Latest Software 7th January 2019

[Brennan Support]

Hi All

The latest software - dated 7th (but I uploaded it this morning) - has a far more complete mobile phone UI.

I'm still working on it - but I need a breather - so let me know what you think and any difficulties or ideas.

Martin

[Edwyn Corteen]

Hi Martin

MUCH better, the only issue so far is when looking at an artists list of albums the area with the up arrow to go back to the full artist list is a bit small for my fat fingers!

[David Webster]

Hi Martin

Mew mobile UI is a great improvement

Only thing I have noted so far, while playing youtube tracks switching back to the hard disk "tree" view or reloading the app will show a random artist each time. Seems to work ok when playing an album from the hard disk though and shows all the albums for that artist unless you reload the app then the artist is random.

Otherwise works well (on iPhone SE). I'm sure you have it in hand but I would like to see the the track time remaining again. Not sure of the purpose of the bar graph in the now playing window as it doesn't seem to bear any relationship to music playing

Thanks for all your hard work - makes the B2 a great investment

Dave

[Tim]

Hi Martin and Paul

Am I right in thinking that the non-mobile UI is as it was, without the search function which does now appear on the new mobile UI?  Is the bar graph in the now playing window on the mobile Ui new?

Many thanks

Tim

[Tim]

I must have had a delayed reaction, the search function has now appeared on the non-mobile UI.

Tim

[Tim]

Ok, I am not so techy, is there any chance of a simple guide as to how to get the mobile UI on my iPhone please?  I can access the updated non-mobile UI bit not the mobile one.

Thanks

Tim

[lesliebr...@gmail.com]

From Brennan Web Site.

7th January 2019

This release has a far more complete mobile phone UI as well as the changes in the previous two offline releases.
The mobile UI is independant of the original UI and for now is accessed at 192.168.0.8/mobile.html (substitute your B2 IP address). There is also a fix to an occasional infrequent internet radio dropout that occurs in some environements - thank you Bob.
Please let me have your feedback on the mobile UI via the forum. I'm pretty pleased with it so far and I still have a bunch of ideas to incorporate but it will help to hear about any compatibility issues and your thoughts.
Martin

[Quantum Mechanic]

Just says site can't be reached...

[mpry...@gmail.com]

The new mobile UI looks good, thanks! But it's more conventional (and way easier on the thumbs) to put the icons that are now at the top of the screen along the bottom instead. I think both iOS and Android style guides suggest that.

Thanks again.

[Tim]

Ok, now have the new mobile UI and it looks good.  My only reservation with the update is that when you reload the non-mobile UI page you get a random artist and album each time, not the one which is playing.  Before I think it defaulted to the first album on the hard disc.  Would it make sense to default to the playing album/artist?

Tim

[David Tellett]

Some feedback on new mobile UI.
First of all, thanks Martin, it’s a great improvement...see below my quick feedback...

1. Display on phone is generally very good. Love the artwork in lists and the album / track count inclusion! This count works fine when working off the “hierarchy” function, but is often inaccurate when going from a search (it looks like it doesn’t update properly) . So, If I search and select an album the track number usually shows the track count for a previous selection. If I then go from album up to artist, then back to the same album, the track number count is correct.
2. Where is the fast forward /rewind?
3. I’m not sure about the little “graph” icon when a track is playing. It’s good to have a signal that it’s playing, but it looks a bit clunky and distracting. (But then I’m a huge fan of “the worm”!
4. display on an iPad is small and a bit lost, neither fish nor fowl?? Can it be configured to be larger?
5. The Now Playing page - the transport and volume panels look out of place and quite ugly. I’d rather they were not plastered on the album artwork at all. Maybe move up the transport bar next to “now playing” and move the volume down into the gap below and make it vertical?
6. Playlist feature - the list of playlists is not fully interactive, doesn’t scroll for me (so I can only see or select the top 14 or so), or disappear if I don’t want to select one.
7. Then there’s the old issue of the order of track descriptors... I’d rather Track was first, then album, then artist. Source should be last or moved up into the “now playing” panel, space permitting?
8. On the settings menu, the “enable youtube cache” tick box keeps unticking itself and won’t remain selected once I’ve navigated away to a different page and back.

