Once the download is complete, run the downloaded .exe file.
3
Accept the license agreement
You will first be presented with the software license agreement. Once you have read and agree to these terms, click I Agree.
4
Choose components
Choose the components to install. Here you can select whether to install Start Menu shortcuts. A desktop shortcut is created by default. Click Next to continue.
5
Choose install location
Choose the location to install the software. By default, this is in Program Files, but can be changed to your preference. Click Install to begin installation.
6
Launch PlayIt VoiceTrack
Check Start PlayIt VoiceTrack and click Finish to launch PlayIt VoiceTrack. If PlayIt VoiceTrack does not start, click Start and type PlayIt VoiceTrack.
Minimum Requirements
PlayIt VoiceTrack requires the .NET Framework 4.7.1 which is automatically downloaded and installed via the installer. To install this framework requires at least Windows 10 or Windows 11; or Windows Server 2016 or later, with all Windows updates applied.
Upgrading Versions
New versions of PlayIt VoiceTrack are regularly available from playitsoftware.com/Products/VoiceTrack. It is important to back up your data before you install any new versions. Data and logs for PlayIt VoiceTrack are stored in the Windows 'ProgramData' folder.
By default, this is located at:
C:\ProgramData\PlayIt VoiceTrack
To back up your data, simply copy this folder to an alternative location, such as an external hard drive.
When a new version is installed, or an old version is uninstalled, the data in the location above will not be removed.
Uninstallation
When installed, PlayIt VoiceTrack will include an Uninstall shortcut in the Start Menu.
If you chose not to add Start Menu shortcuts, the uninstaller can be found at (by default):
C:\Program Files (x86)\PlayIt VoiceTrack\uninstall.exe or
C:\Program Files\PlayIt VoiceTrack\uninstall.exe
Double-click the icon to start the uninstall process. Click Uninstall to remove PlayIt VoiceTrack.
Note that you can choose whether PlayIt VoiceTrack data is removed when you uninstall.
Getting Started
When you first launch PlayIt VoiceTrack, you are presented with the Get Started window.
The Get Started window shown the first time PlayIt VoiceTrack is launched.
In order to begin using PlayIt VoiceTrack, you need to log into your PlayIt Software account. Click the Log In button to begin logging in. If you do not have an account, you can create one by clicking Register or visiting playitsoftware.com/Account/Register.
If the computer you are using is not connected to the internet, you can activate offline.
Logging In
To begin using PlayIt VoiceTrack, enter your PlayIt Software account email address and password, or you can log in using your Facebook account.
Once you are logged in, the main window will be shown.
Enter Registration Details
If you do not already have a PlayIt Software account you can register your details here. Enter the required details and click Register.
Verify Email Address
Once you have registered you will need to check your registered email account and follow the link in an email with the subject "PlayIt Software: Please verify your email address...". To ensure you receive this email, please add [email protected] to your address book. Once you have followed the link you will be logged in and the main window will be shown.
Activating Offline
If the computer on which you have installed PlayIt VoiceTrack is not connected to the internet it is possible to activate offline.
From the Activation window, click Activate Offline...
Activate PlayIt VoiceTrack offline.
From the Activate Offline window, you can enter your License Key. This is generated from the Licenses page in the My Account area of the PlayIt Software website. A license can be generated by visiting playitsoftware.com/Account/Licences/Generate. You may be prompted to log in or create an account. If you have not purchased a license, a demo license will be generated to allow you to evaluate the software.
From the Generate New License section, select PlayIt VoiceTrack and ensure that v1.05+ is selected as the version. Enter the Computer Name and Machine Code you see on PlayIt VoiceTrack and click Generate License Key.
Once generated you will be presented with a license. Copy the License Key to the PlayIt VoiceTrack window. Alternatively, download the license file and select the file within PlayIt VoiceTrack. Note that license keys start with the text 3*.
Your First Voice Tracked Show
When you first start PlayIt VoiceTrack you are presented with an empty main window, ready for you to build your first show.
PlayIt VoiceTrack on first launch: no project loaded, no tracks in the library, and the demo-mode banner visible.
PlayIt VoiceTrack requires the Voice Tracking module from PlayIt Software. If you have not purchased the module, the software runs in demo mode. Any audio output or mixdown is periodically overlaid with an audio notice and a banner is shown at the top of the main window. Click the link in the banner to purchase a license and remove the notice.
Adding music
To get started with your first show you need to add some music. Drag and drop audio files from your computer, for example your Music folder:
Drag and drop audio files from your computer into PlayIt VoiceTrack.
Drop the files or tracks into the Playlist area. The drop area highlights in green and the cursor shows a copy indicator while you drag over it:
The Playlist drop area highlights green when files are dragged over it.
Continue to add tracks until you have all the music you need. As you add tracks, the Multi Track View at the top fills with a waveform representation of each track. The start and end of each track is analyzed for silence to provide a default segue. Use the mouse wheel or the zoom buttons to zoom in, and drag the orange bar to pan through the project.
The Multi Track View visualizes each track and how it segues into the next, with the playlist below listing every track.
When you zoom in, the orange bar at the top of the Multi Track View becomes a draggable pan handle. Drag it left and right to scroll through the project.
Drag the orange pan handle at the top of the Multi Track View to scroll through a zoomed-in project.
Adding voice tracks
Now that you have songs, it is time to record some voiceover links between them. Click and hold the Add Voice Track button on the right side of the main window.
Click and hold the Add Voice Track button to begin the drag-to-insert gesture.
Keep the mouse button held down and drag the pointer into the Playlist. A green insertion line appears between the two tracks where the voice track will be inserted. Release the mouse button to drop it in.
The green insertion line shows where the new voice track will land when you release the mouse.
Continue inserting voice tracks between the songs you want to talk between. By default each voice track is inserted with a placeholder duration of one minute, shown in square brackets, for example [01:00]. Click the placeholder duration to change it to whatever time you want to allow.
The same playlist with blank voice track placeholders inserted between songs, each showing a one-minute placeholder duration ready to record.
To set up recording for a voice track, click the red record button on the voice track row in the playlist. This opens the Segue Editor focused on that voice track.
