Friday, January 02, 2015

Getting Yamaha Disklavier Piano and DKVBrowser and Virtual PRC to work with Mac's Yosemite System

UPDATE 2/19/2021:  The DKVBrowser discussion groups are now being conducted at Google Groups.  You can search by "DKVBrowser" to find a place to join for current information. 

The DKVBrowser software written by Kevin Goroway has been revised to meet the needs of users for their Disklavier Mark IV pianos recently.  The software had not worked on my latest Mac laptops due to system updates that were not supported by DKVBrowser.  The software had recently not worked on the latest Windows computers due to changes in system and other updates.  At some point the underlying architecture of DKVBrowser (Eclipse RCP) became unsupported/incompatible.

A new version is currently being tested by members who are part of the Google Group who post info about DKVBrowser and Disklavier.   

I was successful in loading the new DKVBrowser 3.0.2 onto a Mac laptop running High Sierra and one running Catalina.  I have been testing the Mac version of this software and find that it is running successfully for most functions.  It is nice to have the DKVBrowser to run playlists, play tunes at scheduled times and to have all the easy editing techniques and features that Kevin has shared with us.  I certainly hope many will consider the Donate button to show appreciation for his generosity and talents in keeping a means to play our beloved Disklavier Mark IV.

 

Original Article for reference:  https://grannyjoans.blogspot.com/search?q=virtual+prc

 "The Many Avenues to Controlling My Mark IV Disklavier"

 

 

 Original Post from Jan 2015 below:

With every Mac system update, I have to test not only old programs or applications, but also some other devices and equipment to make sure they still function.

The DKVBrowser application I use to edit songs, create playlists, and control my disklavier from my laptop seemed to have a problem after installing Yosemite 10.10.  But, luckily someone posted a solution on the yahoo forum.  Basically, the application needed the Java SE 6.0 runtime module installed on my Mac.

Download of Java can be found here:

After downloading this version (which includes the correct SE 6.0 runtime module), I installed it on my Mac laptop.  The java module can be accessed from the Systems Preferences.  There are some settings that may need to be changed to have another desktop application called Virtual PRC to run properly on your Mac.
Figure 1

After installing the java runtime, DKVBrowser made an excellent attempt to connect to my piano.  Due to the fact that the IP address for my piano changes everytime I lose power or unplug it while away, the IP address had to be corrected in the DKVBrowser settings and tested for connection.   See DKVBrowser application preferences window  (figure 2).

Figure 2

In the past I have been able to type in the DKV##### number for the IP address and usually the IP address is determined automatically.  I then selected test.  The piano was still not found. This time I had to actually find the IP address to put in the edit field.  (It may also be possible that this problem happened due to the fact that my piano had also been disconnected from the airport express box near the piano.) Anyway, I was able to find the IP address eventually and DKVBrowser ran successfully -- my piano is functioning -- playing my favorite playlist.

Next on the schedule was a test of the Virtual PRC java script that puts a virtual remote controller on my Mac screen to use to control the piano - like the real one that comes with the piano.

Figure 3
If you are having problems getting Virtual PRC to run correctly after the Yosemite install:

1) Make sure your piano is connected to the internet.  My disklavier is physically connected to an Apple Express box that is near the piano.

2) Place any previous 'prcstart.php' or 'prcstart.php.jnlp' file you have used into your trash can on your Mac.

3) Click on the DKV##### icon under 'Shared' column on left of the Finder window.  Double click on the 'DNA' folder on the right-hand side of the Finder window. Double click on Virtualprc.html file or open in a browser like Firefox.  (Note: I use Firefox to run this file as I have previously had problems with Safari and Chrome working with this file.)
4) You will need to enter a username (root) and password (prcstart).  Follow the steps below for setting up and downloading a new prcstart.php file for your desktop:
Figure 4

5) After clicking on Save, a file should be downloaded to your Mac. The name of the file should be prcstart.php.jnlp -- if not -- then add the extension .jnlp to filename -- if you see only a file named 'prcstart.php'

 6) If you double click on that file, it should run the virtual PRC (see Figure 3 above).

7) If you get some error message about security blocking the app, then you will need to change the settings in the Java control panel.   This Java control panel can be accessed from Systems Preferences (under Apple icon in menu bar).  Open the Java control panel by clicking on the Java icon in the Systems Preferences panel.  See Figure 1 above.

8) Select “Security” tab from top of panel.   From here you will be able to allow for reduced security and run this java prcstart.php.jnlp file successfully.

Figure 5  

You can add in the IP address for your piano into the Exception Site List edit field.

Figure 6
 

Or, you can change the level of security to medium.  This will still display a security warning before any such files are run, but you can choose to ignore the security message and run anyway. 

Figure 7


 
 I chose to adjust the Security Level to medium as my IP address changes when I unplug from power or have an outage.  All works fine now with Yosemite System update.

Update notes for El Capitan are in the comments below (click on comments).  Please check second comment for info on correct Java 8 Version that is needed to get Virtual PRC to work with El Capitan System for Mac.