[RESOLVED] PinballX recording upside down and playfield/backglass switched

[deadmanworking]

Hi guys, running into another strange issue, 

I originally set up my pincab with playfield monitor as display 1 and backglass monitor as display 2 in Windows, but on numerous occasions (after unplugging the primary monitor) Windows would switch the order of the displays, which was cumbersome to correct with registry edits etc. So at some point I decide it to leave it in that order (so 2-playfield, 1-backglass) and simply switch the output displays in VPX (Screenres) and PinballX settings, which worked fine for the software, even for the PUPpacks and Virtual DMDs etc. 

The only issue I now have that recording videos from Game Manager or Database Manager results in the playfield video being placed in the Backglass Videos folder and vice versa, and both videos are rotated by 180 degrees. Can I edit the settings for video recording somewhere? I have tried looking in the settings for PinballX and Database Manager and found no solution yet. 

Thanks!

[Mike_da_Spike]

DBM relies on the screens that are defined in PBX.

Open settings.exe from your PinballX folder and you can switch the playfield and backglass monitor number.

[Draco1962]

And please, attach copies of your PinballX.ini and log.txt files when reporting any issues!

[deadmanworking]

Hi guys, thanks for getting back to me! PinballX.ini and logfile attached. 

Mike, I already switched the displays in PinballX and everything is displaying in the correct spot when launching the program. 
Please see screenshot of PinballX settings and Windows display preferences. 

It's only when recording that I get the videos mixed up and also upside down, even though from the log and the ini it looks like theroretically it should match? (Backglass is display 0 and Table is display 1, idx=0 recording to Backglass Videos and idx=1 recording to Table Videos?) 
Any idea where the hiccup might be? Or is there a possibility to alter the syntax of the ffmpeg commands?

Thanks a lot, 
Manuel

PinballX.ini log.txt

[Mike_da_Spike]

6 hours ago, deadmanworking said:

The only issue I now have that recording videos from Game Manager or Database Manager results in the playfield video being placed in the Backglass Videos folder and vice versa, and both videos are rotated by 180 degrees.

You mentioned DBM as well. If you go to Settings -> media recorder. If you scroll down to the bottom there's a TEST button to show the screens. Is that showing fine ?

Can you post a log of DBM when recording as well ?

[deadmanworking]

Hi Mike, yes I did try DBM recording as well, hitting test works as expected and identifies the screens correctly. 

However, if I select it and hit Create Videos, I get the following output: (even though Video is checked for playfield and backglass, and I removed the existing videos in playfield and backglass videos of Pinballx)

MEDIA RECORDER    :    JP's Deadpool v55_VPX8 Started
MEDIA RECORDER    :    Starting To Check If Media Recording Is Needed For JP's Deadpool v55_VPX8
MEDIA RECORDER    :    Nothing Found To Record For Table JP's Deadpool v55_VPX8. Skipping.
WARNING    :    Something Went Wrong While Running MEDIA RECORDER. Please Check The Log File
MEDIA RECORDER    :    Finished For JP's Deadpool v55_VPX8

Full log attached. 
Any idea?
Thanks again for helping, very much appreciated

DBManagerLog.txt

[Mike_da_Spike]

Just now, deadmanworking said:

Any idea?

According to the log file :

29.07.2025 19:40:05 : INFORMATION : MEDIA RECORDER : ACTIONLOG - Nothing found to record for table JP's Deadpool v55_VPX8. Skipping.

