[PATCH] LaunchPlayer - External Video Player Launcher (to launch third-party players)

WiSo Wrote:And it shouldn't do that since once minimized XBMC stops rendering (can be tested with task manager open)

And does this patch correctly minimize XBMC when the external player is launched?

In any case, hats off to the original poster. This, if working correctly, provides, for the time being, the best of both worlds (even though... I'm curious to see what happens with the "autoswitch to 60Hz" problem I'm having. When I exit XBMC the refresh rate goes back automatically to what it was at the desktop level, I wonder if this will happen for the external player too, while XBMC is sitting in background).

I'll experiment tonight. For now, thanks for the effort!

ashlar Wrote:And does this patch correctly minimize XBMC when the external player is launched?

This isn't a patch just an internal function of XBMC. I'm minimize the window handle of XBMC which should be the same as choosing minimize from the window menu.

WiSo Wrote:This isn't a patch just an internal function of XBMC. I'm minimize the window handle of XBMC which should be the same as choosing minimize from the window menu.

I don't get what you mean, I think there's a spelling mistake somewhere, but I can't get your meaning.

ashlar Wrote:And does this patch correctly minimize XBMC when the external player is launched?

I'm not exactly sure what is 'correct' about minimizing XBMC. The effect of minimizing XBMC, seeing the windows desktop, then watching a player launch is very non-seamless and completely defeats the purpose. If you want this functionality you can get it by using events in something like eventghost (minimize xbmc on external player start, maximize on quit, etc).

Minimizing XBMC gives similar results (can't tell if it's any better). I actually had to minimize through the Task Manager. Can anyone confirm this, or am I the only one?

Hi..

I need your help to get this launcher works.. here is the steps I did:

1- Downloaded : XBMCSetup-Rev16149.exe and installed it.
2- created a file named advancedsettings.xml and put it in this directory:
\Users\[user]\AppData\Roaming\XBMC on Vista .
Contains : <advancedsettings>
<launchplayer>
<defaultplayer>true</defaultplayer>
<filename>C:\Program Files\The KMPlayer\KMPlayer.exe</filename>
<args>-fs</args>
</launchplayer>
</advancedsettings>

The problem: When I right click on files I can't see launchplayer as the default! Dvdplayer is the default!!
when I click play using launcher.. nothing work.
I used the debug no messages at all ..only memory usage text above..

any help ?? please.

can you give me the exact steps like 1- 2- etc.


What is SVN ? ? ?
Thanks all

WiSo Wrote:This isn't a patch just an internal function of XBMC. I'm minimize the window handle of XBMC which should be the same as choosing minimize from the window menu.

i just tried that with mpc, and while mpc launches just fine, xbmc stays in fullscreen in the background, causing playback stutter. are there any extra options that need to be set for xbmc to auto minimize?

this is with the full setup from the first post. thanks for this btw, i really need directshow filters but just want to use the xbmc gui, so this is the perfect combination for me.

edit/update: just manually minimized xbmc with taskman and even minimized it uses about 6% cpu, which would not matter all that much; but it still causes playback stutter and dropped frames in mpc.

konfoo Wrote:I'm not exactly sure what is 'correct' about minimizing XBMC. The effect of minimizing XBMC, seeing the windows desktop, then watching a player launch is very non-seamless and completely defeats the purpose. If you want this functionality you can get it by using events in something like eventghost (minimize xbmc on external player start, maximize on quit, etc).

I was referring to the fact that if XBMC stays maximized behind the external player we incur in a severe performance penalty. At least this is what I understand from what's been written so far.

obstler Wrote:i just tried that with mpc, and while mpc launches just fine, xbmc stays in fullscreen in the background, causing playback stutter. are there any extra options that need to be set for xbmc to auto minimize?

Nope. When calling an external program XBMC is minimized with
ShowWindow(g_hWnd,SW_MINIMIZE);

which works fine for me whenever I test it.
Do you have any other programs running which could disturb XBMC in doing so (even though I don't know what this could be )
Do you use another program to launch XBMC which maybe has an option to let XBMC stay maximized on top?

costa Wrote:Hi..

I need your help to get this launcher works.. here is the steps I did:

1- Downloaded : XBMCSetup-Rev16149.exe and installed it.
2- created a file named advancedsettings.xml and put it in this directory:
\Users\[user]\AppData\Roaming\XBMC on Vista .
Contains : <advancedsettings>
<launchplayer>
<defaultplayer>true</defaultplayer>
<filename>C:\Program Files\The KMPlayer\KMPlayer.exe</filename>
<args>-fs</args>
</launchplayer>
</advancedsettings>

The problem: When I right click on files I can't see launchplayer as the default! Dvdplayer is the default!!
when I click play using launcher.. nothing work.
I used the debug no messages at all ..only memory usage text above..

any help ?? please.

can you give me the exact steps like 1- 2- etc.


What is SVN ? ? ?
Thanks all

It should be in your UserData folder.