Can the scheduler be forced to stop at end time no matter what is playing.
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Author Topic: Can the scheduler be forced to stop at end time no matter what is playing.  (Read 396 times)

Offline medic6578

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Can the scheduler be forced to stop at end time no matter what is playing.
« on: December 14, 2018, 05:22:03 AM »


I know this is an old topic but I have been looking for a solution. I use xLights for sequences. I use FPP to run said sequences. Latest version on both. I have schedules set to run for my Christmas show every half hour. I too would like to either have the ending time of the schedule to shut off the sequence at the end time or the starting scheduled time to end any running schedule and start my schedule on time. The way it works now is that times are just suggestions. Hey, FPP when you get around to it can you end or start this schedule. For me its important that the scheduled times are kept no matter what is playing. Hard stops at the end of the schedule are even a hard start where it might stop any running schedule and then starts the new one; the hard stop would be better, but either would be better. I try to use the stop script but sometimes it stops then tries to repeat the schedule again. Also why do all my schedules not allow me to not repeat. I cannot uncheck repeat. Every time they start they have repeat checked.

P.S. I'm not a newbie if anyone is wondering. This is my third holiday season using FPP to run my xLight shows, and I have been a member for just under three years.

Thanks,
Jay
« Last Edit: December 14, 2018, 05:36:27 AM by medic6578 »
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Jay T.

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Online CaptainMurdoch

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Re: Can the scheduler be forced to stop at end time no matter what is playing.
« Reply #1 on: December 14, 2018, 07:57:46 AM »
This is not currently possible, but is on one of the items I want to make sure we get in early next year.  I might even take a look at it before so I can burn in the code after Christmas when my display traffic drops down considerably.

I plan to add a new field to the schedule editor that allows you to select how each scheduled playlist will end when the scheduled end time occurs.  The planned options will be:
  • Stop gracefully (after the currently playing item, the current method)
  • Stop after the current loop
  • Stop Playlist Now (without finishing the current item)
  • Stop Now with LeadOut (stop main playlist now but play the LeadOut section)

The new playlist code supports some of this already, but I need to hook up the logic in the scheduler and update the UI.
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Offline medic6578

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Re: Can the scheduler be forced to stop at end time no matter what is playing.
« Reply #2 on: December 14, 2018, 08:32:35 AM »
Thanks sounds perfect. Also leadOut and leadIn how do I set those up up?


Thanks,
J
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Online CaptainMurdoch

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Re: Can the scheduler be forced to stop at end time no matter what is playing.
« Reply #3 on: December 14, 2018, 08:40:20 AM »
Quote from: medic6578 on December 14, 2018, 08:32:35 AM
Thanks sounds perfect. Also leadOut and leadIn how do I set those up up?

Each playlist has 3 sections, LeadIn, MainPlaylist, and LeadOut.   When you add a new entry to a playlist in the Playlist Editor, the new item gets inserted at the bottom of the Main Playlist section.  After adding an item, if you want it to run only once at the beginning or end of the playlist, just use the mouse to drag the newly inserted item to the LeadIn or Lead Out section above/below the Main Playlist section.

Also, for the issue with the repeat checkbox, it sounds like you are unchecking it on the status screen.  You need to go back into the schedule editor and uncheck the repeat checkbox by the scheduled playlist and then save the schedule.
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Offline jchuchla

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Re: Can the scheduler be forced to stop at end time no matter what is playing.
« Reply #4 on: December 14, 2018, 01:03:56 PM »
Can I add an additional thought to this. I’d like for FPP to check to see if there’s enough time to finish a sequence before starting it. And if not, branch off to something else. For example. If the next sequence is 3 minutes long but there’s only 2:30 left before the end time, skip that sequence and switch to something else  like a static sequence to fill the gap till the end time and cut that off sharp on the end time.


