Homebrew WiiMC-SS - GameCube controller support and more

SuperrSonic

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This version of WiiMC removes the picture viewer (and certain codecs) but it also adds many new features and fixes.


Notable new features:


i9Gd1Ig.png


-Enabled ADX audio decoding
Encrypted ADX files such as the ones in NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams are not supported, but can be fixed by first using an external decryption tool, afterwards it will play correctly.

-GameCube controller support
Every button from the Wii Remote is currently mapped.
Please note: there are still some things that require the pointer.

-The option to disable the H.264 deblock filter on a per video basis
To disable simply change the extension of your video to ".dash".
Disabling this increases decoding speed a lot, but decreases visual quality, usually if the video has sufficient bitrate it will look fine. The discontinued stream services on Wii (Netflix, Amazon, Crunchyroll, etc.) would make use of this to increase decoding speed. A global override option is also available.

-Video shuffle modes
Choose from Through, Loop, Shuffle, and Continuous.

-Artwork Viewer for Video and Music modes
Place artwork files on the same directory as the video or audio file, sharing the same filename.
->Song 01.brstm
->Song 01.jpg
*Note: Currently it looks for a .jpg extension, but you can use PNG files as well.

To load descriptions and year/run time info:
Code:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<file app="WiiMC" version="1.3.8">
<image number="5"
       year="2000 - 1h 27m"
       desc="Two Spanish con men win a map to the legendary city of gold, but when they reach El Dorado, things don't go according to plan." />
</file>
Image number = The amount of artwork that will be randomly selected, normally you only want to set it to 1.
Year = The first line that can have text, you may put anything here, but it's intended for year and/or run time, it's right-aligned and does not wrap.
Desc = The rest of the lines which can be used for short descriptions, up to 5 lines, left aligned. Linebreaks are done by adding spaces.

Save the XML with the item's filename.
->Title 02.mkv
->Title 02.xml
The XML must be saved to the "art folder" dir, and will not work on the same folder as the item.
You absolutely need to have at least 1 image present otherwise the desc and year line won't appear.

When using an image or multiple images the naming changes slightly (only when using an xml.)
The difference is adding "_01, _02" etc. to the file names, this is just to allow using multiple artwork
but even if you use 1 you must add _01 to it.

If you use special characters and nothing is showing up then you must save the xml with utf-8 encoding.
The "art folder" can still be used without an xml, just for artwork, but then it follows the original naming style. (without _01)
A PLX playlist can contain "xml=" to specify desc/year but art is still specified by the "thumb=" argument.
The desc/year lines are always in the same area of the screen, so the artwork must have a reasonable vertical size so they don't overlap.

Adding a tunein link to onlinemedia.xml:
Add tunein=http://feed.tunein.com/profiles/sNNNNNN/nowPlaying?&amp;partnerId=RadioTime after an 'image=' element. The image is used as a fallback. Where N is the ID, you can get this by going to the stream's tunein page and looking at the url.
Code:
<link name="Display name" addr="http://link to radio" image="http://link to default artwork" tunein="http://feed.tunein.com/profiles/sNNNNNN/nowPlaying?&amp;partnerId=RadioTime" />
The same can be applied to a PLX playlist. To enable art from Yggdrasil Radio or ANISON.FM an 'image=' link should be specified.

Adding the interlaced flag to an MKV file:
Open mkvtoolnix-gui, select Header editor, open the video file, expand the video track, and select video interlaced flag, check add element, set it to 1. If the video is BFF, you can specify video field order, with a value of 6, (though anything over 1 will use BFF in WiiMC.) Then Ctrl+S to save.
The interlaced flag is read as of version 2.0.0 of WiiMC. It works by syncing the video a specific way that allows CRTs and HDTV's deinterlacers to work correctly. This will only work if Enhanced Resolution is enabled in the global settings. These settings are available for DVD Video in Settings->DVD, it applies to physical DVDs and loading ifo or iso files from sd/usb.

