Kenwood Entre Technical Discussions - Page 6

NiteOwl has worked incredibly hard on that application and it is a several releases ahead of what is on that website where I assume you got it. Several of us are beta testing it and providing feedback. He worked through some tough issues. He is in the process of allowing coverart to be uploaded (from PC to Entre) and associated with the DVD being edited. He is still working the kinks out and adding resilency code.

No mention of importing XML from Entre to DVD Profiler. If you compared the information exportable from DVD Profiler to what is in the Entre's XML it is very lopsided...that is DVD profiler would be better as the source to populate the information in the Entre.

The need seems to be when OG look up fails and you want the basics: Coverart, title, and category/genre, and overview. To me cutting-n-pasting the information beyond that does not seem like a good use of computer cpu . Coverart, title and overview is about all the energy I want to give out. Now if I could do a click or two to sync a DVD with my DVD Profiler XML then that is easy enough.

Scott-

Thanks for the feedback. Even the "older" verison of the app is amazing for what it is, adn I appreciate all of NiteOwl' work and everyone else's thta is helping out as well. I am just getting into this topic. If you could PM me with some "secret handshake" info I would appreciate it. Also, where to get the latest DVD Edit version...

I wish I knew more about Windows (I am a Mac guy)....I would love to help the effort out more. I like the idea of syncing with DVD Profiler. The reason I asked about export XML was that I have not been using DVD Profiler yet, so I do not have any database at all. I would like to get a head start with the basics you mentioned (title, cover art, etc..) without having to lookup or find the UPC for everything all over again. It woudl be nice if there was a way to sync what is in the DVD Edit XML file with DVD Profiler at least to start my Profiler database. I see from their wab page there is no XML import function, so I am probably SOL on that one anyway.

Mike,

Originally sync'ing with DVDprofiler was one of my goals. As Scott has stated, the Entre and DVDprofiler store their data very differently. For the time being, I am putting this on the backburner. Once I am happy with DVDedit (stability and feature wise), I will revisit this. I do not see this being too far away, just so you know. Only challenge right now is find the time with the holidays around the corner.

Best Wishes,
NiteOwl

Nick,

Sorry about the bounced messages. I truly need to start running my own mail server! Hotmail blows bigtime. I am monitoring my mailbox filesize closely, let me know if you continue to get bounced messages. I set up an account at mail.com to see if that was better but having to use a browser for email is a pain... too used to Outlook.

-Joe

I have been unsuccessful in trying to ftp my Entre. Can someone clue me in or pass along the secret documents on how to do it right. I have tried cuteftp and dos ftp with no success. I'd greatly appreciate it if someone can tell me the steps to take. Thanks in advance!

What do you plan to do with the FTP access? Generally it was used to add coverart but NiteOwls DVDedit software does that now. How would the secret society know that you are not a KW or Escient lawyer? You are new to the forum? -- Scott: avsforum at fauque dot com

For those who are interested in changing the look of your entre GUI here are the details.

You need FTP of course. See NiteOwl for help with this.

I began by snooping around which is when I found the folders below:

\\\\7.0.5\\\\Guiresources\\images\\generic and
\\\\7.0.5\\\\Guiresources\\images\\english

Originally I pulled all images from both folders over to my PC. I used a graphics browser to view all the images and find the ones I recognized.
I saved the originals as orig_the_file_name.jpg or .gif on my PC.

All the original files have names that correspond to what they do i.e. Player_background.jpg So for instance orig_defaultCoverCD.jpg and orig_player_background.gif are originals out of the english folder. I opened these files and looked at there properties.

I either created new or resized existing files to use as replacements. The original files are only 256 color the new files I used were full color and of course look much better. The full screen images on the entre are 720x480. Replace the existing file on the entre and go to the GUI screen to see your new background.

The entre did not seem to notice the change and everything works as it did originally, however do this at your own risk. I am not sure what would happen if the entre did not like the new file, it may lock up. I suggest one at a time for now until we figure out the limitations.

I have begun to think about a way to automate a slide show of sorts. I imagine an app running on an external PC or automation controller that through FTP would rename a file every x minutes so that the background of lets say the guide would change everytime you view that GUI screen on the entre. So one could save a bunch of files in the appropriate folder and call them player background_1.jpg - player background_x.jpg and just copy the files over the original to make the change. I can mange a crestron module to do this but would need assistance to put together a PC based app.

Have fun playing,
Fred

Scott,

Great questions. I just purchased an refurb Entre from the Kenwood Outlet in Santa Fe Springs, CA for $699.97. I have had some issues with it and now I have it running great. I am somewhat of a techie and build my own computers from the ground up. Now, with the Entre, I'd like to explore what I can do with it. That is why I'd like to learn just how to FTP to my Entre. I am interested in changing the GUI graphics and also getting rid of cover art that doesn't work and is just taking up space. I have checked out DVDedit, but I currently just have the Entre hooked up with no DVD changer. Basically, I am using the Entre for storing Mp3s and Internet radio stations for now until my house is built and then I'll be installing a full blown home theater in the new home.

My main goal is to see just what I can do with the Entre outside of media manager and look for ways to improve it's functionality. Someone in this thread said that they changed one of the graphics to point to google and now they can surf the web from their tv/entre. I'd like to look into figuring out a way to set that up as well as posting an html page on the entre that would have all of my favorites on it. For example, where the one user put a link to google, my link would go to a page named something like "favs.html" and on this html page all of my favorite links would be on it so that I could use the entre to surf the web from my family room.

