orangejedi/aerial

Apple TV screen saver for Windows

aerial's Issues

I am having issues installing the application

I've been running an older version, of this screensaver, and I was notified that one of the issues I submitted was fixed.
However, I seem to be having issues installing the new version (Beta 0.5.4)

Bug description:
When I click preview or settings, the application does not start.
I cannot preview the screensaver or access the settings.

Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Download the application
2. Right click on the app and select install
3. When arriving to the screensaver options click settings or preview
4. Notice that nothing happens.

Expected behavior
When I click on settings, I expect the configuration panel to be displayed.

Screenshots
Several active processes can be noticed in the resource monitors after the actions above are performed

Aerial Version
Beta 0.5.4

Additional context
Up until this moment version 0.5.3 worked just fine. After removing it in order to install 0.5.4, it stopped working as well.

Monitor wont go to sleep

Hello and big thanks for your great work so far.

I am experiencing the issue that the monitor wont go to sleep while the screen saver plays. Although i have setted it up as to go to sleep after 15 minutes nothing happens.

Has anyone else experienced the same issue ? Has anyone find and solution to this ?

Aerial Version
0.5.3

Span Video across multiple Displays.

Multiscreen Support: Play one Video across multiple Screens as if it were one screen.

Choppy video playback

Describe the bug
When the video plays, it seems to skip quite a few frames, usually I have no issue playing video on this computer!

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Let the screensaver play

Expected behavior
Smooth playback would be nice :)

Aerial Version
0.5.0

Additional context
Windows 10 v1909 build 18363.752
I have tried with and without the text overlay

Virus on Windows security scan/smart screen not allowing .scr to be installed

Tested v.5
Windows Security still not let me install the scr-File.
Windows 10 is deleting that File after unpacking zip when im trying to Install it.
Sorry for reopening.
Thanks!

Choosing the cache folder for the videos

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
A clear and concise description of what the problem is. Ex. I'm always frustrated when [...]

Describe the solution you'd like
A clear and concise description of what you want to happen.

Describe alternatives you've considered
A clear and concise description of any alternative solutions or features you've considered.

Additional context
Add any other context or screenshots about the feature request here.

Threat Detection & Quarantined (BitDefender, Windows 10 19041)

Description

BitDefender Total Security neutralized the screensaver file and resulting spawned executable to its quarantine.

Some searched into Atc4 indicate a false positive, which might be so here but was unsure and so posted this for investigation.

No further triage conducted. Files remain quarantined.

Reproduction

Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Have BitDefender Total Security installed on OS and updated with the AV module active.
2. Download the screensaver and copy the SCR file to the Windows root.
3. Open screen saver control panel and attempt to select or preview.
4. BDAV should immediately intercept the files.

Version

v0.5.3

4K Support?

Can I choose to play all videos in 4K?

Extremely High CPU Usage

Describe the bug
High CPU usage and very low GPU usage during playback.

To Reproduce
In normal mode the CPU hits very high utilization and GPU usage is alomost 0%.
If I disable all video processing the CPU seems to lower a bit and GPU takes a little bit of workload ~15%. This was testes both in a laptop with intergrated and discrete graphics and in a desktop with discrete graphics. Both environements came up with the same result. Also when video processing is disabled, little horizontal blurred lines seem to appear in the video playback.

Expected behavior
Shouldn't the CPU have less of a workload than the GPU in this situation, or split the workload between them?

Aerial Version
Beta 0.5.3

Additional context
I have proposed an enhancement #34, don't know if this can be achieved but this could be a good idea.

Video Quality?

Is it possible to choose the quality of the video's? I noticed they are downloaded in 1080p, however I prefer the 4K versions. Can I manually download and replace them by using the same file names?

Error in v5.

As someone else described in one of your closed issues, there is a new Error while Screensavers are not working :(

Video Playback Duplicate

Describe the bug
Sometimes, although rarely, when the screensaver automatically starts, both screens play the same video. I have noticed it only twice. Play same video on both screens is disabled. After the first video, different ones play at each screen.

