ryan.tollefson:

Version 0.2 is out!

OK, I released the new version... it gives you a lot more functionality than the old version, and it is much easier to work with.  There is now a settings menu, so you shouldn't need to edit the .ini by hand anymore.

Here is a change summary:

Added Gui for settings

Option to run at Windows Startup

Added better handling of restore sizes & remembering last positon

Added selection to send to monitor from tray

Added support for up to 4 monitors w/different resolutions

Added better variable checking to help avoid invalid variables

Changed name to MCE Multi Mon (from MCE Dual Mon)

Then name change is because the app now supports up to 4 monitors, rather than just 2.  I really don't like the name though, so if someone has a better name for it, please let me know.

I was hoping that I could work out a few more of the bugs before releasing this version, but it was taking longer than I had hoped and I really don't have a lot of time to work on this right now, so I decided to just release it how it is now (it is still a nice upgrade from v.0.1). 

The major issues I was having is that for some reason I can't get Media Center to recognize when I have changed the Window size/position... this means that there is some bugginess if you use my app to change the window size/position, and then use the standard min/max/restore buttons from within the Media Center window.  If you use the traditional buttons, when you restore the window, the last position isn't always properly recognized.  This shouldn't be a major issue for most people, but it is slightly annoying. 

If anyone finds any other bugs, please let me know, and I will do what I can to fix them.

Let me know what you guys think...

Excellent will give it a go and let you know how I get on with it.

Cheers.

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Stu

aka C-Dub



The Windows Media Center Blog

Tips Tricks & News!

will this work with ultimate 64?

A slightly OT question but why does VMC trap the mouse when you go to full screen on a secondary monitor?  Is this a feature or bug?

Muaddib:

will this work with ultimate 64?

Yup. 

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Just my $0.02.

Once Media Center is fullscreen on the second monitor, can you still use a Media Center remote to control it?

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My Network Project - Media Center Blog

AndresE:

Once Media Center is fullscreen on the second monitor, can you still use a Media Center remote to control it?

You can use the remote, but only if Media Center is the active window. 

I tried playing around with HIP a little, but I couldn't get it to work on my Vista x64 machine... If anyone has successfully replaced the IR receiver drivers for Vista x64 please let me know, and I can write the code to make it so the remote will always work with the Media Center window (active or not). 

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Just my $0.02.

wayner9:

A slightly OT question but why does VMC trap the mouse when you go to full screen on a secondary monitor?  Is this a feature or bug?

To be honest, I'm not sure... I think it is a by product of the way the fullscreen Media Center window works... I would guess that it is because of directx (or whatever it's using to render the window) and the way that it was designed to opperate in fullscreen. 

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Just my $0.02.

Cool, i will give it a try...thanks.

Also, when mce is spanning multiple monitors, what can I do?  Can I watch a movie that way?  Will it scale it appropriately?

Muaddib:

Also, when mce is spanning multiple monitors, what can I do?  Can I watch a movie that way?  Will it scale it appropriately?

This won't make Media Center span multiple monitors... it just lets you run it full screen without trapping the mouse in the Media Center window.  It will also let you send the Media Center window to a different screen from the tray menu. 

I didn't think that spanning made a lot of sense for Media Center, so I didn't write that functionality into the app, also I don't think Media Center will act properly when opperating in an extremely wide mode.

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Just my $0.02.

Great app, thanks!!!!

My understanding is that the official explanation was that it was to prevent crashes and to keep resources below 50% with the new Vista power settings. The cynics among us have suggested that the REAL reason is to get everyone to buy $300 media extenders, when a $5 cable can do the same thing. Either way, thank you SO MUCH for this program. The "mouse trap" was one of the most annoying things I've dealt with in YEARS! And they wonder why so many people are buying macs...criminy!

Ryan

I've tried verison 0.2 its looking good! One issue with both verisons, if you right click the icon in the system tray and select launch media center it opens on the secondary HDTV monitor but is windowed and not full screen. I then have to right click the icon again and select full screen. Which then makes VMC appear to be in full screen mode. Can you make it so when you click launch media center it just goes to full screen?

Cheers keep up the excellent work!

 

 

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Stu

aka C-Dub



The Windows Media Center Blog

Tips Tricks & News!

Glad you like it so far cw-kid,

If you double click the tray icon (rather than selecting "Launch..." from the menu) then it will open in full screen on the default monitor.

For the next version (haven't started work on this yet) I'd like to add command line parameters so you can have a shortcut to do a specific task (e.g. open Media Center on screen 1 in fullscreen).  I'd also like to see about capturing the remote commands and make it so they are always sent to the Media Center window (if it's open).  I've looked briefly at: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms996387.aspx and http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb417079.aspx- but I just don't have time right now to work on this...

If someone else wants to figure out this side of it, I'll see what I can do to implement it in this app.  It seems and-81 from the MediaPortal forums might have a way to do it, but I haven't tried to contact him yet about it... http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/mce-replacement-plugin-165/ir-server-suite-media-center-35090/

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Just my $0.02.

ryan.tollefson:

Glad you like it so far cw-kid,

If you double click the tray icon (rather than selecting "Launch..." from the menu) then it will open in full screen on the default monitor.

Ok I feel stupid now lol.

Thanks

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Stu

aka C-Dub



The Windows Media Center Blog

Tips Tricks & News!

Hi. I loaded your program, it rocks, having the mouse stuck in media center was among the most annoying attributes of using media center on a computer that we use for other tasks also.

One question so far - I find that if I press the "media center" button more than once, it takes me back to the default cursor stuck in media center mode.  Is this the expected behavior?  When I am moving through media center quickly, I can sometimes press that button more than once.  Its not a big deal, just need to be aware of it.