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#5824 - 23/08/1999 14:24 Little Details...
NasalGoat
member

Registered: 23/08/1999
Posts: 129
Loc: Toronto, ON, Canada
I literally just got my unit - 4Gig Blue serial number 00049 - and in the space of an hour or so, I've noticed a couple of things. I haven't even uploaded a song yet, and already the beta software is bugging me. :)

1. Cannot turn unit on from remote. Really, pressing any button on the remote should wake it up.

2. Boot up time. You Linux geeks might be happy that it boots in ten seconds, but that is *way* too long for a viable consumer car audio product.

The solution is to have the unit suspend when the ignition is turned off, as the power draw is minimal in "off" mode. It could then fully turn off in an hour or so. Either way, it will require an external device and some hacking, when it should have been thought off initially.

3. How the hell do you set the pre-sets? The manual keeps mentioning the presets but doesn't offer a way to set them, nor does my quick go through offer up any ideas.

I do have to say, the UI is pretty beta. I was going to use it as my main head unit and run everything else through it, but it looks like it won't be ready for primetime for quite a while, so I may be stuck using my old head unit as primary.



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#5825 - 24/08/1999 09:51 Re: Little Details... [Re: NasalGoat]
altman
carpal tunnel

Registered: 19/05/1999
Posts: 3457
Loc: Palo Alto, CA
1. This is a bug, it'll be fixed.
2. Boot time may be shaved a little, but it's mostly limited by the time it takes the HDD to spin up and become ready. Considering I can't even get out of my parking space in 10 seconds, I think it's probably livable with. Seen the boot time of Alpine's in-dash nav/CD changer system?
3. Press DNPP then the preset number you want to store it in. Not obvious, I know.

Hugo



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#5826 - 24/08/1999 11:05 Re: Little Details... [Re: altman]
NasalGoat
member

Registered: 23/08/1999
Posts: 129
Loc: Toronto, ON, Canada
Fair enough.

As far as boot time, I'm thinking more in terms of hopping out of the car, running into a store, and running out again. My current head begins to play almost instantly. Also, what about that "blip" when you go from ignition to acc? In older cars (like mine) this can turn the unit off. More than anything it's annoying, hardly a "bug". :)

As for the last, I have a couple of suggestions for the remote UI (lots of hot air and no action, I know! :)

1. When the unit is powered down, any button on the remote or front will turn it on.
2. Pressing the "Direct OK" button once turns the unit off.
3. When in Menu mode, pressing a number button will select one of the menu options (Like, 1=fader, etc)
4. To set presets, hold down a number button (much like head units work now)
5. During playback, use the number buttons to select a track on the current playlist (like, 0 and a number for 1-9, etc)
6. I would, personally, change the visual select button to CD-MD CH and make the DNPP button toggle information display. It just seems more intuitive to me for some reason, since the CD-MD CH button isn't used much, while DNPP is overused.

That's it for the remote... For now. :)


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#5827 - 25/08/1999 10:25 Re: Little Details... [Re: NasalGoat]
mac
addict

Registered: 20/05/1999
Posts: 411
Loc: Cambridge, UK
1. When the unit is powered down, any button on the remote or front will turn it on.

As Hugo said, this is a bug and it will be fixed.

2. Pressing the "Direct OK" button once turns the unit off.

I worry about having such a fundamental action on a single button. See next item.

3. When in Menu mode, pressing a number button will select one of the menu options (Like, 1=fader, etc)

This has always been my intention. It's just a matter of getting round to it. This also means that power off can easily be done by pressing star then the number that corresponds to "Power Off" - possibly zero.

4. To set presets, hold down a number button (much like head units work now)

The way the remote control works makes this difficult (I was going to say impossible but I've just thought of a way to do it - maybe I'll get round to it).

5. During playback, use the number buttons to select a track on the current playlist (like, 0 and a number for 1-9, etc)

We have plans for the number keys. Not quite like this but far more flexible.

6. I would, personally, change the visual select button to CD-MD CH and make the DNPP button toggle information display. It just seems more intuitive to me for some reason, since the CD-MD CH button isn't used much, while DNPP is overused.

I can't see any overriding reason for it to be one way round or the other. If there is a consensus on this then I might change it.

--
Mike Crowe
I may not be speaking on behalf of empeg above :-)
_________________________
--
Mike Crowe

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#5828 - 25/08/1999 10:54 Re: Little Details... [Re: mac]
mac
addict

Registered: 20/05/1999
Posts: 411
Loc: Cambridge, UK
I wrote:
The way the remote control works makes this difficult (I was going to say impossible but I've just thought of a way to do it - maybe I'll get round to it).

I've just realised that it isn't possible. The numeric keys on the remote don't autorepeat. No matter now long you hold it down for it just sends the one code.

--
Mike Crowe
I may not be speaking on behalf of empeg above :-)
_________________________
--
Mike Crowe

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#5829 - 27/08/1999 07:04 Re: Little Details... [Re: mac]
NasalGoat
member

Registered: 23/08/1999
Posts: 129
Loc: Toronto, ON, Canada
Oh well, you tried - and that's what counts. :)

Actually, one of the reasons I'd like a single-button turn-off is to make it easier to design a little "stand-by" circuit. Basically, wire the empeg to full-time power and have a circuit which "presses" the button on another remote (taken apart and put into the dash pointing at the unit) to put the unit in and out of standby mode when you turn on and off the car. These little remotes are fairly cheap and I had planned on doing an armrest hackjob on one anyway.

I would also build a timer to turn it off completely after, say, a half hour or something.

Having it turn off and on from a single button would make this a lot easier. As for the "danger" of a single button, wouldn't it be simple to simply press the button again to un-suspend the unit? Seems simple enough.

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#5830 - 27/08/1999 08:23 Re: Little Details... [Re: NasalGoat]
Cadders
new poster

Registered: 25/08/1999
Posts: 7
Loc: Concept 2000, Farnborough
In reply to:

I do have to say, the UI is pretty beta


Perhaps this is beacuse it is a beta release???
If people spent less time moaning about how the software 'bugs' them, perhaps the empeg team could actually get on with writing the code and not responding to people who expect miracles with boot up times.

Cadders,
Number 10163 in the queue. I fear I'll be in for a bit of a wait.

_________________________
Cadders,
Number 10163 in the queue. I fear I'll be in for a bit of a wait.

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#5831 - 27/08/1999 09:49 Re: Little Details... [Re: NasalGoat]
altman
carpal tunnel

Registered: 19/05/1999
Posts: 3457
Loc: Palo Alto, CA
If you want this sort of thing, you could hook up to the serial port: we don't currently have a "go into standby mode" opcode, but we will, and you can also get out of standby mode by sending commands to the empeg via serial.

Hugo



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#5832 - 27/08/1999 10:06 Re: Little Details... [Re: altman]
NasalGoat
member

Registered: 23/08/1999
Posts: 129
Loc: Toronto, ON, Canada
Yes, but that would require a great deal more technical ability on my part - namely, making a serial connection circuit. I can probably wire up a 555 timer, but beyond that, my skills are limited.



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