Backglass videos freezes

[jhouff]

Howdy all! I just downloaded all the back glasses and boy they look GREAT! Thanks for that! However when I start the PinballFX2 game from PinballX; the video stops playing (freezes) and won't start playing again untill exit. Any ideas?

THANKS!

[Draco1962]

I split your post from the Backglass Videos thread. There is not a problem with the videos. As such, this type of troubleshooting should take place in the PinballX | General thread. It is possible it is a codec issue, however, we can't be sure unless you let us know what codecs you have installed. Also, please provide copies of your pinballx.ini and log.txt files (Click here for additional information on how to find these files and others that may be required).

[jhouff]

Double post! Woops!

[jhouff]

Thanks Draco1962! And sorry about the wrong post area! So I installed the Shark Codecs from the main pinballx.com page. It appears those are version 5.1.5.

Oddly I have noticed it does not "freeze" all the time. It seems to be 50/50.

Here is my pinball.ini:

[Display]
Monitor=0
rotate=270
Windowed=False
WindowWidth=1920
WindowHeight=1080
WindowX=0
WindowY=65
PlayFieldBrightness=230
WheelTextColor=ffffffff
WheelTextOutlineColor=ff000000
InfoTextColor=ffffffff
InfoTextOutlineColor=ff000000
FilterTextColor=ffffffff
FilterTextOutlineColor=ff000000
MenuColor=ffffa500
FullScreenWindowed=True
[backGlass]
monitor=1
x=0
y=0
width=1920
height=1080
[DMD]
Enabled=True
monitor=2
x=0
y=175
width=1366
height=400
[FileSystem]
EnableFileMatching=True
[interface]
DesktopModeEnabled=False
EnableAdditionalDetail=True
ShowSystem=True
ShowRatings=True
WheelOverlay=0
[Audio]
StreamVolume=90
SampleVolume=90
PlaySoundInVideos=True
[startup]
playsound=False
playvideo=False
StartWithWindows=No
[KeyCodes]
quit=27
left=37
right=39
select=13
rotate=82
pageleft=33
pageright=34
exitemulator=27
ingame=80
screenshot=83
screenshotbackglass=66
instructions=73
volumedown=109
volumeup=107
[JoyCodes]
quit=10
left=0
right=1
select=2
rotate=3
pageleft=4
pageright=5
exitemulator=6
ingame=13
instructions=14
[Text]
Line1=Free Play
Line2=Press Start
[FuturePinball]
Enabled=True
WorkingPath=C:\Program Files (x86)\Future Pinball
TablePath=C:\Program Files (x86)\Future Pinball\Tables
Executable=Future Pinball.exe
Parameters=/open "[TABLEPATH]\[TABLEFILE]" /play /exit /arcaderender
LaunchBeforeEnabled=false
LaunchBeforeWorkingPath=
LaunchBeforeExecutable=notepad.exe
LaunchBeforeHideWindow=False
LaunchBeforeWaitForExit=True
LaunchAfterEnabled=False
LaunchAfterWorkingPath=
LaunchAfterExecutable=notepad.exe
LaunchAfterHideWindow=False
LaunchAfterWaitForExit=True
MouseClickFocus=True
[VisualPinball]
Enabled=True
WorkingPath=C:\Program Files (x86)\Visual Pinball
TablePath=C:\Program Files (x86)\Visual Pinball\Tables
Executable=VPinball.exe
Parameters=/play -"[TABLEPATH]\[TABLEFILE]"
LaunchBeforeEnabled=false
LaunchBeforeWorkingPath=
LaunchBeforeExecutable=notepad.exe
LaunchBeforeHideWindow=False
LaunchBeforeWaitForExit=True
LaunchAfterEnabled=False
LaunchAfterWorkingPath=
LaunchAfterExecutable=notepad.exe
LaunchAfterHideWindow=False
LaunchAfterWaitForExit=True
[ExitScreen]
Enabled=True
EnableExit=True
EnableShutdown=True
[startupProgram]
Enabled=false
WorkingPath=
Executable=notepad.exe
Paramaters=
HideWindow=true
WaitForExit=false
[ExitProgram]
Enabled=false
WorkingPath=
Executable=notepad.exe
Paramaters=
HideWindow=False
WaitForExit=
[AttractMode]
Enabled=True
Timer=1
ShowFor=15
MuteAudio=False
[system_1]
Name=MAME
Enabled=False
WorkingPath=C:\- EMULATORS -\- MAME -
TablePath=C:\
Executable=mamep64.exe
Parameters=[TABLEFILE]
SystemType=0
[AutoExit]
Enabled=False
Minutes=10
[Login]
Enabled=True
[PinballFX2]
Enabled=True
WorkingPath=C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Game Studios\Pinball FX2
Executable=Pinball FX2.exe
Parameters=[TABLEFILE]
Process=Pinball FX2.exe
WaitFor=1
LaunchBeforeEnabled=True
LaunchBeforeWorkingPath=C:\PinballX
LaunchBeforeExecutable=Borderless_DMD.ahk
LaunchBeforeWaitForExit=False
LaunchAfterEnabled=True
LaunchAfterWorkingPath=C:\PinballX
LaunchAfterExecutable=KillPFX2.bat
LaunchAfterWaitForExit=False
[internal]
lastwheelcachematchsize=-1123
lastselected=Marvel - Guardians of the GalaxyMARVEL_GuardiansPinball FX2
filter_year=
filter_company=
filter_custom=
filtername=Tables
lastwheelcachematchsize2=0
[setupWizard]
EmuPath1=C:\Emulators
AssetPath1=C:\Assets
RomPath1=C:\Roms
DefaultPathPrompt=True
DownloadDatabasePrompt=True
DownloadEmulatorPrompt=True
WizardMode=1
CustomArray=
SearchArray=
SavePosition=False
SectionIndex=4
SearchText=
EmulatorIndex=0
EmulatorGroupIndex=0
DaphneIndex=0
HTMLAppsIndex=0
ExternalAppsIndex=0
RadioStationsIndex=0
NewsFeedsIndex=0
MappedDrivesIndex=0
SystemIndex=0
ShowPanel=True
FontSize=1
WindowState=0
WindowSize=650,479
WindowLocation=237,375
[GameListManager]
onlinemode=true
[General]
Language=English
[Plugin_1]
Enabled=False
Name=PlugInLED.dll
[Plugin_2]
Enabled=False
Name=PlugInSpeech.dll
[Plugin_3]
Enabled=False
Name=QuickLaunch (PinballX Edition).dll
[Plugin_4]
Enabled=False
Name=Xpadder Plugin.dll
[system_2]
Name=
WorkingPath=
TablePath=
Executable=
Parameters=

