Enhanced Output Control

Any ideas about how to improve MediaMonkey for Windows 4? Let us know!

Moderator: Gurus

cmx
Posts: 367
Joined: Sun May 21, 2006 11:56 am

Enhanced Output Control

Post by cmx »

Just more...lol. This is kind of a wide open subject...there is not really much in terms of precedent.

I use Remote Speakers output and MM's direct output.

It is currently difficult to dig into the tools/options to change stuff.

Ideally it would be useful to have an easy menu/button option to open a dialog for routing output.

I would like to quickly change between outputs and I would like to have multiple simultaneous outputs.

I would like to send to multiple Remote Speaker plugin clients...selectable from MM.

In use I'd like to be able to:

1). Play music thru MM and output it to the Remote Speaker plugin AND at the same time have computer speakers available for other programs. (I can do this currently)

2). In addtion, I'd like to be able to simply press an icon and have music from MM simultaneously play thru Remote Speakers AND regular computer speakers...(currently it is one or the other)

3). Ultimately I'd like to simply have "zone" icons I could push to turn MM output off/on to multiple sources...

I use "Remote Speakers"'s plugin as reference here because it is what I use...but the overall wish idea is to have easy/quick multiple selectable output matrix control from MM main screen.
Peke
Posts: 17457
Joined: Tue Jun 10, 2003 7:21 pm
Location: Earth
Contact:

Post by Peke »

@CMX
Play Track and right click on Player :)
Best regards,
Peke
MediaMonkey Team lead QA/Tech Support guru
Admin of Free MediaMonkey addon Site HappyMonkeying
Image
Image
Image
How to attach PICTURE/SCREENSHOTS to forum posts
cmx
Posts: 367
Joined: Sun May 21, 2006 11:56 am

Post by cmx »

Thanks peke. Cool, I have never used this.....but.

It's the same path and number of clicks as the "Tools|Options" menu selection to change the output. You still have to drill down thru several menus and dialogs.

It would be be nice to have the switch selection in its own expanding menu selection on the right click menu or the Tools dropdown(as Remote Speakers works in Winamp)....in iTunes there is a selection box drop down in the lower right corner of the itunes window for output selection...seems kinda messy, odd Apple did it that way.

Optimally it would be nice to have the ability to customize buttons/icons on the toolbars.
Peke
Posts: 17457
Joined: Tue Jun 10, 2003 7:21 pm
Location: Earth
Contact:

Post by Peke »

?? Right click Setup Player get you directly to player 3 click less (Tools -> Options -> Player)

Please remember that iTunes always use Quick Time as only output, so it is easy to make UI for Something that is only one. MM do not have that privilege :(

Winamp on other have have few internal calls to create Context Menu that makes things like that possible.
Best regards,
Peke
MediaMonkey Team lead QA/Tech Support guru
Admin of Free MediaMonkey addon Site HappyMonkeying
Image
Image
Image
How to attach PICTURE/SCREENSHOTS to forum posts
cmx
Posts: 367
Joined: Sun May 21, 2006 11:56 am

Post by cmx »

Try the click count again...Tools|Options|Output plugins

123

right click on player(that counts as a "select and click" the same as selecting and clicking "Tool")|Setup player|Output plugins

123


Same click count, same complex menu dialog search and select.

...and the Tools|Options method actually remembers the last job within the same start instance of MM so the second and subsequent times you don't need the third click...right menu always resets to default "General" so third click is ALWAYS necessary.

I am suggesting one simple menu click and expand and no deep dialog search and select, or the ability to customize one simple icon/button.

---------------------------------

I'm not a programmer/developer and I guess it could be complicated, but it doesn't seem to me like it wouldbe any big UI thing to select between outputs. MM does it NOW with radio buttons but has it buried under levels of menus. It just needs to be designed and prioritized, evidently iTunes recognizes the prime utility and has it readily available front and center...maybe its a good design idea.

It won't be that big of a deal here as MM settles down...it HAS been a hassle with the alpha and beta testing because the Remote Speakers plugin would have to be uninstalled and reinstalled and then reconfigured and reselected for each MM install and version test...BUT I DO think having the "routing" and "output matrix" functionality is only going to become more of an issue as more and more people begin using the computer as the primary media center.

Apple doesn't do stuff for no reason...the simple routing matrix functionalty they have in place is a central convergence point for all the media that move thru iTunes which is now including movies and televison, its kinda like a stealth technology...the new Apple TV HD unit is coming out soon....I think it will make a small but important impact on the way we will be using all this stuff in the future...please don't leave me stuck with itunes...lol.
---------------------------------

Is the winamp functionality something that the devs don't want to do in MM? In other threads people have discussed the need for menu/toolbar customization. This is a great example of an important functionality that could use it.

