Re: TotalMix Volume Control for Windows (Latest Release: v0.5.0)

Unfortunatelly the software stops working quite often. I think it's a great idea, but would expect RME to include a similiar solution in the driver / TotalMix software and not relying on users needing to come up with hacks (like the Midi/Autohotkey solution) or writing own programs to support basic functions like easy to use system wide volume control!

Re: TotalMix Volume Control for Windows (Latest Release: v0.5.0)

I'll do my best to make this all configurable soon.

53 (edited by rpnfan 2022-03-28 15:30:56)

Re: TotalMix Volume Control for Windows (Latest Release: v0.5.0)

Thanks fgimian!

In the meantime I tried your software more. I have not found a pattern when the connection is lost. Currently it has been running fine for about a day. Yesterday I lost the connection several times. Nothing changed at all -- I even did not reboot, just restarted your volume control software.

EDIT: and connection lost again -- without any change... :-(

EDIT 2: I used the software for some days, but it just does not function reliable. I removed it again. It's more cumbersome to have a "solution" which some times works and then just stops. Anyway, thanks for the efforts. I really wonder why not more users ask for such a solution and that RME would provide that with their drivers!

Re: TotalMix Volume Control for Windows (Latest Release: v0.5.0)

fgimian,

thank you so much for this app!
I was using the midi function (loopmidi+totalkey) and I've just switched using your app and up to this point seems to me much more stable and with much better funcionality/presentation.

I am sorry to hear that other users experience problems, for me it seems to be working with no problems.
However if anything goes wrong I will report it here.

Many mant THANKS again!

55 (edited by sbcrikey 2022-03-27 01:40:57)

Re: TotalMix Volume Control for Windows (Latest Release: v0.5.0)

hi fgimian

thanks for all your efforts to create this tool for all of us to enjoy smile

Running a Windows 8.1 machine, 64 bit version. I downloaded and installed your ver 0.4.0 and it appeared to all go well. I see the steps for configuring the OSC control, port settings and IP address to use and I'm getting the message "Successfully communicating with your RME device". Seeing this message both with my BBF Pro FS and UCXII but I'm not seeing the volume window when I make any changes. Is there something I forgot? I never tried your earlier versions so maybe I'm missing something or unaware of some other setting I need to check. I did restart Totalmix after installing but did not reboot the PC.

I'm really looking forward to using it. Thanks again for any help you can give.

***just read the README on git. Am I correct that this tool will only work on laptops with volume hot keys? perhaps that's my problem. I was assuming it would work on the BBF encoder, ARC USB or any slider level change in Totalmix for phones or main out.

****I answered my own question that the tool is indeed for laptops with volume/mute keys. I installed it on my laptop and I see the graphic indicating TotalMIX Volume" but apparently my install didn't go so smoothly because all that shows is a dash "-" and I don't see the message that it's successfully communicating with my BBF on the laptop.

Any ideas how to handle this? Thanks again.

56 (edited by sbcrikey 2022-03-28 17:16:39)

Re: TotalMix Volume Control for Windows (Latest Release: v0.5.0)

Sorry to keep piling on but yesterday, the TM volume control started working on my laptop hmm

I was doing some routing between my laptop, desktop and with my DAW software. I didn't do anything special but just tried the volume up/down buttons on the keyboard and it worked! At the end of the day I started shutting things down. First, I closed Adobe Audition and then for some reason I tried the volume up/down keys on my desktop keyboard and IT was working!

Guess this is what some people have mentioned about it not working all of the time? It never worked with the HDSP9652 though.

Cheers and hope you all are having a great week!

-Steve

57 (edited by ikonomov 2022-07-15 15:55:01)

Re: TotalMix Volume Control for Windows (Latest Release: v0.5.0)

What a fantastic tool!  Fotis thank you so much for making this and sharing it here.  I've posted a link to your github in the threads related to TotalKeyMix, a tool with a similar functionality that I've updated, but now consider superseded by your elegant solution.

