[mythtv-users] Ideas for MythMusic rewrite

[John Luber]

Paul Harrison wrote:
> We'll probably regret this but we would like your opinions :-)  We are
> in the process of  switching MythMusic to MythUI and would like to take
> the opportunity to make some much needed improvements to the interface.
>
> We don't necessarily  just want a list of feature requests, although
> every idea will be considered, but also how they should be implemented,
> what the interface should look like etc. If you can provide mock ups of
> how it should look or links to images of how other players do things
> then all the better.
>
> You should bear in mind the limitations of keeping the interface usable
> on a TV using a remote control and where possible using the existing
> widgets available in MythUI.
>
> Our goal is not to implement every idea from the start but to make sure
> the final plan is flexible enough to at least be extended with the best
> ideas in the future. 
>
> Paul H.
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>   
Paul,

Thank you for asking...  Generally, the current mythMusic works well for 
me, but I do have a couple of suggestions/feature requests.

First, a little about my setup...  I have 8 myth clients connecting to a 
single masterbackend.  3 of the clients connect to TVs; the rest are 
ordinary computers.  One is an older laptop that I dedicate to playing 
mythMusic 24x7 feeding the output to a whole house sound system which 
has 8 distinct zones for output.

The whole system runs .22-fixes (latest).

So, here are the problems or areas for improvement or features that I 
think would make this better.

1) Lately, mythMusic on the laptop that feeds the whole house system 
appears less stable.  For unknown reasons (I am willing to help 
troubleshoot this) it just dies.  I did not notice this in .21.  In 
fact, it appeared very robust. A snippet of the logs:

.
.
.
2010-01-09 09:21:29.364 WriteAudio: buffer underrun
2010-01-09 09:25:09.432 Read frame failed
2010-01-09 09:25:10.114 WriteAudio: buffer underrun
2010-01-09 09:28:16.735 Read frame failed
2010-01-09 09:28:17.433 WriteAudio: buffer underrun
2010-01-09 09:31:21.658 Read frame failed
2010-01-09 09:31:22.284 WriteAudio: buffer underrun
mythfrontend.real: Fatal IO error: client killed


2) I have an Acer Revo 1600 using an ALC662 audio chip output to HDMI to 
the TV.  Everything works great except music will not play -  Error: 
Rate doesn't match (requested 44100Hz, got 48000Hz) - I've tried 
googling this for weeks now with no solution.  Anything you can do from 
a mythMusic-end would be very welcome.

3) I recently took the time to re-import my collection directly into 
myth using the CD import functionality.  It worked very well.  I 
imported all of my collection as flac and am pleased with the result 
except in one area.  Occasionally a CD fails to play because of 
capitalization discrepancies between the file system and the database.  
Typically, it is words like "the", "of", or such that are mixed-up.  I 
don't understand why this would be since the ripping was done within the 
myth system.

4) I've been experimenting recently with mythLCD.  I've got a single 
display working - iMon UltraBay - and my thought is that I would like to 
be able to have 2-3 of these located throughout the house at some of the 
8 zones to control the dedicated laptop playing mythMusic.  I plan to 
try usb extenders etc to do the hardware.  What I believe might be 
missing is the ability to have multiple iMon control a single instance 
of mythMusic.  Additionally, I would like to be able to use the iMon to 
select and play playlists from within mythMusic (ie switch from Country 
to Rock, etc or '70s to 80s)

5) It would be nice if the Album Art vilsualizer included 
CD/Title/Artist/Track information in addition to the artwork.

Thank you again for asking for input.  If you would like clarification 
on any of this please let me know.

Regards.

John Luber