Future Feature Thread

dserianni

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Mar 5, 2005
364
0
Hi,

In an ongoing effort to improve our product we would like to hear some ideas for future features for TimeTrax.

We want to hear features and ideas on what you our users would like to see or even removed from our product.

This thread shall not be used to discuss the current product or problems with it. Posts of a negative nature will be deleted.

I have been collecting a list of suggestions over time and have compiled a list, but I would really like to have them all in one thread so that we can refer back to it and see what is important to you our user.

So... if you have posted a suggestion in the past in a different thread please feel free to post it again.

Please be as specific and detailed as you can.


I look forward to see what is cooking in those craniums of yours!

Thanks!


D.
 
as basic as it sounds it would be nice to edit the date stamp so you can make it look how you want, for me example I would ike to be able to do month, day, year and no time such as 10292005
 
Channel List

I would like to have a channel list where I could configure which channels appear. For example, if I didn't like Country music, I could set it so that channels 10-16 did not show up.

Rob
 
Song Change Delay Enhancements

Unfortunately, my fairly detailed feature request posting for the first "Recast" release seems to have been lost when the forum was closed/reopened. :(


This is all about the core functionality of TimeTrax - timeshifting and archiving. (But I realize these are major suggestions which might require re-architecting sections of the program.)

Basically, this all revolves around the handling of the Song Change Delay.

1. I'd like to suggest the ability to configure separate delays for the start and end of a track. (This implies that there could be overlap between the end of one audio file and the beginning of the next.) By preserving as much of the start/end of a song as possible, this would make later editing to clean up intros & outros easy.

2. I think it would be great to have the ability to optionally specify a fade in and/or fade out at the song change point. Again, this should be separately configurable for the start and end of a track, with parameters controlling the rate of the fades. A quick fade up or down could make later editing unnecessary by subtly masking a cut point which was slightly early or late.

3. To best accommodate the differences in timing between different channels, I suggest having these parameters configurable on a per channel basis.

4. To allow for differences in timing between different programs (even on the same channel), I suggest having these parameters also configurable on a per timer basis.

Thanks for a great program, and thanks for being receptive to this sort of feedback from TimeTrax users!
 
Any other thoughts or suggestions?

We are working on future builds now.... your ideas are welcome.

Thanks

Derek
 
1. An option to 'opt out' of the NEED for constant internet connectivity (obviously required for registration).

2. Removal of the Schedule from the registry. Just a TAB or space delimited txt file would be perfect. It would also allow for easy back up and transfer when moving to a new computer OR rebuilding an existing computer.

The ability to add further TAG information (not sure which ones or anything) It's just a thought.

A more user friendly GUI for the scheduler. The drop downs for times and so on are tricky at times.

Obviously 1 and 2 are not really features I just think it will make the program a little more smooth - hitting windows API's to get into the registry and using the internet connection to 'phone home' or whatever it does will hurt those of us that have bad connections or are using TT in car set up - (which I noticed a few more in AZ while I visited).
 
I'd like to see something like a "force refresh" that would reset Recast with the XM lineup. It seems as if many of the current problems arise when there is a lack of either refresh or communication with Recast and the signal (sat or online).
 
I would like to see more song timing settings. Or a feature that greatly reduces song overlap.
 
i'm with phucknut on this one. my scheduler takes approx 5-7 seconds to popup, spiking the cpu usage at 100%. getting that data out of the registry & into a text file would be beneficial. the phone home fuctionality definitely needs to be revisited. i had an issue w/my dsl going down, then tt stopped recording.
 
Feature / Question:

It does not look like TT (the older versions) were dual processor aware. Because of all the things that TT (TTR) are doing. It would super beneficial that the program be dual processor aware so that people with HyperThread'ed or Dual Core CPU's can get the most power outta the program. This also gives some more power to the program for threading which is always a good thing.

Has anyone been able to see the TT appplication run on a HT or Dual CPU box and see it use BOTH CPU's ?

Just another feature thought.
 
XM Time Trax File Saving Request

I like the duplicate file saving option, is there a way that if the same song that plays is larger than the orgional TimeTrax will save the current instead? Sometimes the songs get cut off at the beginning or end, and if they played the same song without a lead in or DJ talking TimeTrax would over write the orgional if the current is larger kbytes.
 
Guess I'll copy/paste my earlier requests.

1. Context menu on the system tray icon. Put the most common controls on a popup menu, including record, stop, mute, exit and the favorites. Favorites could go on a sub-menu.

1a. Change the system tray icon to _clearly_ indicate Recast's recording status.

2. Minimal interface. The current window is cool for full control, but for just listening a much smaller (think WinAmp tiny sized for some idea of what I mean) window is necssary. Just something that you wouldn't mind eating a portion of your desktop for info/minimal control. This would be a good place to re-use the system tray's context menu.

