MusicBee Remote (Remote Control for Android)

[EnduringGuerila]

I'm using MB Remote v0.9.2  and plugin v0.9.928

I noticed a that in the notification bar, the play/pause buttons are reversed. Pressing play pauses it and pressing pause resumes it. Not a big deal but feels counter intuitive.
I personally like the ongoing notification but there should be an option to turn it off so it never shows. Or it goes away after the music has been paused for "x" time.
Maybe add an option to not show the icon when the notification bar is closed.

The Last.FM icon/button works but doesn't indicate if it is on or off.

I do not see ratings anywhere other than the Last.FM heart. The heart works fine but I'd like it to show a reddish or pinkish color when the song is "loved."
OK I found the ratings but there is unused space on my device. Maybe later you can make the interface customizable via the settings menu. Like how big the album cover is and if ratings are always visible, etc.

If I do not limit my Now Playing to a small section of my library, when I view the Now Playing list, it does not show the tracks I am listening to, only the very top of my library. I understand you limited how
many tracks would be loaded to the list but it needs to jump to where you are in the list.

Album covers aren't working for me 100%. My main example is that my  Crystal Castles II (Deluxe 2 CD)  album is not showing its cover at all. The app always loads the image that was from an album before it. Even if I restart the Remote app, it reloads the album cover from something else. I'm guessing it's an issue with the plugin, not the app..

If you search for an artist, clicking on the artist could automatically take you to the album list for that artist..
When you "search," before you type anything into the search field, you should be able to view the entire library. Maybe the app can cashe the library so it only needs to add new music instead of having to reload?

[kelsos]

Hello EnduringGuerila, geokon

First thank you both for your feedback and for testing the new version, your help is really appreciated

geokon I am going to look into the rating issue to figure out why it happens, the play now issue is fixed for the next version.

EnduringGuerila the buttons are fixed for the next version.

I was also thinking of adding an option to disable the notification. I will add it to my priority list to get it implemented. I am not sure about the paused part, but the notification should disappear on stopped.

The last.fm button issue is already fixed for the new version. On the love button I will consider the reddish color, I agree that it will look more appealing.

The rating is added there mostly for consistency across the different versions no other reason. Customizable interface would be nice, but there are a lot of limitation that must be taken into consideration and it would require a great deal of time spend on implementing it.

Although the now playing tracks are limited at 5000 by default, this can easily change through the plugin settings form. I think the greatest number I tested is about 10000, how it functions will probably depend on the device. The form can be found in the MusicBee menu, under the category Tools, it is named MusicBee Remote. (sorry for the lack of documentation, but my time lately is generally limited).

It would be better if you could send me a sample playlist with a few tracks where the problem happens so I could debug the particular problem.

I tried to keep the search functionality basic and simple, there are some changes for the next version including a context indicator on the end of the item, tapping the indicator will open the context menu. Also the simple tap on an item now can either play or queue the track (next/last). You can select which one you want through the settings.

The mechanism for caching the entire library and detecting the updates and changes would require a great number of work hours so it will be postponed for some point in the future. Though I generally have in mind an enhanced version of the library, with covers and artist images etc.

Since it is already late I will upload the new version in the morning, this means after 8-9 hours.

----- Update -----

version 0.9.3 should be available for testing with a bunch of fixes and changes.

[SimonBRT]

Just signed into the google group to test this out.  really impressed so far!  love the new slide out app drawer and card style for the songs list.  will keep using it and let you know if i find any issues.... thanks so much for this!

[EnduringGuerila]

I Found the app update 0.2.3  but not the plugin v0.9.3, still says v0.9.1 on the download page. Is this correct?
http://kelsos.net/musicbeeremote/download/

Edit:
I downloaded the plugin again anyway and it now says v0.9.928.

[kelsos]

yes only the android application is updated to 0.9.3 the plugin version is still v0.9.1 there will be an update later with a few minor fixes related to the initialization of the last.fm button etc, I am also working on a mechanism for the app to check for the latest plugin required.

[EnduringGuerila]

Sorry for my confusion. The Google Play Store says that the latest version of the remote is 0.2.3, not 0.9.3.

The search feature is returning the in a strange order. example, I searched "bo" and I get anybody with "bo" somewhere in the name, which is fine. It feels a little funny because they are not in alphabetical order. Boards of Canada  is before  Above and Beyond  and  Bonobo.

I am not sure how easy this would be but it would be nice if the search results stated how many tracks are included in the result.
Example:
Ambient    112
Blues           82
Rock          549
and same for artists and albums views.

