Beta functionality

[speechles 1917]

I have a volume control button +/- on my remote? Guess that's only applicable to the head phone jack on the remote?

Actually, as of firmware 7.0 the roku does support hdmi-cec, but just to auto switch inputs..

 

..but.. firmware 7.50 allows the volume rocker +/- to control the volume of the TV when headphones arent in use. This didnt work on my vizio. Others report it does work for them on their TV. There is a bug in firmware 7.51 that breaks this again...*shakes fist at roku*

Edited February 8, 2017 by speechles

[ebr 14910]

Yes, the volume rocker controls my TV volume via CEC.

[vhds 1]

Okay 1.19.12 should allow you to browse your folder structure.

 

Great ! It works

 

Two other improvements, if possible :

- Picking the display / view. Currently, it's tiles, with the poster on a colored background. It would be great to be able to chose, and have for example the posters as they are for the latest movies on the homepage

- Giving the option to start in the folders, or (like in the current version) to have the folders list already on top of the home page

 

But already having the possibility to browse the folders is great !

 

Thanks again for the good job

[ebr 14910]

Okay, I think we're getting really close here.  All the absolute must-haves are off my list.  Still a few things I want to tidy up but then I'm going to start working on the upgrade procedure and getting this thing out there in bulk.

 

So, those of you using it regularly (and there appear to be a lot of you) please chime in with any known bugs or features from the old app still missing in this one.

 

Thanks!

[Waldonnis 148]

No idea how I missed this earlier, but there's no way to view or play movie extras at all in the beta.  I don't watch them very often, so I guess it was easy for me to overlook before.

 

Subtitle/audio selection is still in the same state.  There is a description field in the subtitle section of the content metadata, but I've never tried using it before to see if it's reflected in the dialog.  For external SRT subtitles, it probably doesn't matter, but subtitles (even SRTs) embedded in MKVs can contain descriptive names and are reflected in the web interface's media info, which would be handy.  At the very least, some way to indicate which is a forced subtitle stream even for externals would be a start (it would likely share the same language code with any closed caption subtitle stream and is hard to tell which is which otherwise).  I know the dialog is very limited, and intercepting the asterisk press to display a custom dialog seems iffy lately (or just not working at all within SG's Video player), but it's an area that really needs improvement, in my opinion.

 

Bug-wise: forced subs aren't being displayed by default even if the Roku captions setting is set to on prior to playback.  I have to hit asterisk and select the sub track indicated before they do.  I'm guessing the subtitleTrack field isn't being set prior to playback and using the options menu during playback is setting it properly.

 

Audio I'm still looking into - Roku's documentation of the content metadata and how the player nodes use it is still beyond terrible.  If there is to be no way to select an audio track prior to playback (like we could do in the old channel) and we can't see the descriptive name (or even codec) of the tracks at all, then it makes the Roku and new channel much less useful/attractive to someone like me.  I may be in the minority with keeping commentary or alternative downmixes, but I shouldn't have to play the "guess which track is which" game during playback when they're all the same language code...especially since the descriptive names are present in the web interface's media info and could be presented in other ways if the during-playback dialog is the limiting factor.

 

Sorry if I seem a little snippy about this, but audio and subtitles are things I spend a great deal of time on with some my media, so I want to enjoy the result of that labour without having to spend even more effort during playback when I just want to pick the desired tracks and watch something.  Also, some of this is functionality that I had offered patches for in the old channel, so it's not a new issue at all.  While I'd prefer to select prior to playback, I can live with hitting asterisk to change things early in playback - I just want to see enough info (that the server already has and is shown when changing tracks during playback using the web interface) to make the proper selection when I do.

[ebr 14910]

The roku selection dialog is what it is. There is no way to make it show our descriptions.

 

As for selecting the tracks before playback imo that is not intuitive and was only done before because there was no other way. The beta now allows access to all the tracks from the internal dialog. Even external subs.

 

The ultimate goal will be to replace the entire in playback experience but I'm not willing to hold up the release for that because what we have will work well for the vast majority of situations.