That’s all for now!
David

[Nick Hickson]

Has there ever been a >>FF or <<RW on these interfaces? I wish there was. In the top left quadrant two solid arrows both left and right are for 'Next' and 'Back' are they not?
It's a nuisance that one cannot go fast forward through a track to get through to a particular part.

[Tim]

Paul, Martin

Please can I check whether we are seeing different formats of mobile UI depending on what type of mobile device we have?  I am not convinced that I am seeing the same format as other users.  I have an IPhone and have the fast forward and rewind feature which David appears not to have.  Also I still have small artwork and the "transport and volume panels" are not "plastered" on the album artwork.  Is it possible to have  screen shot or photo of what the new mobile UI should look like please?

Many thanks

Tim

[David Tellett]

Good suggestion Tim!

[Tim]

Nick, on the updated non-mobile and mobile interfaces which I have, below the volume feature is a fast forward rewind feature - operated by dragging the dot thing back or forwards.

[Tim]

but at the moment, I am not sure whether I am seeing the same mobile interface as other users!

[David Tellett]

Hope this works and helps...
Here’s what I’m seeing in now playing, new versus old.

I would note that I can’t get the new UI to load in Chrome so this new shot is from Safari on iPhone, which may be significant?

[Tim]

Thanks David, that is really useful.  I have an iPhone and using Safari I am getting the right hand image rather than the left hand image (which I assume is the latest one).  I am putting the static IP address from my B2 into the iPhone Safari and am still getting the right hand image.  What am I doing wrong.  How do I get the left hand image please?

[Mike W]

Hi Tim, have you put "/mobile.html" after the ip address of your B2?

Regards

Mike

[David Tellett]

Tim, I’ve simply added /mobile.html to the end of my B2 url. As I noted this won’t work for me in Chrome but will in Safari.
Just been trying with Firefox on the phone and it works, but less well than Safari. The bottom of the page is missing /obscured. See attached

[Tim]

Thanks Mike, so if my static IP address of my B2 is 10.0.1.2 I put "/mobile.html" after it?  Apologies, I am having a slow day....

[David Tellett]

That’s right Tim

[Tim]

Excellent, thanks David and Mike, I will try that tonight

Tim

[Rik]

Does this need the recent software update to work?

On Chrome on my Android phone and Safari on my IPad putting the suffix 'mobile/html' results in 404 not found, as someone else has said.

[David Tellett]

Hi Rik, yes you need to go to Web upgrade in the settings menu. This will download and install the new software on your B2 and reboot itself.
Having said that, I still can’t get chrome to work with the new interface, just says “This site can’t be reached”, so watch out for that. Works for me on safari.
David

[Rik]

Thanks. I'm always a little wary of updating before I’m sure nobody’s had problems but I’ll do this later today.

[David Tellett]

Hi Martin,
One more thing I’ve just noticed.
I was busily editing some CD titles on the new Web UI (on ipad) and it seems that once I had done so, the artwork which was previously there for those 3 CDs has now disappeared!
I’ve not experienced that before!

I’ve looked on the ‘old’ Web UI too and it seems the artwork has definitely gone astray...

See screenshots.

[Edwyn Corteen]

Hi All

To get the new mobile interface, which works just fine on my Laptop with chrome it is not /mobile/html but /mobile.html after your IP address

Here is mine http://192.168.1.17/mobile.html

This works just fine on my Android phone too.

[lesliebr...@gmail.com]

Yep. I'm with Edwyn. 

Mine's  http://192.168.1.67/mobile.html  and works fine with Windows 10 laptop and Samsung android phone, both using Chrome. 

Am I missing something or is the random play missing?

Not sure about the controls over the art work though.

[David Tellett]

Thanks Edwin. I had the dot but had a stray s in my http! Now working fine on chrome, which seems a bit quicker than safari.

I agree Leslie, the random button is missing, I’d missed that!
Also the time remaining...

David

[lesliebr...@gmail.com]

Just playing around with the new mobile UI and noticed in All Artists it says 200 artists. I scrolled down and it would only go to the Ns. Checked the settings cog and it says 296 artists. Don't know why it won't show all my artists here. Went to the search screen and was able to scroll through all my artists ie all 296, A through to Y, don't have any beginning with Z. Anybody else have this oddity?

