CHANGELOG

Managing multiple studio machines and client applications can get complex, especially when your setup includes more than one Cores, Output Players, or separate Audio Managers per studio. That’s why in version 4.4.1, we’ve upgraded the interface of the Server Instances Overview.

The overview now uses a node-based layout to show all connected and inactive clients grouped by machine. You can quickly see how your clients are distributed, what’s running, and where each component is connected.

Bugfixes & Improvements

• Menu Dropdowns: Add a red color to all the delete items in the dropdowns

• New Core Settings UI: Update the layout of the core settings to make it more consistent with the rest of the app, and easier to use for the users.

• Visual Field Initialization: Fixed issue where visual fields weren't properly initialized in player content rendering

You can read everything about the new Output Player released in this version on the dedicated release page →

We've completely rebuilt the application from the ground up with a new natively timed video pipeline to provide the most accurate and stable framerate.

Output Player Features

Live Output Preview

A separate window to check if an output has the correct signal without tuning into SDI or NDI.

Resilient SDI Output Pipeline

A new production proven system to bring frames to the physical card.

Faster Cloud Live Booting

From waiting 5-10 seconds, to a live signal within 2 seconds.

GPU Decoding Detection

Advanced usage of NVIDIA CUDA, AMD or Mac OS Toolbox for superfast decoding of common formats.

New UI for Single-Player-Client Mapping

A clear overview of the mapping set-up per player.

40% Less CPU Usage

With multi-output set-ups the new parallel processing pipelines bring a CPU usage improvement ranging from 30-40%.

Standalone Automation Controller

Your configured rundowns can now run by themself without the Core connection. The Player is able to queue itself to keep running.

New & Faster Synchronisation Mechanism

With deeper control over the frame playback the synchronisation is up to 10 frames faster and can be applied more safely.

Improved Framerate Conversion

From 25 to 50, from 23.94 to 25, various input framerates will be accurately converted to your desired output rate.

Seamless Migration

All output mappings from previous configuration will be used by the new player without extra action.

Bug Fixes & Improvements

• Folder Viewer Stability: Resolved multiple bugs in folder viewer functionality with improved component structure

• Preferences Store: Fixed parsing issues with undefined values in preferences store

• Navigation Layout: Improved Nav component layout for better support link display

• Playlist Layer: Fixed data selector issues that occurred in the Visual Playlist Layer

• Checkbox Group: Improved click UX

Enhanced Video Player Stability & Live Broadcasting Improvements

This release focuses on improving the reliability and user experience of video playback and live broadcasting features. The video player has been enhanced with better event handling and autoplay logic, while several issues affecting live broadcast operations have been resolved.

New Features & Enhancements

Video Player

• Updated Player Component: Replaced the VideoPlayer component with VJSPlayer for improved performance and reliability

• Enhanced Event Handling: Refined timeupdate event handling and improved autoplay logic for smoother playback experience

Output Management

• Improved Copy Functionality: Output URL copy action now includes the complete URL in the message for better usability

Bug Fixes & Improvements

• Live Overview: Fixed compatibility issues with older WHIP sessions versions

• Episode Timing: Corrected timing condition logic and removed debug logging for cleaner operation

• Live Timer Display: Enhanced active state calculation and improved duration display in the live timer

• Player Sheet Access: Prevented opening player sheet for non-existent output players to avoid errors

Interactive Data Source Selector

Adding dynamic data to your Visuals, such as RSS feeds or API-based content, has long been possible in Visual Radio Assist. These external data sources can be configured, mapped to output variables, and used across your visuals through the Visual Designer.

Previously, selecting the correct data property, especially from nested objects or arrays, was often unclear. While the earlier Data Preview helped by showing the incoming data structure, it still required manual entry of the correct keys, which could lead to errors. This has now been improved.

We’ve introduced a new Interactive API Data Source Selector. This updated interface allows you to browse through your API response or RSS feed structure directly in the editor. It works similarly to the old Data Preview but now lets you click through each object and subkey to select the property you want to display. Once selected, the key is automatically applied to your Visual Layer’s content field.

