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Author Topic: NEW: Car Radio  (Read 46315 times)

marko

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #50 on: August 15, 2012, 12:00:30 am »

Quote
1. The labels on the buttons are confusing. 1-21 simply isn't descriptive, especially when something's playing- The tooltip helps, but it isn't perfect.
1 - 21? I only saw 1 - 20 here, and that's on a wide screen 24" monitor with MC maximised. I collapsed the tree, and lo, I now see buttons 1 - 23!! As a side note, when you store a list under a button, you get to name it, and the number is then replaced by the chosen name.

The buttons do look untidy when they're not wanted. Couldn't they auto hide, showing when the mouse enters the display window?

Now, I'm not sure if I'm in the minority here, but It's extremely rare for me to have Playing Now open. I find music in a view elsewhere, select, and play. That's why this is kind of important to me:

More often than not, MC is not running here, but Media Sever is. In this scenario, all I need to do is hit "Ctrl + Alt + R" and music begins. It's great... actually, better than great, awesome...

So, I have this entry in Rescource.xml:
<Entry Key="Ctrl;Alt;R" Command="10047" Param="1" Global="1" />

What exactly is this doing now? I'm sure it used to use the current play doctor prescription, but this is not the case as it pulls tracks from hidden and recycle, and also pulls tracks that have been played within the past seven days, which is another exclusion I typically set.
Can I enter the include files rule in the "Param=" value? When I'm messing around in my photo library, this key combo is generally how I kick off some music to go along with it.

-marko

leezer3

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #51 on: August 15, 2012, 08:48:08 am »

1 - 21? I only saw 1 - 20 here, and that's on a wide screen 24" monitor with MC maximised. I collapsed the tree, and lo, I now see buttons 1 - 23!! As a side note, when you store a list under a button, you get to name it, and the number is then replaced by the chosen name.

True, but the first thing I thought when I saw these buttons was WTF  :P
At least have a sensible limit, don't just decide on an arbitrary number versus screen resolution.

Another odd little thought- Have you considered doing Play Doctor as a detachable & movable toolbar/ window?
This would divorce it from playing now (Either a good thing or a bad thing depending on your POV) and keep the crowd who don't like it happier.
Movable toolbars are never a bad thing!

-Leezer-
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Scolex

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #52 on: August 15, 2012, 01:10:01 pm »

In my perfect world it would be done like the images below.
Clicking the arrow at the bottom center of the player bar opens/closes the play doctor/preset panel.
The arrow left of "Play Doctor" expands the option menu.
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Sean

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #53 on: August 15, 2012, 02:19:35 pm »

In my perfect world it would be done like the images below.
Clicking the arrow at the bottom center of the player bar opens/closes the play doctor/preset panel.
The arrow left of "Play Doctor" expands the option menu.

+1
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wig

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #54 on: August 15, 2012, 02:39:05 pm »

In my perfect world it would be done like the images below.
Clicking the arrow at the bottom center of the player bar opens/closes the play doctor/preset panel.
The arrow left of "Play Doctor" expands the option menu.

That would be excellent.
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Matt

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #55 on: August 15, 2012, 08:17:42 pm »

Playchart editing is disabled while we work on the Play Doctor interface.  Since the editor shares code with Playing Now, it's hard to keep both working as we're spit-balling ideas.

The number of buttons is now unlimited (they just fill the screen).

Our plan is to live with the current implementation for a little bit, and then come back to it after we've used it more in real life.

I'm still waiting to hear back from our designer.
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Matt Ashland, JRiver Media Center

rick.ca

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #56 on: August 15, 2012, 08:36:30 pm »

Quote
Playchart editing is disabled while we work on the Play Doctor interface...

Thanks for the explanation.
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JustinChase

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #57 on: August 18, 2012, 12:24:51 am »

I just upgraded to 18.0.30, and I like the buttons.  They don't really stand out, so I didn't notice them at first.  It wasn't until I considered saving the (very excellent) Play Doctor playlist that I saw them.  maybe a slightly darker shade, or something just a bit 'different' to make them jump out a bit more?

