MPXT

[matthias]

"it was my fault, I did not notice that by default it was set to 4x40"  

Same happend to me ;-)

[Tamas]

thank you, but the fast proc in my case means amd p75/133 :-))))

[matthias]

I´m still working on the display output. Everything is fine if there is no line scrolling. Linescrollimg still looks strange. I`ve set ScrollDelay to 25. The display doesn`t flicker or got to fast anymore, but line scrolling takes ages. I know that there a few settings to do for the lcd. But I wonder if it´s only the mpxttsr.cfg which is responsible for the output because you can also change settings in other cfgs.
Another strange thing - I use an AMD Duron 800. Should be fast enough ;-)
But when mpxplay starts playing the first title CPU usage is between 80 - 100 %. After two minutes CPU usage is going down to about 15 %. Any idea?

[admin]

The most important delay values are in mpxttsr.cfg and mpxtlcd.cfg.  In mpxtlcd.cfg you can save some cpu cycles by decreasing the delay values until you start getting garbage characters, then bump up the delays values until things are stable again.

In mpxttsr.cfg:
Increasing the DelayFactor will save a lot of cpu cycles, but the lcd won't get updated as often.  In general, set it a low value if you're using the EQ functions, otherwise something in the 3 to 9 range should work well for most people.  Adjust DelayFactor first, since this affects all of the other delay values in the tsr.

RefreshDelay: If the DelayFactor is set to a low value, then you can get away increasing RefreshDelay to save a few more cpu cycles.

When I run MPXPlay the cpu always starts out at 100% then drops to a more normal value after a couple of seconds.

[matthias]

@admin
Thanks again, I´ll try that tomorrow step by step. Maybe it´s a good idea to place this information in the FAQ section or in the readme.txt.
But unfortunatly there is one thing I wonder about. I use doslfn to show long file names. When I start mpxt and switch to the playlist menu my m3u playlists are shown in 8.3 DOS convention, but when I play the files the LCD shows the correct long file names. What can I do about that?

"When I run MPXPlay the cpu always starts out at 100% then drops to a more normal value after a couple of seconds."
This effect is minimized since I installed the UDMA driver for dos.

Matthias

[matthias]

Quote:
my m3u playlists are shown in 8.3 DOS convention

            ---- FILEINFO.CFG ----

If you can read it can answer many questions....

[matthias]

@admin
Quote:
Linescrolling still looks strange

LCD was still switched ON in mpxplay.ini.....

[admin]

I spent some time overhauling the delays in lptlcd.pas  The changes affect lcd type 1 (parallel).

Changes:
* Wrote a new delay routine that doesn't depend on the processor speed.
* Removed some unnecessary delays
* Added a delay where one should have been

If it works, it'll make MpXT a little less cpu-hungry when writing characters to the lcd.  If it fails, it could cause garbage characters, crashes in the tsr, etc.

Since I don't own a parallel port lcd, I have no way to test the changes.  I've built a test-version of MpXT that includes the new delay routines.  It can be downloaded here:
http://techworld.dyndns.org/download/mpxttest.zip" target="_blank">http://techworld.dyndns.org/download/mpxttest.zip

Start with a ControlDelay of 65, and a CharDelay of 65.

[matthias]

I´m a little bit confused.
Everything is fine and running, although I´m still trying to get IR controll running, but this seems to be a problem with the IR device.
So I´m trying to start with a keypad. I can controll mpxt without any problems. Then I start an MP3 file and mpxt switches to mpxplay. Fine so far, but how I can I quit mpxplay and go back to mpxt? The "." button, which works under mpxt as the "escape" button doesn´t have any function. But how can i quit mpxplay and go back to mpxt menu???
I´ll test the new changes in the lptlcd.pas and give you a feedback asap

Matthias

[admin]

MPXPlay has control over the keyboard while it's running.  Edit MPXPlay.ini and change:
KeyVolumeUp2    =0x342e
to
KeyVolumeUp2    =0x0000

Then change one of the KeyExit entries to 0x342e

[matthias]

@admin
Thanks for the help

Matthias

[Ben Joiner]

I have a Crystal fontz 632 display which runs off the com port.  The tsr locks up the lcd screen every time no matter how high you run the delay facctor for how often the tsr grabs info from mpxplay.  So i tried the software on winXP instead of Win98 (which mpxplay isn't freindly with).  When I load the tsr in xp then the screen doesn't lock up.  I call mpxplay from mpxt and then get a cursor only.  Anyways, just wondering if you guys can help me.  Thanks.

[admin]

Ben,

The thing to keep in mind is that MPXPlay was designed to be used under plain DOS.  Since DOS doesn't support sound cards, on its own, support for the sound cards is built into the program itself.  This means calling some low-level functions that may or may not work when running in a DOS-Window in Windows.

I'm not running Win98 or XP, but I have tried MPXPlay under Win95b and Windows 2000.  I've never been able to get MPXPlay to do anything useful under Windows 2000.  More often than not MPXPlay works fine for me under Win95b.  Basically I do all of the MpXT-related coding and testing under 95b.  Also, some sound card types are only supported by MPXPlay, in plain DOS.  (The Sound Blaster AWE64 card that I use on my test machine works fine in MPXPlay in both plain DOS, and 95b)

I'd start by running MPXPlay all by itself.  Copy an audio file to the MPXPlay directory, then fire up MPXPlay to see if anything comes out of the speakers.  If that doesn't work in 98 or XP, try running it under plain DOS.  If you not sure how to get to plain DOS, I can walk you through it.

If MPXPlay works properly, on its own, check the mpxplay.ini file and make sure that "LCDport" is set to "none".  Otherwise MPXPlay and Mpxttsr could end up writing to the LCD at the same time.  Then set "SerialEnable" to "0".

I wouldn't worry too much about the "DelayFactor" setting until you get everything else working.

[matthias]

I´m just building an "installation guide" for MPXT and MPXPLAY on my homepage, for the beginning in German. Hope you all like it - if you understand it ;-)
http://www.mbudde.de/mp3player/mp3_start.htm" target="_blank">http://www.mbudde.de/mp3player/mp3_start.htm

[matthias]

I´m trying to controll MPXT with my remote control. It´s no problem to program MPXT with the fantastic build in support for my UIR. But I wonder how to control MPXPLAY. I´ve understood so far that MPXT uses mpxplay.ir to read the settings. But I don´t understand so far what kind of syntax I have to use. Do I have to use the settings of MPXPLAY (something like: SerialFunc =19c000000000,0d1c) or do I need the syntax of MPXT (like: 28,13=22976).
Thanks
Matthias