Whirligig Media Player · published
Hi everyone
Before I dump a load of information on you, I want to get a couple of messages across. I've been working hard on improvements overall, and also on getting Whirligig working on the Steam Deck and Steam Frame. The Steam Deck work was to get ahead of the curve before the Steam Frame came out. Well, Valve sent me a Steam Frame :) so I could actually test it properly and get it working well on the headset.
The first thing to point out is that the OS is really good (not a review, but I do like the headset). What it does differently is that PC software runs through a compatibility layer (Proton). This is great because it means you can run the PC version of Whirligig on the headset, but it does come with a few issues:
DLNA is disabled, as it crashes the app (I'm working on it).
VLC VideoLan is the only video engine, because the others don't work well through Proton. VLC is often the best option anyway, so it's not a big problem.
Where are the videos? The compatibility layer creates the folders the app needs (videos, music, downloads and pictures), but you can't just plug in the headset and find them easily. For now, getting videos onto the headset is better done through a media server or the other network options.
The standalone version is based on the Android build. It's all working, and nothing is disabled compared to the Meta and Pico versions. Again, there's the question of where the videos go. On other Android headsets, plugging them into a PC shows the root folder with the Movies, Download folders etc. I don't fully understand how the Frame handles this yet, but all the media server stuff should still work.
If you already have Whirligig, you have access to the Steam Frame version in the betas. Switch to the whirligig_v5.8002 beta and it should work. To choose between the PC build and the standalone build, change the system type for Whirligig on the headset.
Don't have Whirligig yet? If you have a Steam Frame, Steam Deck, Steam Machine (or any SteamOS setup), email me at [email protected] and I'll be happy to send you a code in return for a little feedback :)
Here's the update dump:
There's now a standalone (Android) version of Whirligig for the Steam Frame, with no PC needed.
In the standalone version, the Frame's own controllers are shown and used by default.
Fixed the tap-control 3D menu and the help image, which weren't loading on the Frame.
Audio reactive visuals now work with every video engine. On Windows they listen to your PC's audio output, so they now react with VLC, DirectShow, WinRT and Media Foundation Direct mode, not just Media Foundation. This does mean they react to any sound playing on the PC, not just the video.
New sensitivity slider for audio reactive visuals (0.1× to 5×), in the Backgrounds menu.
Audio reactive scenes are now separate from image backgrounds, so you can use both at once. Your existing settings carry over.
VLC Soundscape (new): an optional switch in Audio Output that sends VLC audio through Whirligig's positional surround speakers. Before, this only worked with Media Foundation. Windows only.
Soundscape level bars: live level meters for each speaker in the Soundscape panel.
When using Soundscape with 5.1 or 7.1 output, the subwoofer now goes to the real .1 (LFE) channel instead of being mixed into the centre speaker.
The Soundscape panel is hidden in Media Foundation Direct mode, where it has no effect.
Download-to-device now works on every video engine (Media Foundation, WinRT and DirectShow), not just VLC. Videos can start playing while they download, although with Media Foundation some files will only start once the download has finished. This also fixes Plex videos failing to load the first time with Media Foundation.
Videos you've already downloaded from Plex, Jellyfin, DLNA or SMB now open straight from the local copy. They open instantly and work offline, and no longer show 00:00 for duration and position.
If you quit while watching a network video, it reopens at the next launch when it's downloaded or set to download. An interrupted download starts again.
Auto-refresh: local folders and the drive list now update by themselves when files or drives are added, removed or renamed. New files appear once they've finished copying, and your scroll position is kept. Plex, Jellyfin, SMB and DLNA still use the refresh button.
The whole interface now uses TextMeshPro, so text is sharper in menus, dropdowns, text fields, the 3D menu and the controller panel.
Removed the unwanted drop shadow and outline on menu text.
Removed SMAA anti-aliasing, which was softening text, so menus are crisper. Anti-aliasing now comes from render scale (supersampling) and MSAA 4x.
Fixed the subtitle size slider and restored the subtitle drop shadow.
Clearing a saved-position slot no longer leaves the "missing file" icon on it.
Open menus now change straight away when you pick a new language.
A missing translation now shows the English text instead of a blank label.
The language list is now sorted, and the new sensitivity label is translated into all 12 languages.
On a fresh install, the laser pointer now attaches to your controller even if the controllers weren't tracked yet at startup. If only one controller is switched on, Whirligig now uses that hand.
Quitting is quicker. It used to hang for up to 3 seconds while background threads closed.
That was quite a dump of information. It's late on Sunday and I wanted to get this out to everyone before the start of the week (I have a different job during the week). There's a lot going on, and I need to do a lot of testing of the new features before I make a proper post with pictures and everything :)
Until then, happy watching
Phil