43 replies to this topic

[bLight]

Hi Everyone,

It's been nearly 8 months since Zoom Player v10 has been release and these 8 months have been all about making Zoom Player even more polished and user friendly.

 

To begin with, the media library has undergone a major face-lift with the new Thumbnail view mode, which is now the new default (but can be disabled, see below).

A lot of work went into ensuring the media scraping code (grabbing screenshots and meta-data from media in the background) is smooth and stable, especially when dealing with incomplete or corrupted media files.

The new interface is simple, flexible, sophisticated and optimized to run smoothly on even lower end 7" windows tablets.

 

I have re-written the media library documentation to introduce the new thumbnail view feature and it includes new quick usage guide screenshots to illustrate how the thumbnail view interface is used as well as a few usability tricks to help make the user experience more enjoyable.

 

Beyond that, Zoom Player can start up up to 40% faster, The default skins (Onyx & Alba) now features mouse-hover animation to draw the eye's attention for an improved user experience and you can now switch background images for customizable fullscreen navigation interfaces without leaving fullscreen navigation.

 

What's more, the new thumbnail view interface is the starting point for v12 which will include an API to add 3rd party media scraping plug-ins as well as a default plug-in for The Movie Database to automate online scraping of additional meta-data and movie posters.

 

Please leave feedback, especially with regards to the new media library thumbnail view mode.

 

 

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Change list from v10:

  * New thumbnail based view mode for the Media Library fullscreen

    navigation interface with kinetic scrolling!

 

    You can specify which media library category should display in thumb

    view mode using the Media Library category editor or through the

    "functions / settings" page in the fullscreen media library navigation

    interface.



    Thumb view mode automatically uses background threads to scrape for

    information (thumbnails and other meta-data) from media files within

    the media library.



    Bumping on the left/right sides using a keyboard or remote control

    brings up custom functionality such as "Go to first entry",

    "Go up a folder" or "Switch sorting mode".



    Bumping the first or last thumb rows using a keyboard or remote control

    shows a momentary glow effect to signify navigation has reached the start

    or end of the thumbnail display.  Pressing up or down once again using

    the keyboard or remote control scrolls to the other end of the thumbnail

    display.



    Holding down on a thumbnail (with the mouse button or by touch) or

    Pressing Enter with a keyboard or remote control brings up a mini-menu

    with options to "play the media file", "erase the media file", "open the

    full function menu" and "go back to the category list". The mini-menu

    automatically times out after 3 seconds or you can close it manually

    by pressing left on the left side. The two functions on the right side of

    the mini-menu ("erase media file" and "go back to the category list") are

    customizable through the advanced options dialog.



    To return to the category list using a keyboard or remote control,

    you can press "Left" on the first entry.  By default, bumping left will

    go to the first entry, so a few left clicks will quickly show

    the category list.



  * New thumb view section in the advanced options dialog featuring all

    the settings available to control Zoom Player's thumb view user

    experience.



  * The media library category editor has gained a new category configuration

    dialog used to enable thumbnail view mode, control the thumbnail layout

    for the category and lock the category with a password.



  * The media library fullscreen navigation interface's "Settings" page

    can now be used to switch between list view and thumbnail view as well

    as control whether thumbs are scaled or cropped to fit within the

    thumbnail area.



  * The default Onyx skin and the bundled AlbaHD skins have been enhanced

    with clean mouse-hover animation effects for all buttons on the main user

    interface, the playlist editor and the equalizer window.



  * The 'Navigation Style' fullscreen navigation interface can now be used

    to switch between background patterns on skins that allow you to set

    a custom background pattern.



  * You can now password protect a media library category to prevent

    children from accessing prohibited content directly from the media

    library fullscreen navigation interface.



  * Features that highlight a portion of the timeline (AB-Repeat, creating

    ring tones, etc) now show position markers for the start and end points

    as well as the duration of the highlighted range.



  * New 4K resolution version of the Alba skin control bar, now accessible

    through the skin selection dialog (press "N" or access through the

    right-click menu).



  * New Setting (Adv. Options / Interface / Fullscreen Navigation / Settings)

    that controls whether the media library lists content that matches

    a category type or shows the content based on the media library filter.



