(outdated thread) Better control of XBMC with 0.821

[jitterjames]

to better understand the command actions and the possibilities with xbmc you can refer to this as a starting point:

http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Web_Server_HTTP_API

[jitterjames]

With regards to controlling xbmc, would it be possible to search/play tv show episode by name and/or number, for example "play Glee season 2 episode 1"  or "play Glee S02E01", or maybe some kind of first episode marked as unwatched. "play Glee first unwatched" or "play Glee new episode" . 

I have just had a brainstorm that will allow us to do this and much more.  Stay tuned!!

[jitterjames]

here's a tutorial (advanced users only) on using VoxCommando to create smart playlists in xbmc using payloads.

And here's a demo using this feature with XBMC (among others).

It also shows off the beautiful new Aeon MQ skin that Wanilton introduced me to.

[abom]

Love the new features! That XML files makes it pretty clear how to use everything. I wonder if it is possible to get it to work with 'play song <song title> by <artist>'. I'm going to play with it tomorrow and see what I can get working with it.

Now I need a way to get a decent mic connected to my Mac Mini (which only has a Line-In).

[jitterjames]

sounds like a good goal.  Post your key files back here when you get something working.

Mac Mini?  Are you running Windows on it?

You could always plug in a USB mic no?  Otherwise you need a preamp.  I use studio mics with a preamp in my office and it works great, but it's all a bit bulky...

I'm still dreaming of the samson airline micro... http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=2045&brandID=1

[Wanilton]

James,

Criei um Smart Playlist para
'play song <song title> by <artist>
atached file...

Agora como construo um comando para  que atenda a frase acima, usando {1} {2} receba os valores corretos neste caso, onde {1} Song {2} Artist

[jitterjames]

the only problem with this (I think) is that it will introduce a lot of extra load time, and memory consumption if you have a large music library.

[abom]

Yes I am running Windows 7 on my Mac Mini. I love OSX and used to work with Plex (based on XBCM). But I use too many Windows-only applications that I kinda was forced to move to Windows/XBMC.

Regarding the song by artist script, I do have a big music collection. I don't really mind about load time or memory consumption, unless it's ALOT, will have to try. But performance is a little but of an issue.

When it comes to mic's, I would like to have a 'room' mic, not something you would have to wear. My new living room is almost finished and that's where my HTPC will be located (hidden), so I would like the same for the mic. Most of the time I use the remote anyway, but it's really nice to be able to name an artist or song, so I don't have to browse through my music collection.

I have a question, why do you use action(#) over for example PlayerControl(Stop) ? Is Action faster?

[jitterjames]

try it out.  Another problem with load song X by artist Y is that there will be no real intelligence behind it.

If you have the song Smoke on the Water in your Collection, and also have some songs by ABBA, then it would let you say

Play Smoke on the Water by ABBA, and then of course the 'smart' playlist would return nothing.

I would need to write special code that knew what all the songs were for each artist and create special grammar based on that.  As it is, as long as you speak clearly and your mic hears you it will still work.

Of course the other option is simply to say play song "blah" and then the smart playlist will return all versions of that song (hopefully there won't be TOO many) and you can just scroll down.

a popular choice for an inexpensive open air usb microphone would be the ps3eye.  It's not exactly fantastic, but pretty good for $40.  Depending on where your htpc is you'll probably want a usb extension cable.  Try to get the mic within a few feet of where you usually sit, if that is possible.

Also, you'll probably want to rig something up with a remote so that you can mute your stereo and switch vox on with one button, and then restore sound after your command and switch vox back off... Unless you listen to your music very quietly...  This can be done with EventGhost, or possibly you could use tellvoxcommando if you remote software lets you call executables

[jitterjames]

also, after you have loaded all songs of a certain name, you may be able to use the command

SetPlaylistSong(position)

to jump to a song and start playing it.  I haven't tried it, and I don't exactly know if it works with smart playlists.  Also I don't know if you would have to execute a play command afterwards or what... let me know if you figure it out.

