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[whoareyou]

Improve UI on high DPI screens.

For example, on my 4k TV DSP studio must always be made full screen or I cannot access the "Done" button.  It is always hidden underneath the task bar (I don't know if this is a high DPI problem or if the display logic doesn't take into account the task bar's height)

Another example of issue with this is, on 1080 computer screen, I can resize the DSP studio's UI. On my 4k screen I cannot resize the window.  It is either full screen or the initial size displayed (partial screen) with buttons unusable under task bar.

I believe similar issue was looked at in earlier version and the solution was to make the UI display as full screen window.  It would be very nice if these type screens could be made to respect the high DPI displays.

As far as "true" new feature, always on top button for DSP studio would be very nice to have feature.

Thanks

[HPBEME]

For example, on my 4k TV DSP studio must always be made full screen or I cannot access the "Done" button.  It is always hidden underneath the task bar (I don't know if this is a high DPI problem or if the display logic doesn't take into account the task bar's height)

Another example of issue with this is, on 1080 computer screen, I can resize the DSP studio's UI. On my 4k screen I cannot resize the window.  It is either full screen or the initial size displayed (partial screen) with buttons unusable under task bar.

I believe similar issue was looked at in earlier version and the solution was to make the UI display as full screen window.  It would be very nice if these type screens could be made to respect the high DPI displays.

As far as "true" new feature, always on top button for DSP studio would be very nice to have feature.

I use MC on a 4K 65 inch TV myself for many years now, and while there are various issues due to high-resolution and different OS scale options that users choose, I'm not seeing the issues you reference in your post. I am able to resize/reposition the DSP UI as needed, and no issues with the taskbar covering up the bottom of the MC skin or the DSP dialog window. 

I am confused when you say the DSP window "must be made full-screen"? Do you mean you must maximize the DSP window? The default DSP window size is typically about 1/4 of the full monitor size and generally centered, so I don't know how it would be possible for the taskbar to cover up a floating window.  The only way that would be the case, is if you manually position the DSP window so that it is at the very bottom of the screen. If that is what you're doing, just manually reposition it a half-inch higher, and MC will remember that location and it will no longer be covered up by the taskbar.

What is the OS scale setting you are using? I assume it is something larger than 100% if you are using MC on a TV (mine is set to 200%). 

And finally, you can set the DSP window to "Always on Top" right now. It has been an option for many years. Granted, where you set this is not terribly intuitive, but if you click the Manage Plug-Ins button at the lower left of the DSP window, there is an option for "Always on Top" at the bottom of the menu.

[whoareyou]

I use MC on a 4K 65 inch TV myself for many years now, and while there are various issues due to high-resolution and different OS scale options that users choose, I'm not seeing the issues you reference in your post.   
.

After reboot, the issue has resolved itself, but it will be back ( I never realized that reboot would correct issue).  But now that I realize this isn't normal behavior in my environment, I can try to figure out what causes it.  I frequently RDC to the 4k machine and my initial thought is that RDC, from a computer with lower resolution, could have something to do with this.

I am able to resize/reposition the DSP UI as needed, and no issues with the taskbar covering up the bottom of the MC skin or the DSP dialog window.

Are you able to resize the DSP window horizontally?  I can change size vertically, but horizontal size is always fixed on my 4k screen.  On lower res screens I can also adjust horizontal size.

I am confused when you say the DSP window "must be made full-screen"? Do you mean you must maximize the DSP window?

Yes maximized

The default DSP window size is typically about 1/4 of the full monitor size and generally centered, so I don't know how it would be possible for the taskbar to cover up a floating window.  The only way that would be the case, is if you manually position the DSP window so that it is at the very bottom of the screen. If that is what you're doing, just manually reposition it a half-inch higher, and MC will remember that location and it will no longer be covered up by the taskbar.

When this occurs, for whatever triggers it, the 1/4 window size is not working properly and I am not able to resize the window vertically. So vertically it fills the screen top to bottom, and under the task bar.  As a result I cannot move it and my only option is to maximize. 

What is the OS scale setting you are using? I assume it is something larger than 100% if you are using MC on a TV (mine is set to 200%). 

My screen is 300% and is the right size for my environment.

And finally, you can set the DSP window to "Always on Top" right now. It has been an option for many years. Granted, where you set this is not terribly intuitive, but if you click the Manage Plug-Ins button at the lower left of the DSP window, there is an option for "Always on Top" at the bottom of the menu.

