Pinny Juke - beta testers wanted.

[Rebel Oz 69]

Well, I've been tinkering away on this project for a few months, and I think it's nearly ready for an early beta release, to get a bit of feedback on how this project is tracking along, and to see if there are any important features needing inclusion prior to giving the general public a taste!



Some of the key points about this project:

• Video. Yes, it plays music videos (mp4, flv, vob, mpg, mkv, m4v, avi), as well as audio-only formats (m4a, mp3, wav).
• Dual monitor support. Full screen video on the secondary monitor (you pick which is the primary, where the track selection is displayed), or you can choose to use it with a single screen (with a smaller video display in the 'coming up' window).
• Touch screen support. You can 'drive' this baby using touch screen, mouse, joystick, or keyboard. Or all of the above.
• Preliminary support for (some) DW Jukebox skins / features. Not everything is flawless here, but the main elements of a lot of DW Jukebox skins are working already, with more coming soon.
• Windows only. Tested on versions of Windows from 7 to 11. No work is currently planned for a Linux version.
• Customisable. Choose from the included skins, import from DWJuke, or design your own using your favourite text editor (the skin file format pretty much obeys the standard DWJuke 'rules').

Also, please be aware that when we release it, this will be a licensed product, with a demo version freely available (which will be fully functional, with a media limit of 25 items).
Beta testers will receive an unrestricted license.


Some of the current limitations to consider:

• Screen orientation. Currently, only supports desktop display resolution (ie, no rotation or resolution switching), however, 19*6 works just as well as 16*9 or 4*3, so if your desktop is set to 'portait' natively, that works.
• Display scaling. 100% only. Settings other than this will result in scrambled misalignment and sizing of graphic elements, so ensure your desktop display scaling is set to 100%.
• No resizing support. At present, it's full screen, exclusive only.
• No 'CD Jukebox' style support (yet). When demand requires, this will be added, but for right now, it's singles only (with Solo-track or Side A / Side B - style presentation available).

So, if you're interested in putting it through its paces, and are willing to assist in the bug-hunting & squashing process, skin design / interface improvement assistance, please send me a PM, and when the initial beta is ready for distribution (in the next few days), I'll be in contact.

Please note though, I'm not looking for 'tire-kickers', or trophy hunters here; I will only be accepting a strictly limited number of high-quality applicants, and only from people who are moderately 'tech-savvie' and are prepared to give this baby a serious workout, and work together to get her ready for prime time.

Feel free to ask any questions.

[Rebel Oz 69]

Mucking about with skins and track title / artist name placement stuff today.
My girlfriend thinks the standard 'Retro stereo unit' looks a bit to grey, so I spent 15 minutes and whipped up a modified skin to more suit her tastes... I call this monstrosity... er, 'creation', "Candy Cotton".

Too pink, d'ya think?




For backwards compatibility testing, I threw the exact same skin into DW Jukebox. The only differences of note are the font colours (I've added a few to the standard palette) and sizes, and (of course) the video on the second screen...

[richiep1]

If you're looking for beta testers, I'd be happy to participate

[Zebidee]

Too pink, d'ya think?

I like it. I recently painted a cab in a similar magenta, though a little more blue-ish than this.

[Rebel Oz 69]

Well, the bubbles don't move (yet), but it's beginning to take shape...



I call this one, "1015". 

As you can see, portrait orientation works just as happily as landscape (for single screen mode), but I'm gonna have to do some more work on the screen detection routines, because even though music video playback on the second screen is fine, the titling routine for audio-only tracks in dual-screen mode is... not pretty.



I'm also gonna have to tweak the "Up Next" line in the "Now Playing" window (maybe I'll just set it to use the stock-ticker?) to display a bit more cleanly.

I'm not a graphic artist (by any stretch of the imagination, so I'd be happy to hear any suggestions on how we can make her look a little neater. 

[Rebel Oz 69]

I call this one, "Antique Gold".



I reckon I've gotten most of the bugs squashed now in the font handling, and the title strip layout is starting to look almost acceptable now. Also sorted out the audio-only titling on the second screen for all display orientations, so that's looking pretty cool now too.

[Zebidee]

Good track choice!

I like the colour combo, except font colour for songs doesn't stand out very well against the background, at least not for me.

[Gazzer]

Well, I've been tinkering away on this project for a few months, and I think it's nearly ready for an early beta release, to get a bit of feedback on how this project is tracking along, and to see if there are any important features needing inclusion prior to giving the general public a taste!



Some of the key points about this project:

• Video. Yes, it plays music videos (mp4, flv, vob, mpg, mkv, m4v, avi), as well as audio-only formats (m4a, mp3, wav).
• Dual monitor support. Full screen video on the secondary monitor (you pick which is the primary, where the track selection is displayed), or you can choose to use it with a single screen (with a smaller video display in the 'coming up' window).
• Touch screen support. You can 'drive' this baby using touch screen, mouse, joystick, or keyboard. Or all of the above.
• Preliminary support for (some) DW Jukebox skins / features. Not everything is flawless here, but the main elements of a lot of DW Jukebox skins are working already, with more coming soon.
• Windows only. Tested on versions of Windows from 7 to 11. No work is currently planned for a Linux version.
• Customisable. Choose from the included skins, import from DWJuke, or design your own using your favourite text editor (the skin file format pretty much obeys the standard DWJuke 'rules').

Also, please be aware that when we release it, this will be a licensed product, with a demo version freely available (which will be fully functional, with a media limit of 25 items).
Beta testers will receive an unrestricted license.


Some of the current limitations to consider:

• Screen orientation. Currently, only supports desktop display resolution (ie, no rotation or resolution switching), however, 19*6 works just as well as 16*9 or 4*3, so if your desktop is set to 'portait' natively, that works.
• Display scaling. 100% only. Settings other than this will result in scrambled misalignment and sizing of graphic elements, so ensure your desktop display scaling is set to 100%.
• No resizing support. At present, it's full screen, exclusive only.
• No 'CD Jukebox' style support (yet). When demand requires, this will be added, but for right now, it's singles only (with Solo-track or Side A / Side B - style presentation available).

So, if you're interested in putting it through its paces, and are willing to assist in the bug-hunting & squashing process, skin design / interface improvement assistance, please send me a PM, and when the initial beta is ready for distribution (in the next few days), I'll be in contact.

Please note though, I'm not looking for 'tire-kickers', or trophy hunters here; I will only be accepting a strictly limited number of high-quality applicants, and only from people who are moderately 'tech-savvie' and are prepared to give this baby a serious workout, and work together to get her ready for prime time.

Feel free to ask any questions.

Happy to put it through its paces when ready.