Click the red record button on a voice track row to open the Segue Editor for that voice track.
The Segue Editor opens on the voice track with an empty waveform, ready to record.
Selecting your microphone device
The first time you use the segue editor for recording, you should choose the audio device that represents your microphone. Click the Settings button in the segue editor and review the audio device selections.
Open the Settings window from the segue editor to assign your microphone.
The Settings window opens on the General tab. Under Audio Device Assignments, set the Microphone Recording device to the input that represents your microphone.
Set the Microphone Recording device to the input that represents your microphone.
The selected microphone device should be one that records only your microphone and does not include any music playback. Click OK to confirm any changes.
Recording the voice track
Click the Record button to start recording. Your voice track begins recording and the audio from the end of the preceding track begins playing. Speak into your microphone to record over it.
Click the button again to play the next track in. Click the button a final time to finish recording and stop playback. The button icon changes as you cycle through the states: Record, Play next, and Stop.
Tip: Press R on the keyboard to cycle through Record → Play next → Stop actions for fast operation.
After recording, the waveform of the voice track is visible and ready for trimming and adjustments.
Trimming tracks
As the voice track is recorded you will see the waveform being produced. Once stopped, you can trim the start and end of the recording by dragging the start and end of the waveform container.
Drag the start (left edge) of the waveform container to trim the beginning of the recording.
Drag the end (right edge) of the waveform container to trim the trailing silence off the recording.
Adjusting voice track volume
If the voice track you have recorded is too quiet, raise its level using the Gain setting. Click the voice track waveform to select it, then increase the Gain value in the Audio Settings panel by a few dB. The waveform redraws to show the higher level.
Click the voice track to select it, then increase the Gain by a few dB to raise the level of the recording.
Changing track segue
You can move any track by dragging the top bar of the waveform container. If you move the waveform from the start (i.e. left end) it will be moved in relation to the previous track. If you move the waveform from the end (i.e. right end) it will be moved in relation to the next track. This ensures that track segues remain anchored to their respective tracks unless you explicitly want to change the segue.
Drag the top bar of the waveform to change how the track segues with the previous or next track.
Fade tracks and changing volume
Once the recording has been completed, you will need to modify the volume of the tracks if you are talking over them. You can do this by clicking on the orange line which represents the volume envelope. This will create an envelope point which you can move to a specific volume at a specific time. Create multiple points to reduce the volume and fade the volume:
Select the first point
Click the orange volume envelope line to create and select the first point.
Click the line before the point and drag the volume down
Click the line before the first point and drag down to create a second point and lower the music ahead of it.
This will update the waveform so you can visually see the volume is lower before the fade up after the vocal has finished.
Listening again
Use the playback controls to listen to the output:
Play, pause, skip and seek through your project from the main window.
Recording a bed (background music) with your voice track recording
When recording a voice track, you will see a Carts section on the right hand side. This can be loaded with an audio file, such as a bed for playing under your voice. You can load the audio file by dragging and dropping it from the file system, or you can use the (more options) menu in a cart slot and choose Load Track… to load a track from the music database. Click the Play button to start playing the cart while recording your voice track. The cart audio will be mixed in with your voice recording. Please ensure you have loaded the cart before starting the voice track recording.
Recording next voice track
To record the next voice link, click the Next Voice button:
Use the Next Voice button to advance through the unrecorded voice tracks.
Repeat the process to record all the voice links.
Click the Save button to save changes and exit the segue editor.
Click Save to commit your segue changes and return to the main window.
Reviewing
The Multi Track View at the top will show all the tracks and voice tracks in the project.
Review the whole project in the Multi Track View.
You can double click on any track in the playlist or multi track view to edit the segue or re-record a voice track.
Saving
You should save your project regularly by clicking the Save Project... button or pressing Ctrl+S.
Click the Save Project button on the command bar to save your project.
Project information
The bar at the top displays the information about the project. You can edit the project name and also change the target duration if you need to record to a specific time. The red text shows the under/over time of the target duration.
Project name, target duration and over/under indicator.
Mixing down to file
Once you are happy with the sound of your show, you can mix the audio down to a single audio file. Click the Mixdown Audio... button on the command bar.
Click the Mixdown Audio button on the command bar to open the Mixdown Audio dialog.
The Mixdown Audio dialog combines the whole project into a single audio file.
Choose a file to mix the project down to. Check the Open file after mixdown checkbox to open the audio file in your default audio player. Click OK to begin mixing down the audio.
Check this to open the mixed-down audio file automatically.
Once the mixdown process has finished you will have completed your first voice-tracked show.
For more about the mixdown options, including format choice, dynamic range compression and cue files, see Mixdown Audio.
Remember: demo mode
If you have not purchased the PlayIt Software Voice Tracking module required for PlayIt VoiceTrack, the mixed-down audio is periodically overlaid with an audio notice. To remove the notice, purchase a license at https://www.playitsoftware.com/Products/VoiceTrack.
As a remote voice tracker you can record voice tracks on a remote computer and send them to PlayIt Live or PlayIt Manager. You also edit segues and add additional tracks to the playout log if you wish.
Firstly, to start a remote voice tracking session you will require a Server URL, Username and Password. If you do not have these please request them from your radio station administrator.
Starting a remote session
To get started, click the Start Remote Session... button.
Click Start Remote Session to begin.
Enter the Server, Username and Password and click Connect.
Enter the Server, Username and Password and click Connect.
Disconnect and close the window without starting a session.
PlayIt VoiceTrack will download the voice tracking details including the start and end of the audio track files. The start of the track will be up until 10 seconds + Audition Time after the intro point of the track, and the end of the track will be from the last 10 seconds + Audition Time before the cue out point of the track.
In a remote session
An additional panel will be added to PlayIt VoiceTrack when in a remote session:
The remote session panel showing the update queue and End Remote Session button.
This section shows you the queue of commands that are sent back to the server when making changes. You can also log out by clicking the End Remote Session button.
It is important to end the session when you have finished to allow other users to connect if necessary.
PlayIt Live will show the start and end of the tracks with a gap for the voice track placeholder:
The playlist shows the start and end of each track with a gap for the voice track placeholder.
