TV Player

[seangriffin]

This is a script / tool that takes some of the hassle out of setting up and playing videos on an external TV. I've named it TV Player for now (for want of a better name).

When I say "hassle" I mean:

• Dragging the computer next to the TV
• Plugging in an external hard drive containing the videos (if need be)
• Plugging in the video cable from the TV to the computer (ie. VGA or S-Video)
• Plugging in headphones (so not to wake up the rest of the family)
• Switching the computer's resolution to match the TV (for the best picture quality)
• Switching the computer's display across to the external TV
• Finding the video on the computer
• Playing the video

Then once the video has finished:

• Closing the video player
• Switch the display back to the computer
• Switch the computer's resolution back to normal
• Unplug headphones
• Unplug video cable
• Spindown or place in Standby the external hard drive (if need be)
• Unplug the external hard drive
• Carry the computer back to where it came from

I think there are some people out there who can relate to what I'm talking about here.

I really enjoy watching videos on an external TV directly from my computer, but all the hassles above sometimes turn me off, and I'd rather go straight to bed.

This script tries to automate some of these manual tasks.

If enough people find the concept useful, then I can make the script more generic to handle a bigger variety of configurations.

REQUIREMENTS:

• AutoIt3 3.2 or higher,
• A command line tool to switch your computer to an external display (igfxcfg.exe is recommended for mobile Intel chipsets)
• A multimedia player
• A command line tool to put your external drive into standby / spindown (ie. sdparm.exe)
• An external TV or monitor with a native 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution

OPTIONAL HARDWARE:

• An external (USB) hard drive

BENEFITS:

The tool automates a number of the manual tasks that I perform every time I watch a video on an external TV, and after I finish watching the video. These include:

• Displaying a single list of videos from different sources (computer and external hard drive) for easy selection by the user.
• Automatically closing your Instant Messenger after a video is selected (to avoid interruptions whilst viewing a video).
• Automatically switching the display to a resolution of 1920 x 1080 32 bit (HD TV) after a video is selected.
• Automatically switching the display to the external TV after a video is selected.
• Automatically playing the video after the display has been switched to the external TV.
• Automatically switching the display back to the computer after the TV Player has been closed.
• Automatically placing the external disk drive into Standby Mode after the TV Player has been closed, such that it can be disconnected quickly.

DOWNLOAD:

Latest Version - v0.3 (12/02/12)

TV Player.au3

SoundGetSetQuery.au3 attached below for convenience

SoundGetSetQuery.au3

Edited February 12, 2012 by seangriffin

[WeiHeXie]

SoundGetSetQuery.au3

Not find!~

[ngocs2tron]

for WeiHeXi

[Cyri]

for WeiHeXi

Just ran across this while doing a search and I agree this is very useful. I actually built something similar on my Win7 laptop which ran down in the systray so I could quickly flip back and forth. I would recommend possibly using some of the below commands to help set the machines state. Also, set the power scheme accordingly (for laptops) since it may be set to go to sleep/hibernate or turn off the monitor after only short periods of inactivity.

Start

DisplaySwitch.exe /external

presentationsettings.exe /start

powercfg.exe -SETACTIVE <new power scheme GUID>

Stop

DisplaySwitch.exe /internal

presentationsettings.exe /stop

powercfg.exe -SETACTIVE <old power scheme GUID>

The presentationsettings.exe can disable the screensaver and adjust the volume of audio if you preconfigure it. I got the power scheme GUID's via Win32_PowerPlan in WMI. Hope that helps anyone who may have a need for this.

Edited May 12, 2011 by Cyri

[CountryBoy]

Thanks,

Been their Done That, used S-Video Cable to TV with Media Player Classic for Years.

I now use the Western Digital Hard Drive Media Player.

It supports all video formats media-audio-Pictures, has 2 external USB Jacks for 2 x 2 Terabyte Hard Drives.

The remote control is small, but provides full controls.

A small computer in a small box uses the Linx System, with Internet Update.

Provides Internet Access, watch You-Tube, face book, play music, support Network shares,

Computer WDTV Access, etc.

Edited June 9, 2011 by CountryBoy

[seangriffin]

V0.2 has been released.

The downloads on page 1 been updated to V0.2.

New functions include:

• Added an INI file for settings.
• Added the option for other IM clients.
• Added the option for a USB standby / spindown command.
• Added the options for external display and resolution switching commands.
• Added the option for a definable multimedia player.
• Added the option for definable paths.
• Added an autosave of options on exit.
• Changed the USB standby script to now use the USB standby command.

[seangriffin]

Just ran across this while doing a search and I agree this is very useful. I actually built something similar on my Win7 laptop which ran down in the systray so I could quickly flip back and forth. I would recommend possibly using some of the below commands to help set the machines state. Also, set the power scheme accordingly (for laptops) since it may be set to go to sleep/hibernate or turn off the monitor after only short periods of inactivity.

Wow, I'm glad to see there is some interest. Thanks Cyri.

I agree that the script needs to be more generic, though I've built the script on a Windows XP platform, and commands like "DisplaySwitch.exe" and "presentationsettings.exe" don't exist.

I've pumped in some hours and worked out some good alternatives for Windows XP, and I've included these in V0.2 of the script now.

Instead of DisplaySwitch.exe and presentationsettings.exe I've resorted to the command line tool for my particular video adapter, which is igfxcfg.exe (the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator for Mobile). I've enhanced the options popup in the script to accept any other command line tool that other users might have.

I also found (after hours of searching) a command line tool to spindown an external drive, called sdparm. I've included this in v0.2 of the script also, such that when you've finished watching a long video, and want to go to bed quickly, the script spinsdown your external drive for you, such that you can pack it away quickly.

I've also made the Instant Messenger and Media Player configurable in the Options, so the tool is now much more flexible and should work on more computer configurations for people with Windows XP.

Edited August 15, 2011 by seangriffin

[seangriffin]

Thanks,

Been their Done That, used S-Video Cable to TV with Media Player Classic for Years.

I now use the Western Digital Hard Drive Media Player.

Yep a better alternative. And I guess these days the media player hardware can handle more codecs and formats than in days gone by, and also be affordable to the general public.

I'll stick with my laptop solution for a bit longer. At least by using this tool it's one less piece of hardware in my home (which means alot to me right now).

[seangriffin]

V0.3 has been released.

The downloads on page 1 been updated to V0.3.

New functions include:

• Added MP4 support (*.MP4 files)