MultiMedia JukeBox v4.1

Dan Fox

3131 Hayes Road #1605

Houston, TX 77082-2660

Overview

This Multimedia utility was written so I could queue up MIDI, WAV and AVI files and listen to them while working in other Windows or DOS based apps running in a DOS box in Windows. It utilizes your installed MCI drivers to control the hardware you have. Additionally you can play any files for which you have installed MCI drivers including animation (FLI) or other compound devices (file based). New with this version is the ability to control a CD ROM drive! These MIDI, waveform and Video for Windows drivers are included with Windows 3.1, the Windows Multimedia Extensions for 3.0 and the Video for Windows software package or run-time module.

To use, install the program into any directory and double click or drag the file from the File Manager into a program group. The VBX files may be copied to your windows/system directory or left in the same directory as mmjuke.exe. You must have a copy of VBRUN300.DLL in your \windows\system directory.

Basics

The JukeBox has two sets of buttons, the VCR like button bar which controls an MCI device while a particular file or the CD is playing and the three buttons labeled Play, Stop and Shuffle which control the Play List. The Play button will start the Que at the first item in the list box and continue playing until all the files have been played. Note: To start the que at another location simply double click on the file in the Play List. The Stop button stops playback of the que. The Shuffle button shuffles the contents of the Play List in a random fashion.

The File Menu

There are two options included on the File menu. They are the Open and Save items that allow you to save Queued lists of files (*.que). These files are stored as ASCII text files and simply contain a list (with full path information) of the files you wish to play.  As a result you have the option to associate .que files with the MultiMedia JukeBox application to quick start the JukeBox using a .que file. The .que file will then be loaded on startup. You can make the association in the File Manager's File menu where there is an option to Associate file types with a specific application. You can also set up separate icons in Program Manager for different .que files in two ways. First if you have made an association for que files simply drag a que file into a program group. Secondly, by giving MMJUKE one parameter containing the full path of the que file. For example in the Command Line edit box you could enter:

c:\midi\mmjuke c:\midi\pop.que

The Edit Menu

This application is drag and drop aware so that you can drag a file from the file manager and deposit it on the application window to add it to the play list. This is more convenient than selecting files through a file dialog each time you wish to add new files.To add files to the que used you may also use the Add option under the Edit menu. You may also delete files from the Play List by highlighting one and pressing the delete key or using the Delete menu option. To clear the contents of the Play List use the Clear option.

The Device Menu

To play a CD check the option under the Devices menu. If your system is able to use the CD Audio device the CD will be interrogated and the tracks will be displayed in the Play List. Use the button bar to control the CD. If and error occurs and you are unable to use the CD be sure to click on the CD Audio option to toggle it off. You can start CD play on any track by double clicking on the track you wish to play.

The Options Menu

To calculate the length of the Play List, click on Options/Show Total Play time and the application will display the length in the box below the Play List. While a file is playing the length of the current selection will display in the box titled Playing Time for Current Selection. The progress of the playing will display in the status bar and optionally in the title bar if the check box is selected.

Also in the Options menu the ability to keep the JukeBox "on top" of the desktop is given along with an option to display the currently installed MCI drivers on the current system. Note: The ABOUT.WAV file must reside in the same directory as mmjuke.exe or the WAV Audio checkbox will not be selected even if your system is able to play WAV files.

Two new options on this menu are the Small Footprint and Play on Open of Que.  By toggling the Small Footprint menu item the application will change sizes to minimize the amount of the desktop used. By clicking on the Play on Open of Que menu item the play list will immediately begin playing when a Que file is opened. This can be used to play startup files upon entering Windows by placing a particular Que in the Startup group in the Program Manager.

Future

I still plan on adding the capability to shuffle the tracks of a CD and allow multiselect on the Add dialog. Other improvements in this version include better performance of the CD driver while working in other apps and the items highlighted in red above.

This is the fourth version of the program with approximately 2,700 previous downloads on Compuserve and America OnLine and distributed on the May 1994 issue of NautilisCD a multimedia CD magazine. This version was rewritten in Visual Basic version 3.0 with the previous ones written in Borland C++ 3.1  I plan on updating it and would appreciate any comments or suggestions.

This version is shareware not freeware so if you find it useful please remit $10 to the above address, Thanks. 6/11/94

danlfox@aol.com

Compuserve 72074,2637


The Media Control Interface is an API (applications programming interface) that allows developers to easily control multimedia devices such as sound boards, video recorders, cd players, etc. It provides a layer of abstraction from the hardware and uses common commands for controlling different types of devices.


Musical Instrument Digital Interface is a shorthand file format for representing a musical score.


Waveform Audio file format that is supported by Windows 3.1 for event sounds. It is a digital recording of sound unlike the representation of a musical score as found in a MIDI file.


Audio Visual Interleave file format supported by Video for Windows that allows the recording and playback of video. It is a digital format that requires a large amount of disk space for even a short video clip.