HTPCInfo plugin v1.15.0 for MediaPortal 1.3.0 and higher (6 Viewers)

[Micropolis]

Re: HTPCInfo plugin for MediaPortal v0.8.0

Hello gnavox,
It is interesting to read what requirements you present here. If you are already more familiar with the subject MediaPortal, you will know that the publication of skins and plugins can never take place in parallel. Therefore, it is usually too expensive for a developer to pack everything into one installation routine. I would like to appeal a little bit to your proactivity.

Cheers, Micropolis ;-)

 

[gnavox]

Re: HTPCInfo plugin for MediaPortal v0.8.0

I have absolutely no requirements, just questions. I don't get the harsh attitude? I wouldn't ask questions if I wasn't confused. What confuses me is that it's stated in the beginning of the thread that the plugin supports StreamedMP and furthermore, you can tick that off in the installer. If this doesn't mean that you can expect the plugin to work with StreamedMP by default, fine, but it was pretty unclear to me. I identified the problem as missing configuration files and thought it could be a bug in your latest build, which it is obviously not. Clearly you have some taken for granted knowledge about MediaPortal. Im just saying that you can misunderstand the first post of the thread (and the installer) without that knowledge.

 

[Micropolis]

Re: HTPCInfo plugin for MediaPortal v0.8.0

Hi gnavox,
for me it's not the problem to understand your point. Perhaps it is more clearer to add a text in post #1, e.g. "The selected skin files are not part of the installer files. Please download these files manually from the appropriate skin thread." A good solution?

Cheers, Micropolis ;-)

 

[catavolt]

AW: HTPCInfo plugin for MediaPortal v0.8.0

Just to calm down everyone and to clarify some things: If a plugin developer releases his plugin for the first time, then usually only files for the standard skins Blue3 and Blue3Wide are delivered. After that, the skin designers will jump on the train and develop the skin files for their respective skins.
These skin files are usually offered within the same thread of the plugin and/or in the threads of the respective skins.
Therefore it´s unfortunately necessary to search these threads carefully for skin files of the desired/used skin (very often the search function of the forum will help).

As the first page of a plugin usually gets updated often with new information, especially about new versions and/or new supported skins, this does not imply that the installer of the skin incorporates all skin files for the listed supported skins. This is absolute usual behaviour, and you´ll find this way of announcing skin support on the first page of nearly all plugins.

I personally think we users should not blame the plugin developer for not delivering all skin files, because that is not his task.

 

[gnavox]

Re: AW: HTPCInfo plugin for MediaPortal v0.8.0

Hi gnavox,
for me it's not the problem to understand your point. Perhaps it is more clearer to add a text in post #1, e.g. "The selected skin files are not part of the installer files. Please download these files manually from the appropriate skin thread." A good solution?

Cheers, Micropolis ;-)

Sounds like a very good and user friendly solution. But you could also just keep it as it is. I was just confused and I think that other users, who aren't into the whole plugin-thing, could potentially be confused too.

Just to calm down everyone and to clarify some things: If a plugin developer releases his plugin for the first time, then usually only files for the standard skins Blue3 and Blue3Wide are delivered. After that, the skin designers will jump on the train and develop the skin files for their respective skins.
These skin files are usually offered within the same thread of the plugin and/or in the threads of the respective skins.
Therefore it´s unfortunately necessary to search these threads carefully for skin files of the desired/used skin (very often the search function of the forum will help).

As the first page of a plugin usually gets updated often with new information, especially about new versions and/or new supported skins, this does not imply that the installer of the skin incorporates all skin files for the listed supported skins. This is absolute usual behaviour, and you´ll find this way of announcing skin support on the first page of nearly all plugins.

I personally think we users should not blame the plugin developer for not delivering all skin files, because that is not his task.

I completely agree. Again, I don't mind looking for the required files at all. I just got the impression that it was included in the installer and thought I had discovered a bug.

 

[Ausir]

Re: HTPCInfo plugin for MediaPortal v0.8.0

Your point is a good one though. There is a huge problem in the way plugins and skins are presented/installed. Hopefully MPEI or whatever it is called will be the one big way we update and install plugins and skins, not copying a number of files somewhere to our computer. Sure, I personally don't have a problem with that nor many others, but to reach a bigger audience we need to evolve.

 

[Micropolis]

HTPCInfo plugin for MediaPortal v0.9.0

Dear community,
after a longer development and beta testing phase the new version 0.9.0 of HTPCInfo is ready for downloading.
This release contains a lot of major plugin improvements, new functions and minor skin changes, so please read the attached manual carefully.

New highlights and informations for users:

• improved exception handling for Performance Counters and plugin reinitialization functionality (see chapter "Troubleshooting")
• enhanced support for TV Server v3
• new WakeOnLAN, File Monitoring and Ticker functionality
• due to changes of internal network handling, please re-configure your network configuration for xAP- and TVServer-Support

More informations for skinners:

• Button “Wake On LAN” (ID 7) added

Thanks:

• Thx to joz and catavolt for beta testing and to cybertex and ausir for translations.
• Also a big thx to all users for more than 1.250 downloads of version v0.8.0.

Cheers and thx, Micropolis ;-)

 

[stdly]

Re: HTPCInfo plugin for MediaPortal v0.9.0

Micropolis,

Thanks!
Everything is showing on both machines for me now even the laptop.

Steve

 

[1stdead]

Re: HTPCInfo plugin for MediaPortal v0.9.0

Great to see an update Micropolis

Would you consider to use to update feature now?
MEDIAPORTAL - free media center - MPEI V2 - The Easy Way to Install Skins and Plugins

I tried it out myself. Should be quite easy to make, and updating to new version are really easy. Thank you (looking forward to see your other plugins this way as well) Ask me if you need any help.

 

[tourettes]

Re: HTPCInfo plugin for MediaPortal v0.9.0

hi Micropolis,

first I would like to thank for a nice plugin (althou I personally dont use it, but lot of our users use). And 2nd I would like to tell some results we have been lately receiving. Seems that the HTPCInfo plugin is source for lot of frame dropping / juddering issues on multiple HTPCs. Here are few pointers that should be taken into consideration for future versions of this plugin (I havent checked the code, so some of these might not be valid)

1) Process() method overloading should be done as less as possible (only handle messaging between MP and the plugin there). On every single video frame rendering the Process() is run thru and if there is some code paths that cause few ms delays it could already cause dropped frame(s). We have only 20ms per frame time for the video decoding, running process() code, trying to match the v-sync, rendering the video frame and on top of that OSD etc. So, use as less code that runs in MPMain thread (easy to see if you put logging into every method, MP will log the used thread)

2) All non-critical background processing should be halted when MP is palying a video (g_player should give this info)

3) All background threads should be running lower priority that the MP itself, this will give smoother GUI animations etc.

After solving those, the frame dropping / juddering issues the MP users have been reporting should be much more rare than thay are now.