I liked the tooltip.

The options are 'new list' or 'same list'  I would like the option to "Shuffle current list"  The whole list is great, but I might only get thru 10 or 15 songs in a sitting, and don't want to hear the same songs again next time I click the button.

I just tried saving the current list to a new button, and it asked for a name, and that's it.  It didn't ask me what to do next time I play it.

I then tried going back to another tab, that still had the playing now window open, and those buttons had the old names still.  I tried saving a new list to the old/original/first window, and it asked for a name, then when that saved, it updated that window with the new names of the other tabs, and the old window didn't update to show the most recent saved list/name.  I realize it's probably to do with 2 windows open at the same time, but thought I'd mention the behavior in case it can be 'fixed'.

Keep up the good work.
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marko

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #58 on: August 18, 2012, 01:54:44 am »

Those buttons were a shock!! Updating skins just shot up the 'to-do' list!!

No "Mouse Down" image? - Worked it out...

marko

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #59 on: August 18, 2012, 06:22:21 am »

Knit Knots Radio buttons are done.

Matt, please help us keep up with the changes in Radio... Does it still learn from skipped tracks? If the answer is yes, does it regenerate the list as it learns, or does it just apply it's newfound knowledge to files 101, 102 etc. as it adds them?

marko

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #60 on: August 18, 2012, 06:28:56 am »

I had a playchart in the root of playlists called "Current Session". It's been there a long time and I'm sure MC auto generated it at some point. I deleted it today... is this OK?

wig

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #61 on: August 18, 2012, 07:18:36 am »

The new button layout is much improved, lower profile and more integrated.

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Matt

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #62 on: August 18, 2012, 08:20:19 am »

Does it still learn from skipped tracks? If the answer is yes, does it regenerate the list as it learns, or does it just apply it's newfound knowledge to files 101, 102 etc. as it adds them?

Yes.  Play Doctor learns from your skips.

When you skip, it replaces similar music later in the playlist with better matches.

It also takes the learning into account when it adds new songs to the end as you play (it keeps 100 songs after the current play position).

Finally, if you rate your songs, Play Doctor will make better mixes.  If you don't like something, give it 1 or 2 stars and you'll be less likely to hear it again.  And if you love something, give it 4 or 5 stars and you'll be more likely to get that song in mixes.
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rick.ca

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #63 on: August 18, 2012, 03:54:19 pm »

I don't understand why these simple and necessary functions are not provided. (I use 'preset' to mean a button and the playchart settings or static playlist associated with it.)

  • Rename preset.
  • Copy preset.
  • Modify preset settings.
  • Delete preset (i.e., reset to an 'empty' button).
  • Default settings that actually remain at a default setting instead of being updated to the last used.
  • Reorder buttons.

Not providing these doesn't make those that are provided easier to use. The user has to learn functions they might reasonably expect to exist do not. They then have to accept the only way to use the feature is to create a playchart from scratch, then assign it to a button. That's going to create frustration in learning how it works, and then annoyance with the arbitrary limitations.

Regardless of how it's presented in Playing Now, simply providing all of these functions in a simple direct options dialog would allow the whole thing to be presented as a button bar (i.e., Play Doctor input box + options button + buttons) that could be optionally displayed (under the player bar) in any view. This would allow quick access to Play Doctor, saved playcharts, favourite playlists, etc. without having to change views.
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Mr ChriZ

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #64 on: August 19, 2012, 01:02:38 pm »

I'm completely baffled as how you get it to generate a playlist.  Build 30.

I tried this.  I selected a load of songs.  Press and held the buttons and it saves the playlist to the button after requesting the playlist name.
No matter how I press the button however it just starts playing the playlist I built.

JimH

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #65 on: August 19, 2012, 01:48:42 pm »

I'm completely baffled as how you get it to generate a playlist.  Build 30.

