faeran

June 19

Thanks guys for providing reports, however, we'd love more information from each of you. If you are looking to help us improve the beta, we'll need some or all of this in them:

The program you are referring to that you have tested: LaunchBox or Big Box
Your hardware specs and OS
What exactly you were doing in the app and how you were doing it
Specific testing of the same scenario using all 3 video playback engines in the program you are testing in, and your performance results in whether it made a difference
Which theme you used during testing while you were testing all 3 video playback engines, bonus points for testing multiple themes with all 3 video playback engine scenarios
The input you were using during your testing: controller, keyboard, or mouse
List all community plugins that you have installed
If you had any crashes we'll need the whole crash report. If you had a hard crash to the desktop, we'll need the event logs (a lot of times it's multiple logs related to the same crash)
Your LaunchBox and/or Big Box logs

We will be trying to clear up as much as we can based on your testing as quickly as we can and get a beta 3 out with those fixes.

June 19

1 minute ago, kobaturtle said:

Same, Navigating in general is really slow. Sometime freezing few seconds. When switching from a system to another, every few seconds, images do not load instantly and takes around 5 sec to load.

FYI, Launchbox running on an SSD drive. It was very responsive until last beta with a 15kish game library

It's unclear which program you are referring to here. LaunchBox?

June 19

15 minutes ago, TheNewClassics said:

Really appreciate the update, love all the ideas in here. Unfortunately Big Box has become much slower and less responsive for me, whether it's on VLC or any other video player. I've also had a couple crashes in Big Box to this point. The reader seemed to also crash in Big Box.

The error seems to be about a calling thread and a different thread owning it. I'm also noticing I have to hit some buttons twice in Big Box for the input to take.

Sorry to hear. I'm not entirely sure why it would have less performance since the only things we did would have caused performance to slightly improve or stay level. However, if you'd like send me a PM with any logs and we'll look into it. I believe your crash in Big Box is already listed in the known issues list, so that should be solved next beta. The reader, if I had to guess, I think it requires that you have a specific version of .NET runtime installed. Instead of requiring people to have to install it, I'll bundle it in a way that the version of .NET comes with the reader, so users don't have to think about it. That should be out shortly via the manage plugins window, then we'll bundle the new version into beta 3 when that comes out.

June 19

Hey guys,

Beta 2 is now available. There's quite a lot in this one, so I apologize for the dump below.

Release Highlights

The big change in Beta 2 is the new LaunchBox Media Engine. This is a new bundled media playback system that runs as a separate helper app alongside LaunchBox and Big Box. That separation is important: if a video or audio file causes playback trouble, the goal is for LaunchBox and Big Box themselves to remain more stable instead of being taken down with it. In everyday use, this should mean fewer crashes related to video playback, better recovery from problematic media files, and a smoother experience in media-heavy themes and views.

For users, you'll simply see it as a new option under either LaunchBox or Big Box's video playback option. To try it in LaunchBox, go to Tools > Options > General > Video Playback and select Use VLC for video playback (recommended). In Big Box, go to Options > Videos > Video Playback Engine and choose VLC (recommended). LaunchBox and Big Box have separate playback settings, so please check both if you use both. Yes, we just utilized the old VLC strings for this, and it does use a different and new version of VLC within the media engine itself for this beta.

This new engine affects the places where media matters most: video snaps, platform videos, theme videos, startup videos, background music, game music, and media-heavy Big Box views. Please test it while quickly browsing games, switching platforms, launching and exiting games, using startup videos, playing background music, and letting Big Box sit in media-rich views for a while. The goal is that you don't notice anything and things are just normal as far as you can tell. Depending on how this beta goes and the feedback we get, this is a real possible direction that we'd like to head to for the official release.

FFMPEG also went through major overhauls for this round, including both an upgrade for FFMPEG and the WPF wrapper itself. If you have time this would be a good time to compare the media engine with FFMPEG, and WMP and come to a conclusion on how each one feels to you. The only reason we offer multiple video engines is that one size doesn't fit all, each one has its pros and cons, but it would be nice to understand if one is a clear winner for you in your exact setup and why.

LaunchBox Reader is another major addition in this beta. It's a brand new separate app, that was built in house, as a new way to open manuals, guides, and other documents from inside LaunchBox. We wanted it to have some of that old-school book/manual feel, so it includes things like 3D page turns and two-page layouts, but it still works like a modern reader with mouse, keyboard, and controller navigation. You can also choose from different layouts, like single page, two page, stacked, paginated, or continuous reading, depending on what feels best for the type of document you’re reading.

You can find the Reader settings in LaunchBox under Tools > Options > General > Reader. From there, you can pick which reader to use by default, adjust fullscreen and resume behavior, change themes and layout options, and customize keyboard and controller hotkeys. It can also remember settings, bookmarks, and where you left off for individual documents, so manuals and guides should be easier to jump back into later.

