Call for tester for 1.4.0 features and fixes (4 Viewers)

[Scythe42]

I think I have found the problem:

[2013-04-11 20:58:01,866] [15897  ] [MPMain  ] [ERROR] - PluginManager: 'PowerSchedulerClientPlugin, Version=1.3.0.45, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null' is tagged as incompatible with the current MediaPortal version and won't be loaded!

That sounds likely. If PowerScheduler is not running it cannot do its things.

Strange that it does not get loaded - also the other plugins. They load here without any problems.

Could be related to the newly created binaries, that they carry a wrong version internally.

Can anyone else confirm this with PowerScheduler? Will try to reproduce. Just a short question: is this the stock PowerScheduler or the PowerScheduler++ plugin?

Regarding External Players: will add them to the next archive as well. It's always bitch just to provide a minimum of binaries.

[2013-04-11 21:00:36,866] [170897 ] [MPMain  ] [ERROR] - Main: OnResume - OnResume called but MP is not in suspended state.

That can be ignored. Will change the log line not to indicate an error here, because it is none.

You have always two resume events in Windows when you resume windows as a user. One is "automatic resume" and one is "user initiated resume". They both do the same. In your case the automatic event already woke up MP in full because MP got the other one. So this is perfectly fine.

 

[Lightning303]

I did find another bug.
I have set Mediaportal to be always on top.
At 19:30 windows task sheduler starts webgrab+plus (dos command window) to fetch epg data from the web.
The command window however is on top of mediaportal, as if i dont have always on top activated.
Log attached (nothing in error.log).

Can you put any other window before MP when it runs? Want to check if always-on-top is broken in some regards or if this is a special case. Always on Top is not really an always on Top in a WinForm. Windows is allowed to steal focus and overlay it. Will try withe the task scheduler open cmd and see what is happening here.

No i cant. Always on top works for me when i press alt+tab, windows+tab, or windows.
Seems to only fail if windows/task sheduler starts something.
I can reproduce it with starting cmd. I cant however with e.g. firefox.

 

[Scythe42]

One other thing:
I have configured the TV-Server PowerScheduler plugin to prevent standby when Chrome is running.
Now, when I'm pressing standby while chrome is running the screen goes black. (Awaymode?)
After pressing standby again the picture comes back. But now the PC is muted.

Lost Audio Renderer that did not connect properly.

Please try the following:
- disable not used audio output devices
- do not use default Direct sound device, instead select your sound output explicit.

Because at the time when MP resumes the default audio device (in case there are multiple) could have been switched by Windows as the HDMI audio renderer was not yet available. When re-connecting to the default audio device MP therefore connects to the wrong one. HDMI comes up back later, the Default Audio Device gets switched by Windows again but MP already initializied the one at the time of resume.

Currently there is no support inside MP for changing the Default Direct Sound Device. Not much I can do here quickly.

We have to try several approaches on your system to get this right over the weekend. But first I need the logs for the above mentioned tries.

 

[Scythe42]

No i cant. Always on top works for me when i press alt+tab, windows+tab, or windows.
Seems to only fail if windows/task sheduler starts something.
I can reproduce it with starting cmd. I cant however with e.g. firefox.

OK, then Task Scheduler with a cmd prompt is allowed to be on top. I can catch this. Worst case scenario would be that you see it briefly flashing. It will take focus but I can come back on top of it right away.

Would be very dirty as I try to compensate for behavior Windows does on purpose.

Can you try to run the scheduled task minimized: http://blog.kikicode.com/2011/10/run-minimized-batch-file-in-task.html

If taskbar flashes should come up, please let me know: these can be disable in windows over registry keys. Task Bar Flashes are allowed to steal focus, because they are intended to notify the user. But that can be configured.

 

[Lightning303]

Can you try to run the scheduled task minimized: http://blog.kikicode.com/2011/10/run-minimized-batch-file-in-task.html If taskbar flashes should come up, please let me know: these can be disable in windows over registry keys. Task Bar Flashes are allowed to steal focus, because they are intended to notify the user. But that can be configured.