This update simplifies working with dynamic data and removes the guesswork involved in working with nested structures or complex arrays.

New Features & Enhancements

Visual Designer

• JSON Property Component: New component for better visualization of nested API data

• TextLayer API Data Source Preview: Enhanced preview functionality with improved data display

• Visual Playlist Layer: Added orientation property for more flexible layouts

API Data Source & Visual Designer

• Last Response Display: API data source links now show the latest response data for easier debugging and verification

Bug Fixes & Improvements

• Output Variables: Fixed bug in variable handling and display

• Visual Playlist Layer: Resolved issues with preselected folder selection and empty playlist layer states

• Visual Upsert Flow: Improved creation and update process

• Settings by Station: Fixed scoped station settings on frontend

• Session Management: Improved station switching and session filtering reliability

• Visual Composition: Fixed variable display order and truncation issues

• Copy ID: Fixed copy functionality for upcoming episode items

Loop over Media Metadata in Playlist Layer

The Playlist Layer now supports looping over media metadata fields from folders, making it easier to display titles, filenames, and custom metadata in your visuals. This enhancement allows for more dynamic content loops based on your media's metadata.

Previously, looping was limited to the media items themselves (via the Image Slideshow Layer). With this update, it's now possible to display related metadata, like titles or locations, by using the Data Selector mode in the Playlist Layer. You can point it to an API data source or a folder to create dynamic content loops based on metadata.

New Features & Enhancements

Dashboard Management

• Confirmation Actions: Heavy actions in dashboard buttons now include a confirmation step for added safety

• Dashboard Panel Selector: Improved type definitions and functionality

• Last Edited Time: Active output players now display the last edited time in the overview

Playout Station Variables

• Added a dedicated Playout Station Variables page for better variable management

• Global Station Variables: Updated controller for improved variable handling

Design System

• Border List: Added empty state UI for better user experience

• Meta Field Editor: Updated to support custom field types and more flexible configurations

• Responsive Layouts: Improved page layouts with better padding and responsive behavior

Bug Fixes & Improvements

• Delete User: Fixed bug that occurred when deleting a user

• Socket Connections: Fixed critical audio config corruption when switching studios

• Playlist Layer: Fixed serialization and slideshow functionality

• Dashboard Selector: Fixed loading issues and saving behavior

• Output Assistant: Fixed layout sizing issues in the setup flow

• Visual Designer: Fixed variable selector functionality from within the designer

• Studio Management: Improved studio switching logic and state management

• Meta Fields: Fixed display issues when no custom fields are available

• Variable Filters: Improved playout access variable filters throughout the application

• Studio Server Card: Fixed height styling issues

• Image Slideshow: Fixed functionality in Visual Playlist Layer

New in Media: Custom Meta Data Fields

You can now define and use your own metadata fields for media assets. These fields are configurable by station managers. Once defined, every media asset will include these fields for easy access and consistent tagging.

IPTC Photo metadata Support

In addition to custom fields, IPTC metadata fields are now available to all users. IPTC is a widely-used standard for describing Photo content, including fields like title, creator, copyright, and keywords.

New Features & Enhancements

Hosts

• Search: You can now search across all presenters in your account.

• Filter: Quickly switch between viewing presenters from the entire broadcaster or just a specific station.

Bug Fixes & Improvements

• Page Headers: All list pages now have consistent spacing and header sizing.

• List Pages: Several list views have been updated for a more uniform layout.

• Audio Triggers: an error occurred when saving a audio trigger, this has been fixed

• Output Assistant: creating an output triggered an error

Over the years, Visual Radio Assist has grown with new features and configuration options. As a result, settings were spread across different sections—Output Settings, Visual Settings, Core Settings, and more. While this worked, it sometimes made it difficult for users to find the right setting when they needed it.

