This topic is locked
This version contains a lot of changes from preview 8,
The most major changes are the complete rewrite of the options dialog and the finalization of the navigation interfaces. There are also a few requested features thrown into the mix.
And here's the very important part,
We REALLY need your help to go over the new options dialog. We need to know the following:
1. Is there anything missing, a setting, a feature or anything else that used to be in the previous options dialog.
2. Are there any typos, unclear descriptions?
3. Is any setting out of place under the new options tree? If so, where should it be?
4. Is something broken?
Download v5.00 Release Candidate 1
Changes from v4.51:
* All navigation interfaces have been rewritten from scratch.
Navigtion is now much simpler, only using 5 directional
controls (UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, SELECT/ENTER).
All interfaces are inter-connected through the "MAIN"
navigation interface and are much more easy to control
using a mouse or touch-screen.
Furthermore, navigational interfaces are now scriptable
using a simple text-based scripting language, allowing you
to easily reposition the layout and introduce alternative
graphical elements.
Multiple navigation styles are now available for download.
* Smart Play (previously Customized Media Mode) has been
vastly simplified. In the simple mode, only the available
profiles and the currently used filters are visible. If the
currently used filter matches a profile (which it most always
will), the profile will be highlighted.
Smart Play is now available in all version of Zoom Player
to a lesser degree.
* The Advanced Options dialog has been rewritten from scratch.
The new dialog layout is much more logical and should help
make Zoom Player's powerful features much more easy to access.
* The Keyboard Editor will now let you create Global HotKeys.
These are functions assigned to keys that are active even if
Zoom Player itself is not the active application.
Global HotKeys also have (on a per-key basis) the option to
bring Zoom Player to the front.
* The Auto-Get Duration for media files has been rewritten to
get the duration in the background (working only on unused CPU
cycles), allowing you to load massive play lists without having
to wait.
Getting durations for media files also supports more formats
and is now enabled by default.
* You can now drop Subtitle files on the main user interface in
order to display the subtitle track with the currently playing
media file.
Requires DirectVobSub installed and Smart Play enabled.
* New Equalizer Navigator (Shift+"Q"), allowing you to access
Equalizer settings through the navigation system.
* New Play History Navigator (Shift+"H"), allowing you to return
to previously played files (if they still exist).
* New "ZPS" Skin Installation System. Simply opening any
"ZPS" file (file with a .zps extension) will run Zoom Player
and prompt you to install the skin.
* New Navigation Skin selection option within the Skin Selection
interface ("N").
* New Contact Sheet creation dialog (Alt+Shift+"C"). Using this
new interface, you can easily create contact sheet for the
currently playing media file (doesn't work with DVDs).
You must also set the video renderer to VMR9 Windowless.
* New Functions allowing you to play the Next and Previous files
in the same directory as the currently playing file with a
matching file extension. These functions are now assigned to the
"PgUp" and "PgDn" navigational keys when navigator interfaces
are not visible.
For example, when viewing "MyImage.jpg" in a directory that looks
like this:
MyImage.jpg
MyImage.avi
MyImage2.jpg
Pressing "PgDn" will show "MyImage2.jpg", skipping "MyImage.avi"
These functions enhance Zoom Player's capability as an image viewer.
* New Functions (Accessible on the Play List's right-click context menu)
allowing you to move selected items to the top/bottom of the play list.
* New Function (Alt+"E") that enables you to Open/Close the last visible
navigator. This last visible setting is saved between sessions, thus
allowing you continuous navigation through multiple sessions.
* New Function (Shift+"L") allowing you to show/hide the all Control Bar
buttons (without the need to select/remove which buttons are visible).
This function has also replaced the Hide/Show All Control Bar buttons
on the Control Bar Context-Menu. You will now be presented with
a "Hide All Button" toggle (with a checkbox indicating ON/OFF state).
* New Function "fnDeleteCurrent", Assigned by default to the Delete key
(when the navigational interfaces are not in use), allowing you to
erase the currently playing file (with confirmation).
* New Function (Shift+"Esc") allowing you to close all navigational
interfaces. If no navigators are visible, this function does nothing.
