Updated 02/26/2009
LcdWriter does
all the usual things that a lcd writer should do; displaying the
current media file, and it's play state (play, stop, pause, etc).
In Media Center it also implements other state information that no other (at least to
my knowledge) state display writer does; the currently recording show
and disc writing status. LcdWriter will only work on Hitachi HD44780 and VLSystem L.I.S MCE (nMEDIAPC PRO-LCD) compatible displays (most parallel port displays are this type) natively, check
your manufacturer's documentation to see if your display is HD44780 or L.I.S MCE compatible.
The most recent revision of LcdWriter now includes a LCD Smartie wrapper driver so it should work with any LCD Smartie compatible display. Just select the LcdSmartie writer and tell LcdWriter where to find the LCD Smartie driver dll.
LcdWriter also works with SageTV. To receive playback information neilm's GetStatus pluggin is required, recording information uses neilm's SageTV webserver.
Besides the usual writing duties in the SageTV implemenation LcdWriter
can also reset the display timer (for those who use agressive power
management setttings), monitors the SageTV service via the webserver
on resume from standby to ensure that it comes back up properly, and can set "Away" mode during recordings. For
those who want these features, this version also includes a
"NullWriter" which doesn't require an actual VFD.
.Net 2.0 is required. It is intended for Vista, but should work on XP as well. If you have a previous version installed, you must manually uninstall it before installing this version.
Session
priority (e.g. playing music while watching a slide show creates two
sessions, priority indicates which will be displayed on the lcd) is
managed through the config tool. Select the session and "Raise" or
"Lower" its priority using the buttons. Some sessions (like Global and
Home) support custom text. Select the session, and change the "Display
Value" to the desired text.
The icons that are displayed for the play states are configurable.
If no writer device is present, select the NullWriter to keep the display active.
Click save when you're done.
For Developers:
This
version can be made to work with other display types (this is the part
you would write), implement ILcdWriter in your writer class, put it in
the install directory the select it from the Writers Tab (not shown
above).
public interface ILcdWriter : IDisposable
{
void Clear();
void Init();
void Render();
void RenderString(byte row, string buffer);
void ReviseString(int index, string buffer);
void SetString(int index, string buffer, bool scroll, string sep, long rate, int repeat);
void SetIcons(LcdIconCollection icons);
}