This is kinda like power windows....
lukeclancy
Posts: 54
Joined: Fri Jun 23, 2006 9:46 am

Re: Enhanced Output Control

Post by lukeclancy »

this kinda question seems to get asked a few times, but not recently. I'm wondering is there any news on this...and by this i mean using something to 'fork' the output from MM to more than one output plugin at a time, in the manner that ioannis' Multiple Output Plugin does? (that winamp plugin seems to install, but then doesnt have anywhere to configure...so it might work, but it sorta doesnt...)

The upshot of this would be that MM could send audio to various rooms around the house (via Airport Express) but still be audible back at the 'main' PC. (As things stands, one has to choose remote speakers *or* the MM plugin on the main machine...which is inconvenient. If one is using say, iMonkey or indeed Salling Clicker to control MM then you *still* have to return to the PC to switch into Remote Speakers output...(maybe somebody has done a script for salling to switch outputs, dunno, but in any case, the nicest answer would be for MM itself to offer forked output...

As the very nicely thought out question above suggests, this would be a important feature if mediamonkey was going to stay at the centre of a home audio system/network...

cheers
cmx
Posts: 367
Joined: Sun May 21, 2006 11:56 am

Re: Enhanced Output Control

Post by cmx »

Yeah, no response from devs....basic functionality that should be addressed imo.
Peke
Posts: 17457
Joined: Tue Jun 10, 2003 7:21 pm
Location: Earth
Contact:

Re: Enhanced Output Control

Post by Peke »

Best regards,
Peke
MediaMonkey Team lead QA/Tech Support guru
Admin of Free MediaMonkey addon Site HappyMonkeying
Image
Image
Image
How to attach PICTURE/SCREENSHOTS to forum posts
cmx
Posts: 367
Joined: Sun May 21, 2006 11:56 am

Re: Enhanced Output Control

Post by cmx »

Yeah luke, best situation would be if MM was able to output to multiple output plugins...an output "matrix"...AND made the matrix controls user configurable/accessable via "toolbar configuration"...why it is buried in options/tools has always seemed odd extremely "klunky". I was excited when we got "user configurable" toolbars...but then came disappointmenmt- the funtions I wanted to configure are not available........

I use Remote Speakers to access Airport Express units...pretty easy to turn different Airports "on or off", but still incredibly difficult to dig around in MM opitons.

I have several people using my system. Everything is pretty easy for the casual user to find and play music- except this output selection funtionality....would be nice to simply configure toolbar buttons to make it simple for the casual user to easily select speaker zones/output devices....basic stuff.
lukeclancy
Posts: 54
Joined: Fri Jun 23, 2006 9:46 am

Re: Enhanced Output Control

Post by lukeclancy »

since i last posted i tried and then bought the application Airfoil, and that pretty much does the job.
Quite sophis really & not too pricey...

czech it owt

http://rogueamoeba.com/airfoil/

l
cmx
Posts: 367
Joined: Sun May 21, 2006 11:56 am

Re: Enhanced Output Control

Post by cmx »

yeah airfoil does quite a bit, and is extremely useful. I used it for awhile but it IS a completely seperate program to maintain and monitor. You need to have it always running in the background or load it prior to MM etc...... Difficult for multiple users to use on multiple machines. The transparency to the user and integration into MM is the trump for remote speakers here...set it forget it...BUT it would be nice to have SIMPLE output selection control for the user in MM...for example: five on/off toggle button icons on the toolbar would be perfect here. Four Airport zones and a local out.

What about just giving us more user customization control....for the menu items ...like Tools|Options|Output Plugins|xxx.dll or Tools|Options|Output Plugins|xxx.dll|Configure

Then we could easily switch between output dll's ourselves...it would still be desirable to have simultaneous multiple outputs "forks"...but at least if you gave us more user customization we could use the existing code and dll's create much more flexibility and intuitive user ease of use. In addition I'm sure other users would find many more uses for more toolbar customization ability.

By having customization access to more of the tools|options controls we could easily access remote speaker configuration panel and do the switching there between Airports...never could understand why user toolbar customization was so limited. You could always access remote speakers via its own top level menu item in WinAmp...why not in MM????
lukeclancy
Posts: 54
Joined: Fri Jun 23, 2006 9:46 am

Re: Enhanced Output Control

Post by lukeclancy »

...and i now see that airport has plenty of issues...lots of little snags even starting up, getting the various airports to get recognised seems to go wrong almost every time, but maybe i just need to get more familiar with its...er...little habits...; but then there's the real killer: it won't work with iMonkey, which sort of sets me off in the vague direction of square one...
cmx
Posts: 367
Joined: Sun May 21, 2006 11:56 am

Re: Enhanced Output Control

Post by cmx »

lol, yeah luke I was trying not to sound too nasty or negative about airfoil's functionality....I wish it would work...but it just really doesn't in real life.
Post Reply