Zoom Player v6 beta 2, A preview Options

[Blight]

Due to structual changes (mainly with the installer), this beta is first going to be forum-only and if no serious issues are found in the next few days, a full public beta will follow early next week (sunday-monday).

This beta is limited to the pro versions only.

Download Zoom Player Professional v6.00 beta 2 MD5: 2811A275245B825F8D86A358AC999B74
Download Zoom Player WMV Professional v6.00 beta 2 MD5: 43B4033CC01B10B6EEBE35562989664B

Navigation interfaces (if you're not using the default drapes interface, you need to update):
Drapes Widescreen :: Drapes for Tablet devices :: Blue Chill :: Bill Chill for Tablet devices :: Charcoal :: Charcoal Widescreen :: Ivory :: Ivory Widescreen :: Mercury :: Onyx :: LCARS]

Changes from v5.50 beta 1:

CODE

* Since a lot of people don't appreciate the changes microsoft
   made to Windows Vista with its UAC limitations, the Zoom Player
   installer now lets you choose between two modes:

   Standard install where dynamic files are saved in the AppData
   directory and static files are saved in the selected directory.
   This is required when running Windows Vista with UAC enabled
   or running Windows XP with a limited user account.

   Legacy mode where all the files are saved in the selected directory.
   This is easier to backup, but wont work properly when running
   Vista with UAC enabled or Windows XP on a limited user account.
   With Legacy mode selected, the file extension association functionality
   is restored to Windows XP levels (UAC under Windows Vista limits some
   file extension association functions such as changing file icons).

* Zoom Player now warns you when it detects you are running in
   legacy mode under restricted file access (UAC in Vista or a limited
   user account under XP/Vista).

* New F8/F9 skin modes (equivalent to the Onyx Lite skin).

* New Setting (Adv. Options / Playback / Video) allowing you
   to automatically hide Closed Captions when playing media
   files.

* New Setting (Adv. Options / Playback) allowing you to set the
   "On Play Complete" event (which triggers when a playlist has
   finished playing) to "Randomize & Replay", which gives you
   another random play method.

* New Setting (Adv. Options / Playback) allowing you to limit
   remembering the last media position to media files longer than
   a specified amount of minutes.  This is useful when you don't want
   the last media position remembered when playing short media files.

* New Setting (Adv. Options / Playback / Audio & Subtitles) allowing
   you play media files with the subtitles not showing by default.

* New "Guard Dog" feature (Adv. Options / System).
   When enabled, the Guard Dog periodically tests that the Zoom Player
   process is responding.  If the process stops responding for a
   specified number of seconds, the Guard Dog will close the player and
   start a new instance using a specified command line parameter list.

* The Media Library, File Browser and Playlist fullscreen
   navigation interfaces now offer a "Quick Search" option
   allowing you to more easily browse through large listings.
   The Quick Search option is accessible by navigating to the
   right and selecting the "Quick Search" entry.

* The Media Library and File Browser navigation functions have
   been restructured so that the sorting function is now part
   of a sub-menu.

* "Select All" and "Clear Selection" functions have been added
   to the Media Library and File Browser navigation interfaces
   as a sub-menu under the "Select" function.

* The Playlist navigation interface has been restructured so
   that the sorting method is now a sub-menu with more sorting
   options available (by Size, Directory, Date and Randomly).

* Pressing right on the Playlist history navigation interface
   now brings you to the top of the list (the most recently
   played item).

* New "exRandomPlay" function, allowing you to discretely set
   the Random Play setting to on/off (compared to the fnRandomPlay
   function which toggle between on/off).

* New "/Config" command line parameter.  Using this parameter,
   you can specify which local (non-registry) configuration file
   Zoom Player should use. This parameter is very useful when running
   multiple instances of Zoom Player, each with a different configuration.
   If the specified configuration file doesn't exist, Zoom Player will
   create one (using the default configuration).

   Usage:
   zplayer.exe "/config:z:\path to config file\filename.local"

   Note that the "" characters are required as this command
   line parameter contains spaces.

