconds
# settings.autocue.cue_file.target := -18.0  # LUFS
# settings.autocue.cue_file.silence := -42.0  # LU below track loudness
# settings.autocue.cue_file.overlay := -8.0  # LU below track loudness
# settings.autocue.cue_file.longtail := 15.0  # seconds
# settings.autocue.cue_file.overlay_longtail := -15.0  # extra LU
# settings.autocue.cue_file.noclip := false  # clipping prevention like loudgain's `-k`
# settings.autocue.cue_file.blankskip := true  # skip silence in tracks
# settings.autocue.cue_file.unify_loudness_correction := true  # unify `replaygain_track_gain` & `liq_amplify`
# settings.autocue.cue_file.write_tags := false  # write liq_* tags back to file
# settings.autocue.cue_file.force_analysis := false  # force re-analysis even if tags found

The weird thing is, that this is not with every song. If you wanna hear into it, you can do that here

[BusterNeece]

We're pushing an update to the Rolling Release right now that will switch liq_cross_duration to liq_cross_start_next.

Comments in our code suggest that it was actually using the start_next pattern in an earlier version of Liquidsoap, and this was then switched over to the duration version only to be switched back.

[LordHelmchen666]

@Moonbase59 Yes, i use settings.autocue.cue_file.fade_out := 5.0 on production server which gives in my opinion pretty good results. It is my answer at wegGehamstert that i can hear no difference from the transitions. My settings on Jingles, News, Ads and so on is now fade-in, fade-out to 0.1. Nothing else set. There is no silence anymore.

Did you changed something else on the settings or is this the only thing?

This setting has nothing to do with our silence problem. The important changed setting is to empty field Custom Crossfading: Overlap time like Moonbase wrote here #6252 (reply in thread)

[wegGehamstert]

@Moonbase59 Yes, i use settings.autocue.cue_file.fade_out := 5.0 on production server which gives in my opinion pretty good results. It is my answer at wegGehamstert that i can hear no difference from the transitions. My settings on Jingles, News, Ads and so on is now fade-in, fade-out to 0.1. Nothing else set. There is no silence anymore.

Did you changed something else on the settings or is this the only thing?

This setting has nothing to do with our silence problem. The important changed setting is to empty field Custom Crossfading: Overlap time like Moonbase wrote here #6252 (reply in thread)

Or update to the new rolling release, this should fix the problem in my understanding

[Moonbase59]

Yep, thanks @BusterNeece we have a new Rolling Release #5397ec2 (2024-05-29 19:02) where this is fixed!

Thanks for the bug reports, testing & the superfast fix!

@BusterNeece Will the DB migration automatically convert existing "overlap duration" items to the new one, or should users re-edit that field?

[LordHelmchen666]

@Moonbase59 I can report back it is working well for me. Get good transitions Song -> Song. On tracks where i don't want transitions (overlap) i set liq_cross_start_next same as track length. e.g. Jingle with 15 secs i set 14.9 and fade-in/-out to 0.1. No transition and no silence, that's exactly what i want.

[robbedoeske]

Do we still have to edit the liquidsoap config manually or is it enough to activate it in the profile?

[wegGehamstert]

Do we still have to edit the liquidsoap config manually or is it enough to activate it in the profile?

You can just activate it in the stationprofile. This is enough

[Moonbase59]

@robbedoeske You can still fine-tune each setting, but there is no need for copy-pasting or modifying the LS script anymore.

See also: https://moonbase59.github.io/autocue/presentation/autocue.html#/notes (and following slides).

[netbladenl]

I've got an old issue back with the new integrated autocue funtion in Azuracast.
When I set a prerecorded show to play at a curtain time or I put it in the queue to play, it doesn't play at all, it just skips the file to the next one in the queue.

