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[Matt]

This is the latest version of Gizmo (JRiver's Android application).  Please post bugs here.  Please start a new thread for anything requiring discussion.  Non-bug posts will be deleted.

Download: http://jriver.com/install_gizmo.html

The build will move to the Play Store at a later date, after testing here.

19.0.35 / 76 (September 4, 2013)

1. NEW: Added thumbnail size option (menu button at top right > Options).
2. NEW: Added a screen lock option to keep the screen on (dim or bright) while Gizmo is showing (useful for tablet installations).
3. Changed: The volume up and down commands work when playing on the device (for cases when there are no hardware volume buttons).
4. Changed: Bluetooth play and pause commands will trigger the play/pause button (for devices without a play/pause button).
5. Changed: Stopping playback stops the read-ahead caching system from working ahead.
6. Fixed: Playback stats are fired when playback starts instead of when the cache reads-ahead for a file (requires MC 19.0.35 or newer).
7. Fixed: When playing a video, playback would sit at a black screen instead of return to the browse screen in 19.0.32.

19.0.32 / 75 (August 28, 2013)

NEW: Added the ability to 'Play (with Play Doctor)' from anywhere in the audio browse tree.
NEW: When a server call fails, the program will retry a few times.
NEW: The program will attempt to automatically switch the server IP address as it transitions from wifi to data.
NEW: File playback caching uses ranged requests so an interrupted download is resumed instead of restarted.
Faster: When there is no wifi or ethernet, connecting to a server will skip local addresses.
Changed: Audio playback loops the playlist until stopped (unless the playlist is only one track).
Changed: Added a system so that partial cache entries (from a crash or other problem) will never get used.

19.0.31 / 74

NEW: Improved cache system so that the playback of the first file also plays from cache (but playback still starts immediately).

19.0.30 / 73

NEW: Playback on device uses a caching system that reads-ahead and keeps files between runs, increasing reliability with weak connections.
Faster: Browsing switches screens faster.
Faster: Android 4 devices load thumbnails concurrently for improved performance.
Faster: When connected to MC19, thumbnails load faster.  

18.0.180 / 72

Changed: Errors communicating with the server show an information bubble, but don't cause the program to automatically reconnect to the server.
Changed: When acting as a remote, an error communicating with the server to get information about what's playing will look more transparent.
Changed: When playing on the device, the program will retry for up to 10 minutes to open the URL to better handle sporadic connections.

18.0.171 / 71

NEW: Totally revised Theater View remote mode.
Changed: Requires Android 2.2 or newer.
Changed: Switched to newer more efficient networking API.
Changed: Connecting will wait less time waiting for each IP address, but will retry more times (should reduce connect time in many cases).
Changed: Tuned the default timeout for web service calls to wait a little longer (should help prevent reconnects with spotty coverage).

18.0.126 / 67

NEW: It is possible to connect using an IP address.

[Matt]

2. NEW: Added a screen lock option to keep the screen on (dim or bright) while Gizmo is showing (useful for tablet installations).

This is working perfectly for me.

It's almost like JRiver read my mind that I needed this feature

[maxxsid]

Would it be possible to make image slideshows to actually play? (now one has to tap the screen to advance to the next image).
Also, how about gestures to go back/forward and zoom in/out?
Would be great to have those features as they are pretty much in every other similar application.
Its a shame, I have to use BubbleUPnp instead of Gizmo...
Thanks!
--max

[Matt]

Would it be possible to make image slideshows to actually play? (now one has to tap the screen to advance to the next image).
Also, how about gestures to go back/forward and zoom in/out?
Would be great to have those features as they are pretty much in every other similar application.
Its a shame, I have to use BubbleUPnp instead of Gizmo...
Thanks!
--max

I agree.

I'd like to add a new image viewer to Gizmo.  There are some freely available ones that might work.  This is one I was looking at the other day, but I still need to do more research.  Suggestions appreciated.

[Matt]

When sitting at the Playing Now screen in 'play here' mode with nothing playing, it seems to be asking for the image for a file I was playing at work that's not in the library I'm connected to now.

It calls File/GetImage with a bad key and gets an 88 byte standard MCWS failure:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes" ?>
<Response Status="Failure"/>

It shouldn't call, but it also should consider a response of failure not an error like it would consider no response at all.

Currently it blinks 'Error communicating with server mode' on the screen when this happens.

[marko]

Getting really good... Scrobbling and playstats working well.

Being able to swipe back and forth when in an image slideshow has been on my wishlist for so long now. Would be great if that snuck in.

Revisiting landscape view...

I knocked up the attached mock-up by cut & pasting elements from a portrait screenie to a landscape screenie. The transport controls and progress bar did not need any scaling, they just dropped right in there. I moved the text in and scaled it up so that it's easier to read from the driving seat, and scaled the thumbnail down just a teeney bit to fit it in there. The artist and album text could even have their own lines, and so bigger text there too.

Thoughts?

[Hendrik]

Am i the only one that thinks these buttons are extremely ugly? White on light grey?
I've always thought it must be some glitch in the skin, but i'm beginning to think someone likes them.

[maxxsid]

just white on black background would be better, me thinks

[jmone]

So I've worked out you can also (see pics):
- Add TV Stations to Playlists (as well as Radio Stations)
- Add Station Logos to both TV and Radio Stations (how long have we been after this for the EPG!)
- Both TV and Radio will play from MC and Library Server Clients
- Neither will play from Gizmo but they sure do look good!

