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[Merged] Power Saver feature

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Ideas and Development
emulationstatiotestingpowersaver
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  • H
    Hex
    last edited by Hex 15 Jul 2017, 07:47

    @cyperghost I do not want to complicate this further. It has already been decided to have PS enabled by default and a timeout set such that description scrolls. I want to have a setting for people not using/caring about descriptions, hence the Full option. I might think about MAX:EXP option for instant and no carousel users (Might not be implemented). Timeout access shall not be available to user as wrong setting will render ES unusable.

    So None/Minimal/Full are three options thought of being implemented for certain. I want your input on changing the names of these modes if necessary. I had name changing suggestions at a later stage while submitting additional animations. I dont want to repeat that. Hence if you have better suggestions for Mode Names, let me know.

    Sent from 20,000 leagues under the sea.

    Powersaver Emulation station : https://github.com/hex007/EmulationStation
    ES dev script : https://github.com/hex007/es-dev/blob/master/es-tests.sh

    Z 1 Reply Last reply 15 Jul 2017, 07:52 Reply Quote 0
    • Z
      Zigurana @Hex
      last edited by Zigurana 15 Jul 2017, 07:52

      @hex
      Good idea's all around, even better to come to a decision 😀.
      Question: For users, there is no difference between none and minimal, right? Why do we need both?

      I would go for default / Improved

      If tetris has thought me anything, it's that errors pile up and that accomplishments dissappear.

      C 1 Reply Last reply 15 Jul 2017, 08:00 Reply Quote 0
      • C
        cyperghost @Zigurana
        last edited by 15 Jul 2017, 08:00

        @zigurana @hex

        I would go for usecase disabled/comfortable/portable

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • H
          Hex
          last edited by 15 Jul 2017, 08:01

          @Zigurana

          None -> PS is disabled always
          Minimal -> PS is enabled after Description has scrolled once (approximately)
          Full -> Game name scrolls, Description doesnt scroll
          MAX:EXP -> PS has very short trigger time. Great for instant and no carousel transition users. For those who dont care about animations

          MAX might not be implemented, who knows. There is currently just one bug. PS isnt disabled while running scrapper (Fetch MD). That needs to be taken care of.

          Timeouts

          • MAX -> 20-40 cycles (Needs testing to reduce range)
          • Full -> 100-200 cycles
          • Min -> 10-12 secs ~ 1000-1200 cycles
          • None -> Not needed

          Do you have any suggestions for Mode names?

          Sent from 20,000 leagues under the sea.

          Powersaver Emulation station : https://github.com/hex007/EmulationStation
          ES dev script : https://github.com/hex007/es-dev/blob/master/es-tests.sh

          J 1 Reply Last reply 15 Jul 2017, 14:21 Reply Quote 0
          • H
            Hex
            last edited by 15 Jul 2017, 08:02

            @cyperghost Nice suggestions. Lets see what others think.

            Sent from 20,000 leagues under the sea.

            Powersaver Emulation station : https://github.com/hex007/EmulationStation
            ES dev script : https://github.com/hex007/es-dev/blob/master/es-tests.sh

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • Z
              Zigurana
              last edited by 15 Jul 2017, 08:16

              Why would you want to disable PS?

              If tetris has thought me anything, it's that errors pile up and that accomplishments dissappear.

              P 1 Reply Last reply 15 Jul 2017, 08:20 Reply Quote 1
              • H
                Hex
                last edited by 15 Jul 2017, 08:19

                I dont know. I think having an option to disable it prevents complaints about unexpected behaviour. Another reason would be if we decide to default it no None while merging.

                Sent from 20,000 leagues under the sea.

                Powersaver Emulation station : https://github.com/hex007/EmulationStation
                ES dev script : https://github.com/hex007/es-dev/blob/master/es-tests.sh

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • P
                  pjft @Zigurana
                  last edited by 15 Jul 2017, 08:20

                  @Hex Does PS stop the animations or no longer?

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • H
                    Hex
                    last edited by Hex 15 Jul 2017, 08:22

                    @pjft PS doesnt stop animations if running in Minimal Mode, Description scrolls once. This would ideally be the default if we are leaving PS enabled in Default setting (first run).

                    Sent from 20,000 leagues under the sea.