[Rik]

Typed this wrongly here, sorry, but know it’s /mobile.html

[Graham N]

Using Chrome on Android am getting the same problem with the mobile view ie bottom of screen cut off so you can't see artist and album details also the hovering graph and navigation bars look a bit naff - prefer the normal view on phone even though you only get small cover photo at least I can see all the track/album/artist details
Graham

[David Tellett]

Hi Leslie, yes same issue here. Looks like 200 has been set as a max, which seems a bit odd.
David

[lesliebr...@gmail.com]

As mentioned in an earlier post I've been playing around with the new mobile UI. So obviously I had done a web upgrade. Now back on the old main UI on the laptop, and noticed the time slider, time played and time left is back. Nice to see it again, but have had to zoom out the 75% to enable the control buttons to fit properly in the now playing window. I was using zoom at 90% with all the windows showing comfortably before. This now means the text is smaller again. I can still use it at 90%, but doesn't look just right with the bottom of the control buttons truncated. At 80% and 100% it is worse. So 75% is the best, but at the cost of text size. Just refreshed the UI and the control buttons are truncated again. Had to drop to 67% to get all comfortably in the now playing box again. Text smaller again. Closed and reopened the UI and 67% seems stable, but a bit small compared to what I had at 90%. 

Screenshots, 67%, 75%, 80%, 90% and 100%

[David Tellett]

Still playing with this..just noticed that if an internet radio station is selected, the now playing screen defaults to the “home album”, in my cas, Abbey Road. See screenshot.

[Nick Hickson]

Based on what I am reading here I shan't be performing any software updates for the time being.

[kensh...@gmail.com]

I updated this morning, after waiting a day to make sure I didn't see to many problems!    

Naturally, it caused a problem for me.   I use  Win 10,  an Ipad and iPhone separately to use the gui  to control my B2.   None of these devices will now work with the B2; they all say "address not found".   I checked the display, and it is the same address as is loaded into my devices,  and re-acquired from the Qcode to the phone with no resolution of the problem.

?

This seems odd, since others can use the web interface.

[Quantum Mechanic]

Win 10 on laptop, Android phone and neither work now... it's not just you unfortunately.

[Mike W]

Windows 10, Android and IOS all working fine with the new software, and able to use either the old or new UI on all three.

Mike

[David Tellett]

It’s working fine now. Using chrome sorted my missing artwork issue. It came back!
I’m loving the artwork in the artist listings. Looks fantastic and makes me want to play more music!

[MJB]

Hello David

I just edited a CD name and artist here and the artwork is unnaffected.

I suspect the new UI is a red herring - can you dig around a bit and see if you can add art to an album and rename etc etc see where the breakdown is

Martin

[MJB]

Hi Tim

I put up a random artist/album because of complaints that the old UI always came up with the same thing.

This way gives it a bit of variety and reminds us of CDs we might forget.

I'm not evangelical about it - just giving the raison d'etre

Martin

[lesliebr...@gmail.com]

David, mine defaults to the last played album cover. Also noticed the playlist shows if music selection is by that route.

[MJB]

Hi David and others

Thanks for pointing out the 200 artist limit - I need to add the infinite scroll code thats in the search window - I put it off while I worked through the bulk of the functionality - but yes I had forgotten.

Seems though that if you are hitting the limit - you must be using the new facility - I must say I found the browse quite immediat.

I'll be adding pictures to that panel as well

Martin

[MJB]

Hi David

Yes that came up at the last minute before the release - I added a speed up for now playing art - and forgot about radio.

Its logged so will be fixed in the next release - which won't be long 

Martin

[lesliebr...@gmail.com]

QM and kensh, make sure you use mobile.html and not mobile/html. This has caught a few people out.

Mine is http://192.168.1.67/mobile.html

Working on Windows 10 laptop and android phone for me.

[lesliebr...@gmail.com]

Hi Martin, what about random play?

[Chris A]

Hi Martin

I didn't have any major gripes with the "old" UI (apart from it being a bit cramped on a phone screen) but, from first impressions, I really do like the new one; clearly a lot of work and thought has gone into it.

