Music Videos and new iOS

I love my music videos. I have hundreds of them.

I like to play them on the TV at home. I do this using my iPhone and my Apple TV connected to my TV (via Sony amp). The problem is I’ve been putting off upgrading my iPhone’s operating system for ages. I finally did it recently, and the next time I went to play my music videos on the TV I couldn’t.

It seems it removed the ability of the music player to play music videos (ok, still plays them, but not landscape, transmitted to airplay devices).

Now the iPad has had this problem for ages. You can listen to the music videos in the music player, but if you want to watch them, you,have to go to the video player. Now the video player is useless for so embody with hundreds of music videos. You can’t play them in shuffle mode, only telling it to play one, then selecting the next and telling it to play and so on. Also you can’t sort my artist or playlists or anything useful like the music player did.

Well I spend ages reading and searching for a solution.

There seemed to be no solution from apple, there response was just that the feature was removed, basically “suck eggs” as far as I can tell, so I had to go looking for an app to restore the functionally.

What I found was MusicVideoPlayer. It pretty much does what was lost.

It has a few problems that I have found with respect to Airplay, but if you just want to view your music videos on your iPad or iPhone’s screen, it’s what you really need.

If you are wishing to view using airplay, then like I said, I ran into a few problems. Below is a copy of a post I’m going to post on the support forums, so hopefully the airplay problems have a solution, and then I’d be giving it a 4 or 4.5 star rating.

– – – – – –

Hi, brought your app the other day. Works fantastically on the iPhone and iPad’s screen, but I’m having some problems with using it over Airplay (to an Apple TV).

On the iPhone when using airplay the phone keeps timing out and locking itself after the normal amount of time, as the app doesn’t stop it from going to sleep. When it goes to sleep it stops sending video to the Apple TV, though it does start sending audio.

On the iPad it very frequently ends at the end of a video (yes I have shuffle on). When you swipe up, the iPad screen that comes up indicates that the music is paused, but the indicator on the app says the music is playing (though the time position is stopped at the end of the video). Pressing the pause button on the app starts it up again. So for some reason it’s status is going out of sync with what the iPad thinks the playing condition is in.

Is this a known problem, and is their a solution?

Thanks.

Taking a fall

Tuesday night when I got out of the shower there were two missed calls from my mother on my phone.

I tried to call her on and off for quarter of an hour, before I finally have up and went to check Facebook I case there was anything I’d missed.

There was a post from an aunt that my grandma had taken a fall, was in hospital and was going to have surgery for a broken hip between 3pm and 7.30pm.

That sounds like a pretty long time for surgery when your 86, so naturally I was worried, but there was soon a update on Facebook saying she came out of it well.

I finally managed to get hold of mum and got more of the story.

Naturally I was worried about grandma. It was about 8pm by now. I rang the evening operations for work (that’s the guy who gets the work phone at home all might after the office closes), and told him what had happened and I really wanted to go up to Christchurch (we live in Dunedin) to see her.

Ops said just go, he’d start ringing around and find cover for my (6.45am) shift.

So half an hour latter myself and my wife were on the road.

There was no use showing up at Christchurch hospital after midnight, so we crashed at an aunts on the way up, started off the next morning, and got there inside visiting hours.

Another aunt was there and just left as we got in.

We chatted with her for about an hour. We managed to get back to,our car park opposite the hospital with just one minute to spare.

She seemed in good spirits, so that was good.

After that it was time to drive home.

We got home about 6.30pm I think. I had a nap, as even though it was early, long distance driving seems to take it out of you.

So she is doing well, and here I am back at work, sitting at my bus stop, waiting for departing time.

Full time camera

Man I really wish I had a good res camera on my glasses all the time, with a easy way to quickly take a shot.

This morning there were two shots I’d love to have taken.

