This documents how to install the Competa playout system.
Scroll to the bottom to Upgrade an existing system.
The system uses Microsoft’s SQL database system, which gives the system enough power to scale up to multiple studios. However this means the installation is a little more complicated. This guide presumes you have a freshly built PC and that you are logged in as a local administrator account. Competa will run on Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 10 either 32 or 64 bit. It requires a WDM compatible soundcard. It also requires .NET 4.0 or above to run. Run this to make sure you have the correct version installed.
Firstly download the SQL Installation. Unzip this download and run ‘sqlinstall.bat’. This will install Microsoft SQL server 2008 on your machine. Depending on your machine, this may take up to 10 minutes to complete.
Secondly download the Competa playout installation. Unzip this and place on the c:\ drive of your computer. It’s important that the directory structure is c:\playout\ with all the other folders here. Otherwise the installation won’t work.
Now run the DatabaseConfiguration.exe programme. Firstly click the ‘Install DLL’ button, this installs some essential files into the windows directory. Now select the drop down list and select any of the 3 software options, then click the ‘Install or Upgrade Database’ option. This writes all the tables and functions into the SQL database.
Now you’re ready to go ! You’ll find the full manual as a PDF file in the ‘c:\playout\’ directory.
Upgrading.
To upgrade an existing system. Download the latest Database Configuration tool and place in your c:\playout folder. Run and click the Update Software button. The system will download and install the latest version.