Aerial Version
Beta 0.5.3

Additional context
Also another "bug", the order of the videos is a little bit predifined. Although which video starts playing when the screensaver starts is different, the combination of which plays in each monitor is almost identical(ex. Downtown with Great Wall 3 always play alongside).

Javascript Error - Type Error [ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE]: The 'path' argument must be one of type string, Buffer or URL....

Describe the bug
When clicked "Update cache" get the exception after open "Move Location" and Cancel

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Click "Move Location" at Video Cache
2. Click "OK" for the dialog message about the complete exclusion of the current cache.
3. Click on 'Cancel' (Folder Selection)
4. Click on "Update cache"
5. See error

Expected behavior
When click Cancel at step 3, it's expected to maintain the configuration of the path

Aerial Version
What version of Aerial are you running? v0.5.3

Screenshots
https://www.loom.com/share/c5b2d986b3c44cdcb9227397e23f7373

Additional context

Video Playback with Default System Player

Related to a Problem
When running the screensaver I observe cpu usage over 50%(on machines that I have with older hardware even larger). Current configuration is a Intel i7-10510U and an Nvidia GTX 1080, so I don't think that the system can't provide enough resources. Also 90% of the time no other apps are running but I still here the fans spinning fast and loud.

Recomendation
Since this is an Electron based application, it makes total sense to load the screensaver on a new Electron window. But this requires a lot of resources.

Taking an idea from the original Aerial project by cDima, why not running the system default video playback app to playback the video?

I am not an Electron type app specialist but I think since it launches an Html file to playback the video, opening an Windows app through Html and WinShell ActiveXObject is possible or JavaScript using a static server to access local storage. I am still researching if this can be 100% possible but it might be a very good idea if it can be done.

Edit
Researched a little bit the issue, is it possible to assign video playback to system media player and have an overlay with the text provided by the Electron? To launch the Win10 built-in video app a URI and "mswindowsvideo" argument could work.
Also since I saw that electron can support C#, why not using some of the source code to playback the video through cDima's Aerial project? If this project's developper agrees on doing so, original Aerial is provided through an MIT License, so there sgould be no problem.

Disclaimer
I am not an expert in programming through Html,Js or C# so apologies if I made some terrible mistake or suggested something stupid. On the other hand I am familiar with Java and C++ and I would be more than happy to contribute to this project through that.

Cache

Hi, great work so far. Plesse add a video cache. Or, maybe a faster solution: let the user download the video themselves, and if Videos in that dir were found, they are played...

Btw: thanks for developer-options. With that, I found out, that the apple-cert wasnt installed. (Tricky & Strange, because the "old" aeral for win did work - it was able to connect, without that cert).

I'm not getting all the screensavers

The app doesn't seem to download the latest videos from apple.
My cache remains with 34 items.

Since the settings ui looks like in the screenshot below, I don't know exactly what to do to get all the content.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Small typo

'Open cache in file explore' should say 'Open cache in File Explorer'

Aerial/web/config.html

Line 102 in b9a8b98

<button class="w3-button w3-white w3-border w3-border-blue w3-round-large" onclick="ipcRenderer.send('openCache');">Open cache in file explore</button>

Settings Menu Light/Dark Mode Switch

Would't be nice for the settings app to automatically change color mode based on the system selected mode? It's more of a final touch-up than a functional improvement, so there is no need to prioritize if approved. It would be nice to be embedded in final testing before stable release.

Still being Supported?

Just wondering if this version of Aerial for Windows is still being supported. Seems all the other versions so far have gone dormant.

I tried to offer some reasons as to why Issue #51 is occurring. I also feel Aerial for Windows from the following URL could help solve some of the issues being experienced with this version.

https://github.com/thoemmi/AerialForWindows

For example, that version has a setting that allows the monitors to go to sleep after x amount of time. That would solve the issue with monitors not sleeping. (See issue #51 )

This version, supports all the videos available from Apple. The above version does not.

There may be other issues that 'theemmi' version can help solve... like video playback issues.