* New "/Func" command line parameter.  This parameter allows
   you to instruct Zoom Player to execute functions directly
   from the command line.

   This parameter can also be used while Zoom Player is running,
   enabling simple command-line based automation.

   Example for always starting with the Main Navigator open:
   zplayer.exe /Func:fnMainNav

   For a full function list, see the Function List:
   http://www.inmatrix.com/zplayer/highlights/zpfunctions.shtml

* New "/ExFunc" command line parameter.  This parameter allows
   you to instruct Zoom Player to execute extended functions
   directly from the command line.

   This parameter can also be used while Zoom Player is running,
   enabling simple command-line based automation.

   Example for always starting with the Playlist Editor open:
   zplayer.exe /ExFunc:exInterface,2

   For a full function list, read the Skinning Tutorial:
   http://www.inmatrix.com/zplayer/highlights/zpfunctions.shtml

* New "/MultInst" command line parameter.  Using this parameter
   instructs Zoom Player to start another instance of the player
   even if Zoom Player's multiple-instances setting is set to
   disabled.

* All screen saver settings have been moved to:
   Advanced Options / System / Screen Saver

* The internal screen saver has been enhanced to support image
   slideshows instead of the plasma background.

* You can now specify if the text information and animated streamers
   are displayed by the internal screen saver.

* You can now specify a network address for the uTorrent fullscreen
   navigation file tracker.

* Added support for the Microsoft DVD decoders (part of Windows Vista).

* Added support for the "ffds" XVID sub-type created by the
   ffdshow encoder.

* New "default" button next to the Archive Playback configuration
   dialog (Adv. Options / System & Files / Paths, Folders and Files).

* The DVD AutoGraph script format now supports a parameter that
   connects the Video Decoder's Subpicture pin to the Video Renderer
   directly (to support DXVA with subtitles).

+ The Color Control and Equalizer navigation interfaces have been
   redesigned to take less screen space.

+ When setting the navigation interface's line count, the Equalizer
   and Color Control interfaces ignore a value of "-2" as they are
   only 3 lines to begin with.

+ The archive configuration now allows you to specify dynamic system
   paths.  For example:
     "%programfiles%\7-Zip\7z.exe" x "%n" "-o%p"
   Instead of :
     "C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe" x "%n" "-o%p"
   The default values have been updated and you can use the new
   default button to set them.

+ The ".iso" and ".img" extensions have been moved from the executable
   extension list into the archive extension list.  With the latest
   version of 7-Zip (www.7-zip.org) installed, you can now extract
   and play CD/DVD images directly from within Zoom Player.  Make sure
   to press the default buttons (Adv. Options / System / File Extensions).

+ The Main Navigation interface should appear much quicker now,
   especially when accessed while a video is playing.

+ The "/X", "/Y", "/W" and "/H" command line parameters now
   function even if Zoom Player is already running, allowing
   you to re-position & size the main user interface window
   from the command line (previously, these parameters only
   worked when initially running Zoom Player).

+ The Media Library and File Browser navigation functions have been
   re-ordered for increased usability.

+ The File Association options dialog has been restructured
   for additional clarity.

+ You can now specify a +6,+8 or +10 values for the navigation
   interface line count.

- A bug in the archive extracting code could cause extracted
   archive to extract in the wrong directory under some conditions.

- When random play was enabled and only one file was playing,
   the "On Play Complete" event was called if the same file was
   opened twice.

- When extracting and playing the content of an archive file, the
   first file in the archive would be loaded twice in succession.

- Setting a custom aspect ratio with a "0" value could cause
   Zoom Player to crash with an invalid division by zero error.

- A sorting glitch was fixed in the file browser and media library
   navigation interfaces where the "Go to previous directory" option
   appeared at the bottom of the file list instead of at the top.

- When using the internal image decoder, Zoom Player can now detect
   badly named image files (such as PNG files with JPG extension).
   Supported mislabeled image formats include: BMP, JPG, PNG.

- Some MJPEG files may not have been detected properly by Smart Play.

- Fix for the Zoom Player Install Center where it wouldn't
   recognize certain updates as up to date if they were
   installed to a unicode file path.