Yeah that works, thanks.
The cmd prompts up briefly and then minimizes itself. I can live with that.
Taskbar did not flash.

So that it worked before was actually a bug? ;p

 

[Scythe42]

Not really a bug, a but a side-effect how D3D was setup before. MP ran in an exclusive D3D fullscreen mode until it at least lost focus once (suspend/resume/HDMI event, focus switch etc.). In such a mode no window can overlay the application. Think of C++ written games, they use the same mode.

But, such a mode is not intended for C# WinForms! On one hand you have WinForm, which is a window, even if you have no borders or window controls and it fills up the whole screen. On the other hand you have the D3D fullscreen. These two conflict in too many cases.

I tried that very early in this thread, but with that the HDMI issue could not really be solved. It involved D3D device resets, reloading textures, fonts on various occasions. Did not work out in testing. On one hand you have the D3D fullscreen and on the other hand the WinForm (which is always a window). And putting a real fullscreen inside a Window is a PITA. OK for games, as they are not intended to be suspended or stuff like that. It does not work for MP in the end as a HTPC application.

Yes, the D3D fullscreen has a bit performance advantage, but not much. And for MP there are other bottlenecks.

Regarding the cmd window: cool that minimizing works out. But now the task would be to make it invisible, meaning running your batch file without the cmd window at all.

That means not to launch your batch file over CMD but over a VB script wrapper.

CreateObject("Wscript.Shell").Run "your_batch_file.bat", 0, True

Save this a a file and call this one from the Task Scheduler. The Task Scheduler will launch the VB script, which in itself does not have any window unless you create one. And then it runs a shell command in the background, which can be your batch.

No window, no focus steal. Let me know it this works for you.

PS: Check Wscript.Shell for more parameters, in case you need them.

 

[Lightning303]

Wow @Scythe42 thanks for the explanation, makes sense and was very interesting.
The vbs script works great. I had some problems getting it to run from the task sheduler, but got it working.
For the argument intWindowStyle im using the value 7, so i get a window but it gets minimized and does not take focus from mp.
This makes it perfect again.
Im going to write a little tutorial tomorrow so that others that will run into this problem will have the solution.

Thanks again

 

[Scythe42]

@radical / @legnod:
Please try the attached Mediaportal.exe over the one from the last build and check if the screen selector issue was solved. And of course everbody else who can reproduce the problem.

@samo_yea:
Please test this one as well if it creates a D3D on your system.


To the rest: we deal with one thing after another. All should be minor things. The quicker you guys can confirm it is fixed, the faster I can move on

TODO:

• See what I can do with the lost audio. HDMI audio issue, a bit more complicated. But maybe I can come up with a workaround.
• Provide ExternalPlayer Plugin with the next build
• Check why PowerScheduler wasn't loaded.

Im going to write a little tutorial tomorrow so that others that will run into this problem will have the solution.

That would be nice of you. Probably good if we add this to the Wiki. @Docs Team?

 

[Scythe42]

Regarding the changing of the default audio device in general: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...iadevice.defaultaudiorenderdevicechanged.aspx

Too bad it's the MediaDevice class, which means Win8 only. As said I have an event when the audio renderer changes but no when it changes the default Direct Sound device. No luck with WMI so far or on MSDN finding something that tells me what the default audio renderer currently is. Grmpf.

 

[struppi21]

Do you have skin sounds enabled or disabled? Can you please try with both settings?

That was enabled, but a change has no effect on the problem.​

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Do you have skin sounds enabled or disabled? Can you please try with both settings?

It seems to be work.​

If I power on TV first, wait of the message "no video signal" on TV and power on the PC.​

​

Can you try to disable any other sound output devices or do NOT select the Default Direct Sound device?

Hm... I'm not sure where I should do this!
I deactivated "Realtek high devinition audio" at the windows device manager.
"AMD HDMI audio" is then the only activated audio device.
Tried some times, seems to be work in all cases.​

But my MCE remote does not work anymore!​

Don't understand this, but it works again after activating "Realtek .... audio".​

or do NOT select the Default Direct Sound device?

What have I to do, to try this?​