Videos list scrollbar goes out of bounds

Describe the bug
In the Videos tab of the Settings application, the scrollbar for the list of videos on the left goes out of reach, see the gif below

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Open the Settings
2. Click on Videos
3. Use the scrollbar all the way to the bottom

Expected behavior
It should stop when it hits the edge of the window

Screenshots

Aerial Version
0.5.2

Settings > Text > Position settings doesn't save, but do apply

Describe the bug
When changing text position settings, after setting them and exiting settings, then opening settings, the text positions settings reset to default, but they do apply once the screen saver starts.

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Go to Settings
2. Click on Text
3. Chick on Position
4. Apply settings
5. Exit settings
6. Open settings and view Text > Position

Expected behavior
Previous set settings are shown.

Aerial Version
Beta 0.5.2

Folder path for cache

HI, thanks for your work.
Can you add a variable in the video cache settings to set the cache folder path ?
Thanks you :)

Add SourceMap to project for easier Devtools usage

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
Keep your client-side code readable and debuggable even after you've combined, minified or compiled it. Use source maps to map your source code to your compiled code.

Describe the solution you'd like
I would like to have a DevTools compatible SourceMap in ./resources/app/web/uri.all.js.map. This makes it easier to develop and maintain the code.

Describe alternatives you've considered
This should have a low priority and should only be considered if current contributers or testers use the DevTools application.

Additional context
Documentation:
https://developers.google.com/web/tools/chrome-devtools/javascript/source-maps

ChangeLog File

Can a ChangeLog file be created so changes can be tracked? Also brainstorming for new improvements would be made easier since all the current info would be centralized and explained better. If it's not possible from the aspect of time to work on it, I can help on editing and keeping it up to date.

Vertical (portrait) causes bad proportions

Hey!

I think there should be the option to choose a fit. Specially for vertical resolutions.

Create markdown documentation indicating launch parameters

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
Having the launch options more easily available allows more flexibility to the endusers. It also allows for easier debugging because people can open the error console.

Describe the solution you'd like
I would like to have a section in the README.md indicating the possible launch parameters and their effects.

Describe alternatives you've considered
An alternate solution to this problem is to create a separate markdown documentation file indicating the possible launch parameters and their effects. Then only a reference to this separate file should be added README.md document.

Additional context

Changes don't apply instantly

Describe the bug
When selecting and deselecting a video, downloading or deleting it doesn't take place until the menu is closed and reopened or the screensaver auto starts. Both Automatically download when checked and Automatically remove unchecked videos options are enabled. Also all videos are set download when checked.

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Enable Automatically download when checked and Automatically remove unchecked videos.
2. Set all videos to download when checked.
3. Deselect a video and observe the cache folder, it has not been deleted.
4. Close and reopen settings menu, video is now deleted.

This also applies when downlaoding a new video. Updating the cache size after deselecting a video also indicates that the video has not been deleted.

Expected behavior
Shouldn't the changes take effect instantly?

Aerial Version
Beta 0.5.3

Virus on Windows security scan/smart screen not allowing .scr to be installed

When downloading in windows 10 with chrome, the scr wont even download as it is stopped as a virus

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. download

Expected behavior
download finishes

Screenshots
https://pastepic.xyz/image/annotation-2020-03-29-234633.fvZsp

Aerial Version
0.4.0

Additional context
zip would only display config screen would not run

BOTCHED UNINSTALL - CANNOT RE-INSTALL SUCCESSFULLY

[aerial-v0.5.3.zip]

So I changed the default folder (cuz I downloaded the 4K vids and re-encoded them), did a bunch of other stuff (sorry! wasn't keeping track!), and then AERIAL freaked out and wouldn't work. I somehow damaged what it knew of the file directory.

So I thought deleting the SCR file would be good enough and all I would have to do is re-install it.

Well, I was wrong. I completely forgot about the separate "configuration" program.

So yeah, it won't work for me now no matter what I do.