    The new default is to only show content based on the media library

    category type.  To restore the previous default, uncheck this setting.



  * New Setting (Adv. Options / Interface / Fullscreen Navigation / Settings)

    to Automatically select the last viewed file/folder when entering a folder.



    This setting requires play history's "save last play time" setting enabled

    to function.



  * New Setting (Adv. Options / Interface / Control Bar / Timeline Area) that

    determine if timeline markers are shown with features that highlight a

    portion of the timeline



  * New Setting (Adv. Options / Interface) to force the Playlist editor to

    remain on-top when switching to fullscreen mode.



  * New Setting (Adv. Options / Interface) to force the Equalizer to

    remain on-top when switching to fullscreen mode.



  * New Setting (Adv. Options / Interface) to invert the text view's colors.

    The new text file viewing default is Black background with white text.



  * New Setting (Adv. Options / Interface / On Screen Display / Tags) to

    use the folder/embedded image as a stretched and darkened background for

    the image itself.  Enabled by default.



  * New Setting (Adv. Options / Interface / Fullscreen Navigation / Settings)

    that enables using the navigation "Enter" key action on a media library

    category list to open the category at the root folder.

    

    This was the previous default behavior, which have now been disabled.

    Pressing enter with this setting disabled, opens the category in its

    previous position.



  * Volume widgets now show the volume percentage as a hint when hovering

    over with the mouse cursor.



  * Zoom Player now supports MadVR's automatic black-bar video detection

    and window size changes when the "Auto-Size User Interface to maintain

    Video Aspect Ratio (when resizing)" setting is enabled.



  * The Multi-Part file loader's "Automatic Match" setting can now detect

    and add into the playlist GoPro series of media files.

    Thanks Dimitar Pankov.



  * The "Options / About" page will now specify if your copy of Zoom Player

    is a life time (free upgrades for life) license.



  * The internal image decoder now supports GIF decoding (only still images,

    does not support animating GIF files).



  * New "fnThumbViewMiniMenu" function that Shows/Hides the media library's

    ThumbView mode's Mini-Menu.



  * New "unchecked" icon used throughout several fullscreen navigation

    interfaces to clarify usage experience.



  + All media library categories have been automatically converted to

    thumbnail view mode.  You can restore each category to list view mode

    using the media library category editor (Shift+"M") or through the

    settings page on the media library fullscreen navigation interface.

    

    Dependant on the content type (Audio/Video/Picture/Executable),

    a default thumbnail aspect ratio and column count is applied.



  + Modified how Zoom Player loads, shaving about 900ms off the load time,

    which on the development system accounts for a 36% faster load time.



  + Zoom Player file tracker is now compatible with qBitTorrent v3.2.



  + The backspace key can now be used with all fullscreen navigation interfaces

    to quickly go up to a previous folder or all the way back to the main

    fullscreen navigation interface.



  + The backspace key no longer clears the playlist on the playlist fullscreen

    navigation interface.



  + The "Media Scanner" and "Remove folder(s) from categories" entries in

    the fullscreen media library's category list, now display

    a message indicating these interfaces are not available when navigation

    "safe mode" is enabled.



  + The media library fullscreen navigation interface's "Filter List" page

    has been renamed to a now more expanded "Settings" page.



  + The checkboxes on the Media Library's fullscreen navigation "Sort" and

    "Settings" pages are now clickable with the mouse or touch input.



  + The checkboxes on the File Browsers's fullscreen navigation "Sort" and

    "Filter List" pages are now clickable with the mouse or touch input.



  + Zoom Player used the term 'Directory' and 'Folder' interchangeably,

    to prevent confusion, all references should now appear as 'Folder'.



  - When viewing the main fullscreen navigation interface in grid mode,

    the description could appear as "???" when using a non-english

    language pack.



  - The media library fullscreen navigation interface did not highlight

    previously seen image files when the setting to 'Highlight previously

    viewed files' was enabled.



  - Navigation scroll acceleration (when holding down or quickly tapping

    a keyboard or remote control button) didn't reset the acceleration

    when using a different navigation key.

    

    For example, pressing the down arrow quickly would scroll real fast

    down a list, but then pressing the UP key would scroll back up by

    more than one item.