Changing themes:
Open the included meta.xml in a text editor and change the argument for 'theme=' to: gray(default), red, blue, green, random, dynamic, and blank.
- Dynamic will change theme every time you suspend a video, change modes, etc.
- Blank is the gray theme with no background image, used for testing quality of tiled rendering.


Other minor changes:

-An option to enable the volume normalizer audio filter, set it to "2" to enable volnorm method 2.
-An option to always zoom videos to 4:3 ratio. (Only available if the Wii is set to 4:3 mode.)
-An option to enable deflicker, 480i and 576p/480p supported.
-An option to scale the screen width to 720.
-Support updating the Message Board playlog when launching from a channel.
-An option to switch to 240p mode.
This setting can be found in the global section, under the name of Double-Strike.
-
Added Screen Burn-in Reduction support. To enable go to Settings->Global, it will dim the screen if the screen saver is active after 4 seconds. This setting requires AHBPROT disabled.
-The option of using an alternate font for subtitles, your video file must include an attachment with the MIME type for fonts. The font must be named "monospace.ttf" alongside the regular subfont.ttf file.
The purpose of this is to seamlessly switch between a monospaced font and a regular font, hence the filename.
-Backported BRSTM demuxer and THP fixes.
-Night Filter setting.
-M3U playlists can include a link for artwork.

For features you can only enable by editing settings.xml:
-Setting the debug option to '2' will enable an on-screen display for currently dropped frames.
Increasing this number will add more info. (3=used memory, 4=fps, audio info)
-Setting the shadow option to '0' will turn off all the shadows in ASS/SSA subtitles styles, it will also force outlines to '1.7'.
Changing it to '2' will remove shadows and outlines for an "opaque box" background.
-Setting bold will force the subtitles to use the bold style.



-Download-



Update January 31, 2021
- Prevent clashing options for 'force-ass-style' when mixing bold and shadow/box settings.
- Fixed all visual glitches when using tiled rendering.
- The seekbar progress and info now reset after the video ends.
- 'Auto' Enhanced Resolution is now enabled for ~4:3 videos in 16:9 mode.

Update January 6, 2021:
- Added 'JPEG Resample' global option. If the JPEG art file is over 188px wide scale down to 188x, it gives cover art a softer look. If the 'screensaver art' setting is set to 'full' this limit is changed to 448x to match the full screen size.
Update January 1, 2021:
- Perfect sync in 29.97 videos.
- Fixed random audio desync when using subtitles. (partly enables nocorrect-pts)
- Added HTTP hack to reconnect after idling, instead of closing the video.
- Added setting for displaying album artwork on the screensaver, choose from Top, Side, and Full.
- Removed samplerate switching, always uses 48kHz.
- Fixed crash when pressing L/R on a GC controller while screensaver is active.
- Don't show the first few frames, fixes garbage when loading from System Menu.
- Make cover art size 188x, fixes forced filtering.
- Enabled FLAC metadata reading.
- Seed the random function for cover art.
- Delay 2 seconds when loading from SD cards, fixes initial slowdown. (depends on the video)
- Corrected scale when using 'Force Fullscreen' setting.
- Changed VI scale to 711 for 16:9 mode.
- Added tiled rendering as a setting.
- Fix memory leak when toggling 'Force 576p'.
- Merged libass speed improvement.
- Pressing B on GC or WUPC can close message/keyboard prompts.
- Removed 'CorrectPAR' from libass, now it will always display at the correct AR.
- Added dynamic cover art from tunein for radio streams.
- Added site-specific dynamic cover art for Yggdrasil Radio, ANISON.FM, and CVGM.
- Added OGG Vorbis metadata reading.
- Added AIFF metadata reading.
- Added support for reading embedded cover art in aac(.m4a), mp3, flac, ogg, asf(.wma), and aiff.
- Removed MPlayer's ASF demuxer, now uses ffmpeg (supports text and picture metadata.)
- Increase art size limit from 200 KB to 900KB
- Proper 16:9 support in the gui.
- MKV files with the interlace flag will use a different sync method to allow CRTs to play interlaced video properly.
- Added a DVD Video setting for selecting the sync type, this allows perfect sync in interlaced videos.
- If screensaver art is set to 'Full' adjust JPEG downscale to 448px
- Themes as args: theme= gray, red, green, blue, random, dynamic, and blank.
- The argument 'path=' can now be specified to launch videos from sd/usb, but the original way still works.
- English, Spanish, and French will now search for def.ttf to allow users to switch the gui's font.
- Added ID3v2.2 for MP3 metadata reading. (Doesn't follow the standard fully, but it works.)
- Added ID3v2.3 for MP3 metadata reading.
- Added ID3v2.4 for MP3 metadata reading. (Only supports the same as v2.3 but reads TDRC for year.)
- Update to 2.0.0.

