Quinto Black CT - New Winamp Modern skin

[Aminifu]

1. Thank you for accepting my suggestion to display the BPM metadata. Displaying it on the main player in the same way that it can be displayed in the media library makes sense. Good idea to make it an option.

2. It was only logical to sync the digital VU meters colors, since their response is now synced.

3. I'm really glad you brought back most of the options for the spectrum analyzer. You only left out the option for thick or thin bars. I'm not asking that you also return the oscilloscope, but have you tried it's options in the default Winamp skins. They allow for a more interesting effect than the default setup.

I'm eagerly waiting to use this version!!!

[PeterK.]

Originally Posted by Aminifu

You only left out the option for thick or thin bars.

Yes, but this is combined with thick or thin background bars. Adding this option would mean adding a new background bitmap with thin bars. We shall see.

There is a new entry in the section Spectrum Analyzer of the context menu though. It is called Show Grid and allows you to show/hide the grid layer. Therefore you will have either "plain lines/bars" (Winamp standard) or "segments" (which has been the default Spectrum Analyzer in Quinto Black CT).

[PeterK.]

For all Classic Skin fans I created a new Spectrum Analyzer color pattern that contains exactly the same color scheme as the Classic Skin does. So now we have: Blue, Classic, Gray (default), Green and Red.



Above that there is a new option which shows/hides the Spectrum Analyzer bars as thin lines. The background bitmap for that particular option will be plain dark gray. And since it was possible to show/hide the grid even while having the thin lines enabled (in the first draft of the new context menu), I decided to move this feature to the "Analyzer Bandwidth" entry. Therefore you will have to choose between "Wide (show Grid)" and "Wide (hide Grid"). And if I am not mistaken the proper term for that option is "wide" and not "thick". So there will be wide and thin lines.

While creating all the Spectrum Analyzer options I noticed that the band number 16 never shows up. Normally there are 16 "colorband" lines. But when I set the color of the last (highest) band to pink I never see it. Could it be that there are only 15 bands plus peak segment?

And since we have some new stuff, which was not on the plan, I am afraid I will have to postpone the release of the upcoming version 1.6 for the end of November. That stuff definitely needs some testing.

[libero]

Probably, you will scold me, but I'm again talking about the number of LEDs ... In the old version of the main window indicator there were 16 segments (I calculated). And you reduced them to 10 pieces. It would be logical to make 16 segments in both LED indicators. No matter what the numbers indicate these segments, you can generally leave 3-4 figures on the scale of a large separate indicator, for example -20, -3, +/- 0, +3 and all. Make half the scale green, 1/4 - yellow and 1/4 - red. Place the LEDs themselves closer to each other, blinking will become smoother. Test this option.

[Aminifu]

Great work with the additional Spectrum Analyzer options! The reasons for the 16th band and why it doesn't appear to be used have probably been lost in the mists of time.

Having to wait till the end of the month to try these options is np for me. It'll be like a free Black Friday gift.

To spread things out a little you could remove (or line up, as they were originally) the play, pause, and stop mode indicators on the left. They are kind of redundant imo, since it's now easy to see which playback control button is active. I also take back my suggestion for different colors to indicate the active repeat mode on the LED next to it's control button, since the active mode is spelled out in words.

[PeterK.]

Originally Posted by Aminifu

To spread things out a little you could remove (or line up, as they were originally) the play, pause, and stop mode indicators on the left. They are kind of redundant imo ...

Are you trying to make more room on the display so you can make another suggestion, which this time would demand 5 digits and 10 decimals, Aminifu?
One of the reason why these status bitmaps are still there is they are "place holder" in case you have a huge playlist (or movie) and click on the timer. Something like -999:10 could appear and needs space.

Originally Posted by Aminifu

I also take back my suggestion for different colors to indicate the active repeat mode on the LED next to it's control button, since the active mode is spelled out in words.

Originally Posted by libero

It would be logical to make 16 segments in both LED indicators.

What kind of logic are you trying to apply here libero? Why are 16 segments logical and 10 are not? Huh?
At the beginning there were 16 because I copied and pasted some lines from the Modern Skin. The amount of the LEDs had absolutely nothing to do with any mathematical nor technical aspects. This tiny VU Meter was just a "Nice-To-Have" feature. Nothing more, nothing less. And since there are no standards or templets for digital Meters (at least I had not found any) I have taken the freedom to synchronize the amount of LEDs with the digits on the analog Meter.