I NEED IT BACK. I NEED AERIAL IN MY LIFE. lol

Thanks in advance for any technical insight and advice (no personal opinions). 🤙🏽

Preview Button Inside Settings Menu

Is it possible to add a preview button inside the settings menu. Closing and opening the settings menu before being able to preview the screensaver is pretty simple, although when needed to be done multiple times can be a little be disturbing.

24h time format

v.0.5.1
Text (clock) is in 12h format. A format like the systems time format would be nice. (I'm using 24h format..)

Hey, thanks, great work, there is no much negative left..

French localization

Is there a way to localize this? I can help with French localization. Also, thank you for continuing the Windows Aerial, I'm glad this is being maintained.

Change text area

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
The video description text is great, but it doesn't span the full width of the screen, it wraps about a 1/3 of the way through.

Describe the solution you'd like
Text uses full width of display when necessary.

Describe alternatives you've considered
Changing text size.

Additional context

Separately update videos.json and Aerial Screensaver App

All this would apply after the original auto-update is introduced.

Since the videos list is updated frequently by Apple and there is no way to keep up releasing new version of the app to accomodate the new videos every time this happens, is there any chance that the videos.json file is updated separately from the main app. One task would only check for new videos and the other only for new app versions, assuming that an app update isn't required so that the new videos can be added to the settings list.

Add an option to retrieve local sunrise/sunset time from online providers

As the title suggested.

It would be a nice QoL improvement to have the sunrise/sunset time retrieved from the online providers based on the location reported by the Windows system, or by Lat-Long set manually by the user.

Add simple weather info

I'd like to help with adding weather information. I was thinking a weather icon and temperature information would look sleek along with the time.

Font drop-down menu

For the time being, we can change font on the text area by typing the name and see if that exists or by opening the control panel and checking the available fonts windows have. Can the list of the fonts that windows have preinstalled be displayed on a drop-down menu for easier acces?

Unable to use `settings` or `example` in windows screen protection settings screen.

Describe the bug
Unable to use settings or example in windows screen protection settings screen.

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Download 0.5.2 zip release.
2. Unzip to folder with correct permissions.
3. Run aerial.scr
4. Configure my settings (like changing cache folder location).
5. Closing the application.
6. Opening Windows Screen Protection Settings.
7. Press Settings or Example.

Expected behavior
I expect that AerialJs shows the configuration screen when I press settings and have it show videos when I press example.

Screenshots

Aerial Version
Beta 0.5.2

Additional context
Running the application with aerial.scr /t /dt /nq works. Maybe document these parameters?
The only error I got was:

(electron) The default value of app.allowRendererProcessReuse is deprecated, it is currently "false". It will change to be "true" in Electron 9. For more information please check https://github.com/electron/electron/issues/18397

Click Preview shows Aerial clock but videos don't show on screen

Thanks for the 0.4.0 beta today. Installed using the Zip File and when clicking preview, only the clock text appears, no video.

I did have the original Aerial by cDima installed, I deleted it from the c:\Windows folder.

Video is stuck at it's end during playback

Describe the bug
Specifically only the Los Angeles Int'l Airport gets stucks after it is played all the way through and it doesn't transition to the next video. This can go for hours if the screensaver is not stopped. Sometimes it seems to get to next video and sometimes it doesn't.

I don't know if is the video causing the issue or any option in the settings menu. When I play it back from file explorer seems to work fine.

Aerial Version
Beta 0.5.3

Checking for half downloaded videos

Taking into consideration the error which popped in #39 should the app check every time it starts whether a video is downloaded partially or is corrupted?

More specifically I mean that if, for example, the computer loses connectivity with the internet when downloading a video it should delete it and start over again, to exclude any chance the video is corrupted. This example could also apply in a sudden reboot or loss of power.

I haven't reviewed the script that checks for the downloaded videos in depth, so if this has been taken care already just close/delete this issue.

In "videos.json" the '105' 7C643A39-C0B2-4BA0-8BC2-2EAA47CC580E line should read....

"Over central Europe heading toward Russia"

Random Screen Video Playback

Random video playback on double monitor setup.

Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. I let the screensaver run automatically, only the main monitor works and second monitor is black
2. I change the option to display same video on all screens(functions normally).
3. I turn off same video playback on all screens, only the second monitor works and main monitor is black

Aerial Version
Beta 0.5.3

More text customisation

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
I really like the layout of the clock and date on the default Windows lockscreen and was wondering whether it could be replicated!

Describe the solution you'd like
Either an option to replicate the Windows lockscreen entirely or just a couple of settings to change each text's font size individually, and to allow line breaks in the text. E.g. it would be cool to do something like 'HH:mm /n dddd D MMMM' and then have the clock slightly bigger than the date :)

Describe alternatives you've considered
At the moment I have HH:mm dddd D MMMM set up.

Additional context
Here's an example of the Windows lockscreen which I personally think looks quite nice

The app doesn't play the same video on all screens every time

The same video every screen setting is checked, but the app often plays different videos on each screen.

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Make sure the right setting is made (to play the same video on all screens)
2. Click on 'preview', or wait for the screensaver to launch
3. Notice that different videos are played.

Expected behavior
When I make that setting, I expect the same video to be played on both screens.

Aerial Version
Beta 0.5.3

Additional context
It doesn't happen all the time. Sometimes the same video is played.

I recorded a video with my phone to show the behavior.
Untitled.zip

bad performance / massive framedrops ONLY as screensaver (not in preview)

I'm using Aerial 0.5.3 on Windows 10 2004 x64 (older AMD Radeon GPU with latest driver). It's an older/slower system, but Aerial works fine in preview mode or when started manually (aerial.src /s). With fine I mean I see a relatively high framerate, no or little notable frame drops.

Oddly it's very different when Aerial gets started by Windows as screen saver. The framerate drops down to something below 10 frames per second (massive frame drops).

I've enabled disable all video processing, set my Windows power setting to maximum performance, etc but it didn't improve.

The workaround I'm currently using is to start aerial.src /s as Scheduled Task after some idle time. With this workaround I'm getting the same good performance as when started as preview / manually. It works fine, but has some disadvantages (only works when my user is interactively logged in / would need to set it up for every user, no lock screen).

(For anyone ending up here for this workaround this is what works for me:

• extract aerial to c:\opt\aerial
• copy aerial.src to aerial.exe
• create a shortcut in the same dir for aerial.exe /s named aerial (= aerial.lnk)
• right click aerial.lnk -> properties -> select "start maximized"
• create a scheduled task with trigger idle (set idle time under conditions tab) and action
  • program: c:\windows\system32\cmd.exe
  • args: /c start /b c:\opt\aerial\aerial.lnk

)

Does anyone have any idea why I'm seeing such a big performance difference between screensaver and preview mode?

New languages

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
It would be a good idea to add new languages when added time and date options, I could help with that. Spanish, Basque, French, Catalá

Not Playing on Bootcamp

I get a blank screen in both preview and the actual screen saver, is there a reason this wouldn't work while running Windows in Bootcamp?

Add Video Thumbnail in Settings Menu

Recently I have been deselecting videos from the menu, so I can see more often the ones I like th most. During this process I have been going back and forth between the videos.json and the cache path to determine which video I don't want, getting its id to crosscheck it with its name and finally deselect it.
I think a good idea is to display a thumbnail for each video when clicking on it through the menu. This will make the video selection even easier. Of course the Video menu page has to be redesigned in order for that to be achieved. An idea would be to have the Profiles section in a seperate submenu.
Also I can make the thumbnails for all of the videos available on the video list site. I was thinking a name format of videoid_thumb.jpg. Then, when a video was clicked a function could get the id of the video clicked, concate the _thumb.jpg to it and search for the thumbnail in a specified directory. I look forward to help with that!

Can't start screensaver or enter settings menu

Downloaded a fresh copy of the .src file and installed it. In the Windows Screensaver Settings when I click either the settings or the preview button nothing is displayed, although multiple instances of areal are created when I open the task manager.

Perfomed a restart and a complete deletion of all aerial related files, doesn't see to fix the issue.

Aerial Version
Beta 0.5.3