And my log:

15:33:52.2 7/11/2015: PinballX - Version 2.02
15:33:52.3 7/11/2015: Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit (7.2GB)
15:33:52.3 7/11/2015: Loading Settings
15:33:52.3 7/11/2015: Initialize Component
15:33:52.3 7/11/2015: Initialize Display
15:33:53.4 7/11/2015: Loading PlugIns
15:33:53.6 7/11/2015: Created DirectX BackGlass Window
15:33:53.7 7/11/2015: Created DirectX DMD Window
15:33:53.8 7/11/2015: Hiding Cursor
15:33:53.8 7/11/2015: Hiding Taskbar
15:33:53.9 7/11/2015: CPU: AMD A10-5800K APU with Radeon HD Graphics
15:33:53.9 7/11/2015: GPU 1: AMD Radeon HD 7700 Series
15:33:53.9 7/11/2015: GPU 2: AMD Radeon HD 7660D
15:33:53.9 7/11/2015: Displays: 3
15:33:53.9 7/11/2015: Load Game List
15:33:53.9 7/11/2015: Loading Database: Pinball FX2
15:33:53.9 7/11/2015: Loading Database: Future Pinball
15:33:53.9 7/11/2015: Loading Database: Visual Pinball
15:33:53.9 7/11/2015: Finding and matching artwork and videos
15:33:54.1 7/11/2015: Loading Game Statistics and Scores
15:33:54.7 7/11/2015: Main display running full screen windowed.
15:33:54.8 7/11/2015: Loading Surfaces
15:33:55.0 7/11/2015: Finished Loading Surfaces
15:33:55.0 7/11/2015: Initialize Audio
15:33:55.1 7/11/2015: Set Keyboard Controls
15:33:55.1 7/11/2015: Initialize Joystick
15:33:55.1 7/11/2015: No Joysticks Attached
15:33:55.1 7/11/2015: Started
15:34:15.1 7/11/2015: Exiting
15:34:15.1 7/11/2015: Showing Taskbar
15:34:15.2 7/11/2015: Unhiding Mouse Cursor
15:34:15.2 7/11/2015: Disposing Plugins
15:34:15.2 7/11/2015: Saving Settings
15:34:15.2 7/11/2015: Waiting for Online Thread
15:34:17.3 7/11/2015: Bye

[Draco1962]

You will want to make sure that you don't have the Raptr enhancements installed as part of your Catalyst software for your GPU. If so, disable or uninstall and let us know if any further issues.

[jhouff]

I installed Raptr and tried again, dame issue. I did notice that if I start a game it freezes the back glass, then if I exit a table and choose another it works. It seems to only be doing this with FX2. Any ideas?

[Draco1962]

Um, reread what I instructed. Do not run Raptr! Read this for a better understanding of why.

