SoundSpectrum visualizations in MCE sometimes don't display

jspenc3 · Post by **jspenc3** » Sun Aug 18, 2013 6:27 pm

I'm using Windows 8 x64 with Media Center as my front end to my MP3 collection and love the integration of the SoundSpectrum visualizations. I purchased G-Force and Aeon after waiting years for the x64 versions to arrive, the built in ones are so bland compared to your great work so I've totally disabled them!

I also have the demo version of the other products in case that matters. Overall they work great, but every so often I seem to have a "disconnect" between the visualizations and MCE giving me one of two issues.

1) Sometimes when I click on the Visualize option after starting music playback all I get is a black screen. I see the cover art and text when it switches songs, and the audio is fine, but I can't see the viz. I tried using the channel buttons to change between them and it doesn't show anything. The only way I've found to get it back is to close and restart MCE.

2) Sometimes when I change between the visualizations I get a "this program has crashed" error and I have to close and restart MCE to get it working properly again.

Has anyone else reported either issue, and do you have any suggestions to get it running 100% stable? It's mostly an annoyance, but I'd love to fix it if possible.

Thanks for the help and great products!

FrankN · Post by **FrankN** » Mon Aug 19, 2013 2:48 am

Hi Jay,

Thanks for writing, and welcome to the SoundSpectrum forums! I'm one of the support staff at SoundSpectrum, and I'd love to help. However, if any of other users have seen this issue before, please feel free to jump in with your solution!

First, MCE can imply a device that is not your computer, is that the case here?

Second, do you have the latest versions of Media Center, G-Force, DirectX, and your audio and video drivers?

Can you open a support ticket for this? It'll make it easier for me to look up information regarding your license and installation. You can do it here: https://www.soundspectrum.com/support/contact.html

Please, let me know if there's anything else that I can do!

jspenc3 · Post by **jspenc3** » Mon Aug 19, 2013 7:44 pm

Sorry, MCE is short for Windows Media Center (Edition). I'm an IT Manager so I've got all of the usual (and probably a few unusual) ducks in a row and everything software/firmware/bios is up to date. My system is a custom built desktop with a Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 motherboard, AMD FX6300 processor, AMD HD7950 video card, 16gb DDR3 memory, an Intel 180gb SSD, and a few Sata3 7200RPM data drives. I have it hooked to a Panasonic 60" TV at 1080p via HDMI in full screen mode and use a Media Center remote (Logitech 650) to control it all. Audio is piped through an Onkyo receiver via SPDIF optical from the onboard Realtek chipset.

Everything else runs great, it's just the SoundSpectrum visualizations that have an issue. I have a feeling it's a problem with the way it plugs into the Media Player x64 component of Media Center, but that's just a guess based on what I see happen for both issues. I've been using it since last November and the issue hasn't gone away with the latest versions, which is why I finally decided to post. I'm not really looking to go too deep into support to save my/your time, but I wanted to post just in case this is a known issue. If nobody else is seeing this I guess I'll just live with it for now.

Let me know if there's anything easy you think I should try

.

juxtiphi · Post by **juxtiphi** » Mon Aug 19, 2013 9:49 pm

jspenc3 wrote:Sorry, MCE is short for Windows Media Center (Edition). I'm an IT Manager so I've got all of the usual (and probably a few unusual) ducks in a row and everything software/firmware/bios is up to date. My system is a custom built desktop with a Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 motherboard, AMD FX6300 processor, AMD HD7950 video card, 16gb DDR3 memory, an Intel 180gb SSD, and a few Sata3 7200RPM data drives.

Everything else runs great, it's just the SoundSpectrum visualizations that have an issue. I've been using it since last November and the issue hasn't gone away with the latest versions, which is why I finally decided to post. I'm not really looking to go too deep into support to save my/your time, but I wanted to post just in case this is a known issue. If nobody else is seeing this I guess I'll just live with it for now.

Let me know if there's anything easy you think I should try .