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Online CaptainMurdoch

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Re: Can the scheduler be forced to stop at end time no matter what is playing.
« Reply #5 on: December 14, 2018, 03:29:51 PM »
Quote from: jchuchla on December 14, 2018, 01:03:56 PM
Can I add an additional thought to this. I’d like for FPP to check to see if there’s enough time to finish a sequence before starting it.

I made some notes about this, but this could get complex real quick unless it was just a simple 'filler sequence'.  If we have 5 minutes left and the next sequence is 6 minutes long, so we skip forward and find a 3, now we have 2 minutes left, and the next is 4, do we skip forward to find something less than 2?   What if we have 8 minutes left and the only sequence less than 8 is 2 minutes long, do we play the same sequence over 4 times in a row? It seems like we would always need a filler animation sequence to fill in some kind of gap, whatever is shorter than the shortest normal sequence.  It wouldn't be that hard to make the player/playlist code aware of the scheduled end time or possibly the next scheduled start time so the player could fill in that gap, but I think it would probably be easiest to just have a looping filler sequence to fill the gap.
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Offline Bwinter

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Re: Can the scheduler be forced to stop at end time no matter what is playing.
« Reply #6 on: December 14, 2018, 03:33:12 PM »
Is it that critical that a show ends at a precise time?  How would this function in real life?  Are there HOA police that require a show cut-off at a precise moment?
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Online CaptainMurdoch

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Re: Can the scheduler be forced to stop at end time no matter what is playing.
« Reply #7 on: December 14, 2018, 03:37:47 PM »
Quote from: Bwinter on December 14, 2018, 03:33:12 PM
Is it that critical that a show ends at a precise time?  How would this function in real life?  Are there HOA police that require a show cut-off at a precise moment?

I think it's more about ending on the dot so the next scheduled playlist can start on time.  The idea is that it is more desirable to play a short filler sequence at the end of the previous scheduled playlist than to start the next one late.  This is even more important if the next scheduled playlist isn't set to repeat, because FPP won't start a non-repeating playlist "late".
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Offline Bwinter

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Re: Can the scheduler be forced to stop at end time no matter what is playing.
« Reply #8 on: December 14, 2018, 03:43:58 PM »
Quote from: CaptainMurdoch on December 14, 2018, 03:37:47 PM
Quote from: Bwinter on December 14, 2018, 03:33:12 PM
Is it that critical that a show ends at a precise time?  How would this function in real life?  Are there HOA police that require a show cut-off at a precise moment?

I think it's more about ending on the dot so the next scheduled playlist can start on time.  The idea is that it is more desirable to play a short filler sequence at the end of the previous scheduled playlist than to start the next one late.  This is even more important if the next scheduled playlist isn't set to repeat, because FPP won't start a non-repeating playlist "late".


Hmm...I guess so.  That's just way more micro-managing than I ever care to have in my life.
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Offline jchuchla

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Re: Can the scheduler be forced to stop at end time no matter what is playing.
« Reply #9 on: December 14, 2018, 04:47:25 PM »
Quote from: Bwinter on December 14, 2018, 03:33:12 PM
Is it that critical that a show ends at a precise time?  How would this function in real life?  Are there HOA police that require a show cut-off at a precise moment?
Yes actually. But not so much HOA rules, it’s more municipal codes and regulations. There are jurisdictions that have hard and fast rules about allowable times and when things must end. This generally applies more to commercial displays or those authorized by permit.  FPP has found its way into quite a few of these installations. It’s also common to see noise ordinances where outdoor amplified sound must end by a specific time.


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Offline jchuchla

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Re: Can the scheduler be forced to stop at end time no matter what is playing.
« Reply #10 on: December 14, 2018, 04:54:15 PM »
Quote from: CaptainMurdoch on December 14, 2018, 03:29:51 PM
Quote from: jchuchla on December 14, 2018, 01:03:56 PM
Can I add an additional thought to this. I’d like for FPP to check to see if there’s enough time to finish a sequence before starting it.