Re: TotalMix Volume Control for Windows (Latest Release: v0.5.0)

UPDATE: I've been using the tool for a few days now, putting the computer to standby at night without restarting it.  I haven't encountered a single issue, it is rock solid.  I read the issues reported above and I wonder if it could be due to Windows not properly loading drivers after coming out of standby.  The following two settings are recommended for Windows 10 (possibly 11 as well) to ensure that the OS loads all drivers, services and programs correctly on startup and after standby:

  • Settings\Accounts\Sign-in options\Privacy -> turn off use my sign-in info to automatically finish setting up my device

  • Control Panel\Hardware and Sound\Power Options\Choose what the power buttons do -> disable turn on fast startup

59 (edited by Manuel 2022-08-11 11:58:07)

Re: TotalMix Volume Control for Windows (Latest Release: v0.5.0)

Genuine question, is there any legit reason for RME not to implement this natively? fgimian's utility does works exactly as expected and, to be fair, it is the best of its kind, but it's kinda heavy for what it does.

fgimian wrote:

The idea was a little application which would use OSC to control the master volume of my RME Babyface Pro FS using the Windows volume keys. [...] Runs in the background (tiny footprint, 15 MB memory and basically no CPU usage)

Maybe that was the initial release. The current release, v0.4.0, is a 45.5 MB download that installs to 141 MB on my drive, and occupies almost 74 MB of RAM. That's like using a sledge hammer to crack a nut. All we are doing here is turn volume up and down, so I imagine a native implementation would be more efficient.

Fireface UCX II, BabyFace Pro, Fireface UFX, Fireface 400

60 (edited by rpnfan 2022-08-18 20:49:10)

Re: TotalMix Volume Control for Windows (Latest Release: v0.5.0)

Manuel wrote:

Genuine question, is there any legit reason for RME not to implement this natively? fgimian's utility does works exactly as expected and, to be fair, it is the best of its kind, but it's kinda heavy for what it does.

I totally agree. One pays a premium price for RME and a good software package is part of what I hope for when choosing for RME. Aside from that the "sledgehammer" solution did not work for me reliable unfortunately, so this is also not option for me.

61 (edited by ikonomov 2023-02-10 18:44:31)

Re: TotalMix Volume Control for Windows (Latest Release: v0.5.0)

I've also wondered about this and I think the answer is 3 part.
1. Binding Windows's volume control to TotalMix seems like a bad idea.
2. Binding global keyboard or media controls directly to TotalMix might also be considered as something that should be avoided simply as a matter of principle.
3. RME has a much bigger focus towards the pro market in a setting where this functionality is not needed when there is a control console.  It should be recognized that the market for RME will likely grow more towards smaller devices for home/mobile studios and less for the high-end professional market simply because that's where the industry seems to be shifting these days.  So between the big consoles and their high-end consumer products like the DACs there's definitely a big gap that is only likely to grow in the future and which likely hasn't been recognized as important enough to prompt the company to implement this simple little thing.  If they do then perhaps it can outweigh the first two points and at least give us the option to turn on/off a functionality like this.

There is also the question of how far this functionality can be implemented in an elegant way.  If they only do it for the Main volume fader then some people might scratch their heads and question why only for that and not for anything else.

Re: TotalMix Volume Control for Windows (Latest Release: v0.5.0)

I just wanted to say thank you so much fgimian! This does exactly what i need.

I wanted a hardware solution to control the volume for my 7.1.4 Atmos mixing setup.  I had this cheap $10 USB single knob. It's plug and play, in the sense that as soon as i plug it in, it controls my main Windows volume.

Thanks to you, now this single hardware knob can control all of my grouped 12 outputs in totalmix simultaneously. This really makes my workflow so much easier!

Re: TotalMix Volume Control for Windows (Latest Release: v0.5.0)

fgimian wrote:

I've just released v0.4.0 at https://github.com/fgimian/totalmix-vol … /tag/0.4.0  Merry Christmas everyone!

I have been using your volume control tool for about a year now without a single issue.  I would like to ask if it's possible that you can upload a release without all the dependencies.  It should be simple enough for people to install .NET 6.0 Runtime and once installed there is no need for these files to be present in every software that uses them.

64 (edited by ikonomov 2023-05-14 20:54:59)

Re: TotalMix Volume Control for Windows (Latest Release: v0.5.0)

Ah, it seems Fotis has been working on a different version written in Rust rather than C# https://github.com/fgimian/totalmix-volume-control.rs.