Thanks for that!

[JimH]

Try a different virtual desktop program.

[whoareyou]

Try a different virtual desktop program.

Sure, but first I need to figure out how this happens.  At this point I only (strongly) suspect RDC.
How about the horizontal resizing and is that supposed to work?  That never works on my 4k screen.

[JimH]

Sure, but first I need to figure out how this happens.  At this point I only (strongly) suspect RDC.
How about the horizontal resizing and is that supposed to work?  That never works on my 4k screen.

When you see that, are you using RDP?  Test without it.  Just to separate where the problem is.

Displays also sometimes behave differently depending on what order in which the equipment is turned on.

[whoareyou]

When you see that, are you using RDP?  Test without it.  Just to separate where the problem is.

Displays also sometimes behave differently depending on what order in which the equipment is turned on.

This is without RDP and after reboot.
Resize does not work horizontally but does work vertically.

[JimH]

Power cycle everything a few times and try turning on equipment in a different order each time.  Wait a little while after each device so it's completely booted.

What version of MC are you using?

[HPBEME]

For the OP - yes, I am able to resize the DSP window horizontally, as well as resizing it from any of the four corners. I also temporarily set my OS scaling to 300%, and everything worked just fine for that scenario as well.

I do not use Remote Desktop, or any kind of server/client set up - just a very vanilla computer-straight-to-TV connection.  I also use my mouse exclusively to interact with MC on my TV, as I find that it is far more capable and quicker than even the most powerful "remote control".

Out of curiosity, do you use any Stardock software? In particular, "Groupy"? The reason I ask is, starting with MC 30, if you use control+D shortcut to open the DSP window, that Stardock program will "group" DSP with the main MC window, even if excluded from doing via the Groupy settings, which causes it to fill the screen. This is not exactly what you described in your reply to my post, but there is a similarity (sort of). If you don't use that program, then nevermind.

That said, this is an MC bug. Something about how the DSP window is launched via that shortcut has changed - do you use control+D to open the DSP window? So even if you are not using the Stardock program, perhaps this is how this bug manifests itself otherwise (all this assumes you are using MC 30, as that is when this behavior started).

Final note: The DSP window DOES open normally when launched via the menu along the top, or from the DSP icon in the Player Bar, so users will not see this issue if that is how they typically open the DSP window.

[whoareyou]

For the OP - yes, I am able to resize the DSP window horizontally, as well as resizing it from any of the four corners. I also temporarily set my OS scaling to 300%, and everything worked just fine for that scenario as well.

Rebooting fixed all resizing issues except for the horizontal scroll. 

I do not use Remote Desktop, or any kind of server/client set up - just a very vanilla computer-straight-to-TV connection.  I also use my mouse exclusively to interact with MC on my TV, as I find that it is far more capable and quicker than even the most powerful "remote control".

I am using a keyboard with built in trackball.  I suppose I could try a "normal" mouse just to rule out any wonkiness with built-in trackball, i.e the horizontal scroll.

Out of curiosity, do you use any Stardock software? In particular, "Groupy"? The reason I ask is, starting with MC 30, if you use control+D shortcut to open the DSP window, that Stardock program will "group" DSP with the main MC window, even if excluded from doing via the Groupy settings, which causes it to fill the screen. This is not exactly what you described in your reply to my post, but there is a similarity (sort of). If you don't use that program, then nevermind.

No

That said, this is an MC bug. Something about how the DSP window is launched via that shortcut has changed - do you use control+D to open the DSP window? So even if you are not using the Stardock program, perhaps this is how this bug manifests itself otherwise (all this assumes you are using MC 30, as that is when this behavior started).

Sorry for the misconception about this starting in MC30.  I originally posted in the MC30 area because I believed this issue was an area that needed improvement and I thought it could be addressed in the new release.

Final note: The DSP window DOES open normally when launched via the menu along the top, or from the DSP icon in the Player Bar, so users will not see this issue if that is how they typically open the DSP window.

I'm still not sure what triggers the behavior I've described.  I've now played around with RDC sessions, and I have yet to duplicate the issue.  At this point all I know is that for some unknown reason I get this weird resizing issue, and apparently the only way to fix it is by rebooting my machine.

