Video Window 2

[dave]

umm, i don't get it. but no changes to the video architecture are "easy"

[DeusExMachina]

Well, for instance, if the aspect ratio of the preview pane is different from that of the Video window, often times certain assets will be displayed differently. So, for example, text that shows on the Video window as one line might be split into two on the preview pane. Graphics may be stretched or cut off. So clearly some math is going on to place the elements on the page at a given size and aspect ratio, and the specifics of that math are different for the different windows.

If it were possible to rejigger this math so that the page elements were sized to oblivion on the Preview pane (instead of calculating their size and position as now) and assuming that the CD+G stream were still being run beneath those elements, you'd have the lyrics showing with no ShowScreen visible.

[dave]

If it were possible to rejigger this math

therein lies the rub

so that the page elements were sized to oblivion

if by that you mean "they become so small as to disappear", ie: "set their size to zero to achieve the effect that the showscreen seems to not even come up", that sounds like a hack, and the wrong way to accomplish a new feature.

perhaps i've misunderstood, but if i did get it, i promise you i will never spend time doing something in a hackey, wrong way that doesn't have at least a semblance of elegant design (code architecture) behind it.

if what you're after is "make it so i can toggle the visibility of the showscreen on one independent video screen or another, regardless of whether it's actually being piped there or to any other video screen", then i'd design that feature code wise to work just like that, rather than reverse engineer a hack that could appear to present that way.

[DeusExMachina]

Hackery is indeed what I meant.

[dave]

yeah, this feature will have to wait until it can be implemented as a real feature

[DeusExMachina]

Well, to be honest, although maybe a hack, it would have been an elegant hack, addressing the feature head on. But for now I can just keep counting out measures, and hope I don't lose track, until the lyrics come on again (except on those companies' tracks where they don't bother to tell you how long you have until the next lyric screen!).

[dave]

it would have been an elegant hack, addressing the feature head on

being intimately familiar with the code (since i wrote it), i'll have to respectfully disagree there

[DeusExMachina]

By "head on" I just meant that it would take the specific item in question, the overlay, and make it invisible.
But that has inspired me to resurrect my VLC "crash-safe" safety net idea, and repurpose it.
Assuming it works.

[dave]

can we let this topic rest now?