VUMeter Plugin

[BoringName]

Noticed that oops' foo_vis_vumeter version 0.8.0 is now capable of playing hiccup's new meters directly from the *.rar file, complete with the option to use/not use the *.bin settings.

I was going to reply to this the other day but got sidetracked, I think I'd already commented on this before. I got reminded when I checked out the foo_vis_vumeter thread on Hydrogrenaud.io

I have no intention of supporting RAR files. Few things I find more annoying than unpacking a rar file to find it contains more rar/zip files....

That annoyance aside, I get it makes the skin folder neater by allowing the INI file to be packaged with the bin file but I just don't have the motivation to deal with it and workaround the issues it will cause.

I noticed oops has been doing a few improvements and while I haven't played around with his plugin recently to see what they are, I'll say at this point I don't intend for VUMeter to mirror everything available in foobar, I have little interest in adding any kind of tweak settings beyond what already exist. I'm also conscious of the fact that anything I change will probably result in oops getting a request to support it as well.

I did see a screenshot where someone had the left meter in the bottom left corner and the right meter in the bottom right corner of the UI, not sure how I could implement that without running a second instance of VUMeter but that's probably next on the agenda. I did try the lazy way of loading the plugin twice by renaming the DLL but that didn't go so well.... I'll have to research if one plugin can exist in 2 separate panels or create a second VUMeter that uses a separate config.

[sveakul]

Nobody expects you to mirror the oops plugin in anyway.  I think you tend to misinterpret "informational" posts as "expectational."  To me it seemed like a compliment to you and hiccup that oops had added compatibility with the bin file.  At one time the AIMP skins needed to be in folders not zips, which is why I made that one question to you about extending that concept to rar's.  Instead we have the better, MORE useful feature of having the plugin being to switch a BIN to LZMA compression on its own, AND combine separate BIN parts into one.  I'll take that any day of the week.

Forget about connecting to foobar's plugin, and if they choose to connect to yours it's an acknowledgement of your skills.  Also, IMO the last thing we need is second panels or "tilts" etc. etc.  Your plugin seems to me like a fully featured, "done deal," the product of an extreme amount of work and given away for free.  Thank goodness we have developers like you and kamen working in MusicBee.

[phred]

Forget about connecting to foobar's plugin, and if they choose to connect to yours it's an acknowledgement of your skills.  Also, IMO the last thing we need is second panels or "tilts" etc. etc.  Your plugin seems to me like a fully featured, "done deal," the product of an extreme amount of work and given away for free.  Thank goodness we have developers like you and kamen working in MusicBee.

A real loud shout-out to BoringName and agreeing 100% with sveakul's comment.

[BoringName]

I think you tend to misinterpret "informational" posts as "expectational."

Well, after you mentioned it a second time I figured you were dropping a hint

Instead we have the better, MORE useful feature of having the plugin being to switch a BIN to LZMA compression on its own, AND combine separate BIN parts into one.

That's another reason I don't want to mess around with RAR files, aside from adding more overhead when loading skins, It would also mess up that functionality.

Also, IMO the last thing we need is second panels or "tilts" etc. etc.

I am happy with where it's at right now but I think being able to split the meters would be a good thing for skin\theme creators so If I can pull that off without having to run a second instance of VUMeter I will. While a second instance would probably work, it's a messy workaround and would require maintaining 2 separate sets of code and I'm not going to do that.

[BoringName]

I think being able to split the meters would be a good thing for skin\theme creators so If I can pull that off without having to run a second instance of VUMeter I will.

So this isn't happening. To be honest I didn't even try, just thinking about the logistics of it all was enough for me to dismiss the idea. If it gets to a point where I won't be updating the plugin anymore other than to keep it working with Musicbee changes, I might supply a separate version that uses different naming conventions for anyone really keen on running 2 instances of the plugin (assuming it actually works). Currently I'm not prepared to maintain 2 sets of code.

For now it would be possible to create a wide skin that goes into the bottom panel with the meters at each end. You just wouldn't be able to have any elements in between the meters, that space would have to be filled with the skin.

[sveakul]

Please don't waste any more time considering this, nobody needs more than one VU Meter, and that one can be changed at will to a hundred different types with a couple of clicks.  Some people just like "decorating" their PCs to look like Santa's workshop, you don't have to accomodate that.  What we have right now is like a miracle compared to what we had a year ago.  People who want to use additional visual tools should get kamen's sadly overlooked CESpectrum which has dozens of relevant and carefully engineered settings, variables, placement in floating or fixed widows, etc.

The last visual element I would like to see for MB is the ability to assign/place specific VST plugin GUI's to fixed or floating windows, with their adjustments made there reflected real-time in the audio.  That would be my recommendation for the next application of your coding genius if you felt like taking it on.  However, considering the "shakiness" of the current VST hosting interface, changes may need to made there first to increase its robustness and versatility with various VST plugin designs.

[BoringName]

The last visual element I would like to see for MB is the ability to assign/place specific VST plugin GUI's to fixed or floating windows,

I think you are out of luck there in regards to someone else developing a plugin for that. Considering VST Effects Support needs to be installed just to load them, I think Steven would need to add a dockable panel element to that plugin to get the functionality you want.

[hiccup]

So...

After taking a break using and testing the vumeter plugin, I gave it a new shot today.
I'm happy to say that the previously reported delays and slow-motion activity of the needle seems to have disappeared.

