dwight

I have completed more testing using 2.64, it must be a Vista-64 issue. Other weird problems I am seeing are sometimes, rather than waiting 300 secs to play a sample, it just starts playing them one after the other with about a 3 second delay. XP SP2 compatibility mode also does little to help. I have tried switching random graphics off, and disabled the starting attract mode event. This then picks a random text message when starting the attract mode, but never changes the message at the 300sec mark - and when returning from attract mode it no longer updates the display when moving between windows (the message also does not change when going back into attract mode - it's out for that session of GameEx). If I exit and go back into GameEx it will pick a new message, but same result with no further updates for that session after entering attract mode. Next weekend I am planning to buy a new HDD and hopefully XP x64 - I'll rebuild in something that works Vista is just too limited (unsigned drivers) and is definitely just a pig with lipstick - soo much overhead for an OS. Thanks for your patience.

Hi, When in the start screen, the graphic and text does change every 300 secs, but after going into attract mode, it won't change again - stays on "starting Attract Mode..." and whatever animation it chose for the LCD display. Thanks, Dwight.

After further testing, I have found a few quirks. When the Attact mode starts, the "Event" kicks in and the Betabrite picks a random special graphic and displays "Starting Attract mode...", which it then cycles between the two of these. After 300 seconds I thought it might pick a new random graphic and a random text message to display (like GameEX Rulz!) and display this instead of the "Starting attract Mode...". The same initial special grpahic and "Starting Attract Mode..." is displayed/cycled - which looks funny when its already running attract mode. If I leave Attract mode running for a while and then hit a button, sometimes all the LEDWiz lights go out, and stop lighting up for the remainder of that session. If I close GameEx and open it again (without rebooting), all the LEDWiz buttons light up as usual again. This doesnt always happen though, so Im having trouble isolating whats different (maybe the plugin is getting upset and shutting down in the background?). When cycling through menus and mame roms, a new random graphic is displayed, which is fantastic, it just doesnt seem to change after 300 seconds - the "Event" setting appears to override everything else. Random sample WAV files do play each 300seconds - no problem there. Maybe I just have too much turned on - I'm trying to use everything. Dwight.

Wow thx!! I am going to upload a YouTube video - I am hoping some sideart and a marquee I have orded from Mame Marquees on Dec 16th is going to turn up in the next week - It was supposedly sent this Monday, and it would make the cab complete. Just a little longer and it will be up - your plugin makes it amazing. BTW - I found if I keep the WAV files in a sub folder under samples, the plugin crashes, but if I keep them in the "Samples" folder (like the existing samples), it all works perfectly.

Thank goodness for backups!! Turns out it was faulty memory, fixed that and about to do a system restore to fix some strange "host process failed" errors in Vista. Oh My!!! Plugin 2.62 is fantastic! Yes, it's everything I dreamed a Betabrite could be Time for new dreams. I have tried adding a WAV file to the Random Sample section on the Options 2 tab, and when hitting the TEST button, the plugin configuration app immedaitely crashes with a "Windows is looking for a solution to this problem" error. I suspect the WAV file might be somehow different to a standard encoded WAV - it plays is media player no problem though. I have attached a 7-zip archive of the samples here if you are interested, but it's not high on my hit list - just some fun. Thanks for 2.62, I can't stop watching it!! Dwight samples.7z

As soon as I replace my HDD - it crashed yesterday

And check your MAME.INI or MAME32.INI file, and ensure you have "xarcade" set as controller type and not keyboard.

If the random special graphic looks like a viable option, then I think it would be great to have it cycle through the special graphics while in Attract mode - maybe showing "Welcome to GameEX" and then randomly selecting a special graphic to play? Maybe showing some GameEX stats on the display as well? Thanks,

Yep, that has fixed parity. I opened up ASPM to check everything else and found that setting stop bits to 0 actually sets stop bits to 1. Setting stop bits to 2 or 1 does work as expected, so its just a zero thing. Parity, baud rate, and data bits all seem to work fine. Thanks!!

