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Standard Input Formats | Rapid HUB
Introduction
This document details the formats for the DLS and Slideshow content that radio stations can send into Rapid HUB.
There are two options. For your radio station, choose the option that best suits the station's needs:
- Using Text and Image Input Sources: a radio station sends the text and slideshow images as separate feeds to Rapid HUB
- Using XML Sources: a radio station sends the text and slideshow images as a single feed to Rapid HUB
Text Input Source
Single-message versus Multi-message Updates
a. Stations can provide a text feed/file containing a single DLS message
Example:
John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John - Summer Nights
When Rapid receives an update, it will replace the current DLS message with the updated message.
b. Stations can alternatively provide a text feed/file containing multiple DLS messages. Each message should be on a separate line.
Example:
John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John - Summer Nights
You’re listening to Radio AIM
When Rapid receives an update, it will replace the current DLS message with the updated set of messages, and cycle around the new messages.
Adding DL+ Tags
If a station wants to set DL+ tags on DAB receivers and enable support for DTS AutoStage, the station can add tags into the text strings. These tags will not be displayed on receivers but will be used by Rapid to set the appropriate tags.
A list of supported tags is supplied in Appendix A.
The content for the tags should be contained within the brackets.
For a single-message example, to set the Artist and Title DL+ tags, you should send a message that looks similar to:
<ITEM.ARTIST>John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John</ITEM.ARTIST> - <ITEM.TITLE>Summer Nights</ITEM.TITLE>
For a multi-message example:
<ITEM.ARTIST>John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John</ITEM.ARTIST> - <ITEM.TITLE>Summer Nights</ITEM.TITLE>
<INFO.WEATHER>Current weather in London is overcast</INFO.WEATHER>
You’re listening to Radio AIM
Latest traffic: <INFO.TRAFFIC>Long delays on the M25</INFO.TRAFFIC>
“John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John - Summer Nights” will be displayed on DAB radios
The ‘ITEM.TITLE’ DL+ tag will be set to “Summer Nights” and the ‘ITEM.ARTIST’ DL+ tag will be set to “John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John”
Clearing DL+ Tags
There are three ways of clearing a DL+ tag when, for example, a track stops playing.
a. Remove the content between the tags. In the example below, the playout message will not be displayed on DAB receivers but the second, third, and fourth messages in the list will be broadcast. The ‘ITEM.TITLE’ and ‘ITEM.ARTIST’ DL+ tags will be cleared.
<ITEM.ARTIST></ITEM.ARTIST> - <ITEM.TITLE></ITEM.TITLE>
<INFO.WEATHER>Current weather in London is overcast</INFO.WEATHER>
You’re listening to Radio AIM
Latest traffic: <INFO.TRAFFIC>Long delays on the M25</INFO.TRAFFIC>
b. Send empty tags. In the example below, the playout message will not be displayed on DAB receivers but the second, third, and fourth messages in the list will be broadcast. The ‘ITEM.TITLE’ and ‘ITEM.ARTIST’ DL+ tags will be cleared.
<ITEM.ARTIST></ITEM.ARTIST><ITEM.TITLE></ITEM.TITLE>
<INFO.WEATHER>Current weather in London is overcast</INFO.WEATHER>
You’re listening to Radio AIM
Latest traffic: <INFO.TRAFFIC>Long delays on the M25</INFO.TRAFFIC>
c. Remove the entire now playing message. When Rapid ingests the new set of messages, it will identify that the now playing message is no longer valid and only broadcast the three messages in the new update and the ‘ITEM.TITLE’ and ‘ITEM.ARTIST’ DL+ tags will be cleared.
<INFO.WEATHER>Current weather in London is overcast</INFO.WEATHER> <br>
You’re listening to Radio AIM <br>
Latest traffic: <INFO.TRAFFIC>Long delays on the M25</INFO.TRAFFIC>
Image Input Source
Stations can provide an image feed/file containing a single DAB Slideshow image. If the image is not 320 pixels wide by 240 pixels high, Rapid will scale the image and add white horizontal or vertical borders to the image to achieve the correct DAB Slideshow image size.
XML Input Source
The XML input source is a more advanced mechanism for importing DLS and SLS information from radio stations. The XML input source adds support for pre-sending slideshow images.
Stations can send an update with a single message, or multiple messages.
<messages>
<message>
<text>Text to be displayed on DLS is inserted here.</text>
<image>URI to a slideshow image</image>
<tags>
<title>Title of the track</title>
<artist>Artist </artist>
</tags>
<metadata>
<startTime>start time in ISO8601 format</startTime>
<endTime>start time in ISO8601 format</endTime>
<duration>HH:MM:SS</duration>
</metadata>
</message>
<message>
...
</message>
</messages>
<text> (mandatory) The text that a radio station wants to appear on the DLS channel for their station. This should not include any markup (e.g., <ITEM.TITLE>) and should just be the text that is to be displayed. DL+ can be enabled by using the <tags> element.
<image> (optional) A link to the image that a radio station wants to appear on the SLS channel for their station. It can be an http link or a link to a file on a local or network folder.
<tags> (optional) Any tags that you want to send with this message are added into the <tags> element. Supported tags are:
<title> this will set the ITEM.TITLE DL+ tag (the title of the track) to whatever content is in this tag. NOTE: the content in this tag must be the same as the title that is included in the <text>.
<artist> this will set the ITEM.ARTIST DL+ tag (the artist of the track) to whatever content is in this tag. NOTE: the content in this tag must be the same as the artist that is included in the <text>.
<metadata> (optional) this is typically used for messages that are queued playout items (i.e., items with a <title> and <artist> tag) or items that you want to appear in the future. If you use this feature for queued playout items, it enables Rapid to pre-send the slideshow image and trigger it when the track starts playing (NOTE: A radio station should send an updated message when a track starts playing). Pre-sending is only supported on some multiplexers.
<startTime> (optional) this is only required for queued playout items. If it is omitted then the start time for the item is set to now.
<endTime> & <duration> (optional) either an endTime or a duration should be supplied for a queued item. Only one of these two elements is required (not both). For other messages, if an <endTime> is supplied, then Rapid will expire the message after the end time has passed.
Examples
Single message with one DL+ enabled track in it
<messages>
<message>
<text> John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John – Summer Nights.</text>
<image>https://www.thisisaim.com/stationimage.jpg</image>
<tags>
<title> Summer Nights </title>
<artist>John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John</artist>
</tags>
</message>
</messages>
Single update containing two messages, one a DL+ enabled track, and the other a generic station message
<messages>
<message>
<text> John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John – Summer Nights.</text>
<image>https://www.thisisaim.com/stationimage.jpg</image>
<tags>
<title> Summer Nights </title>
<artist>John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John</artist>
</tags>
</message>
<message>
<text> You’re listening to AIM Radio</text>
<image>https://www.thisisaim.com/stationimage2.jpg</image>
</message>
</messages>
Appendix A – Supported DL+ Tags
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