[jhouff]

Sorry mobile typo! I uninstalled Raptr! Completely removed it!

[Draco1962]

To be honest not sure. Might help to know the source of the backglass videos.

[jhouff]

I downloaded them from gameex ftp. They were the only videos inside the FX2 media folders.

[Draco1962]

I notice you are running the Pinball FX2 external DMD with the Borderless_DMD ahk script. Let's try a few things to narrow it down:

- First, disable the Launch Before settings for the ahk script and see if there is any improvement.

- If no improvement, leave the Launch Before disabled and rename the dotmatrix.cfg to dotmatrix.old (this will disable the external DMD for Pinball FX2).

Reply back with your results.

[Draco1962]

After my last post I began exploring a bit more on my own system (I have a single nVidia GTX660 with 3GB DDR5 and two 1920x1080 displays) and encountered a little freeze of the backglass videos (just a few times) and also noticed some degredation in actual game play in Pinball FX2. I decided to globally enable triple buffering and restarted everything. Back to silky smooth, no freezes, and game play like butter. I am willing to bet the issue is with your GPU settings. Likely you will have to do a little trial and error tweaks as I did to see what works best for your setup.

[jhouff]

Ok, thanks! I'll try some things and report back!

[jhouff]

I may have to give up on this. The only way I have been able to get this to work is if I sit on a table in Pinballx for about 30 seconds before selecting it. If I do that, the back glass works every time. However if I select it to fast it freezes. I did notice that when it freezes if I do CTRL, ALT, DELTE there is only one instance of Pinball Back Glass running. But when it works there will be two instances of that running.

[Carny_Priest]

I coded a script that works for me. It includes the snippet of code that removes the title bar and borders. I never have a problem with the video backglasses freezing or going to black when you launch the game. The secret, at least for me, is that PBX MUST RUN AT THE SAME RESOLUTION AS WHAT YOU ARE RUNNING FOR PFX2. I run PFX2 using NVidia's DSR technology downsampling from 4K. Looks great, but to keep the video backglasses I have PBX also running at 4K. I maintain another script that I run on PBX start-up that changes the resolution to 4K on-the-fly and a third script that changes the resolution back to something legible on PBX shutdown.

Not saying that you have to run whatever the Radeon equivalent to DSR is. If you already have both running at 1920x1080, it could be that having PBX launch a script that launches the PFX2 executable instead of having PBX launch the executable directly, is what allows the backglass to retain whatever focus is necessary so that it doesn't freeze or go black when the game starts up.

I just posted the script here:

http://www.gameex.info/forums/topic/16504-borderless-dmd-script-for-pfx2-not-working-through-pinballx-launch/#entry144806

[jhouff]

Thanks Carny! So I'm not to good with scripting (yet). I have a couple questions. One, I have a non steam version of Pinball FX2 (I didn't like the Steam overlay stuff, so I ended up buying twice). Would I need to make changes to the script you posted? Also would I no longer need to use that other AHK that removes borders from DMD? Lastly just wanted to mention that PBX and FX2 both are running at 1080p. Thanks again!

[Carny_Priest]

Yes, you would need to modify the script. Instead of

Run, "%SteamDirPath%\Steam.exe" -applaunch 226980 "%Table%"

you might have something like

Run, "C:\Program Files (x86)\PinballFX2\Pinball FX2.exe" "%Table%"

or whereever on the drive you have PFX2 installed.

This is given that you have some later version of PFX2 that supports launching tables directly from a commandline. I have no idea of any non-Steam versions can do that yet. If not, then it would not be difficult to set up the script to use NukeLauncher.

You won't need the other AHK that removes borders from the DMD. That feature is built-in to this script.

By the way, I'm running Win7 x64. I don't know why it would not work also on Win8, but I don't have a Win8 machine to test the script on.

[jhouff]

OK, I'll give it a shot! The version I have is from the Windows 8 game store. Hope it works!

[jhouff]

Forgot to ask, anything else I need to comment out?

[Carny_Priest]

Stick to your primary issue - trying to launch anything such that the video backglass does not freeze up. Comment out the bits dealing with remapping keys (antimicro or xpadder if you use that), reversing the DMD image (ffmpeg/ffplay), and removing DMD borders (AHK WinSet command). You can add features back once you have the backglasses working the way you want them to.