* New Functions allowing you to go to the Next/Previous DVD Title.
This requires that the DVD is authored to accept this functionality
(some DVDs are authored to prohibit certain types of access).
The macro keys are Alt+Shift+"]" for Next DVD Title and Alt+Shift+"["
for Previous DVD Title.
* New Extended Function (exZoomTo). This function can be set to Zoom
the video area to a specific Zoom percentage (for example, Zoom to 125%).
You can access this function using the keyboard editor.
* New Settings (Advanced Options / Interface / OSD), allowing you
to force all OSD Displays (Navigators, OSD Actions, Control Bar,
etc...) to display relative to a specific position on screen
(while in fullscreen) or locked to fullscreen on the active monitor.
When enabled, it allows you to Zoom/Move the video without it having
an effect on the positioning of the On Screen Display elements.
* New Settings (Advanced Options / Interface / OSD / Fullscreen
Navigation), allowing you to choose if you want to sort directories
first (list the directories before listing any of the files) in the
File and Media Library navigators.
* New Settings (Advanced Options / Interface / OSD / Fullscreen
Navigation), allowing you to choose if you want to include
sub-directories when playing all files in a directory.
* New Settings (Advanced Options / Playback), which by default tells
Zoom Player to play the next file in the play list when the current
file ends, but when disabled, Zoom Player will pause at the end of
each file (useful for presentations).
* New Setting (Advanced Options / Video / Aspect Ratio) allowing you
specify which monitor you want Source Relative Stretch (Pixel Aspect
Ratio) to apply to.
* New Setting (Advanced Options / System) allowing you to blank
(black-out) all secondary monitors (any monitor not currently
playing video).
* New Setting (Advanced Options / System) allowing you to enable the
Internal Screen Saver for Audio-Only files (so that the Internal
Screen Saver would kick-in even if the file is playing).
* New Setting (Advanced Options / Playback / Windows Media)
allowing you to use the "WMAPro over S/PDIF" DMO filter to output
Windows Media Audio through the S/PDIF port. This setting requires
that you use an external Receiver with Windows Media Audio capabilities.
* New Setting (Skin Selector / Save Position). When enabled,
each skin's position (window position and size) will be remembered
on an individual basis.
* Support for DCoder's DC-DVB filter (a filter capable of using
Zoom Player to view Digital-TV with TimeShifting) has been
improved with new Teletext funtionality (number 0-9 to enter
page numbers and Ctrl+"B" to switch Teletext on/off).
Download the filter at "www.dsp-worx.de".
* The Chapter Editor and GoTo dialog have been merged into a single
interface. The new interface is easier to use and more powerful.
* The Chapter Editor now allows you to input a time to seek to using
an HH:MM:SS.ms structure. The input is pretty flexible, allowing
variants such as H:M:S, M:S, S.ms, etc...
* Pressing Ctrl+"V" in the Chapter Editor pastes the clipboard value
into the "H:M:S.ms" Time field.
* New Setting on the Chapter Editor allowing you to keep the dialog
open even after seeking to a new position.
(Useful for FanSub Editors)
* The current time in MS is now visible on the Chapter Editor.
* The Navigation Keyboard Macros (Up/Down/Left/Right/Select) can now
have a custom function assigned to them when a navigator is not
in use.
* New "Remove Non-Exisiting Entries" button on the Play History
interface, allowing you to remove old entries where the file no
longer exists on the system.
* Automatic support for Audio file image support by base name.
For example, if you have "song.mp3" and "song.jpg" in the same
directory, "song.jpg" will automatically load as a folder image.
* New "FolderImage" Skin-Script function allowing you to draw the
folder image anywhere within the main user interface.
* The "VolumeExData", "BalanceExData" and "RateExData" Skin-Script
functions can now use a Target parameter allowing you to place a
Volume, Balance and Rate Control interfaces on the Play List Editor,
Equalizer and Control Bar.
* SHOUTcasted audio information (Title, Author, URL, Copyright,
Description) can now be accessed by the following Skin-Script tags:
<trackname>, <artistname>, <urllink>, <copyright>, <comment>.