Re: TotalMix Volume Control for Windows (Latest Release: v0.5.0)

Interesting that some had no problems with the program. For me it did not work reliable. In the meantime a new solution was released, which has more features and works great for me. That is Nix: https://www.bsound.co.nz/tools-nix

66 (edited by fgimian 2023-06-25 14:37:21)

Re: TotalMix Volume Control for Windows (Latest Release: v0.5.0)

Hey there everyone, I decided to ditch the Rust version as the GUI libraries were simply too immature and constantly leading to rework. Instead I decided to put a bunch of effort into the C# version and now am happy to announce an alpha build of the next major version v0.5.0.

This new version allows you to configure almost every aspect of the app, including OSC hostname and port, colours, scaling, whether the widget should show up if you make changes remotely (e.g. via ARC) and more. Please check out the README for instructions on configuring the new version: https://github.com/fgimian/totalmix-vol … /README.md If you don't wish to use the config file, that's totally cool, the app will continue to operate exactly as it did before.

The early build is available at https://github.com/fgimian/totalmix-vol … 5370030933 (just click TotalMixVC Release Setup under Artifacts to download). I would love to get as many hands on it as possible to iron out any bugs that I may have introduced (hopefully not too many).

Edit: I've updated the build. This build will write a log file to the same location as the config and log any unhandled errors that occur when communicating with the device. I suspect I know the root cause of the ocassional disconnect, so if you do experience it, please send me your app.log under %APPDATA%\TotalMix Volume Control.

One recommendation I have is to disable the app from starting at boot, uninstall the old version and install the new version. I have simplified various things and startup registration now goes in the registry instead of a file in the Startup folder as this was much simpler to manage.

ikonomov wrote:
fgimian wrote:

I've just released v0.4.0 at https://github.com/fgimian/totalmix-vol … /tag/0.4.0  Merry Christmas everyone!

I have been using your volume control tool for about a year now without a single issue.  I would like to ask if it's possible that you can upload a release without all the dependencies.  It should be simple enough for people to install .NET 6.0 Runtime and once installed there is no need for these files to be present in every software that uses them.

I'm so so glad to hear that it's working for you. I'm definitely happy to consider that but I'm worried it may cause confusion as many people installing the program don't know what .NET Runtime is as I learned when I first released the app.

67 (edited by fgimian 2023-07-08 04:46:43)

Re: TotalMix Volume Control for Windows (Latest Release: v0.5.0)

I've just tried out Nix and it is indeed an awesome application. It looks as though it is also lighter than my application on resources:

e.g.

TotalMix Volume Control: 28.5 MB memory used, 21 threads
Nix: 6.3 MB memory used, 4 threads

There are some features that Nix is missing compared to TotalMix Volume Control v0.5.0, and it would be interesting if the author would consider adding them.

Specifically:

  • Fading out of the widget when it's about to dissappear

  • Ability to set the volume increment that is to be used; I think it's cool that it goes by db while my app goes by %, although a 1db increment feels too fine for my taste, I built my app to match the behaviour of the regular volume keys which go up and down by 2%, and 1% with Shift

  • Separate ability to fine adjunt the volume control and set the increment for that

  • Ability to set the max volume that would be sent to the device

The rest of the things missing are more aesthetic things, such as scaling, ability to set all colours and similar, but all of those are more minor points.

It is a steal at $5 and I commend the author, wish I had the skill he has to build something so performant!

Obviously Nix has many features my app lacks, like ability to control multiple outputs which I think is awesome!

I should say that the Rust frameworks I was using were getting nowhere near that level. As much as everyone loves Rust, once you factor in the lack of maturity of GUI frameworks, it is nowhere near as stable nor mature as C++ in that area.

At some point in the near future, I will see if there's anything I can do to make my app more efficient, although I suspect it may be tricky given that I am using C# and WPF.

Cheers
Fotis

Re: TotalMix Volume Control for Windows (Latest Release: v0.5.0)

Hey everyone, I've tracked down and squashed that nasty bug which sometimes prevented the app from reconnecting. The issue would be apparent if the device is offline for extended periods of time. I wasn't cancelling the task which was receiving packets in those situations, so more and more tasks would build up which would take longer and longer to clear depending on how long your device was offline for.

