Easily controlling Music, TomTom5.1 and phone while driving - JASJAR, XDA Exec, MDA Pro General

The version of Windows Media Player in my Exec doesn't allow me to control playback unless it's the foreground application. This isn't good when I've got music playing with TomTom in the car and I want to switch tracks or pause the music. The new TomTom 5.1 forces itself to full-screen mode which means I can't quickly flick back to WMP to change the music. Pain in the Ass. :evil:
There are several solutions to this problem:
- use an alternative music player that allows me to assign persistant hot key combinations that work even if the application isn't in the foreground
- stop TomTom forcing itself to full-screen mode, like I could do in TT3 perfectly :evil:
- learn how to achieve this with the existing setup. I've tried mapping obscure key combinations in WMP but they just don't work unless WMP is in the foreground.
I really don't like this latest version of TomTom. My v3 was much more flexible In the good old days of XDA2 I could tell WMP to keep the button mappings while it was in the background too, I think.
Anybody got any suggestions?
Edit: Title of post changed to reflect the outcome of the thread, in case it's useful for someone else...

Have you tried phm keys?
V

Trying it now....
Thanks for the tip. Will report back asap.
Edit:
Nope. Doesn't work. Doesn't have any effect while TomTom is running.
Also, only allows me to map the four hardware buttons. Was hoping that I could use keys on the standard keyboard to control WMP. WMP allows me to map any key to its controls and I want these to be persistant.
Should I try TCPMP? Does that allow button mapping? Can't find any info on their website(s).

Found one solution, but it's not elegant: The Task Switcher (Alt-Tab) control of PocketPlus works in TomTom so I can use it to switch to WMP and control the music, then swap back to TT.
It's a fiddle though, and I'd still like to find a way of doing it with one button press

I think TCMP does allow persistent button maps, and pocket music I think as well. GSPlayer also, from memory. Hopefully one of those should work!
GSPlayer is free and open source, so well recommended. However, no idea how WM5 compatible these are.
I'll try to have a look into the phm keys issue, should be quite feasible, but the problem is using the keyboard to launch progs - I've not got a universal, so it's not an issue I've ever looked into (hopefully getting one soon though, to develop on).
V

Sorted! TCMP has wonderfully flexible persistent button mapping, it works perfectly, and I'm happy!
I can control my music playback with keyboard keys while TomTom is running. As well as this, TCMP allows me to boost the volume of its playback so the music volume is higher than the TT voice directions (so TT doesn't interfere with the music too much).
My final hope is that TCMP automatically pauses playback when an incoming call comes in, but I'll have to test that later.
So, I'm close to achieving the perfect set up in the car: TomTom giving me on-screen directions and TCMP giving me shuffled non-stop music. Audio output is played from the Exec headphone socket to my car's head unit except when a call comes in, when it switches automatically to my BT headset. One day I'll also play movies through TCMP so my wife doesn't get bored on long journeys!
All I need now is a powered car mount.

I think TCMP does pause playback as soon as it loses focus, eg reminders or calls. Tell us how it goes though!
V

Yeah, just tested it on the way home and TCMP worked exactly as planned. Driving along with music playing and TT nagging me, I pressed my headset button, got the voicedial prompt, spoke the number, the music paused, I had a conversation, pressed the headset button again, the call ended and I was back to The Verve and TT. All automatically
The whole thing got confused when my wife rang me, but I think that's because the Exec wasn't powerful enough to handle everything that was happening when the call came in. I suspect that TT5.1 isn't fully WM5-compatible yet and so it's much slower and more demanding than it will eventually be when TomTom eventually release an approved WM5-compliant version.
Interestingly, when I made the call the call audio was coming from both the car speakers (via the Exec audio jack) AND my BT headset, so all passengers can join in the phone conversation too.

SiliconS - what kind of gprs are you using?
V

vijay555 said:
SiliconS - what kind of gprs are you using?
V
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Umm... the regular kind? The kind that O2 set up in their settings. GSM, not UTMS, btw.

