iTunes Player Plugin

guino · 05-17-2009, 06:07 PM

iTunes Player for Ride Runner
====================

Description:
This is a player plugin for Ride Runner which uses iTunes as the audio engine.

Purpose:
This plugin provides the choice to use iTunes with Ride Runner instead of winamp/wmp/fmod/foobar2000.

Requirements:
-iTunes 8.1.1.10 or newer (Tested with 8.1.1.10)
Available at: http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/
-Ride Runner 5-1-2009 (Untested with previous versions)
Available at: www.nisuautomotive.com

Installation:
-Copy iTunesRR.DLL to the desired location of install and use regsvr32 to register it.
For instance: regsvr32 iTunesRR.DLL (from a command prompt)
-In RR.INI set (make sure there's no winamppath= setting):
player=iTunesRR
playerpath=c:\program files\iTunes\ (location where iTunes is installed)
visuname=iTunesVis
-Open iTunes by itself (while RR is NOT running), and:
Open Menu Edit->Preferences and UNCHECK "Check for updates automatically"
Choose the Visualization you want to use in RR (from the menu)

Considerations:
-This is a BETA plugin -- please report any bugs/suggestions
-iTunes is quite memory demanding, it may take a considerable amount of time to start the player.
-iTunes Visualizations can be quite CPU intensive and may slow down RR a bit when they're running.
-If you have multiple monitors, iTunes may flash briefly when first starting a visualization.
-This player does NOT implement any iTunes library support. Another plugin could be done for that.
-Any files you play with this plugin that are NOT yet in the iTunes library will be added to it.

hans14914 · 05-22-2009, 03:37 PM

I have a large collection of ALAC files, so I am very interested in the ability of RR to use iTunes as the default music player. How does the current implementation of this plug-in handle playlists and music directories? In the above "Considerations Section" it mentions that there is not iTunes library support, and also that any file not in the library will be added to it. How could i use my existing iTunes library to show up in RR while not being duplicated in iTunes?

Thanks
Hans

mezz64 · 05-22-2009, 03:45 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by hans14914

I have a large collection of ALAC files, so I am very interested in the ability of RR to use iTunes as the default music player. How does the current implementation of this plug-in handle playlists and music directories? In the above "Considerations Section" it mentions that there is not iTunes library support, and also that any file not in the library will be added to it. How could i use my existing iTunes library to show up in RR while not being duplicated in iTunes?

Thanks
Hans

You can also play ALAC in winamp or foobar with the right plugins. Either is a much better option in my opinion.

hans14914 · 05-22-2009, 03:48 PM

I have had difficulty with the itunes library being imported properly into winamp. It duplicated every song twice, and shows the file extension - like its not reading the tags. I will try foobar, and see how it does, but it sure seems if there is iTunes support, that it would be the logical choice.

ABProbe88 · 06-13-2009, 01:38 AM

I could really use this because it is the simplest way to integrate my iPhone's music into RR. I was wondering how much you had working with the plugin. I only seem to be able to play/pause and select the position within a song. I don't get track info and I can't skip forward or backward. It may be because I am using iTunes 8.2.0.23.

guino · 06-13-2009, 10:03 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by ABProbe88

I could really use this because it is the simplest way to integrate my iPhone's music into RR. I was wondering how much you had working with the plugin. I only seem to be able to play/pause and select the position within a song. I don't get track info and I can't skip forward or backward. It may be because I am using iTunes 8.2.0.23.

Haven't tested that version of iTunes, but that should not matter for forward/backward. If the iPhone has the same database as iPods do, then the best way to interface with RR is using RR's built-in interface to the iPod -- which is 100% independent of which AUDIO player you use (so you can use winamp, foobar, wmp, etc)..

PS: All of the available AUDIO players for RR implement AT LEAST: PLAY/PAUSE/STOP/FFWD/RRWD, Playlist Management, Volume/EQ control and Visualization.

ABProbe88 · 06-13-2009, 10:46 AM

The reason I want to implement this is because it has a different database than the iPod (also I can't seem to get shuffle to work, but that is a minor concern). The only way to get access is by using programs or SSH, neither of which is easily workable. Also should the plugin give track information?

guino · 07-18-2009, 05:33 PM

Plugin install instructions updated.

@ABProbe88: This is only a player plugin, so it only uses iTunes as the audio engine. It DOES NOT provide any database or song management features.

hans14914 · 07-20-2009, 12:11 PM

Guino,

What is the best way to import an itunes databse into RR so the correct coverart and song info are listed? Will MediaRR do this with some modifications?

Thanks

guino · 07-20-2009, 04:42 PM

To import the music over read those:
http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?postid=2290246
http://mp3.about.com/od/tutorials/ht/Winamp_itsongs.htm

I am unaware of a way to import the cover art because I think itunes keeps it stored elsewhere. Maybe I can dig up the information on the itunes SDK to see if they make the image available somehow, but I doubt it.

hans14914 · 07-20-2009, 04:54 PM

Guino,

Thanks for the fast reply. Itunes supports a very robust scripting interface, and there is an embed artwork script, which i have run, it can be found here:

http://dougscripts.com/itunes/script...hp?sp=embedart

There is also a script to save a copy of the artwork in the folder:

http://dougscripts.com/itunes/script...p=savealbumart

Assuming both of those scripts had run, what are your thoughts?

Thanks
Hans

guino · 07-20-2009, 06:51 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by hans14914

Guino,

Thanks for the fast reply. Itunes supports a very robust scripting interface, and there is an embed artwork script, which i have run, it can be found here:

http://dougscripts.com/itunes/script...hp?sp=embedart

There is also a script to save a copy of the artwork in the folder:

http://dougscripts.com/itunes/script...p=savealbumart

Assuming both of those scripts had run, what are your thoughts?

Thanks
Hans

If the second script (save albumart to folder) runs, then you should have an image on the folder for the songs you're playing -- if this is the case, RR will automatically read and display that image as the album art. The only requirement is that the coverfile setting matches the extension for the files iTunes writes. So if iTunes is saving PNG files, set coverfile=*.png in RR.INI, if it saves BMP files, then set coverfile=*.bmp in RR.INI and if it saves JPG files, then set coverfile=*.JPG ... as long as a valid file is in the same folder, then RR will display it.

kbreeden · 07-21-2009, 11:07 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by hans14914

I have had difficulty with the itunes library being imported properly into winamp. It duplicated every song twice, and shows the file extension - like its not reading the tags. I will try foobar, and see how it does, but it sure seems if there is iTunes support, that it would be the logical choice.

I'm not sure if this is the issue you're referring to, but I have been using this little script to convert itunes playlists into Winamp playlists.

User Name		Remember Me?
Password