Double-click on the voice track placeholder waveform box to launch the segue editor. You can also click the Record button on the playlist:
Click the Record button on the voice track placeholder row to open the segue editor.
The segue editor works exactly the same as if you were recording a local voice tracked show. You can refer to the Your First Voice Tracked Show section for more detail.
The segue editor works the same in a remote session as it does locally.
Once you have recorded your voice track, click the Save button to close the window, or click Next Voice to move to the next voice track to record the next one.
When you record the voice track, the voice track is updated in the list and uploaded to the server.
The recorded voice track appears in the playlist and is uploaded to the server.
Your segue changes are also applied. These changes are shown in the Update Queue section:
The Update Queue shows changes being sent back to the server.
Your changes are immediately applied to PlayIt Live or PlayIt Manager. There is nothing left to do except to record the rest of your voice tracks. Remember to End Remote Session when you have finished.
Editing the playlist or adding other tracks
You can also drag tracks up and down the playlist to reorder, or you can drag tracks from the track list into the playlist. The track list shown is the track list that exists on the server. When you add a track from the track list, the start and end audio is downloaded from the server.
It is not possible to drop tracks that are on your own computer. You will need to add your own tracks to the server first.
A note on licensing
Remote voice trackers do not require a Voice Tracking module license in order to voice track remotely. This is required on PlayIt Live in order to broadcast voice tracks.
Demonstration video
Please refer to this video for a demonstration of remote voice tracking:
Show Waveforms / Hide Waveforms: Toggle the visibility of the waveform multi track view. This item reads Hide Waveforms when the waveforms are shown, and Show Waveforms when they are hidden.
Manage:
Select Data Source...:Select the data source for your tracks. Manage tracks directly in PlayIt VoiceTrack or use tracks from PlayIt Live.
This section shows information about your project. Here you can see the name of your project and the target duration. The actual duration of the tracks in the project is also calculated, along with how over or under the actual duration is compared to the target duration. Click the Edit Project... button to edit this information.
The multi track view shows waveforms of the tracks and how they are layered in your project. To edit the segue or transition between the tracks, double-click on the track you wish to modify. Use the mouse wheel to zoom in and out of the view. When zoomed in, you can use the mouse to drag the zoom bar to pan through the time in the project.
The gray line indicates the current position marker in the project.
The playlist shows all the tracks that have been added to the project. From left to right, the columns are:
Marker color: A color indication for the track. By default, tracks are shown in green, and voice tracks in black. This color can be customized by adding tracks to a track group and configuring the track group with a color.
Play time: The time into the project when the track will start.
Icon: Indicates whether the track is music or a voice track. This icon can be customized by adding tracks to a track group and configuring the track group with an icon.
Title: The name of the track.
Intro: The length of the intro in minutes:seconds. Displays - if the intro point is not set.
Duration: The length of the track in minutes:seconds.
Record button: Shown only for voice tracks. Click this button to launch the segue editor to get ready for recording.
Play button: Plays the track. The current progress is shown in a highlighting circle around the play button.
Edit button: Launches the segue editor to edit the segue between the previous and next track.
Remove button: Removes the track from the playlist.
Drag and drop tracks from the file system, track list, or a voice track to insert them into the playlist. Hovering over the left margin reveals a handle for reordering, or you can drag anywhere on the row. Moving the mouse between rows lets you insert a voice track between two tracks.
On voice tracks that have yet to be recorded, you can set a placeholder duration and description by clicking the duration in square brackets.
Instead of manually dragging and dropping tracks onto the playlist, you can use the Generate Playlist feature to create a playlist for you from a template.
Use this button to insert a voice track at the end of the playlist. You can also drag and drop the button onto the playlist to insert a voice track anywhere in the playlist.
The track list shows the tracks available in PlayIt VoiceTrack. Manage the tracks or select the data source to use tracks from PlayIt Live, then drag tracks to the playlist to add them to the project.
Demo mode
If you have not purchased the PlayIt Software Voice Tracking module required for PlayIt VoiceTrack, a demo notice will be shown above the main window.
The demo notice that appears when the Voice Tracking module has not been purchased.
To purchase the module, click the link. If you have already purchased the module and this notice is still shown, click View License Information to update or refresh your license.
The segue editor is used to change how tracks are positioned in the project. The segue editor only allows editing of positions of three tracks at a time. Other tracks in the project will not be affected by changes made relative to these tracks. It is possible to move tracks, trim the start and end, and fade tracks in and out or adjust the volume.
The Segue Editor window showing the waveform, recording controls, segue information, audio settings and carts.
The waveform represents the audio signal. It shows the changes in amplitude over the duration of the track. A thick vertical line shown on the track represents a cue point marker. The Cue In point is shown in green, the Cue Out point is shown in pink and the Intro point is shown in cyan. Cue Points can be changed via Manage > Tracks and editing a track.
Click the orange line on the waveform to edit the fade envelope. Clicking on the line will create an envelope point. Adding multiple envelope points will allow you to create a shape to adjust the fade volume. To remove a point, drag the point outside the waveform box. A gray line shows the envelope that has been automatically applied because the Duck other tracks option has been checked on another parallel track. The appearance of the waveform changes to show the effective volume with the envelope applied.
The description entered for the voice track is shown in the text box below the waveforms, so you can see what the link is about while you record it. This is only shown when editing the segue of a voice track that has a description. The description can be set when editing the placeholder duration of the voice track from the playlist.
Record button: start recording from your microphone. The microphone device can be set up from the Settings window. The previous track will begin playing from the end of the track. The amount of audio that you hear at the end of the track is determined from the Audition Time setting. This button is disabled if you are not editing the segue for a voice track.
When recording a voice track the record button will change to the Play next button. When this button is clicked the next track will begin playing.
When the next track is playing the button will change to a Stop button. When the stop button is pressed the recording and playback will stop.
Tip: You can use the R keyboard key to begin recording, play next and stop.
Delete recording button: deletes the recording so it can be discarded. This button is disabled if you are not editing the segue for a voice track.
Play button: start playback from the current playback position.
Pause button: pause playback at the current playback position.
