MediaPlayer Plugin/STV Import: Winamp Media Player Plugin

[johnnytyler]

Originally Posted by mikesm

Interesting. You are saying you changed the medtadata to id3 format, kept FLAC format compatibility, and got Sage to read the meta data properly?? It would be great if you could outline it.

As for why FLAC is important, it's the most popular of lossles codec formats, and is available on a wide variety of devices and operating systems.

Thanks,
mike

Alright let me see if I remember all the steps...

1) Set up Winamp

a) download Michael Facquet plugins (both of them, from Winamp) and install it. http://www.winamp.com/plugins/browse...r=C&query=flac

b) then go to winamp preferances...click Cd Ripping module and change the specify naming conversion for ripped tracks to <Artist> - <Album>\## - <Album> - <Artist> - <Title> - <Genre> - <year> (this allows Frontah, Tag editor to creat metatag from the File name)

c) rip cd to flac and confirm that Winamp can play the files ok

2) Set up Frontah (simple but powerful tool to strip flac vorbis and add ID3 tags so that Sage can read it)

a) download Frontah http://home.vxu.se/mdati00/frontah/

b) install Frontah to computer

c) click on settings tab. On the Tagging menu make sure checkmars are at both tag output files and on use tagging format based on filename. Then in the space make sure you have %track% - %album% - %artist% - %title% - %Genre% - %year%

d) next go to Advanced. double click on .ogg.flac. A window should pop up with header Modify Tag type for extension. MAKE SURE THERE IS NO CHECK MARK FOR VORBIS AND CHECK ID3 NOT ID3V2. All others should be unchecked only check mark is id3. click Ok. Go back to the main screen/program.

e) Add folder where the flac files were ripped to... all the flac files should list on the main screen.

f) highlight all the files... left click..click on tagging...click on remove all tags... an OK should pop up next to the filename...high light all the files again...left click on tagging...click on Write tags based on filename...

g) click on view/edit tags to confirm tagging has worked correctly..you may have to fine tune. Make sure all capitals are same in all files or SageTV will not recognize the differences and list them as diff albums, artists, etc...

3) To get it Working in Sage

a) add media_player_plugin_class/flac=WinampPlugin

b) you may have to go to sage setup and delete your import directory for music close sageTV and then restart SageTV and add the music import directory for Sage to "reset" and rescan all your music files

c) add album art to your album directory

click on the song and enjoy your music hopefully that should work

[mikesm]

Interesting. Does it work if vorbis tags are included too (FLAC tracks can have both types in one file)?

If I have only id3 I suspect some software I use won't be able to read the metadata...

Thanks,
mike

[sonoman]

Johnnytyler,
Do the flac files play with gapless playback (as on pink floyd albums where the songs merge into each other) or do you notice a pause between tracks? I have been searching for a way to get sage to play back this type of album without the pause in between songs. So far no joy. I wish sage would call all the songs in an album when you have selected the album for playback instead of only one file at a time. Then the mp3's could be played gaplessly in winamp.

Thanks,
sonoman

[johnnytyler]

Originally Posted by mikesm

Interesting. Does it work if vorbis tags are included too (FLAC tracks can have both types in one file)?

If I have only id3 I suspect some software I use won't be able to read the metadata...

Thanks,
mike

I think you can, but I'm not sure, there is only so much space to allow for metadata to be included in each file. you can try it and see if it will take both info's. I only use SageTv and winamp for my flacs so I haven't needed the vorbis.

One think I forgot to put in the instructions is to add .flac to your media library under audio in the sage properties file. Or it wont show up in the media library

I think that you can create playlists in sagetv that should be gapless and newest winamp 5.20 plays gapless just fine.

[deria]

Originally Posted by bbig119

All this is clear to me, but what is the possibility of forcing sage to minimize when activating visualization. Likewise it can be done with winamp....enter visualization and then exit it. Upon exit it will maximize sage to full screen.

Would this work with an external accessory program?

Unfortuantely, that won't work either because then you have no way of interacting with SageTV (ie: to pause, ff, rew, stop, exit the visualization, or anything). If the visualization were a part of the plugin, it would be doable, but because Winamp controls it and manages it its just not possible.

[gumbo]

Originally Posted by sonoman

Johnnytyler,
Do the flac files play with gapless playback (as on pink floyd albums where the songs merge into each other) or do you notice a pause between tracks? I have been searching for a way to get sage to play back this type of album without the pause in between songs. So far no joy.

There's a gapless playback plugin for Winamp that works great that I use on my desktop. You should be able to set that up in this as well, though I haven't tried it myself.