On points of detail:

The Now Playing Pane:

Looks really good with the larger artwork and the little graph at the top is enough to confirm that it is playing (even if we have a problem further down the line). So +++

 

On the negatives, however, as others have pointed out, the shuffle/random button has gone - a for me that is a big loss - so can we have it back, please?

 

Also when "Now Playing" happens to be in a Playlist, the Playlist detail is is partially cut off at the bottom edge of the screen (Android mobile) with no obvious way to scroll or resize - (it only needs to be half a letter height further up);

And finally, on the "Now Playing" pane, we seem to have lost access to the tone control. For some reason I need to alter the tone slightly when playing through my Bluetooth soundbar and I cannot fine this tucked away anywhere else (though I am willing to be corrected on this).

Pane to Pane Right/Left Scrolling:

Great feature works well +++

Vertical Scrolling (through lists):

Now much faster and smoother+++

Settings:

We seem to have lost the "spanner" which gave access to Debug. For many this may not be essential but I found it useful when checking to see just what has been going on. 

Old Drop Down Menu:

 This used to give quick access to Bluetooth settings/pairing etc. This seems to have gone completely (unless I have missed it somewhere). I found it useful (and used it frequently).

 Suggestions for the future:

Really just a repeat of my "wishlist": a "Add Now Playing" to playlist button (on the now playing pane); a blank pane accessed from the three dots against individual tracks for free text (eg lyrics, sleeve notes etc); and, if technically possible, an "omit" from random play button.

All that said, I really impressed with the changes. 

[bob_sh...@hotmail.com]

Thank you for the recent updated mobile phone UI. As a regular user  of the Bluetooth facility may I request it's embedded into the new UI interface with the same ease of access as the previous interface. Although Bluetooth can be 'awkward' at times when connecting to a range of speakers it does work well given perseverance.

Thank you

 

[Tim]

I have managed to obtain the new mobile UI, thank you everyone for all the help.  Thank you Martin for your comments too.

I use a iPhone 6 and my screen cuts off the artist and album detail off the bottom of the now playing screen.  The rest all looks good though.

Tim

[Nick Hickson]

I'm confused now. What is required to view this new UI? Is the software update required or do I have to use another IP other than my current one ie 192.168.1.80? This one I've used since getting my B2 before Christmas.

[lesliebr...@gmail.com]

You need the latest Jan 7th web upgrade to your B2. Then you need enter your existing B2 IP address, with the /mobile.html added into a new browser tab. Mine is  http://192.168.1.67/mobile.html

Hope this sorts you out.

[Tobias Brunner]

Hi all,

Apologies if some of this has been mentioned, I did try to read everything.

Some remarks:

• Overall like the idea and quite intuitive.
• Jumping from Now Playing the the album and artist is quick and this is one of the most important features for me
• Definitely don't like the new volume keys - so much easier with the old line to make louder and more quiet - plus you now cannot remember what your average listening volume is - definitely recommend changing this back!
• There is an empty page as you come to the end of the scrolling left and right.
• Scrolling left and right only works for me on the top half of the screen (Chrome on Samsung s8)
• Preferred the darker black

Thanks for all the work to make B2 even more amazing!

Tobias

[Mike Williams]

Hi Martin

Seems pretty good to me. Thanks for your efforts.

Have you done something clever with alphabetic sorting - or was I just unaware before?

Now seems to sort on surname - or what it thinks is the surname, at least.

I did like the timings being shown though. Can we have them back please?

Mike

[David Tellett]

Hi Martin,
Thanks for following up on my “missing artwork” issue.
I’ve tried to replicate it, but all seems ok now. As you say, I suspect it was just a weird wobble, unrelated to the new interface, which seems to be working fine now.
David

[David Tellett]

Oh, and I love the new, more extensive, use of artwork... it makes me want to dip into my collection all the more. Great! :)
Thanks for all your work on this Martin.

[MJB]

Hi Chris

Thanks for the well presented breakdown of your feedback - that really makes my life easier.

The work is unfinished but I thought it would be good to get feedback earlier - before attempting to polish/debug too much.

I realised I'd left out the Bluetooth but I must say I forgot about the random button. I've had a few ideas since doing the release. I think presets are much better now but it occurred to me to allow adding the currently playing radio to a preset from now playing.