I tried this.  I selected a load of songs.  Press and held the buttons and it saves the playlist to the button after requesting the playlist name.
No matter how I press the button however it just starts playing the playlist I built.
That's what it is supposed to do.  Press and hold a button to save the currently _playing_ playlist.  Then press the button to play it.

If you want a Play Doctor list, you need to enter a seed to start from where it says "Play Doctor".  With the skin, Black on Black, the background is too dark and it doesn't show that "Play Doctor" is a text box.
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rick.ca

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #66 on: August 19, 2012, 11:08:33 pm »

I'm completely baffled as how you get it to generate a playlist.

That's what happens when you try to make it do anything other than the one thing it's supposed to do. ;)

With enough patience, however, there's a slim chance you can make it do other wacky things without your head exploding. For example, let's say you just can't let go of the idea of using a button to play one of your favourite smartlists. (If you're not that crazy, just pretend.) Here's what you do...

  • Switch to Playlists.
  • Copy (i.e., 'export') your smartlist.
  • Return to PN.
  • Clear PN so the UI is available.
  • Select Options > Rules for files that can be included > Import.
  • Paste your smartlist from the clipboard.
  • Remember that your smartlist is now the default for any future lists.
  • Carefully place the cursor in the input box—without entering anything—and press <Enter>.
  • Press and hold the button you would like to assign it to.
  • If you change your mind about the name or the button it's on, don't fret...
    • Press and hold another button, and assign a new name.
    • Clear PN.
    • Select Options > Rules for files that can be included > Import.
    • Clear the smartlist.
    • Press and hold the old button, and assign it's number as the name. It may not be the same as an empty button, but it will look and act like one.

NB: If you have such a wacky thought, there's a good chance you'll have a closely related one. That you'll be able to enter a search term in the text box, then push the button for your favourite smartlist, and it will use the search term to narrow the results the smartlist would otherwise produce. Don't even think about it. Repeat steps 1 to 10 until you see the light. It's not supposed to work that way!

This will be so much fun to explain to wives and new users! ;D
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marko

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #67 on: August 20, 2012, 12:10:19 am »

Here's a thought...

With those old car radio push button systems, didn't the selected preset button stay pushed in? If we had a fourth button state, we could tell at a glance that we were in radio mode and which station was playing...

-marko

Mr ChriZ

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #68 on: August 20, 2012, 01:35:35 am »

Once you have started playback, you can use the Car Radio buttons to save the list with its rules.  When you press the saved button again, it will generate a new list, based on the seed and the rules.

It was this that confused me.  After starting with play doctor I can now get it to work.  Thanks.
Why not have it offer to generate a play doctor list if you've just created a standard play list too?

Other note Media Center gets very unresponsive doing this kind of thing if you've got long cross fades in.

Matt

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #69 on: August 20, 2012, 10:19:46 am »

Why not have it offer to generate a play doctor list if you've just created a standard play list too?

I think that's a good idea.

It makes the save flow consistent without adding a lot of complexity.

There's been some debate, in this thread and inside the company, as to the basic flow: play something then save it, or save and allow fully configuring what you're trying to save.  I think there are good arguments for both methods, but we're going to do the first.
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Matt

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #70 on: August 20, 2012, 10:29:21 am »

With those old car radio push button systems, didn't the selected preset button stay pushed in? If we had a fourth button state, we could tell at a glance that we were in radio mode and which station was playing...

This is tricky, because what happens if you manually add a track or reorder a track?  In other words, Media Center doesn't tightly define where it's playing from.  It could store that a radio button started playback, but it's not clear when that should be reset.  Maybe just on Stop?
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wig

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #71 on: August 20, 2012, 04:18:58 pm »

This is tricky, because what happens if you manually add a track or reorder a track?

How about using the added track as a second seed for that Play Doctor list? That would be a great way to build fully fleshed channels.

One of my major issues with Play Doctor right now is that adding a track breaks the Doctor Mode. Integrating added tracks into the selection process would kill two birds with one stone.