2024/06/02 19:51:25 [lang:3] API nextsong - Response (200): autocue:annotate:title="13/072021 (HH)",artist="KapteinKrunch",duration="3690.19",song_id="c4f97bf5c9478febb1bd8af13c0742fc",media_id="16352":media:kapteinkrunch_20210713-200005.mp3
[mp3 @ 0x7f6485c37000] Estimating duration from bitrate, this may be inaccurate
[mp3 @ 0x7f6485c37000] Estimating duration from bitrate, this may be inaccurate
2024/06/02 19:51:26 [decoder.ffmpeg:3] Requested content-type for "/var/azuracast/stations/youradio.nl/media/kapteinkrunch_20210713-200005.mp3": {audio=pcm(stereo)}
2024/06/02 19:51:26 [decoder.ffmpeg:3] FFmpeg recognizes "/var/azuracast/stations/youradio.nl/media/kapteinkrunch_20210713-200005.mp3" as audio: {codec: mp3, 44100Hz, 2 channel(s)}
2024/06/02 19:51:26 [decoder.ffmpeg:3] Decoded content-type for "/var/azuracast/stations/youradio.nl/media/kapteinkrunch_20210713-200005.mp3": {audio=pcm(stereo)}
2024/06/02 19:51:26 [autocue.cue_file:3] Now autocueing: "/var/azuracast/stations/youradio.nl/media/kapteinkrunch_20210713-200005.mp3"
2024/06/02 19:51:26 [autocue.cue_file:3] Blank (silence) skipping active: false
2024/06/02 19:51:26 [autocue.cue_file:3] Clipping prevention active: false
2024/06/02 19:51:26 [lang:3] API feedback - Response (200): true
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [autocue.cue_file:3] cue_file result for "/var/azuracast/stations/youradio.nl/media/kapteinkrunch_20210713-200005.mp3": {"duration": 3690.1, "liq_cue_duration": 3690.0, "liq_cue_in": 0.0, "liq_cue_out": 3690.0, "liq_cross_start_next": 3690.0, "liq_longtail": false, "liq_loudness": "-18.13 LUFS", "liq_loudness_range": "10.47 LU", "liq_amplify": "0.13 dB", "liq_amplify_adjustment": "0.00 dB", "liq_reference_loudness": "-18.00 LUFS", "liq_blankskip": false, "liq_blank_skipped": false, "liq_true_peak": "0.84 dBFS"}
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [autocue.cue_file:3] Inserted replaygain_track_gain 0.13 dB and replaygain_reference_loudness -18.00 LUFS
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [autocue.cue_file:3] No fade-in duration given, using default setting (0.1 s).
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [autocue.cue_file:3] No fade-out duration given, using default setting (2.5 s).
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [autocue.cue_file:2] Given fade-out duration (2.5 s) exceeds available time, using 0. s.
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [autocue.cue_file:3] Metadata added/corrected for "/var/azuracast/stations/youradio.nl/media/kapteinkrunch_20210713-200005.mp3":
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [autocue.cue_file:3] ("duration", "3690.19")
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [autocue.cue_file:3] ("liq_amplify", "0.13 dB")
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [autocue.cue_file:3] ("liq_amplify_adjustment", "0.00 dB")
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [autocue.cue_file:3] ("liq_blank_skipped", "false")
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [autocue.cue_file:3] ("liq_blankskip", "false")
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [autocue.cue_file:3] ("liq_cross_start_next", "3690.")
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [autocue.cue_file:3] ("liq_cue_duration", "3690.00")
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [autocue.cue_file:3] ("liq_cue_in", "0.")
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [autocue.cue_file:3] ("liq_cue_out", "3690.")
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [autocue.cue_file:3] ("liq_fade_in", "0.1")
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [autocue.cue_file:3] ("liq_fade_out", "0.")
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [autocue.cue_file:3] ("liq_longtail", "false")
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [autocue.cue_file:3] ("liq_loudness", "-18.13 LUFS")
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [autocue.cue_file:3] ("liq_loudness_range", "10.47 LU")
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [autocue.cue_file:3] ("liq_reference_loudness", "-18.00 LUFS")
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [autocue.cue_file:3] ("liq_true_peak", "0.84 dBFS")
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [autocue.cue_file:3] ("replaygain_reference_loudness", "-18.00 LUFS")
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [autocue.cue_file:3] ("replaygain_track_gain", "0.13 dB")
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [request:2] Time limit exceeded by 5.00 secs!
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [lang:3] API nextsong - Sending POST request to 'http://127.0.0.1:6010/api/internal/1/liquidsoap/nextsong' with body: 
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [lang:3] API nextsong - Response (200): autocue:annotate:title="Hold Me",artist="The Teskey Brothers",duration="187.00",song_id="b16b35c784527be1faa0670e047b136a",media_id="8031",playlist_id="5":media:JazzySoul/ALT _ SOUL __ sounds like_ Gospel, New Soul, Americana, Southern Blues, earthy R&B, Roots/098 - The Teskey Brothers - Hold Me.mp3
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [decoder.ffmpeg:3] Requested content-type for "/var/azuracast/stations/youradio.nl/media/JazzySoul/ALT _ SOUL __ sounds like_ Gospel, New Soul, Americana, Southern Blues, earthy R&B, Roots/098 - The Teskey Brothers - Hold Me.mp3": {audio=pcm(stereo)}
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [decoder.ffmpeg:3] FFmpeg recognizes "/var/azuracast/stations/youradio.nl/media/JazzySoul/ALT _ SOUL __ sounds like_ Gospel, New Soul, Americana, Southern Blues, earthy R&B, Roots/098 - The Teskey Brothers - Hold Me.mp3" as audio: {codec: mp3, 44100Hz, 2 channel(s)}, video: {codec: mjpeg, 800x800, yuvj444p}
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [decoder.ffmpeg:3] Decoded content-type for "/var/azuracast/stations/youradio.nl/media/JazzySoul/ALT _ SOUL __ sounds like_ Gospel, New Soul, Americana, Southern Blues, earthy R&B, Roots/098 - The Teskey Brothers - Hold Me.mp3": {audio=pcm(stereo)}
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [autocue.cue_file:3] Now autocueing: "/var/azuracast/stations/youradio.nl/media/JazzySoul/ALT _ SOUL __ sounds like_ Gospel, New Soul, Americana, Southern Blues, earthy R&B, Roots/098 - The Teskey Brothers - Hold Me.mp3"
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [autocue.cue_file:3] Blank (silence) skipping active: false
2024/06/02 19:51:50 [autocue.cue_file:3] Clipping prevention active: false