At least for now, it is working as expected.

[whoareyou]

The horizontal resizing is an issue with the Modern cards: dark skin. 
I've replicated this on two different machines.

When this skin is selected, the DSP studio dialog box cannot be resized horizontally unless you grab the dialog along edges of the title bar.

This also is a problem with vertical resizing, as you can only resize vertically if you grab from the top of the dialog box, also in the title bar.
It is not possible to grab the dialog box from the bottom to resize vertically.

Seems like a defect that should be fixed.

Thanks

[whoareyou]

The horizontal resizing is an issue with the Modern cards: dark skin. 
I've replicated this on two different machines.

When this skin is selected, the DSP studio dialog box cannot be resized horizontally unless you grab the dialog along edges of the title bar.

This also is a problem with vertical resizing, as you can only resize vertically if you grab from the top of the dialog box, also in the title bar.
It is not possible to grab the dialog box from the bottom to resize vertically.

Seems like a defect that should be fixed.

Thanks

Since changing from Dark Skin, I have not encountered the issue so perhaps the inability to resize was the real issue.

However, I have similar issue with the options dialog.  This is with 4k screen scaled at 300%.
On initial display of Options dialog there is no way to select ok to close the dialog, and dialog cannot be resized. 

Grabbing the dialog box at top displays the resizing cursor but resize will not allow dialog to be shrunk from top. 
Attempting to grab and resize dialog box from sides does not work and resize cursor does not display at those window positions. 
It is not possible to attempt resize from bottom as it is unavailable behind the taskbar.

Only option is to maximize the dialog box to access the OK button.

Skin I am now using is Aruba. 

Thanks.

[HPBEME]

The problem you're having is related to that skin specifically… The same situation also applies to the other two modern cards skins that are included with MC.  The modern cards skin authors wanted to have an extremely thin border around the two sides and bottom of dialog windows (which includes the DSP window). However, when that 2 pixel wide border is coupled with a high-resolution monitor, it effectively becomes a "zero-width" the border that cannot be "grabbed".

You are able to grab the title bar by its sides, because the top border image file is 200 px wide X 27 px tall. This allows you to grab it along the sides over its full 27 pixel height. Not sure if any of that makes sense to you, but bottom line, the images are different, and that difference allows you to grab the short "sides" of the title bar.  There's various other reasons that play into how an image displays an MC, such as image margins, scale factors applied in the XML file, etc., but no need to bore you with that information here.

Bottom line, is if you want to use the modern cards skin, and be able to resize horizontally, download the files I attached to this post.

Go to where the skins are stored (C:\Program Files\J River\Media Center 30\Skins\Standard View), and copy the ModernCards Dark folder, and rename it to whatever you want, but probably some variation of ModernCards Dark.  Ultimately the name of this new folder is not relevant (other than being able to easily identify it when you're browsing in Windows Explorer), because the name you will see within MC itself is controlled by the first line in the XML file that I attached.

Once you have renamed the copied folder, simply copy/paste the three files I have attached into the new folder. You can copy/paste the three files directly from the zip, but if you would rather extract them first, that's okay to. You will get a warning the files already exist... Overwrite them with the new versions.

Now open MC and you go to View\Skins - you will now see a new skin named ModernCards Dark (DSP fix).  Click on the new skin, open the DSP window (or any sub window, e.g., the Options window) and you will now be able to resize horizontally.

*************UPDATE
I just realized the same 2 pixel wide issue applies to the bottom border as well.  I updated the zip file to also include an updated image for the bottom border so you can resize from that edge as well.

[whoareyou]

Bottom line, is if you want to use the modern cards skin, and be able to resize horizontally, download the files I attached to this post.

Thanks very much!  I'll provide update after I try it out, which may not be for day or two.

As far as the "Options dialog" box issue, I don't think that one is related to a skin since "Aruba" doesn't make a difference.

Do you know if any of the skins are considered to be the JRVR standard, so that it can be used for comparison purposes when issues such as these come up?

@HPBEME - Thanks again for the assistance

[HPBEME]

Thanks very much!  I'll provide update after I try it out, which may not be for day or two.

Please do report back on whether this solves the issue (it will) just so others who may be in the same situation (using a ModernCards skin on a 4K monitor) will know for sure it works.

Do you know if any of the skins are considered to be the JRVR standard, so that it can be used for comparison purposes when issues such as these come up?