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rick.ca

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #72 on: August 20, 2012, 09:50:17 pm »

There's been some debate, in this thread and inside the company, as to the basic flow: play something then save it, or save and allow fully configuring what you're trying to save.  I think there are good arguments for both methods, but we're going to do the first.

Why do the two have to be mutually exclusive? Why not provide an all-settings pop-up window on right-click of a button? That wouldn't interfere with any prescribed use-flow, while completely removing the arbitrary restrictions on it's use. It would also avoid serious issues with the current approach that still exist even if the restrictions can be circumvented. Like the last used Rules for files that can be included becoming the default. If that setting can be set directly for any specific button, then the 'default' can remain something appropriate for any playlist that might be added.

I'm not sure what bearing 'use-flow' has on this (that inherent vagueness is the reason I believe any use-flow dependent design will fail). Regardless, it would be very useful to have the combination of a predefined set of Rules for files that can be included (i.e., a smartlist) and an entered PD 'seed' to create a playchart. That is, enter the seed in a text box, then click a button. The entered seed is then used (perhaps even overriding one saved with the button) and a list generated that complies with the button's rules. That would allow the creation of buttons like 'Highly rated Rock from the 1980's' which could be selected after entering a seed of 'new wave'. 8)

Like it or not, some users will consider things like this—including the simple ability to use some buttons to launch their favourite playlists—to be more intuitive than any use-flow imposed on them, and will not be happy it's not possible.
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MrHaugen

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #73 on: August 21, 2012, 02:31:57 am »

This is tricky, because what happens if you manually add a track or reorder a track?  In other words, Media Center doesn't tightly define where it's playing from.  It could store that a radio button started playback, but it's not clear when that should be reset.  Maybe just on Stop?

I like the idea of having the button stay in the "pushed in" position when a list is playing. It should only be reset if you hit stop or push another radio button.

I also like Wigs suggestion of using added tracks as a feed for Play Doctor, so it can add more similar music. It might be tough to work out though.
What about play doctor just ignores added tracks, and plays them in the order they are added, but keeps on using the original input as a filler for more music? It's a shame that the Doctor stops if you add a single song you want to hear. This makes it less useful on for example parties where people often want to add their favorite tune.
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marko

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #74 on: August 22, 2012, 03:22:55 am »

Quote
Quote from: marko on 18 August 2012, 06:59:53
Matt, could MCC /10047 "MCC_PLAY_AUTOMATIC_PLAYLIST" please start an automatic Play Doctor list that uses the exclusion rules set that the others follow when instigated from the Play Doctor interface?
Reply from Matt:
Quote
This was a topic of some debate, and I'm still not sure what's right.

If you start Play Doctor on your Android, from an MCC, etc. should it honor the variability, filter, etc. you set in Playing Now?  Or should it use some safe defaults that are sure to make a reasonable mix?

Currently, we're using safe defaults.  This way, you won't get no mix on your phone because somebody put the setting on 'No variability' back on the server.

I'm not sure about this Matt. I think that most of us manage our servers and set them up to serve our files to us and our clients the way we want them to. This has effectively broken both my "Play Doctor" entry in Theater View and my "Play Doctor" keyboard shortcut for the desktop PC. I haven't tried via Gizmo as you've intimated that will also be broken for me there too. What to do?

-marko

marko

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #75 on: August 22, 2012, 03:28:47 am »

This is tricky, because what happens if you manually add a track or reorder a track?  In other words, Media Center doesn't tightly define where it's playing from.  It could store that a radio button started playback, but it's not clear when that should be reset.  Maybe just on Stop?
If you manually add a track, Doctor mode automatically disengages, so the button should return to normal.
If you re-order the list, Doctor mode persists, so the button should remain engaged.

Those buttons are very clever btw. They work best against dark skins, I only needed to make custom buttons for two of my skins. Good job there.