 

An interim plan will be to provide supplemental menus on the new playback overlay that is there now.

 

Our subtitle and audio track selection logic is designed to select the proper tracks automatically using preferences for each user and this app now follows those just like the others do.

[ebr 14910]

I should say it is the intention that this app follows the track selection logic defined by preferences. Of course if you have discovered a situation where that isn't the case, please let us know.

[ebr 14910]

Tied up a few of those loose ends today and implemented specials

 

I implemented the re-shuffle and save as playlist features in the audio player.

 

Also made it so you can navigate the guide by holding down the arrow keys.  Yes, I know this doesn't work for the "left" key.  There is some sort of bug that makes the guide hang if you move too fast in that direction.  Since I couldn't chase it down, I disabled the feature for moving that way.  Since it repositions at the start of the time slot when moving left, it is pretty quick to move pages with repeated button presses for now.

 

Finally, you can see if an item has subs (CC) and what type of audio in the detail screen.

 

Getting even closer...

[BAS 225]

One thing missing that is in the current app is some sort of control on ascending/descending filter ordering and also some additional sorts, like continuing and ended. Nothing show stopping on those but they are available in the current version.

 

Also I have noticed when I enter the by letter option, one of the rows doesnt generate for me on every use and in all libraries, last night it was C's, I exited app completely, then it was B's. I can consistently reproduce this bug just not consistently on the same letter.

[gjviii 48]

i noticed when i go into my tv shows folder, i set it to sort by date added. Once i leave and reenter, it doesnt remember the sort by date

[BAS 225]

i noticed when i go into my tv shows folder, i set it to sort by date added. Once i leave and reenter, it doesnt remember the sort by date

 

Yep and this is in the current version as well, all the things in my previous post, about sorting, filtering, ascending, descending all those are retained in the current version, the larger the library the more important being able to sort the all movies, all shows area a certain way on open everytime especially since this view takes so long to load in to begin with.

[ebr 14910]

Also I have noticed when I enter the by letter option, one of the rows doesnt generate for me on every use and in all libraries, last night it was C's, I exited app completely, then it was B's. I can consistently reproduce this bug just not consistently on the same letter.

 

What exactly does "doesn't generate" mean?

[BAS 225]

What exactly does "doesn't generate" mean?

 

 

Whatever letter row this happens on, I get the spinning circle forever, the results never come in. I have tried patiently waiting because of my library size, tried not scrolling, etc... no matter what I'm always missing a letters worth of content, but only in this view. Like i can search for any items in that letter just fine, or they show just fine in the all movies/shows areas. 

Edited February 18, 2017 by BAS

[Waldonnis 148]

The roku selection dialog is what it is. There is no way to make it show our descriptions.

 

Oh I believe you, but...replace it, maybe?  Other channels do this and it's much clearer and easier to choose audio tracks, subtitles (if metadata is present, of course), select descriptive audio (hint, nudge), and alter any other available platform-specific playback options.  Plex notably does this but Netflix and several other big streamers provide custom dialogs or overlays to do this in a way that's easy to navigate and understand as well.  Besides, you're already handling several other key events.  Granted, it was (and may still be) the case that Roku upstream disabled the ability to ignore/override the options key, but there are other ways to do it even if that's the case (see Netflix's solution for one idea, but there are other methods as well).

 

As for selecting the tracks before playback imo that is not intuitive and was only done before because there was no other way. The beta now allows access to all the tracks from the internal dialog. Even external subs.

 

Pardon me, but...huh?  How is having an audio/sub selection option prior to playback non-intuitive compared to pausing during playback to select them?  It's not like it was required to select them, as the player used the default track as marked anyway if it wasn't overriden.  It's also not like the web interface, since I can't even SEE what track/sub is being used in the first place on the Roku (nor what others are available) in a way that I can easily interpret without referring to the media info using another device.  It's not a new issue at all on the Roku - in fact, I submitted a patch for the old client last year to address this specific thing for pre-playback selection (wasn't incorporated either because...well, I just don't know, but if it wasn't an important feature then, I have to wonder why I'm arguing about it now since I already know the answer).