Skins are agnostic to whatever you're doing in MC, and has nothing to do with how JRVR operates/performs. Skins are merely that… A skin… window dressing to provide a different aesthetic for different user tastes.

As far as the "Options dialog" box issue, I don't think that one is related to a skin since "Aruba" doesn't make a difference.

I don't know why you're options window, or any other sub window for that matter, would fill the full height of your monitor making the window close button inaccessible… that one mystifies me.  I have never seen that before or heard about it from any other user. 

As for the taskbar covering up the bottom of the window… That might be a Windows issue and not MC.  If you have your taskbar set to auto-hide, it will from time to time get "stuck" in the up position. Though if that is indeed what is happening, the taskbar would cover the lower portion of every program window, not just MC… and I imagine you would've mentioned that.  In any event, it might be worth going into settings and toggling taskbar auto-hide off (assuming it is on) just to make sure.  Exit settings and check to see if that solve the problem.  If it does, usually you can then toggle auto-hide back on, and the taskbar will again auto hide correctly, and no longer be "stuck" in the up position (at least until the next time it happens).

It just occurred to me, a more full proof way to unstick a stuck taskbar is to kill Explorer in Task Manager. If you take this approach, make sure you keep Task Manager open after the kill, then click on File in the menu bar, click run new task, and then type Explorer in the text field, which will restart Explorer.

And one final recommendation… after you load the new skin, resize the DSP window to what you want, and do the same thing for the options window... and any other you may have noticed that fills the screen (when it should not). After you resize all the relevant sub-windows to your preferred size, immediately close MC.  This way, it should remember what you set for those sizes for the next session of MC.

If you resize the windows and continue to use the program, but at some point MC crashes, those newly resized windows will not be remembered. Note that the remembered sub-window size/position is independent of the skin being used.

[whoareyou]

Please do report back on whether this solves the issue (it will) just so others who may be in the same situation (using a ModernCards skin on a 4K monitor) will know for sure it works.

This fixed the issue.

Maybe you know answer, but perhaps a question for the Dev responsible for part of code....
Perhaps code has a minimum border width size that needs to be adjusted for these type situations?

On Options dialog, I have no idea.  I don't use auto-hide and even if I enable it, the window is still too tall and off the screen with no way to reposition / resize vertically.    One way to "fix it" is to change Windows scaling from 300% (recommended) to 250%, but then stuff is a little too small for my eyes. 

It's Probably not worth spending any more time on this since I can make window full screen the few times I use it.

It's just weird and annoys me .

Thanks again

[whoareyou]

I thought I remembered this from a previous post .... I believe this is a known issue from way back in ver. 26

https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=123810.0
https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,123810.msg860190.html#msg860190

[HPBEME]

This fixed the issue.
One way to "fix it" is to change Windows scaling from 300% (recommended) to 250%, but then stuff is a little too small for my eyes. 

That is good information. So the scaling at 300% only affects MC, right? For other programs the taskbar overlap does not occur?

I thought I remembered this from a previous post .... I believe this is a known issue from way back in ver. 26

https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=123810.0
https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,123810.msg860190.html#msg860190

I guess I never saw those posts… So this issue does go beyond just you. Probably worth fixing then.  But as you noted, this is something for the jriver team to figure out.

For those skins that are impacted by the high rez monitor/ultrathin border issue, which I am pretty sure is only ModernCards skins, it is easily remedied by making the borders images "thicker" (increase from 2 to 4 pixels), and then applying the appropriate internal scale factor to the relevant XML input line (scale="2") - this is exactly what I did with the files I provided to you.  I would note that skins PixOS and Pearl Bailey borders are also very challenging to position the cursor just right for resizing (but it is possible), as those borders are very thin too. 

As for updating the original skins that MC/JRiver distributes as part of the install? That is up to the specific skin authors to make the effort.  And of course, any intrepid individual user can make their own variation of any existing skin by creating a copy and implementing whatever changes you desire.

[whoareyou]

So the scaling at 300% only affects MC, right?  For other programs the taskbar overlap does not occur?

Yeah, it seems to be only MC and only this options dialog.

Other programs seem fine at 300% setting. 

Also, I've never seen anything like this on my 1080 desktop monitor. 

Anyway, I can work-around it, but it's kind of annoying at times.