mediate ice - new free DirectX based front end - Page 6

Laidback · 06-13-2007, 02:49 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by jazz13

Well that explains it. I was testing MediateICE on a different machine (not typically used for media) so there is still a chance it will work on my Carpc then.

As for navigation, you're implementing it via an external application? I know it's alot more work, but I have to ask. Why does everyone do this instead of integrating directly into the media front end using, say, the Destinator SDK..? Just curious.

Keep up the awesome work!

There are not many with an SDK, Destinator has of course but to use it costs $$$

peijffertje · 06-13-2007, 03:06 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by jazz13

Huh? Umm. What drugs are you on?

Any reason to react that harsh?

proph · 06-13-2007, 10:52 PM

I'm with you... no reason to be so harsh on a thread about a DEAD FRONTEND.

athomemedia · 06-27-2007, 04:41 PM

Hi,

Sorry its been a while since we've given a progress update - there's a very good reason for that, primarily because I've been working on the mediate ice install in my car along with stuff on a few other paying projects.

We have sat nav integration with Directions PC Navigator 6 working but are still optimising to get a better frame rate. There are a few issues with both mediate and Navigator both using Direct X acceleration at the same time (Navigator looks like it uses DirectDraw or some older version of DirectX) which is stalling the graphic rendering a little.

The approach we've used is very generic - much like embedding in RR et al, but is much harder to accomplish with DirectX. So once we have this all bedded in nicely we can then open up the API and publish some howto's and docs.

I'll upload some screenshots tomorrow and a new release early next week hopefully.

Cheers.

peijffertje · 06-28-2007, 03:17 AM

Looking forward to it!

Mañana · 06-28-2007, 03:59 AM

Keep it up! =D

EQNish · 07-04-2007, 11:59 AM

Just after a quick install and look around one thing I noticed was the inability to move/change the default location for media files. As I have a 100+ gigs of MP3s that I keep in my car (ona portable HD) it would be much nicer if the enduser could determine the default location for these files!

I also didn't like the way the music animation was "stuck" ontop and had a hard time moving from screen to screen while listening to Mp3s.

Also will there be any radio support, for something like MP3Car.coms HD Radio or one of the other options?.

*Edit

On further playing, I have discovered that I can not choce which audio device Mediate plays through... I have 2 sound cards, and Mrdiate will only snrd it's sounds through the windows defualt, even if I change the advanced settings!!

Jordi · 07-30-2007, 10:08 AM

Hello,

This is probably going to be a silly question, but it gots me bugged. When Meidate starts it is starting with the sound volume at max 0 db. How do you setup the default starting volume to be a lot lower?

Cheers
Jordi

athomemedia · 08-09-2007, 04:22 AM

So sorry it's taken a while to get this next version out. We've been swamped with other less interesting but better paying projects for the last few months. However, we eventually got there with this latest version.

You can download it here:
http://www.athomemedia.co.uk/downloa...teICE1.6.9.exe

or if you already have mediate ice installed, just get the update:
http://www.athomemedia.co.uk/downloa...pdate1.6.9.exe

Enhancements

Added support for embedding external applications through the use of plugins
Added plugin for satellite navigation using PC Navigator from Directions Ltd
Added support for storing theme specific settings in preferences XML file
Added new "music" settings screen to "ice" theme
Added new "mode" function ("o" key) for toggling between satnav & music in car
Added new "configure" function ("c" key) for showing advanced settings dialog
Added advanced configuration setting to group directories together when browsing media files
Added advanced configuration setting to disable Windows balloon tips while running mediate
Added support for setting maximum frames per second (FPS) throttle in advanced settings
Added plugin properties & configuration dialog to plugins page of advanced settings
Added column sorting functionality to plugins list in advanced settings
Added support for restoring previous volume setting on starting mediate
Added support for setting music visualisation rendering quality and improved speed
Added persistent command history to console, shift key support and improved scrolling speed
Changed minimum volume level to -50dB from previous -40dB setting for quiet listening in car

Bug Fixes

Fixed occasional "division by zero" error as reported in forums.
Fixed a few bugs with repeat animations getting out of sync in "ice" theme
Fixed potential threading issues with plugins writing to logfile & triggering actions
Fixed problem with some animations not scaling properly to different screen resolutions
Fixed problem with an invalid theme name preventing mediate from starting

In addition, we have also developed a plugin for use with the Velleman K8055 USB experiment board which is really handy for steering wheel control integration etc. This is not included in the main install, but will be available for download on our main site shortly.

The plugin architecture is also now nicely matured so we'll post details of that and hopefully a sample plugin in the near future.

Enjoy, and please give feedback of any problems/issues you find.

taKuto · 08-09-2007, 07:17 AM

just a few things i'd love to see in your future releases:
- have the controls hide or something during video playback (subtitles for videos are being covered)
- when adding a music folder, have it list songs in subdirectories. I organize my music in many subfolders, and i'd have to open the folder and select the song just to play it.
- unicode support, songs in different languages cannot be read/executed

proph · 08-09-2007, 09:40 PM

I thought this would be another dead front end, but the addition of GPS, and the ability to launch external apps will make it a plus. The speed of the skin is great. What would be great is:

- A plugin for the Fusion Brain is a must!!!
- A skinning App would be nice, so we can customize your base.

I haven't tested my Iguidance through Mediate, or set mediate as a shell like it would used in my truck.

peijffertje · 08-10-2007, 02:33 AM

Just looked at it using my office PC and it looks great. Im really happy with the navigator plugin. Thanks!

athomemedia · 08-11-2007, 05:29 PM

Thanks for the +ve feedback so far.

Couple of things..

- during video playback the transport buttons are shown for a few seconds then scroll/fade out of view so you can watch the full video. Tap the screen to show them again, tap whilst the transport buttons are visible to return to the media browser screen.

- for music/other folders, if you have music stored in various folders you can add each one as a folder in mediate (with virtual folder UNchecked) and then you'll be able to see the contents of each folder combined within the music browser. Of course that will only work if you only have a few folders and not for hundreds of artists as it will become unworkable. For that scenario we'd need to code up a flat view (without directories) of the files.

- unicode support has been mentioned previously. There are a few other higher priority features to get in first, but we'll get to that at some point. In the meantime you could just rename the files as a workaround, but that's probably a pain.

- wasn't sure what "fusion brain" was, but just searched for it - it looks very similar to the velleman K8055D USB experiment board which we've just developed a plugin for. I have that hooked up in my monaro (must post some pics of the install soon) to the steering wheel controls and its working nicely. Hopefully it wouldn't be too much work to port the plugin to work with the fusion board - is that becoming very popular now? The Velleman board seemed to be very popular a while back and was available off the shelf.

Right, back to coding. Currently working on some funky digital signal processing features - 10 band graphic equaliser, auto volume adjust, bass boost etc. Of course these things are always more fun when they're coded as a native app rather than relying on an external media player...

taKuto · 08-11-2007, 06:07 PM

the controls dont seem to disappear for me. I notice that once the video starts playing, the slider control bar fades in to appear, but then it just stays like that for a while, how long does it usually take for it to fade out? Is it a setting or something I need to change to make it fade out quicker?

EQNish · 08-11-2007, 08:50 PM

I was checking out the GPS potion of the plugins, truthfull I dont like how it works! I had to start the iGuidance first, then load the plugin, which was just a screen cap... I guess it will work for most, I'll stick to duel screens