foo_logitech_lcd, New LCD display & visualisation component for G15, G19 and Z-10 Options

[ectotropic]

A component to display visualisations and track information on a variety of Logitech LCD screens.

Component Homepage

(please link to either this forum topic or that page - do not link directly to the component downloads)

Features:

• Support for monochrome LCDs (G13, G15, G510 & Z-10)
• Support for colour LCDs (G19)
• 11 different visualisations (4 spectrum analysers, 4 oscilloscopes, 3 VU meters)
• Massively customisable with fully customisable track info

See included Readme.txt for more information.

I'm open to suggestions for improvements - let me know if there is anything you would like to see - no matter how crazy!

More information available at the homepage (above).

In action:




Requires:

• foobar v1.0.0 or greater (versions of the component prior to v0.5.0 require foobar v0.9.5.2+)
• One of the following products (other products may work but are not currently verified):
  
  • Logitech G13 Gamepad
  • Logitech G15 Keyboard
  • Logitech G510 Keyboard
  • Logitech G19 Keyboard
  • Logitech Z-10 Speakers (see notes)
  • Dell XPS Laptops with built in G15 LCD (see notes)
  • 3Dconnexion Spacepilot Pro
• Logitech Gamepanel/LCD Manager v3+ required (Logitech Support & Downloads)

Version 0.5.5

• [FIXED] Crash on exit
• [FIXED] Small performance issue

Version 0.5.4

• [FIXED] Handling of device connections & disconnections
• [FIXED] Text overlapping progress bar in some cases
• [FIXED] Rare OpenGL crash
• [CHANGED] Better handling of windows messages to hardware window

Version 0.5.3

• [NEW] Progress bar timings can be replaced by system time and date [requested]
• [NEW] When using background pictures it is now possible to have 'cut-outs' (or background clears) for text (improves legibility)
• [CHANGED] updated to latest SDK (2010-05-21)
• [CHANGED] 'About' text - also added change log to about text (so those who update via foobar updater can find out what has changed)
• [CHANGED] Faster loading of OpenGL textures
• [FIXED] Crash when loading album art and track changes
• [FIXED] Album art not being cleared on screen correctly in certain situations
• [FIXED] Minor bugs and inconsistencies

Version 0.5.2

• [FIXED] Non-hardware accelerated Spectrum Analyser 1 being inverted
• [FIXED] Progress bar not resetting on stop
• [FIXED] Track info time selection combo-boxes text not corresponding to action

Version 0.5.1

• [NEW] Added additional VU preferences (fixes issue with left VU meter not matching right)
• [CHANGED] updated to latest SDK (2010-01-19)
• [TWEAKED] "Apply" button behavior for edit boxes
• [FIXED] Laggy dialog boxes

Version 0.5.0

• [NEW] foobar2000 v1.0.0 support
• [NEW] Hardware acceleration support
• [NEW] Background mode (only displays when song changes)
• [NEW] Trail effect for colour displays
• [NEW] Exposed more options for configuration
• [CHANGED] Improved text preferences dialogs
• [CHANGED] Album art now comes from foobar and can be set to be correct aspect ratio
• [CHANGED] Attempted to make spectrum analyser more reactive
• [CHANGED] Major rewrite of preferences and configuration code
• [CHANGED] foobar image from jpeg to raw data
• [REMOVED] Support for older versions of foobar2000
• [FIXED] Time display occasionally showing 0:60 seconds
• [FIXED] Multiple crashes

Download:
foo_logitech_lcd v0.5.5

To install or manually update; download the component, then go to the Components page in Preferences and select "Install..." and locate the file you have downloaded.
To auto-update; go to the Components page in Preferences and select "Get updates".
If you don't see any "Install" or "Get updates" buttons then you may not have the latest version of foobar in which case you can just place the dll in the foobar "components" directory.