Shor files just work, anything I can do to fix this?

[Moonbase59]

Hm. Are you saying "The Teskey Brothers - Hold Me" played instead of "KapteinKrunch - 13/072021 (HH)"? Does the recording come from a playlist or did you queue it manually?

Autocue took ~24 s, which is rather fast for a ~1 h file. I wonder why it didn’t honor settings.autocue.cue_file.timeout, which is set to 60 s per default.

It seems the

2024/06/02 19:51:50 [request:2] Time limit exceeded by 5.00 secs!

caused a new request, is that true?

The Liquidsoap request.queue has a default timeout of 20 s, and the message stems from the request resolve, but I don’t know if that’s the cause.

@toots @BusterNeece Any thoughts on this?

[netbladenl]

Hm. Are you saying "The Teskey Brothers - Hold Me" played instead of "KapteinKrunch - 13/072021 (HH)"? Does the recording come from a playlist or did you queue it manually?

Autocue took ~24 s, which is rather fast for a ~1 h file. I wonder why it didn’t honor settings.autocue.cue_file.timeout, which is set to 60 s per default.

It seems the

2024/06/02 19:51:50 [request:2] Time limit exceeded by 5.00 secs!

caused a new request, is that true?

The Liquidsoap request.queue has a default timeout of 20 s, and the message stems from the request resolve, but I don’t know if that’s the cause.

@toots @BusterNeece Any thoughts on this?
Hm. Are you saying "The Teskey Brothers - Hold Me" played instead of "KapteinKrunch - 13/072021 (HH)"? Does the recording come from a playlist or did you queue it manually?

This I've queued it manually, but even if I have a playlist with a recording in it, it wont play with this version of Autocue enabled.

It seems the

2024/06/02 19:51:50 [request:2] Time limit exceeded by 5.00 secs!

caused a new request, is that true?

This is true indeed, strange issue indeed

[Moonbase59]

So let’s hope the devs can tell us how to increase that limit!

For a recordings playlist, I wonder if we should have a per-playlist setting "Enable/Disable autocue for this playlist" maybe…

It wouldn’t make much sense normally, since you wouldn’t get cueing, fading and loudness information when autocue is off, but recordings are taken off a already-corrected stream, and typically rather long, so that might be a viable option.

You’d (manually) just have to set liq_cue_file=false for a file/playlist not to be autocued. The log would then tell you it skipped autocue for that file(s).

Thinking about that, you could even use a tag in the file (use a tag editor): Use liq_cue_file with a content of false. As long as AzuraCast doesn’t override that with an annotation, it should work.