* New "<Volume>" Skin-Script tag, allowing you to display the current
Audio Volume level percentage (0-100).
* New "<FileIndex>" Skin-Script tag, allowing you to display the
currently playing file's index number.
* New "<VideoZoom>" Skin-Script tag, allowing you to display the
current video zooming used in the window interface (affected
by the Alt-"1..5" keys and the new "exZoomTo" function).
* New "cBarTLMinWidth" Skin-Script constant allowing you to specify
the minimum width of the Control Bar's TimeLine (default 64 pixels).
* The Skin Selection dialog now has an "Uninstall" button.
* New "RN" tag for the Zoom Player Play List file format (".zpl")
instructing Zoom Player to randomize the play list once loaded.
* New Communication API Messages "2610, 2611, 2620, 2621, 2630, 2631,
2640, 2641" allowing you to query the current video display area
located within fullscreen mode and to set a new location/size.
* New Communication API Messages "2700, 2701" allowing you to get
and set the current Play Rate (Media Mode Fast Play/Slow Motion and
DVD Mode Fast Forward/Slow Motion/Rewind rates).
* New Communication API Message "5130" allowing you to execute
navigational control functions.
* New Communication API Message "1450" allowing you to request
the Unique DVD Identifier information.
* New DVD "Additional Filter", the "Trombettworks Channel Downmixer",
http://www.trombettworks.com/directshow.php
* The Nero DVD Navigator is now a DVD Navigator option.
* New support for ".FLV" (Flash Video) files (used on YouTube and
several other locations). You need a recent version of ffdshow
(with the FLV1 codec support enabled) and the Gabest FLV Splitter
to get the files to play.
* New Smart Play support for WMV:AP (Windows Media Video:Advanced
Profile). You also need updated Windows Media decoders to play
this new format (the decoders come with WMP 11 and possibly in
a decoder pack from Microsoft).
* New Smart Play profiles for several uncommon AVI/MOV codecs.
* New Smart Play profiles for WavPack Audio.
+ The WMV DRM license acquisition code has been improved and you
should no longer be required to use Windows Media Player to
acquire licenses.
+ Zoom Player's image-scaling code has improved. This means a
very nice speedup when drawing scaled image elements
(navigators, background/folder images, etc...) and a slight
improvement in image quality.
(Licensed from Avery Lee's VirtualDub)
+ The Media Library Path Editor ("Shift+"M") interface has been
restructured, making it clearer and easier to use.
+ The Skin Selection ("N") interface has been restructured,
making it clearer and easier to use.
+ The Station Editor ("X") interface has been restructured,
making it clearer and easier to use.
+ When running a new version for the first time, you will now be
prompted only for important missing decoders. The full list
can still be found in the options dialog.
+ The missing decoders list in the Advanced Options dialog has been
split into a list of Important decoders and All decoders in order
to emphasize that not all decoders listed are required for
general day to day media playback. The Simple Options dialog will
only show the Important decoders.
+ The Media Library navigator interface should work faster on
networked drives and use less drive access.
+ The Media Library navigator will now only highlight the currently
playing file once instead of constantly trying to highlight it.
+ The erase navigator confirmation dialog now returns to the
navigator it was called from.
+ The navigation interfaces can now work without any graphics
(without the "NavData" directory). Won't look very good though.
+ Using the Next/Previous Track function with only one file
in the play list will play the Next/Previous media file in
the same directory (useful for picture browsing).
+ The Auto Show control bar when the cursor is at the screen's
bottom now also Auto Shows the control bar when the cursor is
at the screen's top.
+ Integration into Windows Vista file association interface.
Zoom Player should now appear as a supported program for all
association extensions supported by Zoom Player.
+ A new value has been added to the "Select" (Enter key) allowing
it to open the previously open navigator.
+ Switching display resolution while in fullscreen should now react
better with the main window covering the full display in the new
resolution. And if the display area covered the entire monitor,
the display area is now modified to cover the new resolution.
+ Pressing Stop while already stopped (in media mode) will now return
the playback position to its previous position.
+ The Default Play List skin has been tweaked a bit for usability
and clarity.