Sorry, my doh. GPS, not GPRS!
V

Ahh. All is now clear
I've got the TomTom Bluetooth one, bought in the box with the software. Works fine with the Exec and the (cracked, until TT release a genuine WM5-compatible version) 5.1 version of the software.

You can go one better here with your automation I think, if prepared to try it. I use it on my Jam but havent tried it with the JasJar yet. If you use Microsoft Voice Command it has commands for WMP. You can hit the voice prompt button and say "Start Windows Media Player" - it will start WMP if not already opened, or switch to WMP if already open. Nice thing about Voice Command is you can issue commands to WMP, such as "Play the Verve" or "Play Coldplay" or "Play X&Y" for the album - saves you having to scroll through searching for songs while driving.
BTW just hit the Voice Command button and say "Start Tomtom" and it will revert back to TomTom.

admisi said:
You can go one better here with your automation I think, if prepared to try it. I use it on my Jam but havent tried it with the JasJar yet. If you use Microsoft Voice Command it has commands for WMP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a very interesting idea. I wonder how it would work, though, if there is music playing in the background when trying to use the voice commands. I already find voice dialling through the BT headset is unreliable if I'm driving so more ambient noise would screw things up even more, I'd have thought.
Would be interested to hear others' thoughts though.

Related

How I finally got A2DP to (mostly) work

Hey everyone, I've been posting on this board for a few days now trying desperately to make ADp work as it should on my Prophet. Well. after many failed attempts and sleepless nights, I finally got it to work, so I though i'd share the story for the benefit of others who might be having trouble with A2DP (and maybe get a few of my remaining questions answered).
For the record, i own a Qtek s200 with the latest Dopod ROM, and a Bluetake i-Phono Mini headset. Here's what I did:
- First i installed the widely available A2DP patch (along witth the DLLs and the reg settings).
- Then I paired it with the I-phono (in Bluetooth settings, choose hansdfree and wireless stereo mode)).
- After trying most music players out there, I finally settled on PocketMusic 4.25. The reason is that almost no player actually has AVRCP controls integrated yet, and the only one that does, WMP10, for some reason would not recognize the Play/Pause function of the Bluetake.
- Now, almost everything works: I can play, pause, FF, Rewind, lower and raise the volume from the headset. When a call comes, i can answer it through the headset and when i finish, the music resumes. If you only want to use the headset for music, disable the handsfree profile and answer the phone normally.
-As far as skipping goes, it's not so bad: the music skips maybe once every 15-20 minutes, so it's tolerable.
So, this is where I am so far. I'm pretty happy with it, thought there are a few things I thought would work that i still haven't figured out:
1. To initiate handsfree mode, all i have to do is click on the phone button of the headset, and immediately it switches from normal to handsfree. So far, so good. However, i haven't found how to do the same thing for music. Everytime I want to switch from listening to music on the phone itself to the headset, i have to go to Bluetooth>settings>devices>refresh>wireless stereo>save. It's very annoying, there should be a one-button way of doing this.
2. Sometimes, after I restart pocketmusic for example, the wireless stereo pairing will be lost and the sound goes "nowhere", meaning it doesnt even come out of the phone anymore. And even reestablishing the wireless stereo profile will not solve this, i have to soft reset and re-initiate the pairing.
3. Finally, I haven't found a way to easily go from handsfree to normal (the reverse of problem 1). It is also very cumbersome.
So, all in all, I'm pretty happy with how things work, and would defintiely recommend this combo, if you dont mind the few problems I've listed. As for those, unless someone has found a way to make these things work, I think the best solution would be for HTC to implement a Bluetooth headset quick menu in a future revision (sort of like what they have right now for Wifi/Push email/phone, only made specifically for bluetooth). I wouldnt mind if my phone had an extra button just for that.
My 2 cents...
Thanks for the information
Hi tdx, that was great information and I have it working on my Prophet (imate jamin). If you have found a solution to your final problem please let me know as I too am looking for this, but at the moment I am very happy with the way this all works (the i-phono mini headphones are great).
Cheers,
Winkie
Well. I made some headway since I posted this:
- Pocketmusic still works, and is still the best software for the Iphono Mini. But it's still eating up my resources.
- Pocket Player has come up with a beta version of their plyaer that sort of works, and is more user friendly. But, like WMP10, the play/pause button doesn't work, while it works in pocketmusic. Hopefully with the final release of their software, it will work completely, and I'll be able to switch to that.
- TCPMP, my favorite media player, doesn't support AVCRP, but they're supposedly coming up with a major (ie paying) release this month, soI'll keep my pinkies crossed and wait.
- Finally, regarding the pairing problem, I think it's due to the lack of an official support of ADP in the Prophet. Since other cellphone/headset combos work, and this one doesn't (you have to initiate it manually every single time), I guess it comes down to the Prophet's A2DP unofficial implementation not being good enough.
But i've given up on the idea that there will be an official ROM upgrade for the Prophet with A2DP. HTC has moved on to the TyTn, and, as usual, they'll make us buy their latest cellphone if we want A2DP. As much as i love them, sometimes they really, really bugger me...