Previous Versions now on component homepage

Notes:

• Owners of Logitech Z-10 Speakers or Dell Laptops note that these require newer software than the available drivers provide. While it is possible to update the software by using downloads not specifically intended for the given hardware (see below) - you should understand that there is a chance this could cause problems with your software and/or hardware. If you are in anyway unsure, you should not attempt to do this, however some people have done so with no issues what-so-ever and the Logitech engineers responsible for the LCD Manager software have explicitly said this is the way to get support. To update the software for these devices (entirely at your own risk):
  
  • Install the latest version of the hardware drivers as available on the manufacturers website
  • Install the latest G15 Keyboard software (i.e. Gamepanel) as available from the Logitech website
  If you have problems with updating this please contact me and I will mention it to Logitech.
• As of v0.3.0 this component supersedes foo_g15lcd. Both cannot be installed together (they will conflict with each other, if you already have foo_g15lcd installed please remove that dll before installing this).
• Up till version v0.3.0 the Visual Studio 2008 dlls are required
• Dell Laptops have not yet been verified as working
• Additional products may also work
  
  • Any Logitech hardware that uses the Logitech LCD Manager software should be compatible
  • If you find a product that works and is not listed, please report it
• Auto-update and the Check For Update buttons in the Logitech software do not appear to work

This post has been edited by ectotropic: May 19 2012, 14:29

[attenbran]

I have a Logitech G15 with the latest drivers (just downloaded and installed them now) and I get the following error...

Failed to load DLL: foo_logitech_lcd.dll, reason: This application has failed to start because the application configuration is incorrect. Reinstalling the application may fix this problem.

In the Logitech LCD Manager under programs it does show "Foobar2K LCD Display", but I still keep getting the error. Any ideas?

[ectotropic]

Sorry your having problems

That error comes from foobar/Windows not foo_logitech_lcd.dll itself. Most likely cause then is that something the dll depends on is missing from your system.

Only thing that comes to mind (other than foobar itself and the logitech drivers) is that you may need the Visual Studio 2008 dlls, you can get them from MS:

Visual Studio 2008 redist x86
Visual Studio 2008 redist x64

If that doesn't work the only other dependency I can possibly think of is GDI+, but that is installed with XP and beyond by default. If you happen to be running Win2K then you can grab the GDI+ files from MS as well. But if you are running 2K I'm not sure how well or even if the Logitech LCDs are supported.

Let me know how you get on - if neither of those work it'd be helpful to know what software versions you are running, what OS (and how up to date it is) and whether or not you can run foo_g15lcd component.

Hope that helps.

[attenbran]

Sorry I forgot to include that info. I'm running Foobar2000 0.9.6.7 on XP Pro SP3.

Seems MS Visual Studio was the problem. I ran the link you included above (Visual Studio 2008 redist x86) and it now works beautifully, thanks.

I'm going to mess around with the settings a bit now.

This post has been edited by attenbran: Jun 12 2009, 22:01

[ectotropic]

np - glad that fixed it - I should have known people would need those dlls - my bad!

Ah well, I've edited the main post to add those dlls as required for anyone else who has trouble.

Hope you like it now that you can run it!

If you have any more problems just give me a shout.

[attenbran]

Something interesting that I just noticed. In my first post I said that in my Logitech LCD Monitor your program showed up. But I just noticed now that after running MS Visual Studio and getting it all to work, I now have two. One called “Foobar2K LCD Display” (this is the one that was there before) as well as “Foobar2000 LCD Display and Visualization”. Both are enabled and they don’t seem to be conflicting, but any idea why there would be two?

Also I’m trying to get line 1 to show the total time as well as time remaining. It shows me the total time but I can’t seem to get the time remaining to work. This is the syntax I have in the line “[%title%][ -- %length% | %playback_time_remaining%]”

In the help for this syntax it says “Available only in contexts where playback related data is displayed, such as status bar. Not available when duration of currently playing track is not known.” So maybe it won’t work here, but it would be really nice if there was a way to add it. Any ideas? I have also tried the following syntax’s but none of them work either.

%playback_time%
%playback_time_seconds%
%playback_time_remaining_seconds%

[ectotropic]

Both are enabled and they don’t seem to be conflicting, but any idea why there would be two?

Yeah - the new one is for foo_logitech_lcd the old one is for foo_g15lcd, having them both in the game panel software just shows that they have been run. Anything that runs through the LCD API gets added to that list and I don't think any of them get deleted. You can remove them yourself by right clicking on them. There would only be a conflict if you had both foo_logitech_lcd.dll and foo_g15lcd.dll in the foobar components directory at the same time.