Stop button: stop playback and reset to the previously selected position marker.
Move to start: move the position marker to the start of the view.
Move back a track: move the position marker to the previous track from the current position.
Move forward a track: move the position marker to the next track from the current position.
Move to end: move the position marker to the end of the view.
Current playback position: indicates how long has elapsed in the project.
The segue information shows how the selected track will sequence from the previous track into the next track. To see the segue information for the track simply click on the waveform.
The segue style defines specific ways that the track will sequence:
By default, the segue style is Cue Out/In, this means the cue in of the track will line up with the cue out of the previous track.
For Sweep Start, the sweeping track will start at the same time as the next track, provided it is short enough to play before the intro point of the next track. If the sweeping track is longer than the intro of the next track, the sweeping track will start before the next track and play up to the end of the intro.
For Sweep Intro, the sweeping track will finish playing immediately before the end of the intro point of the next track.
For Custom, you can manually set up how the tracks sequence with each other.
When you move a track by dragging the waveform the segue style will automatically change to Custom.
Note that Sweep Start and Sweep Intro require Intro points to be set on tracks, otherwise Cue Out/In will be used.
The Duck other tracks checkbox can be used to reduce the volume of the previous and next track when this track is played. You can configure the ducking (volume and speed) via the Settings button. When ducking is active you can see the effective track envelope changing to show the volume change.
If the audio is too quiet, apply gain to increase the volume. This is particularly useful if your microphone recording is very quiet. You can set the default Gain for voice tracks in Settings.
You can also adjust the tempo of the track here if you need to fit more tracks into your project duration.
Carts can be used to record other audio into your voice track, for example a bed (background music) or a station ident. You can drag and drop audio from the file system into a cart, or use the load icon to load a track from the database. Click the Play button to play the audio while recording your voice track. Use the volume slider to adjust the volume of the audio if you want to talk over it. Please ensure that you have loaded the cart before recording the voice track.
The settings button allows quick access to PlayIt VoiceTrack settings from the segue editor. Here you can edit the audition time or the audio devices for playback or recording.
Use the Edit Project window to change the project name and target recording duration of the current project. Open it from the main window by clicking the Edit Project... button or by selecting File > Edit Project... from the menu.
The Generate Playlist feature builds a playlist automatically based on a template and applies it to your project. This means you do not need to manually select tracks for your show project. To generate a playlist you will need to populate the database with tracks via Manage > Tracks.
Open the window from the main window by selecting File > Generate Playlist... from the menu.
The Generate Playlist window before any items have been generated.
The template used to generate your playlist. Click the Edit... link to edit the selected template or the Delete... link to delete it. Click Create New Template... to create a blank template.
A simple rule is provided to ensure the same artist is not played too close to another song by the same artist. A 'song' is a track with a Type field of 'Song'.
If you are happy with the generated items, click Use Playlist. If your project already has items you will be prompted to replace the existing items or add the generated items to the end.
The list of items generated from the template, in the order they will appear in the playlist. Each row shows the start time, item description and duration.
As the name suggests, the Playlist Template Builder is used to build playlist templates. A template is comprised of multiple sections in order. A section can either be a static set of items, or a set of items that fills for a period of time. A section that fills will try its best to fit the items to the time specified.
For each item, PlayIt VoiceTrack will select a track that corresponds to the type of the item. It can select a track by track type (e.g. Song), a track group (as defined in Manage > Track Groups), or a specific track (as defined in Manage > Tracks). You can also select Voice Track and specify a time to insert a voice track placeholder for later recording.
Open the Playlist Template Builder by clicking Edit or Create New Template in the Generate Playlist window.
The Playlist Template Builder window editing a template.
A template section specifies a list of items to generate. Click the cog icon to edit the section in the Edit Section window. Here you can change the name of the section, or turn it into a 'Fill' section. If enabled, the items in the section will be repeated until the specified duration is filled. PlayIt VoiceTrack will try its best to fit the section to the selected duration.
An item in a section of the template. Possible types of item are:
Track Group: Select a track group as defined in Manage > Track Groups. PlayIt VoiceTrack will select a track from that track group and will ensure that all tracks in that track group are selected before ever selecting that track again.
Track Type: Select a track type as defined on the track Type field.
Track: Select a specific track as defined in Manage > Tracks.
Voice Track: Select a voice track with a specified duration. PlayIt VoiceTrack will generate a voice track placeholder for later recording.
Use the row buttons to clone the selected item, move it up, move it down, or delete it.
Click the cog icon on a section to open the Edit Section window. Here you can rename the section, or check the box to turn it into a 'Fill' section and choose how long it should fill for.
The Edit Section window, where a section is renamed or set to fill a duration.
To play your project in another audio player you need to mixdown the audio to an audio file. Open the Mixdown Audio window from the main window by clicking the Mixdown Audio button or by selecting File → Mixdown Audio... from the menu.
Select the format of the audio mixdown. Choose from MP3 or WAV format. For MP3 you can choose the bit rate and mono/stereo option. Lower bit rates take up less disk space but have a lower audio quality.
Check this box if you want the mixdown file to match the target duration. If your project is short it will be extended to the target duration with silence. If it is too long it will be shortened and faded at the end to the time specified.
Apply dynamic range compression to the mixdown to reduce the difference between the loudest and quietest sounds. Choose a preset from the list or pick Custom to set your own threshold, ratio, attack, release and output gain values.
A cue file (or cue sheet) is a metadata file that describes how the tracks in the mixdown file are positioned. The file can be used by other playout systems, such as PlayIt Live, to display and report the currently playing song within the larger audio file.
The Settings window configures audio devices, default project values, recordings folder, language and other application-wide preferences for PlayIt VoiceTrack.
Open the Settings window from the main window by selecting File > Settings... from the menu.
The Settings window is divided into tabs. This page covers the General tab, which contains the most commonly used settings. The remaining tabs are documented on their own pages:
The recording device used when recording a voice track from the segue editor window. The device chosen here should not record audio that is played back, to avoid music being captured in the voice track recording.
The Segue Settings tab of the Settings window configures the default sweeper segue style and how PlayIt VoiceTrack ducks other players when sweepers or voice tracks are inserted into the playlist.
