Problems grabbing VPX videos...

[piggei]

Hello everyone, I reinstalled my pinball computer to update the system from Windows 7 to Windows 11. Everything is working OK but I am encountering two problems with video recording:

1) The BG videos are saved in the PF directory, the PF videos are saved in the BG directory. I don't know if it is due to the fact that in windows the PF monitor is set to 2 and the BG monitor to 1. In the settings they are specified correctly.
[Display]
Monitor=1
[BackGlass]
monitor=0
BTW I can't set the DMD as screen 3 but I have to use screen 0 and set an offset equal to the width of screen 0.

2) Once placed videos in the correct directories, they are rotated 180°, both PFs and BGs.

There are no problems taking snapshot pics: correct directories and correct orientation. Is there a place where I can check and change these settings? I tried via game manager and also via hotkey in PinballX.

In attach my ini file and a pic of my monitors configuration.

Thank you in advance.

PinballX.ini

[Draco1962]

Can you attach you log.txt file please? Thanks!

[piggei]

Sure! I added also the screenres file 

Thanks

log.txt ScreenRes.txt

[Mike_da_Spike]

1 hour ago, piggei said:

 

Not sure if you make this picture yourself or if it is from windows, but you got a gab between 1 your screen's.

I thought it was normally a best practice to set pf monitor in portrait mode as well. Your ini file is set to 270degrees.

Make a screenshot from windows so we are able to check what your correct settings are

 

 

[Mike_da_Spike]

1 hour ago, piggei said:

monitor to 1. In the settings they are specified correctly.
[Display]
Monitor=1
[BackGlass]
monitor=0
BTW I can't set the DMD as screen 3 but I have to use screen 0 and set an offset equal to the width of screen 0.

If bg is monitor 2 and pf monitor 1, you should switch those numbers.

It's using windows numbering, so number-1

You can change this in settings.exe as well

[piggei]

All my monitors are in landscape mode. I started in this way in 2011 and still prefer this configuration.

1 PF 1920x1080

2 BG 1366x768

3 DMD 1280x600

This is the same HW configuration I used in Windows 7. The only difference is the PinballX version: now I'm using the last version, in windows 7 was installed the 4.05 version).

[piggei]

7 minutes ago, Mike_da_Spike said:

If bg is monitor 2 and pf monitor 1, you should switch those numbers.

It's using windows numbering, so number-1

You can change this in settings.exe as well

Windows and PinballX monitor numbers are not the same... I read it depends on graphic cards connections...

so In windows PF is 1 and BG is 2, in PinballX are inverted

As I said, PinballX and VPinball work correctly, also pics snapshots. Only video snapshots are inverted and rotated.

[Mike_da_Spike]

Did you create your own videos? Or downloaded?

[piggei]

In windows 7 I created my videos, because sometime I modify the VP visual settings. Now I'm upgrading all the tables for the new VPinball10, so I want to create new videos updated.

[Mike_da_Spike]

Sorry for my late response. I'm a bit lost as to your exact issue.

I first thought you had issues where BG and PF were switched in PinballX. Then you said all is fine in PinballX and VP; only the PF videos are rotated 180° when recording.

But I think that's your issue, you had from the beginning, right ?(sorry my fault)

Checking your pinballx.ini, I see that your 'rotate=270'. Is this correct if you have screen1 set as landscape? My screen is in portrait mode and needs to be set to 270.

Should yours be set to 0 or 90? Or am I mistaken?

[piggei]

Hi Mike, I'm sorry for the misunderstanding.. Maybe my english is not to good, but I always said my problems are only with the video recordings....

Just to understand: I grabbed all the videos, I rotated them and I swapped the two directories PF/BG and now it's all ok.

For the images I don't encounter any problems, directories and orientation are OK.

Also with downloaded videos I don't have problems.

My raw question is: there is a way to modify the ffmpeg parameters I can find in the log file? so I modify it to add a rotation parameter.

Thank you for the support.

[Mike_da_Spike]

10 hours ago, piggei said:

Maybe my english is not to good,

Oh no, it's not your Engloish, it's my reading.
 

10 hours ago, piggei said:

grabbed all the videos, I rotated them and I swapped the two directories PF/BG and now it's all ok

To my opinion that's not OK. you should not swap directories

The playfields are rotated during recording. However, if your playfields are recorded as backgrounds and vice versa, the videos are created incorrectly.
Database Manager includes a test button under Settings -> MediaRecorder that demonstrates how videos are recorded. It will use the display settings from PinballX
However, I believe that if you try it, it may not display correctly. So can you try it ?

10 hours ago, piggei said:

My raw question is: there is a way to modify the ffmpeg parameters I can find in the log file? so I modify it to add a rotation parameter.

No, these are all built-in, as PinbalLX should capture the correct screens from the settings and will do the correct rotations.

[scutters]

@piggei

It looks like your monitor numbers are messed up (it happens!). You might be better off clearing some registry keys so that PinballX and Windows monitor ids get re-aligned (you may need to reconfigure PinballX after)

See this post for details Windows Display Properties "Identify" numbers are incorrect – DisplayLink Support, reboot after deleting the registry keys to force windows to rediscover the connected monitors.