                    Powersaver Emulation station : https://github.com/hex007/EmulationStation
                    ES dev script : https://github.com/hex007/es-dev/blob/master/es-tests.sh

                    P 1 Reply Last reply 15 Jul 2017, 08:27 Reply Quote 0
                    • P
                      pjft @Hex
                      last edited by 15 Jul 2017, 08:27

                      @hex and does the text animation in the text list Component also scroll if needed?

                      Is it "once" or is it timer related?

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • H
                        Hex
                        last edited by Hex 15 Jul 2017, 08:31

                        @pjft if you mean Game name text in game list then it does scroll nicely.

                        It is timer related. If the game description is way too long, it will halt in the middle. I am accounting for on an average 7-8 secs scroll, which should be sufficient for long desciptions.

                        Sent from 20,000 leagues under the sea.

                        Powersaver Emulation station : https://github.com/hex007/EmulationStation
                        ES dev script : https://github.com/hex007/es-dev/blob/master/es-tests.sh

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • S
                          Sano
                          last edited by 15 Jul 2017, 08:46

                          Hi guys,
                          From what I'm seeing, there have been quite a few topics the last few weeks about increased CPU usage, heat problems and even lag on ES.
                          A lot of features have been implemented recently, with a probable impact on resources.

                          AFAIK it's a frequent milestone in software dev : the base code works great, then a bunch of features are added, sometimes introducing bugs or performance impacts.
                          Not that the new features are badly coded, but they put the emphasis on a function of the base code that was not intented/coded to work with the new features, hence very non optimal in this new context... The solution would be to modify the base code.

                          Anyway, from my user point of view, it's not about power saving, but general optimization.
                          I run @Hex ES version for a few weeks now, and I'm very happy with it.
                          Thanks again for your work on this.

                          TL;DR : I'm seeing PS as a natural code optimization rather than a feature to save battery life. Therefore I vote for it to be default, and allowing to disable it in case of the behaviour induced doesn't match the user needs.

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                          • J
                            jdrassa @Hex
                            last edited by 15 Jul 2017, 14:21

                            @hex said in Testers needed :: Power Saver features :: PR #172:

                            @jdrassa said in Testers needed :: Power Saver features :: PR #172:

                            If so, I have a suggestion.

                            • PowerSaver mode is always on. There are no menu options to enable or configure it.

                            Auto scroll doesnt work in that case

                            When I suggested it is always on, I meant that there wouldn't be a 'None' option. It would still function as it does not, hence the suggestion of a default (and configurable) delay.

                            • The default delay before enabling PowerSaver mode is the users configured Screen Saver delay.

                            Screensaver delay is at minimum 1m so switching timeout goes from 12 secs to 1m which is not good. Also if video screensaver is enabled PS will never be triggered (generally)

                            This was just a suggestion, that would ensure that no existing functionality is effected.

                            • If a user wants to change the delay to achieve more power savings, they can modify es_settings.cfg directly to specify a different value. This process can be documented on the RetroPie wiki. This is how the hide splashscreen option works.

                            The user base inerested in PS will be more than hide splashscreen guys. Not many users look at the documentation for latest features.

                            While I agree that many users will be interested in PS in some form, I'd argue that it is a much smaller number that will be interested in changing the settings. For those that are, they are likely to only ever change it once.

                            @hex said in Testers needed :: Power Saver features :: PR #172:

                            Timeouts

                            • MAX -> 20-40 cycles (Needs testing to reduce range)
                            • Full -> 100-200 cycles
                            • Min -> 10-12 secs ~ 1000-1200 cycles
                            • None -> Not needed

                            When you say cycles, I assume this means iterations of the animation loop based on reading the code. This really should be time based. Otherwise, the timing is going to vary based on the power of the users hardware.

                            Get latest build of EmulationStation for Windows here

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • H
                              Hex
                              last edited by 15 Jul 2017, 18:14

                              @jdrassa Currently PS is tracked using cycles/iterations. This is being shifted to timeout based system. When PS was thought of and developed, I had no need for description to scroll and never noticed it as I never read it. Hence a cycle based approach was easiest to implement. Now setting a timer based would be better so shifting to timer based.

                              Sent from 20,000 leagues under the sea.