[kelsos]

Yes the latest stable version is 0.2.3, the latest testing version if you have opted in is 0.9.3. Google play displays the stable as the latest version for the users since that's the one the most users would get. The other is only for those who have opted in.

I already send the numbers through the protocol I just don't display them, I could add it as an option later.  Now the ordering is the way I get the data after the call, I could add another option for alphabetical sorting later.

[EnduringGuerila]

Although the now playing tracks are limited at 5000 by default, this can easily change through the plugin settings form. I think the greatest number I tested is about 10000, how it functions will probably depend on the device. The form can be found in the MusicBee menu, under the category Tools, it is named MusicBee Remote. (sorry for the lack of documentation, but my time lately is generally limited).

It would be better if you could send me a sample playlist with a few tracks where the problem happens so I could debug the particular problem.

In Musicbee, if I just double click a song while viewing my entire library, it ques everything before and after it. I was just saying that the  Now playing  list on the remote should jump to where you are and load like 20 already played and the rest is what is about to be played. I'd rather not have to load the 21,127 songs and then have to find where it is currently playing. This is not a huge problem for me because I usually listen to my music either an album or playlist at a time, but still something I think you should look into for later.

[kelsos]

I am not sure what the problem is, if you have a huge now playing list and 5000 not enough for you you can change the limitation through the options to whatever you like and also when you open the now playing list in the remote it should scroll to the playing track.

[EnduringGuerila]

I am not sure what the problem is, if you have a huge now playing list and 5000 not enough for you you can change the limitation through the options to whatever you like and also when you open the now playing list in the remote it should scroll to the playing track.

I cannot find the option to change how many tracks load. If I listen to track 2,056 everything is great. The Now Playing list jumps to the currently playing track. If I play track 5,001+ then the Now Playing list only shows the first 5,000 tracks and stays at the top of the list.

This is the only window I get when clicking plugin  Configure.

[Maleko12]

It's not in the plugin section (idk why it isn't, but anyway). Go to tools > MusicBee Remote. From there you should be able to alter the amount of tracks it displays. And even with my huge (46,000+) library, I can change the limit to 50000 and the last track on the list can still play.

[kelsos]

Maleko is it too confusing to have the settings added to the menu? I moved it for better visibility, but I guess it can be confusing for existing users, should I send it back to the Configure button.

Also how was performance with your library, any lag any weird issue?

Also I was thinking of having the settings panel open automatically on the first run to ask the user to setup the plugin.

[EnduringGuerila]

Maleko is it too confusing to have the settings added to the menu? I moved it for better visibility, but I guess it can be confusing for existing users, should I send it back to the Configure button.

Also how was performance with your library, any lag any weird issue?

Also I was thinking of having the settings panel open automatically on the first run to ask the user to setup the plugin.

Is there a way you can add access to the menu in both locations? Doesn't really matter but I agree that it should open up the first time you launch MB with the plugin installed. Maybe every time the plugin is updated.

I changed the now playing list to load 30,000 just to have more than enough and it took about 10 seconds to load (the now playing list) the first time I launched the remote app. Now every time I open the list it is instant but I assume every time the remote reopens it will need to reload for the 10 secs.. Still that is better than only loading only the first 5000. If there was a way to only load like 100, 10 before the current track and 89 after would be amazing and fast. Not NEEDED though.. just an idea.

[kelsos]

 EnduringGuerila I will keep it in mind as an option for later. Also it is relatively easy to make the menu appear on both locations.

[Maleko12]

Maleko is it too confusing to have the settings added to the menu? I moved it for better visibility, but I guess it can be confusing for existing users, should I send it back to the Configure button.

Yeah, I believe it should be at the configure button, as I think that's where most people would expect to go to change their settings.

Also how was performance with your library, any lag any weird issue?

It runs great on my phone (I now have a Samsung Galaxy S III instead of the LG Optimus S). The only thing that seems to be glitchy is the last.fm button isn't highlighted on the app. One must tap on it on the phone to turn off scrobbling, then sign in on your computer for it to be red. It's a visual bug, not a functional bug. Also, it would be great if the icon on the notifications bar wasn't always on.

My library always lags on MB, but it's not because of your app (it's my large library and possibly the computer I have).

Also I was thinking of having the settings panel open automatically on the first run to ask the user to setup the plugin.

Oh that would be a great idea on the first launch. And perhaps something on that first launch describing where one can find you can find the settings.