Girder plug-in for software DVD players

Files

These are the files contained in the distribution and what purpose they serve.

• readme.htm
  This file.

• DVDSpy.dll
  The Girder plug-in proper.

  This file must be placed in the Plugins folder beneath where Girder is installed.

• DisplaySpyHook.dll
  The Windows hook DLL.

  This file must be placed in the same folder where Girder is installed.

• MediaSpy.dll
  An ActiveX wrapper for DirectShow objects.

  This file is needed for spying on DirectShow-based applications, such as Zoom Player, TheaterTek, ShowShifter, and ATI Player. It should be copied to any convenient folder (the Girder installation folder is fine) and self-registered by running regsvr32 MediaSpy.dll.

• WMPSpy.dll
  A Windows Media Player skins control extension.

  This file is needed for spying on Windows Media Player. It should be copied to any convenient folder (the Girder installation folder is fine) and self-registered by running regsvr32 WMPSpy.dll. See below for more information.

• WMPSpy.wmz
  A Windows Media Player skin that sends events to DVDSpy.

  This file (or one like it) is needed for spying on Windows Media Player version 7. It is not needed for WMP 9. It should be copied to the Windows Media Player skins folder, which is usually c:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\Skins. See below for more information.

• RealSpy.dll
  A RealSystem plug-in that sends events to DVDSpy.

  This file is needed for spying on RealOne Player. It should be copied to the Real plug-ins directory, which is usually c:\Program Files\Common Files\Real\Plugins. See below for more information.

• gen_DVDSpy.dll
  A Winamp plugin that sends events to DVDSpy.

  This file is needed for spying on Winamp (version 2 or 5). It should be copied to the Winamp plugins folder, which is usually C:\Program Files\Winamp\Plugins. See below for more information.

• int_DVDSpy.dll
  A Media Jukebox plug-in that sends events to DVDSpy.

  This file is needed for spying on Media Jukebox. It works with version 8 or 9; it does not work with version 7.2. It should be copied to any convenient folder (the Girder installation folder is fine) and self-registered by running regsvr32 int_DVDSpy.dll. Once registered, it should show up in Media Jukebox's Plug-in Manager. See below for more information.

• foo_girder_dvdspy.dll
  A Foobar2000 component.

  This file is needed for spying on Foobar2000. It should be copied to the Foobar component folder, which is usually C:\Program Files\foobar2000\components. See below for more information.

• ShowShifterSpy.dll
  A ShowShifter Control Module that sends events to DVDSpy.

  This file is needed for spying on ShowShifter at the UI level. It works with version 3.01. It should be copied to any convenient folder (the Girder installation folder is fine, as is the ShowShifter folder) and self-registered by running regsvr32 ShowShifterSpy.dll. If not installed in the ShowShifter directory, that directory will need to be in the Windows path while registering. Nothing special needs to be done for it to run properly, only to register. See below for more information on ShowShifter UI events.

• TVSpy.exe
  A helper application to lookup program guide information and/or switch an external TV tuner such as a set-top box. See below for more information.

• DVDTitles.csv
  A sample DVD titles CSV file.

  This file is the database of DVD titles returned by the disc insert event. See below for more information.

• DVDData.vbs
  A VBScript program to get title information from windowsmedia.com.

  This file downloads DVD title and chapter information and returns it to Girder as events. See below for more information.

• DVD2LCD4.GML, DVD2LCD2.GML
  Sample Girder scripts.

  These files show how to use the DVDSpy plug-in with the LCD plug-in to display player status on 4x20 and 2x20 displays, respectively. They require the LCD, Alarm Timer, and Switch plug-ins. If the Winamp3 group is enabled, that plug-in is needed. Likewise MBM: the sensors are Case, CPU, Fan 1, Fan 2, Core 0, +5.00, +12.00, and CPU usage; except for the last, these are the default names if a motherboard is chosen with the setup wizard.

• DVDChars.lua
  A LUA script for setting global variables that define custom characters.

  This is used by DVD2LCD?.GML.

• weather.js
  A JScript program for getting weather information and putting it into Girder variables.

  The Weather group in DVD2LCD?.GML uses this.

• WeatherSettings.lua
  A LUA script for setting global variables related to weather.

