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Usability really needs to improve
#1
I bought UAPP yesterday based on the excellent sound - bravo for that.
 
However, it has so many *missing* features and bugs that I'm really sorry I cannot just forget it and use a more decent player.
I looked at some of this thread, but it's too big; apologies if some of the items below have already been requested or discussed; btw, it would also be nice for the moderator or someone to collect all feature requests in one post.
 
Hoping some of these will be addressed, I'll list here a few I collected after just one day:
 
-BUG: dsd [dff] volume cannot be controlled from the regular volume, only from the 'hardware volume'
-no play resume - the track always starts at the beginning.
-current playing track is not highlighted in folder view
-folder view [possibly others?] should allow text wrapping
-folder view does not show the current path. [it could be instead of or in addition to 'directory up'].
-if I navigate somewhere in folder view [and probably other views as well] and I return to the current playback file, when returning to the folder view I'm moved to the current tune's folder.
 
-when opening another screen e.g 'playlists' when the current one is 'local folder', playback stops, even before doing anything with the playlists [and the same with other screens]. Playback should continue until a new track is actually selected for play.
 
-bookmarks [ideally automatically set, for tracks longer than x] - keep a db with where I was in a track; give me the option to resume from that place, explicitly or automatically.
 
-nice to have: scrobbling to last.fm
-I second this nice to have: api to be used by other apps [I know it's harder to do].
 
I'm using GMMP and it's light years ahead of UAPP in usability; Poweramp, VLC, are also much better. Too bad the sound is just standard android; perhaps you could get inspired and make UAPP a truly good app as well, or otherwise just collaborate with some of these good players to incorporate your sound libraries, it would be great and we would all benefit!
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#2
As replied on Head-Fi:

Thank you for your feedback! The app originated as a basic USB audio recorder and have been evolving it to a full media player over time. Updates happen continuously and we even hired extra people recently to add features to UAPP even faster.

Let's go through some of your points:
* DSD is no PCM format and indeed one cannot apply software volume to a 1-bit stream, unless you disable DoP in the app's settings: then it gets converted to PCM first before audio is sent to the DAC. If your DAC does have hardware volume control, then we suggest to always use that since using software volume will affect resolution and therefore, quality.

* When unpausing the track, it should continue playback from where you pressed pause. With over 10000 UAPP users, if this was not correct, our email box would have been full of complaints, which it isn't, so please contact us by email at info AT extreamsd.com if you have a reproducible case.

* Could you please elaborate on text wrapping
* We have added the display of the current path on top now. It will be available in next release

* "-when opening another screen e.g 'playlists' when the current one is 'local folder', playback stops, even before doing anything with the playlists [and the same with other screens]. Playback should continue until a new track is actually selected for play." We have a working solution internally but it needs some further testing. Probably by the end of the week.

* We are working on some other points you mentioned
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#3
dwraeAs replied on Head-Fi:

Thank you for your feedback! The app originated as a basic USB audio recorder and have been evolving it to a full media player over time. Updates happen continuously and we even hired extra people recently to add features to UAPP even faster.
-great to see you're committed to improving UAPP!

Let's go through some of your points:
* DSD is no PCM format and indeed one cannot apply software volume to a 1-bit stream,  unless you disable DoP in the app's settings: then it gets converted to PCM first before audio is sent to the DAC. If your DAC does have hardware volume control, then we suggest to always use that since using software volume will affect resolution and therefore, quality.
-I was sure this will be your reply :) I am aware of what you said; however, this is a technical detail, and shouldn't be exposed to the user, not even to one that might understand what happens. The 'hw volume in uapp' works, I assume it does so by controlling my DAP through usb. My point is that the two ways uapp can control volume should be unified. Ideally, some settings could be added to route the volume control to one of the two ways, software or usb hw control of the dap. The current 'hardware volume' could remain in settings as a 'max volume' and maybe 'balance'. This will eliminate this bug [as i still see it], plus it will allow one to use the path that maintains the highest sound quality, as you rightly point out. I'm using a Geek Out V2, which, as you probably know, is somehow in-between: it has hw volume control, but no physical buttons for volume.
Pls let me point out that I noticed also erratic behavior for the phone volume buttons: sometimes they get to UAPP, sometimes they don't. [as if somehow UAPP needs a focus on its volume sw/ui in order to execute the phone button inputs] 

* When unpausing the track, it should continue playback from where you pressed pause. With over 10000 UAPP users, if this was not correct, our email box would have been full of complaints, which it isn't, so please contact us by email at info AT extreamsd.com if you have a reproducible case.
-What you describe works. I was referring to resume after exiting and restarting UAPP. This is not a trivial case; one would need to exit UAPP in order to remove the DAP, and this removal is needed at times since the DAP consumes a lot of juice. When UAPP is restarted, it plays the last track, but from the beginning. It should be able to play from where it left off, as well - subject to some user setting. In this context, my 'bookmarks' feature also starts to make sense.

* Could you please elaborate on text wrapping
If I have a long title for a tune or an album or folder, UAPP only displays the prefix, however much it fits to screen. It should present the whole title, using new lines as needed. 

* We have added the display of the current path on top now. It will be available in next release
-GREAT, thank you!

* "-when opening another screen e.g 'playlists' when the current one is 'local folder', playback stops, even before doing anything with the playlists [and the same with other screens]. Playback should continue until a new track is actually selected for play." We have a working solution internally but it needs some further testing. Probably by the end of the week.
-Great; just in case your solution does not already cover it, I'm reporting a new case where this happens: in folder view, with my phone in portrait, I navigate to what I want to be the next track to play. I cannot see the full name [see my previous point on this :)], so I turn to landscape, as a workaround. ...but, surprise! after the phone switches to landscape, I find myself back to where I started from, the folder that contains the *currently* playing track.