LaunchBox also has a new image grid in the Default theme, built from the ground up with performance in mind. It uses a more structured layout so large libraries can scroll and load images faster. The new grid also has options for image size, spacing, text, alignment, card backgrounds, aspect ratio, and section height. Configuration options can be opened right from the grid itself, simply right click the grid and choose Configure layout, changing the layout will update in real time. The old boxes view is still available so existing themes keep working, but it won’t get the same performance boost or the new configuration options. Custom theme devs can add the new grid to their own themes if they want to take advantage of the faster version. More information on that will be available over on our strategy guide before launch.

Big Box’s Filter / Sort menu has been overhauled to be much easier to use with a controller. You can now open one menu, choose a sort option, pick a direction, select filters, and apply everything in just a few clicks. The available filters are based on the games you’re currently viewing, so you’ll only see options that make sense for that list.

Sorting is more useful now too, with options like title, release date, date added, last played, play time, and star rating. The Default theme has also been updated with new bindings so it can better show the current sort and filter state. The Jump To menu now follows your sort choice as well. If you sort by title, you’ll get the normal A-Z index jump list. If you sort by release date, you’ll get a release-year jump list instead, so you can jump straight to a specific year.

Startup and game-launch behavior has also been improved with a new game monitor system. LaunchBox can better monitor the actual game or emulator window, allowing startup screens to close when the game appears and shutdown screens to appear when the game exits. This also includes all of our supported storefront launchers, which includes the ability to ignore the storefront's launch windows and understands which game process to actually look for. LaunchBox and Big Box will also automatically update its game stats more reliably for you without the need to refresh the entire game details pane. All of this will make launching games feel smoother, and more reliable for capturing your play time and game progress.

Full Testing Info

LaunchBox Reader - Open manuals, guides, magazines, PDFs, EPUBs, and image-based documents from LaunchBox and Big Box; try realistic page turns, different reading layouts, night mode, fit/margin settings, bookmarks, reading position resume, and keyboard/controller mappings
Big Box Filter / Sort - In several Big Box views, open the new Filter / Sort popup with a controller and keyboard, apply filters, sort by different fields such as star rating, change direction, clear filters, and confirm navigation and game selection remain stable
Big Box theme support for Filter / Sort - Use the default Big Box theme and at least one custom theme, then confirm sort context labels, the Filter / Sort popup, game details, and platform-specific views display correctly and remain themeable
Game startup and shutdown screen monitoring - Launch games through direct emulators and storefronts such as Steam, Epic, EA, Amazon, GOG, and Ubisoft, then confirm startup screens close when the real game window appears, shutdown screens appear when gameplay ends, and play time/stat updates are accurate when returning
Big Box startup videos - Test startup videos on desktop hardware and, if available, Windows handheld devices; confirm videos play reliably, hand off smoothly into Big Box, and can be skipped or completed without leaving helper windows or audio behind
Recommended emulator choices during ROM imports - Import ROMs for platforms with more than one supported installable emulator and confirm LaunchBox offers multiple emulator choices, marks the recommended option, and installs/configures the selected emulator correctly (Sony PlayStation 1 is a good example if the DuckStation plugin has been downloaded)
Additional Applications, Versions, and Documents - Edit a game with additional apps, alternate versions, links, and documents, confirm LaunchBox organizes them into the correct sections, and confirm Big Box shows separate Game Menu choices for Applications, Versions, and Documents when enabled
LaunchBox Media Engine - In LaunchBox Options > Video, select VLC as the video playback engine, then test preview videos, fullscreen video playback, LaunchBox video playback, Big Box videos, and Big Box startup videos to confirm playback starts, stops, loops, resizes, and switches between games cleanly without stuck audio or leftover video windows
LaunchBox Image Grid in the default theme - Browse a large library using the default LaunchBox theme's Image Grid, right-click the Image Grid and use Configure Layout to adjust spacing and layout options, resize the window, scroll quickly, and confirm selection highlighting and image refresh behavior remain stable; custom themes can choose to adopt the new Image Grid, but existing custom themes will continue using the previous implementation
WebView2 browser migration - Use storefront logins, web views, achievements popups, and older themes that include browser views, then confirm pages load correctly and legacy theme browser views still work

Known Issues

There is a known issue in this beta related to Big Box startup screen cancellation/abort behavior while using a controller. In some cases, cancelling or interrupting the startup screen while Big Box is launching a game may cause an error or unstable startup overlay behavior. We already have a fix in progress for this and plan to include it in an upcoming beta, but for now please report any cases where the startup screen, shutdown screen, or game-launch overlay behaves unexpectedly.

