Render

[Tobias]

Hey guys,

New day, new problem

I have followed the discussions about rendering screen ouput in plugins, and sub mentions in a previous discussion the "RequiresMoreRendering" public boolean makes the screen render continuously. The problem I have is that it dont seem to work well with the MediaMVP. In PC mode, my plugin renders OK but when I try with the MediaMVP it wont. The only thing that seem to cause a "good" render is by pressing a key on the remote...

I also seen in the Jukebox plugin a public bool named "needsRendering" (see code sample below). Is this the same thing as the "RequiresMoreRendering"?

<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Code Sample </td></tr><tr><td id="CODE"> /// <summary>Called every second or so if the task is active to determine if it needs rendering</summary>
public bool needsRendering()
{
return bUpdateContinuously;
}[/QUOTE]

Grateful for suggestions...

[sub]

needsRendering() is called once a second while a plugin is active. If it returns true, then GB-PVR calls render and updates the screen. This should work with the MVP.

[Tobias]

OK sub thanks... A possibility I thought of is that the MediaMVP is too busy to accept screen updates (due to some weird things in my code). Oh well, back to work...

[tkgafs]

Quote[/b] (sub @ Sep. 19 2004,21:46)]needsRendering() is called once a second while a plugin is active. If it returns true, then GB-PVR calls render and updates the screen. This should work with the MVP.

Sub,

would it be possible to have some form of granularity in calling needsRendering().

so that at different points in a plugins code it could be called more often

for example in the jukebox plugin if you are trying to select tracks to play [on the mvp] using the remote it is really quite slow as you move up and down through folders and track lists,and as I think about it, it does seem to be about a 1 sec delay before a track is highlighted

it would be nice if I could at this point in effect set something that says please now call needsRendering every 0.5 secs until I have finished this interactive bit when I will ask for the setting to go back to the default value of 1 sec

not sure if I have explained that as well as I could, or if that is the actual problem as file selection is really fast when you are running on the PC.

tkgafs

[sub]

If you press a key, render() will be called immediately.

I cant really call the regular needsRendering() more than once a second, or the MVP cant keep up. Its only meant to be used for simple screen updates, like a song name changing. You should also only return true from needsRendering() when something has changed. Returning true, then drawing the same screen is waste of resources.

[Tobias]

Stumbled into something last night that has to do with this subject...

In my My Albums plug-in there is a Now Playing screen (almost similar to the one in the jukeBox plugin). To be able to update that screen I have function that returns true from needsRendering() if the Now Playing screen is active and the currently playing songs index differs from the indexLastRendered (public int that I save in the render() method).

This works excellent on PC but not on the MediaMVP. But maybe, just maybe I have a clue about what may cause the problem:

The MediaMVP screen saver kicks in after about a minute. When the playlist changes song, the screen saver is deactivated - but right now the MediaMVP sends back the screen as it looked before the song was updated. Even if i wait two or three songs ahead, the same screen gets sent back. So my feeling is that the problem may be the annoying screensaver... guessing that the MediaMVP saves the screen as it looked before the screensaver kicks in and then returns it after the needsRendering() gets called - thus replacing what should be rendered with a &quot;old&quot; screen.

What I am going to try tonight:

Return true from needsRendering() during a period of time, say a few seconds after a song is changed. If the problem is what I think it is, my guess is that it may be the solution...

I would appreciate you peoples comments on this!

P.S. A klick from the remote always get the MediaMVP to render OK D.S.

[sub]

Yes, your description of what is happening is correct.

Quote[/b] ]What I am going to try tonight:

Return true from needsRendering() during a period of time, say a few seconds after a song is changed. If the problem is what I think it is, my guess is that it may be the solution...

Yes, this is probably the best thing to do. I have no way to tell the screen saver is active. Another option is to return true for neesRendering() two times (if you get what I mean). I guess it depends if you want to get rid of the MVP screensaver.

[Tobias]

Quote[/b] (sub @ Sep. 23 2004,12:32)]Another option is to return true for neesRendering() two times (if you get what I mean). I guess it depends if you want to get rid of the MVP screensaver.

Thats a even better idea. Thanks for the tip and the confirmation...

Work goes on

[Tobias]

No it didnt work...

Howewer, watching the log file makes you beleive it does:
<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Code Sample </td></tr><tr><td id="CODE">
...
004-09-24 12:25:42.275 VERBOSE [2] My Albums Plugin: Auto render pass 4 of 10
2004-09-24 12:25:42.275 VERBOSE [21] offset: 166000
2004-09-24 12:25:42.306 VERBOSE [2] frame sent
2004-09-24 12:25:42.369 VERBOSE [21] offset: 168000
2004-09-24 12:25:42.494 VERBOSE [21] offset: 170000
2004-09-24 12:25:42.587 VERBOSE [21] offset: 172000
2004-09-24 12:25:42.681 VERBOSE [21] offset: 174000
2004-09-24 12:25:42.775 VERBOSE [21] offset: 176000
2004-09-24 12:25:42.962 VERBOSE [21] offset: 178000
2004-09-24 12:25:42.994 VERBOSE [21] offset: 180000
2004-09-24 12:25:43.119 VERBOSE [21] offset: 182000
2004-09-24 12:25:43.181 VERBOSE [21] offset: 184000
2004-09-24 12:25:43.275 VERBOSE [2] My Albums Plugin: Auto render pass 5 of 10
2004-09-24 12:25:43.306 VERBOSE [2] frame sent
2004-09-24 12:25:43.337 VERBOSE [21] offset: 186000
2004-09-24 12:25:43.369 VERBOSE [21] offset: 188000
2004-09-24 12:25:43.462 VERBOSE [21] offset: 190000
2004-09-24 12:25:43.619 VERBOSE [21] offset: 192000
2004-09-24 12:25:43.712 VERBOSE [21] offset: 194000
2004-09-24 12:25:44.275 VERBOSE [2] My Albums Plugin: Auto render pass 6 of 10
2004-09-24 12:25:44.306 VERBOSE [2] frame sent
2004-09-24 12:25:44.525 VERBOSE [21] offset: 196000
2004-09-24 12:25:44.556 VERBOSE [21] offset: 198000
...
[/QUOTE]

The &quot;My Albums Plugin: Auto render...&quot; is sent by my plugin everytime we return true in NeedsRendering(). As you can see from the log I have set it up to render 10 times in a row(! after the song is switched, without success. However it seems that something replies to my request(the &quot;frame sent&quot; message), and I believe that this must be when GB-PVR sends the frame to the MVP.. Am I wrong?

I am soon beginning to think that it may be some hardware problem... maybe upgrade the firmware of the box and try the latest dongle.bin or something...

[sub]

If you leave the mvp playing a net radio station, do you see the song name change automatically without having to press a key? This uses the same mechanism.

You may want to try this with the screen saver on, and also near the end of a song, so the screen saver isn't showing.