  - The keyboard macro list and right-click context menu file were not

    updated to the latest version in the original v10.0.0 release.

    

  - Maximizing and then Minimizing the main player window lost the

    maximized window state and non-maximized window size.



  - Playing a new video with MadVR set as the video renderer while the

    player window was in a maximized state lost the maximized window

    state and non-maximized window size.



  - Using functions that shows a file open/save dialog and keeping the

    dialog window open until the internal screen saver started, caused the

    user interface to become unresponsive.



  - Fixed a few small memory leaks.



  - With the "Nav-Left goes up a directory before entering the

    Drive/Category list" setting enabled, clicking the "<" icon in

    the media library triggered a "folder up" action instead of

    returning to the category list.

 

  - Fixed a crash when trying to close the player with certain fullscreen

    navigation interfaces open and uTorrent/qBittorrent/eMule file tracking

    was enabled.



  - The "Screen-Center Playlist when switching to Fullscreen / Zoom mode"

    setting did not actually screen-center the playlist editor.



  - Trying to set file association with UAC enabled under Windows 7 would

    erroneously show a 'this feature is not supported by the FREE/PRO

    version' dialog.



  - Pressing the "5" key on the keypad with num-lock disabled would

    interfere with fullscreen navigation's 'quick search' functionality

    and regular keyboard navigation until ESC was pressed.



  - Fixed a few possible crashes when closing Zoom Player.

Edited by ehathgepiurhe, 14 October 2015 - 09:53 AM.
Edited by ehat: FREE version released, download link added

[Ahlitah]

Nice.

 

One problem, it keeps screen centering my player when I open any media. I did not have the option enabled in v10 , or can I find where to disable it.

 

Oh and this is in Win 10.

 

Edit: Loading Default settings seems to fix it.

 

Edit2: Looks like its MADVR's fault. Soon as use it, it moves everything to center on playback. Never did that in V10.

 

Edit3: Latest MADVR same issue. Going back to V10, its back to normal! Something in V11 and with MADVR enabled makes my player center on the screen on file open! Using other renders, it works like normal.

 

Edit4: Found out where the problem is happening. If I check (Auto-Size User Interface to maintain Video Aspect Ratio (when resizing) If will move my video to center of my screen..

[ehathgepiurhe]

Hi Ahlitah,

 

So, with "Auto-Size User Interface to maintain Video Aspect Ratio (when resizing)" enabled and using madVR:

-v11 Zoom moves the window to the middle of the screen;

-v10 Zoom does not move the window to the middle of the screen?

 

In other words, with the same setting and video renderer, v10 behaves differently to v11?

 

ehat

[Ahlitah]

ehat: yes that correct.

 

Very weird.

[bLight]

Ahlitah:
Do you have MadVR set to automatically detect black bars? It may be related to that feature.

[Ahlitah]

bLight: No that is not enabled.

 

I did a default on MadVR as well to test and no difference.

[Jacques]

I'm wondering if there is any intention to address the two issues that I raised previously: 1) extensions ALWAYS show in thumbnail view regardless of the option setting, and 2) providing a 12 hr option for the time in addition to the present 24 hr time.

 

The first is certainly a bug (albeit a non-critical one).  The second would be very useful for all of us that are in parts of the world that use 12 hour time (and should be fairly easy to implement).

[bLight]

Ahlitah:
I'll try to replicate the issue on sunday.

Jacques:
I'll fix the extension always showing and I'll take a look into the 24/12 hour time display.

[bLight]

Ahlitah:
I can't reproduce the issue, can you export your ZP settings and post them (zipped) ?
You can export your settings through the options's dialog "Help / Export" button.

[bLight]

Jacques:
Can you test if the nav clock shows AM/PM now in this build (assuming windows is set to show the time as AM/PM and not 24hour)?
http://zoomplayer.co...r_clocktest.rar

[Ahlitah]

bLIght: sent you a PM with the download link.

 

I also wonder if it has anything to with me having multiple monitors.

 

I play zoom on one monitor and do work on the other.

[tvholic]

Alt-V (get media durations) doesn't update the times for each of the files in the playlist unless I press it twice.  It worked properly in version 10.