[jhouff]

OK, So here is what I just tried:

#NoEnv
#SingleInstance force
#WinActivateForce
SetTitleMatchMode, 3
DetectHiddenWindows, On

/*; User inputs
antimicro_Path=c:\antimicro
FFMPEG_Path=c:\ffmpeg\bin

RegRead, SteamDirPath, HKCU, Software\Valve\Steam, SteamPath
Table=%1% ;Variable from PinballX

Run, %antimicro_Path%\antimicro --no-tray --hidden --profile "%antimicro_Path%\profiles\VP.joystick.amgp"

; Mirror and flip DMD for P2k
Run, %FFMPEG_Path%\ffmpeg -f gdigrab -framerate 120 -offset_x 5761 -offset_y 0 -video_size 1599x428 -i desktop -vf "vflip" -c:v mpeg4 -qscale:v 1 -f mpegts -threads 8 udp://localhost:1234,, Hide
Sleep, 1000
Run, %FFMPEG_Path%\ffplay -an -sn -vf "curves=r='0.149/0.066 0.831/0.905 0.905/0.98':g='0.149/0.066 0.831/0.905 0.905/0.98':b='0.149/0.066 0.831/0.905 0.905/0.98'" -i -fflags nobuffer udp://localhost:1234?listen,, Hide
Loop, 2
{
checkwindowagain:
IfWinExist, udp://localhost:1234?listen
WinMove, udp://localhost:1234?listen,, 5760, 404
Else
Goto, checkwindowagain
}*/

; draw a black border to hide the window borders for the mirror
Gui +LastFound +AlwaysOnTop -Caption +ToolWindow
Gui, Color, 000000
WinSet, Region, 0-0 1606-0 1606-455 0-455 0-0 4-23 1602-23 1602-451 4-451 4-23
Gui, Show, W1606 H455 X5760 Y404 NoActivate

Run, "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Game Studios\Pinball FX2\Pinball FX2.exe" "%Table%"
WinWait, Pinball FX2 DotMatrix
IfWinExist Pinball FX2 DotMatrix
{
WinSet, Style, -0xC00000 ; hide title bar
WinSet, Style, -0x800000 ; hide thin-line border
WinSet, Style, -0x400000 ; hide dialog frame
WinSet, Style, -0x40000 ; hide thickframe/sizebox
}

Process, WaitClose, Pinball FX2.exe
/*Run, taskkill /im antimicro.exe /f,, Hide
Run, taskkill /im ffplay.exe,, Hide
Run, taskkill /im ffmpeg.exe /f,, Hide*/
Gui, Destroy
ExitApp

#IfWinActive ahk_class PxWindowClass

; Exit Table
e::
Gosub killApp
Return

#IfWinActive


killApp:
Send {Esc}
Sleep, 500
Loop, 4
{
Send {Down}
Sleep, 20
}
Send {Enter}
Sleep, 20
Send !{f4}
Return

Didn't seem to work. Did I miss something? Pinball FX2 never booted. I tried my Steam version too; for grins and giggles; and that didn't work either. Am I doing an incorrect way of "commenting out"? Also I have the understanding that I simply just point to this AHK file instead of the PinballFX2.exe in the PinballX Settings Wizard?

THANKS AGAIN FOR THE HELP!

[Draco1962]

Hi Carney. I have Win 8.1 x64 and I am willing to test your script. As I am a bit green when it comes to setting up and running ahk, how would this be setup in the integrated Pinball FX2 settings to run? A copy of that section of your pinballx.ini would probably help a lot. Thanks again for all the hard work you do for the community and with us noobs here at PinballX!

[Carny_Priest]

Yeah, I forgot about that. This is an important point. I don't use the integrated support because of my need to capture and stream the DMD image for a p2k-style cab. I set up PinballX as an 'Other System' and maintain a separate database. I can't use the integrated support and include the features I need WITHOUT video backglasses freezing or going black. At the time integrated support came online I just kept with NukeLauncher.

[system_1]

Name=PinballFX2

Enabled=True

WorkingPath=C:\PinballX\Scripts

TablePath=

Executable=LaunchFX2.exe

Parameters=[TABLEFILE]

LaunchBeforeEnabled=False

LaunchBeforeWorkingPath=C:\PinballX\Scripts

LaunchBeforeParameters=

LaunchBeforeWaitForExit=False

LaunchBeforeHideWindow=True

LaunchBeforeExecutable=

SystemType=0

LaunchAfterWorkingPath=

LaunchAfterExecutable=

[jhouff]

So are you renaming the script to .exe?

Also did my script look correct?

[Carny_Priest]

So are you renaming the script to .exe?

Also did my script look correct?

No, the character used to comment in AHK is the semicolon, ;

And I would place it at the beginning of each and every instruction line that you do not want executed.

I don't have AHK installed in my cab, so I compile an executable on my laptop test bed and then copy over. After you install AHK, you would go into Windows Explorer, right-click the source file with the ahk extension and select Compile Script from the context-sensitive menu. If you do have AHK installed on your cab then you may be able to just point PBX to the source file but I haven't tried to run anything that way. I always just compile into an executable.