-marko

marko

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #76 on: August 27, 2012, 12:47:24 pm »

Quote
Quote
Quote from: marko on 18 August 2012, 06:59:53
Matt, could MCC /10047 "MCC_PLAY_AUTOMATIC_PLAYLIST" please start an automatic Play Doctor list that uses the exclusion rules set that the others follow when instigated from the Play Doctor interface?
Reply from Matt:
Quote
This was a topic of some debate, and I'm still not sure what's right.

If you start Play Doctor on your Android, from an MCC, etc. should it honor the variability, filter, etc. you set in Playing Now?  Or should it use some safe defaults that are sure to make a reasonable mix?

Currently, we're using safe defaults.  This way, you won't get no mix on your phone because somebody put the setting on 'No variability' back on the server.

I'm not sure about this Matt. I think that most of us manage our servers and set them up to serve our files to us and our clients the way we want them to. This has effectively broken both my "Play Doctor" entry in Theater View and my "Play Doctor" keyboard shortcut for the desktop PC. I haven't tried via Gizmo as you've intimated that will also be broken for me there too. What to do?

-marko
Has there been any more thought regarding this?

Matt

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #77 on: August 28, 2012, 05:10:26 pm »

Has there been any more thought regarding this?

My main concern is the 'No variety' setting.

Play Doctor is really about making a mix, and with that option selected, it only plays exactly what you type so isn't really making a mix at all.

I wonder if it'd make more sense to remove 'No variety'.  Then I'd feel comfortable honoring the last-used settings from places like Gizmo, MCC, etc.

Thoughts?
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JustinChase

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #78 on: August 28, 2012, 08:31:40 pm »

Play Doctor is really about making a mix, I wonder if it'd make more sense to remove 'No variety'.

I think so.  Play Doctor with 'No variety' is just a smartlist isn't it?
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marko

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #79 on: August 29, 2012, 12:15:45 am »

Ditching "No Variety" works for me too. I've never personally chosen the option, nor understood its existence.

Anyone else?

Matt

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #80 on: August 30, 2012, 12:45:01 pm »

Next build:
Changed: Removed the Play Doctor option 'No variety'.
Changed: Using Play Doctor on Gizmo honors the Play Doctor settings like variety, custom filter, etc. from the server.
Changed: The MCC MCC_PLAY_AUTOMATIC_PLAYLIST (10047) works better with the updated Play Doctor (honors settings, etc.).
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marko

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #81 on: August 30, 2012, 01:51:40 pm »

Nice one. Thank you.

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #82 on: August 30, 2012, 04:36:40 pm »

Changed: Removed the Play Doctor option 'No variety'.

Excuse me, but why? Even though some does not understand the point, others do. I do know that this would effectively be the same as creating a smartlist. But why go to the trouble of creating one when Play doctor can do the same in a flash? I find the option very logical, and I'm sure that I'll use it now and then.
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marko

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #83 on: August 31, 2012, 01:28:47 am »

Next build:
Changed: Removed the Play Doctor option 'No variety'.
Changed: Using Play Doctor on Gizmo honors the Play Doctor settings like variety, custom filter, etc. from the server.
Changed: The MCC MCC_PLAY_AUTOMATIC_PLAYLIST (10047) works better with the updated Play Doctor (honors settings, etc.).
Working well. Thank you again.

I'm sure that I'll use it now and then.
Forgive me if I got this wrong, but this suggests you've not used the option so far, and it's been there since Play Doctor's inception back in v17.

If I'm wrong, I apologise, If I'm correct, you've answered you're own question.

If you had a choice between having this option and Radio played back via Gizmo, Theater View or Keyboard shortcut not honouring the base filters you set for Play Doctor, or not having this option, and them all doing so, which would you prefer? "Both" is not allowed, you must pick one or the other!

The discussion over this starts here: http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=73715.msg502435#msg502435

-marko

MrHaugen

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #84 on: August 31, 2012, 02:34:20 am »

You have not gotten it wrong Marko. I've not used the doctor in the past. But after the radio buttons was introduced, I've started using it more and more. And now I'd much rather keep to using the Play Doctor for quick playback of regularly used searches, as well as quick playback of categories I'm unlikely to select again or don't want to waste time to create a playlist for. So no, I don't think I've answered my self at all.