Thanks
Nathan

[Matt]

If you test this build of Gizmo, be sure to install the latest MC from the top of this board if play stat tracking / Scrobbling is important to you.

[MGD_King]

If you test this build of Gizmo, be sure to install the latest MC from the top of this board if play stat tracking / Scrobbling is important to you.

When will it be available? Is it on the Playstore yet?

[Matt]

When will it be available? Is it on the Playstore yet?

To test early builds, you have to install by hand from an APK.  Follow the link in the first post of this thread for the instructions and download.

Also, as it says "The build will move to the Play Store at a later date, after testing here."

[MGD_King]

Also, as it says "The build will move to the Play Store at a later date, after testing here."

  Ooooopppppssssss..... I should have read the whole thing.

[rlebrette]

I've played with latest version which is really evolving in right direction but I'm not able to do what I was doing with the former version.

I connect my media server (a PC with MC database) and set the "Play to" to my media player zone (which is a distinct MC PC), adding any media in the playlist doesn't trigger any action on the media player. It was working before 19.0.32.

[Matt]

I connect my media server (a PC with MC database) and set the "Play to" to my media player zone (which is a distinct MC PC), adding any media in the playlist doesn't trigger any action on the media player. It was working before 19.0.32.

I can't reproduce this.  I'm able to control zones nicely using Gizmo (ie. not play on the device itself).

Double-check that Gizmo is targeting the zone you think it is on the server.

[rlebrette]

I can't reproduce this.  I'm able to control zones nicely using Gizmo (ie. not play on the device itself).

Double-check that Gizmo is targeting the zone you think it is on the server.

I've investigated the problem, you're right the problem is not in gizmo but between the server and the player. I'm going to open a new topic on this problem.

[digitald]

tried this new version still having same searching for server problems then app stops,
again reverted back to older version works perfect.

Dom

[Matt]

tried this new version still having same searching for server problems then app stops,
again reverted back to older version works perfect.

Dom

Could you provide a few more details, like what mode you're in and how to reproduce?

Thanks.

[digitald]

I am running flac to my phone player over strong wifi signal
don't know what else u mean by mode
thanks

Dom

[Flinkly]

Still on .32, but the remote control no longervworks. Instead of directional areas surrounding the select button, I only get a select button. Is this a feature or a bug?

[psam]

Gizmo plays fine over my Wifi network, but I'm having problems connecting from outside it, i.e. when I am out of range of the Wifi and I use mobile internet.
I have noticed that Gizmo is trying to connect either to the local IP of the server running MC server, or to address 87.202.19.80:52199.
My IP provider is giving me dynamic IP addresses whenever the connection is lost and renegotiated.
The IP Gizmo is trying is in the same network, same IP pool I guess, but not the one currently assigned to mt router. I presume it is a previous address my router had been assigned.

How does the JRiver database connect the individual Library Server access keys with the actual IP of each machine? Does MC Server update a central database? How often does this happen?
Could I bypass this and connect Gizmo using a standard URL, one I maintain by means of DynDNS for example?

EDIT: Solved after rebooting the server PC...
Works fine now!

[bert003]

The option for smaller thumbnails is very nice, and I hope a first step of much more customization.

What I would like to see is a 1 column list A-Z view, as you see with almost any other app of this kind.

Also an option to hide thumbnails in the artist list. It slows down scrolling and I don't think it makes much sense to display a cover with an artist who already has 30 albums?

What could help is that if all covers are stored on the android device in a cache. Then the cover could be displayed in real time while scrolling. At this moment the cover displays always seconds later. An background cover update mechanism could handle changes. Until that time I'd rather see no covers at all than having to wait for it.

In the track-listing for an album the font is much, much to large. Adjustable font-size would be nice. Also to see the same thumbnail before each track is also not necessary and looks strange. 1 Album cover on top and the track titles beneath it that would look better.

Well I could mention 100 other things for Gizmo to become a more usable and better looking app, but technically it works and maybe that is the only important thing for the designer.

I also use Bubble UPnP, and while it looks so much better, the main issue I have with that program is that scrolling through lists is slow and with many hick-ups. In the day's of Squeezebox server with iPeng app these things worked flawless. I almost cannot understand that there seems to be no app for android capable for smooth scrolling through large music collections. Gizmo does scroll smooth, but it looks awful on my phone.
But it works.

I would like to pay money for an app which scrolls like a Gizmo and has the interface and features from Bubble :-)

[bert003]

Am i the only one that thinks these buttons are extremely ugly? White on light grey?
I've always thought it must be some glitch in the skin, but i'm beginning to think someone likes them.

+1

[flac.rules]

Very nice with some updates for gizmo. I hope after a while it will be possible to add and remove functions/custom functions from the homescreen. (not just search, playing now, audio, video, pictures and playlists)

[nitephlight]

could the issues with gizmo app /service crashing and stopping playback be solved by having Gizmo create a persistent notification? (this is how many music players ensure they are not killed by OS). perhaps eventually this could lead to media button control through notification bar! :-)

[JimH]

Published to Playstore now.

[darkhyphenvoid]

playlist loop is very annoying! can you please make this be an option rather than the norm. when i go to bed i like to fall asleep to an album and have it turn itself off after, not carry on looping forever.

[jmone]

Has anyone managed to get a simple Radio stream to play from Gizmo?

[MGD_King]

Videos don't play through Gizmo. I get a split second of video then it stops.