+ The File and Media Library Navigators will now dynamically update
their content when a removable media is inserted/removed.
+ When opening the File Navigator and the previous saved directory
position no longer exists, the file navigator will go up through
the directory path until a valid directory does exist or the root
path for the drive is reached (previously, it would go straight
to the root path).
+ The Blanking Navigator will now allow you to Enable/Disable Blanking.
+ The Control Bar will now have a minimum width of 64 pixels for the
timeline and whatever space the active Control Bar buttons take.
+ The Mouse Cursor over the Volume, Rate Control, Balance and
Equalizer bars will now use the "Hand Point" mouse cursor.
+ The Fast Play/Slow Motion rates have changes slightly.
+ Showing the Control Bar now hides the navigator interfaces.
+ Better streaming support.
+ Customized Media Playback has been renamed to "Smart Play".
+ Updated Smart Play profiles to account for Elecard v4's change
of filter identifications.
+ The "Mouse Wheel" section of the Options Dialog has been renamed
to "Mouse" and the "Mouse Toggles" section has moved under it.
+ The Skinning Constants "<filename>", "<filetitle>" and "<filebase>"
in DVD Mode will now display the DVD Title instead of the file name
(which when playing DVDs always points to "VIDEO_TS.IFO". This is
simply more informative.
+ Pressing Enter in the Chapter Editor without any fields filled will
now seek to the current position (useful for Subbing).
+ The Information Dialog (Press "I") now shows an approximate bitrate
as calculated using size of the file being played when DirectShow
doesn't return a valid bitrate.
+ Playing external audio tracks should now maintain proper
synchronization when seeking. Playing external tracks will
also create improved graphs.
+ The Sort by Date feature now sorts new files first.
+ "Play List Editor display moves to follow currently playing track"
setting now centers the currently playing track within the list
(instead of having it appear at the top of the list).
+ The White Wash pattern (Shift+"P") now ignores aspect ratio and
moves the bar somewhat faster (previously it was too slow).
+ The Smart Play Source Filter selection now allows you to add
DMO filters as post processors.
+ Improved shortcut support. When loading shortcuts, instead of loading
the shortcut into the play list, the entry is replaced by the file
the shortcut is pointing to.
Furthermore, you can now use shortcut files in the file and media
library navigators.
+ The Sub-Type list on the Audio/Video Smart Play configuration
dialog will now display the FourCC code for each Sub-Type.
+ The Girder Command export function now exports Zoom Player's
functions in a more orderly list grouping function types into
Girder categories.
+ The Key Edit dialog is now a bit more friendly.
+ The Blanking Navigator key has been changed from "K" to Shift+"K" in
order to prevent accidental activation.
+ The File Navigator key has been changed from "E" to Shift"F" in
order to prevent accidental activation.
+ The Scene-Cut and Chapter Editor interfaces now require the use of
Zoom Player Professional.
- Audio Renderers containing "00" in their device name (such as the
"SB Audigy 2 ZS Audio [A400]") could have disabled audio under some
conditions.
- Under certain conditions (such as logging a user out while
Zoom Player is still running), Zoom Player would have crashed
with an "Unhandled OS Exception" error.
- Trying to run multiple instances all using the same TCP/IP port
will no longer crash with a bind error.
- The Hide TaskBar setting could cause issues in VMR9 Renderless
Exclusive mode.
- Flash files should now play in the proper aspect ratio on display
devices that do not use square pixels.
- OSD Messages wider than the monitor will now be cut to fit the monitor.
- Possible fix for VMR9 Renderless Exclusive fullscreen mode where
tray icons may have flashed.
- Shortcuts with targets using unicode paths are now supported.
- Under certain cases, loading play list files with relative paths
would not always find the files.
- Parameters in shortcut files are no longer ignored.
- Zoom Player can now use/display BMP files created with Photoshop.
(Recent versions of PhotoShop create improperly formatted BMP files).
- Zoom Player user interface elements will now snap to the Visible
Work Area (Task Bar rather than the Monitor border).
- When Zoom Player was set to save its configuration file
locally, or when using an alternative window name,
Zoom Player would not load files from external programs if
it was already open.
