[addon] PostHaste

[SSDNAdmin]

Author: dzCepheus

Short Description: Helps you manage your BTV post-processing, and hides their UIs and prevents focus stealing

Long Description: PostHaste is a small utility for BeyondTV that lets you easily manage all the post-processing applications you run after a show has completed, from one location. This utility also supports running said post-processing applications without displaying their User Interfaces. To use, copy the EXE to some location on your hard drive and run it. You'll be able to configure the programs that launch, the order they launch in, and whether they hide their UIs or wait their turn. It's pretty self-explanatory, but feel free to ask here for more information.
Version Number: 1.0.0.0
Status: Beta
Last Updated: 4-17-2006
Homepage:
Installation Instructions: Make sure the .NET Framework 2.0 is installed. Just run the EXE from any location on your hard drive.
Release Notes: 1.0.0.0 Beta - 4-17-2006 This is a beta version. If you encounter any errors, please copy and paste the error details here and I'll fix it as soon as I can. It would help to include any information regarding the error that you can.
License:
Requirements: .NET Framework 2.0 (Not included)

Download PostHaste.zip

[dzCepheus]

PostHaste is designed to be called from BTV. Basically, instead of putting your programs in the CustomPostProcessing.xml file, you put them in PostHaste. Then, you put PostHaste.exe in the CustomPostProcessing.xml file.

BTV will pass the filename of whatever video is to be processed to PostHaste, which will then run each of the programs you configured in PostHaste, passing the filename to each in turn.

The point of this is that PostHaste allows you to hide the UI of the post processing programs (like comskip for example) which might otherwise steal focus or cover up the BTV application. Instead of having BTV run the applications, PostHaste does it for you.

Until SS updates the main download link, you'll find the most recent update here:

4-22-06 Update:
-- Fix: Fixed argument handling and passing to post-processing programs. Thanks Geoff

-- Feature: Added debugging text to debug.log file for future debugging help.

-- Feature: Added double-click to edit support to configuration screen.

[geoffstewart]

Silly question.. does BTV run with .NET v2.0? Is it possible to have this app compiled in .NET v1.1? Ooops, I guess that was two silly questions, not one.. sorry.

Geoff

[dzCepheus]

BTV will run if .NET 2.0 is installed, yes. .NET is great that way - you can have both 1.1 and 2.0 installed on the same system and nothing breaks.

As for compiling to 1.1, I don't have the dev tools for 1.1 installed.

[geoffstewart]

OK, I installed .net 2.0 and I can now run it, but I don't think it's doing what I expect. I expect the app to read my C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\SnapStream\Beyond TV\CustomPostProcessing.xml and then let me edit it. Is that not true?

Maybe I just don't get how posthaste will get invoked by snapstream.

Any help?

Geoff

[dzCepheus]

Hey, sorry for the vagueness!

PostHaste is designed to be called from BTV. Basically, instead of putting your programs in the CustomPostProcessing.xml file, you put them in PostHaste. Then, you put PostHaste.exe in the CustomPostProcessing.xml file.

BTV will pass the filename of whatever video is to be processed to PostHaste, which will then run each of the programs you configured in PostHaste, passing the filename to each in turn.

The point of this is that PostHaste allows you to hide the UI of the post processing programs (like comskip for example) which might otherwise steal focus or cover up the BTV application. Instead of having BTV run the applications, PostHaste does it for you.

Let me know if you need any more help. Sorry it took so long to post this.

[geoffstewart]

Ah,

That makes sense. I set it up and it appears to work fine for launching comskip... the hidden part works great!

I had an issue with running AutoXvid, though. It complained about not being able to handle files that end in mpg". Note the trailing quote (").

Any ideas what might cause that problem, but not give comskip an issue?

Geoff

[dzCepheus]

I'm not sure to be honest. Weird. I have an idea but it's not pleasant. :P

I'll see what I can come up with. If I post some changes, will you be willing to test them for me? I don't use AutoXvid (nor do I intend to) so I can't test it myself.

[dzCepheus]

I think I may have found the problem. Give this one a try.

This version will also output a 'debug.log' file in the folder PostHaste is run from. If AutoXvid still doesn't work for you, copy that log file and paste it in the forum for me, if you don't mind.

edit: Also forgot to mention that I made it so you can edit an entry in the configuration window by double-clicking on it. Just a minor convenience.

edit: Check the first reply for this and future updates to PostHaste.

[geoffstewart]

This latest version (from post #9) appears to work now, thanks.

The debug.log will help future debugging for sure... good idea. I like the double-click to edit, too.

Thanks for your efforts on this. I will use this for sure. It's nice to be able to change the post-processing without restarting BTV, too. I see this plugin as a must have, imho.

Geoff

[dzCepheus]

Hehe, thanks Geoff. I appreciate the kind words and the beta testing.

Now I just have to figure out how to update the main download link and we'll be in business. :P

[geoffstewart]

repost to ssdn as you did initially and ss will update the first post with the new binary and any release notes you add.

[dzCepheus]

Oooh... Lol. Thanks

[AdmA]

This is an excellent program, THANK YOU! By the way, what is wrong with BT's forum search function? When I searched for PostHaste...it does not come up for me, I had to find a link in another thread. thanks for any info

[cmcquistion]

AdmA, how did you integrate PostHaste into the Comskip batch process?