No comment regarding the following screenshot though ...

[Aminifu]

Originally Posted by PeterK.

Are you trying to make more room on the display so you can make another suggestion, which this time would demand 5 digits and 10 decimals, Aminifu?

...

Oh no, I'm done with asking you to add stuff (at least for the time being). I don't want to press my luck.

But seriously, there are many Winamp users who don't use the media library and keep everything they play in the playlist editor. Their listings grow quite large over time (several thousand items). Search for posts from people talking about huge playlists (or maximum playlist length) for some examples. There have been several plug-ins developed to help people manage huge playlists.

Are you saying that these mode indicators will automatically move over (or disappear) if the timer needs more room?

Did you change your mind about the oscilloscope, or are you pulling libero's leg? If you keep adding stuff, it'll be Christmas before we get to use the next version.

[libero]

Great, then let's stop on the sound indicator in more detail. But first of all I wanted to thank you for the excellent work. Skin gets better and better. Now the VU. So. Let's look at the indicators of hifi-devices. What do we see? First, the scale of such indicators starts often from -40dB. You have a scale of -20 conventional units (I realized that this is not dB). You decided so. Good. But then make sure that when playing the track, the indication does not disappear at low sound levels. I propose by default to set 2 start (one per channel) LED, which will always light when the program is turned on. Then, both your LED indicators should be done not by 10, but by 15-16 segments per channel (here you need to experiment with the number). Number of digits can leave 10 (those that already exist). But the number of LEDs should be increased for a more smooth indication of the signal. The distances between the LEDs do less, then they all fit. Next, the color perception. Half of the 16 segments I propose to make green, 1/4 part (from -3 to +/- 0) - yellow and the last (upper from +/- 0 to +3) - red.

[PeterK.]

Originally Posted by Aminifu

Are you saying that these mode indicators will automatically move over (or disappear) if the timer needs more room?

No, they are still there. Removing them entirely would leave a huge hole in there and I do not want it.

Originally Posted by Aminifu

If you keep adding stuff, it'll be Christmas before we get to use the next version.

Great! Best time of the year for gifts. Don't you think?

I have two questions:

1) Why do we need 5 color lines for the oscilloscope in the <vis> section? There is only one oscilloscope and three styles.



2) Could it be that I can assign max 3 states to the so called <nstatebutton>? I tried to expand the number of states of such button and the Compiler crashed every time I double clicked the script file. I even did not see any proper error message, the compiling process just got stopped in the middle of nowhere.

[libero]

For the function of the oscilloscope (if I understood correctly, you want to do this function) a separate thank you.

[Aminifu]

Hi PeterK.,

I forgot to give you a for adding the classic skin's fire color effect for the spectrum analyzer. I've spent years looking for this effect in modern skins and could not find it. Even in the skins that listed it, it didn't work. I finally resigned myself to the idea that it was a Winamp Classic exclusive.

Hopefully Victhor or ariszlo will have some insight into the 5 color lines. Are you sure they are for the oscilloscope and not the spectrum analyzer?

[PeterK.]

Originally Posted by libero

But then make sure that when playing the track, the indication does not disappear at low sound levels.

Good point, libero. Done! From now on, the -20 LEDs are always on when a song is played.

Originally Posted by Aminifu

Hi PeterK.,

I forgot to give you a for adding the classic skin's fire color effect for the spectrum analyzer.

Thank you. Please remember (all) that the Classic color of the Oscilloscope is white. (have a look at the Classic skin). I am mentioning this because I merged the color schemes for both Oscilloscope and Spectrum Analyzer into one Visualizer Color section. So Classic color for Spectrum Analyzer is green-yellow-red and plain white for all three styles of the Oscilloscope.

Originally Posted by Aminifu

Hopefully Victhor or ariszlo will have some insight into the 5 color lines. Are you sure they are for the Oscilloscope and not the Spectrum Analyzer?

I pretty am, Aminifu, color osc as a name for a parameter is quite unique and applies definitely to the color of the Oscilloscope.

