We are pleased to announce the release of SAM Broadcaster 2013. It has been a while in the making, but it is finally ready and we are happy to announce it is now available to download. We would like to once again thank everyone who pre-ordered SAM Broadcaster 2013. If you have any questions or comments, please contact us here. In this post we would like to answer some of the questions we expect to receive regarding SAM Broadcaster 2013.

How do I buy SAM Broadcaster 2013?

If you own a previous version of SAM Broadcaster, please visit the user zone and upgrade directly from there.

If you have never owned a copy of SAM Broadcaster, you can purchase by visiting:

http://spacial.com/sam-broadcaster

I have already pre-ordered SAM Broadcaster 2013, how do I download it?

You can download it by visiting your user zone and clicking the “convert to 2013″ button which will instantly upgrade your license key and give you access to SAM Broadcaster 2013.

What new features are available in SAM Broadcaster 2013?

This first release has made SAM Broadcaster 2013 compatible with Windows 8, but we have many exciting features (including web integration with SAM VIBE) planned for the start of 2013. Watch this space!

I purchased SAM Broadcaster v4 recently, do I get SAM Broadcaster 2013 for free?

Possibly. If you purchased SAM Broadcaster 2013 on or after September 1 2012, you are entitled to SAM Broadcaster 2013. To access SAM Broadcaster 2013, log into your user zone and click the ‘convert to 2013′ button.

Why does your website still show SAM Broadcaster version v.4.9.8 on the sales page?

SAM Broadcaster 2013 will be available to purchase directly from the website in early January (you are still able to purchase v4 and get an immediate free upgrade to 2013 in your user zone at the current time).

If I activate the license for SAM 2013 will I be able to use the old version?

No, as you purchased an upgrade to SAM Broadcaster 4.x and not an additional license

When do I get access to the SAM Vibe account that came with the pre-order?

It is planned for early 2013.

When will SAM Cast 2013 and SAM DJ 2013 be released?

Today! SAM Cast 2013 and SAM DJ 2013 are available now. If you have already purchased, you can access them here.

If you own a previous version of the software and you wish to purchase, please log into your user zone and click the ‘upgrade’ button.

Otherwise you can purchase SAM DJ by visiting this page or SAM Cast by visiting this page.

Anil,
Spacial.com

When we asked customers what they thought of Spacial there were generally three comments:

   1. Great software
   2. Lousy support
   3. No Documentation

We took this on board and decided to make some changes…

With the launch of SAM 2013 as well as the launch of our new cloud broadcasting solution SAM VIBE, we realized
we needed to make some changes, we needed to implement a better, and more efficient support system and we
needed to provide much improved product documentation.

We have also been working hard to produce better product documentation…

SAM VIBE was the first to receive a documentation overhaul and the first of these documents are available to
download here:

SAM VIBE User Manual
http://supportdocs.spacial.com/SAM+VIBE/SAM+VIBE+User+Manual.pdf

SAM VIBE Scheduling
http://supportdocs.spacial.com/SAM+VIBE/SAM+VIBE+Scheduling.pdf

The separate support portals also provide a product specific and ever-expanding knowledgebase which includes sections for Tips and Tricks, documentation and FAQs. This also gives us the opportunity to turn any repeat support request into a support document with a couple of clicks which reduces the time taken to resolve a customers’ problem.

With the implementation of the new helpdesk system, we set ourselves the task of responding to every new ticket within 4 hours during business hours and as you can see from the report, we have exceeded this and responded to most tickets within 2 hours (where you only see a single line on the report, this is where we responded to all tickets within 2 hours):

As we move forward into 2013, we accept we still have some way to go to provide the support service and the level of documentation we want to see but we have already received positive comments since we began the implementation of our changes and we are working hard to further improve the level of customer support and documentation.

Mathew,
Operations Lead,
Spacial.com

We would like to thank all our customers who have already pre-ordered SAM Broadcaster 2013. It is great to know so many of our clients are excited about the next release. There are however many customers with some questions about how the new licensing model will work and also what features to expect in SAM Broadcaster 2013.

In today’s blog post we will focus on the new licensing model and soon to follow we will have another blog post with some sneak peak information on what to expect in SAM Broadcaster 2013.