Another question (not a bug) - on the Events TAB, when I select MAME, LCD Plugin shows digit0 and "<vale>" - am I supposed to enter something into <Value>? And if so, where would I go to find the values I can use? Finally - In the next version of this plugin, would it be possible to have a "random" setting for the special graphics So that a different animation is played when returning from each game/chosen at gameex startup or something? Thanks, Dwight.

You little ripper!! Solved with the help of Advanced Serial Port Monitor frpm ADD Software. SO - I had the LCD Plugin set for parity=EVEN, but ASPM reported it was parity=none, so I set LCDPlugin to use parity=none, and tada ASPM reports parity=EVEN AND the sign comes to life. Next I changed my COM port settigns using the "configure port" button to see if that was doing some weird XOR thing - but this did not affect results. Back to the LCD Plugin, I tried some of the other settings, and here are the results: N = Even E = NONE O = Mark M = ODD S = SPACE Note - only PARITY is acting weird - all other settings behave as you would expect them too. I'm using Vista 64Bit - I dont have a suitable Vista-32bit machine to test this on as well, but there you have it. In case it shows up anything interseting, here is the output to the COM port when Parity=NONE: COM port is opened In/out queue size 1024/1024 Purge the serial port: RXABORT, RXCLEAR, TXABORT, TXCLEAR Set timeouts: ReadInterval=-1, ReadTotalTimeoutMultiplier=0, ReadTotalTimeoutConstant=1000, WriteTotalTimeoutMultiplier=1000, WriteTotalTimeoutConstant=0 Baud rate 9600 RTS on DTR on Data bits=7, Stop bits=1, Parity=Even Set chars: Eof=0x00, Error=0x00, Break=0x00, Event=0x00, Xon=0x11, Xoff=0x13 Handflow: ControlHandShake=(DTR_CONTROL), FlowReplace=(TRANSMIT_TOGGLE, RTS_CONTROL), XonLimit=2048, XoffLimit=512 COM port is closed COM port is opened Baud rate 9600 RTS on DTR on Data bits=7, Stop bits=1, Parity=Even Set chars: Eof=0x00, Error=0x00, Break=0x00, Event=0x00, Xon=0x11, Xoff=0x13 Handflow: ControlHandShake=(DTR_CONTROL), FlowReplace=(TRANSMIT_TOGGLE, RTS_CONTROL), XonLimit=2048, XoffLimit=512 <NUL><NUL><NUL><NUL><NUL><SOH>?00<STX>AA<ESC>0nV<ESC>0o<FS>CGame Name [len=30] Joy [len=3] B1:Button1 [len=10] B2:Button2 [len=10] B3:Button3 [len=10] B4:Button4 [len=10] B5:Button5 [len=10] B6:Button6 [len=10] B7:Button7 [len=10] B8:Button8 [len=10] <EOT> COM port is closed

Like T.Goodchild says - its your refresh rate - 50 or 60Hz that will be the problem. In Aus most of our LCD and Plasma screens run at 60Hz only, and HDMI True HD resolution at 1920 x 1080 for 1080p, 1080i is 1366 x 768 here. I have a Samsun true HD screen, and it works perfectly from HDMI output from a PC - I couldnt get OSX towork with it though, nbecause OSX tried to be smart and auto-choose the "optimal" resolution which it never got the refresh rate right for, and after chattign with Apple, has no facility for manual overide. HDCP wont be the issue here - HDCP is an optional feature for HD-DVD and BluRay, and unless it is built into the software to look for it, it will NOT impact your image on the screen. Evenif you dont have HDCP, its not supposed to prevent any image on the screen, it jsut downgrades the resolution to 1080i max rather than the sharp, clear 1080p images. No one should be denied their daily fix of GameEX - I know I get the shakes if I dont

