Cookbook
The Big Book of Rivendell Cookbook
In response to a question (link broken as of 2026-01-27) [1] from mailing list contributor drew Roberts in February, 2020 Frank Christel posted his “table of contents” to a book describing aspects of Rivendell. This set of pages strives to achieve that book. Please consider contributing to it, either directly here on the wiki or by submitting to the mailing list. (See also the category “[Category:Cookbook]” for organizing this subset of wiki articles.)
Here for posterity is Frank's opening paragraph:
“It’s always my hope when embarking on new explorations (such as a journey to Rivendell) that someone has written a travel guide. Something that doesn’t so much explain the nuts and bolts of how things work, but instead tells inspiring stories about the journey and what to see and do. Testimonies about overcoming obstacles. How whipping up raw ingredients yielded a yummy concoction.”
Table of Contents
Chapter titles for a “Big Book of Rivendell Cookbook” might include:
- 50,000 foot view: The beginning of a Rivendell journey
- Oh no, not again!: Cheerleading the adoption of (yet) another automation system
- Who’s on first?: Where files live, sync, and play
- Doing the SaMBa: Integration with XDS satellite receivers and Windows file servers
- All roads lead to Rivendell: VNC (remote desktop) access from inside and outside the studios
- Break down this wall!: Mass file importation strategies
- Rosie the Robot: Clever uses of macro carts in the real world
- Flowing down the river: Understanding Rivendell’s system of carts, events, clocks, grid, and logs
- We just have time for one more: Automating music hours to meet time posts
- Glasnost, comrade: Network coexistence with Windows machines
- Doing what comes naturally: The easy way to integrate Natural Log and Natural Music
- In five, four, three: Breaking format for local emergencies and congressional debates
- Play it again, Sam: Playing MP2 files without using ASI cards
- The path less traveled: Linux isn’t as scary as it looks
- You’ll pry my dead, cold hand: Switching staff from Adobe Audition to a Linux-based audio editor
- Party at the Beach: Live remotes over IP with a VPN and icecast and liquidsoap
- Front porch whittlin‘: What to do with free time saved by not babysitting cranky automation systems
Notes
- ↑ From fjchristel at gmail.com Mon Feb 24 18:40:38 2020 From: fjchristel at gmail.com (Frank Christel) Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2020 17:40:38 -0600 Subject: [RDD] Big Book of Rivendell Cookbook? Message-ID: <[email protected]> We‘re researching a switch to Rivendell. We?ve used Simian for the last decade and before that AudioVault. Lately, though, almost every Windows 10 update is breaking Simian. And BSI says Simian is at end-of-life. I‘ve been discovering what Rivendell can do on a Raspberry Pi - it runs surprisingly well. We‘re configuring a Dell as a Rivendell test bed for one of our HD channels. We‘re walking through the manual and searching the rivendell-dev archives for answers. So far, we‘ve not hit a brick wall in researching what Rivendell might do for our NPR stations. Is there a “Big Book of Rivendell Cookbook” to give us a 20,000-ft setup and operational view?