Database Users

Easily controlling Music, TomTom5.1 and phone while driving

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.

Phone is randomly auto redialing?

I have my 8525 plugged into y-cable then into a speaker system. I am listening to radio with resco and the phone will randomly redial. I searched but saw no post that were similar. Any suggestions?

I am also having this exact same problem!!!!
I am listening to some podcast on Windows Media player and all of a sudden the phone auto dials the last contact on the phone's history list...
It has done so at least 6 times today... very annoying.
I have just upgraded to WM6 yesterday.
I have been searching high and low for some answers... no luck yet.
It must be WM6 / audio related? you with resco radio and me with Windows Media player?

Remote controls of Bluetooth headset only works with HTC and WM players

In the HD, the remote controls (AVRCP) of my bluetooth headset only works with TouchFLO 3D player and Window Media player, but they do not work with any other player.
Did someone notice the same problem? Does anybody know how to solve it?
My previous phone was a Polaris and I did not have that problem.

Bluetooth problems
I'm have exactly the same problem.
My previous phone - an Orbit 1 worked flawlessly with AVRCP (was running the Vanilla rom by meschle). I though it might have been a problem with my car kit (Parrot MK6100) as when I press play to activate the Wireless Streaming, Windows Media appears on screen. I then have to close Windows Media and load Coreplayer. On my Orbit, the Wireless Stream icon would appear and nothing else - as it should.
In my wife's car, she has a Sony unit with Bluetooth built in and again when I press play, WM appears (yuck).
That's another reason why I've been trying to find a way of preventing the Touch HD from loading the rom extra after a Hard Reset. Maybe some HTC app is messing the Bluetooth controls up.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=447888
Anis

AVRCP
The problem is independent of the A2DP bluetooth audio device. I also have a Sony radio unit with bluetooth in my car, and the problem repeats there.
Does anybody know how to solve it?

AVRCP
It seems the problem is not new. It also appears in other HTC phones with TF3D. I found this thread in the diamond forum:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=406116

Pocket Player
Apparently the problem has been solved in last version of Pocket Player (3.71):
http://www.conduits.com/community/forum_posts.asp?TID=1400&PN=1

Hadar said:
In the HD, the remote controls (AVRCP) of my bluetooth headset only works with TouchFLO 3D player and Window Media player, but they do not work with any other player.
Did someone notice the same problem? Does anybody know how to solve it?
My previous phone was a Polaris and I did not have that problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can confirm this problem in combination of my HD + core player + DS980

Fast forward and rewind with Pocket Player
Does anyone has an idea how to make fast farward and rewind possible by bluetoth-remote-control-inputs in combination with PocketPlayer 3.7? I can only go to next and last track - if I hold the button nothing happens :-(

Hadar said:
Apparently the problem has been solved in last version of Pocket Player (3.71):
http://www.conduits.com/community/forum_posts.asp?TID=1400&PN=1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But, what if I want to use another player, like Coreplayer?
Pocket player features are cool, but it also uses some more amount of cpu and memory resources.
I guess currently the only way is to disable TF3D. Is it?

Possibility to disable Autoplay when connecting any audio device ?

Hi there,
i have an annoying behaviour on my HD2 when connecting to headset, bt a2dp and so on. I just find some articles with the same problem in the nexus forum, so i start this new thread.
If ever i plugin my headset, the sense musictab opens and with a delay of 5-10 seconds it begins to play. this is really annoying, because i hear my music and books with mortplayer. when inserting headset, after the delay, i hear my mortplayer music and the music which is loaded in my sense tab. so everytime i have to go to sensetab manually and stop playing music.
i can reproduce the same behaviour when connecting to my bt-caraudio (parrot). everytime when a2dp is connected, the music starts to play. also, i have this issue with my motorola s9 bt-headset.
does anyone have the same issue or perhaps solved this problem ?
best regards, chris

Disable the sense music tab as it seems you're not using it...

i tried this too, but then wmplayer is coming in front and wants to play.
is it wanted from htc, that everytime someone connects the earplug the music starts ? sometimes i just want to connect my earplugs while driving with my bike to answer calls. i have no intent to hear music in this situation

Hmm, doesn't do this for me. What ROM are you using?
It does so when I set S2P to do it, but not otherwise...

i use artemis 6.0 with the newset radio (9) i think. i reflashed the rom in the last minutes, so i will check if it is something with the settings i made in the last days

Hi all,
sorry to dig out such an old thread, but felt it was better then starting e new one on the same matter.
I have the same problem with my HD2 with Artemis 14 (WM6.5.5). When I connect to car kit using bluetooth. And randomly also sometime when plugging the headset, music starts palying automaticaly.
Very annoying, especially since I don't use Sense's tab as a player.
Any one found a fix / setting on this ??
thanks

Headset controls no longer work with HTC music player.

So a a week or so ago I installed that leaked new Android music player on my Desire Z which works well enough but does not have a lock screen widget. On my HTC headset the play, forward, back buttons worked with this player, they also worked with the original Stock HTC Sense player. I uninstalled the Android player and now the headset controls no longer work. Anyone know how to get it working again? In the Application settings there does not appear to be a 'default' setting, its greyed out.

Hi,
I have experienced other media players taking over the media control buttons on my MW600.
For instance if I have used Google Listen and then exit the program and try and use the HTC Music player, the media controls no longer work with the HTC player. When i use the media buttons it launches Google Listen.
I find if I do a full reboot of the phone and try the media buttons again then they work again with the HTC Player.
I have a Desire Z (Euro Sim Free) with the 1.72 update.
So I guess what i'm saying is have you tried doing a full reboot?
Cheers,
Ash

I turned the phone off/on which did not work. However a "restart" did work.
Thanks!

I would be interested to know what's going on in the background, and how we can directly control how this works and which app has ontrol over the headset.

My headset music controls didn't work out of the box when i got the phone @ last Christmas. So i got PowerAmp witch works fine whit controls, tough i don't even use htc:s headpones anymore. Got razer moray, they are great, but no buttons :/, mic works.