I made some notes about this, but this could get complex real quick unless it was just a simple 'filler sequence'.  If we have 5 minutes left and the next sequence is 6 minutes long, so we skip forward and find a 3, now we have 2 minutes left, and the next is 4, do we skip forward to find something less than 2?   What if we have 8 minutes left and the only sequence less than 8 is 2 minutes long, do we play the same sequence over 4 times in a row? It seems like we would always need a filler animation sequence to fill in some kind of gap, whatever is shorter than the shortest normal sequence.  It wouldn't be that hard to make the player/playlist code aware of the scheduled end time or possibly the next scheduled start time so the player could fill in that gap, but I think it would probably be easiest to just have a looping filler sequence to fill the gap.
I totally get where you’re coming from. And I agree. It would probably need to be kept simple with the filler sequence scenario.
However now that you’ve explained it, the scenario where it keeps using the next one that fits is kinda attractive.  And if even if it loops, it’s not really a problem unless it ends up playing the same sequence back to back. But even with this mechanism, it would still never end right at the end time and would need that filler sequence.
In the scenarios I’m envisioning, that filler sequence would be a short looping sequence that would keep looping until the scheduled end time and then would be killed immediatelt at that time.
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Offline Bwinter

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Re: Can the scheduler be forced to stop at end time no matter what is playing.
« Reply #11 on: December 14, 2018, 04:56:58 PM »
I understand ordinances.


But you want FPP to be developed that can allow people to "squeeze one last song in" prior to a scheduled "shut-down time" (because you have five minutes left, but your next song is six minutes--and you expect the software to do something)?


Again, I just don't have any interest in that level of micro-managing in my life.  But hey, if the programmers want to code that, it's up to them--maybe there's a market for this feature.
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Online CaptainMurdoch

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Re: Can the scheduler be forced to stop at end time no matter what is playing.
« Reply #12 on: December 14, 2018, 08:43:08 PM »
Quote from: jchuchla on December 14, 2018, 04:54:15 PM
In the scenarios I’m envisioning, that filler sequence would be a short looping sequence that would keep looping until the scheduled end time and then would be killed immediatelt at that time.

I think that this feature would have use for more people than some might think.  Every year we get asked by someone how they can setup a show that plays for 'X' minutes on the hour and half hour and then has a looping filler sequence to fill out the remaining part of those half hours.  If a playlist could have a 'filler sequence' specified, then you could schedule a non-repeating playlist for 30 minutes while the main part is only 15 and the other 15 would be filled by the filler sequence looping.  I think that the current playlist logic could be updated to add in a Filler section just like the LeadIn/MainPlaylist/LeadOut and the Filler would only execute if there was time to fill at the end of a scheduled time slot.
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Offline algerdes

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Re: Can the scheduler be forced to stop at end time no matter what is playing.
« Reply #13 on: December 21, 2018, 03:05:01 PM »
I know this thread is a few weeks old, but I have a thought.
What if FPP could determine that there isn't enough time to play the next sequence before it is supposed to end?  So, say it is 9:13 and stop is supposed to be at 9:15.  The next selection is 3:15 long.  It is too long to play in the time remaining.  With that, FPP stops.  No need to find something short enough, just finish.
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Online CaptainMurdoch

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Re: Can the scheduler be forced to stop at end time no matter what is playing.
« Reply #14 on: December 21, 2018, 04:47:40 PM »
Quote from: algerdes on December 21, 2018, 03:05:01 PM
I know this thread is a few weeks old, but I have a thought.
What if FPP could determine that there isn't enough time to play the next sequence before it is supposed to end?  So, say it is 9:13 and stop is supposed to be at 9:15.  The next selection is 3:15 long.  It is too long to play in the time remaining.  With that, FPP stops.  No need to find something short enough, just finish.

This could be another option.  I added something to my notes about this so will see what I can do when I go to work on adding the other options for stopping the playlist at the end time.  Essentially it is "stop gracefully without going over time".
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