Also I’m trying to get line 1 to show the total time as well as time remaining.

I think you've tried all the things that might work - so I guess it doesn't, but I can put some code in to make it work pretty easily, though it may take a little while. In the mean time I've updated the plugin so now you can display the time information next to the progress bar (if it's on) - a bit like foo_g15lcd. See first post.

[attenbran]

Thanks!

[odyssey]

Can you support the Logitech diNovo mediapad LCD? (and hopefully without the bloated SetPoint software)

This post has been edited by odyssey: Jun 14 2009, 23:02

[ectotropic]

Can you support the Logitech diNovo mediapad LCD?

Not sure about that I'm afraid - a quick search revealed little information on how to program for the mediapad which I would need to know if I was to be able to do it.

If anyone can point me in the direction of an SDK, documentation, or some open source software that uses the mediapad then I'll be happy to have a go at including support in this component - though I can't make any promises even then.

Is the mediapad Windows SideShow enabled? If so then that might be a way to support it for Vista at least - though the SideShow API is horrendous.

So - happy to try, unlikely to happen. Sorry.

[odyssey]

Try contacting the user "Stryder" here, he might have some useful documentation. At least he has made an application that can link foobar2000 and the MediaPad here, but I was not really able to make it work and having a native solution would indeed be much cooler.

[Newsworthy]

Ectotropic, thanks heaps for writing this component. I just have an issue I need your help with... Here's the error I get when I load Foobar:

Failed to load DLL: foo_logitech_lcd.dll
Reason: The application has failed to start because its side-by-side configuration is incorrect. Please see the application event log or use the command-line sxstrace.exe tool for more detail.

I have just in the last 12 hours done a clean install of Windows 7 RC, and have installed new drivers for the G15 keyboard, fresh install of Foobar and installed the x64 Visual Studio program you recommended. Any help for a completely hopeless debugger?

Thanks mate.

[ectotropic]

Welcome to DLL hell! Don’t you just love it?

Naïvely I thought that the x64 version of those dlls would also install any x86 components required. Sigh. Would have been good if they did, but it would seem they don’t. Ok, so the x64 dlls are not actually required – I’ve removed the link from the first post – install the other dlls and you should be fine.

Sorry bout that – I should learn to read the MS help pages a bit better

[Newsworthy]

Thanks for the answer, works great now. Many thanks.

[razor99]

Yess I was waiting for something like this

At first it didnt work, i tried installing the visual studio for 64bit (I have vista 64bit) but that didnt work. Then I also installed the 32bit of visual studio and it worked
Really love it and looking forward to more releases

P.S. I didn't saw it in the todo but maybe add something that you can see the image of a track(if it has)

[hammurabi]

Thx ectotropic, this plugin is great.

No issues, so far. (Vista x64, Orange G15)

A couple of feature requests though.

>Any chance of an option to change the time the song info is shown on a song change. It's a bit too "brief" for my liking.
>What about lyric support. That would be awesome.

Actually, just noticed something. When the album name is long enough to be scrolling, it takes a little while to load.
Around 3 secs for "Good News For People Who Love Bad News".

[ectotropic]

Thanks for the support guys - glad people are using (and like!) the plugin. Hopefully it will only get better

add something that you can see the image of a track

Actually that was on my list of things to add - just forgot to actually put it in the readme. D'oh! (Note it will be for colour displays only).

Any chance of an option to change the time the song info is shown on a song change. It's a bit too "brief" for my liking.
What about lyric support. That would be awesome.

Being able to Change the time the track info is shown is another thing on my list that never made it to the readme!
Lyric support is tricky, but something I had considered. I'm certainly going to try but no guarantees.

When the album name is long enough to be scrolling, it takes a little while to load.

I had noticed this as well - but no idea why it happens However the text support is going to get completely rewritten (to allow for better control and better support of colour LCDs), so hopefully that will fix it.

Going to try and get as many requested changes as possible in for v0.2.0 (currently in the works), but it's a major overhaul so any of the more difficult options will be pushed back to later versions.

[flyav]

Hey ectotropic,

just want to let you know you have done a great job. Just got my Logitech Z-10 today and the first plugin i installed is that foo_g15lcd but later i found its control is limited. Somehow i found yours and i like it very much, great job!

