Gforce 4 and Win 7 Media Center 64-bit?

[reiver99]

Great news that Gforce 4 will be supporting WMP in Win 7 64-bit...many thanks.

I may have missed this in discussions so I gotta ask-->does the fix for 64-bit allow Gforce 4 visualizations to play properly in Win 7 64-bit Media Center?

<Fingers crossed>

[sitsparky]

Hi reiver99. To be clear, the current version of G-Force (3.9.4) does work with the 32-bit version of Windows Media Player, which also comes installed on Windows 7 x64. You may launch this version of WMP manually by navigating to the following folder:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Media Player\

Unfortunately, Win 7 x64 only ships with a 64-bit version of WMC. However, G-Force 4 will address plug-in support for both the 64-bit versions of WMP and WMC.

[juxtiphi]

Hi reiver99. To be clear, the current version of G-Force (3.9.4) does work with the 32-bit version of Windows Media Player, which also comes installed on Windows 7 x64. You may launch this version of WMP manually by navigating to the following folder:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Media Player\

Unfortunately, Win 7 x64 only ships with a 64-bit version of WMC. However, G-Force 4 will address plug-in support for both the 64-bit versions of WMP and WMC.

Hi sitsparky!

I am glad someone who really knows whats up has joined the forum.

[sitsparky]

Thanks, juxtiphi.

Though, seriously, I cannot take away from what you and a few others have brought to these forums over the years. As a SoundSpectrum employee, and with major changes in the works, I figured I would be a bit more active in the forums to let people know what's going on from a support and update perspective. However, your insight, general appreciation of our software, and eagerness to help out those new to our products or these forums is invaluable and much appreciated.

Cheers!

[WeeBenz]

G-Force 4 will address plug-in support for both the 64-bit versions of WMP and WMC.

Do you have an expected date for 64 bit support and will I have to buy a new subscription to get this functionality?

[sitsparky]

Do you have an expected date for 64 bit support and will I have to buy a new subscription to get this functionality?

I can't give a specific date on availability of GF 4.0. Though, I've gotten word that most of the major hurdles have been taken care of, and we would like to get a beta version out as quickly as possible.

If your GF license has expired then you will need to renew in order to gain access to new updates. If your license is still active and eligible for download access, feel free to add yourself to the G-Force Beta List and you will be sent an email when the beta version is available.

Beta List Addition / Removal:
http://www.soundspectrum.com/support/beta_list.html

[andy55]

As folks on the G-Force beta list know, G-Force 4.0b1 was released today! Yay!

The good news is that other than testing and a few minor details, it's basically ready to go!

However, in order to have a timely release of G-Force 4, 64 bit support on the Windows side unfortunately has been pushed off a couple months. Microsoft's development environment and documentation for 64 bit production is surprisingly primitive (since only a tiny fraction of a percent of C++ developers ever target x64). Worse, there's a couple Windows APIs that SoundSpectrum uses that are not available in 64 bit. We hope to offer 64 bit Windows support within the coming couple of months (or sooner), but I can't make any further estimates until we get into the nitty gritty.

I should have a clearer picture in a couple weeks on when we can expect to see 64 bit support on Windows. Until then, I don't want to heighten any expectations since one missing API under 64 bit can set development back by many weeks. Just so people have a feeling for what the hurdles are, 64 bit development is generally only undertaken by driver and kernel developers. Since those groups of developers tend to use a limited number of OS APIs, the 64 bit support and documentation for the developers NOT in those groups can be described as minimal at best.

Just that we're all on the same page, note that 64-bit support on Windows *only* affects operation of SoundSpectrum products under Windows Media Center on 64-bit versions of Windows. This is because Windows Media *Player* that runs on the 64 bit version of Windows is the *32* bit version (so all the plugins it loads are 32 bit). Also, to put things in perspective, please realize that there are exactly ZERO third party developers that currently offer 64-bit visual plugins under Windows, for ANY audio player. SoundSpectrum will be the first -- but let's just hope there's no major roadblocks.

Thanks for being patient!

Andy

[reiver99]

Since MS and Dell are actively pushing people into upgrading to Windows 7 64-bit, you would think MS would provide more info for developers....(!)

