Audio Setup and Show-Night Operations
Check the show from the audience’s listening position. A moving preview and an active player status are useful clues, but a successful night also needs the intended speakers or transmitter, sensible levels, correct timing and a clear closing routine.
Start with a verified song and audio pair, a rehearsed playlist and a tested schedule. Use the same short reference song after each audio change so comparisons mean something.
Choose and record the actual audio route
In Settings, open Audio. With the default-output option enabled, EZPlayer follows the operating system’s current default output. If you choose explicit devices instead, select the connected devices you intend to use; each can have its own volume and volume schedule. The official Audio settings explains both paths.
Write down the complete route in ordinary language: “show computer USB audio device to transmitter,” or “show computer audio output to patio amplifier.” Include the device name shown by the operating system. This is more useful during troubleshooting than a note that only says “audio works.”
Connect the intended device before selecting it. The current manual says selected devices remain selected while disconnected and resume when they return. Test that recovery on your own equipment before relying on it. Browser listening is a separate way to monitor audio; confirm the actual audience output as its own check.
Set levels with more than one song
Play a quieter track, a louder track and any announcement you use. Listen for clipping, unintelligible speech and an uncomfortable jump between items. Keep the operating level practical for the venue and listening equipment. Normalization and per-song adjustments can help balance material; they do not replace listening to the complete path.
The global normalization preference applies by default to newly added songs, while individual song settings can be reviewed in the song editor. If an older track behaves differently, inspect that record rather than assuming a global change rewrote every existing item. See Songs for its adjustment controls.
Use volume overrides for intentional quieter periods. The baseline applies when no override is active. When overrides overlap, the last entry wins; this is separate from the Low/Normal/High priority used for show schedules. Keep the override list simple and rehearse its boundary. See Volume.
Adjust sync only after confirming the file pair
If lights and sound have a consistent small offset, use a recognizable cue and compare from the audience position. First rule out a different audio edit or extra silence. Then change only one setting at a time and record the original value, new value and observed result.
The documented Audio Sync Adjust range is -100 to +100 milliseconds. Negative values move audio earlier; positive values move it later. Start from your known value and make modest comparisons. If the error changes as the song progresses, do not keep compensating with one fixed offset; recheck the media pair and follow troubleshooting.
Use the same opening checks every night
- Computer: EZPlayer is running, the correct show is loaded, and the player clock and time zone are sensible.
- Content: tonight’s calendar block points to the intended playlist; new cloud items have finished arriving.
- Lighting: controller status is understood and a deliberate check reaches the expected physical props. Use controller setup for mapping or network changes.
- Audio: the intended device is connected, the audience route is audible and the current volume override is expected.
- Playback: Now Playing, Up Next and the last status check-in make sense for the current time.
The official Player screen separates current playback, controller summary and today’s timeline. The timeline predicts the day’s plan; it is not a historical playback log. Jukebox actions and manual stops can change what actually happens.
Know what each intervention means
Scroll sideways to see all columns.
| Action | Operational meaning |
|---|---|
| Queue a song | Request playback at the next sequence boundary. |
| Play a Jukebox song | Start that item immediately, interrupting foreground playback. |
| Skip | End the current song abruptly and move on. |
| End | Finish the current song, play any outro and then stop. |
| Abort | Stop immediately. |
Check Playback details when you need to understand a pending request or interrupted show. The official Jukebox and Player guides describe these controls. Keep audience-request configuration in the viewer-control workflow rather than changing it casually during a rehearsal.
Confirm closing and leave a useful record
Watch the final transition and inspect the lights afterward. Blackout when idle is enabled by default and sends black frames while nothing is playing. Turning it off leaves the network idle and can leave lights holding their last frame. Review this in Player Settings and test the intended result.
If the player is stopped unexpectedly, first record the state, current time and last action. Reload Schedule is available while stopped to reread and re-engage playback; the manual says it is generally unnecessary during normal operation. Diagnose why you needed it instead of adding repeated reloads to the daily routine.
Use Show Status statistics when investigating dropped frames or load errors, and note a fresh baseline after a change. Keep the observed symptom, affected song, device and correction in the Mattos show-night log. Schedule updates and restarts outside the public show, following backup, update and recovery.
Documentation review: October 29, 2026, including the official EZPlayer v0.6.12 documentation. These are Mattos planning and operating guides. The workflows have not been run on an EZPlayer installation or physical display as part of this guide review; complete the suggested checks on your own system.
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