How do I set up a top-of-the-hour (TOTH / TOH) sequence in PlayIt Live?

A top-of-the-hour sequence (TOTH or TOH) is the set of items you play as the hour starts: typically a station ID or legal ID, a jingle, perhaps news, then the first song. In PlayIt Live you build it at the start of your clock, anchored to the hour with a Fixed Time Marker.

Building the sequence

1. Go to Manage > Clocks and edit the clock (or create a new one).

2. Add a Fixed Time Marker as the first item and set its time to 00:00. The time is minutes and seconds within the hour, so 00:00 is exactly on the hour.

3. Choose the marker type:

   • Hard: whatever is playing fades out and your sequence starts exactly on the hour. Use this for a legal ID or news join.
   • Soft: the playing item finishes first, then your sequence starts. Use this if you would rather not cut a song off.

4. Add your TOTH items straight after the marker, in order. For example, a station that opens the hour with an ID and the news:

   • Fixed Time Marker (Hard, 00:00)
   • Track Group: Station IDs (Protected)
   • Track: News Bulletin (Protected)
   • Track Group: A Rotation (first song after the news)
   • Track Group: B Rotation
   • Track Group: Jingles (presenter link)

   Use a Remote URL item instead of a Track if your news comes from a live feed.

5. Tick Protected? on anything that must always play, such as a legal ID. Protected items are not dropped by Fixed Time Markers or Auto Adjust.

6. Schedule the clock via Manage > Clock Schedule. Every hour using that clock will start with your sequence.

Reusing the sequence in many clocks

Build it once as a Partial clock (set the Clock type to Partial) and insert it into your standard clocks with a Partial Clock item. Edit the partial and every clock using it updates. Partial clocks need the Advanced Scheduling module, which you can trial from Help > Licensing Information.

Tips

• Set the marker to exactly 00:00. A time like 00:10 leaves a 10-second gap that PlayIt Live may fill with a short track.
• Make sure the previous hour has enough content. If it falls short, PlayIt Live fills the gap from your Playout Pattern.