Now I'm forced to either create a playlist for this, or go into my music pane view and find the genre, artist or album to play. I do not like those extra steps. If it was because it would break something, then I'd be fine. If it would pose real problems I would be fine. But not when some just thinks it's not that logical to have that one extra option there.

After reading some more about how Gizmo radio honors the last mix, I can see that some (that uses the server also as a client mostly) can get a problem. But would it not be a tad better to actually giving the users a few choices in Gizmo Radio instead of stripping them away in the client? What about allowing playback from the radio buttons in the Radio part of Gizmo?
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marko

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #85 on: August 31, 2012, 03:16:58 am »

Possibly. A switch would be needed for MCC /10047 to force it to honour the base filters too.

For example, none of my radio plays a track that's already been played in the past seven days, or less than three stars. It also excludes all tracks that I have in a playlist called "Hidden" and also excludes any 'track' with a forward slash in the file path (to exclude imported internet streams).

Gizmo and MCC /10047 need to adhere to these rules or I don't get the radio I want.

See you in the car park in five minutes? (If I'm not there in ten, start without me! ;))

Seriously though, I guess all we can do is kick this back to Matt et al. As I said a few days ago...
Anyone else?

MrHaugen

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #86 on: September 02, 2012, 10:01:20 am »

I'd like to say again how bad I think the decision of removing the "No Variety" option was. Without the no variety set, it's really hard to get what I want. I've tried to create smartlists with certain genres, with ratings above 3 stars, and save that to a radio button. But it ends up mixing in all kinds of rock and other stuff i really don't want in a electronica mix. YEA, I know I could just play a smartlist. But I want to use the car radio buttons. It's so much more convenient.

How am I supposed to do what I want now? If I want to listen to music similar to an artist, this system probably works fine. But what do you do when you just want one type of music associated to some buttons? I have categorized my music in several ways, and I like to listen to similar music within a certain category. With no variety gone, I can simply not do this. That makes this function pretty much useless for me.

In my opinion, this was a lousy solution to a problem not that many had. What about just forcing the medium variety option if the Radio function is used from for instance Gizmo. Why make restriction that affects so much other stuff? Why make it harder than this, and make certain things impossible or hard? I know this question was raised, but did not get much answers. I still think that it should have gotten more input before getting to such conclusions.
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marko

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #87 on: September 02, 2012, 01:00:45 pm »

Quote
In my opinion, this was a lousy solution to a problem not that many had.
Using that logic, the removal of "No Variety" hasn't bothered many people either.

I'm not sure if this will help in the meantime, but... if you add the smart list directly to the "Car Radio" playlist group, and name it "Button Number. Smart list name" you can set it off by pressing that car radio button in playing now. For example, name the smartlist: 08. Electronica, and button 8 becomes "Electronica". Push button 8 to begin playback. I've done this for a couple of buttons and it works well enough here, though I appreciate your mileage may vary.

-marko.

Edit:
Another thing I just tried, was using the "Set Rules For Files That Can Be Included" option to restrict the play chart to only return Bob Dylan tracks. click in the "Type here" box, type nothing, press enter. Long press a button, save as playchart, go back into the rules setting and remove the dylan restriction, added a genre=rock restriction, started playback with no seed again, got a playchart restricted to only rock, saved that, went back into settings and removed the genre restriction.
I now have two "No Variety" play charts (as opposed to smart lists) and as the restrictions put in place to produce them have now been removed, future playcharts will behave as expected.