I have a similar problem regarding the winamp plugin.

If you switch from windowed mode to full screen the track text area goes black. I can see the animation moving but its all black. the vis itself keeps running. I have made a beta report about it so I guess there will be some kind of fixes coming.

jspenc3 · Post by **jspenc3** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 7:38 am

Hmm, thanks for the post. Now that you mention it, I think this may happen after I minimize/maximize the Media Center window (to do something else). I don't think it happens every time I do this, but perhaps that is part of the issue. I've also checked the Windows Event Logs and didn't see anything in there either.

Guess now that I've written it all out I can open a ticket without much more fuss. Sigh, I wasn't trying to cause more work for everybody haha

FrankN · Post by **FrankN** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 6:00 pm

Hi Jay and juxtiphi,

I appreciate that you're trying to save us work! But, it never hurts to submit a ticket. If we can't fix it, or if we have to put a fix on the back-burner, we'll let you know. We always operate under the understanding that if one person submits an error report, there's at least 100 other people with the same issue.

That being said, I don't know of any easy fixes. Have you guys tried the new version?

jspenc3 · Post by **jspenc3** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 6:20 pm

I just opened Ticket #58019.

I haven't tried the beta(s), but I'm on the latest official for all products.

juxtiphi · Post by **juxtiphi** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 6:39 pm

FrankN wrote:Hi Jay and juxtiphi,

I appreciate that you're trying to save us work! But, it never hurts to submit a ticket. If we can't fix it, or if we have to put a fix on the back-burner, we'll let you know. We always operate under the understanding that if one person submits an error report, there's at least 100 other people with the same issue.

That being said, I don't know of any easy fixes. Have you guys tried the new version?

Hi Frank

I made a beta report and sent a pic of what the error looks like on my screen but It must have been too late for the next release, I guess I set it up too late.

I have now installed 5.1 and the issue is the same.

When using the winamp plugin and you make the transition from windowed mode to fullscreen and or back to windowed mode the track text and art is blacked out.

this is what it looks like on my screen. The issue resolves itself on the next track change.

jspenc3 · Post by **jspenc3** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 6:49 pm

I just downloaded the new GForce and Aeon versions and will see if they improve things...

Post by **BTT** » Wed Aug 21, 2013 11:12 am

Hello Frank

FrankN wrote:Hi Jay and juxtiphi,

I appreciate that you're trying to save us work! But, it never hurts to submit a ticket. If we can't fix it, or if we have to put a fix on the back-burner, we'll let you know. We always operate under the understanding that if one person submits an error report, there's at least 100 other people with the same issue.

That being said, I don't know of any easy fixes. Have you guys tried the new version?

The problem with SS and a user sorting out an issue by way of support ticket is that the rest of us never get to know of how to solve the same problem.

Regards BTT

jspenc3 · Post by **jspenc3** » Sun Aug 25, 2013 1:31 pm

It doesn't look like the new versions fixed it, I just had it happen again. I think it may be a Media Center issue more than a SoundSpectrum one, but who knows. I think the key is minimizing Media Center, then maximizing it again. Once I do that all I get is a black screen for the visualizations. I have G-Force Pro (purchased), Aeon Pro (purchased), WinterWonders 2013 (demo), and Whitecap (demo) and no matter which I pick (using channel up/down or +/- keys) it just shows a black screen. The track info/cover art shows when the song changes (the audio is fine), but I get no visualization. There is no error, just no display. Closing and restarting Media Center will get it working again, but that's a pain when I'm in the middle of a playlist I lose my place...

Post by **BTT** » Sun Aug 25, 2013 1:56 pm

Hello jspenc3

Just a thought, have you considered using a different media player?, many of the forum users have Winamp or J. River installed, and all SoundSpectrum products appear to run fine with them.
Below is a link that shows media players compatible with SoundSpectrum products.

http://www.soundspectrum-forums.com/vie ... php?t=6320

Regards BTT