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Author Topic: G-Force  (Read 2354 times)

Abbra Cadabra

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G-Force
« on: February 27, 2023, 12:57:45 pm »

Since several builds back in MC30 G-Force no longer works in Media Center.

It continues to work just fine if using Winamp, so I do not believe the cause is either G-Force or Windows 11.
Since the issue only exist in later versions of MC30, could this be looked into, please.
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Abbra Cadabra

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Re: G-Force
« Reply #1 on: March 04, 2023, 08:31:19 am »

Since several builds back in MC30 G-Force no longer works in Media Center.

It continues to work just fine if using Winamp, so I do not believe the cause is either G-Force or Windows 11.
Since the issue only exist in later versions of MC30, could this be looked into, please.

Having contacted SoundSpectrum regarding GForce and MC30, I was told that although GForce had been working in MC30 / Win11, they do not support either MC30 or Win11, nor do they intend to. Seems a bit odd.

In light of this, is there any way to use the Winamp visualization 'Milk Drop' in MC30?
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eve

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Re: G-Force
« Reply #2 on: March 04, 2023, 09:55:22 am »

Having contacted SoundSpectrum regarding GForce and MC30, I was told that although GForce had been working in MC30 / Win11, they do not support either MC30 or Win11, nor do they intend to. Seems a bit odd.

In light of this, is there any way to use the Winamp visualization 'Milk Drop' in MC30?

You're looking for ProjectM, not MilkDrop anymore. ProjectM is compatible with MilkDrop2 visualizations but actively developed.
I'm pretty sure you can make it work with JRiver but you'd have to ask someone else.
https://github.com/projectM-visualizer/projectm
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HPBEME

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Re: G-Force
« Reply #3 on: March 05, 2023, 12:38:52 pm »

I have not personally been able to get GForce or Aeon to work with MC for many many years.  I am able to launch them as standalone visualizers (on Windows 10) but they cannot be launched/operated within MC's "Display View".  Glynor apparently found a way to get it working per this thread: https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,133768.msg927127.html#msg927127.  I tried setting things up exactly as he described, but it did not work for me, but maybe it will for you.
 
As Eve noted, ProjectM is a great option. It includes 12,000+ visualizations when you download it from the link she posted. If you already have your own folder with Milkdrop2 visualizations, you can copy/paste them into ProjectM's visualization folder and it will use them.  Here is a thread where I recommend another Milkdrop2 option called Wallpaper Engine. If you already have Steam installed, you can download both ProjectM and Wallpaper Engine from there.
https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,133935.0.html   

To me, Wallpaper Engine is 100% worth downloading whether you use it for the Milkdrop visualizations or not.  For $4 you get an incredibly polished program with access to many thousands of animated wallpapers… for free!  I downloaded/bought it 4 or 5 years ago and have never had to pay for any upgrades. I think the $4 covers the program cost for life.  However, a downside of using your desktop (instead of a standalone window) means your desktop icons will also be visible while viewing visualizations. For me personally that's not a problem, as I keep my desktop 100% empty all the time.

I think Wallpaper Engine's Butternchurn and Milkdrop visualizers use much better shaders than ProjectM, and its colors are way more dynamic.  But... ProjectM does give users easy control over switching to a new random visualization, or simply scrolling your mouse wheel to the next/previous visualization in the alphabetical list order.  ProjectM however also has its fair share of corrupt and/or really bad visualizations (blinding nearly all white, while others are just black for the entire default 30 seconds) - this never occurs with Wallpaper Engine.

But like Gforce and Aeon above, neither can be launched via MC's Display View - or if there is a way, I don't how to do it. That said, there is one advantage with that however: if you use multiple monitors, you can use MC to show album covers/artist pictures on one monitor, and have ProjectM/Wallpaper Engine show the visualizations on the other, which is pretty cool for a totally immersive music experience.
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eve

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Re: G-Force
« Reply #4 on: March 05, 2023, 02:19:39 pm »

As an addendum to this. There's a serious deficit in the visualization landscape.
WallPaper engine looks pretty good but its still limited. The *problem* is that, there's nothing between it and Resolume or Synesthesia which are significantly more complex than you'd usually want for just having some visuals with your music. When I was more serious about this stuff, I was piping out audio to a separate system that ran Synesthesia and handled the rendering.

