[Fixed in v7.0] Different format

[ricardo8369]

I'm not too sure if the latest Windows updates have done this from this date 21/06/2023, (I couldn't get into all the different Windows settings, in Windows settings) or the latest Intel graphics update??? But the interface format has changed. I have managed to do a full system restore, but the interface hasn't changed back to normal. (I'm using v6 CMC.)

[Jamie]

I'm not too sure if the latest Windows updates have done this from this date 21/06/2023, (I couldn't get into all the different Windows settings, in Windows settings) or the latest Intel graphics update??? But the interface format has changed. I have managed to do a full system restore, but the interface hasn't changed back to normal. (I'm using v6 CMC.)

Are you referring to the wrap around titles? That is the CMC default setting. You have to change that in the CMC settings. See Settings

CMC.png (118.43 KiB) Viewed 4416 times

Attachment

[ricardo8369]

No, the interface itself. It should be more open out, without seeing the black bars top & bottom and also the banner (right at the top) showing, with Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc

[ricardo8369]

See attachment

[ricardo8369]

This is how it should look like, without anything else showing
See attachment

[ricardo8369]

(When CMC is loading)

[Pauven]

Sorry for my late reply, I'm dealing with several heath issues at the moment.

I have seen a similar issue on one of my HTPC's, also an up to date Win11 PC, but running on an NVidia GPU & drivers. At one point, this PC did use Intel integrated graphics & drivers, and I think that's still installed since the CPU is unchanged, so it's possible that Intel GPU drivers are influencing the results, but I don't want to jump to any conclusions. I have not seen this on my other Win11 PC, which is running an AMD cpu and Nvidia GPU.

I'm fairly certain CMC v6 was working fine on this PC when it was released last year, so I too am wondering if a Win11 update has broken something. The Nvidia drivers were not updated for a very long time, so I don't think they were a culprit. And ditto the Intel drivers, I stopped maintaining them after installing the Nvidia GPU. So it seems more likely that this is a Win11 update related issue. But CMC v6 does seem to have some unusual bugs cropping up lately, so I've been meaning to go back and test on v5 to see if that has any impact.

On my PC, the issue presents as the GUI slightly shifted left (I see a sliver of background on the right side), and the GUI no longer overlays the task bar as it should - I had to turn on auto-hiding of the task bar just to see the full GUI. As to whether or not your issue is related is uncertain, since yours presents with slightly different graphical anomalies. What does seem obvious to me is that the GUI did not scale to your display resolution, which makes me think that you have an atypical resolution (non-16:9). The gray icon bar you see at the top is normally hidden above the screen on a 16:9 screen, and then the scaling routine will move it further up if needed to keep it hidden - since you can see it that tells me the scaling routine is failing somehow. This scaling routine uses data provided by the Windows OS via an API, and I have seen changes in this functionality in recent years, so this lends credence to a Windows update at the root of this issue.

I do have a hunch on what is going on. The programming tool version I use to compile CMC is now several years old and out of date. I do have new, up to date versions, but we discovered an issue where CMC would crash to desktop when scaling was greater than something like 150% when I compiled with the newer versions, so I reverted back to using the older compiler since it didn't have this issue. What may be happening is that Windows GUI changes are not properly handled by the old compiler, and this may be fixed by using an up-to-date version. Unfortunately, this probably means that the new-compiler crash issue returns, as it seems unlikely that this compiler bug was resolved in the past year.

I have been contemplating a partial rewrite of CMC. Back when I first started writing CMC around 6 years ago, I was very inexperienced in programming an app of this complexity, and I sure made plenty of poor design choices. Probably the biggest mistake is how I created the GUI itself, and this might even be related to why CMC crashes on the new compiler at high scaling percentages, which is an issue I could not recreate in dedicated test apps with all new code, so this rewrite idea holds some promise. I wouldn't have to rewrite all of CMC, most of the code would carry over, only the GUI bits need to be redeveloped. Still, that's a significant undertaking so I doubt I could accomplish it this year.

So most likely my path forward is to compile the next CMC version with the new compiler, and simply let users know that display scaling must be 150% or less. I can probably even put in a scaling check and show a notification if an incompatible scaling % is detected. Perhaps I'll even compile the next version with both old and new compilers to give affected users a workaround.


In the meanwhile, here's what I need from you:

Please provide me your Windows display resolution and scaling % (for all connected displays if more than one, and point out which one runs CMC).

In CMC, enable Debug mode, save, close and restart CMC, then close again. Then provide me all of the newly created debug log files in the Logs subfolder - I believe you already have my email address from when you got a license years ago.

Thanks,
Paul

[Pauven]

I received your emails, thanks.

First, I realize now I assumed you were running Win11, probably because you mentioned recent updates, but you're on Win10 22H2 - my mistake. Good to know this isn't just a Win11 issue.

Second, I'm quite shocked at your display resolution - you're using a 4:3 1024x768 screen?! I never imagined anyone would use such a legacy resolution for a HTPC, so I have to ask: have you been using this successfully with CMC, or was this a recent change?

I did get your follow-up that you'll be replacing that display with a projector, sounds great, and it makes me wonder if that might even resolve the issue - but I have my doubts. Any chance you have any other screens with a different resolution that you can test?

The file you emailed was the CMC cfg file, which shows me that debug logging is enabled (great!), but I didn't receive any debug log files. Can you check again in the Logs subfolder in the CMC program directory. I need all log files with date/timestamps around the last time you started/closed CMC.

[ricardo8369]

Just a quick reply. Well both my monitors are 16:9 months, not 4:3. and I did forget that I am now using a 1080p DVI-D 24+1 Pin Male to VGA 15Pin Female Active Cable Adapter Converter, because of the connections. So I wonder if that could be anything, to do with it?
But as the projector will be the main display and it shows up normal, then I won’t be too bothered on the computer monitor. Before I can use the projector I will need to finish off all the settings for my self built MadVR, whenever I get around to do that. Just remembered that the MadVR is running on Windows 11. I can’t get the other computer that has CMC running Windows 11 cos of the motherboard and I can’t find one that is totally compatible to run everything that it’s running on my Windows 10 computer right now.
I might get lucky and it shows normal on the projector, who knows???

[ricardo8369]

I guess I will have to move out the AV cabinet to check which cable and Adapter Converter, which is a bit of a pain in the ass, as the cabinet is taller than me, I’m 6’2.5” tall and it’s taller than me. I’ll send the other to you, by email, if I can find it???