Managing ffdshow with one monitor (1 Viewer)

[doveman]

MediaPortal Version: v1.1.0 Final
MediaPortal Skin: StreamedMP
Windows Version: XP Pro SP3
CPU Type: Athlon II X4 630
HDD: 640GB WD SATA
Memory: 4GB DDR2 1066Mhz
Motherboard: Biostar TA790GXB3
Video Card: HD3300 IGP
Video Card Driver: 10.5
Sound Card: onboard Realtek AC97 (ALC662)
Sound Card AC3: no AC3
Sound Card Driver: 5.10.0.6101
1. TV Card: Hauppauge Nova-T 500
1. TV Card Type: DVB-T
1. TV Card Driver: 4.3.27240
MPEG2 Video Codec: Cyberlink Video Decoder (PDVD9)
MPEG2 Audio Codec: ffdshow
h.264 Video Codec: ffdshowDXVA
Satelite/CableTV Provider:
HTPC Case: Custom
Cooling: Nexus 120mm Intake Fan, Stock CPU HSF
Power Supply: OCZ StealthStream 400W
Remote: Nova-T 500
TV: Sony XBR800 36"
TV - HTPC Connection: DVI

I normally run dual-monitor, with my monitor the primary with the taskbar and my TV the secondary running MP. This has the advantage that I can see the ffdshow icons in the systray and adjust the settings from there.

I recently tried just running with just the TV (actually I had it mirrored to my monitor to make it easier for me to adjust things with my mouse/keyboard, but that shouldn't make any difference), as I'm planning on setting up a MP HTPC for my brother who will only have it connected to his TV, and it seems impossible to access the ffdshow setting with this setup. OK, I could run MP in windowed mode but then you get the bar up the top of the screen which detracts from the whole HTPC feel, so full-screen is the only option as far as I'm concerned. I guess what would be needed is a way to minimise and restore MP even when it's running fullscreen but I haven't found any way to do this so far.

So, how do other people who only run with one display deal with this problem?

 

[emphyrio]

Maybe I'm just too simple, but you could just open the Start menu and taskbar by pressing Ctrl+ESC. Then you can access the FFDshow icon and its settings. Or you could just temporarily close down Mediaportal using Alt+F4, then restart it once you're done with your settings.

I also have my HTPC connected just to a TV. When I want to upgrade Mediaportal or change settings, I create a remote desktop connection from another PC or laptop. You need to enable RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) on your HTPC for that to work.

You could even go as far as to enable 'concurrent sessions' in Windows XP, you need a simple hack for that: here. It allows you to create a remote desktop connection to your HTPC, while your brother can still use the HTPC / Mediaportal at the same time. But that's more like a bonus.

Hopefully I gave you some ideas!

 

[doveman]

Thanks for the ideas.

I didn't know about the Ctrl+ESC shortcut, so I'll give that a try. I was trying to use the Windows key to bring up the taskbar/start menu, but that wasn't working and just resulted in the display still showing MP but with the taskbar briefly flickering into view every couple of seconds (but inaccessible). The same thing happened if I tried to bring up the taskmanager with Ctrl-Alt-Delete.

The problem with temporarily shutting down MP is then I'm unable to hear whether the changes I'm making in ffdshow audio are achieving what I want (and with ffdshow video I'd be unable to see whether I like the effect any changes I make have), so that's not really a solution I'm afraid.

I do use RDP to connect to my HTPC over my LAN and I've got the concurrent user hack enabled on it, but that doesn't seem to help with this particular problem as logging on as a different user shows a completely different systray from the HTPC user, so I'm unable to adjust the ffdshow settings for that user.

 

[Owlsroost]

I've no experience with running MP on XP (I run it on Vista), but I suspect you need to turn off 'always on top' or 'exclusive' modes in MP display settings to allow it to be pushed into the background.

Pressing Alt+Enter should switch MP between windowed and fullscreen modes - see Did you know that... - MediaPortal - The Open Source Media Center

You can also start MP in windowed mode from the command line (it's "mediaportal.exe /windowed" I think) - I keep a shortcut on the desktop for this.

I run FFDshow audio, but use it's auto preset loading feature to switch configurations automatically (e.g. for different channel configurations) - this works very well but it takes some thought to set up.

Tony

 

[tourettes]

I've no experience with running MP on XP (I run it on Vista), but I suspect you need to turn off 'always on top' or 'exclusive' modes in MP display settings to allow it to be pushed into the background.

Turning DirectX exclusive mode off is not recommended since you will get tearing that way.

I run FFDshow audio, but use it's auto preset loading feature to switch configurations automatically (e.g. for different channel configurations) - this works very well but it takes some thought to set up.

This would be the right direction to go. Why would you want to do some stuff manually when you can automatize it?

 

[splatterpop]

This is the way to do it:
+ turn off DirectX exclusive mode temporarily in MP setup
+ also turn off any features like "hide taskbar" and "MP always on top"
+ set ffdshow to handle the apropriate codecs
+ start MP in fullscreen mode
+ start a video or live tv
+ hit Windows / Crtl-esc to see if ffdshow is running
+ double click on the ffdshow icon to open and adjust settings

You will have to accept image tearing during this procedure. When you are done, turn on DirectX exclusive mode again and tearing will be gone.

Remember when you use DVI you have to set the black and white points in the ffdshow video decoder to match the desktop color space.

Hth
splatterpop

 

[doveman]

I run FFDshow audio, but use it's auto preset loading feature to switch configurations automatically (e.g. for different channel configurations) - this works very well but it takes some thought to set up.

This would be the right direction to go. Why would you want to do some stuff manually when you can automatize it?

Yes but I need to set things up correctly before I can use the preset loading feature don't I and even then I might still want to adjust the centre channel volume if I can't hear the dialogue on a certain film.

I also sometimes need to change presets depending on whether I'm watching a 5.1 film or watching on headphones (connected to my PC) rather than through my TV speakers. It would be nice if there was a way to assign keyboard shortcuts to change ffdshow presets, or otherwise switch them manually from MP, but as far as I'm aware there isn't, so I need to access the ffdshow icon.

This is the way to do it:
+ turn off DirectX exclusive mode temporarily in MP setup
+ also turn off any features like "hide taskbar" and "MP always on top"
+ set ffdshow to handle the apropriate codecs
+ start MP in fullscreen mode
+ start a video or live tv
+ hit Windows / Crtl-esc to see if ffdshow is running
+ double click on the ffdshow icon to open and adjust settings

You will have to accept image tearing during this procedure. When you are done, turn on DirectX exclusive mode again and tearing will be gone.

Remember when you use DVI you have to set the black and white points in the ffdshow video decoder to match the desktop color space.

Hth
splatterpop

It's probably easier just to use Owlsroost's suggestion of a shortcut to run MP windowed rather than changing settings back and forth isn't it?

Anyway, whilst that will help when setting things up initially, it doesn't really help if I want to adjust volumes for certain films or need to switch presets manually, both of which require access to the ffdshow icon.