When I am listening in WinAmp, I keep it minimized to the 1 line mode most of the time, set to "stay on top" and parked on a menu bar. I've included a screenshot for clarity.

3. A "Stop" button. When I was having trouble with Recast (it kept blue-screening my computer), I had a heck of a time making configuration changes, because the very act of having Recast open and active caused the crash. We need to capability to have Recast open, active, but not recording/playing anything.

4. Not really a feature, and a support ticket is forthcoming, but clean up the owner-draw windows and controls. They frequently leave "crud" behind on my desktop/other apps. I have to minimize/maximize the other apps to get them to redraw and clear the crud.

In the same vein, the owner draw borders are not active for focus actions. For example, when I click on the thick border at the bottom of the Recast window (frequently the only part of the window that shows on my destop as it gets covered by other app windows), nothing happens. Extend the app window size and draw the border inside the app's context if necesarry, but make every pixel drawn by Recast active for grabbing focus.

5. Record This. Add the ability to record only the current song/program. I can't even begin to remember how many times I've hit record only to forget that it was on, and come back later to find hundreds of megabytes of unwanted material. I would find this especially useful for talk programs, where I might have to leave/take a call/whatever in the middle.

This could, however, be problematic on the talk stations, since they throw so many commercials/breaks in many of them. I'm not sure if the end result would be exactly what I am looking for, but it would certainly be a good option to have.

Ideally, it could note that it threw away all the commercials (too short), and is now recording something with the exact same title/artist as the previous recording, and continue. But that would dramatically increase the scope of the request.

Regarding item 5, one way to handle the talk shows would be to have a time limited "quick record". This is a feature that many VCR's had - a button that you could press to record X minutes (usually a progressive number with each press - 30, 60, 90, 120). Being able to say "Record the next 45 minutes" without having to set up a scheduled recording would go a long way to resolve the issue. This is similar to the suggestion in the last paragraph of that post, only without the complicated title matching logic.

6. One-shot Grab list items. Most of the time, you don't need multiple copies of what you want to Grab, especially if it's based on the title. The ability to have a grab item that records once only would be handy.

Also, perhaps a time-frame limited option would take care of #5. If there were a way to say "grab this, but only if it occurs in the next X minutes/hours" it would allow to get a complete talk program, dropping the commercials (too short), but not waste disk recording past the desired material.

7. Turn the "Grab list" into just that - it grabs the songs on the list if they occur. Turn the current Grab list into a "Filter" list, since that's what it does - restricts the recordings to only those songs/artists in the list, even if you expicitly hit the record button. Yeah, that one bit me in the butt - missed a good song when the phone rang because I had an artist in the Grab list.

8. BUG (reported elsewhere) - when I minimize then restore the main window, it grows by the size of the dark grey border that is drawn at the bottom. Each time the window is minimized and restored, it gets bigger. Took me a while to nail this down because I wasn't minimizing the window. I was, however, locking my system, which seems to minimize all the windows.
 

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Some of these items have already been addressed.

The other ideas/suggestions you have are quite valid and like all the suggestions we will consider them for future releases.

This after-all is the reason for this thread.

We have some of our own ideas too.....

Derek
 
My apologies if this has been asked before, I don't see it in the features requests and don't know how to make it work if it's possible today...I want to set up the grab lists with artists desired and have Recast automatically scan the channels for that artist coming up and switch to that channel in order to record it. I'm not sure if this is technically possible or not, I assume the USB connection is getting the full channel stream? And I think I remember reading that the title/artist test stream does lead the actual transmission by a small amout of time?
Thx,
Pete
 
petel said:
My apologies if this has been asked before, I don't see it in the features requests and don't know how to make it work if it's possible today...I want to set up the grab lists with artists desired and have Recast automatically scan the channels for that artist coming up and switch to that channel in order to record it. I'm not sure if this is technically possible or not, I assume the USB connection is getting the full channel stream? And I think I remember reading that the title/artist test stream does lead the actual transmission by a small amout of time?
Thx,
Pete

It is not technically possible with the current build of TimeTrax Recast.

D.
 
PhuckNut said:
Feature / Question:

It does not look like TT (the older versions) were dual processor aware. Because of all the things that TT (TTR) are doing. It would super beneficial that the program be dual processor aware so that people with HyperThread'ed or Dual Core CPU's can get the most power outta the program. This also gives some more power to the program for threading which is always a good thing.

Has anyone been able to see the TT appplication run on a HT or Dual CPU box and see it use BOTH CPU's ?

Just another feature thought.

thanks for the response inthe OTHER thread. I will take a closer look and see if I can tell if TT is using more than 1 thread.
 
We have released a new version 1.4

It is a full release and the beta program is now closed.

I will start a new thread for 1.4


Thanks

Derek
 

TimeTrax Must Release Fixit Patch for Software Right Now

STILL getting false characters every 10 sceonds or so

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