Media - Play/Pause doesn't trigger outside of the XMBC window

[leafdb]

XMBC Version: 2.18.8
Windows Version: Windows 10 - Version 10.0.18362 Build 18362
Mouse Information (brand/model): Inphic P-W2
Computer Information:

• Processor - AMD Ryzen 3 1300X
• Motherboard - ASROCK X370 Killer SLI/ac

Did the problem occur after an upgrade of XMBC?: Yes
Did the problem occur after a Windows update/upgrade?: Possibly
How long have you used XMBC?: Roughly 1 year
What language and keyboard layout do you use in Windows?: English

Clear description of the problem: The Media - Play/Pause control doesn't function unless the XMBC window is active. XMBC still detects the correct button being pressed, but the assigned function doesn't actually trigger. I also tried manually assigning a simulated key press of {Media_Play_Pause} or {MEDIAPLAY}, but it does the exact same thing. Pressing my keyboard's built-in media play/pause key still works as intended, so there shouldn't be any problem with the key ID itself. The volume-related media keys still trigger properly through XMBC.

I'm unsure when exactly this problem started; it could've been after updating XMBC or after updating Windows 10 itself.

Here are a few clips demonstrating the issue:
How I normally use this function (taskbar middle-click) - https://i.gyazo.com/ec0ac272b9817f082aa ... ce1154.mp4
Testing with other settings (global middle-click) - https://i.gyazo.com/79da99f388f7d2cbb14 ... ed312c.mp4
Testing with other setting (global right-click) - https://i.gyazo.com/b2df3f0be385391d210 ... 8ef9b5.mp4

Is anyone else able to replicate this problem? Any information provided is appreciated -- even if you aren't able to replicate it, this will still help to narrow down the possibilities. I'll update this post if a solution is found.

EDIT:
It looks like someone had a similar problem back on v2.18.6: https://forums.highrez.co.uk/viewtopic. ... use#p19333

[leafdb]

I've narrowed down the relevant events for testing both with the XMBC window inactive and then again with it active. Here are the debug snippets:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rEgFuL ... sp=sharing

Edit: There doesn't appear to be any unexpected differences between the two. I've also tried running XMBC as admin -- no luck there.

[leafdb]

My guess, which is completely speculative, is that there is a native media control being sent quickly, and some emulated event also being triggered at a very minor delay. When tabbed in, the delay is less prominent and so sometimes they line up and pause properly.

We can also rule out this hypothesis from the old thread, since Win 10's media control popup doesn't display when the mouse button is pressed without XMBC being the active window (as seen in the third clip). This suggests that Windows isn't receiving any media commands in the first place, so it's unlikely that it's just 2 media commands canceling each other out.

[phil]

OK I can see from the log snippet that XMBC is definitely sending the play/pause key (as can be seen by it then receiving 0xB3 which is the virtual key code for play/pause)...

Do you know what version of XMBC you cam from where it previously worked - we could try downgrading to see if it then works again or if not, more likely to be a Windows issue. It is working here and I'm using the latest Windows 10.... Seems like Groove music sometimes struggles to find the next track but that's nothing to do with this (it depends if I play an album or a single song I guess). No problem with Winamp either on the same box.

I'm using XMBC 2.19 Beta though so there is a difference - maybe worth a try (get it in the beta thread - its about ready to be released - although I'm confident that XMBC is sending the key on your system as I can see it doing so in your log snippet - so probably wont help much).
I'm away for NY so wont be around much to comment until Friday/Saturday.

[leafdb]

OK I can see from the log snippet that XMBC is definitely sending the play/pause key (as can be seen by it then receiving 0xB3 which is the virtual key code for play/pause)...

Do you know what version of XMBC you cam from where it previously worked - we could try downgrading to see if it then works again or if not, more likely to be a Windows issue. It is working here and I'm using the latest Windows 10.... Seems like Groove music sometimes struggles to find the next track but that's nothing to do with this (it depends if I play an album or a single song I guess). No problem with Winamp either on the same box.

I'm using XMBC 2.19 Beta though so there is a difference - maybe worth a try (get it in the beta thread - its about ready to be released - although I'm confident that XMBC is sending the key on your system as I can see it doing so in your log snippet - so probably wont help much).
I'm away for NY so wont be around much to comment until Friday/Saturday.

Thanks for the quick reply! I went ahead and tested with the latest beta and then with versions 2.18.5 and 2.18.6. No luck with the beta. It works fine on 2.18.5, but stops working again on 2.18.6, just like with dapete's case. I'll dig through my programs to see if there's anything that could be interfering.

Also, no worries, this certainly isn't anything urgent. Enjoy your New Year's! I'll keep updating this thread if I find anything noteworthy.

Thanks for your help!

[leafdb]

So while going through my programs, I stumbled upon something interesting. If my currently active window has elevated privileges (e.g. task manager, anything ran as administrator), I'm able to trigger the play/pause command with my mouse. There's no way for me to completely disable UAC in Windows 10 (short of making registry edits, which I might try later, if needed), but turning the UAC notifications to minimum didn't help any.

[leafdb]

Scratch that, I found the issue. IType.exe from Microsoft Mouse and Keyboard Center was causing the problem, somehow. I killed the process and XMBC no longer has any issues using the Play/Pause command. Unfortunately, a few functions on my keyboard don't work without IType.

[phil]

Thats interesting. I wonder if iType is swallowing/ignoring the input in some cases - that would explain why I don't notice a problem here (I don't install it even though I have a MS media keyboard - its a bit old now and perhaps not relevant to my keyboard)... So I guess the next thing to figure out is what is iType doing and can it be turned off rather that disabling the whole program. Im not sure I can provide those answers, but I'll see if I can install iType and reproduce here at some point.

If 2.18.5 is working, I'll dig through the change logs/code between 2.18.5 and 2.18.6 and see if there is anything obvious that may have caused the difference, that I can either make optional or change back.

[phil]

FYI: I have installed iType and reproduced the problem. I also have found out what changed in 2.18.6 to cause this weird behavior and will fix it in the next 2.19 beta (19).

[leafdb]

FYI: I have installed iType and reproduced the problem. I also have found out what changed in 2.18.6 to cause this weird behavior and will fix it in the next 2.19 beta (19).

Sorry for the late response. That's great to hear! Thank you so much for taking the time to fix this relatively-niche issue. I sent a small donation your way -- it's the least I can do for how much time XMBC saves me every day.

Best regards!