When a sweeper is added to the playlist, you can automatically reduce (duck) the volume of other players playing at the same time. You can manually choose to duck the volume of other players via the segue editor.
When a voice track is added to the playlist, you can automatically reduce (duck) the volume of other players playing at the same time. You can manually choose to duck the volume of other players via the segue editor.
The Audio Analysis tab of the Settings window configures the cue in and cue out thresholds used when PlayIt VoiceTrack analyzes tracks and voice tracks for silence. These thresholds determine the volume level below which audio is considered silent.
When a track is added to PlayIt VoiceTrack it will be analyzed for cue in and cue out points. Set the cue in and cue out thresholds (in dB) here to an appropriate level of silence which will help segues work more accurately.
When a voice track is recorded its volume is analyzed for cue in and cue out points. Set the cue in and cue out thresholds (in dB) here to an appropriate level of silence which will help ducking and segues work more accurately.
The Web Links tab of the Settings window configures custom web links that appear on the right-click context menu of tracks. Web Links can be used to quickly search the web for an artist or track by right-clicking a track in the track list or in the segue editor.
Display Text - The text displayed on the right-click context menu, e.g. Wikipedia: {artist} would display Wikipedia: ABBA. The {artist} placeholder can be used here so the menu entry reflects the current track.
URL - The URL (web address) opened in the browser. Placeholders for {artist}, {title} and {album} can be used and are automatically replaced with the current track's artist, title and album.
Order - The order in which the links appear on the context menu. This can be changed using the Up/Down buttons.
Administration covers the day-to-day setup tasks for PlayIt VoiceTrack: choosing where your tracks come from, managing the contents of your track library, and viewing your license information.
In this section
Select Data Source Window: Choose whether PlayIt VoiceTrack uses its own database or reads tracks from an existing PlayIt Live installation.
Tracks: Browse, search, edit and import tracks into your library.
Track Groups: Organize tracks into groups for use in playlist templates.
License Information: View license information and activate optional premium modules.
Select Data Source Window
PlayIt VoiceTrack has its own database for storing track and track group data. If you are also a user of PlayIt Live, you can use PlayIt Live's database instead. Tracks and track groups read from PlayIt Live are read-only and cannot be edited from within PlayIt VoiceTrack, but they can be viewed and used in your voice-tracked projects.
Open the Select Data Source window from the main window by selecting File > Select Data Source... from the menu.
Select this option to use the PlayIt VoiceTrack database for managing track and track group data. Tracks can be managed from the Manage Tracks window and track groups can be managed from the Manage Track Groups window.
Select this option to use your PlayIt Live database as the source of tracks and track groups. You can view tracks and track groups from the Manage Tracks and Manage Track Groups windows, but they cannot be edited from within PlayIt VoiceTrack. They must be managed from PlayIt Live. This option is only available when PlayIt Live is installed on the same computer.
Tracks represent audio files that can be imported into PlayIt VoiceTrack. With each track, additional information is stored to assist playback and the host:
Type: The type of the track, which can be used for track group filtering, e.g. Song or Station ID. Type can be selected when creating a playlist template. By default this is set to Inferred, which means the type is determined automatically from the tags, artist, title and duration. See Inferred Type rules below.
Artist: The performer of the track, typically a singer or band.
Title: The name of the track.
Out Cue: The style at which the track ends, for example fade out or sustain.
Album: The album the track appears on.
Genre: The category that identifies the type of music.
Year: The year the track was released.
Tags: A tag is a keyword or term that helps to describe the track. Tags can be used in track group filters.
Comments: A free-text field for any descriptive text about a track. This can be useful for noting where and when the track charted, or for presenter cues.
Sweeper? Whether the track is a sweeper. A sweeper is a track that can be played over the start of the intro of another song. It is typically dry (no background music) so it does not clash with the track it is playing over.
Adjust Tempo: Makes the track faster or slower by up to 10%. The pitch of the track is preserved.
Gain: Makes the track louder or quieter. The value can be set automatically using the Loudness Analysis feature.
Cue In: The position in the track where a player should start playing. This is typically where the silence ends at the start of the track and the audible audio begins.
Intro: The position in the track where the vocals begin. This can be used by the on-air presenter to "hit the vocals".
Cue Out: The position in the track where it is considered to be finished. If a track is fading out, this should be shortly before the end of the fade.
Inferred Type rules
When a track's type is set to Inferred, PlayIt VoiceTrack determines the type automatically using the following rules, in order:
If any of the track's tags match a track type name, that type is used.
Otherwise, if the artist or title field matches a track type name, that type is used.
Otherwise, if the duration is less than 30 seconds, Station ID is inferred.
The Manage Tracks window shows all tracks imported into PlayIt VoiceTrack. Tracks imported into PlayIt VoiceTrack can be used from the Track List on the right-hand side of the main window.
Open the Manage Tracks window from the Manage menu by clicking Tracks....
The Manage Tracks window showing the track library.
Use the Track Group dropdown to filter the track list by a specific track group. The track list will show only tracks that exist in the selected group. Track groups can be managed from Manage > Track Groups.
Click this button to export the current track list to a CSV file. Any active search filter or track group filter is included in the export. This is useful for creating reports or sharing track information with external systems.
Use the search box to filter the track list. When text is entered, the list will show only tracks whose artist, title or other properties contain the entered text. Click the × in the search box to clear the search.
The track list shows the Artist, Title, Intro, Duration and Path of all the tracks in the database. Double-click a track to open the Edit Track window for that track. Changes are not saved until you click Apply or OK.
To delete a track, click the delete icon shown on the row. To delete several tracks at once, select them with Ctrl+A (or hold Ctrl / Shift while clicking) and press Delete. A confirmation prompt will appear before any tracks are removed.
The delete icon is hidden when PlayIt Live is selected as the data source on the Select Data Source window, because tracks managed by PlayIt Live cannot be edited from within PlayIt VoiceTrack.
Click Edit to open the Edit Track window for the selected track. You can also select multiple tracks using Ctrl or Shift and click Edit to bulk-edit their properties.