 

As it is now, the beta channel defaults to the default audio track as marked in the file (like its ancestor), but that may not always be the ideal or preferred track for the specific device even if it's the right language (such as, it's connected to an AVR with more decoding options).  It's even worse if I want to select one of 3+ commentary tracks in the same language as the AAC, AC3, and TrueHD tracks in several of my movies (yay, 6 tracks are English; admittedly few movies like this in my collection, but they do exist).  Which one is it?  I don't know!  Let me stop what I'm watching and look at the media info on my computer in the next room or phone to figure it out since I can't see those types of media details on the Roku (that's what I have to do, I'm not joking).  Oh, and I also have to check which closed caption or forced sub corresponds to that track as well.

 

The ultimate goal will be to replace the entire in playback experience but I'm not willing to hold up the release for that because what we have will work well for the vast majority of situations.

 

An interim plan will be to provide supplemental menus on the new playback overlay that is there now.

 

Frankly, I don't understand the burning need to release in the current state.  It is still a regression until better track selection is implemented and also keeps Roku behind other Emby clients feature-wise (including its own ancestor, ironically).  Also, "what we have will work well for the vast majority" may be true, but if that's the case, why do other clients have the ability to see more track info if doing so isn't needed by said vast majority? Why not just remove the ability to read track names entirely if seeing that info for selection is so unimportant?  It's clear that reading/storing/displaying the descriptive names was done for a reason or it wouldn't have been added in the first place, and it's implemented in every other client that I've tried, so why is the Roku such an exception?

 

Roku is just not like other platforms and you know that I'm very well aware of its limitations and irritating quirks, but I'm gun shy about accepting "it'll get there eventually" after seeing the old channel neglected for so long and feature requests languishing for a year or more with little more than a "we may in the future" acknowledgement.  Some features really are that important to some people - especially ones that we had before but now aren't there (pre-playback selection, which was admittedly pretty bad too without my patch) or are more difficult to actually use than they need to be (track changes during playback).  I don't expect perfection out of the gate, but the responces so far have been rather dismissive of a feature that's quite important to me.

 

I'd be fine with adding options to the overlay, though, if it allows saner/easier track selection. I don't even care if it's done before playback or during with an overlay, just give me some way to do it that doesn't involve breaking out the equivalent of a decoder ring (my phone or computer in the next room) to figure out which track is which.

 

Our subtitle and audio track selection logic is designed to select the proper tracks automatically using preferences for each user and this app now follows those just like the others do.

 

Well, it's not doing that for audio (seems like I always get the AAC stereo track on the AVR-connected Roku), and for subtitles it's impossible to do outside of the most basic forced sub scenario (sole forced sub track present that matches the default audio language) so I wouldn't expect much that way.  Besides, the preferences only extend to preferred language, and some things just aren't possible to capture in a settings scenario and would be impossible to autodetect.  If I want to pick a commentary audio track and need the closed captioning for that track so my hearing-impaired aunt and uncle sitting next to me can at least read what what's being said, how is something like that accounted for in preferences or how on earth could it be autodetected?  The basic video playing options just don't cover those scenarios, nor would I ever expect them to - there just isn't enough info present to make those kinds of determinations automatically, so it requires human interaction.  You nailed the absolute basics without a doubt (and made it nice looking), but saying that's good enough for a released product that should work well for me just falls apart when I'm sitting in a room with more hearing aids than people or get 5mins into a slow-to-start-dialogue video only to find out that I picked the forced sub track rather than the closed caption track (then have to figure out which is which while telling everyone else to go get a refill or something).

 

Look, I'm not being adversarial about this only because I'm fussy about my audio and video quality (I am picky, to be fair  ), but because some of my use cases obviously fall outside of what you consider "normal" and don't always consist of "sit down, hit play, watch movie with default audio and no or forced subs only".  I know this post is a bit heated and it's not something I'm happy about - I'm just that frustrated at the "it is what it is, so whatever - we'll deal with it Soon" theme so far.  It's because I'm not just throwing "what ifs" at you and pushing for feature creep for grins - track selection is something I have to do semi-regularly for practical reasons rather than me just thinking, "I want to pick this track because it sounds 0.01% better than the other one".  If it's on the back burner with no projected date of implementation, then I'll probably just use a custom version of the old client or BN instead and all of the work on the new channel is largely wasted effort to me - and when Roku finally axes pre-SG channels, I'll be out of luck entirely and forced to rethink my device and/or server choices.