Should I wait to buy SAM Broadcaster v4 since SAM Broadcaster 2013 is around the corner?

Please note that if you purchased SAM Broadcaster v4.x after 1 September 2012 you will automatically be upgraded to SAM Broadcaster 2013 and also get a free SAM VIBE integration account for 12 months. So there is no reason to delay your purchase as you automatically get all the extra services at no extra cost!

SAM Broadcaster 2013 pre-order information

We extended the current special pre-order pricing until 15 November 2012. We highly recommend you take advantage of it. Remember the pre-order includes both software updates for 12 months (starting 1 Jan 2013) as well as a SAM VIBE integration subscription. To purchase the pre-order, log into the http://spacial.com user zone and use the purchase links located there. This is only for existing SAM Broadcaster customers that purchased SAM Broadcaster before 1 September 2012.

New subscription model: The basics

You will be able to purchase SAM Broadcaster 2013 at the normal retail price ($199 for PLUS, $299 for PRO and $699 for STUDIO).

This purchase will include 12 months of software updates, 30 days phone support and 3 remote support sessions.

During the checkout process the customer can optionally sign up for the yearly SAM VIBE integration subscription at $59 for the first year.

The SAM VIBE subscription gives you access to:

• All minor and major software updates during the subscription term.
• Included with the subscription is a 1GB SAM VIBE Standard account. (You can optionally upgrade this account to 100GB with multiple stations and more listener capacity at any later time)
• Ability to 1-way sync your media library metadata from SAM Broadcaster to the SAM VIBE cloud. This will enable the following cut and paste web widgets:
  • Now playing widget
  • Now playing + recently played widget
  • Browse library widget
  • Ability for visitors to browse library and make automated requests (Without the need for complicated firewall and router setups!)
  • Player widget
• And many other exciting features – some of which will be announced in our next blog post.

Fine print

• Initial software purchase includes 12 months of software updates. After that you need to sign up for the yearly software updates subscription in order to receive further updates.
• If you choose not sign up or renew your software updates subscription, then SAM Broadcaster will continue to work… but you will not be able to upgrade the software or have access to bug fixes.
• If you decide at a later date you wish to sign up for a new subscription to get new updates then the price for the updates subscription would be 50% more than the normal renewal price.
• Please note the SAM VIBE integration subscription also includes software updates. So if you choose this optional add-on subscription, renewing it will also renew your software updates for the next term.

Why the new subscription licensing model makes sense:

1. The subscription model allows us to release new features immediately!

Part of the reason why we are still on v4.x major branch is because traditionally we wanted to
add a super-duper major feature before we ask for an upgrade fee.

However, this was actually a very bad thing as it often meant we would “bench” some feature requests for a major update – which ultimately meant a lot of those just never got implemented! With the subscription model we can immediately implement any feature – whether it’s major or minor – as there is no reason to delay it. In fact, the quicker we can release the better.

2. Subscriptions are standard

We buy a lot of software to aid in our development process. So far this year every bit of software or service we bought was on subscription basis. The model generally is a win-win for a long term mutually beneficial relationship.

3. Pyramid scheme / Ponzi scheme

The old system really meant that new users were subsidizing development for existing users. The yearly subscription model is fairer as all active users contribute to the features and improvements of the product. Considering the great response we received from our clients so far in regard to pre-orders it is clear that people understand the positives and are excited about the future of SAM Broadcaster and SAM VIBE.

4. SAM Broadcaster 2013 is not just about bug fixes!

It’s about new features (yes, sometimes long overdue) … but also bundled services. SAM VIBE integration will become more and more interesting to existing SAM Broadcaster users. Unfortunately we can not disclose the full roadmap yet, but watch this space! You get all these services for less than $10 a month ($5 on pre-order!)

We are trying to really offer a lot of extra value with the subscription…

5. DJ seats

Lets answer a few quick questions:

Q: Will you offer DJ seat licenses with SAM Broadcaster 2013?

A: Yes. Although it will operate differently than today. (See below)

Q: So how will DJ seats work?

A: We will try to address some of the pain points experienced with DJ seats today.

