What is a Beta Version?
When we develop brand new products or new versions of existing products we undertake a massive in house testing programme designed to test them on as many different combinations of software and hardware as possible. However it is impossible for us to completely test every single feature on the almost infinite amount of different combinations of hardware and software that form modern PC's, so we usually release our software marked as a "Beta version" to catch any last few issues.
If no major issues are found then it is upgraded to a "Full Release" at which point it becomes fully supported by Broadcast Radio Technical Support (see below). If any major issues are found then we usually get these issues fixed and issue a new updated Beta version.
A Beta version of software is one that has completed intensive internal testing, as well as often being tested by a carefully selected range of external testers in "Live" situations around the world, and we feel it is now as "bug" free as possible and is therefore ready to be safely used by a broader set of users. What we can't guarantee is that an unusual combination of components or other software installed on a PC or maybe a certain rarer sequence of actions performed by a user may cause a problem with this version. This could be something as simple as a number or setting not staying when you go back into a screen, or something more dramatic like making the software close unexpectedly.
We often release updated Beta versions to fix problems found during further testing by ourselves or to fix a problem reported by users, and therefore users of Beta Versions are encouraged to download these updated Betas as they become available so they don't find any issues that we have already found and fixed.
Beta Versions give you the chance to be involved in the testing and development of new products, as well as giving you a chance to evaluate new features in a test environment ahead of rolling out the update to mission critical computers.
Support For Betas
Beta versions are experimental and therefore aren't covered by our normal warranty. In other words, if there is problem with it, we may not be able to help you restore your system to a working state. Therefore it should only be installed on a system that you are confident you can restore in the event of a problem. You should always back up your system before installing any software, but this is especially important before installing Beta software.
If you experience any difficulties with a Beta release, or have any suggestions for improvements, you should post these in the relevant product's discussion area in our Facebook Community Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/Myriad5/
We also have our older Forums available at in the Broadcast Radio Forum at http://www.broadcastradio.com/support/community-forum/ though these are a lot quieter nowadays!
E-mails sent to Technical Support for Beta versions may have a delay in response due to the pre-release nature of the software. Also, we are usually unable to provide technical support over the phone or in person for Beta Versions.
YOU SHOULD NOT USE BETA VERSIONS ON MISSION CRITICAL COMPUTERS UNLESS YOU UNDERSTAND AND ACCEPT THAT THIS VERSION IS A BETA RELEASE AND MAY CONTAIN ELEMENTS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN FULLY TESTED. IT IS PROVIDED WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED.
What Is An Alpha Version?
When developing a new product, the very first stage of public testing is often referred to as Alpha testing. Essentially, Alpha testing is very similar to Beta testing but scope of the test is usually reduced to just a few public testers. Alpha release software is released in a very early state and is expected to include a number of unfinished features and hence is also likely to include a greater number of issues or bugs. It would not be advisable to install Alpha software in any mission critical situation or to configure Alpha software to use or interact with data or resources that are considered important.
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