So, we took a step back and asked: How can we make settings easier to manage?

Standalone settings

We’ve come up with a dedicated settings page where all configuration options are now in one place.

What’s New?

• Centralized Settings: No more searching through different tabs—everything is now in one dedicated location, and will be searchable soon 👀

• Sidebar Navigation: A clear, structured menu so you always know where you are.

New: User Preferences

With this update, we’ve also introduced User Preferences, giving you more control. Instead of adjusting settings across different parts of the app, you can now manage them all in one place.

As we continue to add new features, this section will expand, giving you even more control over how you, and all the users in your station, use Visual Radio Assist.

Update: List view consistencies

We’ve also updated all list views and their detail pages to make them more consistent with the rest of the Visual Radio Assist interface. These updates improve readability and navigation across the Cloud platform.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll continue updating remaining pages to align with this structure, so everything feels more connected as you move through your Visual Radio setup.

New Features & Enhancements

• Visual Designer: {{ round vra.datelement_with_decimals }} can round you numeric decimal data

• More permission granularity with the “Media Upload” permission

• AutomationLink: AerOn connection is now fully supported with duration data

vMix integration upgrades

• vMix Overlay state is now synced with VRA

• You can now toggle Layers within a vMix output on / off

Bug Fixes & Improvements

• Macro triggering bugfixes and logging improvements in the Server Core

New in Visuals: Re-usable Graphics Templates & Visual Thumbnails

We’ve heard from users that duplicating visuals for each broadcast can be a hassle. If you find yourself repeatedly creating the same graphics, there’s now a better way.

Introducing Visual Templates

With Visual Templates, you can create reusable graphics that can be named and saved. Instead of starting from scratch or duplicating existing visuals, you can now select a pre-made template and make adjustments as needed.

How It Works

When creating a new visual, you’ll now be prompted to either:

• Create one from scratch

• Use a template

New Features & Enhancements

Visual Designer

• SVG Layer Type: this will allow users to display SVGs in their visuals

• Dynamic content in Text Fallback: Text Layer’ fallback content could now contain dynamic data, like {{ vra.schedule.onair.title }} when there is no {{ vra.np.music.artist }} content

• vMix Overlay State: The state of the vMix overlays are now synced with the VRA Cloud as well (Server Core Update)

Bug Fixes & Improvements

• Output Setup Assistant Layout: Fix bug where height was not correctly styled

• Code Editor: Fix few bugs that was there since the last release.

• Studio Cards: Fix bug where height was not set correctly

• Visual Designer: Fix zoom bug that was there since the last release

• Media Upload permissions

New: Update in Outputs Overview and dedicated Output Player Controller

We’ve updated the Outputs Overview in Visual Radio Assist to give you a clearer view of what’s currently playing. Active output players are now displayed more prominently, allowing faster access and better monitoring of playout status.

Clicking on an active output now opens a dedicated Output Player Controller page. This new page is focused on managing a specific output player, giving you a full view of the current queue and history. It shares the same underlying data as the Output Editor, but offers a more focused interface for quick control and review.

New Features & Enhancements

Output Overview & Player Management

• Active Output Players are now highlighted more clearly in the Outputs Overview.

• Added a new Output Player Controller page with a dedicated interface for managing queue, playback history, and playout status.

• Clicking on an active output takes you directly to its controller page.

Visual Designer

• Bundled Code Editor: The previously separate JavaScript and CSS editors are now unified into a single editor interface. You can easily switch between languages in one view, improving the workflow for managing visuals.

Visuals List

• Visuals in the list now show a thumbnail preview of the actual visual. This makes it easier to identify and select the correct item at a glance.

Playout Media Support

• You can now upload and use AVIF and other image formats directly in the Playout Rundown, expanding your options for image-based visuals.