• Station owners will be able to assign and revoke DJ seats in real-time.
• DJ seats will be tied to the master station and will only be able to broadcast to master station.
• Pricing is not yet finalized – but will be a lot less expensive than buying a full SAM Broadcaster license.

Q: Can I also upgrade my SAM Broadcaster v4 DJ seat licenses to 2013?

A: No. Just like you could not upgrade DJ seat licenses from SAM Broadcaster v3 to v4.

Q: Is there any special pre-order deals for DJ seat owners?

A: Yes. You can turn any DJ seat into a FULL license key using our amazingly great pre-order special. Contact support for more details. (Act fast! Offer ends on 15 November 2012!)

6. This is just too expensive for me!? What can be done?

We realize that for many broadcasting is a hobby and there is little revenue generated to fund it. As a broadcaster you have a few options to consider:

1. Stick with v4 until you can justify upgrading. (DJ seats will also continue to work)
2. Buy pre-order today! You can at least be sure you will receive updates and services till end of 2013. Then you can make the call if you wish to renew your subscription or not… (We extended the special offer and you can get the pre-order at $69 until 15 November 2012.)
3. Sign up at CheapestStream.com and get SAM Broadcaster LITE for free. No subscription required – your stream hosting is your subscription.
4. Switch to SAM VIBE. Depending on the storage size you need, SAM VIBE could be a more cost effective way to broadcast.

Once again we appreciate the overwhelming positive response we got with our pre-order offer. In the next blog post we will delve into some of the early specifics of what you can expect with the SAM VIBE integration of SAM Broadcaster 2013.

Louis
CTO and Co-founder
Spacial.com

Spacial Debuts Accessible Radio Broadcasting Software to Let Blind and Visually Impaired Create Internet Radio Stations.

(Sherman Oaks, Calif.) October 9—Spacial, an award-winning maker of radio automation software, launched SAM VIBE, a powerful Internet radio broadcasting application that’s fully accessible to users who are blind or visually impaired.

SAM VIBE lets broadcasters produce their own cloud Internet radio programs, whether it’s news, sports, talk, or various genres of music. The software gives users the ability to upload and manage large music libraries, control scheduling and automate many aspects of program production.

Spacial created SAM VIBE to especially appeal to broadcasters who are blind or visually impaired. The software is fully compatible with text-to-speech screen readers, and can be operated using a computer keyboard instead of mouse. Additionally, the color scheme is color-blind friendly and optimized for contrast, with large fonts to make reading text easier.

Spacial created SAM Vibe to especially appeal to broadcasters who are blind or visually impaired. The software is fully compatible with text-to-speech screen readers, and can be operated using a computer keyboard instead of mouse. Additionally, the color scheme is color-blind friendly and optimized for contrast, with large fonts to make reading text easier.

“Lots of people want to be DJs but most radio broadcasting software is too complex for the average user and not designed to be accessible for people who are blind or visually impaired,” says Pascal Laflamme, Managing Director of Spacial. “SAM VIBE has an easy and fully accessible interface to allow broadcasters with or without vision to create their own commercial-quality radio stations right from their PCs.”

“As a media professional who is blind, I have expertise with many types of radio broadcasting software and believe SAM VIBE is a great solution for those new to Internet broadcasting,” says Erin Edgar, who co-founded the Tech Access Weekly podcast covering accessible technology for the blind and visually impaired with her husband, Rodney. Tech Access Weekly created an audio review of SAM VIBE’s features for low-vision and screen reader users, which can be found on the SAM VIBE website.

SAM VIBE also makes it easy for kids to explore the craft of radio programming, and it’s in use at the broadcast studio operated by SLB Radio Productions, Inc. at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. “With SAM VIBE, we now have an easy and intuitive way to teach kids to create and control their own broadcasts, whether for fun or career discovery,” says Larry Berger, founder and executive director of SLB Radio. 

SLB Radio is also evaluating SAM VIBE to manage iQ Kids Radio, its new 24/7 service launching with WQED in Pittsburgh in 2013. “Eight years ago we chose SAM Broadcaster for our studios and it has exceeded our high expectations.  We’re confident that SAM VIBE will also play an important role as we develop new forms of youth-based programming,” Berger adds.