MrHaugen

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #88 on: September 03, 2012, 05:27:17 am »

Thanks Marko. I'll try some of that stuff later on. Let's hope it's easier than it sounds :o
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MrHaugen

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #89 on: September 03, 2012, 02:41:18 pm »

Another thing I just tried, was using the "Set Rules For Files That Can Be Included" option to restrict the play chart to only return Bob Dylan tracks. click in the "Type here" box, type nothing, press enter. Long press a button, save as playchart, go back into the rules setting and remove the dylan restriction, added a genre=rock restriction, started playback with no seed again, got a playchart restricted to only rock, saved that, went back into settings and removed the genre restriction.
I now have two "No Variety" play charts (as opposed to smart lists) and as the restrictions put in place to produce them have now been removed, future playcharts will behave as expected.

I did not make it through those instruction. I have a problem seeing the logic here, and it's to complicated for me to hope to remember it for further use. So, I'm afraid I have to abandon it. The trick of adding smartlists manually to the Car Radio group worked well though! I'll use that for those buttons I do not want more variations than I choose my self.

I think it's a shame that you can't pick something specific and quickly play it without getting all sorts of strange hits. Even though there are other ways, they are not as convenient. And I think some users will just give up when they can't do what they want. They will not start exploring how to add manual smartlists to the Car Button group. I think that's bad when there could have been other solutions to the mentioned problems.

I understand those who want to use this as a radio with mixed content. Especially with the Gizmo app and perhaps with MCC. I see the problem. But would it not be much better to actually including the variety option in Gizmo and perhaps add 3-4 MCC commands for different variety? Then you can just use what you like, independent of what's set on the server it self. Last used settings could be honored. All but the variety.

When I said "a problem not that many had", I did not mean that such problems should be forgotten. I mean... this is a beta. There can't be that many with these problems yet. Why not use some more time to get more feedback, to find alternatives that suites us all instead of removing features. There's got to be a handful of good alternatives that makes all happy. I've mentioned a couple here. There's probably more of you guys that have smarter suggestions than me. As it stands today Car Radio just lost half of it's usability for me. And I do not think I'm one of a kind in this world. Even though I might be a bit weired :)
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wig

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #90 on: September 14, 2012, 05:33:49 pm »

The auto-complete feature on the Car Radio entry box is cool, but it's doesn't recognize all the artists in my library. And if I finish typing and press enter, it acts like I didn't type anything in at all.

After it failed the first time, I ran a test with 15 random artists from my collection. It failed to recognize 2 of them. It also doesn't recognize album or track names from those artists.

The artist show up fine when doing searches.

 

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Matt

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #91 on: September 17, 2012, 02:51:57 pm »

The auto-complete feature on the Car Radio entry box is cool, but it's doesn't recognize all the artists in my library. And if I finish typing and press enter, it acts like I didn't type anything in at all.

After it failed the first time, I ran a test with 15 random artists from my collection. It failed to recognize 2 of them. It also doesn't recognize album or track names from those artists.

The artist show up fine when doing searches.

It sounds like the search for 'Set Rules for Files That Can Be Included...' is filtering out files.

Try Play Doctor > Options > Reset Settings to Default...

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wig

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #92 on: September 17, 2012, 09:51:39 pm »

It sounds like the search for 'Set Rules for Files That Can Be Included...' is filtering out files.

Try Play Doctor > Options > Reset Settings to Default...

That worked.

I tried a reset before posting, but forgot that settings don't 'take' until after you actually play something. My bad.

I've been using Play Doctor extensively of late; here are a couple remaining issues I've noticed:
  • Tremote isn't fully supported. 100 tracks are added to Playing Now on the remote machine but it's treated as a normal playlist after that.
  • Album selections don't focus on the album. Submitting an album name return songs from that artist, but not necessarily the album entered. If the artist has a lot of albums, or it's a new album (which has very few listens) the playlist might only include a few songs from the submitted album.







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Matt

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Re: NEW: Car Radio
« Reply #93 on: September 18, 2012, 09:37:06 am »

    • Album selections don't focus on the album. Submitting an album name return songs from that artist, but not necessarily the album entered. If the artist has a lot of albums, or it's a new album (which has very few listens) the playlist might only include a few songs from the submitted album.