You can check out a fresh build with a fix to this nasty bug at https://github.com/fgimian/totalmix-vol … 5401086523

Cheers
Fotis

69 (edited by fgimian 2023-07-01 04:00:24)

Re: TotalMix Volume Control for Windows (Latest Release: v0.5.0)

Hi all, I have just released v0.5.0 and also updated the opening post to this thread which I'll continue to update as the project evolves.

Hope you all enjoy the new release!
Fotis

Re: TotalMix Volume Control for Windows (Latest Release: v0.5.0)

Here's a bright theme for all your Light Windows lovers. Feel free to tweak and share your results:

    "theme": {
        "background_rounding": 0.01,
        "background_color": "#f9f9f9",
        "heading_totalmix_color": "#333333",
        "heading_volume_color": "#c04444",
        "volume_readout_color_normal": "#1a1a1a",
        "volume_readout_color_dimmed": "#ffa500",
        "volume_bar_background_color": "#8a8a8a",
        "volume_bar_foreground_color_normal": "#444444",
        "volume_bar_foreground_color_dimmed": "#bc8520",
        "tray_tooltip_message_color": "#1a1a1a",
    },

    "interface": {
        "hide_delay": 1.5,
        "fade_out_time": 0.2,
    },

I've sped up the times to be more similar to the Windows volume indicator in this example.

Re: TotalMix Volume Control for Windows (Latest Release: v0.5.0)

Hi. I wanted top be able to control my totalmix FX section using a MIDI CC physical mixer, but there is no CC mapping for these controls. Do you, or could you, do a widget to convert CC to OSC, so I can use my mixer to change the FX levels (which are OSC mapped)? I have a little midi mixer in my vocal booth and would like to be able to adjust the FX mix from it.

Cheers

Chris

Re: TotalMix Volume Control for Windows (Latest Release: v0.5.0)

chrisyking wrote:

Hi. I wanted top be able to control my totalmix FX section using a MIDI CC physical mixer, but there is no CC mapping for these controls. Do you, or could you, do a widget to convert CC to OSC, so I can use my mixer to change the FX levels (which are OSC mapped)? I have a little midi mixer in my vocal booth and would like to be able to adjust the FX mix from it.

Cheers

Chris

Appreciate the idea Chris, but this really is out of scope for my project. TotalMixFX already provides the ability to be controlled via MIDI though, so maybe check that out and see if you can map your controller accordingly.

Re: TotalMix Volume Control for Windows (Latest Release: v0.5.0)

Yeah sadly the effects section isn't mapped. Only OSC works.

Re: TotalMix Volume Control for Windows (Latest Release: v0.5.0)

fgimian wrote:
ikonomov wrote:
fgimian wrote:

I've just released v0.4.0 at https://github.com/fgimian/totalmix-vol … /tag/0.4.0  Merry Christmas everyone!

I have been using your volume control tool for about a year now without a single issue.  I would like to ask if it's possible that you can upload a release without all the dependencies.  It should be simple enough for people to install .NET 6.0 Runtime and once installed there is no need for these files to be present in every software that uses them.

I'm so so glad to hear that it's working for you. I'm definitely happy to consider that but I'm worried it may cause confusion as many people installing the program don't know what .NET Runtime is as I learned when I first released the app.

You can simply provide a link to the .NET 8.0 https://aka.ms/dotnet/8.0/windowsdeskto … in-x64.exe in the description of every release.  Just specify it as a requirement that needs to be installed.  Like this Requirement: .NET 8.0 .  People should be expected to read the description of a download link for a software that they are installing, especially if the description is this short.  Including all these dependencies is just not a standard practice that I've yet seen.

Re: TotalMix Volume Control for Windows (Latest Release: v0.5.0)

Or you can post two different installers for each release, the second one that doesn't have all the .NET runtime dlls packed.  It would be greatly appreciated.

Re: TotalMix Volume Control for Windows (Latest Release: v0.5.0)

hey everyone!
First of all - I want to thanks the dev team about this program - I was looking for a long time - somehow to control the volume of my RME with keyboard. I have one more question - is there any way to map the mono button on the keyboard also and what will be the commands and where to paste it. thank you a lot for the help