- The Zoom Player registration key is now searched for in
   both the Zoom Player directory and in the application data
   directory.

- Pressing "Del" to erase the currently playing file with
   other entries selected in the playlist would not remove the
   erased file from the playlist.

- ID3/TAG display of unicode file name would show "???" if
   the audio file had no ID3 data.

- ID3/TAG display of unicode file name would show "???" if
   the audio file ID3 data containing unicode text and the
   Windows country code was non-english.

- ID3/TAG display wouldn't always update when loading certain
   audio file formats.

- When trying to select a DVD auto-execute software (Adv. Options /
   Playback / DVD / DVD Tools), typing in the "New" field would not
   enable the "Apply" button.

- Ejecting a drive while listening to streaming media could cause
   playback to stop.

- Using the "," character as part of a chapter name would truncate
   the chapter name.

- When specifying a transparent color for the Timeline, loading
   a different skin that didn't contain timeline transparency would
   not clear the transparent regions properly.

- Fixed a bug where applying a custom File Extension Association icon
   would not always work properly.

- Failing to load a media file with a background image enabled could
   cause the background image to display in an incorrect aspect ratio.

- The TV Pattern mode would incorrectly draw a red vertical line at
   some resolutions.

- The background image and circle pattern would not respect the source
   relative stretch feature when it was set to a specific monitor (the
   stretch value was applied to all monitors).

- Cosmetic fix for the navigation scrollbar widget being slightly
   inaccurate position wise.

[crewone]

Color Control does nothing in Vista using EVR

Vista 32 bit, using an ATI X1900XTX

[generalleoff]

5.5 got bumped?

[Blight]

Yeah, it was decided that the feature list was big enough to warrent a bump to v6.

crewone:
Thanks, at least now I know (more like "hope") its not an NVIDIA driver issue.
I'll try to see if the microsoft DirectShow forum has anything to say about this.

[cca]

CODE

* The DVD AutoGraph script format now supports a parameter that
   connects the Video Decoder's Subpicture pin to the Video Renderer
   directly (to support DXVA with subtitles).

Damn, I'm currently working, but I'll be sure to test this one if it works correctly later this evening.
Thanks!

[generalleoff]

A few issues immediately popping up.

Accessing download manager navigator caused "list out of bounds -1" error multiple times. One even getting in a state where the ESC key would always pop the error making it difficult to exit the navigator. It stopped doing it and I haven't been able to trigger it again though. It might have been related to the uTorrent web admin as I tried connecting using my externally accessible DNS address instead of the localhost IP address. Just something you might want to check over again just in case. I'll post if I manage to trigger it again.

"Overlay covers entire video area" does not function on VMR9 windowless or renderless anymore.

Transparent elements (red color) are showing on playlist skin buttons when using my Amiga skin. Not an issue with the default skin or the Fusion skin. My skin does not have a playlist skin yet so it uses the default skins playlist. I suspect all skins that do not have a playlist set will trigger this but I haven't checked. It is possible it is just my skin and I was going to give it a once over anyway to be sure it is fully up to date with current skin technology. I last did that 4 or 5 months ago.

- When specifying a transparent color for the Timeline, loading
a different skin that didn't contain timeline transparency would
not clear the transparent regions properly.

Perhaps the playlist skin issue is related to that change?

CBR and CBZ comic book archives are listed in the "File Extensions" list however are missing from the "Archive playback" list. This makes Zoom Player unable to open these files. They open as files but do not extract. Not actually an issue with b2. I just forgot to bring this up for some time now

[swgreed]

Here's the German translation for v6.0 beta2.

I noticed just one issue so far when switching languages:
The language in setup -> "basic mode" remains English, however in "advanced mode" it works well in a foreign language.
See the attached language files for any testing purposes.

By the way: Switching to Version 6.0 might be the right time for translating the registration-screen popup upon Zoom Player's start...

[cca]

CODE

* The DVD AutoGraph script format now supports a parameter that
   connects the Video Decoder's Subpicture pin to the Video Renderer
   directly (to support DXVA with subtitles).