Beta 2 Changelog

New Feature: Added the new bundled LaunchBox Media Engine, a separate helper app designed to improve video and audio playback stability across LaunchBox and Big Box
New Feature: Added Media Engine support for video snaps, platform videos, theme videos, startup videos, background music, and game music playback
New Feature: Added LaunchBox Reader integration for manuals and additional documents, including Reader defaults, saved document settings, fullscreen/resume behavior, keyboard mappings, controller mappings, and external reader options
New Feature: Added Big Box Reader settings and document reader support from Big Box menus and pause-related document workflows
New Feature: Overhauled Big Box sorting and filtering, including new sort/filter popup behavior, sort direction support, Jump To improvements, star rating sorting, hybrid view support, and broader view compatibility
New Feature: Added game startup process/window monitoring to improve when startup screens close and shutdown screens appear
New Feature: Added background startup ROM auto-import handling
New Feature: Added a multi-plugin recommended emulator installation flow
Improvement: Split additional applications into clearer Apps, Versions, and Documents sections
Improvement: Migrated embedded browser functionality from Chromium/CefSharp to WebView2
Improvement: Refined media playback handling, audio fading, preview video loading, and startup video behavior
Improvement: Improved metadata refresh resilience, validation, and diagnostics
Improvement: Improved fast Image Grid layout controls, selection visuals, and image refresh behavior
Improvement: Improved Game Details pane navigation responsiveness
Improvement: Improved 3D model drag and carousel behavior
Fixed: Big Box Jump To sort bucket issues
Fixed: Big Box remembered platform/game view switching issues
Fixed: LaunchBox List View double-click launch and header resizing issues
Fixed: Legacy theme placeholder path and screenshot folder compatibility issues
Fixed: Several import error notification and storefront startup monitoring issues
Fixed: Additional startup/shutdown edge cases and stability issues

Thanks again to everyone helping test. We would especially appreciate focused testing on the new Media Engine in as many setups as possible, since it touches a lot of what makes LaunchBox and Big Box feel alive: videos, music, startup screens, themes, and browsing performance. Every report helps us make the final release smoother and more stable. Thanks everyone.

June 5

1 minute ago, Fursphere said:

@faeran

On the shutdown routine. This is a long standing bug / backdoor feature request, but since you're working on the shutdown code base right now anyway....

My twin driving cabinets use Ultimarc PAC-Drives for lighting up LEDs. These are latching - meaning if they are ON when the PC shuts down, they STAY ON (as long as they have power of course). So on those machines, I have to EXIT BigBox, wait for BigBox to fire the LEDBLinky "exit frontend" routine (turn off the LEDs), then gracefully shutdown Windows. If I use the BigBox built in shutdown routine - It doesn't seem to fire the LEDLlinky "frontend exit" routine, and the LEDs (buttons) stay on, even after the PC powers off.

So the ask if you can work it in - Can you add the "LEDBlinky Frontend EXIT" routine to the BigBox shutdown routine and make sure it fires BEFORE it starts the Windows Shutdown commands?

I'll see what I can do. Would have to be a blind fix and you'll have to let me know whether it worked for you. I'lll see what I can do for beta 2 or beta 3.

June 5

1 hour ago, JaredN said:

Launchbox is more unstable than ever with FFmpeg... 2 crashes in less than 5 minutes after the update.

BigBox seems to be holding up better.

To be confirmed.

In any case, thanks for the update! 😉

LB 1.evtx 68 kB · 1 download LB 2.evtx 68 kB · 0 downloads

We actually haven't touched FFMPEG yet in either LB or BB between 13.27 and this beta, but we will be soon. You'll see some major rework done in Beta2 and 3, followed by many rounds of fixes throughout the rest of the cycle. Stay tuned.

59 minutes ago, bikeking8 said:

I'm still running into the refreshing metadata infinite loop upon adding a new game, either drag-and-drop or via the add button. I gave it 5 minutes and it never went past verifying database hash. While 5 minutes may not seem that long in the grand scheme of things, it's much too long to wait for each and every game addition. Furthermore, I have to ~~force~~ close LB if I forget to opt out of the metadata prompt in the game addition process since the button bar area with the "Cancel" button becomes unresponsive.

This has plagued many recent betas and releases (search the forums); does LB really need to do an entire parity check each and every time a game is added? ~~Can this just be relocated under the menu and completely out of the import process, perhaps "Tools\Database\Refresh", similar to scanning for added roms?~~

Well glad you can now see which step it's failing on on your computer, so at least that's something. That step should really only take a handful of seconds, so something on your computer is timing it out. You having to force close may be a clue, could point to a locked file somewhere in the chain there that LB needs to function for whatever reason. I'll see if I can lean out that step even more for people in your situation.

June 5

On 6/2/2026 at 8:36 PM, ojed4r said:

Hello everyone! First of all, I want to thank you for all the updates, features and improvements that you've implemented to LaunchBox all these years. I've been a LaunchBox user for half a decade now and is still my frontend of choice.

I notice that one of the new features for v13.28 is:

"New Feature: Added a new shutdown progress window that shows what LaunchBox or Big Box is doing while closing, with a force-close option if shutdown hangs"

I was wondering, will this feature close all LaunchBox/BigBox processes running in the background as well?

