HD100 Extender and SageMC Sounds (clicks...)

[Addict]

I put this in the Extender section because my client works fine. There's definitely something different about how the Extender works when it comes to navigation sounds. If someone believes this should be in the Customizations section, then please move it for me. (thanks!)

My SageMC settings have click-sounds enabled, but I do not hear them through the extender. Ironically, I happened to have a Remote Desktop session open to my server in the other room and voila...I heard the sounds, but ON THE SERVER! Haha...

So, the sounds are being played, just on the server...not on the extender through the TV.

How can I fix this? I'm running the latest Sage Release Candidate and the latest SageMC release.

Thanks!

[GKusnick]

You can't fix it. When you use an extender, the UI code executes on the server, not on the extender. So any sound effects it plays will play on the server. There is no mechanism for playing UI sound effects (as distinct from streamed media) remotely on the extender.

[Addict]

Awww, really? That's a total drag for me.

Audio feedback is HUGE in my opinion...especially when the video navigation lags. At least with the audible click, you can tell the system "heard ya" ... it's just processing.

Is this something simply impossible, or can something be done about this? (i.e. core/stv/extender updates, etc)

[gplasky]

Simply impossible. The extenders are server driven. That's why you hear it on the server.

Gerry

[stanger89]

I'm sure it's possible to get sounds played on the extender, but I bet it would require core changes to make it happen, maybe significant ones.

[maxpower]

Originally Posted by gplasky

Simply impossible.

That's a bit of an overstatement. Of course it is possible, and the fact that it doesn't do it now is kind of gay.

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by gplasky

Simply impossible. The extenders are server driven. That's why you hear it on the server.

Gerry

The emphasis is on the Simply. (Not that it could never be done.) As stanger stated it would probably take major changes to the core. Plus sound is only available in a custom STV and not with the default STV. So email tech support with the suggestion.

Gerry

[Addict]

I submitted a feature request to tech support and referenced this thread.

[Mr_X]

I may have my head up my ass, but I would think this would be very simple to do.
Music files can play while moving around various menus, so in the same way all the UI has to do is have the Extender "play" the UI sound effect as an additional action when a key is pressed. The sound effect after all is just a WAV or MP3 file.
Of course that would limit the sounds to only being available when music or video is not being played (probably) but it's still an improvement over what there is now...

Am I out to lunch?

[gplasky]

The sounds are Windows system sounds. True they are just wave files but the extenders are basically running a Linux core. (I think) It would require a rewriting of the core. Sounds were added with a custom STV (SageMC 16x9)and is not a part of the default STV. I may be off base and I'm not a programmer but I think that is the issue for extenders.


Gerry

[Mr_X]

Originally Posted by gplasky

It would require a rewriting of the core.

I respectfully disagree. The core can already play sounds in the form of music or video so logically it must be able to play them anytime. It would merely need to do so on demand as an additional action when a menu highlight changes. It (the extender) likely doesn't have the power to layer sounds so the UI sound effects would likely be limited to when music or a video is not currently playing.

I don't think either of us know for sure whether or not it can be done and if it's difficult or not. I'll post a message in the Customizations forum and see whether one of the SageMC authors has time to answer this one...

It's certainly a feature I'd really like to see!

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by Mr_X

I respectfully disagree. The core can already play sounds in the form of music or video so logically it must be able to play them anytime. It would merely need to do so on demand as an additional action when a menu highlight changes. It (the extender) likely doesn't have the power to layer sounds so the UI sound effects would likely be limited to when music or a video is not currently playing.

But the APIs used to play sounds vs mediafiles are different. SageMC uses the PlaySound() API call to play the beeps and whistles, where as for music and video playback the Watch API call is used.

Now I don't know how they work under the hood, but I believe PlaySound() can be called without interrupting the currently played mediafile, however calling Watch() for a "beep" would interrupt the current mediafile.

The other thing is while I'm sure the Sigma processor in the HD100 can handle mixing of multiple audio streams, I suspect there are different, special calls to do that, different from what's necessary on Windows where the OS handles mixing of multiple audio streams for you.

And finally, STV code (including PlaySound) is executed on the server (not the HD100) so there would most likely need to be some update to the core/api to specify that the sound needs to be routed to a remote device.

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by Mr_X

I don't think either of us know for sure whether or not it can be done and if it's difficult or not. I'll post a message in the Customizations forum and see whether one of the SageMC authors has time to answer this one...

There's no need for that. This isn't the first time this has come up and Greg already answered that question in the 2nd post of this thread.

- Andy

[Mr_X]

Originally Posted by Opus4

There's no need for that. This isn't the first time this has come up and Greg already answered that question in the 2nd post of this thread.

- Andy

Too late, I'm afraid.
Is Greg the author of SageMC? Fair enough if it's not easily possible; As an enthusiast I do like to understand more about the software and it's inner workings and Stranger89 has detailed some of the reasons.

Thanks!

-Andy.

[GKusnick]

Originally Posted by Mr_X

Is Greg the author of SageMC?

No, I'm not, but I've read the API docs, which define what the UI can do, and there's nothing in there for remote playback of UI sound effects.

[Mr_X]

Ok. Thanks, Greg!

Too bad, though. I do miss the aural feedback.