I'll be working through all your feedback - probably next week.

By the way whats the feeling about the round artwork?

I only used it in one panel and haven't done too much work on padding to get the balance right - but it obviously gives things a softer look - and it has been flavour of the week in app design for a while.

I think it works as a counterpoint to the hard "engraved" styling of the background.

Martin

PS thanks all even if I don't mention you by name - I've read everything I think.

M 

[MJB]

Hi David

Thanks for the picture - it helps me see it afresh - I get so used to seeing my own album covers - I'm blind to how they look - if that makes sense.

Martin

[Quantum Mechanic]

Is there a way of changing the bass and treble now since the volume settings have changed? I also noticed that the volume seems lower than before, previously listening at 5 is probably now 13 or so...

[Tim]

Hi Martin

The round artwork looks great.  Although I like the square artwork on the non-mobile UI, the round artwork looks fantastic on the mobile UI and makes the whole interface feel good.

The only real issue for me is that on my iPhone 6 using Safari and/or Chrome in the now playing screen the artist and track details are cut off/hidden.  Also miss the search function.

Otherwise looks really good.  I like having the option of also using the non-mobile screen on a mobile device.

Best

Tim 

[Chris A]

Hi Martin

Yes, I too like the round artwork on the mobile UI.

Your approach of introducing  revisions before final polishing/debugging seems very sensible. I'll watch this space.

[Chris A]

Maybe it is just me, but I may have found a (minor) issue with the new Mobile UI when listening to Internet Radio. The radio station artwork does not appear. I can make it appear - but only for an instant - if I adjust the volume control. (I use an Android phone).

[David Tellett]

Round artwork rules Martin, and I like the switch back to the full square once selected :)

I’ve been playing with it a lot and I still have an issue with my playlists; I can’t get a full list from the down arrow selector so I can only select the top few. It won’t scroll up or even disappear if I click elsewhere. Anyone else encountering this?

[Paul B.]

Hello

I am not a big techie, but having real problems accessing B2 since software update via my Windows 10 PC. Used existing shortcut but won't connect. Tried retyping address and rebooting router etc

Anyone found this? Not using new Mobile address.

Thanks Paul

[PMB]

Hi Paul B,

Is your B2 definitely connected to WiFi - Settings > Maintenance > Check Internet?

Try closing your browser and powering off the B2. Then power up the B2 and open the browser again. Type in the IP Address shown on the B2.

Paul
Brennan Support.

[Tom Owens]

I've tried this new interface on both an iPhone8 and an iPad3. The UI is not responsive as the iPad retains the phone layout.

on the iPhone, the display does not work in that some features are cropped off the bottom. The moving histogram is an annoyance. The randomise button is missing also.

Hope this helps?

TomO

[lesliebr...@gmail.com]

Hi Paul, an observation when listening to BBC Radio 3 HD this morning. I was using the new mobile UI to control things. When playing a radio station at present, the art image from the last album played is displayed and the info is shown below, 

                                                                   Source; Internet Radio Playing

                                                                   Station; BBC Radio 3 HD - UK Only

I was altering the volume using the volume tap buttons, and noticed every time I tapped either button, the station graphic flashed up and then went back to the last album image. Changed to several another stations and the same happens. I am assuming if the graphic shows up like this, Martin should be able to tweak it so it is displayed whilst playing in a future update.

Was using the new mobile UI on my android phone. Checked it also on my Windows 10 laptop using the new mobile Ui on it and it behaved the same.

[lesliebr...@gmail.com]

Hi Martin, have been playing around with the new mobile UI and like the general setup. 

I do think if you are going to display the larger album art, it would be a shame to block areas of it with control buttons and graphics. Don't know how easy it is to move things around, but here's a possibility to un-obscure the album image. Screen shot. Just a suggestion. 

Maybe something on the Source line to signify the WiFi connection is operating ok. Possibly a small wiggly worm or smaller " frenzied histogram" as Nick Hickson termed it, would be acceptable here.

Don't forget to include BT and Random play (HDD and Playlists if possible) options.

One of the forum members also mentioned recently, an "add to a playlist from the track playing" option, which sounds like a good idea.

Happy Busy New Year Martin & Co.