Anyway, I am not a lawyer for Kenwood or Escient. There is no way to prove that I am not, but everyone here could potentially be. Nobody knows! I am just a new user who found these forums after I purchased the entre and I am intrigued by the potential fun I could have with the entre.

That's it, please hook me up!

I'll try dvdedit again tonight. I have never been able to get dvdedit to connect to the entre but media manager works fine. When I try to connect, I just get a "searching" message. For the last time, I don't work for Kenwood. If I did, I surely would provide all the info I could to all of you because I want the entre to work better than advertised.

Thanks again for the info. Does it take a while for dvdedit to connect?

That could be it, I'll revisit my settings tonight. I use windows xp pro, but I do have internet connection firewall disabled. I can get to the entre via media manager though, in my current config. Do I need to have the dv-5900m installed for dvdedit to work? Do I have to tell dvdedit where the entre is (i.e. the ip address)?

Cool, can't wait for work to be over and get cracking on the entre! I'll let you know if I am able to get in.

Hi guys. I'm in Michigan for a one-nighter at Greektown Casino, then off with a group of lawyers to meet a great client tomorrow.

Just wanted to tell you . . . so far, the Escient sucks. It has nothing, I mean nothing over the Entre (less, actually), and the FTP "ability" that it pretends it has, so far doesn't work.

Hats off again to my man, Joe Sampo (and, as sort of the Godfather of this whole scheme, Scott Faque), because we have taken this Entre scheme to where no others have yet tread. I'm privileged to be part of the inner circle. Hans, Robert . . . you know where the core group is.

Joe, if you're interested in developing something for the DVD-M100, let me know and I will "participate."

Nick

Actually that would be news to me. DVDedit, as far as I know, uses the same method as Media Manager...which is not FTP.

No worries, mate. I PM'd him.

RE: Entre Graphics, Coverart, GUI and more....

I must be some sort of sick pup....I can't wait 'til the weekend so that I can try this! I feel like I'm at my ~1994 Windows 3.1 corporate asset. I discover a new game or app that I HAVE to HAVE on my work PC - to waste time at work of course. I load it. I get amazingly horrendous results, and spend the rest of the day figuring out how to restore my network compatability ---AND KEEP MT APP!

aaaah....the bleeding edge!

I tried earlier to use DVDedit and it didn't work. Scott thanks, I received your email but I am not home to try it.

But tomorrow I will be having some fun. I always wanted to make my Entre look more like the Escient. I would rather not have that dark background.

I'm having problems with DVDedit too. Joe mentioned secondary IP settings, but they're set the same as my primary : automatic (DHCP).

Any help?

Jon

I am using HPNA and the second setting are set exactly like the first. Both are set to DHCP. It works fine. Are they both set to ethernet?

I have always had a problem getting the ethernet part to be stable. So i switched to HPNA and haven't had a problem since.

Taking a tip from Fred, I have downloaded all the Entre graphics to my PC, and noticed a few very interesting things: first, all the Open Globe advertising banners seem to be there, so there might be a way, at last, to make these go away. Second, in browsing the files, I came across SMPTE color bars, a pluge and a needle pulse. These might be somewhat useful for calibration to those whoe may not have Avia or DVE. I've never seen these displayed on the Entre itself, however. I wonder how they're accessed. Finally, I'm not sure that there was a full set of the guide graphical components. I hate the orange and black color scheme and would love to be able to change that. Any ideas?

>



*** Connection Problems ***

In the begining I had a problem with DVDedit it took a entre reboot without the ethernet adapter and then plug in the adapter while the unit is on and change your IP by at least one digit. If both ports are set to ethernet and the same IP you should be in business.
Hope this works for you too.


*** Graphics etc. ***

These color bars are available in the setup menu under audio & video settings. I agree about the colors of the guide but that is a selection in the software not a graphic file but I will keep my eyes and ears open.

I did forget to mention something in my previous post. The active *.gif files are replacable also. I replaced the spinning globe you see during lookup with a set of eyes that look around. The OpenGlobe ones should be the same. There is some good animator software out on the web.


*** Need info ***

Has anyone watched serial port 1 while rebooting the entre? I believe this is the console to the Operating system as well as the receiver control port.

Has anyone tried to Telnet in successfully?

Boy am I enjoying this. I never thought getting the entre would be so much fun.

Fred

Fred, from the main thread here you can go to the top of the web page and put text in "search this thread". You then can look for telnet. I think a couple have done this.

Re: serial port. (you can search for this too but more hits)
A couple people have done this as well. I will e-mail their output as I'm sure I still have it.

Re: graphics
I had those all downloaded to my PC already...boy is XPs thumbnail view sweet for looking at them all. I actually had looked at them a few months ago but most of them seemed like they would be boring to replace...i.e. just small icons. I see there are a couple that I would consider replacing now, however. (i.e. background).

Hmm...seems like we should start another thread that has graphic replacements? Not sure if David would allow this, tho. Or not sure if the file size limits on uploads would hamper us. I'd like the eyes looking around instead of the globe spinning !

Have you ever seen the Escient Fireball interface? It is essentially the same as the Entre, but it not only has a different color scheme, but also has a more 3D look. In, say, the music guide, the category (genre) tabs are rounded on top and the menu items have shading added. One would think that these were graphic elements, but perhaps they are excludive to the Fireball and don't exist on the Entre. I'm going to start by trying to get rid of the OpenGlobe banners, as this seems easy to do. This is very cool.


I don't think so. You can obviously telnet into it, but who knows what the UID and password are. I tried my OG UID and password, but they didn't work.