DMS config file tweaks

This is a far from complete collection of edits that can be performed on various files on the DMS. If you can add or update info on this page, please do!

*.m3u entries:

The .m3u files can now handle multiple tracks from one file. Just put a tab, start time (seconds), tab, end time (seconds) after the path to mark where it starts and ends in the file. -1 can be used to signify the end of the file. For non-audible files, the sections must be consecutive and run up to the end of the file. Here's an example:

 #First Track
 /dos/data/file.mp3	0	60
 #Second Track
 /dos/data/file.mp3	61	120
 #Third Track
 /dos/data/file.mp3	121	-1

*.pbx entries:

"B"

bookmark=on

The "playlist resume" feature is enabled by putting bookmark=on in the playlist's .pbx file. The PMM will retain this setting if the corresponding .bmk file (p#.bmk) is present. You can create one by making an 8 byte file, all zeros, or by switching to that playlist in the PhatBox before re-docking the cartridge.

"F"

force_random=on

Putting force_random=on in the .pbx file for a playlist will automatically put the unit in random mode when that list is started. This must be enabled with check_force_random=on in the playlists's profiles's section of Profiles.ini. The change into random mode will not be reflected on the head unit.

"M"

mag_random=off

In each .pbx file, you can add mag_random=off to prevent that playlist from being included in magazine random. To enable this, you may need check_mag_random=on to the playlist's profile's section in profiles.ini (older firmware only).

Phatbox.ini entries:

Anything set to "on", can also be set to 1 (or any non-zero number). The Windows software may prefer certain values to be set this way.

"A"

audioid=

Audio ID configuration

The behavior of the PhatBox while in SSA modes (only available with certain head unit configurations) is configurable in phatbox.ini. This allows you to tweak how long to wait while your head unit mutes, how long to wait before returning to "track mode", when to start playback relative to switching back to "track mode", whether to play a short clip of the song, and many other things I can't think of yet. These values are stored in phatbox.ini on the PHTSYS partition. The firmware ships with default values we've tested on our head units. Be sure to modify the values under the section header for the head unit configuration you are using. If you encounter any problems with the PhatBox, please revert to the default settings before contacting customer support. To find the right section for VW/Audi, figure out the letter of your type of head unit. This is what you select in the feature menu to configure the firmware, and should be in the range of A-T. Convert this into a number, where A=1, B=2, and so on. Then (if you remember high school math), convert this number to hex (or just count down the through the list). You should find a line looking like fw.3950.*.0008=VWAudi_v7_6, which tells you to use section VWAudi_v7_6. Note that you can remove the beep when switching back to "disc 1", the head unit will still mute the audio for a second, which cannot be changed by the PhatBox, so there will still be an interruption in the audio playback.

The key format is:

audioid.x.y

Where x is 0 - AudioID when already in SSA mode (2-5), this is triggered when pressing the track forward and reverse buttons. 1 - AudioID when re-entering previous SSA mode, triggered when in "track mode"/Disc 1, and press 2-5 to enter the mode previously in. 2 - AudioID when changing SSA mode, triggered when in "track mode"/Disc 1, and pressing 2-5 to enter a different mode than previously in. 3 - Track Audio ID y is a sequential number, starting with 0, of the order to process the command.

The value for modes 0-2 can be one of the following:

A full Unix path, starting with / (e.g. /dos/tts/beep1.wav)

CURRENT

  "The current ... is", not played when extra voice help is disabled

BROWSING

  "Now browsing ...", not played when extra voice help is disabled

HELP

  "To switch ... press", not played when extra voice help is disabled, these files (helpx.mp3) are not shipped with the default firmware, and must be added manually

TITLE

  Text-to-speech generated title of disc (artist/album/genre/playlist)

PLAY

  resume playback of list, or start playback if switching lists, the next directive will be processed immediately

PLAY x

  begin playback of list x seconds into song, next directive is processed immediately

WAIT x

  do nothing for x seconds

WAIT x.xx

  do nothing for x.xx seconds - must be precise to hundredths of a second

STOP

  stop playback

SYNC

  Synchronize the display

END

  switch head unit back to "track mode"

You need to have an END directive and playback started somewhere in the AudioID. Any directive that plays a file will implicitly stop the current playback. With the exception of PLAY, these command will play the entire file before continuing to the next command.