[Jacques]

"Posted Today, 06:54 AM

Jacques:
Can you test if the nav clock shows AM/PM now in this build (assuming windows is set to show the time as AM/PM and not 24hour)?
http://zoomplayer.co...r_clocktest.rar"

 

That seems to work fine and is basically what I wanted.

 

One comment though:  Other examples of this kind of display show the AM/PM part is a much smaller font near the lower right hand corner of the time.  To me, that is aesthetically more pleasing.  That said, I don't know if it is worth much additional effort, so consider this as just a comment rather than a request (and certainly NOT a requirement).

 

Thanks for the quick response.

[ehathgepiurhe]

@tvholic: Yes, it does seem to take two presses of the hotkey. I'm guessing it probably isn't intended, so I have logged it as a bug for bLight to look at.

 

ehat

[tvholic]

I've enabled the new setting, "force the Playlist editor to remain on-top when switching to fullscreen mode".

 

While I'm watching a video in fullscreen mode, I press Alt-L to bring up the playlist.  I use the down arrow key to select a different video in the playlist and I press Enter to play it.  I press the down arrow key again to select a different video, but it lowers the volume because the keyboard focus is now on the video window instead of the playlist.

 

If I don't enable the "force Playlist to remain on-top" setting, when I press Enter to play a different video the playlist editor seems to close but it really goes to the background.  I have to press Alt-L twice to bring it back.  In this situation, I think that pressing Enter on a playlist item should close the playlist editor, so that pressing Alt-L once would bring it back.

[bkm]

"The default Onyx skin and the bundled AlbaHD skins have been enhanced with clean mouse-hover animation effects for all buttons on the main user interface, the playlist editor and the equalizer window."

 

Quick question: Is the new Onyx skin that's in ZP11 the version v9.2* that is available on the skins page (http://www.inmatrix.com/zplayer/skins/) so we can edit it?

 

Or is it yet to be uploaded to the skin page? Thanks

 

Edit: Ummm, I just downloaded Onyx skin 9.2* from that page and it downloaded as an .zps file. I tried to open it in notepad so to edit it but it just showed as jibberish. How do I edit this skin? I remember in the past I downloaded Onyx skin 8.5 and it came as four seperate files and I was able to edit the one I needed to change some button behavior. But now I am lost with this zps file. Need guidance please.... Thanks

[bkm]

Quote button not working for me. Ahlitah said:

 

So, with "Auto-Size User Interface to maintain Video Aspect Ratio (when resizing)" enabled and using madVR:
-v11 Zoom moves the window to the middle of the screen;

 

- AND - 

 

"bLIght: sent you a PM with the download link.
I also wonder if it has anything to with me having multiple monitors.
I play zoom on one monitor and do work on the other."

 

I just enabled this feature and same problem is occuring for me and I don't have multi-monitors. The ZP window moved to middle by itself.

[bLight]

Ahlitah:
It's possible, but that's also my system, my desktop is on my primary and I have a TV connected as a secondary monitor.
It does give me some ideas for further testing though.
I downloaded the settings file and will try to review the issue later on.

bkm:
You need to open the ZPS file in zoom player and it saves it to the skins folder as text files you can edit.
v9.2 is not the latest, v11 will be up on the skins site later today.

With regards to the ZP window moving by itself:
1. Do you have MadVR set to auto-detect black borders?
2. I want to verify which "auto-size user interface" settings you have enabled.
3. If you can write a step by step of what actions you take to trigger the window centering, that would be helpful. Be detailed.

[bkm]

With regards to ZP window moving by itself:

 

1) Yep, I have mVR set to auto detect black borders

2) I only enabled "Auto-Size User Interface to maintain Video Aspect Ratio (when resizing)" (not any others) just to see what would happen because I like to know what new ZP features have been implemented and how they work

3) As soon as I did this and played a vid with borders, ZP centered itself smack dab in the middle of my monitor and also resized itself to a smaller size than it was

 

I was just confirming the bug that Ahlitah reported earlier. I have no plans to keep "Auto-Size User Interface to maintain Video Aspect Ratio (when resizing)" enabled so this centering is not going to bother me but I figured I oughta to confirm this bug just the same.

 

Thanks for skin info.... I will try it out once you have 11 uploaded.

[Rago]

Just bought a new license. Great software. I hope sales will work out.