I ask this because there has been a bug since v13.19 that has made me unable to update and has to do with LB archive extractor. The bug can be triggered this way:

If you extract any zipped game that is just a couple of MBs in size while having startup screens enabled, BigBox creates a second instance once you launch the game, and even if you shut down LB completely, the program stays open in the background.

I go more in depth regarding this bug in the following forum post:

Since I have 90% of my roms archived and I like the startup screens, I had to stay on v13.18 since. I just wanted to inform you about this issue and see if it could be fixed for the next update. I feel that the new feature I mentioned earlier could be the solution and finally get rid of this bug.

Thank you and keep up the great work.

I did a bunch of testing but was unable to actually get the process to get stuck, so it's quite possible there's more to it than what you may be thinking.

On 6/2/2026 at 9:56 PM, Jabb3rJaw said:

Thanks for the hard work but selfishly I was hoping for something related to the crashes multiple people have reported.

This will be a long beta, and this first pass has nothing specific to Big Box performance in it. That is slated for beta 3. Beta 4 and beyond will be all fixes like this, so more to come.

On 6/3/2026 at 4:45 AM, Retrofrogg said:

The double jewel case doesn't appear when you go to edit platform then 3D model settings. It's in the list, but when you select it the preview window is blank.

Thanks, the platform specific 3D model override preview window will be fixed for beta 2.

On 6/3/2026 at 1:28 PM, Rlad said:

Seems to have broken the layers in CTC themes im making

13,7

13.8 Beta

Looks like maybe a CTC plugin essentially trying to do its own thing when it comes to displaying image in certain situations. This should be fixed in beta 2.

On 6/4/2026 at 10:00 AM, Rlad said:

I cant figure out the exact trigger but column sizing can become way to sensitive.

I'll see if I can recreate this and knock it out.

June 2

13.28 Beta thread has opened:

June 2

Hi everyone,

Welcome to the LaunchBox 13.28 beta thread.

This release will include a number of larger under the hood changes across both LaunchBox and Big Box. Lots of exciting changes will go in this cycle. We'll be touching core areas of the application, so expect bugs with this beta, and we could use all the help testing as we can get.

Please remember to include the following when providing your testing feedback:

The program you are referring to that you have tested: LaunchBox or Big Box
Your hardware specs and OS
What exactly you were doing in the app and how you were doing it
Specific testing of the same scenario using all 3 video playback engines in the program you are testing in, and your performance results in whether it made a difference
Which theme you used during testing while you were testing all 3 video playback engines, bonus points for testing multiple themes with all 3 video playback engine scenarios
The input you were using during your testing: controller, keyboard, or mouse
List all community plugins that you have installed
If you had any crashes we'll need the whole crash report. If you had a hard crash to the desktop, we'll need the event logs (a lot of times it's multiple logs related to the same crash)
Your LaunchBox and/or Big Box logs

Here's what we could use help testing.

Beta 1

3D Double Jewel Case model - Try the new 3D Double Jewel Case with games that have front, back, and spine artwork, including titles with dual-spine media, and confirm the model displays correctly from multiple angles.
LaunchBox List View performance - In the default theme, browse a large library using LaunchBox's List View with badges enabled, then confirm scrolling, selection, sorting, column changes, and general navigation feel stable, responsive, and persistent.
Startup and shutdown experience - Restart and close LaunchBox and Big Box a few times and confirm the revamped startup window and new shutdown progress window display cleanly, show useful status messages, and complete without hanging.
Startup and Shutdown Applications - Configure apps to launch or close when LaunchBox starts/exits, when Big Box starts/exits, and when switching between LaunchBox and Big Box, then confirm the right apps run or close at the right time. If an app hangs during shutdown, confirm the shutdown progress window shows the stuck step and the force-close option behaves correctly.
Searchable Options pages - Search for several settings by name and related terms in Options, then confirm the correct pages and settings are easy to find and the search stays responsive.
Default Image Group and image group overrides - Change the new Default Image Group under Viewing options, then set custom image groups for platforms, playlists, and platform categories. Confirm the correct image types appear throughout the interface, and that "Use Default" clears only the selected override without changing the global default.
Metadata search while editing games - Edit games with common or ambiguous titles, run metadata searches, and confirm best matches appear first while other possible matches continue loading correctly.
Multiple install instance detection - Run separate LaunchBox or Big Box installs from different root folders and confirm they can operate independently without incorrectly blocking each other.
Legacy Big Box theme resource loading - Switch to older Big Box themes such as CriticalZone, Unified, or other legacy themes and confirm their images, styling, views, and navigation load correctly.