 

Things like not being able to see the person details on directors (and their filmography) and not seeing watched status on collections in the poster wall irk me, but they're not showstoppers and I'd be fine with them being classified as feature requests or a TBD timeline for implementation.  Audio/subs, however, are a big one for me and I just can't concur with the beta being release-ready because of it (not that my opinion matters, but still).  If it's not going to happen or is on the "soon" list like most suggested features that often take ages to realise, then just tell me so I can figure out what's best for my needs in the short and long terms rather than pining/arguing for something you consider more of a "nice to have feature" rather than being core functionality.  If you have a projected date for it, then at least I'll know roughly how long I have to keep using a custom channel.

 

Maybe I should just dump the Rokus altogether and replace them with boxes that can run Kodi (at least then I can finally pass through lossless/>5.1 channel audio and with an interface that even my tech-impaired family can deal with). I'm nearing that point anyway, after some of the dumb things Roku has done lately with firmware and their "let's change three major things in a nonsensical way per firmware release, but not document anything well" development strategy (and taking up to 6 months to release a fix for a major, confirmed bug is wholly inexcusable).  If they keep it up with the craziness, I may just see how well they fare as replacements for hockey pucks on the ice 

[ebr 14910]

@@Waldonnis - almost all of your issues are addressed by this:

 

 

An interim plan will be to provide supplemental menus on the new playback overlay that is there now.

[ebr 14910]

Whatever letter row this happens on, I get the spinning circle forever, the results never come in. I have tried patiently waiting because of my library size, tried not scrolling, etc... no matter what I'm always missing a letters worth of content, but only in this view. Like i can search for any items in that letter just fine, or they show just fine in the all movies/shows areas. 

 

That has to mean that request is timing out.  Can you reproduce and post a server log?

[BAS 225]

That has to mean that request is timing out.  Can you reproduce and post a server log?

 

Yep I will reproduce and get you a server log later this evening.

[ebr 14910]

@@Waldonnis - please try the in-playback audio and subtitle selection and general interaction with 1.19.17.

 

I was able to figure a way to partially hijack the interaction during playback such that we can still use the standard Roku transport control (complete with bif support) but replace the information display along with audio and subtitle selection interactions.

 

Please try them out.

[BAS 225]

That has to mean that request is timing out.  Can you reproduce and post a server log?

 

This is still happening in .17 even with backdrops off, I hadn't forgotten just a busier weekend then I had planned. I will submit this tomorrow.

[Waldonnis 148]

@@Waldonnis - please try the in-playback audio and subtitle selection and general interaction with 1.19.17.

 

I was able to figure a way to partially hijack the interaction during playback such that we can still use the standard Roku transport control (complete with bif support) but replace the information display along with audio and subtitle selection interactions.

 

Please try them out.

 

Thank you!  It works pretty well in my tests so far.

 

I did run across one weird thing on a few files that have both TrueHD and AC3 audio tracks, though.  On one, I could try to select the AC3 track, but it wouldn't switch to it nor let me select it (dialog wouldn't close on selection).  It would allow me to select the TrueHD track, however.  On a second file with the same track layout, it did the opposite (couldn't select the TrueHD track, but could select the AC3 track).  In both cases, the Roku output the AC3 track to the AVR, so something's still a bit wonky with that.  I know the Roku can't pass TrueHD properly, so I expected no sound output in that case or, at worst, force a transcode (neither of which happened).  Selecting a DTS-HD audio track in other files properly swapped tracks and output the DTS core to the AVR.

 

Subtitle-wise, things seemed to be working well with the few files I've tried so far.  I noticed that the forced subs were being properly auto-selected and displayed in this version as well.  This is a HUGE improvement and I thank you for the work on this.