8125 as MP3 Player

I would like to maybe use my 8125 as a MP3 player when riding my bike. I tried it out yesterday using the default Mobile Player and found it to be a bit unfriendly. Actually it was a PITA and I had to take off my helmet and gloves to get it playing. I finally figured out my MS voice command... "play everything", which also played ring tones. LOL Should have looked into it before heading out for a ride I guess.
Anyway, I've looked through the forum here and found a few "players" I might try.
TCMP
MortPlayer
PocketMusic
Question is this, does anyone use their phone as an MP3 player? Are there any issues I should be thinking about, i.e. does the battery drain pretty quickly, does the screen stay on and so forth.
Otherwise I have my eye on a nice SanDisk 2GB player that has a FM receiver that is of course designed to be a MP3 player.
I use mine as a mp3 player. Either with the headset or through my car speakers (K7 adapter + 2.5->3,5 jack adapter). I use only TCMP which is generally considered as the best you can get, and no significant battery drain, nothing like having Wifi on!
Same here. I use PocketMusic and TCMP. Both work very well. The larger buttons on PocketMusic make it easier to use your fingers to play the music when on the go. I use it for hours at the beach with minimal battery drain. I havent got Voice command to work with either player though, but i havent really looked into it very much either.
I use GSPlayer. It works well for audio and I can use the navigation pad and soft buttons to do all of the play/stop/next commands.
I have used WMP with Logitech wireless BT headset when riding a bike. Not the best player but I usually set up a long good playlist and then just let it play.
Thanks for the replies... I've been a busy bee today. Did all the prep work (backups/unlocking) to upgrade the phone and loaded a 217 ROM from the ftp. I am toying with MortPlayer and TCMP and I think I like MortPlayer so far... but TCMP looks powerful. In addition to loading some other toys... and the necessary games my wife and girls like to play.
In toying with MortPlayer it seems to do exactly what I want. I'm thinking it should keep me entertained on the motorcycle. I need to find some more comfortable ear plugs though... especially since I am wearing a full face helmet.
i know this is off topic, but i remember someone once posted a today plugin for WMP. can somone repost that?
i cant seem to find it anymore, thanks!
and i too use my phone as a mp3 player, but i use WMP with playlists.
Mort player is good, but when u go underground it seems to pause when it searches for a network.
pocket player was good too, but, certain mp3s has static on it.
TCMP is also good, but i use that for movies, so i don't use it.

Wireless Stereo problem on 8125?