Damn, I'm currently working, but I'll be sure to test this one if it works correctly later this evening.
Thanks!

OK, this is weird now. I tried VMR9 and it did not work. BUT...
I decided to try EVR, just for the heck of it, and it worked!!! Also, Color Control works too!!!!!! Argh, I did not expected this.
The Subpicture out connected to EVR Input 2 and displays properly. DxVA is enabled too.
My VGA is an Nvidia 8800GTS running with 163.75 drivers, on Windows Vista 64 Utlimate

[J.B.]

Thx for the update! I like the new skin modes, navigator sub menus and advanced command line controls.

Here's a quick list of some of the issues I've had up to now:

1) It doesn't like the "zplayer.local" I was using and resets everything to default (expected I guess?)

2) EVR color contols are all listed as "unsupported" on Win XP + X1950 Pro (again expected for XP?)

3) 7-zip can't unpack the ISO I tried. It says "is not supported archive" if I try manually. Version is 7za456, the newest I could find and the ISO works with Deamon tools. Is the new ISO feature supposed to be a special "Stream to to ZP" function or is it just supposed to unzip the ISO into a 5 GB folder before playback? In that case I prefer Deamon Tools.

4) And a small request: Since VMR7 is the renderer with by far the least problems on my system (Win XP, ATI, lots of (HD)TV i.e. interlaced content) I was wondering if it would be at all possible to add color controls to it, as it's really the only thing missing since you added screenshot support? Or would this break things like DXVA etc.?

[generalleoff]

I think multiple types/formats of .iso files exist or something. Not all seem to be supported by 7zip. I have run into a few that it can extract and others it can not. The iso as archive idea might end up being a bad idea.

[edit]

I checked all the ISO modes supported with ImgBurn:

ISO9660
ISO9660 + Joliet
ISO9660 + Joliet + UDF
ISO9660 + UDF
UDF

All work except UDF.

This thread pretty much sums up why.

http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?thr...;forum_id=45797

[J.B.]

I think multiple types/formats of .iso files exist or something. Not all seem to be supported by 7zip. I have run into a few that it can extract and others it can not. The iso as archive idea might end up being a bad idea.

[edit]

I checked all the ISO modes supported with ImgBurn:

ISO9660
ISO9660 + Joliet
ISO9660 + Joliet + UDF
ISO9660 + UDF
UDF

All work except UDF.

This thread pretty much sums up why.

http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?thr...;forum_id=45797

And when you use ZP on an ISO can it "read as you go" like Deamon tools or does it really first need gigs of harddisk and time to do a full extract before playing? Would be a bit pointless that way IMO.

[Rvmax]

On my XP configuration there is always a bug of tearing with EVR. How to fix this ?

I need to add reclock or something like that ?

[generalleoff]

[attachment=511:wrongid3.jpg]

I have also ran into this kinda stuff in 6.00 b2. Proly going to be difficult to explain how to trigger this. It is also not what I would actually call a bug because of the requirements in triggering it. Just reporting it in case it is something you would like to look into anyway.

First note that the ID3 display is for He-Man but the movie I am playing is actually Slacker.avi. The He-Man episodes are .MP4 files and those can be audio only as well and I suspect that is related to this "issue".

Triggering this requires rendering a file where the video render is in the graph but NOT actually in a working state. For example setting EVR as a custom renderer in XP when it is not properly registered or setting ffdshow to output RGB32 and connecting to a renderer that does not support RGB32 in some cases. Such as the Overlay Mixer. This puts Zoom Player in a sate where only the audio for the file is played and ID3 information is displayed instead of the video despite a video renderer being present in the graph.

For some reason though it is displaying ID3 information of a file I have not watched since last night. If I go play a diffrent episode of He-Man the ID3 information will change. I suspect if I had some MP3 audio files available to test those would also do this. I guess Zoom Player stores the last ID3 state or something?

So yea it would be pretty hard to call this a bug due to the requirements in triggering it. Just posted in case it is something you would care to check into. Assuming you understood anything I just said.