[wheelrandolph]

Hi All,
I've been trying for several days to load this stv plugin and I must be doing something wrong. I have always used Neilm's plugins (and others) with no problems. I unpacked it and put it into my SageTV/SageTV folder and when I go into Advanced and try to load it the screen goes black. I have to go into SageClient properties and remove "WinAmp Helper Menu.xml" and type in "SageTv.xml" to get the screen back.

Deria says to put it in SAME folder as sage.exe so I tried that also. I first had put the the .xml file in the STV folder and it also was a black screen.

I have tried with default stv and also with Neilm's stvi which I always use.

Thanks for any help with this.
Randy

[wheelrandolph]

Hi All,
Still trying to get winamp plugin to work; I am trying to intall .net fw 1.1sp1 and I keep getting an error message and it won't install. I did install .net 2.0 last night and that worked. Any ideas??
Also, dumb question: this is .xml (stv) that has to be "installed" from Advanced menu? Deria says in the instructions to copy the files and "open" Sage--she doesn't mention importing the new .xml file but I assume that is what she means.
When I try to import it the screen goes black--I guess it is because there is no .net 1.1 sp1.

Any help would be appreciated.
Randy

[deria]

Hi Randy,

Please refer to the first post in this thread. There are two elements to the installation (both of which are completely documented).

The first element will install the plugin itself -- there is no user interface, so there is NO import. If you follow these steps and then stop, the plugin will work but you won't have any visualization support. Basically, you will have replaced the built-in MediaPlayer with Winamp.

The second element is to add support for visualizations. If you want visualizations, refer to the "Visualization Support" section of the first post. It gives a step-by-step procedure explaining how to do the import that will create the user interface.

For your reference, I've provided an excerpt of the section:

If you are using the default STV, the import would look like this (after starting SageTV):

1) Press Control+Shift+F12 to open SageTV Studio.
2) Click "File --> Import".
3) Import the "WinampHelperMenu.xml" file, which (in a default installation) is located in "c:\program files\sagetv\sagetv\stvs\sagetv3").
4) Scroll down to the "SongsbyArtist" menu and expand it.
5) Expand the "MenuContainer" panel.
6) Expand the "Buttons" panel.
7) Expand the "If" statement (the one that reads "IsMusicFile(GetCurrentMediaFile())").
8) Expand the "Visualizations" menu item.
9) Scroll down to the "WinampHelper Menu" menu and click on it.
10) Drag the "WinampHelper Menu" to the "Visualize" menu item (the screen will scroll as you drag).
11) Highlight the "MediaPlayer OSD" option under the "Visualize" menu entry, and then press DELETE to remove it.

Repeat steps 4-11 for the following menus:

"AlbumDetailPage"
"Music by Artist"
"MusicSongTitle"

[wheelrandolph]

Thanks Deria for the reply. I did not do that second part with Studio (and I am not worried about visualizations)--I thought that was an alternate method of installation.
What do you think about .net framework?? I know you said you really need 1.1sp1. I will keep trying but it gives me a message saying it can't install(update?) either because the "upgrade patch" isn't for my version or it is missing all together. Sounds like I downloaded an "upgrade" and not the full version.

Anyway, do I need to do the Studio procedure if I don't want visualizations?
Thanks,
Randy

[hoadie]

Originally Posted by wheelrandolph

I know you said you really need 1.1sp1. I will keep trying but it gives me a message saying it can't install(update?) either because the "upgrade patch" isn't for my version or it is missing all together. Sounds like I downloaded an "upgrade" and not the full version.
Randy

You need to download and install .NET 1.1 then install the 1.1 SP1

Ben

[owilsky]

Originally Posted by wheelrandolph

Anyway, do I need to do the Studio procedure if I don't want visualizations?

No! Then you don't need to do that.

[deria]

OPEN SOURCE ANNOUNCEMENT

When I conceived this plugin, I intended it to be an open-source plugin. The plan was to develop the plugin, establish it at as stable base for other developers, and then release it as open-source. That intention never became a reality, however -- until now.

I am making the source code to this plugin available immediately under the Reciprocal Public License.

I hope that other SageTV developers find it useful.

FAQ

Q: Does this mean that I am halting development?

A: No! I have not done much development on this project in quite a while because it is considered "stable" - but I intend to add new features and functionality when and as time allows.

Q: Does this mean that others can contribute to this plugin?

A: Not directly -- but you could make a plugin called "Joe's Total Copy Of Deria's Winamp Plugin" that is an exact copy and contribute to that. This source code is available under the Reciprocal Public License, so there are many freedoms available to developers who want to work with this source code base. The only requriement is that any projects derived from this one also need to be released under the Reciprocal Public License. This means that others (or even myself) have the freedom to adapt and use your contributed code.

