Feature Request - Remote Control

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jmcc
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Feature Request - Remote Control

Post by jmcc »

Hi - would it be possible to allow an instance of MM5 on one PC to be the remote for another? I'd like to have the light-weight MMW interface on PC1 controlling PC2 (which is actually in a cupboard) and the sound outputting via PC2s soundcard, with the MM library on PC2, etc. I've tried loads of Windows ways of doing this via MonkeyTunes, etc, but none actually gives me the basic functionality that I need. (Hyperfine Remote and Monkeytunes performs exactly this role brilliantly for Android however).
Ludek
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Re: Feature Request - Remote Control

Post by Ludek »

Hi, this is possible even with MM4 instances.

Just ensure that for for the other instance that is supposed to be renderer you have checked the following checkbox:
[x] Accept input/control of MediaMonkey player via UPnP/DLNA
it is in Options|Streaming (for MM5), and Options|Player (for MM4)

Then you can select the renderer in another instance of MM4/MM5 via right-click player > Play to (MM5) or Choose Player (MM4) or in Options|Player
jmcc
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Re: Feature Request - Remote Control

Post by jmcc »

But doesn't that involve transferring the file from PC2 to PC1 and then transferring it back for rendering? Or have I misunderstood how rendering works in a DLNA environment? Thx John
Ludek
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Re: Feature Request - Remote Control

Post by Ludek »

If you want PC2 just to control PC1's playback and play content from PC1 then you need to browse PC1's media server on PC2 and play it to PC1.
i.e.
1) Right-click player on PC2 > Play to > PC1
2) go to PC2 > Media Servers > PC1 > ... and double-click the track
jmcc
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Re: Feature Request - Remote Control

Post by jmcc »

Hi Ludek - yes I understood that; but behind the scenes does that not download the file from the MM DLNA Server (PC2) onto the controller (PC1) over http, do any conversion required to make the format compatible with the renderer, then push it back to the renderer (PC2 again in my case) to play? Or is it intelligent enough to realise that it can just do all this locally on PC2? Thx John
Ludek
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Re: Feature Request - Remote Control

Post by Ludek »

If you use PC1 as controller only then it just redirects the file link from the server to the renderer, so once the server and renderer are on the same PC2 then there is no file transfer involved between PC1 and PC2.
Last edited by Ludek on Tue May 22, 2018 10:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
jmcc
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Re: Feature Request - Remote Control

Post by jmcc »

Excellent - I'll give it a go this evening when I get home!
jmcc
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Re: Feature Request - Remote Control

Post by jmcc »

Not sure if it was a MM5 controlling MM4 issue, but when I tried this last night with PC1 (running MM5) as controller, PC2 (running MM4) as DLNA server and renderer it played the playlist loaded on PC2 rather than the songs I had selected from PC1 acting as remote. When I removed the playlist from PC2 it didn't play anything.

In a sense this validates the fact that it doesn't pass via PC1, but something still seems to be awry.
Ludek
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Re: Feature Request - Remote Control

Post by Ludek »

Hi, doing a quick test on the same PC with MM4 (renderer + server) and MM5 (control point) and it works here.
In MM4 NP queue is only a single track (added by MM5 when I double clicked it in MM5) and once the playback ends then MM5 adds next track from MM5 NP to MM4 NP and plays:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ng8qlb66n4uc2 ... 4.png?dl=0

EDIT:
What exactly isn't working for you?
a) When you start playback - is the song playing on MM4 instance?
b) Is the seekbar moving and in sync on both instances?
c) Once the first track ends, does it start playback of the next track in MM5 queue?

Playing with it a bit and found that b) wasn't true once (i.e. seekbar wasn't moving in MM5) and sometimes c) happens, i.e. it plays only one track. Looking into it...

If the playback doesn't start at all for you then please generate debug log from the MM5 (control point) instance for me to analyze.

EDIT2: The issues with postponing to the next track and seekbar moving (b,c) are fixed in build 2106
jmcc
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Re: Feature Request - Remote Control

Post by jmcc »

Hi Ludek, here's my scenario:

PC1 - controller running MM5 with "Play To" set to PC2.
PC2 - DLNA server and renderer on MM4

When you start playback - is the song playing on MM4 instance?

When I right-click and "Play Now" on the controller (PC1) for a DLNA based song on PC2, a song starts playing on the renderer (PC2), but it's not the song that I selected on PC1, but the song from the "Playing" queue on PC2. If I delete everything from the "Playing" queue on PC2, then nothing plays when I right-click and "Play Now" on the controller (PC1).
jmcc
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Re: Feature Request - Remote Control

Post by jmcc »

Hi - I've now seen it exhibiting both behaviours. If I play something directly on PC2, it plays fine, but if I then select something on PC1, when I double click on it, it plays what was previously playing on PC2. If I then delete the now playing list on PC2, then try to play something via PC1, it still plays the song that was previously playing on PC2. If I then press "Stop" on PC2 so that the seekbar goes back to zero, when I play something using PC1 as controller all works as it should. It's like once the song is launched on PC2, it will continue playing it until stopped on PC2 itself, after which it hands back song selection control to the DLNA controller, though the Play, Pause, etc. transport controls have been working fine all along.
mrhollywood360
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Re: Feature Request - Remote Control

Post by mrhollywood360 »

Just RDP into the second PC
jmcc
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Re: Feature Request - Remote Control

Post by jmcc »

That's how I do it now, but it's not a very elegant solution. There's also potential issues with audio redirection using RDP.
Ludek
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Re: Feature Request - Remote Control

Post by Ludek »

jmcc wrote: Wed May 23, 2018 5:41 pm If I then press "Stop" on PC2 so that the seekbar goes back to zero, when I play something using PC1 as controller all works as it should. It's like once the song is launched on PC2, it will continue playing it until stopped on PC2 itself,
I cannot replicate, in my case double clicking track on PC2 (MM5) always clears the now playing queue on PC1 (MM4) and adds the double clicked song and plays it.
But maybe the issue is that I am testing 2106 while you are testing 2089 (3 months old build), I will ask the MM5 team to release another alfa/beta.
jmcc
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Re: Feature Request - Remote Control

Post by jmcc »

Great - thanks Ludek.
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