Bug Fixes & Improvements

• Date Display in Variables: Added date information in search result variable values, providing better temporal context for broadcast operations

• Empty Dashboard Fix: Resolved an issue where dashboards would appear empty during initial load

• Visual Composer Stabilization: Fixed episode composer behavior when no selection is available

• Large Presenter Counts: Fixed display issues when working with large presenter counts in the system

New: Folder selection in Slideshow Layer

A new update to the Slideshow Visual Layer in Visual Radio Assist now allows you to select an entire folder instead of individual images. Upload your images to a folder in the Media Hub, and they will automatically play in order or randomly if selected. This makes it easier to manage and update slideshows for your broadcast.

New Features & Enhancements

Server Core

• AutomationLink: New and more performant and failsafe handling of file reads

• All state updates are synced faster with Cloud, so your Cloud dashboard is as up to date as possible after load

Settings and User Preferences

• Replaced legacy settings framework with modern architecture

• Improved playout preferences

• Enhanced backward compatibility for existing preferences

• Added critical fix for loading settings with category field

Studio Dashboard

• Fixed dashboard panel size handling

• Corrected background display issues

• Added validation for dashboard panel macro and camera selection

Media Management

• Fixed video status visibility in selector dialog

• Improved video media visibility on media layers

• Added validation for dashpanel macro and camera selection

• Updated empty right-click permission handling

• Fixed media selector clear scenario for non-multiple selections

• Improved media upload flow with selection bugfixes

• Corrected navigation media link

• Fixed video status visibility in selector dialog

• Corrected default source type selection issue - “All Source Types” is selected by default again

Playout Stability

• Implemented additional null checks throughout playout system

• Implemented failsafe for program changes

• Fixed issue with old program items remaining visible

• Added checks for empty episode states

• Fixed duration timeinput stability

Composer

• Order programs correctly by planned time

• Bugfix for deleting rundown items

Visual Designer

• Added versioned local GSAP libraries

• Implemented GSAP context clearing system, this means it is no longer required to handle {timeline}.kill in the visualLink.cleanup() function

• Added command+save shortcut functionality in code editor

• Implemented crash prevention for layer properties

• Fixed a bug that occurred when loading the Visual Designer from a url.

Others

• Fixed switcher command labels

• Cleaned up switcher command selectors

• Fixed code editor border styling

• Improved variable editor alignment in composer

• Updated visuals overview layout

• Fixed canvas control positioning to appear above transition controls

• User management: Corrected permission pack error

• Fix for not logged in crash and old link to media pages

• Various alignment and UI spacing improvements

New Features & Enhancements

This release introduces a new trigger type to Visual Radio Assist: Macro’s! We’ve also added new Dashboard Panels for quick Camera Angles and Macro access, improved stability of Episode switching in the Output Playouts and there are a lot of small user interface improvements.

New: Macro triggers

The new Macro trigger enables you to combine multiple VRA Commando’s into one single action: a Macro. When activating this macro (via a commando, dashboard button or button in the list) VRA will execute the configured items sequentially or in instantly in parallel.

Macro Items

You can configure two items as part of the Macro: trigger a commando or wait for {x} milliseconds. Selecting commando’s is the same as you know from other modules in VRA.

The wait time enables you to create a sequence with time in between triggers (for example for a fallback scenario; looping over two camera’s.

Conditions

The macro’s can get really advanced by selecting conditions. These will enable or disable a item within the macro, so you can automate the full dynamic item list in the macro configuration.

Block after

Sometimes it is important to only continue triggering a section in the macro when a condition applies: “Only when music is playing, trigger the Nowplaying Clip Player, if not stop.”

With Block After execution you can prevent the macro from continuation if a condition is not applicable.

Studio switching example

Below is one of the many scenario’s you can realise with Macro’s. When the following Macro is triggered, two actions are instantly executed:

• Activate the selected studio (onair)

• Set Overlay 1 to a specific Input in vMix

Dashboard

• Dashboard Macro Panel: Added a new Macro panel in the Dashboard for quicker access to automated actions of the new Macro Triggers.