Update June 21, 2020: Added a new setting -Force 576p-, adjusted the gui slightly to fit more description text, corrected aspect ratio for artwork/posters in widescreen mode.
Update June 16, 2020: Load fonts at startup to improve performance with subtitles, if no fonts are available it will load an internal one, added support for BorderStyle=4.
Update December 29, 2019: Improve stability when loading descriptions from XML files.
Update December 15, 2019: Handle debug=4 case to not crash when there is no audio info available, correct some quirks with descriptions getting stuck in the online media area.
Update December 10, 2019: Try to fix memory leaks when using XML files for file descriptions, fix hang when loading audio files with 'video loop' enabled, added delay to avoid crashing when moving the pointer fast enough on items.
Update October 27, 2019: Add optional descriptions for items when using the art viewer, added a setting that lets the user pick a folder to look for artwork/info, support desc/year line for PLX playlists, added an extra buffered image that might help maintaining performance between videos, further tweaked the mem2 allocations to reduce the likelihood of out of memory errors when loading or playing a video, added debug=3 to show free mem1/2, and debug=4 to disable pointer controls.
Update August 1, 2019: Artwork Viewer, support for artwork in M3U playlists, BRSTM demuxer, video bar will no longer show a tooltip, a night filter setting, THP files now display total length, AVI hack to enable restore points in h264 files, if shadows are 0 also remove ScaledBorderAndShadow.
Update July 1, 2019: Video Shuffling modes, restored NTFS/EXT support, made some minor changes to the playback bar so it shows the current time until the very end.
Update May 18, 2019: Tweaked volnorm setting so that it can be switched without reloading.
Update February 12, 2019: Added settings for controlling libass shadows, a display for dropped frames, and other small tweaks.
Update August 20, 2018: Added a setting that removes writing to device during usage. This prevents initial slowdown when loading a video if you were previously on the settings screen.
Update August 14, 2018: GameCube controller's R trigger can be used to change the current angle.
Update July 06, 2018: Sync to video, should fix any remaining tearing (usually in 60fps video or during buffering), added a setting to disable libass, added a setting to reduce cache size to 2MB, added some minor fixes to prevent small instances of lag in certain situations.
Update June 11, 2018: Exit during video playback when using autoboot, default value for burn-in is now taken from system settings.
Update May 16, 2018: Added Wiimpathy's autoboot file support, added 240p switching.
Update April 22, 2018: Enable GC controller to work in window prompts, add max VI width setting, hide YT quality levels from the settings menu.
Update April 17, 2018: Enable seeking in http streams, added new options to the settings menu, added global setting for skipping deblocking, added burn-in reduction.
Dynamic cover art from tunein
kiolkAf.png
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Dynamic cover art from ANISON.FM
ZuALINl.png

Dynamic cover art from Yggdrasil Radio + correct 16:9 support.
YwYu2ls.png


New settings
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Deflicker: OFF/ON
kjeB5pv.png
Me8bCyO.png



Older shots with outdated info:
Interface without the photo viewer (original widescreen support was 768x480)
pwoX7M5.png

Interface without the photo viewer (composite)
MyqBzkv.png

4:3 interface without picture viewer.
oV95w00.png

640x240p mode.
iUkQVMd.png




 
Last edited by SuperrSonic, , Reason: minor fixes

gothicall

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Seems interesting, what else do you plan to add in the future? Could you maybe add some streaming urls or fix youtube again?
 
