LCD plugin supporting more than 70 display types (now with full graphics support!!!) (3 Viewers)

[JoeDalton]

Sorry guys, but it works OK on my Silverstone LC03V with HD44780 compatible display.

Here is what I did:
- I checked out the latest version from CVS in a new folder.
- Opened the solution in VS.NET
- Set the configuration to "Release"
- Built the solution
- copied the complete xbmc\bin\release folder to an empty folder on my HTPC
- launched the configuration program
- setup MP (do not enable the ExternalDisplay plugin yet)
- check wether MP works OK.
- enable the ExternalDisplay plugin and configure it
- Launch MP
- Display shows "MediaPortal" and the current time...

Please follow the same procedure and give me your results...

Joe

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Joe,

I did those steps, but it still gives the following entries in the mediaportal.log:

ExternalDisplay.DisplayLines: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

That line repeats itself over and over in the log file.

 

[MrMad]

Sorry guys, but it works OK on my Silverstone LC03V with HD44780 compatible display.
Please follow the same procedure and give me your results...
Joe

I don't have VS installed at home, so I can not help you there. I just downloaded the CVS build from myshare.de and tried running it. Setup of external display plugin went fine but the display is blank when running MP.
Log file is full of NULL exceptions ("ExternalDisplay.DisplayLines: ...not set to an instance...) but there is no exception in the start method.
Maybe we should wait for the 1st of July build before investigating this further?

 

[JoeDalton]

:arrow: Did you try to delete the ExternalDisplay.xml file in the MP home folder?
If you then start the configuration program and reconfigure the plugin a new version is created.

Anyway, I just committed some changes in CVS that will enable extensive logging in my plugin. Please try again with this version. If it still doesn't work and you're still getting exceptions in the MP log file, please send all the lines from your log file regarding "ExternalDisplay". (No need to copy ALL "Object reference not set..." lines :wink: )

I hope this will give me some more information what goes wrong on your side...

Joe

 

[Anonymous]

I used the new CVS and deleted the ExternalDisplay.xml and after that it is working again!

Thanks Joe!

 

[pshdo]

Hi there m8´s....

Maybe i´m just that stupid , but pleace tell me:

I use Girder with LCDMaster loaded, can i then somehow use it for Mediaportal with this new LCD/VFD plugin ??

Anyone that can tell me how to ??
(I will be glad to get a little help with this)

The reason for using Girder with LCDMaster is in my case that LCDMaster is the only thing with support for my VFD´s.....
(FUTUBA 2x20 Seriel VFD types)

 

[xavier]

Added Girder driver (sends generated text to Girder by raising the MPDisplayUpdated event in Girder)

Few words to explain the use of ExternalDisplay with Girder.

It's necessary to run the command regsvr32 girder.dll in the folder of Girder, then the modality Girder Display 1.0 can be used.

To visualize the result, load in Girder this file sample:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Girder><Group Name="MPDisplayUpdate" Identifier="19060" Enabled="TRUE"><MultiGroup Name="MPDisplayUpdate" Identifier="19074" Enabled="TRUE"><StateCount>1</StateCount><StateBegin>1</StateBegin><StateCurrent>1</StateCurrent><StateInvert>FALSE</StateInvert><Command Name="Simple OSD" Identifier="19075" Enabled="TRUE"><StateCount>1</StateCount><StateBegin>1</StateBegin><StateCurrent>1</StateCurrent><StateInvert>FALSE</StateInvert><OSD>FALSE</OSD><Submatch>FALSE</Submatch><Topmost>TRUE</Topmost><OneMatch>FALSE</OneMatch><UseVar>FALSE</UseVar><MatchHidden>FALSE</MatchHidden><MatchNum>1</MatchNum><ActionType>4</ActionType><ActionSubType>9</ActionSubType><sValue3>Arial|-20|700|0|0|0|0|1|65280|0|0|0|1|0|64|128|4|4|8421504</sValue3><iValue3>16777215</iValue3><bValue1>FALSE</bValue1><bValue2>FALSE</bValue2><bValue3>FALSE</bValue3></Command><EventString Name="MPDisplayUpdate" Identifier="19079" Enabled="TRUE" Invert="FALSE" Device="19" IrStr="MPDisplayUpdated"></EventString></MultiGroup></Group></Girder>

Many thanks to JoeDalton for this new version of your ExternalDisplay plugin. :wink:

Regards,
xavier

 

[vbap]

Internal Parallel PCI cards

Hi Joe,

Just started trying out your plugin - thanks.

One thing I discovered in my situation: I have a Parallel VFD, and to avoid ugly cable looping to tthe rear port on the motherboard, I used an internal PCI card with 2 parallel ports (one external, one internal). I connect my VFD to the internal port.

Although these ports show up at LPT2, LPT3, I found that VFD would not work using these settings. I manually had to enter the parallel port address (in my case, BC00) into the ExternalDisplays.xml config file.

Perhaps you could allow entry of this directly via the Setup screen?

Thanks,
Danny

 

[JoeDalton]

Thanks for the example xavier... I don't use Girder myself, so I couldn't have helped him with the Girder part.

Just a little more explanation pshdo:
If your display has more than 2 lines, start with setting the number of rows to 2 in the plugin setup screen.
Set the number of columns according to your display.

If you get it to work this way, you can try to set the number of rows to the correct value, but then you'll have to mess with the ExternalDisplay.xml file in the MP home folder in order to let MP generate text for those extra lines...

Goodluck!

Joe

PS: xavier, you really messed up the layout of the forum here by posting these long lines :wink:

 

[JoeDalton]

Re: Internal Parallel PCI cards

Although these ports show up at LPT2, LPT3, I found that VFD would not work using these settings. I manually had to enter the parallel port address (in my case, BC00) into the ExternalDisplays.xml config file.

I will think about this vbap. The values LPT1, LPT2 and so on are indeed just user-friendly translations of the port adresses that these ports normally (99% of the time) use. Frodo (the BIG MP BOSS :wink: ) asked me to put these translations in to keep the setup screen easy to use for computer users that don't know anything about port adresses.

As you discovered, if these values are not sufficient for someone, he can always change the XML file itself...

Joe