• Dashboard Camera Angle Panel: Introduced a Camera Angle control in the Dashboard, allowing users to adjust and manage camera perspectives more efficiently.

Media Hub

• Layout Enhancements: Improved the Media Hub layout, such as the view toggler, for better navigation and usability.

• Right-Click on empty folder: Users can now right-click on an entire media container to access additional options, such as uploading new files and creating a new folder.

• Media Source Type Visibility: The Media Hub now displays the media source type more clearly, making it easier to identify different files at a glance.

• Search and filtering saved in url: when navigating through the hub via search or subfolders, filtering states are preserved.

Broadcast Associations

• Selecting image: The image selector is updated, which can be an image or an image url now.

Playout Episode change behaviour changes 🧹

• The Playout Episode will now automatically activate the current onair program, when the current onair program switches

• The last episode will be cleaned up after a short delay: this means that all non-archived, archivable items and already archived items will be removed from the Episode. The next time the specific episode is live onair, the rundown is tidied up 🧹.

• Added upcoming 5-minute program visibility fixes and UI enhancements for taking a look ahead

Other enhancements

• Improved calendar interface with major layout update

• Access Live Playout OR Composer from the Playout list page

• Better text display in alerts and confirm dialogs

• Simplified button disable conditions in Playout live control

• Fixed blocking bug in classic playout for getting duration feedback in rundown items

• Updated camera and macro selection with improved event handling

• Fixed round duration value to avoid fractional milliseconds in input for Scheduling Programs

• Fixed episode loading button

• Updated dashboard for cameras

• Updated media source type column to list folder viewer

• Improved events handling while updating variables

• Fixed double close dialog side effect in Media Hub

• Fixed broadcaster association spacing

• Fixed chips on dashboard

Media Source Type in Media Hub

Media can now be categorized with Media Source Types across the entire platform, including Outputs, Visuals, Broadcaster Associations, Visual Variables, and Scheduling. This new feature helps users organize uploaded media more efficiently.

• Source Type Labels: Uploaded media now displays its source type in the Media Hub.

• Filtering: Users can filter media based on its source type, making it easier to manage assets.

• Default Option: When a dedicated source is set, the default selected option will be that source, making it easier to find the right media.

New Features & Enhancements

Media Hub & Uploads

• New Media Selector: Added the new media selector for Broadcaster Association images.

• Default Source Type for Queries: Media Selector Dialog now defaults to the related source type.

• Fix Upload Sessions Bugs: Improved handling of media uploads to prevent errors.

Playout & Visuals

• Fix Duration Timer in Playout Episode: Since a few version there was an issue with it. Those are resolved now.

Custom Dashboards

• Internal Route Button: Added an Internal Route button for easier navigation within custom dashboards.

• Design Improvements: Various UI refinements in custom dashboards.

Bug Fixes & Improvements

• Consistent "Remove" & "Delete" Usage: Standardized terminology across the platform.

• Fixed an issue where upload sessions could get stuck. Also improved handling of the cancel uploading flows for large videos.

• Adjusted duration timers in Playout for more accurate timekeeping.

• Standardized UI elements in custom dashboards.

• Scheduling Program planning could crash if milliseconds were added to the duration of a program. This is now fixed and can not happen again in the future.

• More efficient handling of image loading in Visuals and Playout

AutomationLink

• Files connected to the AutomationLink do not trigger incorrect “empty” current nowplaying states after multiple writes.

• New {mediaId} field parsing for Caliope

Revamped manual Layer Transitions

We’ve revamped the possibilities of manually controlling your layer in- and out transitions. If you want to profit from the powers of GSAP you can now connect events to individual layers to have more control over the complete automated transitioning state of the Visual. The documentation of all the transition capabilities of the Visual Designer layers is in progress and will be shared soon on our blog.

New CSV Data Source

You can now share large data sets with your Visual Graphics by integrating your CSV data via an API Data Source.