I have been trying to troubleshoot this further by updating to GameEX 9.08 and the new v2.4 LCD/LED Plugin and bridging the DTR and DSR pins (pins 4 and 6) just in case Windows Vista was doing something funny - but unfortunately I still can't get the LCd plugin to do anything with it. LED Headlines continues to send info to the Betabrite classic without a problem. For anyone else looking to make up a cable for their BetaBrite Classic, here is what I found on the net: RJ12 Pin3 to DB9 Pin 3 (Rx to Tx) RJ12 Pin 4 to DB9 pin 2 (Tx to RX) RJ12 pin 1 to DB9 pin 5 (Gnd) DB9 pin 7 and 8 bridged (RTS/CTS) DB9 pin 4 and 6 bridged (DTR/DSR) - apparently Windows might use this to determine the COM port is ready. Im satisifed my cable is good now, so has anyone got the LCD Plugin working under Windows Vista 32 bit or 64 bit? Am I doing something wrong? Im relying on the LCd Plugin doing all the magic - Im not running any other program (e.g. LCD Smartie) to talk to the LCD Plugin. Thanks, Dwight.

Happy New Year from Australia folks!

Hi, If anyone has a Betabrite Classic working under Vista with Game EX could you please post what pins for your cable are connected (i.e. Pins 7 and 8 bridged, pins 4 and 6 bridged on the DB9 side). I have made up a basic cable from the instructions at i-hacked.com, and it works fine with LEDHeadlines from remote-control.net, but it doesnt respond to GameEX or the LCD/LED plugin at all. The LED plugin does work as it is controlling two LEDwiz devices. Also - does anyone know of a port monitoring app that will work under Vista 64? The Microsoft SysInternals portmon application is for XP and 2000 only. Thanks, Dwight.

Thanks - What type of cable are you using? Is it a home-made cable or one from Betabrite? Do you have pins 4 and 6 connected on the RS232C end? Have you tried this on Vista 64bit - maybe its my poota and OS choice? I tried PORTMON, but I get an "error 2" when trying to open a local connection - might incompatible with Windows Vista 64bit as the help file is also written in an earlier version of windows but I couldnt find info on the net to describe what error 2 might mean. It doesnt list vista as a compatible OS on the website, which is also a clue. Yep, running new OSs is a real pain, I wanted the 64bit stuff to get the most out of mame, but the price is heavy sometimes I have attached my log file here, all looks good for the pluginLCD.log file - unless you would expect more details in there than what are showing up? Apologies for not attaching it, but I'm not allowed to upload this type of file. 25/12/2007 7:26:10 PM: PluginLCD 2.37 BETA 25/12/2007 7:26:15 PM: OS: Microsoft® Windows Vistaâ?¢ Home Premium 25/12/2007 7:26:15 PM: Version: 6.0.6000 25/12/2007 7:26:15 PM: Build: 6000 25/12/2007 7:26:15 PM: RAM Total: 4094 MB 25/12/2007 7:26:15 PM: RAM Used: 1176 MB 25/12/2007 7:26:17 PM: CPU: Intel® Core2 Duo CPU E6850 @ 3.00GHz 25/12/2007 7:26:17 PM: Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT 25/12/2007 7:26:17 PM: Video Driver: 7.15.11.6375 25/12/2007 7:26:17 PM: Video RAM: 256 MB 25/12/2007 7:26:17 PM: Sound Card: Realtek High Definition Audio 25/12/2007 7:26:17 PM: .NET: .NET Framework 2.0 Installed 25/12/2007 7:26:17 PM: Reading Config 25/12/2007 7:26:17 PM: Reading GameEx Ini 25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Initializing Layout Manager 25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Initializing Mame Interop 25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Initializing Mame Manager 25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Initializing Mame Events 25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Initializing Emulators 25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Initializing Layout Xml 25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Reading Mame Data 25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Mame Version 0.122 25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Initializing Mini Info Xml 25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Initializing Mame Ini 25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Initializing Mame Cfg 25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Reading Mini Info Xml 25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Reading Mame Ini 25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Reading All Mame Cfg's 25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Reading Mame Ctrlr Files 25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Reading GameEx Emulators 25/12/2007 7:26:19 PM: Initializing Input Maps 25/12/2007 7:26:19 PM: Initializing Profiles 25/12/2007 7:26:19 PM: Initializing LWAX Xml 25/12/2007 7:26:19 PM: Initializing Speech 25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing Sample 25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing LCD Functions 25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing BetaBrite 25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing BPP440 25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing CrystalFontz631 25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing CrystalFontz632 25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing PJRC 25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing ProLite 25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing LCD Functions 25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing LEDWiz 25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing PACDrive 25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing LED Functions 25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing LED Anim 25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing LED Attract 25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing Events 25/12/2007 7:26:53 PM: Shutdown. 25/12/2007 7:26:54 PM: Exiting. Thanks again, and Merry Xmas to all!! Dwight.