[generalleoff]

I mentioned this before and was not convincing enough abut it to get it changed but I must try again. I really think there is a problem with the way some options interact and effect the functioning of the control bar.

I'll try and explain as clear and as simple as I can what is up. I am doing this from default settings so the results should be easier to reproduce.

Open Zoom Player and remain in window mode.
Play a 16:9 video but leave the video window sized like it was 4:3 so you have black borders above and below the video.
Press space and make the control bar pop up. It should now be displayed at the bottom edge of the window lie it should.
Press space again to hide the control bar.
Get in options and go to 'Interface>Control Bar>Display' and enable the "position control bar relative to video" option.
Press space to pop the control bar again and it will now be within the video area as it should.

However...

Now go into fullscreen mode.
Press space to pop the control bar. It is now displayed at the bottom edge of the screen despite the within video area option being on.

The solution...

Go back into options 'Interface>On Screen Display' and change the "Lock OSD to" option to "Video Area".
Now still in fullscreen press space to pop the control bar. It will now be within the video area as it should.

A default setting for an option that is clearly marked as OSD related is preventing a control bar option from functioning as it should. Due to this option being marked as OSD related and not control bar related the only way a user could possibly figure out what is wrong is by trial and error like I had to do.

While I am on the subject of the control bar I have new information about my previously mentioned control bar text issues. Godwin has responded that the skin works for him and has made no comment about a problem with my script so I assume it is correct. I have today noticed that the text is in fact working correct (updating in real time) in window mode but it is not working in fullscreen mode. Also when in fullscreen mode the text placement in incorrect but correct in window mode. Godwin has not yet responded if he is having fullscreen difficulties or not.

[edit]

He said it is working fine for him in fullscreen. He is checking over my Zoom Player settings now.

[Crapola]

Can this one be installed parallel to Zoom Player 5?
Ie, keeping version 5 perfectly working as before ?

[ruly]

I have a little problem, when i use Haali's Video Render and play an HD file (1280x720)
it plays the file with a 640x480 resolution.

[m365]

Dell Inspiron 9300 Laptop. Nvidia Geforce Go 6800 256MB, Driver 169.01, 2GB RAM, 1920x1200, Vista Ultimate with UAC disabled

1. upgraded from previous 5.5 beta1 (config files, skins and reg file are stored in appdata directory), selected legacy mode, the installation program won't copy existing data files from appdata directory, that caused zp6b2 became an unregistered copy untill i manually copy data to zp's installation directory.

2. i am dispointed with Microsoft DVD decoder which is supported in this version, bad image quality when playing vob and dvd, changed back to dscaler.

3. after carefully watching and comparing several movies(xvid/h264/divx/vob), EVR doesnt seem to be as good as VMR9 renderless, VMR9 renderless is more charp/clear than EVR.

4. some movies failed with EVR such as BBC HD deep blue while they work fine with VMR9 renderless

5. color control caused very bad quality under VMR9 renderless especially on XviD playback, but it works fine with EVR

[wdekler]

I just upgraded to the v6 beta 2 and I noticed that I still can't open the install center from the Zoomplayer options screen. It only runs when installing ZP. Is this a UAC issue (I'm using Vista's default UAC settings)?


I'm also trying to use 7zip (latest beta) to play DVD ISO's but both of them didn't start playing after unpacking. Then I opened the folders which zoomplay/7zip created and was able to play both of them without any problem...? As I upgraded from 5.5, the ISO format wasn't shown in the config screen, I used default and only changed the path to my (non standard) 7zip directory.

Also... how will ZP handle the unpacked ISO files after playing or a failure to open them? It seems that they just remain there taking up a lot of space... I would prefer them to be stored under a subdirectory of Zoomplayer which automatically gets cleaned upon starting Zoomplayer. Or the place where data must be stored under Vista.

[maska]

I'm having a problem with Smart Play: there are no filters to see there. I've reseted the settings but still nothing.

Attached File(s)

 sshot_3.png ( 32.03K ) Number of downloads: 25

 

[Crapola]

Can this one be installed parallel to Zoom Player 5?
Ie, keeping version 5 perfectly working as before ?