[libero]

Excellent, thank you for listening to my wish. Only one replacement on the go. The start-up LEDs should be lit, not -20. That is, there should be initial (show the inclusion of the program), then -20 and so on. And I also asked to add 2-3 LEDs per channel in the range from -20 to -3 for more accurate transmission of the audio signal. Test this option, maybe for the next version. The indicator starts to work completely differently. Thank you.

[bennyboy]

Hi Peter. Congratulations on an awesome skin creation. Really looking forward to checking out v1.6 in the very near future. In my opinion this is undoubtedly the best skin release since the mighty MMD3 and ZDL Analogue Studio.

The only slight constructive criticism I'd like to offer (and I hope you don't mind) is that the individual components don't all fit together nicely they way they do with Winamp Classic. This is something I always liked about Mikezee's ZDL skins from way back in the day.
http://www.mzentertainment.com/skins.htm





If you you were able to adjust and resize things just a touch so that everything just slots neatly into place with no gaps then I reckon you'd be close to perfection. :-)

And finally, if you'll allow me to cross over to the dark-side for just a moment, you should definitely check out the latest Anteres skin for Aimp (sorry that's probably a swearword on here!).
https://www.aimp*****?do=catalog&rec_id=925

[bennyboy]

[IMG]https://www.aimp*****files/windows/skins/a/Antares_full.jpg[/IMG]

[bennyboy]

Is there a way to edit your posts on this forum? I didn't realise how large those images were!

[Victhor]

Originally Posted by bennyboy

Is there a way to edit your posts on this forum? I didn't realise how large those images were!

You can edit only for some minutes after posting, after that you need to ask a moderator (like me) for any changes.

Best way to do it on this case is if you prepare the post like it should be, then either you PM the content and I replace the older one or post it normally and let me know (through PM) to replace it for the older one (then I delete the new one and use that content to "fix" the old post).

[PeterK.]

Originally Posted by bennyboy

Hi Peter. Congratulations on an awesome skin creation. Really looking forward to checking out v1.6 in the very near future. In my opinion this is undoubtedly the best skin...

Thank you very much bennyboy! Happy to hear that! Watch out for the winaero blog - a new release is imminent.

Originally Posted by bennyboy

... individual components don't all fit together nicely they way they do with Winamp Classic.

It is because Quinto is a Modern Skin. Modern times, modern looks.

Originally Posted by bennyboy

If you you were able to adjust and resize things...

Sorry, no can do. I do see the point of making anything bigger, let alone smaller, which would destroy completely the design. And detaching the Equalizer form the MainPlayer, making the digital VU Meter horizontal and put all them in one column is kind of boring...

Originally Posted by bennyboy

... Anteres skin for Aimp ...

In case you prefer those Tape-Deck-Skins I would suggest to download this one.

[Aminifu]

Originally Posted by bennyboy

...

The only slight constructive criticism I'd like to offer (and I hope you don't mind) is that the individual components don't all fit together nicely they way they do with Winamp Classic. This is something I always liked about Mikezee's ZDL skins from way back in the day.

...

The ZDL Gold Stack mk-II is one of my favorites. I like the way it was designed to mimic old component systems. However the Quinto Black CT's main player, playlist editor, and media library windows can all display playback controls and thus each can be used independently and do not need to be stacked when just playing music or just managing playlists or just managing a music collection.

I like that I can set up these windows to overlay each other (saving space on the monitor) and open and close them as needed without needing to use hotkeys to control playback.

[libero]

That's right. Covers ZDL beautiful pictures - no more. If we want to make the most approximate to the exact version - do not need to turn off the path started. Cover QUINTO CT - beautiful appearance, ease of use, excellent window size, in general - the idea of super. Now the main thing is to achieve the correct adequate mutual work of all components. Successful work.

[bennyboy]

I just used the old ZDL skins as an example. My point was that I personally prefer to have everything slot together nicely regardless of its position, so I can arrange things exactly how I want them. I realise that Quinto is a "Modern" skin rather than a "Classic", but it should still be possible and easily achievable.