Beta 2

LaunchBox Reader - Open manuals, guides, magazines, PDFs, EPUBs, and image-based documents from LaunchBox and Big Box; try realistic page turns, different reading layouts, night mode, fit/margin settings, bookmarks, reading position resume, and keyboard/controller mappings
Big Box Filter / Sort - In several Big Box views, open the new Filter / Sort popup with a controller and keyboard, apply filters, sort by different fields such as star rating, change direction, clear filters, and confirm navigation and game selection remain stable
Big Box theme support for Filter / Sort - Use the default Big Box theme and at least one custom theme, then confirm sort context labels, the Filter / Sort popup, game details, and platform-specific views display correctly and remain themeable
Game startup and shutdown screen monitoring - Launch games through direct emulators and storefronts such as Steam, Epic, EA, Amazon, GOG, and Ubisoft, then confirm startup screens close when the real game window appears, shutdown screens appear when gameplay ends, and play time/stat updates are accurate when returning
Big Box startup videos - Test startup videos on desktop hardware and, if available, Windows handheld devices; confirm videos play reliably, hand off smoothly into Big Box, and can be skipped or completed without leaving helper windows or audio behind
Recommended emulator choices during ROM imports - Import ROMs for platforms with more than one supported installable emulator and confirm LaunchBox offers multiple emulator choices, marks the recommended option, and installs/configures the selected emulator correctly (Sony PlayStation 1 is a good example if the DuckStation plugin has been downloaded)
Additional Applications, Versions, and Documents - Edit a game with additional apps, alternate versions, links, and documents, confirm LaunchBox organizes them into the correct sections, and confirm Big Box shows separate Game Menu choices for Applications, Versions, and Documents when enabled
LaunchBox Media Engine - In LaunchBox Options > Video, select VLC as the video playback engine, then test preview videos, fullscreen video playback, LaunchBox video playback, Big Box videos, and Big Box startup videos to confirm playback starts, stops, loops, resizes, and switches between games cleanly without stuck audio or leftover video windows
LaunchBox Image Grid in the default theme - Browse a large library using the default LaunchBox theme's Image Grid, right-click the Image Grid and use Configure Layout to adjust spacing and layout options, resize the window, scroll quickly, and confirm selection highlighting and image refresh behavior remain stable; custom themes can choose to adopt the new Image Grid, but existing custom themes will continue using the previous implementation
WebView2 browser migration - Use storefront logins, web views, achievements popups, and older themes that include browser views, then confirm pages load correctly and legacy theme browser views still work

Full Changelog

Beta 1:

New Premium Feature: Added a new 3D Double Jewel Case model, including automatic spine handling and dual-spine options
New Feature: Added configurable Shutdown Applications, so apps can be closed automatically when LaunchBox or Big Box exits or when switching between them
New Feature: Added a new shutdown progress window that shows what LaunchBox or Big Box is doing while closing, with a force-close option if shutdown hangs
New Feature: Added play session history tracking, with an option under Data settings to enable or disable it
New Feature: Added searchable Options pages, making it easier to find settings by name or related terms
New Feature: Added a Default Image Group setting under Viewing options, so users can choose the default image type used across the interface
Improvement: Reworked the LaunchBox list view for much better performance in the default theme, especially with large libraries, badges, custom columns, and fast scrolling. The new list view is fully themeable, and custom theme developers can update their themes to support it
Improvement: Revamped the startup window with a newer WPF-based design and clearer startup status messages
Improvement: Improved metadata search when editing a game by showing best matches first, then other possible matches as they load
Improvement: Improved image group handling for platforms, playlists, and platform categories, including a new "Use Default" option to quickly clear a custom image group and return to the global default
Improvement: Improved LaunchBox and Big Box instance detection so separate installs or root folders can run independently without blocking each other
Improvement: Improved Options page performance and search responsiveness
Improvement: Improved ROM import parsing and welcome wizard import handoff behavior
Improvement: Improved startup/shutdown app handling and switching between LaunchBox and Big Box
Improvement: Updated the Windows build to use newer native launchers and the .NET 10 runtime/tooling stack
Fixed: Resolved metadata database replacement/update file lock issues that could block metadata downloads or updates
Fixed: Resolved Big Box theme resource loading issues for themes loaded from their original installed location
Fixed: Corrected platform alternate-name matching in the local metadata database
Fixed: Resolved image group overrides incorrectly changing the global default image group
Fixed: Corrected playlist image group overrides so playlists with duplicate display names use the correct unique playlist entry