- Auto-Disable DVD Subtitles and Preferred DVD Subtitles are now
mutually exclusive (with warning message).
- When Detached, The Control Bar can now be resized from the right
as well as the left sides of the interface.
- Better handling of filters that change the duration of the
currently playing media in real-time (such as TSFileSource).
- You should now be able to erase the currently playing file from
within the Media Library Navigator.
- Mid-Stream aspect ratio changes should now work better (was not
working well when switching DVB TV-Channels).
- Switching to Audio Mode from DVD Mode and then back to DVD Mode
would load the Media Mode skin instead of the DVD Mode skin.
- A few stability tweaks to the skin parsing engine (better handling
of badly written skin-script).
- The setting to prevent Zoom Player from using Smart Play by the
extension of the file being played was not working properly.
- Fixed a possible stability issue with Smart Play and problematic
filters.
- A System-Sound would play when trying to exit Zoom Player using
the TCP Interface.
- The Hand Icon used over the Volume/Balance/Play Rate controls
was not the windows hand icon, this is now fixed.
- The Definition File "SetAudioSync" setting wasn't being applied
when playing DVDs.
- Using the "/F" or "/Z" parameters while Zoom Player is already
fullscreen on a secondary monitor could cause the display to move
to the primary monitor.
- The Change Resolution on Fullscreen feature may not have properly
covered the video area.
- The Search area background color on the Play List Editor was not
being set properly for the default skin.
- When ejecting DVDs as they are playing, Zoom Player may have tried
to automatically replay them causing a DVD Not Found error to pop.
- The Navigator Background skin code definition would only accept
the image if it existed in the root skin directory.
- The Navigator Background skin code definition was ignored if no
icon file was set.
- Automatic Save/Restore of the last position for ".dvr-ms" and ".ts"
files was not working correctly.
- Scene-Cut would malfunction under certain conditions (especially
when trying to use it in combination with ".dvr-ms" files).
- The Play List Editor Window sizes would glitch if closing
Zoom Player while the Play List Editor was maximized.
- When Zoom Player was set to disable the Windows Screen Saver
in fullscreen mode, it could under some conditions cause
hardware powerdown not to activate after Zoom Player was closed.
- When scrolling on the Play History or the Key Editor, the
screen will now update while scrolling.
- Audio files will now be listed in the Play History even if the
setting not to remember the last position for audio files is enabled.
- Removing the currently playing file from the play list would not
clear the file name from the Task Bar or Tray Icon.
- Adding Chapters/Bookmarks would not automatically make the new
Chapters/Bookmarks accessible in certain cases.
- The "<track>" Skin Script value wasn't being cleared when a file
was closed.
- Sorting the play list could lead to the currently playing item
highlight on the play list editor to show the wrong file.
- Moving items in the Play List up/down could fail on unicode files.
- The Bookmark/Chapter Navigator would not support unicode
chapter descriptions.
- The Gradient skin commands were not being effected by the skin tint.
- Several Option dialog tabs may have not translated properly when
a unicode translation was used.
- Using a forced duration value in a Zoom Player Play List file would
carry over the duration to the next file in the play list if it
did not have a forced duration.
- The Pop-Up OSD Action message would not show Unicode characters
properly under some conditions.
- Pressing Enter in the Station Navigator when the navigator contained
no entries would have caused a crash.
- Switching from DVD Mode to Audio Mode and trying to select a
different skin, would set the skin to the DVD Mode and not
the Audio Mode.
- Closing the Player when the screen saver is active on a secondary
monitor caused Zoom Player to crash and not close properly.
- Opening a URL from the command line would have caused it to open
using uppercase, which some servers would not accept as a correct
location for the item.
- Communication API Message 2500 would only transmit if a specific
play on insert setting was enabled. It will now always transmit
if a new disc/drive was inserted.
- Communication API Message 1850 did not properly support
UTF8 file names.
- Enabling the TCP/IP interface using an Extended Function did not
properly enable the interface.
- Some cosmetic glitches when using XP Themes.
- Grid Interfaces (Play History, Key Editor etc...) now respect
the windows color scheme.