Also people have icons on their desktop??  :o
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William-NM

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Re: G-Force
« Reply #5 on: March 09, 2023, 12:44:57 pm »

Hi, all -just noticed that there is some progress on the milkdrop >> ProjectM (aka EyeTune) front. I was sniffing around their discord channel and saw that one of the devs has posted a pre-release Windows build. Pre-compiled (unlike the other github stuff) for us non-savvy types. No installer, just unzipped to c:\apps\ProjectMSDL & ran it. It's working well for me on Win10.

F1 or H brings up a help dialog, n=next, p=prev, r=random, m=browse

There's no ratings or filtering, so you just have to prune the presets dir down to your curated selections. Not all the presets are working, but most are. The .properties file has a few settings like preset directory. 

https://github.com/kblaschke/frontend-sdl2/releases/download/2.0-windows-pre1/projectMSDL-Windows-x64-2.0-pre1.zip

It's nice to hear that there may be a release in the next few months. It's still my favorite viz pgm and this allows me to run the 64bit MC and cause my head to explode simultaneously ; \
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HPBEME

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Re: G-Force
« Reply #6 on: March 09, 2023, 06:23:20 pm »

Hi, all -just noticed that there is some progress on the milkdrop >> ProjectM (aka EyeTune) front. I was sniffing around their discord...
It appears these are the exact same files when downloading Project M via Steam.  In that scenario, the files are puts into the Steam/steamapps/common installation folder.  Weirdly though, while the file count, file size, and file dates all appear to be 100% identical, in my brief testing the colors are much more vibrant and shading is better when running as a portable app (via the link you provided) versus the steam installed version.  It is so much better I've uninstalled the steam version and only use the portable version now... So thanks for providing that!

Not all the presets are working, but most are.
This is what I was referring to in my post above about corrupt and/or bad visualization files. However, I estimate those only represent 3% to 5% max, of all the visualizations included.  Hopefully the final/released version will include a way to exclude/delete bad visualizations on the fly. 

It's nice to hear that there may be a release in the next few months. It's still my favorite viz pgm and this allows me to run the 64bit MC and cause my head to explode simultaneously ; \
I agree… Milkdrop visualizations truly enhance the MC music listening experience. Exploding heads since circa 2000  ;D
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net23

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Re: G-Force
« Reply #7 on: March 10, 2023, 12:41:54 pm »

Is there a way to adjust which audio interface while running projectMSDL-Windows-x64-2.0-pre1?

Checked it out, thanks for posting, and it runs and looks great but I'm using a specific audio interface exclusively for MC and would love to be able to set that as the default interface for this vis to use.

Cheers!
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William-NM

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Re: G-Force
« Reply #8 on: March 11, 2023, 12:55:24 pm »

HPBEME - Good to hear. I think one of the devs mentioned that there is an effort in progress to get more of the preset parameters hooked up. Yay! (PAF  :o )

net23 - I didn't notice any audio input interface controls, but you might want to check in with Mischa (- I think he's one of the main devs) at one their channels. It seems likely that that is a feature the 'enthuisiasts' would like.

Discord: https://discord.gg/tpEuywB
(his demo on YT) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dSam8zwSFw 
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HPBEME

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Re: G-Force
« Reply #9 on: March 12, 2023, 06:52:32 pm »

Is there a way to adjust which audio interface while running projectMSDL-Windows-x64-2.0-pre1?

Checked it out, thanks for posting, and it runs and looks great but I'm using a specific audio interface exclusively for MC and would love to be able to set that as the default interface for this vis to use.
What does "specific audio interface exclusively for MC" mean? Are you talking about a specific MC skin? A VST plug-in? Project M runs standalone (only AFAIK), and you cannot launch, control, or access it through MC like you can other MC plug-ins. 