Beta 2

New Feature: Added the new bundled LaunchBox Media Engine, a separate helper app designed to improve video and audio playback stability across LaunchBox and Big Box
New Feature: Added Media Engine support for video snaps, platform videos, theme videos, startup videos, background music, and game music playback
New Feature: Added LaunchBox Reader integration for manuals and additional documents, including Reader defaults, saved document settings, fullscreen/resume behavior, keyboard mappings, controller mappings, and external reader options
New Feature: Added Big Box Reader settings and document reader support from Big Box menus and pause-related document workflows
New Feature: Overhauled Big Box sorting and filtering, including new sort/filter popup behavior, sort direction support, Jump To improvements, star rating sorting, hybrid view support, and broader view compatibility
New Feature: Added game startup process/window monitoring to improve when startup screens close and shutdown screens appear
New Feature: Added background startup ROM auto-import handling
New Feature: Added a multi-plugin recommended emulator installation flow
Improvement: Split additional applications into clearer Apps, Versions, and Documents sections
Improvement: Migrated embedded browser functionality from Chromium/CefSharp to WebView2
Improvement: Refined media playback handling, audio fading, preview video loading, and startup video behavior
Improvement: Improved metadata refresh resilience, validation, and diagnostics
Improvement: Improved fast Image Grid layout controls, selection visuals, and image refresh behavior
Improvement: Improved Game Details pane navigation responsiveness
Improvement: Improved 3D model drag and carousel behavior
Fixed: Big Box Jump To sort bucket issues
Fixed: Big Box remembered platform/game view switching issues
Fixed: LaunchBox List View double-click launch and header resizing issues
Fixed: Legacy theme placeholder path and screenshot folder compatibility issues
Fixed: Several import error notification and storefront startup monitoring issues
Fixed: Additional startup/shutdown edge cases and stability issues

Thanks to everyone who helps test and provide feedback. We appreciate all the bug reports, confirmations, and suggestions that help us improve each release.

May 14

Thanks, the links are updated on the GamesDB. Based on the article you provided and our SteamID system, I updated Final Fantasy VII to the newer version for now.

Just note the LaunchBox app plays no role in the GamesDB metadata changes. They kind of live in parallel beside each other.

May 12

3 minutes ago, Undertherainbow said:

@faeran

Well yes made with theme creator. I am not sure if that is functionality within BB it self. All i did was add wav file in loop to be triggered by animation (its suppose to be wall clock. Same thing happens to without sound just animation of a png spinning in loop. (this should be function available within BB) it never stops and keeps working in background or when focus is lost (playing game) and i cant shut down BB properly as long as i have those animations

Send me a PM with the published theme files and I'll take a look at what may be going on there.

May 12

On 5/8/2026 at 4:20 AM, macmahoun said:

I just wanted to let you know that the crashes in BigBox are still occurring with Beta 4 and 5 on both of my computers.

i again added report.wer

Thanks a lot for all your work.

As always, going back to 13.23 🙂

Report.wer 74.2 kB · 2 downloads

If you would like to troubleshoot this, send me a PM. Just be ready for a lot of questions, so we can try and deduce what might be going on on your machines.

On 5/10/2026 at 6:42 AM, Undertherainbow said:

Hey , i found another issue why BB is hanging as process and not exiting.
I added some animation in loop , but that animation doesnt seem to stop when BB is not in focus or playing a game and also seem to block BB from clean exit.
Its a simple png with just loop rotate animation. Same thing is happening to any loop stuff, like audio. They dont seem to pause or stop when bb is out of focus and they seem to block clean exit.

Are you using a specific custom theme or have specific plugins installed? My hunch after you said this is maybe it's due to a custom plugin of some kind. Does the same thing happen when you switch to the default theme?

3 hours ago, JamesAndersonJr said:

Thanks for the info. I did some investigation on that app and it looks like they made the decision to place their video in another bucket than the normal one mostly all games/apps use called "trailers - other trailers". We'll make sure to including that bucket as well.

May 7

Thanks to all you guys we released Beta 5 with all the issues we were able to reproduce. Some we just took a stab at since we were unable to recreate them (like processes being stuck), so if you were having issues, take a look at the changelog to see if there was an attempt on solving your issue and test it out and report back. At this point we've scheduled the release for next week, so let's hope we make it!

Here's the changelog for beta 5:

Improved: System Tray options have been clarified with a new Enable System Tray setting, and tray-related close and minimize behavior now only applies when the system tray is enabled
Improved: Local metadata refreshes are more reliable across imports and metadata downloads, with better reuse of active refreshes, more accurate progress reporting, improved package validation with database hash verification progress and more reliable retry handling
Improved: LaunchBox restart handling is more reliable for theme installs, plugin updates, options changes, and data restores
Fixed: Like and unlike support now works correctly for Themes and Media Packs in the Media Manager, making it easier to give feedback on community-created downloads directly from LaunchBox
Fixed: Automatic ROM imports now better respect disabled auto-import settings and more reliably avoid creating duplicate games or duplicate additional apps when scanning for new ROMs
Fixed: Several System Tray shutdown and cleanup issues have been resolved, improving quit, minimize, restore, and restart behavior when tray options are enabled
Fixed: Several Big Box stability issues related to controller navigation and background image updates have been resolved, reducing the chance of crashes or freezes while navigating with a controller or loading images
Fixed: FFmpeg/FFME video playback now loops more reliably without freezing or crashing at the end of playback
Fixed: Metadata downloads now handle cases where no games can be resolved, preventing unnecessary failures and helping preserve queued media download work

May 7

On 5/6/2026 at 9:15 AM, JamesAndersonJr said:

The primary reason I'm looking forward to LaunchBox 13.27. Plz 🙏🏽 get it right!