Q: Will you be upset of "Joe's Total Copy Of Deria's Winamp Plugin" actually gets developed?

A: No. I might even end up using it myself if Joe does a better job than I did of implementing it. Or I might incoporate Joe's ideas into the base project.

Q: Does the Reciprocal Public License affect me if I'm just looking at your source code to learn how to do things like interface with SageTV or Winamp?

A: No, not at all. It governs only derivative projects.

Q: Why release the source code?

A: A number of poeple asked for it. It isn't the best code in the world, but it is (in my opinion) a reasonably good example of how to use the MediaPlayer interface of SageTV. It is also a good example of how to work with Winamp. That being said, marrying the Winamp media player to SageTV was not an easy task and there are some instances of very inelegant code to be found in this project.

Q: Can I contact you regarding the source code or the build environment.

A: Yes. I might not be able to answer your question, but I'll certainly try.

Q: Does this source code correspond to the latest released version of the plugin?

A: No. The source code included here is newer. I made some changes which on my system resulted in better handling of Winamp crashes, but I never released the changed code because the release version was generally accepted as stable.

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by deria

A: No. The source code included here is newer. I made some changes which on my system resulted in better handling of Winamp crashes, but I never released the changed code because the release version was generally accepted as stable.

OK-so we all lied and it's not that stable. (joking)

Any chance of you also releasing the newer code in an updated plugin? No pressure-just curious.

Gerry

[deria]

Originally Posted by gplasky

OK-so we all lied and it's not that stable. (joking)

Any chance of you also releasing the newer code in an updated plugin? No pressure-just curious.

Gerry

The files in the Distribution directory of the Winamp_Sage and WinampSage_Helper folders in the archive can actually be used just fine -- just drop them on top of the existing files in your SageTV directory and they should work just fine for you.

I'm not really planning on putting those files into an official releaseuntil I actually have some new functionality to add to the plugin, but if you just want the latest and (perhaps) greatest you can just use the files in the source archive.

Keep a backup, though. This version works better for me, but hasn't been tested by anyone.

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by deria

The files in the Distribution directory of the Winamp_Sage and WinampSage_Helper folders in the archive can actually be used just fine -- just drop them on top of the existing files in your SageTV directory and they should work just fine for you.

I'm not really planning on putting those files into an official releaseuntil I actually have some new functionality to add to the plugin, but if you just want the latest and (perhaps) greatest you can just use the files in the source archive.

Keep a backup, though. This version works better for me, but hasn't been tested by anyone.

OK and thanks. I'll download and test those. Looking forward to future enhancements.

Gerry

[BBCritical]

Is my music screen interface supposed to change after I install this plug in.? (I am using Sage MC)... I installed the files, changed the sageclient.properties file (it is installed on a client), setup winamp and I dont see anything different...

[geogecko]

Only difference:

Go to "Show Queue"
Select "Visualize"

If you did everything correctly, you will see the visuallization from Winamp.

Visually, that's the only change, but it's actually using Winamp to play your music now, not the Sage interface.

[BBCritical]

Originally Posted by geogecko

Only difference:

Go to "Show Queue"
Select "Visualize"

If you did everything correctly, you will see the visuallization from Winamp.

Visually, that's the only change, but it's actually using Winamp to play your music now, not the Sage interface.

So do you just fast forward and rewind with your remote?

[deria]

Originally Posted by BBCritical

So do you just fast forward and rewind with your remote?

Hi,

There are really two parts to this plugin. The "media player" which transparently replaces the SageTV "media player", and a small user interface plugin that allows you to launch visualizations.

The "media player" component behaves exactly like the standard SageTV media player; you can pause, fast forward, rewind, and do anything else that the SageTV "media player" can do. You shouldn't notice ANY difference at all. Your music is being played by Winamp, though.

The visualization component just tells Winamp to start its full-screen visualization. Its entirely optional. If you don't want to use visualizations, you don't even need to bother with it.

One of the nice things about SageTV is that it allows this type of seamless integration. There is another plugin that uses Windows Media Player instead of Winamp. I don't think that one allows you to do visualizations (but I could be wrong). The point is that because SageTV provides these interfaces, you can really make "invisible" plugins that do their job but don't change the way SageTV actually interacts with the user. Basically you drop it in and forget about it.

If you want to make sure its actually working, the easiest way is to just start a song playing and then open winamp (either from the taskbar, or if its not there from the system tray). You'll see your song in its playback interface.