If you're referring to selecting which audio device drives the display, you can do that - just press CTRL+I and it will step through your various audio devices. Press F1 to see all the project M user controls.  But again, any changes are executed within project M, not through MC.  But perhaps you mean something else altogether different? I apologize if I misunderstood your question.
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net23

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Re: G-Force
« Reply #10 on: March 12, 2023, 07:43:53 pm »

Thanks @HPBEME,

I meant which sound device in Windows. I did discover the Control-I command though on my system it does not seem to cycle through all of them.

Basically I have a good Realtek sound device which is what Media Center is normally playing out of, I also have a Razer USB sound device that goes to my headset for either Zooming or Gaming or whatever.

There's also NVIDIA sound devices from my display card, etc, etc.

On my system, Control-I cycles through 4 devices and none of them are the RealTex device I'd want. I was actually able to get it to pick up my headset mic and it works with that as a source. Wish I could just map it to a device and be done... but it looks great.

Thanks for responding.
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William-NM

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Re: G-Force
« Reply #11 on: March 18, 2023, 07:28:16 pm »

 I was just wondering if any of the tools like fake audio device / virtual cable (going from memory, here - not certain of names) might help you do some virtual patch cable redirection? Just a thought...
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millst

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Re: G-Force
« Reply #12 on: April 28, 2023, 10:06:50 am »

I think that your problem might be specific to your setup. I just installed 30.0.93 and Aeon installed/worked fine for me. Having said that, we might be on borrowed time. Based on what I've seen in their forum, sounds like their products are no longer being actively maintained.
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William-NM

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Re: G-Force
« Reply #13 on: April 28, 2023, 01:02:20 pm »

More MilkDrop goodness - Here is a new freestanding version of MilkDrop with lots of new options & tools, higher fps rates, transitions, authoring tools. And it isn't mentioned in the docs, but ratings work via numpad + & - ( [F6] to show )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UXKyz4nOfI

from the programmer:
"if you want to see the difference MilkDrop2 vs MilkDrop3, I've explained all the new features here :"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBsDXPENe1I

And more features will come soon :)

And yes of course it's compatible with all the milkdrop presets!

Download: (just extracts to a directory of your choice)
https://github.com/milkdrop2077/MilkDrop3
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HPBEME

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Re: G-Force
« Reply #14 on: April 28, 2023, 10:34:01 pm »

Ding ding ding ding ding - We have a winner!  Thank you so much William for posting this link. 

Provides excellent user control over how and when to show presets like project M (except even better!) combined with the far superior shaders and dynamic color of Wallpaper Engine.  Not only that, you can create your own presets on the fly without having to know a single thing about coding.  Just fantastic.

100% worth downloading for anyone who loves music visualizers.  I will be sending the author/creator of this program $20 to support its continued development… It is that good.
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marko

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Re: G-Force
« Reply #15 on: April 29, 2023, 10:06:25 pm »

I think that your problem might be specific to your setup. I just installed 30.0.93 and Aeon installed/worked fine for me. Having said that, we might be on borrowed time. Based on what I've seen in their forum, sounds like their products are no longer being actively maintained.
I think MC31 could be the point the installers begin to fail. Here's what worked for me...
  • Run the installers anyway, for me, it picked up JRiver Media Center, but not 31. MC should copy the soundspectrum .dll files during installation, but check that they're there in the "Visualizations" folder before uninstalling anything. Close MC.
  • Add the attached registry entries by double clicking each file. Note that these are for 32 bit MC. If you're nervous, you can verify the contents first by dropping the files on a simple text editor such as Notepad. Change "31" to "30" if you want to try immediately.
  • Finally, open an elevated CMD window at "C:\Program Files (x86)\J River\Media Center 31\Visualizations" and run "Regsvr32 Aeon_JMC.dll" followed by "Regsvr32 G-Force_JMC.dll"


Both are working fine here on both Windows 10 and 11, though, anyone choosing to persist with Soundspectrum visuals should definately be aware of this nasty little bug I found a couple years ago --> Nasty bug thread.

-marko
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