                              Powersaver Emulation station : https://github.com/hex007/EmulationStation
                              ES dev script : https://github.com/hex007/es-dev/blob/master/es-tests.sh

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                              • H
                                Hex
                                last edited by Hex 17 Jul 2017, 22:23

                                Changelog :

                                • PS is moved from Cycles based to Timer based control
                                • 4 PS modes added: Disabled/Default/Enhanced/Instant
                                • Moved PS to Core module.
                                • Moved PS handling to VLC playback from VideoGameList

                                Testers: Since I squashed commits before refactoring git pull will not work. Kindly Delete directory and start over from clone.

                                Thank you to all those who have helped to test, provided valuable feedback and make this possible.

                                Feature is now quite stable. Works well with Video screensaver and previews.

                                Binaries :

                                • Pi 2/3 : https://www.dropbox.com/s/m8csxt5txyu60dr
                                • Pi 1/Z : https://www.dropbox.com/s/uiqkbbalbhf0qyr

                                Sent from 20,000 leagues under the sea.

                                Powersaver Emulation station : https://github.com/hex007/EmulationStation
                                ES dev script : https://github.com/hex007/es-dev/blob/master/es-tests.sh

                                C 1 Reply Last reply 18 Jul 2017, 17:07 Reply Quote 2
                                • C
                                  cyperghost @Hex
                                  last edited by 18 Jul 2017, 17:07

                                  @hex I'll test :)

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • H
                                    Hex
                                    last edited by 19 Jul 2017, 01:57

                                    Pi Zero binary is also available now. Latest ES + PS

                                    Sent from 20,000 leagues under the sea.

                                    Powersaver Emulation station : https://github.com/hex007/EmulationStation
                                    ES dev script : https://github.com/hex007/es-dev/blob/master/es-tests.sh

                                    M 1 Reply Last reply 19 Jul 2017, 02:54 Reply Quote 2
                                    • M
                                      meleu @Hex
                                      last edited by 19 Jul 2017, 02:54

                                      @hex said in Testers needed :: Power Saver features :: PR #172:

                                      Pi Zero binary is also available now. Latest ES + PS

                                      Yeah! Now I'm able to join! :-)

                                      This pi zero version works for pi1 as well, right?

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                                      • H
                                        Hex
                                        last edited by Hex 19 Jul 2017, 03:45

                                        @meleu Yes PiZ/1 binary works for both. Pi2/3 has a different binary

                                        EDIT : As it so happens PiZ/1 binary works on Pi3 too.

                                        Sent from 20,000 leagues under the sea.

                                        Powersaver Emulation station : https://github.com/hex007/EmulationStation
                                        ES dev script : https://github.com/hex007/es-dev/blob/master/es-tests.sh

                                        C 1 Reply Last reply 19 Jul 2017, 06:57 Reply Quote 0
                                        • C
                                          cyperghost @Hex
                                          last edited by cyperghost 19 Jul 2017, 06:57

                                          @hex Thanks for the binaries, I will upload them to my github ES binary archive :)

                                          Small report: I've registered no breaks during ES run but to be true my ES settings are only small footprint (No game description, no Videos, just a bit background music). I tested the mostly the "instant" set.

                                          • Number of games per emu system never occours in instant mode only (I think that is intended to be ... in instant mode)
                                          • If we start a rom the display resolution of the background theme will be instantly zoomed in (cosmetic effect) and it is not matter of theme itself

                                          All in all the timers are working:

                                          1. Default timer ~ 10 to 12sec and ES falls back to 2-3% CPU usage
                                          2. Enhanced timer ~ 5 to 6sec and ES falls back to 2-3% CPU usage
                                          3. Instant "timer" ~ <1second ES falls back to 2-3% CPU usage

                                          What is conspicuous if ES is frehsly started the CPU usage can be downed to 0,3% after a ROM was started it never goes back less then 2-3%. Do you have any suggestions for this behaviour?

                                          Thank you for creating this

                                          EDIT:

                                          Energy saving aspect

                                          PS disabled

                                          Voltage: 5,25
                                          Amps: 0,48-0,53

                                          PS enabeld (instant)

                                          Voltage: 5,25
                                          Amps: 0,38-0,42

                                          P 1 Reply Last reply 19 Jul 2017, 12:43 Reply Quote 1
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