MPprogs About

Latest Project - Under development Tablet Media player

I was recently given a Kindle Fire7 and the hardware really impressed me despite the fact that it is primarily intended as a marketing device for Amazon. The screen is very nice and the sound output is quite good from the 1/8" jack or Bluetooth so I have decided to re purpose this device as a portable off line media player. The big advantage of this device is cost $50. Our significant media collection now exceeding 100tb. I have adjusted the export function in MPTV to create compatible files with the Kindle and now have started Android development of a Kindle player.

Android Development Page

New Project - Under development Streaming TV

https://sites.google.com/view/electricfarm/computer/tv-streaming

Streaming Update: 2018.11.01

Well I have cut the cable months ago and I can say for sure I like streaming better than cable. Initially I used the standard MPprogs programs for this but I soon decided I wanted software which was more streaming friendly.

OK say you have cut the cable and only have high speed internet connection. Of course you need ability to go video>HDMI. Now your primary display device is a computer.

Mac

Windows

Raspberry

Linux

I have for some time now centered my activities on Windows PC's. Win7 specifically as it is the most comprehensive reliable software available at this time for a media machine. Windows however uses standard 10pt fonts for all client Windows which to read on a HDMI screen you have to go close to the screen. To solve this problem MPprogs uses custom client Windows with a default 16pt font with graphics specifically designed for HDMI. This means you can control the software with a RC mouse at normal viewing distance. Development with this being the primary goal was initiated in 2011 and continues to this day. We have now built many media PC's.

Download MPprogs.zip

about 300mb updated every few days.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-FdGMkfhc8FaXZYS0tmalNTbU0/view?usp=sharing

MPprogs development log

https://sites.google.com/view/electricfarm/computer/mpprogs-development-log

MPprogs is a suite of programs optimized for display of media collections in the HDMI environment like a “media PC” (a PC connected to a TV and stereo.)

One distinctive feature of MPprogs is the ability to play music and video media using either; the PC keyboard, or the ‘mouse’. You can control the various search and playback functions with a wireless mouse or keyboard while viewing your HDTV from your favorite chair.

These abilities are also well suited for use on a desktop PC with a display resolution of 1920x1080. In fact several visually impaired users have benefited from the larger default font size utilized by MPprogs; eliminating the difficulty of reading the extremely small font size that is standard with the Windows OS.

A basic media PC set up to utilize a HDMI TV as the display can be built for less than $300. Even if you primarily utilize a portable device, such as a tablet, or an APPLE OS device, the media PC provides the advantage of large data storage capacity enabling an unlimited quantity of media files (music and movies). You therefore do not need to rely on an internet “streaming” service. Your media collection is at hand to be viewed or listened to immediately, transferred to your portable device, or transmitted through your wireless router.

For an example of the data storage capability, over the six years that MPprogs has developed, the music collection stored on the media PC’s hard drive(s) is now approaching 2TB (approx. 30,000 songs as media files) and the video collection is almost 6TB (approx. 3000 video files) The media PC utilizes, standard, inexpensive 3.5" hard drives that allow for continuous expansion of the amount of media files in storage and instantaneously available.

Upon opening MPprogs it immediately displays the complete list of drives and directories of your machine, giving you access to all of the media on your PC and any connected drives.

When you first download MPprogs, install it on your selected hard drive (download or copy the MPprog17.zip folder and then extract the .zip file to the selected drive by right clicking on the .zip folder and selecting extract).

I suggest you create a shortcut to \MPprogs17\MPdir.exe and place it on your desktop (select folder – right click MPdir.exe and select Create Shortcut).

The first time you execute this program you will be asked to register your machine. This not only provides information for your use but also identifies system information on your PC which facilitates diagnosis of any problems you may encounter.

I am usually available at:

• 607-588-6324 or 518-795-6783 prior to 8am EST

• or Email: electricfarm.@gmail.com

Machines with multiple users will have registrations for each user providing individualized configuration for each user.

G:\MPprogs17\Utilities\MPregister.exe

MPprogs\MPdir.exe

Once you have registered you will be delivered to the main interface MPdir.exe. Your program will still be internally registered if for some reason the connection to the Internet failed for some reason (like no Internet connection).

This main interface is operated by selecting an item either with the keyboard or mouse. An item is selected with single left mouse click and executed with a left button double-click. Also a keyboard can be used selecting with the up down arrow keys and executing with 'Enter' key. Directories are designated by a '\' being appended to the end of folder name. Files are always identified by their extension (ie .exe .wav .jpg etc.). MPprogs is modular and each program has a particular task or group of tasks. MPdir.exe as the name implies primarily a directory utility allowing you to peruse the drives and folders on your machine and select a file to execute. When a file is executed the task is handed off to the appropriate subordinate program for display or execution. This modular approach greatly aids in development and debugging as problems are more easily located and identified.