If you’re not inclined to copy files back and forth, and you have mutagen installed on your host (pip3 install mutagen or sudo apt install python3-mutagen), you could even add that tag via a remote shell:

$ mid3v2 --TXXX 'liq_cue_file:false' "Genesis - Back in N.Y.C..mp3" 

Verify by using:

$ mid3v2 --list "Genesis - Back in N.Y.C..mp3" 

[netbladenl]

I've made an issue for this #7178

[sander816]

is it possible to have no no fadein, instead of 0.1? Op ma 3 jun 2024 om 16:41 schreef Matthias C. Hormann < ***@***.***>:

…

So let’s hope the devs can tell us how to increase that limit! — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#6252 (reply in thread)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AIODLJIEJ6JLSC3GY5F43SLZFR6C3AVCNFSM6AAAAAAXTUOU76VHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43SRDJONRXK43TNFXW4Q3PNVWWK3TUHM4TMNBZG43TQ> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[Moonbase59]

You could try, but it previous LS versions that couldn’t be done. Also, Liquidsoap internally might set it to 0.1, to have a minimum.

[Moonbase59]

Out now: autocue.cue_file v1.2.3!

Out now! Will be glad when @BusterNeece follows with AzuraCast Rolling Release. But you can already use it in your standalone scripts! File types supported for tag reading and writing, in alphabetical order:

.aac, .aif, .aifc, .aiff, .alac, .ape, .asf, .flac, .m2a, .m4a, .m4b, .m4p,
.m4r, .m4v, .mp+, .mp2, .mp3, .mp4, .mpc, .ofr, .ofs, .oga, .ogg, .ogv, .opus,
.spx, .wav, .wma, .wmv, .wv

That is if Mutagen is installed. Otherwise, you’ll get a few less file types you can write tags to:

.asf, .flac, .mp3, .oga, .ogg, .ogv, .opus, .spx, .wma, .wmv

You can locally (probably not inside the AzuraCast Docker container) install Mutagen by using

pip3 install mutagen

(preferred), —or—

sudo apt install python3-mutagen

(might be slightly older, distros don’t update that often).

Guess that should catch even the most obscure use cases. Been awake for 31 hours now, testing hundreds of variations of file and tag types, all manually. Phew!

But they eventually all worked as intended, and are congruent with what loudgain does (good that I kept the loudgain test set for 6 years!).

[gAlleb]

cool!

[netbladenl]

Thanks for you hard work, I hope Buster adds this future very soon in the rolling release 👍

[BusterNeece]

The AzuraCast Rolling Release channel is now updated to AutoCue 1.2.3 with Mutagen.

[RM-FM]

Finally, we've switched all our stations from Liquidsoap autocue.internal to the Azuracast / @Moonbase59 Autocue implementation as well :-)

[Moonbase59]

@BusterNeece Thanks ever so much for including Mutagen! Sorry @BornKillaz & @gAlleb brought up an issue for stations with absolutely no pre-replaygained files. That also works now, we can now also add real ReplayGain data. All-in one, so to say…

Would you mind doing it again…? Update I mean?

[Moonbase59]

Too bad, so sad… (Buster will probably kill me—sorry pal!)

2024-06-04 - v2.0.1

• Fix small bug when reading already stored liq_true_peak that contained
  a dBFS value from v1.2.3.

2024-06-04 – v2.0.0

Version 2.0.0 is out! It offers the chance to write ReplayGain data to
audio files, in addition to the Liquidsoap/Autocue tags.

This is useful for station owners that can’t or don’t want to use audio tracks
that have been pre-replaygained. You can now add ReplayGain data to songs and
thus ensure the analysis won’t be done over and over again.

This is an additional option to the existing
write_tags feature and will only work when write_tags is enabled. Based on
our file analysis, it will save (and overwrite) ReplayGain Track data, such as
the gain value, the reference loudness, integrated loudness and true peak info.

The logic is inside cue_file, so it can as well be used for pre-processing
your files without the need of other tools. Autocue & ReplayGain—all in one!

The cue_file help now shows the file formats it supports, and the tags it
knows about. cue_file will automatically detect if Mutagen is installed and
offer you a whopping 20 more filetypes to work with!

Breaking Changes:

• liq_true_peak (in dBFS) has been renamed to liq_true_peak_db.
• A new liq_true_peak has been added that stores the peak value as expected
  and needed by ReplayGain.
• Both cue_file and autocue.cue_file.liq must be updated to v2.0.0 for
  everything to work correctly.
• It is advisable to install Mutagen on the system running Liquidsoap, or in
  the AzuraCast Docker container. Doing this gets you more file and tag types
  you can work with, and safer/more compatible tagging.
  Mutagen can usually be installed with pip3 install mutagen (preferred), or
  sudo apt install python3-mutagen (often older versions, distros don’t
  update that often).

EDIT: Thanks @BusterNeece for the superfast update and new Rolling Release of AzuraCast! Much appreciated!

[Moonbase59]

Please also read A few words of advice that should actually have been here…. ;-)