    This is intentional, but I don't like it either.

    I'll change it.
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    drmimosa

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    Re: NEW: Car Radio
    « Reply #94 on: September 19, 2012, 04:18:30 pm »

    Wow, I'm really enjoying this new feature of MC18! I set it up before reading this thread and had a full row of great P.D. Car Radio buttons with no problem. It is very intuitive to set up. It's especially nice to have the push-one-button-to-play functionality, directly built on the strengths of Play Doctor.

    I had couple of thoughts/requests:

    -Changing the order of buttons on a left click press and hold would be great. I've already got my row in the "wrong order": Janos Starker, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Radiohead, Jazz, String Quartet, Classical, you get the idea. Now that the radio is up and running it would be great to tinker and move things around, putting the genres next to eachother, the artists, etc. It appears that the only way to do this right now is to start building from scratch.

    -Adding right-click pop-up advanced options to the buttons is the next logical step to build the "Ultimate Personalized Car Radio Computer Player" For example, it would be great to be able to add a second seed term (or limiting term) to the button as a a right-click-advanced option once the button is saved (bluegrass + bela fleck, or bela fleck + no jazz).

    -It would be great to get more than twelve buttons, I've already filled them up! Lots of real estate above the radio, any possibility to get two rows of buttons? Maybe a right-click add and delete?

    -The JRiver El Camino (ie Car Radio Buttons in Gizmo): I would love to go the the Customize Views for Gizmo in options, and have these buttons available as tiles/views to add to the Gizmo home screen. Maybe a Car Radio list that comes up when you go to Add Library Item from Standard View.  I play music through Gizmo while driving, running, etc., so one button P.D. functionality within gizmo would be quick and easy to get up and running on the go.

    Outstanding work so far, thanks for developing this feature!!!

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    Matt

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    Re: NEW: Car Radio
    « Reply #95 on: September 19, 2012, 04:20:43 pm »

    The Car Radio lists get saved under Playlists.  This allows you to play them from Theater View or Gizmo (just look in Playlists).

    This also allows more advanced editing.  For example, if you make a smartlist under the 'Car Radio' group and name it 02. My Smartlist, it will work as a button.  You can also edit and rename this way.
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    drmimosa

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    Re: NEW: Car Radio
    « Reply #96 on: September 19, 2012, 07:40:54 pm »

    Matt, thanks for the update. Cranking up the El Camino right away!

    Thanks again for expanding Play Doctor, this is going to be a lot of fun to use with my music library.
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    AoXoMoXoA

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    Re: NEW: Car Radio
    « Reply #97 on: September 19, 2012, 08:04:10 pm »

    The Car Radio lists get saved under Playlists.  This allows you to play them from Theater View or Gizmo (just look in Playlists).

    This also allows more advanced editing.  For example, if you make a smartlist under the 'Car Radio' group and name it 02. My Smartlist, it will work as a button.  You can also edit and rename this way.

    I am able to neither create nor edit the Smartlists/P.D. Lists in the Car Radio 'folder'.
    Did I misunderstand your statement or is something not working correctly?
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    MrHaugen

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    Re: NEW: Car Radio
    « Reply #98 on: September 20, 2012, 05:17:29 am »

    You'll have to create NEW playlists manually and name them correctly for Play Doctor to pick them up. You can not edit playlists that Play Doctor have added.
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    AoXoMoXoA

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    Re: NEW: Car Radio
    « Reply #99 on: September 20, 2012, 06:54:52 am »

    You'll have to create NEW playlists manually and name them correctly for Play Doctor to pick them up. You can not edit playlists that Play Doctor have added.

    I tried this, created a Smartlist named 08.Test1, and a Playlist named 09.Test2 (the first unused button numbers).

    When I went back to the Playing Now window those buttons did nothing but give a message that they were unassigned. Looked back in the Car Radio playlist group and found they were no longer there . . . they only get saved until you leave that playlist group then they vanish.
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