I wrecked my brain what might have caused it before, but I come up empty.
Perhaps some failed Windows update, other processes interfering, I have no clue whatsoever.

Anywayz, it seems to be working again.

But, I got several successive pop-up errors after installing the plugin on a spanking clean portable install of MusicBee 3.6 (using Options > Plugins > Add plugin…)







Is this just me?
Shouldn't it start with some default VU meter?

[hiccup]

And a heavily OCD infused comment:
There is an entry for 'Vertical Display', which can be checked or unchecked.

My brain tells me it would prefer two separate entries:
- Horizontal Orientation
- Vertical Orientation

How far have we come that it is now only things like this I can come up with.  ;-)

PS
I just tried some of my VU meter skins on foobar2000. They didn't function very well, and I got an instant headache only looking at the options trying to improve on that.
It makes me appreciate that 'our' plugin and VU meters 'just work' with maybe only some minimal effort by the user.

edit
I am also wondering if it wouldn't be better if 'Use Skin Default' would be checked by default.
When a skin creator made the effort to create an ini for their skin, why not use it by default?

[sveakul]

I just tried some of my VU meter skins on foobar2000. They didn't function very well, and I got an instant headache only looking at the options trying to improve on that.
It makes me appreciate that 'our' plugin and VU meters 'just work' with maybe only some minimal effort by the user.

edit
I am also wondering if it wouldn't be better if 'Use Skin Default' would be checked by default.
When a skin creator made the effort to create an ini for their skin, why not use it by default?

Your A-47 Accuphase with BIN/INI is working like a charm right now on foobar v2.24.1 x64; beautiful RMS-area needle response and the red peak lights respond using level "mixed"--change to "peak" and the needles AND lights follow the peaks.  The settings I am using with Layout "Left and Right Vertical" are:



Don't think that your skins aren't being used and sought-after by Foobar users concerned with quality.  BTW, I stopped with version .91 of their plugin after it seemed further development was being directed more and more at a few users' exotic needs and I was concerned on the effect on the core performance of the meter rather than compatibility with other panel formats, transparency etc.

I agree that in MusicBee the option to use a skin default if present should be checked by default.  And, I find the supplied adjustable settings perfectly adequate and basically "set-it-and-forget-it."

Question:  I have all of hiccup's calibrated meters from the AIMP zipped analog format before they were changed over to BIN/INI.  Is there any reason to keep both formats of the same skins?

I've noticed no general glitches, I am using 2.6.0 since I was not experiencing the skin folder problems that were driving phred crazy.

[BoringName]

New VersionVUMeter2.6.3.zip

Changes
- Use Skin Defaults is now enabled by default for fresh installs
- Fixed a regression bug that prevented a skin from loading on fresh installs.

The Vertical Display is going to remain a single option.

The settings I am using with Layout "Left and Right Vertical" are:

Looking at all those settings makes me wince, good on him providing all that but I'm glad I didn't go down that route.

Be interesting to know how many users actually take the time to fine tune it and how many there are. The last version of VUMeter released at the start of December has over 700 downloads.

[hiccup]

Thanks!  I imagine you meant to say "v2.6.3" for the meter version.

Nope, the improved needle action came with 2.6.2

Your A-47 Accuphase with BIN/INI is working like a charm right now on foobar v2.24.1 x64; beautiful RMS-area needle response and the red peak lights respond using level "mixed"--change to "peak" and the needles AND lights follow the peaks

Don't think that your skins aren't being used and sought-after by Foobar users concerned with quality

That's nice to hear.

Question: I have all of hiccup's calibrated meters from the AIMP zipped analog format before they were changed over to BIN/INI. Is there any reason to keep both formats of the same skins?

To be clear, those 'calibrated' meters were created during the earliest development of the plugin, and I created them mainly for the purpose of testing and learning.
Later on I came to understand that due to the nature of VU metering, a VU meter can never really be described as being 'calibrated', so I then removed these versions and descriptions and replaced them with newer versions that perform better for their purpose.

So I would recommend not using them (nor distribute them), but use the newer officially released and supported versions instead.

Regarding differences between AIMP vs foobar2000 versions, the main difference will probably be with the logarithmic curve that the needle travels. I can only suggest to just use the version that you like best.
After all, their main purpose in MusicBee is eye-candy, which is very different from what VU meters are used for in audio recording and production.

[sveakul]

Nope, the improved needle action came with 2.6.2

OK! When BoringName mentioned "There is no point installing this version unless you are having similar issues to phred" (the deal with locating the skin directory)  I figured he hadn't been doing the "innards work" with that one, dang it.  This is paranoid now, but I assume those improvements were carried over into 2.6.3?

Thanks for the explanation on the calibrated versions.  I re-downloaded all of them in BIN/INI.

[BoringName]

OK! When BoringName mentioned "There is no point installing this version unless you are having similar issues to phred" (the deal with locating the skin directory)  I figured he hadn't been doing the "innards work" with that one, dang it.  This is paranoid now, but I assume those improvements were carried over into 2.6.3?

I'm not actually sure what I changed. I was making changes to try and solve Phred's problem at the time but all I've got in the notes is Misc changes.... With all the crap I've got going on these days I should probably get up to speed with Github so I can keep a better history, I'm half arsing it at the moment.

[hiccup]

I'm not actually sure what I changed.

Thinking back, I believe we did all the discussion and testing that needle action improvements over PM,

So I now understand why sveakul wasn't sure (and could not know) what I was talking about.