1) First, be sure your dayparts are defined the way you want them. If you don’t know how to define and/or set the dayparts, check the user manual or call us for a quick orientation.
2) Open your categories one-by-one and check the Average Turnover of each category. See if the rotation pattern that you have would naturally have songs playing in the same daypart twice in a row. It is not good to have a rotation formula that will tend to have songs playing in the same daypart consecutively and then putting in a rule that says “don’t let that happen”. If you see the average turnover pattern is not a good one…use the + and – button next to the Change box to see how adding or removing some songs from the category would improve the rotation.
If the rotation pattern on the Average Turnover window is a good one and songs are not projected to repeat consecutively in the same daypart, then there is little reason to set the next rule. In fact it is more usually more efficient to not set the rule because every rule you apply slows the computers work just a tad.
3) In version 6, you can tell M1 to ensure songs schedule in 2 or 3 ‘other’ dayparts before repeating in any single daypart. You can also tell M1 to ignore the rule if it has been more than 30 days since the songs’ last play.
Again be very, very careful if you set the ‘restrict consecutive plays in same daypart’ rule. It is best to design the rotation pattern so same-daypart repeats won’t happen than to use the rule when it goes counter to the normal rotation pattern of the category. Setting a rule that conflicts with the natural rotation of any Category is counterproductive.