Thanks, I downloaded the zip from your link and overwrote the files I had in the PLUGIN folder, but the problem remains. I checked the file time stamp and they have updated so Im confident Im using the correct files. Is there a mode I can use that will write a log or something of what is being sent to Betabrite and the COM port settings being used? Or something I can do that would provide more troubleshooting doco? Do I need to also use LCD Smartie to display something? There have been references to using this, but I think thats only for the smaller 4-line LCD displays. Another potential issue I have found with 2.37 - after returning from attract mode, the LEDs remain in the same state as the last attract mode they were in - even after starting a game, the LEDs remain lit up the same as the last attract mode. Under 2.36 I had configured the LEDs to light up the buttons relevant to that game, and to leave these remain lit in-game, but this appears to be ignored under 2.37. After returning from attract mode, if I enter the control panel screen, the last attract mode LEDs also remain lit as each relevant button flashes (you know - "player 1, button 1") - If a button was unlit from attract mode, it is left lit after the control panel screen has finished identifying the button (which is the normal behaviour), but any other button lit up in attract mode still remains on. Regards, Dwight.

Hi, Im having trouble getting my Betabrite Classic to work with GameEX - I hit TEST in the plugin manager but nothing happens. BetaBrite classic is the single line display, capable of displaying 3 colours (Red, Green, Yellow). So here is what I have done so far: I made up a cable using the instructions at i-hacked.com, which is: RJ12 Pin3 to DB9 Pin 3 (Rx to Tx) RJ12 Pin 4 to DB9 pin 2 (Tx to RX) RJ12 pin 1 to DB9 pin 5 (Gnd) DB9 pin 7 and 8 bridged (RTS/CTS) I then downloaded the HelloWorld and Betabrite Headlines apps from remote-control.net, and these successfully send messages and colours to the Betabrite using Com port 1, 9600 Baud, 7 data bits, even parity, and 1 sdtop bit - , so Im happy that the cable and display work. I have RSS headlines from slashdot scrolling across the display right now. OK - using the fantabulous LCD/LED plugin v2.37beta now - I am using this to control two LEDwiz devices, and I want to use it to control the Betabrite display as well. I check enabled under the LCD tab, choose Betabrite, set com port 1 to 9600, 7, 1, E (same as what the port is configured to and BetaBriteHeadlines), set it to 40x4 (not sure this applies to the Betabrite though), and hit TEST - but nothing happens for me. My PC config: Vista 64bit, Core 2 3GHz, 4GB RAM. Any help much appreciated - Do I need to bridge pins 4 and 6 (DSRT/DTR?) as well as 7 and 8? I saw this on another site. Thanks, Dwight.

Thanks very much for fixing the avi/mpeg issue so quickly! I have some friends coming around today to "check it out" and it will all be perfect now Regards, Dwight.

Hi, Since updating to 8.59 all screensaver videos now crash/freeze. The music plays in the background without a problem, but the screensaver stays on one frozen frame and does not return to GameEX. If I alt-F4 I get a .NET message that object 'V' caused the problem - have rebooted a few times, it's always object 'V'. I am using Windows XP SP2 with all the latest updates and pacthes applied. 2GB RAM, using an onboard video card - Intel 765. My video directory just points to my MAME AVI previews, and has been working perfectly until now. Thanks, Dwight.

Great idea Hansolo77 - would really help newbies when they use my setup - save lots of questions from the kids