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SuperrSonic

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I have released an update.

Ever since WiiMC version 1.1.4, H.264 decoding had been plagued by a rare glitch that makes any encode show white/grayish blocking that felt unsettling, I managed to track down the cause, it was one of the paired single optimizations merged from MPlayer CE (which shows the exact same artifacts). Since I don't know where the problem lies I just removed it, luckily it's not exactly needed. From my test videos I couldn't notice a difference in performance.

I also decided to include the extra versions as settings so only one build is needed. This was a problem before because in regards to the 240p option, due to WiiMC loading the settings file after the gui has shown up, it would cause a number of issues. I needed an easy way to change the starting video mode instead of forcing a switch. The solution I picked was to set a number of useless arguments that WiiMC would get and act accordingly. As such you can just add an argument to your meta.xml, like say: <arg>--240p</arg> and it will use NTSC 240p.

I have edited the op with more info and added a video that demonstrates the H.264 glitch. In the video I used an x264 encode and a free iTunes episode. I did change a lot of things and haven't been able to test thoroughly so hopefully I didn't break anything.

what else do you plan to add in the future? Could you maybe add some streaming urls or fix youtube again?
Nothing fancy. Later on I might make a version without removing any features. Streaming urls should be provided by the user not the program, youtube support is not in my plans, and it was one of the first things I removed.
 

justjack

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LOL, I'm currently watching PR in Space with MPlayer CE because it supports the GameCube controller and I don't have batteries in my Wiimote to use WiiMC. I'm gonna switch to your version of WiiMC now :)

Thank you for doing this.
 
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newo

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I like that people are still working on wii-homebrew. Will check it out. Anything is better than the youtube channel right now.

*edit The youtube and youtube search said "error opening file!". is this functionality still in there?
 
Last edited by newo,

duffmmann

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Does this have any of the WiiMC+ features? Specifically the ability to turn on shuffle/random for videos to play after the one you're currently watching? I still use WiiMC+ on the TV in my room for when I go to bed at night, typically watching South Park on random. I'll certainly update to this version if it includes at least that key feature.
 
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SuperrSonic

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*edit The youtube and youtube search said "error opening file!". is this functionality still in there?
I never said I fixed youtube support, I only stated that large downloaded youtube encodes(VP8) would hang when using framedropping.
Does this have any of the WiiMC+ features? Specifically the ability to turn on shuffle/random for videos to play after the one you're currently watching? I still use WiiMC+ on the TV in my room for when I go to bed at night, typically watching South Park on random. I'll certainly update to this version if it includes at least that key feature.
That kind of information would be in the op. I don't mind adding it if source is provided though.
 

duffmmann

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SuperrSonic

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Well you can still do it the rough way, write several video playlists, randomize as needed, and enable autoplay next video. Some might say this is the better way since it's not limited to one folder.
 

TheDimensioner

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Hi, lately I've been doing tons of re-encodes of h.264 files, and I've just found the "perfect" settings for the original player: for 16:9, I use profile High@L3, 704x396, CABAC disabled, 3 ReFrames and 2 bframes. Other options are for very fast encoding speed profile on XMediaRecode (.mkv). It gives a giant file coming from a 720p anime, almost 90% of the original file size, but at least it won't drop frames during "noisy" flashbacks, or continuous fancy effects. It took me a long time to "find" this settings, and I didn't know that CABAC caused a high CPU usage for the decoder.