Hey, humans!
After searching through the forums for a couple of days, I thought I would go ahead and post to ask if anyone has a fix for the following problem...
I recently purchased the Jabra BT 620s stereo Bluetooth headphones, tapped the A2DP cabs, and got wireless stereo working (along with all of the buttons and the mic) right away.
Unfortunately, every time I turn off the headphones and reconnect them, they connect to the phone as "Hands-Free" only. In this state, I can use the answer/call/play/pause/etc. buttons and the mic, but audio is delivered through the 8125's speakers and not the headset. To fix it, I have to open the BT settings, click on the Jabra phones, Refresh (because it still says that the set is connected as "Hands-Free" and "Wireless Stereo"), and reactivate "Wireless Stereo" every time I want to listen to music.
Is there any trick/registry tweak that could help me bypass this extra step? Oh, and does anyone know of a media player that doesn't hog my resources like WMP, uses AVRCP, and can play streams?
Thanks in advance!
In response to my own (2nd) question...I've read that TCPMP respondes to AVRCP commands.
Does anyone know how to get them to work with the Jabra BT 620s headphones?
I'm continuing to look for a solution to my problem and find an alternative to WMP10, which sucks up so much memory.
I have finally managed to get Pocket Player 2.72 (http://www.conduits.com/products/player/download.asp) working with AVRCP. Although it is supposed to work right out of the box, I tried using it and received no feedback from the Jabra BT 620s's buttons.
While looking for a WMP today plugin -- one that I had hoped would have a smaller footprint while still allowing AVRCP controls to function -- I came across a post and eventually found a .dll for Pocket Player that allows me to use my Jabra's controls to influence the player.
Unfortunately, Pocket Player is a woefully bad player (even worse than WMP10 in my opinion!) and I can't get much use out of it because it “skips” constantly and forces the screen back on (it doesn't automatically shut off again) with every command from the headphones. However, for everyone who prefers PP and can't get Bluetooth to work through it, trying downloading this rar file (http://www.modaco.com/index.php?act=Attach&type=post&id=19163), unrar'ing it, and placing the enclosed .dll in your Pocket Player directory.
I personally really like pocket player, but you need to wait for v2.73 out soon apparently. If you go to conduits forum you can see alot of info on this issue.
I find it plays beautifully thru iTech Clip R35 (I admit I have a different device ie jamin).
But to your first point, I still have that problem as well, I have to manually switch on the bluetooth stereo option, I haven't found a solution for that yet.
cheers
groverbot said:
Hey, humans!
After searching through the forums for a couple of days, I thought I would go ahead and post to ask if anyone has a fix for the following problem...
I recently purchased the Jabra BT 620s stereo Bluetooth headphones, tapped the A2DP cabs, and got wireless stereo working (along with all of the buttons and the mic) right away.
Unfortunately, every time I turn off the headphones and reconnect them, they connect to the phone as "Hands-Free" only. In this state, I can use the answer/call/play/pause/etc. buttons and the mic, but audio is delivered through the 8125's speakers and not the headset. To fix it, I have to open the BT settings, click on the Jabra phones, Refresh (because it still says that the set is connected as "Hands-Free" and "Wireless Stereo"), and reactivate "Wireless Stereo" every time I want to listen to music.
Is there any trick/registry tweak that could help me bypass this extra step? Oh, and does anyone know of a media player that doesn't hog my resources like WMP, uses AVRCP, and can play streams?
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, I just bought the BT-620s and have exactly the same problem you have mentioned, otherwise a great BT headset.
Did you ever manage to find a fix for this problem?