* We are working on some other points you mentioned
-Great!

Please let me add one more *really* nice to have: play through folders; that is, after the last track in a folder ends, UAPP should pick the next folder in the tree and play it. This is really useful in a car or maybe at a party, etc.

A few other things that look like bugs to me:
   -everytime I connect the DAP and then start UAPP, I get and 'allow the app UAPP to access the USB device' screen, with a checkbox to 'use by default for this usb device'. However, checking it does not do anything; I still get that screen everytime. I realize this is Android, but isn't there a setting somewhere that UAPP can set, so that once I allowed it it stays allowed? no other players get this screen. I realize it might be because you need to take over with your sound library, but, again...
   -the volume seems to be somehow incorrectly initialized; each time I reconnect dap/start uapp, the sound volume is/ can be different. I couldn't get a pattern yet, but it's something to do with the previous volume uapp had, as if that one becomes the current max volume -well, something like that, I'm not sure yet- ; my dap [Geek Out v2] does not keep the volume while it's off [as far as I can see]
  - erratic behavior of the phone volume buttons: sometimes they work, sometimes they don't

Thanks again for your commitment to make uapp better!
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#4
Quote:-I was sure this will be your reply :) I am aware of what you said; however, this is a technical detail, and shouldn't be exposed to the user, not even to one that might understand what happens. The 'hw volume in uapp' works, I assume it does so by controlling my DAP through usb. My point is that the two ways uapp


That's correct. Of course there are also many DACs that don't have hardware volume that can be controlled by USB or only have a physical hardware volume knob.

Quote:can control volume should be unified. Ideally, some settings could be added to route the volume control to one of the two ways, software or usb hw control of the dap.


It is, see Settings -> Volume control

Quote:Pls let me point out that I noticed also erratic behavior for the phone volume buttons: sometimes they get to UAPP, sometimes they don't. [as if somehow UAPP needs a focus on its volume sw/ui in order to execute the phone button inputs] 

That's true to some extent. Since the Android audio system is bypassed, it's not always possible to get events to the app, although latest versions have definitely improved upon it.

Quote:-What you describe works. I was referring to resume after exiting and restarting UAPP. This is not a trivial case; one would need to exit UAPP in order to remove the DAP, and this removal is needed at times since the DAP consumes a lot of juice. When UAPP is restarted, it plays the last track, but from the beginning. It should be able to play from where it left off, as well - subject to some user setting. In this context, my 'bookmarks' feature also starts to make sense.

We will implement that at some point when some long needed internal changes have been done.


Quote:If I have a long title for a tune or an album or folder, UAPP only displays the prefix, however much it fits to screen. It should present the whole title, using new lines as needed. 

We have added text wrapping now, please see the beta apk link at the bottom.


Quote:* "-when opening another screen e.g 'playlists' when the current one is 'local folder', playback stops, even before doing anything with the playlists [and the same with other screens]. Playback should continue until a new track is actually selected for play." We have a working solution internally but it needs some further testing. Probably by the end of the week.
-Great; just in case your solution does not already cover it, I'm reporting a new case where this happens: in folder view, with my phone in portrait, I navigate to what I want to be the next track to play. I cannot see the full name [see my previous point on this :)], so I turn to landscape, as a workaround. ...but, surprise! after the phone switches to landscape, I find myself back to where I started from, the folder that contains the *currently* playing track.

These should both be fixed, please see the beta apk link at the bottom.


Quote:Please let me add one more *really* nice to have: play through folders; that is, after the last track in a folder ends, UAPP should pick the next folder in the tree and play it. This is really useful in a car or maybe at a party, etc.

Please try long-tapping the top folder and select 'Play all'.


Quote:   -everytime I connect the DAP and then start UAPP, I get and 'allow the app UAPP to access the USB device' screen, with a checkbox to 'use by default for this usb device'. However, checking it does not do anything; I still get that screen everytime. I realize this is Android, but isn't there a setting somewhere that UAPP can set, so that once I allowed it it stays allowed? no other players get this screen. I realize it might be because you need to take over with your sound library, but, again...

Have you reproduced that in 2.2.8?
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#5
Please try version 2.2.9
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#6
(12-03-2015, 06:55 PM)dwrae Wrote: Please try version 2.2.9

I have tried the latest version - 2.3.0 - and it is much better, thank you.
The 'allow the app UAPP to access the USB device' screen does not appear anymore.

I'll try the 'play all', it definitely addresses a part of 'playing through folders'. But I think having a general setting would be easier and more consistent to use. As it is implemented now, I have to plan ahead if I want to play through folders; I have no feedback if I am in that mode or not [not sure of this, I haven't really used it yet, but I haven't seen any such feedback], and the earlier I can see the effects of this mode is after the first album has ended. I'll get back to you -if neded- once I use it.

I list here a few remaining nice-to haves [of which the first is more important to me and possibly others, and it seems to me to be easy to implement]

-finer increments for volume adjust [at least for USB HID]
-highlight the current playing track [in all screens that contain it]; also, don't restart it if it is pressed by mistake in a folder or tag screen.-option to go to the folder of the currently playing track [not by default, but as a specific action] - This can be useful if I navigate away from that, and I want to get back there.
-play queue
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