Save any pending changes without closing the Manage Tracks window.
Edit Track Window
The Edit Track window is used to change the information stored on each track imported into PlayIt VoiceTrack. Open it by selecting a track in the Manage Tracks window and clicking Edit, or by double-clicking a track.
The Edit Track window showing track properties and cue points.
The track type, which can be Song, Station ID, Promo, Commercial, News, Bed or Station ID + Bed. When set to -- Inferred --, the type is determined automatically from the track's tags, artist, title and duration. See Inferred Type rules for details.
Semicolon-separated tags for categorizing the track. Tags can be used in track group filters and to influence Inferred Type rules. Tag information will auto-complete from existing tracks.
When enabled, marks the track as a sweeper. A sweeper is a track that can be played over the start of the intro of another song. It is typically dry (no background music) so it does not clash with the track it is playing over.
The cue point controls let you set the following points for the track:
Cue In: The position in seconds where a player should start playing. This is typically where the silence ends at the start of the track and the audible audio begins.
Intro: The position in seconds where the vocals start on the track. This is counted down by the players on the main window.
Hook Start / Hook End: Define the start and end of a hook, a short highlight segment of the song. Click the Hooks section to expand these cue points. Hooks can be set here, but they are only used by PlayIt Live's hook sequences and are currently ignored by PlayIt VoiceTrack.
Early Out: The position where the track is considered to be almost finished. Click the E. Out section to expand this cue point. Early Out can be used in two scenarios:
For songs, the point marks where a sweeper can be placed as the track is finishing, providing a smoother transition.
For tracks marked as Sweeper, the point marks where the next track can start, allowing the end of the sweeper to play over the intro of the next song.
Cue Out: The position in seconds where the track is considered to have finished.
Each cue point has its own Set, Test and × buttons:
Set: While listening to the track, click Set to capture the current playback position as the cue point value.
Test: Click Test to play the track from the cue point position.
×: Click to reset the cue point to its default position.
Cue points can also be adjusted using the keyboard or mouse. Click on the cue point value of interest, then use the following:
Click Analyze to automatically detect the Cue In and Cue Out points based on the silence at the start and end of the track. The sensitivity of the analysis can be configured from Settings > Audio Analysis.
The waveform shows the volume of the audio track over time. Cue point markers are overlaid on the waveform:
Cue point
Color
Cue In
Gray
Intro
Blue
Hook
Hot pink
Early Out
Orange
Cue Out
Red
Double-click on the waveform to start playing at a different position in the track. Use the Play and Stop buttons to control playback, and the Go to start and Go to end buttons to jump to the start or end of the track. Use the Zoom buttons to zoom in and out of the waveform if you need to set a more precise cue point. You can also zoom with the mouse wheel while hovering over the waveform.
Use the < and > buttons to navigate between the previous and next tracks in the Manage Tracks list without closing the window. Any changes to the current track are saved automatically before moving to the next one. The current position and total track count are shown alongside.
Click Close to discard any unsaved changes and close the window.
Add New Tracks Wizard Window
The Add New Tracks Wizard is designed to streamline the process of adding tracks to PlayIt VoiceTrack. To open it, go to Manage > Tracks... and click the Add New button in the Manage Tracks window.
The first page of the wizard asks you to choose how you would like to add tracks.
The Add New Tracks Wizard showing the source selection options.
Select this option to add all supported audio files from a folder. When you click Next, you will be prompted to choose a folder. All audio files found in the folder (and optionally its sub-folders) will be imported.
Select this option to import track data from a CSV file. When you click Next, you will be prompted to select a CSV file containing track metadata and file paths. See CSV Track Import for details on how to create a CSV file and the full list of supported columns.
To generate a template CSV file, go to Manage > Tracks and export the current list of tracks using the Export track list to CSV button. You can then modify the exported file to import a new set of tracks.
Click the Cancel button to exit the wizard without adding any tracks.
In this section
Additional Options Section: Configure sub-folder scanning, silence analysis and duplicate handling for the import.
Progress Section: Watch the progress as tracks are loaded and analyzed.
Review Section: Check, edit and select which tracks to import.
Group Section: Assign the imported tracks to a track group.
CSV Track Import
PlayIt VoiceTrack can import tracks from a CSV (Comma-Separated Values) file using the Add New Tracks Wizard. This is useful when migrating track metadata from another playout system, a music scheduling tool, or a spreadsheet.
Before You Start
The CSV importer expects data in a specific format. If you are exporting from another system, you will almost certainly need to convert and reformat the data before it can be imported into PlayIt VoiceTrack. This requires some manual effort and familiarity with spreadsheet tools such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets.
In particular, all duration and cue point values must be in decimal seconds. Formats like 3:45 or 0:08.5 are not accepted because they are ambiguous (they could represent minutes:seconds or hours:minutes). You will need to convert these values yourself before importing. See Value Formats below for details.
The best approach is to export a few tracks from PlayIt VoiceTrack first using the CSV export in Manage Tracks. This gives you a template showing the exact column names and value formats that the importer expects.
Creating a CSV File
The CSV file must have a header row with column names, followed by one row per track. You can create the file in any spreadsheet application and export it as CSV, or write it in a text editor.
Minimal Example
At minimum, each track needs a file path and a duration:
Path,Artist,Title,DurationC:\Music\Katrina and the Waves - Walking on Sunshine.mp3,Katrina and the Waves,Walking on Sunshine,239C:\Music\Journey - Don't Stop Believin'.mp3,Journey,Don't Stop Believin',250.5C:\Music\Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody.mp3,Queen,Bohemian Rhapsody,354
Full Example
A more complete CSV file with timing and metadata columns:
Path,Artist,Title,Duration,Intro,Cue In,Cue Out,Genre,Year,TypeC:\Music\Walking on Sunshine.mp3,Katrina and the Waves,Walking on Sunshine,239,8.5,0,228,Pop,1985,SongC:\Music\Bohemian Rhapsody.mp3,Queen,Bohemian Rhapsody,354,15,0,340,Rock,1975,Song
Value Formats
Every column has a specific value format. Using the wrong format will cause the row to be skipped during import.