Thing is, I'm using a CRT with component cables, and it's 480i only. It causes those "lines" blur during horizontal movement, and although I got used to it, I got kind of excited with this 240p mode. I know it wouldn't make a difference regarding refresh rate, since the tube is still 60hz and the files are 23.976fps, but maybe there would be less flicker that way? Do I need to encode the video in 240p (say, 428x240 for 16:9, or 320x240 for 4:3), or does the player automatically downscales, and is there a performance impact? Also, my TV is Brazilian, would adding 240p "PAL-M" make any difference (I don't know what the "arguments" mean, so I wouldn't know how to do it XD)? I would like to try interlaced encoding as well, but the WiiMC on WiiBrew page said it wouldn't support that. Maybe playing an interlaced video would look better on an interlaced signal... Would your mod support that?

I've also tried encoding a 60FPS file from YouTube, but the lowest resolution still caused framedrops. Does adding .dash to the file improve performance for 60FPS as well? It's the only way to watch things on that TV without the blur (same with 60 vs. 30 FPS games).

Also, thanks for adding GameCube controller support. WiiMC "eats" the Wii Remote batteries, it turns it off automatically every minute without use or so, and when turning it on for pausing (I can't read some subtitles fast enough XD), it seems to activate every function of the controller, like IR camera and gyroscope, unlike games that use the Wii Remote horizontaly, it disables those functions so it saves battery charge. Although Media Player CE already supported the GC controller, I didn't like it because it couldn't save my settings, like image resize (to compensate for the tube's overscan, that would cut every side), and the last folder used.
 

ShadowtearX

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What about people like me that like using this because it had a picture viewer, seeing it being a multimedia program i'd like to have it in my WiiMC
 

Sticksandstones

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What about people like me that like using this because it had a picture viewer, seeing it being a multimedia program i'd like to have it in my WiiMC
Keep OG WiiMC in a separate folder in sd:\apps\. In fact, just copy your current WiiMC folder and replace one boot.dol with a different one, and edit meta.xml to prevent confusion when launching from HBC.
There are other programs like WiiXplorer which also support image viewing.

Anyway HOLY CRAP THIS IS GREAT YEEEEEEE
I've long desired the ability to use GC controller with this. I like saving Wiimote power whenever possible and I tend to use WiiMC quite a lot, so this is highly appreciated!

I've also started a thread in the past dedicated to adding a whole bunch of radio channels to WiiMC's onlinemedia list while ShoutCAST was down, but since ShoutCAST is working properly right now, that's not truly necessary at this point, but it's there for anyone who may need it for any reason at all.

At this point, all WiiMC needs is YouTube support preferably by June when the official YouTube channel is no longer supported.
 
Last edited by Sticksandstones,

pedro702

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Well you can still do it the rough way, write several video playlists, randomize as needed, and enable autoplay next video. Some might say this is the better way since it's not limited to one folder.
hey since i cant pm you im asking this here, you on youtube made a nintendont mod that you said that would stop the beeping noises on ssbm and such any chance you share the source code of your changes? since you did not upload it to your github fork?
 

rchrdcrg

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I was really excited when I saw 240p support! I just love that authentic scanline look on an old CRT, and I was excited to get to watch SD videos that way... kinda reminiscent of FMVs on old consoles :-P
The only problem is I don't understand your instructions at all ;) I edited the meta.xml file and threw in <arg>--240p</arg>, but it had no effect, and the instructions in the OP mention adding arguments but don't actually say what those arguments are or how to add them. Really thankful for the release, but I'd love just a little more info on how to use it! ^_^
I figured it out! I just wasn't familiar with what was going on cuz I'm a n00b... for the other newbs, the meta.xml is info for Homebrew Launcher, and you need to add an arguments section to the file and then your arguments in between like this:
<arguments>
<arg>--240p</arg>
</arguments>
Probably super obvious to folks who do this stuff on the regular, but figured I'd help out anyone who was as lost as I was, haha!
 
Last edited by rchrdcrg,

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