  The Weather group in DVD2LCD?.GML uses this. Adjust the settings for your location according to the comments in the file.

• DVD2OSD.GML
  Another sample Girder script.

  This file shows how to use the DVDSpy plug-in with the OSD PopUp plug-in to display player status in a pop-up window.

• DVDInsert.GML
  Another sample Girder script.

  This file shows how to use the DVD title information in the Disc.Insert event to switch resolutions.

• WinDVD3.reg, WinDVD4.reg, WinDVD4PR.reg, WinDVD5.reg, WinDVD6.reg, WinDVD7.reg
  Registry settings corresponding to the default skins in WinDVD 3, WinDVD 4, WinDVD 4 Platinum, WinDVD 5 Platinum, WinDVD 6 Platinum, and WinDVD 7 Platinum respectively. (See below for more information.)

• PowerDVD.reg
  Registry settings corresponding to the default skin in PowerDVD. (See below for more information.)

• ShowShifter.reg
  Registry settings corresponding to the default UI in ShowShifter. (See below for more information.)

Getting Started

Otherwise, you can use the included OSD sample script.

Here is a step-by-step procedure building a new script like that one.

• Download and run the DVDSpy installer if you have not already done so.
• Download and install the pop-up OSD plug-in if it is not already present.
• Launch Girder.
• From the File>Settings... dialog, under Plugins, enable DVDSpy and OSD PopUp.
• Add a new command with Edit>Add Command.
• Assign a DVDSpy event to this command.
  • Do File>Enable Input Devices.
  • Select DVDSpy from the combo-box to the left of Learn Event.
  • Click Learn Event.
  • From the DVDSpy learn list, select an event for a player application that is installed and working. Elapsed time events are a good choice. See below for a list of DVDSpy events.
  • Click Learn and then Close.
  • The event that you chose should appear in the "LED" display.
• Assign an OSD PopUp action to this command.
  • Select the Plugins tab from the actions at the bottom of the screen.
  • Select OSD PopUp from the list beneath that tab.
  • Click Settings to display the OSD PopUp action settings for the command.
  • Replace Place text here with [pld1].
  • Click OK.
• Launch the chosen player application and start it playing something. You should see a pop-up display when the state changes. If you chose an elapsed time event, this will be every second.
• If you do not see anything, you can install the Logger action plugin to see each event. If you do not see any DVDSpy events, then double check the installation of the plug-in and its support files. If you do see events, then double check the OSD PopUp settings.

Events

This plug-in intercepts various Windows messages that are used by player applications to update their own windows with the information about the DVD currently being played. When this information has changed, a Girder event is generated. The associated information is placed in the event payload strings.

It also intercepts calls to Windows drawing functions as used by PowerDVD and accessDTV and exposes it similarly.

The PowerDVD and WinDVD interfaces are based on user-changeable skins. Proper decoding of display updates requires accurate understanding of the positions of various fields. If a non-standard skin is used, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Girder3\HardPlugins\DVDSpy\PowerDVD or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Girder3\HardPlugins\DVDSpy\WinDVD must be updated to reflect the correct positions (as given in the skin file). PowerDVD additionally requires the size of the status and number bitmaps used to populate those fields. Registry files containing positions for the default skins are loaded by the installer and can be used as a model for what values to set.

It wraps DirectX objects used by Zoom Player, TheaterTek, or the newer versions of the ATI player and exposes the playing state. This approach can probably be extended trivially to any other DirectShow DVD player. The MEDIASPY.DLL library must be registered using regsvr32. This may impact programs even when Girder is not running. Unregistering it should return things to normal.

Information from Zoom Player comes from two layers. The state of DirectShow filter graphs is extracted by MediaSpy, as described above. Higher level information is also available through Zoom Player's own LCD API. These two sources overlap significantly, but neither is a superset of the other. In order to receive the ZoomPlayer.LCD.* events, LCD output must be enabled in the Zoom Player Options dialog. Before doing this, be sure that your script is following the license restrictions on use of this feature.