Decimal Seconds
All duration and cue point columns must be in decimal seconds using a dot (.) as the decimal separator.
Correct
Incorrect
239
3:59
8.5
0:08.5
228.75
3:48.75
0
0:00
If your source data uses minutes:seconds format, you will need to convert it. In a spreadsheet, you can use a formula such as =MINUTE(A1)*60+SECOND(A1) to convert a time value in cell A1 to total seconds.
Text
Text values (Artist, Title, Album, etc.) are plain strings. If a value contains a comma, the entire value must be enclosed in double quotes in the CSV file. Most spreadsheet applications handle this automatically when exporting to CSV.
Boolean
Boolean columns (No Fade, Sweeper, Disabled, Gain Set Manually?) accept true or false (case-insensitive). If the column is missing or empty, the value defaults to false.
Date
Date columns (Valid From, Expires) accept standard date formats such as 2026-01-15. The time portion is ignored.
Decimal
Decimal columns (Gain DB, Loudness Target LUFS, Tempo Adjust Percentage) use a dot (.) as the decimal separator. For example, -3.5 for a gain reduction of 3.5 dB.
Column Reference
Required Columns
Only the Path and Duration columns are needed for a valid import. All other columns are optional. If a column is missing from the header, the field is left empty or set to its default value.
Column
Format
Description
Path
Text
The full file path to the audio file on disk. Used for playback and duplicate detection.
Duration or Duration (seconds)
Decimal seconds
The total duration of the track (e.g. 239 or 228.5).
Track Information
Column
Format
Description
Artist
Text
The artist or performer name.
Title
Text
The track title.
Album
Text
The album name.
Genre
Text
The genre (e.g. Pop, Rock, Jazz).
Year
Text
The release year.
Type
Text
The track type. Must be one of the type identifiers listed below, or left empty.
The out cue text (e.g. "and don't it feel good!").
ISRC
Text
The International Standard Recording Code.
Record Label
Text
The record label name.
Track ID
Text
A custom track identifier.
Track Type Values
The Type column must use one of the following values exactly as shown below.
Value
Description
Song
A music track.
Station ID
A station identification jingle.
Promo
A promotional announcement.
Commercial
A commercial or advert.
News
A news bulletin or clip.
Bed
A background music bed.
Station ID + Bed
A combined station ID with a background bed.
If the Type column is left empty, the type will be inferred automatically.
Cue Points and Timing
Column
Format
Default
Description
Intro
Decimal seconds
0
The intro duration. The point at which vocals or the main content begins.
Cue In
Decimal seconds
0
The cue in point. Playback starts from this point.
Cue Out
Decimal seconds
Same as Duration
The cue out point. The track is considered to have finished at this point.
Early Out
Decimal seconds
Not set
The early out point. Marks where the track is almost finished.
Hook Start
Decimal seconds
Not set
The start of the track's hook section. Hooks are only used by PlayIt Live and are ignored by PlayIt VoiceTrack.
Hook End
Decimal seconds
Not set
The end of the track's hook section. Hooks are only used by PlayIt Live and are ignored by PlayIt VoiceTrack.
Playback Control
Column
Format
Default
Description
No Fade
Boolean
false
Set to true to disable the fade-out at the end of the track.
Sweeper
Boolean
false
Set to true to mark the track as a sweeper or jingle.
Disabled
Boolean
false
Set to true to disable the track from being scheduled or played.
Valid From
Date
Not set
The date from which the track becomes available (e.g. 2026-01-15).
Expires
Date
Not set
The date after which the track is no longer available.
Audio Processing
Column
Format
Default
Description
Gain DB
Decimal
Not set
Audio gain adjustment in decibels (e.g. -3.5).
Gain Set Manually?
Boolean
false
Set to true if the gain value was manually configured rather than auto-detected.
Loudness Target LUFS
Decimal
Not set
The loudness normalization target in LUFS.
Tempo Adjust Percentage
Decimal
Not set
Percentage adjustment to the playback tempo.
Error Handling
If a row contains a malformed value (e.g. text in a numeric column), that row is skipped and the error is logged. The rest of the import continues.
Columns can appear in any order in the CSV file.
Extra columns not recognized by PlayIt VoiceTrack are ignored.
If a value contains a comma, enclose it in double quotes (e.g. "Earth, Wind & Fire").
Additional Options Section
After selecting your source on the first page of the Add New Tracks Wizard, the Additional Options page lets you configure how the import will be processed.
The Add New Tracks Wizard showing the additional options for a folder import.
Displays a summary of the source you selected on the previous page. For a folder import, this shows the folder path. For individual files, it shows the number of files selected.
When importing from a folder, check this option to also scan all sub-folders within the selected folder for audio files. This option is only available when importing from a folder.
When checked, PlayIt VoiceTrack will analyze the silence at the start and end of each track and automatically set appropriate Cue In and Cue Out points. This is recommended for most imports. The parameters for the silence analysis can be configured from Settings > Audio Analysis.
Controls what happens when an imported track has the same file path as an existing track in your library. This section is only available when your library already contains tracks.
Replace any tracks with the same file path: If a file is found that has the same path as a track in the system, it will be overwritten by the new track file.
Skip any tracks with the same file path: If a file is found that has the same path as a track in the system, it will be ignored and will not change the existing track already added to PlayIt VoiceTrack.
Duplicate any tracks with the same file path: If a file is found that has the same path as a track in the system, it will be added again, resulting in two instances of the same track in the system.
Progress Section
After configuring your additional options, the wizard begins importing your tracks. The Progress section shows the status of each file as it is loaded and processed.
The Add New Tracks Wizard showing an import in progress.
Shows the artist and title of the track currently being processed, as read from the embedded tag information within the file. If this information is missing, the artist and title are determined from the filename in the format Artist - Title.ext where ext is the file extension.
A progress bar showing the overall completion of the import, along with text indicating how many tracks have been processed out of the total. If any files were ignored because they are not valid audio files, the count of ignored files is also displayed.
Review Section
After the import progress completes, the wizard moves to the Review section. Here you can choose which tracks to include in the import and review or edit each track's metadata before it is saved to your library.