About Spacial

Since 1999, Spacial has been developing quality audio software. In 2002, it launched SAM Broadcaster, its renowned radio automation software that allows broadcasters to stream their radio stations online. The company has also created DJ software called SAM Party DJ (now SAM DJ) and the SimpleCast live audio event streaming encoder (now SAM Cast). Spacial is utterly focused on the technology of its products, making for sophisticated software that lets you broadcast at an advanced level. For more information visit http://www.spacial.com.

First of all, thank you very much for a nearly unanimous positive welcome for SAM VIBE! We’ve been working really hard for more than a year with the dedicated efforts of nearly 10 developers to bring what we think is the easiest yet most powerful radio automation application available in the cloud.

On top of being incredibly easy for beginners, it’s also the only broadcasting software that was envisaged from its inception to be visual-friendly, accessible and compatible with screen readers. Since the launch, we have received comments like, “For first time online radio station starters without sight, SAM VIBE offers an accessible and well-designed learning experience.” and “It was only 11 minutes later that my first ‘radio jingle’ was playing to the world!”. These quotes are pure joy for a team that worked incredibly hard to make SAM VIBE a reality.

The most popular questions we have received during the last few days:

Q: Will SAM VIBE replace SAM Broadcaster?

A: NO! SAM VIBE caters to needs that SAM Broadcaster is not fulfilling.

1- It’s easy!

One broadcaster reported starting his radio station in 11 minutes, from sign up to streaming! Can you beat that?

2- It’s robust!

Totally in the cloud, which means you don’t have to worry about your PC performance and reliability of your internet connection. Once you have scheduled your station, just turn off your computer and SAM VIBE cloud takes care of the rest.

3- It’s visually impaired friendly!

Radio broadcasting is a very popular hobby for blind and visually impaired people. We want to bring this hobby to another level by simplifying everything. We want all ages, from children to the elderly to take up broadcasting, we want schools for the blind to use SAM VIBE and teach students how to manage a radio station. A lot of sighted people can’t even use radio automation tools… imagine when you are blind!

Q: Can we do live shows with SAM VIBE?

A: With SAM VIBE, you can’t talk live. You need to upload content to the cloud (it then needs to be transcoded and optimized by SAM VIBE) before you can stream it. It’s true that more and more professional radio stations are using voice-tracking to do their “live” shows (especially at night and weekends), but we know the difference is easy to feel. The best of both worlds would be using SAM Broadcaster to broadcast live and SAM VIBE to automate your station the rest of the broadcast. That will be possible with SAM Broadcaster 2013. More will be announced soon!

Q: Is SAM VIBE just another Auto DJ?

A: Oh, SAM, please don’t cry… I’ll explain to them.

SAM VIBE comes with numerous radio automation features that you will never find, even with a “advanced” Auto DJ. Playblocks, separation rules, tasks, event scheduling, and many more which means you have total control over what you play. Music library management is simply powerful and SAM VIBE can easily handle more than 50,000 tracks. On top of that, the same music library can be use to manage 100+ stations!! What a relief for station managers. SAM VIBE will soon share new DJ features with SAM Broadcaster (more to be announced soon). That means your DJs can manage a single or multiple stations, and you could even limit their access to certain specified schedules. The web widgets (now playing, last played songs, song requests, etc.) can be implemented easily by pasting a few lines of HTML code on your website. Who said Auto DJ?

Q: What about that green color? That’s not a usual color for broadcasters…

A: The colors, the display, the font size,… nothing was done to please “experienced broadcasters”!

Our objective was to make SAM VIBE as accessible as possible. That particular green color provides a great contrast for color blind users. Large fonts and an uncomplicated interface makes it friendly for both visually impaired and novice broadcasters. It’s even completely compatible with major screen readers, so blind users can manage SAM VIBE with only a computer and a keyboard. No monitor, no mouse!! Give it a try!

But don’t worry, if you are looking for a more “professional” user interface, it’s already in our plans.

Q: Can SAM VIBE stream to my current streaming server?

A: No. Currently, SAM VIBE can only stream through our proprietary streaming platform, one of the biggest and most stable on the planet. Why? Because we want SAM VIBE to be rock solid before opening it up to other streaming platforms. Then, we will know it’s not our fault if your service goes down! If things go well, SAM VIBE should be able to stream to any Shoutcast server by the beginning of 2013.