I'm sure I can speak for the 64-bit Media Center crowd to thank you for keeping us posted. My bottle of champagne is waiting to be opened.

[andy55]

Since MS and Dell are actively pushing people into upgrading to Windows 7 64-bit, you would think MS would provide more info for developers....(!)

I'm sure I can speak for the 64-bit Media Center crowd to thank you for keeping us posted. My bottle of champagne is waiting to be opened.

A nice ray of sunshine on this front... I now have G-Force compiling for x86. The remaining, more painful steps:

- Linking (where any libs not available in x86 will show their ugly head) -- should be accessed in a couple days.

- Deployment. Unlike OS X, Windows is a nightmare when it comes to 32 and 64 bit library deployment: the registry, "WOW64 redirection", and separate binary files. Basically, unless there's some Windows "x64" DLL pros out there, I'm on the hook to learn the entire way MS does stuff (which as I mentioned is poorly organized and documented since the ratio of Windows x64 developers is very small).

[markcu]

Since MS and Dell are actively pushing people into upgrading to Windows 7 64-bit, you would think MS would provide more info for developers....(!)

I'm sure I can speak for the 64-bit Media Center crowd to thank you for keeping us posted. My bottle of champagne is waiting to be opened.

A nice ray of sunshine on this front... I now have G-Force compiling for x86. The remaining, more painful steps:

- Linking (where any libs not available in x86 will show their ugly head) -- should be accessed in a couple days.

- Deployment. Unlike OS X, Windows is a nightmare when it comes to 32 and 64 bit library deployment: the registry, "WOW64 redirection", and separate binary files. Basically, unless there's some Windows "x64" DLL pros out there, I'm on the hook to learn the entire way MS does stuff (which as I mentioned is poorly organized and documented since the ratio of Windows x64 developers is very small).

Hi, I was wondering if there is any update on progress for th x64bit version. It's been almost a couple of months and I wonder if there is any news.

Cheers,

Mark.

[Sprinx]

However, in order to have a timely release of G-Force 4, 64 bit support on the Windows side unfortunately has been pushed off a couple months.

I will buy the platinum version as soon as it is compatible with WMC 7 64-bit. I cannot downgrade to x86 Win 7, as it would be a huge undertaking to re-do all my settings and programs. I am in love with G-Force since I downloaded the demo, but it's just not convenient to minimize WMC, load up WMP, and then click a few times to get the visualization.

The album art "waterfall" and the pictures slideshow that come with WMC are neat, but not as entertaining. If people are over and music is playing, G-Force just sets the mood.

Just wanted to add myself to the list of people waiting for x64 support. I was minutes away from buying before I found out that it would not work with 64-bit WMC. You have a great product, and I will gladly support it when my PC is supported.

[Xaero]

Yes, the question of support WMC x64 in new versions of soundspectrum products is especially actual for users htpc. I join the Sprinx and with impatience I wait for new versions!

[sprootie]

Just another +1 to the WMC x64 support. I was subscribed to GForce and whitecap for a few years until my media center machine was upgraded to x64. I'll be a subscriber again as soon as WMC x64 support is in, as this was my primary use for Gforce...

[markcu]

Ok, so now I'm pretty fed up with the whole issue with 64 bit suport on WMC.

This was broadly ecpected to be around at the start of the year, ok it wasn't.

The biggest problem is that complete lack of communication about the whole thing. The last update from soundspectrum was in May. (in this thread) And my post in June has been completely ignored.

I dont think it's too much to ask for an update every now and again....even it's just to say there has been no progress.....

[juxtiphi]

Ok, so now I'm pretty fed up with the whole issue with 64 bit suport on WMC.

This was broadly ecpected to be around at the start of the year, ok it wasn't.

The biggest problem is that complete lack of communication about the whole thing. The last update from soundspectrum was in May. (in this thread) And my post in June has been completely ignored.

I dont think it's too much to ask for an update every now and again....even it's just to say there has been no progress.....

your post isnt being ignored, there just isnt anyone here at the moment to give you the answer you deserve.

all I can say is hang in there.