[piggei]

12 hours ago, Mike_da_Spike said:

Database Manager includes a test button under Settings -> MediaRecorder that demonstrates how videos are recorded. It will use the display settings from PinballX

What a nice tool!! I did'nt know it...

Test is correct: PF, BG and DMD are in the correct monitors...

Let me play with this tool, I'll try to record with it.

[piggei]

6 hours ago, scutters said:

@piggei

See this post for details Windows Display Properties "Identify" numbers are incorrect – DisplayLink Support, reboot after deleting the registry keys to force windows to rediscover the connected monitors.

Thank you, I tried it but nothing changed... I think it's because the precedence is for the mainboard, then the graphic card...

BG in connected at the MB, PF and DMD are connected to Geforge. So this is the reason because BG is the first screen. But PinballX knows monitors sequence (and works correctly), so why it make this mess with video recording? Maibe the code assumes FB as monitor ! and BG as second, without checking the configuration? 

[piggei]

14 hours ago, Mike_da_Spike said:

Database Manager includes a test button under Settings -> MediaRecorder that demonstrates how videos are recorded. It will use the display settings from PinballX

I love this program!! and recordings are perfect! Now I only need to refine some parameters...

You made my day, thanks!

[Mike_da_Spike]

36 minutes ago, piggei said:

I love this program!! and recordings are perfect! Now I only need to refine some parameters...

You made my day, thanks!

Funny part is, that we use the screens that are defined in pinballx. Only with our magic we do the recording.. glad you like it!

[piggei]

That's why I supposed monitors are hardcored in PinballX, without reading the config file.

Why the BG and DMD screens are otated during recording? rotation option tip talk only about PF (and it's correct). My problem in this tool is with DMD videos, because DMD dont't use all the monitor area and the position is not vertically symmetrical, so the videos are cut off.

Videos with PBX are perfects, because the offset/dimension area are correct.

[Mike_da_Spike]

7 hours ago, piggei said:

Why the BG and DMD screens are otated during recording?

It's normal. We posted it in the manual as well :

7 hours ago, piggei said:

My problem in this tool is with DMD videos, because DMD dont't use all the monitor area and the position is not vertically symmetrical, so the videos are cut off.

I regret to hear that your DMD videos are not functioning as expected.
Could you please provide your DBManagerLog.txt, your PinballXDatabaseManager.ini, and perhaps an example video or a screenshot showing how the DMD appears?

[scutters]

16 hours ago, piggei said:

BG in connected at the MB, PF and DMD are connected to Geforge. So this is the reason because BG is the first screen. But PinballX knows monitors sequence (and works correctly), so why it make this mess with video recording? Maibe the code assumes FB as monitor ! and BG as second, without checking the configuration? 

Ahh, two GPU's!.. yes i think that is probably the cause in the mix up of numbers in recording. Different apps get different numbers from different places. What PinballX thinks the numbers are is probably different to those that ffmpeg uses. You might be able to adjust the primary GPU in BIOS somewhere to address the priority order - but not everyone is comfortable changing BIOS so don't even think about doing it if you're not (and as it sounds like DBM recording is [mainly] working for you anyway lets try and fix that instead)

13 hours ago, piggei said:

My problem in this tool is with DMD videos, because DMD dont't use all the monitor area and the position is not vertically symmetrical, so the videos are cut off.

As well as the files @Mike_da_Spike requested can you also confirm if the 'Test' button in DBM recording settings shows the correct area for the DMD or is that cut off too?

[piggei]

I spent all the day to check configurations, coordinates, I made it again from scratch and now it's all perfect about PDM!!

There's still the PBX recording problem, but now I can use you program, so I stop my researches.

Scutters, I connected BG monitor on first GPU so I can see the windows logo in the BG screen and not in the PF one. Was not a problem with windows 7 and there are not big problems with windows 10, so I move nothing.

Thank you both for the support!

P.S. Mike, your program is great!

[Mike_da_Spike]

Not just my program.

It's a collaboration between @scutters and myself. So a lot of credits for him as well

[piggei]

Thank you also to you, @scutters!

I noticed sometimes I can't check some boxes...

For example, I just tried a bulk video grabbing for new tables, but I can't select the upper boxes (PF, BG, DMD...). I can select the botton ones (for example the skip option). Do I'm doing something wrong?

[scutters]

1 hour ago, piggei said:

For example, I just tried a bulk video grabbing for new tables, but I can't select the upper boxes (PF, BG, DMD...). I can select the botton ones (for example the skip option). Do I'm doing something wrong?

They should always be disabled if you have selected to use the DBM recorder option in settings (instead of DBM using the native PinballX recording functions)

From the manual;

DBM recording

When using DBM recording (see Settings: Media Recording) , the options to create video, backglass , DMD videos and Topper videos are not able to be modified.

This is because it will use the options you have selected in the Media recording tab. Including the screens you selected under Images!

(See section 5.3.5 of the the documentation installed with Database Manager for more information)

[piggei]

OK, RTFM is still alive! 😄

Thank you for the reply.