[Native]

Nice to see everyone keeping busy  
Just finished my new system build, so come Sunday i should have some time to play with the new xmls

Also saw your thread with regard to the json-rpc stuff over on the xbmc forum JJ, to quote "Awesome. That alone would make it totally worth the effort of recoding my app to use JSON! ".   Care to share any details?

Most of this stuff goes wayyyyy over my head.

One idea i thought i'd mention; Would it not be possible to use VC to build VC command trees/xmls/add parameters etc? In short, use the current VC to build it's successor?
..but then, it may get too intelligent, and not need you any more i guess   
Lol, anyways, just checking in, keep on keeping on.

[jitterjames]

Busy is a good word.  The devil makes work for idle hands.

In that thread, talking about the JSON, I was referring to the potential ability to write code (call it an addon) that runs IN xbmc.   There is a lot of stuff that could be done there.  Currently, if I were to write such code, I would have no way of calling it or passing it parameters.  If I could it would open up some nice opportunities.  One that I would like to be albe to do, is to be able to display custom information within xbmc using the xbmc windows and graphical elements.

As for your other idea, what are you crazy?  Didn't you see Superman 3?  Or Terminator?  Or Wargames? Or The Matrix?  I could probably go on all day... but I won't. 

Thanks for checking in.  I'm sure we'll make contact again once your new system is ticking away. 

[jitterjames]

Oh, by the way I won't be around Sunday or Monday so if I don't answer questions right away it's not personal!

[jitterjames]

I have a question, why do you use action(#) over for example PlayerControl(Stop) ? Is Action faster?

I just noticed this question.  I don't know if I missed it the first time or if you edited your original post.  Anyway the answer is, I use whatever works!  There may be some subtle difference between the two commands, I'm not sure.  I feel like there may have been situations where the PlayerControl(stop) didn't work for me, but I don't remember.  There is always more than 5 ways to skin a cat.

the http interface kind of evolved along with XBMC over time, so it's a bit disjointed.  The way different commands are broken up is not really logical.  I think it just kind of happened.  Hopefully the new JSON interface will make things less confusing, but for now it is still being developed so don't expect a switch over for a little while yet.  JSON is not even supported in the last "stable" build of XBMC (9.1), though it is in Dharma beta 2, which is plenty stable as far as I can tell.

[abom]

Some things I added and find very useful are:

- Toggle watched (execbuiltin(SendClick(14))). This enabled/disabled 'Hide watched' option, showing and hiding watched TV shows or movies. I use this alot.
- Scan new video (execbuiltin(XBMC.UpdateLibrary(video))). This scans all TV Show and Movie shares for new stuff. You can fine tune this to 'scan tv shows' or 'scan movies', but I haven't found the syntax for the <path> variable.
- Scan new music (execbuiltin(XBMC.UpdateLibrary(music))). This scans for new music.
- Party Mode (execbuiltin(PlayerControl(PartyMode(music)))). This simply starts music party mode.

I liked the 'Toggle subtitles' command you added, eventho I rarely use subtitles, it might come in handy.

I am still looking for a command to toggle from small windows to full screen, so you can get to your Windows desktop. The same function as the back-slash-key (\) on the keyboard.

I got a temporary mic and it's working really well. Its from the Microsoft LifeCam Cinema and it uses some kind of audio filter to cancel out audio playing by the PC. This works really well when I'm playing music, I can set the volume as loud as my voice and it still picks up what I say. Unfortunately, this doesnt work TV shows and movies because they all have digital audio, which is send straight through my receiver. I will probably use your idea, mapping a button on my remote to pause and pay attention, by using EG.

Right now I am running 0.821 and it seems to be having some stability issues. Sometimes it will hang for a while and sometimes it will stop listening to the Mic, I have to be honest, I am not sure if it is Mic related or related to VC.

Can I make a request? Can you add 'genre' to the GenXML feature, so we can work with that? I either play party-mode, an artist or a specific genre.