Try it out

So, have you tested SAM VIBE yet? What are you waiting for, it’s free! Sign up at http://samvibe.com and see for yourself how easy broadcasting can be!

For those of you who are wondering how SAM VIBE and SAM Broadcaster 2013 will work together, that will be revealed as soon as we will launch SAM Broadcaster 2013 in a few weeks.

This blog post is the first of what we want to be a series of regular communication between us and our large community of users. Louis Louw, our CTO and co-founder is preparing the next one, SAM Broadcaster 2013 – Sneak Peeks. Until then, stay tuned!

Pascal
Managing Director
Spacial.com

During the term of your subscription, you will receive all software updates and access to priority email support. You have the option to opt-out of the subscription – but you will then not receive any further updates or bug fixes.

Special offer for our loyal clients

We really appreciate the support we have enjoyed from our loyal customers over the years. We are pleased to see how many active clients we have that go as far back as 1999!

We would like to reward our customer loyalty by giving all existing clients, the opportunity to pre-order the SAM DJ 2013 upgrade and 12 month subscription and save over 40%!

Pre-order before October 31st 2012 and pay only $29 (save $20 off the regular price of $49)

New and recent clients

Any client who makes a purchase from 1 September 2012 will receive a free SAM DJ 2013 subscription once it is released. You have nothing to do and will automatically receive your invitation to the free upgrade as soon as SAM DJ 2013 is released.

We will keep you aware of the forthcoming developments and are working hard to make sure everybody who pre-ordered their SAM DJ 2013 subscription receives their Windows 8 compatible version on or before November 15th 2012 (remember that you will benefit from all updates until December 31st 2013, so jump on that opportunity now!)

Should you have any questions or comments, please contact our support team.

During the term of your subscription, you will receive all software updates and access to priority email support. You have the option to opt-out of the subscription – but you will then not receive any further updates or bug fixes.

Special offer for our loyal clients

We really appreciate the support we have enjoyed from our loyal customers over the years. We are pleased to see how many active clients we have that go as far back as 1999!

We would like to reward our customer loyalty by giving all existing clients, the opportunity to pre-order the SAM Cast 2013 upgrade and 12 month subscription and save over 40%!

Pre-order before October 31st 2012 and pay only $29 (save $20 off the regular price of $49)

New and recent clients

Any client who makes a purchase from 1 September 2012 will receive a free SAM Cast 2013 subscription once it is released. You have nothing to do and will automatically receive your invitation to the free upgrade as soon as SAM Cast 2013 is released.

We will keep you aware of the forthcoming developments and are working hard to make sure everybody who pre-ordered their SAM Cast 2013 subscription receives their Windows 8 compatible version on or before November 15th 2012 (remember that you will benefit from all updates until December 31st 2013, so jump on that opportunity now!)

Should you have any questions or comments, please contact our support team.

SAM Broadcaster 2013

We are pleased to announce the launch of SAM Broadcaster 2013. It will be released in January 2013 and will be compatible with Windows 8. Every SAM Broadcaster 2013 license purchases will include many value added services and free software updates for a period of 12 months. After that 12 month period, a yearly subscription will be required in order to receive software updates and services.

Since you are a current SAM Broadcaster v4 license owner, you are entitled to the same benefits by upgrading your license through a yearly subscription to the new SAM Broadcaster 2013.

Here are some of the services that will be included with your SAM Broadcaster 2013 subscription:

• All updates, bug fixes and new features during your 12 month subscription term.
• Free SAM VIBE account, our soon to be launched cloud broadcasting solution (1Gb of storage and 10 concurrent listeners streaming package worth $100 per year!).
• Ability to 1-way sync your media library metadata from SAM Broadcaster to the SAM VIBE cloud. This will enable the following cut and paste web widgets:
  • Now playing widget
  • Now playing + recently played widget
  • Browse library widget
  • Ability for visitors to browse library and make automated requests (Without the need for complicated firewall and router setups!)
  • Player widget
• And many other exciting features that will be announced at a later stage (we have more surprises planned!).

