Help > OLD RiffTrax Player (archived)

Lacking a Dedicated "Rifftrax Player," How do YOU play your Riffs?

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Cary L. Brown:
I miss the old Rifftrax Player...  I have an installer for v1.1.1.5, which installs, but crashes every time I try to use it, and an installer for 1.9.8.8, which gives the well-known "server failure" error.  So, despite how much I LOVED the Rifftrax player, I can't use it.

SO...  most of the time, I just push my MP3 riff file into my little thumb-drive MP3 player, and watch the movie with my earbuds in.  This works out reasonably well, though it's got a few major drawbacks.

Key to those is that it only works when I'm by myself.  Otherwise, the other folks in the room think I'm insane when I laugh at strange points throughout the movie.   >:D

Now, I have a full, Win7-based HTPC where I'd prefer to do this (in my living room).  I'd love to be able to play back the "Matrix" flicks with commentary for not just myself but for a group of my friends.  I'd really, really like to be able to do this without having to install a second sound system in there, too.  But I'm a bit stumped on how to do this.

Obviously, it's not an option going from my standard DVD or BD player, through my receiver, to my TV and speakers.  It cannot "mix" media from various channels, and I'm not aware of any receiver or amplifier (at least any COMMERCIAL one) which can.  Professional setups use separate mixer boards... no way I'm gonna do that just to listen to Riffs.

But on the HTPC, it ought to be possible to play back simultaneous soundstracks, shouldn't it?  The "mixing" is all occurring inside the PC, in software, after all.  This is really all the "Rifftrax player" did, when you get down to it...  mixed them and kept them in sync.  (Well, the "keeping in sync" is probably more complicated than I make it sound...  but we all know that, so no need to belabor the point.)

Ideally, I'd think what we need is just a "wrapper" for something like VLC, where it opens two files at once (essentially two instances of VLC?) but consolidates them under one user interface.  "Syncing" need not be a totally automatic issue...  I'm fine with a set of buttons on the top saying "delay sound by 1 second" or so forth which I can hit to resync "manually" if things get out of whack.  Fully-automatic syncing is wonderful, but just make the non-automatic version SIMPLE and I doubt many of us will complain!

Okay, so nothing like that exists yet, though.  I'm not a coder, so I'm not really able to make it for myself (and I don't have the time or inclination to learn VLC's inner workings anyway).

SO...  I'm curious what you guys are doing?  Just doing what I do and using your "ipod-ish" device entirely separately?  Trying to run two separate media players independently and syncing them manually on a PC?   Rigging up a second sound system (say, an iPod dock?) to provide Riffs?  What?

Thrifty:
I create a copy of the DVD with the Rifftrax embedded in it as an optional audio track.

Misty:
At first I was downloading the movies already presync'd with the rifftrax and then just donated here.  Then I took a shot at syncing them myself using this guide:

http://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,413.0.html

You can also use the "Guide to Reauthoring" link in Tony Haywards signature up there ^

I don't think I've ever used rifftrax in the way it was meant to be used: as a separate audio file to be played along with the movie.

MartyS (Gromit):
 I've been mostly re-authoring since I got a fast enough computer.  But do have several of the movies only on Blu-Ray so can't re-author those.

I would think if you had a dual monitor setup on a PC you could have the movie playing on one full screen and still be able to use the controls on an audio player on a second screen.  Might be tricky to get the sound levels mixed well.

For using an MP3 player just get a cheap pair of powered computer speakers, they will plug into the player the same way the headphones do and it's fairly easy to get the volume just right.  I put mine back by the seats so the riffs mix in with the surround sound (unlike DVDs Blu-Rays rarely have a simple stereo audio option on the disk).

SJP:
I'm old-fashioned...I have my laptop near my movie disc player, and all I do is hit play while I watch on my big TV.  I usually have syncing issues starting up, but once I hit a good sync line I usually get it lined up no problem.  I keep my remote nearby, so if I ever have to pause I just get ambidextrous with my remote and my mouse.

It's not a perfect set-up by any means, but I haven't had to re-author anything, and it works 99% of the time.  That's the main reason I made "Stupend-O" editions of various iRiffs, because I assumed most people DON'T re-author, and thus I can use the pausing and sync-lines to add-in extra skits that you really can't do on a re-author.  However, the response to those seems to be lackluster at best, since it appears re-authoring is more popular than I thought.  Ain't going to stop me making those, though...

I will say, even though I don't own an iPod, I think I would prefer having the laptop to do it anyway...the pause just seems more reliable when I can click a button the size of a real button.

I have noticed, though, doing video work, that because of the dynamic increase of sound on Blu-ray discs, re-authoring on those can be tricky...a track that sounds fine compared to a DVD sounds about half as loud as a Blu-ray on the same volume, and lines can be drowned out pretty easily on ones where action gets going.

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