The Add New Tracks Wizard review page with a track selected for editing.
Displays all the tracks discovered during the import, listed alphabetically by artist and title. Each track has a checkbox that controls whether it will be included when you complete the wizard. Click a track to select it and view its details in the track editor panel.
Each track in the list has a checkbox. Uncheck a track to exclude it from the import. Only checked tracks will be added to your library when you complete the wizard. This is useful if some of the discovered files are not tracks you want in your library.
When you select a track from the list, the track editor panel appears on the right side. This shows the track's metadata as read from the file's tags, including artist, title, album, genre, year, cue points and the waveform. You can edit any of these values before the track is imported. See Edit Track Window for full details on the editor and its cue point controls.
Group Section
After reviewing your tracks, the final section of the wizard is the Group section. Here you can add the imported tracks to an existing track group, create a new group for them, or leave them in the All Tracks group. Click Finish to add the tracks to your library.
The Add New Tracks Wizard group assignment options.
Select this option to leave the imported tracks without assigning them to a particular track group. The tracks will still appear in the All Tracks group.
Click the Finish button to complete the wizard and add the tracks to your library.
Track Groups
As the name suggests, Track Groups are used to group tracks by certain criteria. There are three types of track group:
Listed: Manually select a list of tracks to add to the group.
Filtered: Select a set of filters to dynamically select tracks based on information stored on the track.
Grouped: Combine multiple track groups into one track group.
Track groups are used on the main interface to filter tracks in the track list. They are also referenced from playlist templates to drive how a voice-tracked playlist is built.
When PlayIt VoiceTrack is connected to PlayIt Live as its data source, track groups are read from the connected PlayIt Live system and cannot be created, edited, or deleted from within PlayIt VoiceTrack itself.
Manage Track Groups Window
The Manage Track Groups window lists all the track groups in the system. Open it from the Manage menu by clicking Track Groups....
The Add New and Delete buttons are only available when PlayIt VoiceTrack is using its own local database. When PlayIt VoiceTrack is connected to PlayIt Live as a data source, track groups are managed in PlayIt Live and these buttons are hidden.
The Manage Track Groups window showing a list of track groups with their types and track counts.
Click Add New to begin adding a new track group. This opens the Choose Track Group Type window. This button is not shown when using PlayIt Live as a data source.
List of tracks not already in the track group. You can right-click a track in the track list to show additional options, including the ability to preview the audio to hear what the track sounds like.
List of tracks in the track group. You can right-click a track in the track list to show additional options, including the ability to preview the audio.
Check the Color box to show a color for any tracks in this track group when they are displayed on the playout log in the main interface. Click in the color box to change the color.
Check the Icon box to show an icon for any tracks in this track group when they are displayed on the playout log in the main interface. Click in the icon box to change the icon, and the Select Icon window will be shown.
The priority is used to determine which track group is used when displaying a track on the playout log in the main interface that appears in multiple track groups. The track group with the highest priority will be used when displaying the color or icon.
Click Cancel to discard changes to the track group.
Select Icon window
When you click the icon box, the Select Icon window is shown. Choose an icon and click OK to assign it to the track group.
The Select Icon window showing the available track group icons.
Edit Filtered Track Group Window
The Edit Filtered Track Group window allows you to create dynamic track groups using filters. For example, you can filter tracks by year to create a "1980s" track group that includes all tracks with a year between 1980 and 1990.
The Edit Filtered Track Group window showing filter conditions and the matching tracks.
The filter builder lets you define one or more conditions that tracks must match to be included in the group.
Each filter row contains:
Field Selector -- choose the track property to filter on, such as Artist, Title, Genre, Year, or Type.
Operation Selector -- choose how the field value is compared, such as Equals, Contains, Starts With, Ends With, or Is Empty.
Filter Value -- enter the value to compare against.
When you have more than one filter row:
And / Or Selector -- choose how to combine the conditions. And requires tracks to match both conditions. Or requires tracks to match either condition.
Open / Close Parentheses -- use parentheses to group conditions and control the order of evaluation. Use the up and down arrows to add or remove parentheses.
Use the Add button to add a new filter condition and the Remove button to delete the selected condition.
Click the Add button to add a new filter condition. Once you have more than one filter row, a Remove button (a minus icon) appears next to each row that you can click to remove that filter condition.
If this checkbox is checked, the tracks in this group will be the inverse of the selected groups. That is, this track group will include only tracks that do not appear in the selected track groups.
Click Cancel to discard changes to this track group.
License Information
The License Information window shows your current license information. Until you activate a license, the Voice Tracking module is listed as not licensed, which means PlayIt VoiceTrack runs in demo mode. Use the link to purchase a license. To update your license, click the link and continue as per these instructions.
The License Information window showing the Voice Tracking module as not licensed, before a license has been activated.
When you have a valid license this will be displayed on this window. If you have recently purchased a license and are logged in, click the Refresh License link to fetch the latest license from the server. While you are logged in, the software will periodically check for the latest license to ensure you are up to date.
Loudness Analysis
PlayIt VoiceTrack can analyze your tracks, calculate an offset gain, and store this for each track in your database. When a track is played, this gain will be applied. This ensures each track has the same loudness when played.
The ITU-R BS.1770 algorithm is used to measure loudness. This is commonly known as LUFS normalization.
To begin Loudness Analysis, select a Target Loudness (default -16 LUFS) and click Start Loudness Analysis.
PlayIt VoiceTrack will run Loudness Analysis in the background as it processes each track. Due to the complexity of the algorithm, it can take several hours to process all the tracks. This only needs to be done once. Leave PlayIt VoiceTrack running so it is able to process the tracks in the background. Any new tracks that are added will be automatically processed in the background.
If your selected Data Source is the PlayIt Live database, Loudness Analysis must be run within PlayIt Live itself.
About PlayIt VoiceTrack
The About window displays the current version of PlayIt VoiceTrack and checks whether a newer version is available. Open it from the main window by going to Help > About PlayIt VoiceTrack.
Indicates whether the installed version is up to date. When a newer version of PlayIt VoiceTrack is available you will be notified here with a link to download the latest version.