Just some suggestion: is there any possible way to customize font style and size? I'd love being able to use some nicer font like Calibri and customize the size precisely, instead of only being able to choose from Large, Medium, and Small.

Also another crazy idea: it'd be great if you can somehow manage to put in album art displayed in the LCD, it would be awesome for those G19 users using colour screen.

Anyway keep up the good work, i think your work certainly benefits a lot foobar2000 and G15, G19, Z-10 owners out there.

[ectotropic]

just want to let you know you have done a great job.

Cheers! Always nice to hear! Good to hear from someone with a Z-10 as I don't have access to one and was curious if it was working. Glad to hear it is.

is there any possible way to customize font style and size?

All I'll say is look out for v0.2 (coming sometime this week)

it'd be great if you can somehow manage to put in album art displayed in the LCD

This is something I'm looking into - it will be supported at some stage, just not sure when (I had hoped to add it for v0.2, but it's likely going to be pushed back to a later version as other changes have proved bigger than I had anticipated).

Anyway, ideas/thoughts/comments/questions appreciated, keep them coming!

[razor99]

I think I found a bug.
I always have the Oscilloscope on. I use the "explode"(not sure how it's called, but it's centered and it draws lines in all directions from the center). After a while I get a line that goes from the bottom left to the center. It is just always there then, doesn't matter what song.
Also the other Oscilloscope visualisations get messed up. The circle(not sure how it's called again:p) gets a lot of lines to the bottom left. Also the sinus and the dots get a lot of extra lines.

I am not sure exactly when I get it, I think it's just random.

Sorry for my rubbish explanation, hope you understand it

[ectotropic]

I think I found a bug.

"explode"...not sure how it's called...The circle..not sure how it's called again

I call them StarBurst and Circle.

After a while I get a line that goes from the bottom left to the center...Also the other Oscilloscope visualisations get messed up.

Hmmm - that's odd, can't think off the top of my head what would cause that. Couple of questions; what LCD are you using? (Colour or Monochrome), by "after a while" what do you mean? (Hours? Minutes? Seconds?) Have you noticed any pattern to it at all? (Even just if you used another application before it happened or anything) Also, does it happen every time? (ignoring any times where you only use it briefly).

Sorry for my rubbish explanation, hope you understand it

I think you did a pretty good job of explaining it!

[razor99]

I use color (I also changed the color to red) on my G19.
I think it's after hours, but I am not sure when it happens. I can't reproduce it, it just gets there. And ofcourse I am not looking at the screen all the time so I can't tell when it goes.
And It also doesnt happen everytime. It's very weird

I also use foobar 0.9.6, I can try upgrading it but don't think it will help much.

It isn't a big thing so I don't mind if it isn't fixed

[ectotropic]

v0.2 is now out! It’s a major update with lots of changes which has taken a lot longer than I anticipated (and is missing much of what I had wanted to add).

Biggest changes are to the config dialog, track info and coloured visualisations. Config dialog is completely rewritten, track info now allows for selection of any font and has an Expert Mode which does not set the number of lines you can use (you decide), coloured visualisations now support gradients.

As ever, more information in the readme – any questions you know where to find me!


Razor99, I was going to say I would have a look at that error when I had finished with v0.2, but then I got the bug happening to me as I was doing final testing on that version so I had a look at it then and I think I managed to fix it. One of those bugs that you look at and wonder how anything every worked!

Anyway let me know if you still get it or not.

[hammurabi]

Thx for 0.2.0, ectotropic.

I'm liking the new config page. However, one issue so far.

I cant change fonts...


Vista x64.

Any ideas?

[razor99]

I have the same thing as hammurabi. Now the text is very small

And I also noticed that some visualisations use quite a lot CPU when gradient.
StarBurst for example uses 2% CPU when both colors are the same (0% cpu when vis are off). And with 2 different colors it uses around 25 to 30% CPU. I don't know if that's normal but it's quite a lot for a visualisation I think

Edit: ow forgot, I have a 2.5ghz dual core. So not a crappy 200mhz CPU because then it would make sense

But I have to say, the gradient looks very cool

(And haven't got the bug yet, but only played for half an hour)

This post has been edited by razor99: Jun 27 2009, 10:24