So looks like you already have Video's for this media. If you want to re-capture them, delete them from the media boxes (right click and select delete)

And checking the rest of the log , it looks like the correct screens are matched correctly (Dispaly #2 = playfield and Disaply#1 = backglass)

29.07.2025 19:38:39 : INFORMATION : LogScreenData : PinballX Screen Data
29.07.2025 19:38:39 : INFORMATION : LogScreenData : Playfield : X 0 Y 0 W 1920 H 1080
29.07.2025 19:38:39 : INFORMATION : LogScreenData : Backglass : X 1920 Y 0 W 1280 H 1024
29.07.2025 19:38:39 : INFORMATION : LogScreenData : Attached Screens
29.07.2025 19:38:39 : INFORMATION : LogScreenData : \\.\DISPLAY1 : X 1920 Y 0 W 1280 H 1024
29.07.2025 19:38:39 : INFORMATION : LogScreenData : \\.\DISPLAY2 : X 0 Y 0 W 1920 H 1080

this is the info from PinbalLX, so my assumption is that PinballX and DBM should record is correctly.

Let me know if you delete the media and recreate them if DBM will record it correctly (and off course PinballX can be used as well ) 

 

[deadmanworking]

Hi Mike, success! After deleting the media by right-clicking and selecting delete I was able to record with DBM and the videos are now stored in the correct folder and correct orientation. 
Didn't think of deleting the media in the box since recording via PBX it would simply overwrite any media present. 

So while the recording process is ongoing with DBM I can now also see that the playfield is turned upside down while recording (which I assume is expected behaviour).

Thanks so much for helping me out!

[Mike_da_Spike]

9 hours ago, deadmanworking said:

Didn't think of deleting the media in the box since recording via PBX it would simply overwrite any media present. 

Yes. As we made it easy to delete media in our tool, we only record missing media. 

9 hours ago, deadmanworking said:

So while the recording process is ongoing with DBM I can now also see that the playfield is turned upside down while recording (which I assume is expected behaviour).

Does nobody read a manual ? We spend most time on documentation but nobody is reading it. 😎

I am pleased to hear that everything has worked out well for you. The rotation feature seems to be the key to recording everything, including games, OpenGL, and DirectX, among other things. I would also like to extend my gratitude to our CEO of capturing these elements.@scutters

[deadmanworking]

Hi Mike, I did check the available documentation, but the DBM manual is dated September 2022 and does not contain any information on the differences between using PBX vs. DBM recording modes, and the tab "Media Recording" is not shown in the manual at all, that's why I was struggling a bit with the differing behaviour between the settings. Is there a more current manual available somewhere?

Anyway, thanks a lot again for your help and your great software, very much appreciated. 

[Mike_da_Spike]

17 hours ago, deadmanworking said:

Hi Mike, I did check the available documentation, but the DBM manual is dated September 2022 and does not contain any information on the differences between using PBX vs. DBM recording modes, and the tab "Media Recording" is not shown in the manual at all, that's why I was struggling a bit with the differing behaviour between the settings. Is there a more current manual available somewhere?

Anyway, thanks a lot again for your help and your great software, very much appreciated. 

You caught me red-handed!
The documentation on the website is, shall we say... a charming relic from September 2022. It even proudly states:

Quote

This documentation is also included with the latest version of DBM, but for people who wants to know what you can do with it, it is available as single download as well.

Which, let's be honest, sounds like it was written by someone who had one eye on the coffee machine.

It really should say:

Quote

The latest documentation comes bundled with DBM, but if you're just curious about what it can do, you can grab it as a standalone download too.

Now, if you're on a quest to find the elusive latest manual, fear not ,it's hiding in plain sight.
Here are three ways to track it down:

  1. Start Menu : Right next to the DBM application. Like a loyal sidekick.

  2. Main Screen of DBM : Click the little question mark icon. It’s not just decorative.

  3. File Explorer: Navigate to the folder where you installed DBM. Inside, there’s a folder called Documentation with the latest manual waiting patiently.

Hope that clears things up and thanks again for the kind words and for actually reading the manual (even the vintage edition )!

 

[deadmanworking]

Well! Now you caught me there, it certainly shouldn't feel too far fatched to look for the documentation on your own hard drive within the installation 😅

Anyway, thanks for pointing it out, I'm now all caught up on the program, just re-recorded all media for 850+ tables and the front end now looks exactly as I wished, happy user here 😊