Information from ShowShifter also comes from two layers. Again, the state of DirectShow filter graphs is extracted by MediaSpy, as described above. Information is also available about changes in the contents of controls in the ShowShifter user interface. ShowShifter has its own UI system built on top of windows. The identifiers for the controls that are monitored are gotten from the registry in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Girder3\HardPlugins\DVDSpy\ShowShifter\ControlIdents. The identifiers for the controls on a given screen can be found in the corresponding UIS file in the ShowShifter config directory.

It defines an ActiveX control element for use in Windows Media Player skins and thereby exposes that player's state when a special skin is used. The WMPSPY.DLL library must be registered using regsvr32. For WMP 7, it defines a new control element type, WMPSpy, for use in skin definition (WMS) files. This control has two properties, event for the Girder event name, and value the other for the associated value. The control will normally not be visible and will normally use a wmpprop: listening attribute. The sample WMPSpy.wmz skin package (really a ZIP file) shows how to do this; it is based on Microsoft's Classic skin. It can be placed in the c:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\Skins directory and then used with ?WMPSkin=WMPSpy in URLs for content to be displayed using it. This skin also makes the player full screen when playing, since Girder is presumably used to control it directly and to display its status someplace else. More information on WMP skins is available in the Windows Media Player SDK.

In WMP 9, the WMPSpy element is not available, as skins are no longer extensible. The WMPSkin skin still functions as a skin proper, but does not produce events. Instead, the same WMPSPY.DLL defines a background UI plugin. By default, this plugin is enabled, but it can be disabled from the WMP Options dialog. It produces events no matter which skin is in use. It may not produce events when the player is embedded in a web page, since plugins are controlled separately there.

It includes a RealSystem plug-in that exposes state changes.

It includes a Winamp general plugin that exposes state changes. The file gen_DVDSpy.dll needs to be copied into the Plugins subdirectory of the Winamp installation directory, which is usually C:\Program Files\Winamp. Once installed, the plugin can be configured from inside Winamp to set the interval (in milliseconds) at which it checks for state changes. There is also a configuration setting for changing the event prefix. This is only really useful when running more than one copy of Winamp at the same time. Note that Girder must be running before Winamp starts for communication to be established.

The registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Girder3\HardPlugins\DVDSpy\Events can contain string values that specify events that are generated by means other than the hook. This is needed for Learn mode to work properly from inside Girder. The installer loads the events for the chosen players.

It includes a Media Jukebox interface plug-in that exposes state changes. The file int_DVDSpy.dll needs to be self-registered. Once installed, the plug-in can be configured from inside Media Jukebox to set the interval (in milliseconds) at which it checks for state changes. Communication between the plug-in and Girder can also be manually reset, should Girder have started after Media Jukebox, for instance.

It includes a Foobar2000 component that exposes state changes. The file foo_girder_dvdspy.dll needs to be copied into the components subdirectory of the Foobar2000 installation directory, which is usually C:\Program Files\foobar2000. Once installed, the plugin can be configured from inside Foobar to control the string format of the Foobar.Title payload. This allows you to control exactly what track information is included in the payload, and can contain conditional modifiers to change what is sent, depending on genre, artist, or any other tag info.

It includes a helper application for use with TV tuners. If Guide+ is installed for an ATI tuner, program information can be obtained for the current channel. In this case, the program can be run on a channel changed event.

If an external TV tuner is controlled by a Slink-e IR blaster, it can also be switched at the same time. In this case, the program can be invoked as the associated command for a channel in ShowShifter.

The registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Girder3\HardPlugins\DVDSpy can contain a string value DVDTitles giving the name of a comma-separated (CSV) flat file containing a database of disc titles. The first line of the file is the name of the fields in the file. The file must at least contain fields named Title and Serial Number. It can have any number of additional fields.

If the disc is not included in the above database, then the PCFriendly disc.id file, if present, is used for the title. Otherwise, the volume name is used as a last resort.

Alternatively, title information can be downloaded from windowsmedia.com. Windows Media Player does this when playing DVDs under Windows XP. An XML formatted file containing the title name and chapter names is parsed and returned to Girder. The file can be cached locally so that it is only downloaded once.

A good place to display the extracted text is on an LCD display, using the LCD Software plug-in. See the readme file for that plug-in for more details. A sample Girder file is included that displays some information in a format suitable for 4x20 displays.

Changes in the mixer control settings for audio output devices, such as volume and mute, can be turned into events.

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