Steam Trailer Downloads!

https://www.launchbox-app.com/about/changelog

Just to set expectations. When Steam overhauled their videos system and broke our Steam trailer download support, they basically made all of their video files not accessible. There's literally no videos on their servers for anyone to download anymore. Instead, they replaced it with live streaming versions of them. So, instead of files that can be downloaded, they are video and audio streams. This means the only solution we really had at that point was to capture the video and audio streams and use a program to mux them together and create a file to save to disk. Doing all of that cannot be realistically as fast as simply downloading a file, like we were able to do before, but it does work. All of it can be tested in beta right now, so let us know how you like it.

May 7

Beta 2 has been cooking for a while, but it's finally out for everyone to test. We mostly focused on Steam support, including importing and syncing your Steam library, with Steam artwork, trailers, and a bunch of import customization options. We also added a bunch of new platforms, emulators, and a bunch of fixes. Thanks everyone for the help with testing this as we get closer to release. Here's the full changelog:

Added Steam game importing for the new Windows platform. This lets you bring your Steam library into LaunchBox for Android and launch supported games through compatible Android Windows launchers
Added Steam media support. Steam games can now use Steam artwork and trailers, including box fronts, clear logos, backgrounds, and videos, giving imported Steam games better media coverage out of the box
Added Steam library update support. LaunchBox can now compare your Windows/Steam platform against your Steam library to add newly owned games and optionally remove games you no longer own
Added options to customize Steam imports. You can choose whether to import only games, include family-shared games, search the LaunchBox Games Database, prioritize Steam metadata, prioritize Steam media, or allow duplicate imports
Added platforms: Windows, Arduboy, Sega Model 3, Uzebox, WASM-4, and Microsoft Xbox
Added emulators: GameHub Lite, GameNative, Pizza Boy SC Pro, Azahar (Vanilla), Linkboy, Lynx.Emu, PICO-8: Android, PICO-8: Picpic, Aethersx2 (Turnip), SkyEmu, MelonDualDS, YabaSanshiro Pro, Vita3k (ikhoeyZX), Super3, X1 Box, aPS3e, and eka2l1
Added RetroArch core mappings for Arduboy, Uzebox, and WASM-4. These platforms should now be easier to import and launch when using RetroArch
Improved streaming video support. LaunchBox now handles more streaming video formats, including HLS streams, which helps Steam trailers and other online videos play more reliably
Fixed Local and Cloud filters so games appear in the correct place. Games with local files now show under Local, while Cloud only shows games that exist only on a configured network/cloud location
Fixed a possible crash when returning to LaunchBox. This could happen if notification or data services were not available yet when the app resumed
Fixed possible image resize conflicts during media downloads. This could prevent media from failing or becoming inconsistent when multiple images were being processed at the same time
Fixed scoped-storage handling for additional applications. Launching alternate versions or additional apps should now use the correct file path or URI
Fixed scoped-storage lookup to use the selected application path. This helps when launching an additional app or alternate version instead of the main game file
Fixed the built-in Vita3k Android emulator launch command

May 5

22 minutes ago, Retrofrogg said:

When viewing games in list view, the column headers are often missing. They come and go; the problem seems to be intermittent:

@JoeViking245 helpfully pointed out that if you exit LB in boxes view, then restart LB, then switch to list view, the problem isn't there. But if you exit LB in list view, then restart in list view, the problem is there.

That's an old issue with the native WPF grid view system, which in essence is just a bad system overall. The next release will completely replace it with an entirely custom one, which should give us a lot more control over everything with the list view.

May 5

6 hours ago, QuirkyKirkTech said:

On beta 4. Still experiencing the Bigbox crashing silently after a while.

We will be tackling a larger overhaul next release, which hopefully that will help some for users.

4 hours ago, Gaming.Zone said:

I am getting errors when attempting to use my favorite theme which is "unified redux".

Updated to Beta 4.

Opened Big Box and got an error.

Switched to Default theme and restarted Big Box.

No error on Default theme.

Went to themes settings, repaired Unified redux, set as main theme.

Validate Error returned.

Notes: Additionally I changed my theme to unified refried and no errors. I uninstalled unified redux, rebooted big box, installed unified redux, applied as main theme. Still an error.

Consensus. 13.27beta4 does not like something on Unified Redux theme and causes the errors.

When I see this happen, it's usually caused by some kind of bad file permissions issue that can usually be fixed with a restart. I'd love to get rid of themes that utilize those old and outdated (and really unneeded) files, but time is the limiting factor there.

4 hours ago, Gaming.Zone said:

Something else I want to call out - but maybe it was just me.

When updating from beta3 to beta4 the system asked me if I wanted to upgrade, I said yes, and Launchbox shut down but I had to kill one of the processes after 10 minutes of nothing happening. So something may not be clearing correctly in beta3+ when initiating a shut down to install. I'll watch for the next beta or main version to update and can report on that as well. (Had no issues beta2 -> beta3.)