Examples

Default VW settings - stop playback, wait .35 seconds (head unit mutes at this time), read list name, resume playback, wait 7 seconds, switch back to "track mode".

audioid.0.0=STOP audioid.0.1=WAIT 0.35 audioid.0.2=TITLE audioid.0.3=PLAY audioid.0.4=WAIT 7 audioid.0.5=END

Read list name, wait 3 seconds, switch back to "track mode", and begin playing after the switch to avoid the mute.

audioid.0.0=TITLE audioid.0.1=WAIT 3 audioid.0.2=END audioid.0.3=PLAY

Read list name, play a 5 second clip staring 15 seconds into the song, switch back to "track mode", and begin playback from the beginning of the song.

audioid.0.0=TITLE audioid.0.1=PLAY 15 audioid.0.2=WAIT 5 audioid.0.3=STOP audioid.0.4=END audioid.0.5=PLAY 0

For Track AudioID (mode 3), the value can be either path or:

PLAYLIST - "Playlist" "Playlist Name" if track in playlist PLAYLIST_TITLE - "Playlist Name" if track in playlist ARTIST - "Artist" "Artist Name" if Artist found ARTIST_TITLE - "Artist Name" if Artist found ALBUM - And so on..... ALBUM_TITLE GENRE GENRE_TITLE TITLE TITLE_TITLE CURMODE - "Now browsing ..." message for current mode

To make the PMM (2.02 or newer) generate the track title files, open regedit, and create a new DWORD key in "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\PhatNoise\PhatMan" called "MakeVoicePromptForTitle". Set the value to "1". The first time you eject and create all those voice prompts, it could take a while, but after that, the extra time should be much shorter.

"B"

bad_album_db=on

Removing or commenting out bad_album_db=on will cause the album list to be sorted by album title first intead of artist then album title.

"L"

list_title_text

Controls what will be displayed for the "list" (playlist/artist/album/genre) title. It can be any string. %t, %M, %m, and %n will be expanded to title, mode (long name), mode (short name), and list number, respectively.

"R"

rand

Place rand:/dos/data/directory/ in phatbox.ini or profiles.ini to have the Phatbox play a random file from the directory specified, at startup. Make sure it's in the correct profile in profile.ini if there's more than one, or under "default" if that's the only one. A value in phatbox.ini will take precedence over one in profiles.ini. See also "startup_sound".

random=all

See "random=disc".

random=disc

To start the box in random, put random=disc or random=all in phatbox.ini. This may cause screwy behavior on the head unit.

"S"

sleeptime=300000

The time spent in between letters in alphabet seek is configured with sleeptime=300000 in phatbox.ini. The number is how long to wait in microseconds (usleep()), between letters.

ssa_track_text

Configure the track text display in the "SSA" modes. It's similar to list_title_text, where %a=artist, %l=album, %g=genre, %t=title, %T=track number (in album), %f=filename, %p=first playlist the track is in.

startup_sound=/dos/pathtosound.mp3

To make the Phatbox play a sound file at startup, place this entry in phatbox.ini or profiles.ini Make sure it's in the correct profile in profile.ini if there's more than one, or under "default" if that's the only one. A value in phatbox.ini will take precedence over one in profiles.ini. See also "rand".

swap_channels=on

Put this in phatbox.ini to swap the left and right audio outputs.

Profiles.ini entries:

"A"

album_seek=alpha

To enable letter seeking, add album_seek=alpha to the current profile in Profiles.ini. See "bad_album_db" under the Phatbox.ini section for more details.

"C"

check_force_random=on

Putting force_random=on in the .pbx file for a playlist will automatically put the unit in random mode when that list is started. This must be enabled with check_force_random=on in the playlists's profiles's section of Profiles.ini. The change into random mode will not be reflected on the head unit.

check_mag_random=on

In each .pbx file, you can add mag_random=off to prevent that playlist from being included in magazine random. To enable this, you may need check_mag_random=on to the playlist's profile's section in profiles.ini (older firmware only).

"R"

rand

Place rand:/dos/data/directory/ in phatbox.ini or profiles.ini to have the Phatbox play a random file from the directory specified, at startup. Make sure it's in the correct profile in profile.ini if there's more than one, or under "default" if that's the only one. A value in phatbox.ini will take precedence over one in profiles.ini. See also "startup_sound".

"S"

startup_sound=/dos/path/to/sound.mp3

To make the Phatbox play a sound file at startup, place this entry in phatbox.ini or profiles.ini Make sure it's in the correct profile in profile.ini if there's more than one, or under "default" if that's the only one. A value in phatbox.ini will take precedence over one in profiles.ini. See also "rand".