music priority over tomtom5

Has anyone else tried to use their xda exec/jasjar/universal in the car as a music player while using tomtom5. I've been doing this for years with various editions of the xda, using the headphone output to a cheap under dashboard amp - but am getting a bit frustrated with how my old setup doesnt seem to work as well with the xda exec(wm5) and tomtom 5.
I've found that tomtom 5 seems to "hog" all the cpu usuage, which means that whatever music player being used that is running in the background - e.g. windows media or mortplayer for example, it is impossible to have constant playback while tomtom is running onscreen, when each track ends there is a massive delay before the next track starts (sometimes never).
I have noticed though, that if a route is planned on tomtom, then the screen is pressed, then the windows button, and task switching back to the player, that the music player then goes to the next track ok, as long as it is displayed, and tomtom does seem to keep running in the background... but I'd rather see the map display than the player controls!
In the past I did find it useful to map the hardware buttons to each program, but again, it doesnt work unless the animated display on tomtom isnt running - so its damned fiddly. The old hardware buttons on the xda2s were so much easier to press without looking at them, being more tactile. But the exec generally is so much better its such a shame after upgrading my killer app setup now doesnt work seamlessly... what makes it even more of a shame is that recently I got a really cheap 4gb sd card which means there's lots of music to listen to on long journeys.
Does anyone have any suggestions to solve this priority issue? Are there any tools or tweaks that can make tomtom 5 run with less cpu priority?
Otherwise I guess I'll have to resort to buying a cheap sd based mp3 player for the car and some kind of audio mixer under the dash (groan) its so frustrating when this could be perfect if it only worked seamlessly, my old xda2s had no such problems with this setup
Regards
Derek
Tomtom 5 and Windows Media Player
I have the same problem - i have a TYTN WM5 and TOTOm 5.21 installed. I can listen to my media player and have tom tom displayed and working, however the media player stops after each track and doesnt start until i press play again. It works fine on a wired headset but not on my HTC stereo bluetooth. I use this on my motorcycle and the wired option is very distracting with the wire flying around all over the place!!! I do not think it is a cpu problem otherwise it wouldnt work on the wired headphones. I think its a bluetooth problem - anyone any ideas - maybe a registry tweak.
Gary
I tend to listen to audiobooks on Mortplayer and sometimes have Tomtom 6 running; I haven't noticed much of a problem.
grayme said:
I tend to listen to audiobooks on Mortplayer and sometimes have Tomtom 6 running; I haven't noticed much of a problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you not notice that Tomtom halves the volume of other outputs?
apd said:
Do you not notice that Tomtom halves the volume of other outputs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Erm, nope I haven't.
Maybe because I use an FM transmitter it compensates somewhere..... ?