Although I guess most people don't use Winamp in this way with the layout fitting the entire screen (i.e. using a laptop as a standalone music player or internet radio), so perhaps what I'm asking for isn't relevant to the majority of users... :-)

[bennyboy]

Sorry I messed up the image attachment. I clearly suck at forums! lol

[bennyboy]

Okay I played around and figured out exactly what my minor niggles are. The Analogue VU Meters window would work 100 times better if it were exactly the same dimensions as the main player with the same sized "cheeks". And the additional windows such as Visualization and Playlist need to have a slightly smaller minimum width so that everything fits nicely on a 1366x768 netbook display.



In the screengrab you can see that there's annoying gap between the Analogue and Digital VUs, and the Visualisation window overlaps the edge of the screen slightly. Other than that I love it! It might also look quite cool to perhaps have some little hifi-style feet underneath the Main and Analogue VU windows, but that's just me. Keep up the excellent work. :-)

[libero]

Version 1.6 is super. A lot of settings, a great game of colors, a much better correlation of indicators. Spectrum Analyzer and Oscilloscope - great work. A small remark. The minimum value in the LED indicators should be made with the icon-infinity or simply "-". At the bottom of the scale there is room for two more LEDs. They should always burn by default. And only then -20, -15, -10 and so on. This standard is adopted in hifi devices. And the main background of the large LED indicator I would have made it darker for better perception of the indication. Once again - many thanks.

[libero]

Now I've looked closely. In version 1.5, the colors of the large LED indicator were brighter and looked better. In my opinion.

[libero]

And the arrow in the analog indicator in the color is by default blurred (like a shadow) compared to version 1.5. Or so conceived?

[libero]

Yes, the arrow (analogue VU) should be returned from the previous version (there it is better visible), in the peak light bulb replace the red background by default with light (then its work will visually be visible) and replace the pale colors of the large LED indicator with more bright ones (as it was in version 1.5). Visualization of the spectro-analyzer is above all praise, however, it is not very convenient to reconfigure it each time, revealing an infinite web of windows due to one parameter. Well, and, if possible, change the scale of the LED indicator, as I asked - from the sign "-" infinity at the beginning, then -20 and so on. In general, the cover looks pretty cool already.

[Aminifu]

Originally Posted by bennyboy

...

In the screengrab you can see that there's annoying gap between the Analogue and Digital VUs, and the Visualisation window overlaps the edge of the screen slightly. Other than that I love it! It might also look quite cool to perhaps have some little hifi-style feet underneath the Main and Analogue VU windows, but that's just me. Keep up the excellent work. :-)

A suggestion...

You can use Winamp's window scaling feature to increase the width of the Analog VU meter window. Right-click on it and select the "Window Settings - Scaling - Custom" command. Try 106%. The window's height will increase a little also, but it is not possible to use scaling to get close to the main player's width and height at the same time.

Alternately, you can try decreasing the main player window's scale to try to make it fit better with the Analog VU meter window's 100% scale.

In either case, I suggest you keep scaling changes to less than 10% to avoid distortion.

In version 1.6, the digital VU meter inside the main player windows responds just like the external digital VU meter. So you can use the external meter to select the color response you want and then turn the external meter off. Then you can re-position/re-size the Milkdrop visualizer window to regain it's right-side border.

[Aminifu]

Hi PeterK.,

Thank you for the version 1.6 release.

I like the style change for the level indicators in the digital VU meter. I suggest you display the 2 or 3 digit BMP whole number value from the %bmp% tag instead of 2 digits + decimal point and 1st decimal value or 3 digits + decimal point.

I see a few minor glitches:

1. The peak level indicators in the spectrum analyzer do not go to the top, when the signal bars do. This might have something to do with those color lines you asked about in post #209 above.

2. When switching between the playback controls view and the border-less view in the Media Library window there is an artifact (piece of the previous view) in the lower left-hand corner (in the Library headings column). Closing and re-opening the border-less ML window removes this artifact.

[Aminifu]

Hi PeterK.,

After closely observing the spectrum analyzers in other skins, I now see that the flaw with the peak indicators is in the base Winamp code. The default size of the SA in most skins is smaller than the one in this skin. Many do not have a grid pattern and some don't provide the peak indicators, so the fact that the peak indicators do not go all the way to the top is easy to overlook (+ you need to be playing songs that have frequency band levels that reach the top).

I suggest you ignore this Winamp bug unless you see an easy way to fix it.

