[loubro]

@ronie


I noticed the Kodi Picture folder has a Slide Show option, however if there are sub folders a second option Recursive Slide Show appears.

I was confused I thought there was a Recursive option in the Screen Saver settings, but when I went to set it, I could not find it.

Is it possible to have it as a setting in the Screen Saver Setting?.

Thanks

Lou

[loubro]

Sorry I am getting a bit confused. The Screen Saver does do a recursive display, but there is no option to turn it on or off.

[ronie]

here's another update:
screensaver.picture.slideshow-6.4.2.zip
hopefully it will now work without issues.

i've also added a setting to enable/disable the recursive slideshow.

customizing the slideshow effects based on file sizes / image content isn't something i would like to add.

[loubro]

Hi @ronie 

I have downloaded and tested it on my Laptop.  Worked perfectly switching between USB and the Google drive.

Will have a longer look tonight and test all the features and check it on other devices. Will also do a long over night performance test as well.

Thanks Again.

[loubro]

Hi @ronie 

Testing it on a Raspberry Pi now, its working fine. I get rotating circles the screen goes dark then it begins. I am crossfading and the first time thru there is a black screen between images, but after the first loop, the images dissolve. Are the images loaded to a cache?  When I changed the images on the cloud they do not update the slideshow. If I reboot I see the old images once and then the new ones.

Then I try to change the Folder to a different one and when the screensaver activated I get the rotating circles ...

I remove the Addon, and reinstall it. I configure it to the folder that gave me the rotating circles and it works fine.

Then I try to change the Folder to the original one and when the screensaver activated I get the rotating circles ...

Here is the log of the session

https://paste.kodi.tv/sufibuqulu

Also I still have the problem that once I am using the Google Drive Folder I cannot change it to another Folder, USB or Microsoft Drive or anything. I know that is Kodi issue. Neither the less I must remove and restore the Addon to make the changes.

 Thanks

[loubro]

@ronie

I noticed a difference between 6.4.0 and 6.4.2 to do with the slides. 

1. The 6.4.0 was locked in Random mode. It worked in 4.2

2. If Crossfade was selected. The image faded to black then the next screen displayed instantly. Now 4.2 the crossfade dissolves between the two images. I noticed that when the images are being loaded from the Cloud it fades to black on the first loop then crossfades on subsequent displays. This clearly indicates the images are cached.

Do you have any idea why or maybe when the cache gets flushed from the cloud?

Or can you set the duration to 15 minutes?

Thanks Again

Lou

[loubro]

I wanted to check that the images were cached by turning off the internet when the screensaver was active and working. I thought that since the images were cached then this would have no impact, instead the slideshow froze. After I reconnected the internet it continued.

[loubro]

@ronie 

I just tried to test it with the Microsoft One Drive - Picture Addon.  

I Just get the spinning circles when it activates or if I select Preview.

Here is the log

https://paste.kodi.tv/gekisulaki

Thanks

[loubro]

The new image I put on Google Drive does eventually show in the slideshow. I had a look at the Properties of Google Drive Addon and it had its cache set to 5 minutes.

I read on Wiki that the cache gets refreshed after 24 hours.

I noticed on another machine the picture not appearing so I stopped the screensaver and touched the directory via the Picture Screen. Then I went to Home and waited for the screensaver and the new picture appeared.  This was 5 minutes after uploading the image. It took about an hour for it to filter through naturally.

I had tried on another occasion to stop and start the screensaver a few times but it didn't appear, obviously I didn't wait an hour.

[loubro]

I am trying to understand how it all works timing wise.  I have multiple screens in different rooms in the house and have to run around seeing what is happening. 

I would ideally like to take a picture on my phone and place it on the google drive and know when it will appear in the screensaver slideshow.

I thought I knew but my partner was not impressed when I said any minute now and nothing happened.

I managed to do an almost instant upload, but I think it was a coincidence based on the time of day (cache schedule flush).  When I went to repeat it, the images did not change, I am still waiting.

The cache is an hour.  I will see if its the same with One Drive when it works.

[loubro]

Regarding the duration of the cache, from my point of view it would be good if you could adjust it. I think an hour was the best compromise.

Normally 24 hours would be okay, however.  If I am having a party and take pictures on my phone I would like them shown in 5 minutes.  If its the weekend and Kodi gets a lot of use then 1 hour would be good.

Perhaps system information could at least say how long and also when the next flush will occur.

[loubro]

A final observation. Every hour when the cache is refreshed, the images do not smoothly switch between images, the screen goes black.  This I think is when the image is stored to disk.

I first noticed this when I wanted to see an image disappear. But then all the subsequent images were refreshed even though nothing had changed.

[ronie]

i think you've mostly got it figured out by now how the screensaver functions, but i'll give you a little rundown anyway:

the first time the screensaver starts, it will create a list of all the images in the selected folder (and subfolders in case recursive is selected).
this process may take a while if you have a large image collection and/or a slow source (which is certainly true for online sources).
while the screensaver is busy to index all your images, you'll see the spinning circle.

once it's done indexing your images, it will save the image list to disk. so the next time you start the screensaver, it does not have to go through this process again, but it will start instantly.

due to the fact that downloading the images for google drive / one drive is a bit slow, you might get a black screen between the images.
the images are indeed cached to disk (this is only true for online sources) so they don't have to be re-downloaded the next time they are shown.

if you run the screensaver for a long time, the indexing process will repeat itself in the background every hour, so if you add new images to a folder, they will be picked up eventually.


in case you experience a problem with this addon, please create a Debug Log of the issue (standard logfiles, like you have been posting are not useful for troubleshooting).
should there be multiple issues, please create a separate Debug Log for each issue.


one...or maybe two final thoughts:
- this addon is a basic picture screensaver, with the emphasis on screensaver. it is not, as many people wish to use it, a photo frame addon.
- the addon will work best with local sources. the 'slowness' of online sources makes them less ideal as a picture source for this addon.

[loubro]

Thanks @ronie 

When I got Kodi the first time over 12 months ago, it was fine, mainly used it for Music, but the local media had to be connected after it had booted.  I have lots of music and lots of images.  I do not look at Covers while I listen to Music.  TV, Movies, Radio, & Games do not interest me.  I am using Raspberries for my Kodis which is why I lose the media when I boot it also means I cannot use the visualisers while the music plays. I dont watch cable or subscribe to spotify. I am 70 years old.

I want to play my favourite music and look at old images when I feel like it they are the only media that interest me.

Also when I have the family around for a party I like to amuse the grand kids and have their pictures appear.

I dont want a photo frame.  I have a huge black screen which is my TV / Media Centre and I would like it to handle my two medias, not music with fan art.  Even when I had Vinyl Records I never looked at the Album after I bought it.

I came down this path because I could not get the local media to attach when my device was turned on, I still don't know if its possible, everything works fine off the media when it is removed and re-plugged. It is obviously only an issue on low end cheap platforms. If I got an Intel based Windows platform none of these issues would occur as I have no problems with Kodi on my Laptop.

Its not about a picture frame, its the big black screen that just sits there. I need it to access my images and music when I relax.

Thank You again

[loubro]

@ronie

This seems to not be consistent.  I tried One Drive when I got your msg and could not get it to fail.

I rebooted and it all failed to connect, so I created a log.


This is the debug log of the One Drive not connecting.

https://paste.kodi.tv/evehiyegoq



The Screensaver does not kick in when I am running in Debug mode.