Updating this app to be able to set sound clips as notification tones was easier than I expected. The way that it was originally built, it already saved the clips in a way that you could use them as notification sounds in the Android Sound Settings. I only needed to add the logic to be able to set them as the default.
Secondly, I needed to change the way the select box works since from what I can see regular alert boxes only support three options (positive, neutral, negative). Instead I implemented a list select box which would allow as many options as necessary.
I’m always happy to see a feature request from the android market, along with a few good reviews! Most recently there was a request to save the sounds as a notification. While it should be possible to do with a few work arounds, and a file management app, I don’t see why this feature shouldn’t be easy to implement now that it is possible to save the clips as ringtones. Hopefully I’ll be able to have something to release by the end of this weekend.
I’m happy to announce the release of this new version of the Lexx Soundboard containing sound clips from season 1 episode 2 “Super Nova” now available in the android market. Now that the road is paved with all the content converted into individual video files, episode 3 “Eating Pattern” should be a much simpler task.
Onto the more technical side of thing, there was able to fix a minor bug which with the method I was using to play the audio files which didn’t output any visible error message in the app, but it caught my eye in the development debugger. This would only happen the first time a sound clip was played because of a missing check to make sure the media player was actually running before having it stop the previous clip.
I converted all four seasons of Lexx using the free and open source ripping tool HandBrake. The whole process took slightly longer than I expected, but I added a step of backing up all the raw ISO files because I wasn’t sure what settings to use to optimize the quality/compression ratio. These DVDs were unusual because instead of having dual audio tracks, they contain complete separate copies of each video. The DVD video title numbers were not consistent throughout the entire collection, so for each disc I needed to make a note of which title went to which episode. The most time consuming part was the actual ripping process. My desktop has 6GB memory and an Intel i7 processor, and ripping season 4 (24 episodes) maxed our my CPU and took about 3 hours.
To follow through with my promise of adding new sound clips to my Lexx SoundBoard app, as well as add to my digital collection, I began converting my Lexx DVD collection into DivV starting with Season 2. Disc one and disc two ripped without a hitch, but I got stuck with the third. This is extremely surprising to me because I’ve taken extreme care of them, and they haven’t been touched for at least a few years. Fortunately it didn’t contain any of my favorite episodes. I didn’t notice any obvious scratches that I could blame the problem on, but I will have to try and solve this problem. This will also give me a chance to research the best techniques for DVD conversion.
A very obvious feature came across my feedback email earlier this week; the ability to save the sound clips as ringtones. I did some research on android forums and websites too see how other people may have been implementing this feature. Fortunately enough for me, it wasn’t very difficult. For this release, there is a new event for long presses on the sound buttons that opens a popup window for saving to your phone/memory card.
By popular request (three, but hey I’ll take it!) “Yo Way Yo” has been added to the soundboard under the title “Brunnen-G”. I am currently in the process of adding another batch of clips, and hopefully an interface upgrade in the near future. As always, feel free to send requests to android@bodhidevelopment.com!
Update (12-12-2011): I received one more request to be able to save the sound clips as ringtones. I believe this is a reasonable feature, and will look into deploying it.
There was a problem with some devices handling the way the sound clip was playing which caused some phones to force close. Fortunately the solution is also a good added feature to stop the current clip before playing the next. The android market’s force close report is extremely helpful for developers, so if you ever encounter one in any app, do the creator a favor take the time to click report!
First of all, I’m glad to see people still interested in Lexx! If you don’t know what Lexx is, Hulu has full episodes for the watching, make it through few and you just might catch the bug. I’ve been trying to get into the android app development for a little while now, and thought I’d try my luck with a soundboard side project. Please keep in mind that this current version is more of a prototype right now than anything. I’ll post the clips I’ve made soon, but if there are any suggestions as to what clips I should add, I’d definitely appreciate the feedback.
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