[libero]

I look attentively at the cover of the 2nd day. Everything is fine, except for a large LED indicator. He is knocked out of the general type of cover (my opinion). Although, in theory, should be a cherry on the pie. First, as I already wrote, the question is about the number of LEDs. They are clearly not enough for such a large indicator. We need to do more of them and place the LEDs closer to each other - it will appear to be a single whole, and not a set of LEDs. Secondly, make the LEDs themselves much brighter (especially in version 1.6 they are pale). You can make the background of the indicator darker. Thirdly, it is very necessary to make starting LEDs (not -20, but less), as I suggested earlier. Because when listening to jazz, classical music, the indicator almost does not work at the minimum sound levels. In analogue VU this is not, there the sensitivity of the indicator is adjusted. Well, and the peak sound values ​​between the indicators can somehow be related. Or additional LEDs make in the LED indicator when the signal is in the red zone. Or flashing an analog peak to make it brighter. For example, by default the white (or green, you need to watch) light is on, and in the red zone it is bright red. Without any shadows, you need the maximum color contrast.

What would I do with the LED indicator. The most budgetary option. Add 2 LEDs per channel with the values ​​"-" infinity (permanently lit) and an additional -15. Why? On an analogue VU, the needle changes the reading in the range from -20 to -10. However, on the LED indicator, the LEDs are either permanently lit (as now), or nothing is burning (as it was before). We need an intermediate option. And make an arrow more clearly on the analogue VU (in default color). It is not very clearly drawn there - it looks like a shadow from an arrow. Once again I thank for the excellent work.

[libero]

Here's an interesting, in my opinion, analogue VU (aimp plug-in). It is well implemented visualization of the peak value. Look here please.

[IMG][/IMG]

[libero]

[IMG][/IMG]

Just in this color of the analogue VU the arrow has lost its clarity, it is less visible than before. I propose the color of the peak by default to make the same color as the background of the analogue VU (pale yellow for all three variants). Then the lamp will blink better.
Then. You can slightly extend the scale at the beginning (as in the AIMP plugin) - to synchronize the readings with the LED indicator when adding the initial "-" indication to infinity. Add LEDs with a value of -15 per channel. And also we make the color of the LEDs brighter (now they are pale).
The operation of the analog indicator can be represented as follows. When the arrow moves from "-" infinity to "0" - nothing lights up. When driving in the red zone (signal from +1 to +3), the red peak lamp lights up. If the signal is more than +3 (sometimes happens) - the entire red scale with the peak lamp is on. A similar indication of the signal of more than +3 should be provided for in the LED indicator.

[libero]

In the LED indicator, you can make 2 LEDs at the top (one per channel) without a value. They will light up in a bright red color (brighter than other red LEDs) if the signal is greater than +3. In total we have 13 LEDs per channel:
- 2 initial (one per channel), value "-" infinity (lit constantly);
- flashing -20; -15; -10; -7; -5; -3; -1; 0; +1; +2; +3 (whole scale);
- 2 additional (one per channel) for a signal greater than +3.

[libero]

Hello, Peter!
I want to show the skin that I use for many years. I tried many, but always came back to this. [IMG][/IMG]

Minimalism, but it has everything you need. And just change the scale and size of windows. But he's already old enough. I want a newer, more modern one. You have a very good idea and you are good at it. Remained a little bit, and will be a masterpiece for all time. I am not kidding.

[ariszlo]

[OFF]

Originally Posted by libero

I want to show the skin that I use for many years.

Rectangular by Thomas Michgelsen. Nice.
[ON]

[libero]

By the way, the consistency of the indicators in your skin at a height. Great job.
[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]

[libero]

Hello, Peter!
Will you make changes to the skin or is it the final version? I wanted you to consider my wishes. There are not many of them, but the cover will be much better.

[Aminifu]

Hi PeterK.,

I've noticed something else related to post #230 above.

In the default Winamp classic skin, the spectrum analyzer doesn't let the frequency bars go all the way to the top. So the peak level indicators appear to work correctly in that skin.

[libero]

Peter, you created an excellent skin, it remains to improve the indicators a little. Agree, the main decoration of the skin is its correct and beautiful indicator. The discreteness of your indicator at altitude. It is necessary to refine the scale for the correct and pleasant visualization of the signal. So, as it is done in this skin (Reсtangular).

[IMG][/IMG]