Bluetooth AVRCP - app control

Androids retarded handling of the bluetooth remote control profile is really getting on my nerves.
No matter what application I have open and want my BT-headset to control, it always defaults to the standard music player.
Is there any way to make it control Spotify, Acast, Droidlive, etc. instead?
Sorry no answer for you but just wanted to say I have exaactly the same problem and just came on here to ask if anyone knew anything about.
Also, do you have any stutter when using A2DP? I'm using a Sony in-car stereo and spotify stutters every ~10 seconds. Doesn't happen using aux in. Haven't tried A2DP using the built in music player rather than spotify though.
@HTC - Please either let us specify which app receives the AVRCP commands or just automatically route it to the currently playing app.
herman3101 said:
Also, do you have any stutter when using A2DP? I'm using a Sony in-car stereo and spotify stutters every ~10 seconds. Doesn't happen using aux in. Haven't tried A2DP using the built in music player rather than spotify though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've found that stutter was caused by having wifi turned on. Switching it off fixed everything.
I've installed an app called Y5 that is supposed to automatically switch off wifi if i'm somewhere i haven't used it before, which is everywhere but my house. If I need it, i'll turn it on manually.
Below is the response I got from HTC when I enquired about the crappy AVRCP:
No. At this time, AVRCP only works with the HTC Palyer. The G1 worked differently as it did not have touchflo and used the base android rom instead.
i will report this to the developers, but i do not know if or when they will fix it, as they obviously already have priorities for adding/removing/updating the ROMs.
best regards,
HTC Europe Support
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So that's that then. Fail.
Is there anything that can be done by other developers?
Or if enough people want it, force HTC to look into extending AVRPC to other apps?
whoops, double post!
Golgo said:
Androids retarded handling of the bluetooth remote control profile is really getting on my nerves.
No matter what application I have open and want my BT-headset to control, it always defaults to the standard music player.
Is there any way to make it control Spotify, Acast, Droidlive, etc. instead?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dunno about the apps you mention but I use TuneWiki and it has an option to "Enable Headset Button" When this option is on it responds to the AVRCP buttons and the standard music app does not.
I can assure you that what declanshanaghy says is not true. declanshanaghy obviously does not understand the problem here. It's not that an installed app will fail to respond to AVRCP signals and instead the Andriod "default app" will, rather it's that on the HTC Hero the "default app" is not the Android "default app" rather a specialized HTC music player that intercepts and steals the AVRCP controls from any other app playing media. This includes this TuneWiki app too. I know, I just downloaded it and tried it and it fails miserably. I can play one song with TuneWiki, then hit Play on my Bluetooth headset and the HTC music player will play a second song resulting in two songs playing at the same time.
HTC did this on their WinMo phones too but Conduit's PocketPlayer managed to figure out how to fix HTC's silly mistake. Unfortunately Conduits PocketPlayer doesn't run on Android.
I'm looking for a good podcatcher/media player that can get around the HTC problem and that properly responds to AVRCP controls. Anybody know of one?
hi..
I also dont like this.. how.. my BlueTooth Stereo headset can not control the current player I am using...
I wish there is a way.. to get control over our music!!!
1.. able to use our music with our bluetooth devices..
2.. better EQ / any EQ for better music enjoyment
My android 2.0(1) Milestone never had any problem with this. I use spotify with my wonderful Philips SHB9000 without a hitch. Oh and Milestone got an equlizer now (2.0.1), though it don't work with bluetooth. Shame, I want slightly louder bass.
just in case anyone is bothered by this issue also. I found a ghetto work around.
I moved all my music on my sdcard to /sdcard/.mp3 (the default music player doesn't search . folders)
then I install mortplayer and this "headset button fix" program and now my headset only controls mortplayer. Although I think it tries to control the default music player but since there is no media in the library it doesn't have anything to do.
took me a while to get it working just right but I couldn't use the default player anymore. I was getting that studdering effect others mentioned but not with mortplayer
I have the same problem .... I use Meridian .. can not uninstall
player default?
Hey guys this is Jona developer for DroidLive. I want to include Bluetooth support. Please any ideas feedback how you like it to work please let me know
I use the "headset button fix" app available on the market and it works fine for me with mixzing and tunewiki.
My bt headset is a Motorola s9.
medicalsounds said:
Hey guys this is Jona developer for DroidLive. I want to include Bluetooth support. Please any ideas feedback how you like it to work please let me know
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am using my MW600 on my xperia x10 ...it should be able let my music apk or for that matter any music apk take control the AVRCP signals
Sausageman said:
I've found that stutter was caused by having wifi turned on. Switching it off fixed everything.
I've installed an app called Y5 that is supposed to automatically switch off wifi if i'm somewhere i haven't used it before, which is everywhere but my house. If I need it, i'll turn it on manually.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WIFI is one cause of stuttering. I found that I get stuttering whenever I'm listening to A2DP with WiFi on and I come in range of an access point that it tries to connect to.
HOWEVER, it is not the only time stuttering happens! Often, I get stuttering on my HTC EVO when i first pair with A2DP even though the WIFI is off. I have to exit out of the audio app (Stitcher Radio) and then relaunch it OR skip to the next track in the playliest and it stops the stuttering, So, there is another issue that needs to be fixed because those workarounds should not be needed.
A2DP Stutter
Sausageman said:
I've found that stutter was caused by having wifi turned on. Switching it off fixed everything.
I've installed an app called Y5 that is supposed to automatically switch off wifi if i'm somewhere i haven't used it before, which is everywhere but my house. If I need it, i'll turn it on manually.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info on the stutter problem. I was actually looking for an app that would remote control my car stereo but the stuttering issue was something that was on the back burner.

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