One was a builder, 9.20am on a winters morning, walking past with a plank or some sort of pole, about twelve foot long. This was over one shoulder, while the other hand was carrying his morning coffee. To make the missed picture even better, he was walking towards a hatchback witch had a cricket bat propped into it keeping it open.

Not sure why, but I just liked the scene.

The second shot I would have taken this morning was a helicopter taking off from the roof of the (Dunedin) hospital. It was a lovely blue sky, and I could see it taking off throw the branches of a leafless tree.

It was a good sight, and I think it would have made a good photo. I probably would have taken the shot to early though, as if was thinking that would be a great shot as it was in the thick of the branches, but a little latter when it was near the edge with just a few branches the photo would have be fantastic.

Oh well, no photos, just memories, either way having a good morning even though I had to start driving the bus at 6.50am on a winter morning.

Life’s a lemon and I want my money back

Annoyed!

My float is down $50 in $5 notes. Either I cashed my float last night, or I left my notes on the drivers table.

May have done it last night, or maybe this afternoon.

Last night was routine enough. This afternoon on the other hand was rushed. Once I signed in and read my duty, I had to do a bus change. This means wandering around the yard, looking for a particular parked up bus, start up it up, fill out logbook for it, and then drive it to the changeover bus stop. In this case right out side depo, but just behind the bus exit, which means you have to drive the bus right around the block to get to the right place.

No extra time, so didn’t really have time to get there. Making things worst, I also had to get some more 10c pieces for my float as I was out. I probably took the notes out then. Either way, I’m down on cash, and annoyed about it 🙁

Slack and books

Been pretty lazy recently. While this is the third post today, there has been a big gap before the previous bunch of posts.

Not sure why, but it seems today I’m back from my lazy streak.

Last month I went to the “Regent 24hr book sale”

More of a tradition than anything. My wife likes it as she reads, and thus buys books.

As for me, I used to like it more, as they used to also sell old records and CDs. I love my music, so I’d spend a while hunting through them.

Now they do that as a different event, and I’ve never made it to it yet.

So the book sale has less of an appeal.

Normally I’ll but a drink, grab and ice cream, and go find a comic book to read while my wife loads up on books. I also get to sit back watch the crowd, and listen to the live bands.

Well normally we go about midnight, but I was a little tired, so we never made it until 5am this time. Completely different and quite disappointing.

There was no live band, the food shop was close, and here was only about thirty people wandering around.

A bit of a letdown really.

Oh well, hopefully next year I’ll get there at midnight, music,snacks, and people.

Five way intersections

The sun is shining, it’s lovely and warm, and I’m in a great mood today.

Was sitting at a five way intersection earlier today, and was thinking, “Could traffic be managed better around here”, and now I want to go home and play sim city. Guess I have plans for the evening 🙂

Contrast

Having a great day today. Not to sure why, as yesterday I was having a terrible day. Anxiety was over the roof, but today, I’m great.

Heart beating a little fast right now. Driving down the Main Street, another bus following me, and plenty of cars. Then an ambulance shows up, sirens on, looking like they’re in a hurry.

Hard enough as it is to find somewhere in town to pull a bus over in a hurry, it’s a lot harder when you’re looking for a spot where the bus following you can get out of the way as well. Found a space pretty quickly for the both of us, but it gets your pulse up a little!

Happy and Sunny

Having a good day.

The morning wasn’t to good, had a headache. Have had one every day this week shofar. I think it’s the new dosage of my meds. But took something for it and it didn’t last two long, so that was good.

Heading I to work, there was a heck of a fog. We’re talking two car lengths visibility, max! Luckily I’m just doing running on the flat, and it wasn’t two bad on the flat once off the hills.

Had a early brunch at Burger King. My current shift means I’m working through my wife’s lunch hour, so I can’t dine with her.

Brunch was good, and put me in a good mood for the next section of my shift.

Now the sun is out and it’s nice and warm (behind glass), and sofar today I don’t fell anxious at all, so nice day and I’m felling good.