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The External Devices feature in PlayIt Live allows you to integrate your automation software with physical hardware equipment in your studio. You can connect devices such as on-air lights, control buttons, telephone hybrids, and transmitter controllers through serial ports, USB connections, or specialised broadcast equipment like Broadcast Tools switchers and X-keys GPIO devices.

Communication flows in both directions. You can send commands from PlayIt Live to your hardware (Named Outputs) - for example, automatically turning on an on-air light when a show begins. Your hardware can also send signals to PlayIt Live (Named Inputs) - such as a physical button that skips to the next track, or a satellite receiver indicating it's time for local commercials. These inputs can trigger any automation action available in PlayIt Live through Input Triggers.

You configure hardware connections by specifying communication parameters like COM ports and baud rates for serial devices. For each piece of equipment, you define the exact commands it sends and receives. Once configured, you can control when these commands execute using Scheduled Events in your playout log or clocks.

The feature requires the Remote Management Module and is designed for broadcast engineers familiar with serial communications and hardware integration.

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