XXHighEnd Model 0.9x-5 (with OSD Running Time)

[PeterSt]

Expectations on changed SQ : High.

(the download is at the very bottom)

The following has been changed :

• In the Settings Area a parameter "Stop Services" has been added.
  When ticked, when playback starts (Engine#3), the services creating the screen looks of Windows Vista will be stopped.
  These services consume a bunch of CPU, and it will influence sound. Notice that without these services being stopped, the display of the Running Time (see below) actually would not be allowed.
  
  To finish all off, the Windows Taskbar will disappear with it.
  
  Very important : Only when AutoHotkey has been installed, and is at least working to the extend XXHighEnd can be startup with a hotkey (default is Alt-X), it is allowed to tick this checkbox. See AutoHotkey Install. When this is not done, hence XXHighEnd can not be brought up with a hotkey, at Unattended Payback - no desktop icons will be visible, no Taskbar will be there, no Startbutton will be around ... nothing. So, you will not be able to do anything, except for listening out the playlist concerned, and wait until that finishes and XXHighEnd will popup automatically, which by itself will bring back everything.
  A reboot is a solution as well.
  
  This all sounds more dangerously than it really is, and with the hotkeys available there is really nothing to fear.
  And remember the objective : better Sound Quality.
  
  Edit : As it turns out, not for everybody the Start Button disappears. This is unintentional though.
  
  
• Next to beforementioned checkbox is a new button "Services". This is an emergency button for when - for whatever reason - the services did not start and the Taskbar stays away. Clicking this button and all will come back.
  
  Note : We are talking about the exact same services Vista shuts down automatically as we often experience. This, due to the lack of resources because audio playback (via XX) tries to take it all. This means : when you just don't want to shut down those services via the "Stop Services" checkbox, this still might or will happen as usual. However, now there is this button, and all will be restored in a whimp, and without the necessary reboot from before.
  
  This and before topic concluded : All 'n all you now can just use your Aero and everything, because at playback all is dynamically shut down, and when needed all will be running again and you won't even visually notice things changed. One thing : it works for Unattended Playback only.
  
  Kind of important : When all is restored, it may appear that the Taskbar Tray shows empty (this is the rightmost part of the Taskbar). Now, when you click aroujnd a bit in that area, it will restore ...
  
  Last thing, though rather important : The real merits for SQ can only be obtained when the Q2/Q3/Q4/Q5 sliders are all set to 0 ! (Q1 is unrelated)
  
  
• Above the "Stop Services" checkbox, there's a new checkbox "Running Time OSD". When ticked, the running time will be "OSD" (On Screen Display) shown (Engine#3 only).
  
  As many of you early adopters will know, a running time was never allowed because it influences sound. Now, much, much effort was put into letting this not be so. And, jusified, as was found out. That is :
  Assuming that all activities in the PC influence sound (and I think by now we all know that is true), is was found that if the running time was showed "as such", it takes 30-60 times more CPU as how it has been applied now. And, this is even avoiding all "Windows" activities (hence the "OSD" principle) ! This is the exact reason why the services as mentioned above just *has* to be shut down. If not, you're stuck with that 30-60 times more resources used, and SQ will just degrade. Besides, the time it takes to show a next second of the Running Time takes place in complete idle time (and occupies 1/10000 of a cpu second on a 2.4GHz cpu).
  Note that for convenience reasons it *is* allowed to tick the Running Time checkbox without ticking the Stop Services checkbox, but for SQ it realy is no good.
  And on a side note : that SQ just improves by stopping those services, just comes handy. Never mind it is a necessity for the Running Time.
  
  Note : The running time should display in the area just above the Taskbar, might that be there. However, currently the hight of the Taskbar is a kind of "hard programmed". Might you encounter anomalies to this respect, or might you see a running time which is not on a transparent background (hence a background which is the same as the remainder of the screen), please report ! See below for how it should look like.
  
  
• Changeing the digital volume or Absolute Phase could result in playback continueing at another track. Especially when the last track of the Playlist was playing, this happened. This is solved now.
  
  
• Generally, applying Remote Control Commands - or keyboard shortcuts for that matter - which result in continues playback, could error when just at track (part) boundaries. A protection has been build in for that now.
  When this protection is active, the Running Time, normally showing in red figures, will turn green. This can last for 21 seconds maximum, but is very coincidental anyway.
  Note these green figures will relate to the green bar at the left top of XXHighEnd when playback is Attended; both go along.
  
  
• When a Playlist has finished playing, the selected track shown (when XXHighEnd came up after Unattended Playback) was the one before last (since 0.9x-4). Now it will be the first which started playing from the Playlist. BUT :
  At whichever track a change of volume was applied or other command that allows for continues playback, the last track subject to that will show selected. Nothing can be done about that.
  
  
• It appeared that the small buttons for notch-up and -down the volume, as well as the Q2/Q3/Q4/Q5 sliders were enabled when Engine#3 was not in order. They are disabled now in that case.
  
  
• Watch out : From now on, the selected sound device as shown (and selectable) in the Settings Area - is respected for Engine#3.
  This means that you may have selected a device there (from efore) that does not play sound via Engine#3, but which before was not important because the Primary Device was used. Not so anymore !
  Of course this means that now the Sound Device just can be selected for Engine#3 (not for Engine#2 ... it never will).
  
  Edit : Well, as it appears this is not working for everybody, and something is wrong. Please keep on using the Primary Sound Device BUT select that as the sound device as well (this is the first entry in the list of devices in the Settings Area). -> Not even sure whether that helps.
  
  
• It appeared that at maximum and minimum digital volume, and a 16 bit DAC or 24 bit material, the left notch volume buttons showed red. This is wrong, and they just should show black in that case. This is solved now, with excuses for the confusement !
  
  
• It was found that the checkbox "Copy to XX-drive by standard" did not perform its intended job (play from the OS disk only by means of copying the tracks to play in advance to it) in quite some occasions. If all is right this is all solved.
  
  
• The Album Compare functionality (rightclick on a selection of items in the Library Area - Compare Albums) has been enhanced with the choice of finding Present Albums (before only the not-present could be found).
  Although it goes beyond the context of these release notes, and is therefore too longish to explain in here, in effect this is about having a pile of MP3's, and comparing them to all the other albums you have, and preserve those MP3 albums you don't have in WAV, FLAC or AIF(F) version. Please ask via the forum when you want to know !