Limit data items

When you’re using a large CSV file or RSS feeds with multiple items you may want to limit the visible items in VRA Graphics. With the new Items Count configuration you can slice it up!

New Features & Enhancements

Visual variables in Playout

• Predefined Media Storage: Image and video uploads can now be stored in a predefined folder at creation in the Visual Designer (link to other changleog)

• Dynamic Variables in Rundown: The value of dynamic data, such as on-air program titles and host names, are now visible in rundown items.

• Episode Composer Locking: Dynamic variable titles can be locked in the episode composer, allowing them to be used in earlier programs.

Media Hub

• You can now create new folders in folder selection dialog. Usable in Predefined Media Storage.

Multiple Current Onair Items in the AutomationLink

It is now possible to have multiple items from your radio automation software in the current nowplaying onair list in Visual Radio Assist. This makes several transitions between jingles and music in mixes a lot smoother and opens new possibilities for layered audio with layered video.

Bug Fixes & Improvements

• Fixed an issue where a failed image upload could cause subsequent uploads to be stuck in error mode.

• More performant loading of large-image count setups

• Improved video uploading behavior in playout for more stable performance.

• Fixed an issue that occurred when renaming a folder in the Media Hub

• Add layer directly to selected container (Stack, Playlist, etc) sublayers

• Mobile ready image previews in the MediaHub

New Features & Enhancements

This week we’ve worked on several qualitty of life improvements of the Visual Designer and other media workflows in Visual Radio assist.

Media Selector

• Added the ability to upload files directly in the Media Selector.

• Assigned a default folder for media uploads when using variables.

Visual Designer

• When adding a new layer, it is now placed inside the currently selected layer if it supports sublayers (e.g., Stack, Container, Iterator, Playlist).

• The guide toggle now also removes the red-line border for Stacks, improving visibility.

General

• More colourful notifications

Scheduling

• Keystrokes for navigating the calendar

• More scheduling programs in condition editors

• New usage of media hub in program form

Playout

• Activate Rundown button communicates latest status with Composition playout

• Clear all archive

• Archive all

Bug Fixes & Improvements

• Fixed an issue where border radius settings were not saving correctly.

• Fixed stable display of Visual layer ids

• Fixed a bug that could occur while removing the transition settings of a layer

The new Playout Composer: prepare your graphics before going live

With the Episode version of the Visual Radio Playout you can preview all upcoming shows live to make sure they look good. And if you want to prepare rundowns with graphics outside of the 5 upcoming shows it is now possible to do safely, without interrupting the live production with the Episode Composer!

First you select a date and scheduling program in the new Composer interface. After which you are able to edit all rundown items and add new items to prepare fully for when the episode gets onair. The Live Preview enables you to see exactly how the Visual is going to look in the live production 👀

New Features & Enhancements

• Edit Variable: Playout Access is on default true

• Playmode for items in a Output Rundown: same option as you had on the Live Items in a Output to control how an item is started after it is added to the Queue of a Player.

Episode Playout

• The order of the buttons below the Upload Cropper are switched now.

• Documentation for the Manual Playout, Episode Playout and Composition Editor.

• The background of the rundown list items on smaller screens has been adjusted, making the Episode Playout look calmer.

• Playout retains the column widths, so they remain consistent even when you return, eliminating layout shifts.

• Improvements in clearing an image in the Playout Episode.

• Add layout customization to the Playout Episode. User can switch between the Default and Three Column view.

• User can hide the PGM View in the Playout

• Revisit Roles and Permissions for Playout

Bug Fixes & Improvements

• Fixed bug where Music Track Meta could not be found when ft. or feat. was located in the title

• Media Selector consistencies are fixed

• Playout Rundown were sometimes too long, and will be automatically truncated now.

• Inconsistencies in resizable columns in the playout are fixed.

Infrastructure updates

In the last two weeks we’ve also made major updates to our infrastructure to increase performance and throughput. We hope you’re enjoying the speed improvements this has brought to the Visual Radio Cloud!