You will notice that the control buttons each have a single letter capitalized this letter can be used on the keyboard to select that button without using the mouse,

MPdir.exe understands the following file types and uses the following subordinate programs for execution and display:

• MPdir.exe - .exe, .bat, .mml

• MPaudio.exe - .wav, mp3, .bmp, .jpg, .tif

• MPvideo.exe - .avi, .mpg, .m2t, .mts. and many others

• MPrtfView.exe - .rtf text files

Right clicking a file brings up the file processing control panel allowing you to copy file names, delete files, export files and rename files.

There are numerous other options made available by clicking the "More Options" button.

One of the most powerful features of MPdir.exe is the ability to create and display user lists. There is a default list created when the program is registered which each user can append for their specific needs. This list can contain folder names, file names, and Internet URL's providing quick access to these and is displayed when the "List default" button is selected. Users can also create individualized lists specific to their particular needs. Above you can see MPdir.exe displaying my "default list.mml". These lists can be appended and edited using the list control box which is displayed when a list item is selected with the right mouse button.

Items are easily added or removed from a list using the standard Windows control commands.

CTRL - C copy to clipboard

CTRL - X cut to clipboard

CTRL - V paste from clipboard

CTRL - D delete selected item(s)

Items can also be randomly multi selected with the mouse while holding down the 'CTRL' key or consecutively selected by holding down the 'Shift' key.

I use this feature many times each day to save Internet addresses by going to a web page:

• • press CTRL - L to highlight the url address

  • press CTRL - C to copy the url

  • going to my list and selecting a location to paste and pressing CTRL -V

Another powerful ability of MPdir.exe is the ability to export files. This is accomplished by navigating to the location of the files to be exported. Selecting the files to export (BTW: CTRL - A selects all) and pressing ALT - E to bring up the export control panel shown above. Here you can see I have selected 21 recent rips and selected the option to create album folders and encode to 192kbs mp3 files at the location H:\MusicMP3\Jazz\. This uses an asynchronous long run copy process that runs in the background as we frequently use this feature to export thousands of files which can take significant time.

Subordinate Programs in \MPprogs17\:

\MPprogs17\MPAudio.exe

Each time a sound file is selected in MPdir the play back task is handed off to \MPprogs17\MPaudio.exe. This audio playback is accomplish through the use of Mark Heath's naudio.dll which is merged into MPaudio. Naudio.dll is a very high quality audio playback device that does not have all the junk included with the Microsoft Media Player. Each time an audio file is selected a search is made for an associated .tif image. In our collection of some 4000 albums most have had associated .tif images created.

If a bmp jpg or tif image is opened in the directory utility the file is displayed by MPaudio.exe but additionally several picture processing functions are offered.

MPvideo.exe

If any of the following file types are selected in MPdir the file name is handed off to MPvideo.exe to display the file. (.avi .mp4 .m2t .m2ts .mts .wmv .mkv .mpg)

\MPprogs17\Utilities\MPdriveBackup.exe

A very important aspect of archiving media is the creation of drive backups. We keep all our media files on a minimum of three drives. This is necessary since if you are copying a master drive to the copy and you have a failure of the master drive both the master and the copy are lost in which case your third copy on the shelf is all you have left.

We rely heavily on creation dates to display the most recently created files. Unfortunately copying files with Windows replaces the creation date with "Date Time Now" and the creation date is lost. MPdriveBackup always preserves original creation dates so the mirrored drive is identical to the original.

\MPprogs17\Utilities\MPripper.exe

We always use MPripper to create .wav file from our CD's. MPripper also gets the CD data from freeDB website and creates file names consistent with our standard naming convention. Naming is important for the various sorting features in MPdir.

\MPprogs17\Utilities\MPrecord.exe -

This is an analog to digital sound reorder that can create audio files from either a stream or the audio input jack. I have my input jack connected to a six channel audio mixer. BelowLeft is a simple record mode from your sound board audio input jack. BelowRight setup controls for recording internet streams.

MPprogs17\Utilities\MPaudioCD -

Records .Wav files to CD disk(720mb) for playback on standard CD players.

Other Stand Alone Programs Included in MPprogs

G:\MPprogs17\Utilities\Freedb.exe

G:\MPprogs17\Utilities\MPburner.exe

G:\MPprogs17\Utilities\MPcdCover.exe

G:\MPprogs17\Utilities\MPdownloader.exe

G:\MPprogs17\Utilities\MPeditID3.exe

G:\MPprogs17\Utilities\MPgraphit.exe

G:\MPprogs17\Utilities\MPimageCompose.exe

G:\MPprogs17\Utilities\MPimageProcess.exe

G:\MPprogs17\Utilities\MPimageShow.exe

G:\MPprogs17\Utilities\MPreadInfo.exe

G:\MPprogs17\Utilities\MPrtfView.exe

G:\MPprogs17\Utilities\MPscrcap.exe

G:\MPprogs17\Utilities\MPshowTV.exe

G:\MPprogs17\Utilities\MPslider.exe

G:\MPprogs17\Utilities\MPtimer.exe

G:\MPprogs17\Utilities\VideoSimple.exe