Media Players (Dilema)

[djpandora]

Hello all,

Let me start off by saying that I ordered my x50v with high hopes of it not only helping me remember things at work, but also that it would double as a portable MP3 player. While it has helped me at work, I am now having problems using it for music.

My first hope was to use WMP10 with Napster to Go. And then I recieved my Axim and realized how stripped down Microsofts mobile version of Player is. I want to do everything touchscreen, but that is tough with the WMP's library function. I have also demo'd Pocket Music and Mortplayer. I am using Betaplayer for Video. But I am assuming there is no way of using Napster to Go with these.

So here are my questions:

1) Is there a setting or hack to change the font size in WMP10?

2) Is there a way to use Napster to Go with Pocket Music or MortPlayer? (either a hack to remove DRM or built in compatibility?)

I plan to create my own skin for whatever app I choose, but need to have Napster to Go functionality. Here is the skin I was creating for Mortplayer:

http://cincij.twistedpixels.com/skin.jpg.jpg

I wish WMP10 had half the functionality of these other players.

Any help you guys can provide would be great.
[/img]

[Dermot81]

That's a nice skin! :)

[Darius Wey]

Hi djpandora, welcome to Pocket PC Thoughts.

1) Is there a setting or hack to change the font size in WMP10?

If you're talking about the font sizes used in the main skin interface, then in short, yes, it can be changed, but it's not a system wide setting. The information on font sizes is embedded within the SKN file of each skin under the [ Marquis ] (or [ Marquee ]) and [ Text ] headers. So you'd need to alter each skin you want to use.

Here's an example I've used in a skin I created for WMP9:

[ Status ]
On 60,10,120,13 Center Tahoma,8,R 138,142,158

[ Text ]
Author 14,205,178,13 Left Tahoma,8,N 0,0,0
Time 187,205,40,13 Right Tahoma,8,B 0,0,0

[ Marquis ]
14,189,212,13 Tahoma,8,B 0,0,0 Title, Filename

Note the number to the right of the font type (i.e. Tahoma). Size 8 is used for the fonts in this skin. To modify it, you just change the number.

2) Is there a way to use Napster to Go with Pocket Music or MortPlayer? (either a hack to remove DRM or built in compatibility?)

I don't use NTG so I'm not 100% aware of it's compatibility. Possibly the best thing to do at this stage would be to contact the developers of the two products and put forward your query. They should have an answer for you in no time.

Hope that's of some help.

[djpandora]

Darius,

Thank you very much for the response, but I was looking for a way to change the font on the Playlist / Library screen, not the main interface. As far as the main interface goes...is there a button command for the library, or must I use the menu at the bottom?

Josh

[Darius Wey]

Thank you very much for the response, but I was looking for a way to change the font on the Playlist / Library screen, not the main interface.

As far as I'm aware, there isn't. Having a quick look through the registry, I see no settings to change local font sizes for Media Player. I believe the simplest approach would be to introduce a system-wide change in font size, which can be done through the registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\GDI\SYSFNT. The "Ht" key controls the font sizes. From there, a soft-reset will activate the new settings, and you should see the new font sizes in effect in almost all programs (and I'm guessing, Windows Media Player as well).

As far as the main interface goes...is there a button command for the library, or must I use the menu at the bottom?

If I recall correctly, there isn't a button command available. I believe the menu is the only option, but if you wish to double check, the Windows Media 10 SDK would be your best bet.

[djpandora]

Here is my stripped down skin for WMP10. I have an X50v, so it is a vga size skin.

http://cincij.twistedpixels.com/Plastic.jpg

You can download it HERE (http://cincij.twistedpixels.com/Plastic.zip)

Now, does anyone know how to use WMP10 on the pc to get music from Napster to Go? I am trying, but most files say Cannot Synchronize.

[Darius Wey]

Here is my stripped down skin for WMP10. I have an X50v, so it is a vga size skin.

Looks nice. Keep it up. :)

[Perk]

I don't know the answer but I have a WMP series 9 device and was going to change to one of the newest models to be able to play downloaded files. WMP10 is supposed to support Digital Rights Management or DRM which is attached to all those internet purchased music files. I know that there are a few models that need an update but must have WMP10 installed from the factory to be eligible. check out this website: www.playsforsure.com Maybe there's info or a link that will help you get what you need.


Good luck and please post whatever your end results are.


Mike

PS: Thanks for the very cool skin!

[BUMP THAT]

Thats a nice skin. I would like to see that released. Too bad I do not have WMP10 yet. :( ANy thoughts on making it for another player?

[Ripper014]

Yep I agree... that is a nice skin... is there a HOW TO... for creating WMP 9 skins somewhere...? I would like to convert it...

[uzetaab]

as for stripping the DRM. I don't know of anyprograms that would do it. It would be illegal anyway. But I have noticed that when you burn downloaded music to a CD the DRM seems to dissappear. Very strange.

[Darius Wey]

Yep I agree... that is a nice skin... is there a HOW TO... for creating WMP 9 skins somewhere...? I would like to convert it...

You can grab the Windows Media 10 SDK which has basic information on skin creation for Windows Media Mobile. However, Windows Media 10 to Windows Media 9 skin conversion is by no means a one-click process. You'd need to glance at the code and remove any features unsupported in Windows Media 9, as well as change a few tags around.

But anyway, I had a quick look at the code. If I haven't bungled up anywhere, the skin should work in Windows Media 9, but rendering of volume percentage won't be seen since it is a feature exclusive to Windows Media 10.

[Yorch]

I have WMP10 and it doesn't seem to work, I am guessing is because my device is a non VGA (I-mate JAM). Does anybody know how to downgrade for it to work with non VGA?

[Darius Wey]

I have WMP10 and it doesn't seem to work, I am guessing is because my device is a non VGA (I-mate JAM). Does anybody know how to downgrade for it to work with non VGA?

You guessed correctly. The skin has been hardcoded to work with VGA devices only. If you wanted to make a QVGA version, you'd need to convert the current VGA-designed graphics to a QVGA version. Following that, you would then need to reconfigure the values in the SKN file to fit a QVGA device. Of course, in doing so, you'd need to seek djpandora's permission first.

[Silencer]

Hi djpandora,

I've downloaded your Mortplayer-Illuminate skin and will try to adjust this great thing to

a) QVGA and
b) have a look at the playlist.

I've done some development of skins together with Mort, but I dont't know if I will get this thing fixed. I'll let you know.

[Silencer]

No reactions yet :D But here we go. You can download the QVGA-Version of Illuminate for MortPlayer at PPC-Welt-Community (German PPC-Board).
8O

Here's my post containing the links. (http://www.ppc-welt.info/community/showpost.php?p=526884&postcount=1803)