During the term of your subscription, you will receive all software updates and associated services. You have the option to opt-out of the subscription – but you will then not receive any further updates or bug fixes, nor have access to the services provided to our subscribers.

Special offer for our loyal clients

We really appreciate the support we have enjoyed from our loyal customers over the years. We are pleased to see how many active clients we have that go as far back as 1999!

We would like to reward our customer loyalty by giving all existing clients the opportunity to pre-order the SAM Broadcaster 2013 upgrade including a 12 month subscription and save over 50%!

Pre-order before September 30th 2012 and pay only $49 (save $50 off the regular price of $99)

Click here to visit your Spacial user zone and pre-order your SAM Broadcaster 2013 today!

New or recent clients

Any client who makes a purchase from September 1st 2012 will receive a free SAM Broadcaster 2013 subscription once it is released. You do not have to do anything to get this and will automatically receive your invitation to the free upgrade as soon as SAM Broadcaster 2013 is released.

We will keep you aware of the forthcoming developments and we are working hard to make sure everybody who pre-ordered SAM Broadcaster 2013 subscription gets their Windows 8 compatible version on or before November 15th 2012 (remember that you will benefit from all updates until December 31st 2013, so jump on this opportunity now!)

Should you have any questions or comments, please contact our support team.

PS – be sure to pre-order before September 30th 2012 to save $50. Here’s the link: Click here to visit the Spacial user zone

How to start multiple instances of SAM Broadcaster and SAM Cast.

Note: The following documentation is for SAM Broadcaster, but the same method can be applied for SAM Cast by browsing to SAMCast.exe instead. You cannot just copy SAMBC.exe into a folder, you must use the installer; otherwise the application will not work correctly. (Application will exit and/or have audio problems)

On your desktop, right click and select “New => Shortcut” from the context menu.

In the shortcut wizard select the browse button and browse to the SAMBC.exe file in your SAM Broadcaster installation.

Typically this would be under “C:\Program Files (x86)\SpacialAudio\SAMBC\SAMBC.exe”.

In the textbox showing this path on the wizard now add the text: /INSTANCE=SAM123

Using SAM123 is unique name for this shortcut.

If you create another shortcut and give it another name then it will start a different instance of SAM and this way you would be able to launch multiple instances of SAM. For example adding – /INSTANCE=SAMRadio1 to another shortcut will launch a separate instance of SAM.

Tip: For the name do not use any spaces and stick to “Alphanumerical” characters (i.e. A-Z and 0-9)

The full text in the location textbox will then look something like this:
“C:\Program Files (x86)\SpacialAudio\SAMBC\SAMBC.exe” /INSTANCE=SAMRadio1

Click on “NEXT”, select a name for the shortcut (like SAM123).

Click finish and you are set.

Repeat this process with different names for /INSTANCE=SAMRadi1 parameter for each of the different instances you want to launch.

To shutdown all instances the application could run with the /SHUTDOWNALL flag.

Player.Fade To Next Custom(fade Level, duration)

This method fade to the next item in queue and acquire as parameters fadeLevel which is a value between 0 and 100, where 0 is muted and 100 is the maximum duration which is measured in milliseconds.

Player.Fade To Volume(volume Level, duration)

This method fade to a volume level provided by volumeLevel, to do so in a duration specified by duration, which is measured in milliseconds.

Queue.Refresh

This refreshes the queue from the database. This is useful for when the database is altered by a third party application.

For any information regarding these updates, please contact our Support Team

To set up SpacialNet statistic relays, open SAM Broadcaster and follow these steps:

• Click on “Desktop B” in the toolbar.
• In the “Statistics” window, click the plus sign (+) to add a new relay.
• Select “SpacialNet Relay” from the list.
• Click “OK.”

The “SpacialNet Relay” window will appear.

• In the “Service” tab, enter your SpacialNet username and password.
• Click “Login” and select a streaming service.
• To select the “Color on graph,” click on the color box, and a color selection window will appear. In it, select the color you want to use to represent this particular statistic on your relays graph.
• We recommend leaving “Private statistic relay” unchecked, since “Public” relays get listed on AudioRealm.com.
• Click “OK.”