The shutdown process is highly dependent on how much a user does during their session, but in essence there's a lot of files that go back and forth, and things can get stuck there sometimes that are almost always some kind of read/write issue. Basically, it's not a beta issue, it's more of a "LaunchBox needs to do these things and the computer is saying no silently and LaunchBox just keeps waiting for it to be done". The release after this one will better expose all the things LaunchBox does during a shutdown sequence, and provide ways out of a stuck process.

May 5

19 hours ago, Rlad said:

I get this error now in BB fullscreen images when i get to Fanart Background

Thanks. Looks like it's due to using a controller. Fixed internally.

19 hours ago, Rlad said:

Also 'scanning for additional roms' pops up even though Automatic imports is disabled.

Looks like this snuck through. While the option is off, it still runs a quick check on certain things, so we made it not run those checks now while the option is off.

4 hours ago, skizzosjt said:

yea I've noticed and have previously communicated the same since FFMPEG was implemented. for me webm videos freeze up the frontend when they try to loop. I also have some mp4 videos that def came from emumovies that do the same thing. the kicker is these videos all play totally fine in FFMPEG if you use FFMPEG directly from Windows. it's only problematic how FFMPEG is implemented in Big Box and LaunchBox. for me view doesn't matter in Big Box, these freezes can happen on any view where a video exists.

15 hours ago, jiboreid said:

Dealing with a persistent bug on beta 3 and 4 where FFMPEG will freeze my entire ui on game details view textgamesview after the video for that game reaches the end and attempts to loop. This issue does not exist when switching to Windows Media Player. The freeze after several minutes seems to resolve itself and throws an exception error:

App: Big Box
Version: 13.27-beta-4
Theme: My theme
Type: System.ComponentModel.Win32Exception
Site: Void UpdateWindowSettings(Boolean, System.Nullable`1[System.Windows.Media.Composition.DUCE+ChannelSet])
Source: PresentationCore

at System.Windows.Interop.HwndTarget.UpdateWindowSettings(Boolean enableRenderTarget, Nullable`1 channelSet)
at System.Windows.Interop.HwndTarget.UpdateWindowPos(IntPtr lParam)
at System.Windows.Interop.HwndTarget.HandleMessage(WindowMessage msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)
at System.Windows.Interop.HwndSource.HwndTargetFilterMessage(IntPtr hwnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam, Boolean& handled)
at System.Windows.Threading.ExceptionWrapper.InternalRealCall(Delegate callback, Object args, Int32 numArgs)
at System.Windows.Threading.ExceptionWrapper.TryCatchWhen(Object source, Delegate callback, Object args, Int32 numArgs, Delegate catchHandler)

Recent Log:

4:52:21 PM Exception

ALSO, heres my log after I navigated to TextGamesView and waited for the video to stop playing:

2026-05-04T16:46:58.3200305-04:00 New Navigation Manager stack: PlatformWheel3FiltersViewModel > TextGamesViewModel
2026-05-04T16:46:58.3213845-04:00 Music.Kill Start
2026-05-04T16:46:58.3215409-04:00 Music.Kill Finished
2026-05-04T16:46:59.4471324-04:00 Music.StopAndResumeBackground Start
2026-05-04T16:46:59.4803939-04:00 Music.StopAndResumeBackground Start
2026-05-04T16:46:59.6518924-04:00 [FFME Log]: Direct Command 'Close' not accepted. Open media before closing or changing media.
2026-05-04T16:47:00.0909282-04:00 [FFME Log]: SYNC AUDIO: SKIP OK | Initial: 48 ms. Current: -10 ms. Requested: 50 ms.
2026-05-04T16:47:03.8124812-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T16:47:04.2317705-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T16:47:04.4416065-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T16:47:04.6254108-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T16:47:05.2769292-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T16:47:05.5124534-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T16:47:06.4008463-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T16:47:07.0022503-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T16:47:07.6559319-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T16:47:07.8128807-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T16:47:07.9960044-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T16:47:08.3880424-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T16:47:08.8146354-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T16:47:09.5197656-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T16:47:10.2765781-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T16:47:10.4684663-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T16:47:10.6258521-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T16:47:10.9914065-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T16:47:11.2267963-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T16:47:13.5500153-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T16:47:13.5534341-04:00 Music.StopAndResumeBackground Start
2026-05-04T16:47:13.5541352-04:00 Disposing videos: Disposing ImageVideoView...
2026-05-04T16:47:13.5561307-04:00 Disposing videos: Disposing BackgroundVideoView...
2026-05-04T16:47:13.5563299-04:00 Disposing videos: Invoking UI thread...
2026-05-04T16:47:13.5568095-04:00 Disposing videos: Starting delay dispose process for all video control classes...
2026-05-04T16:47:13.5572332-04:00 Navigation Manager going back
2026-05-04T16:47:13.5585958-04:00 New Navigation Manager stack: PlatformWheel3FiltersViewModel
2026-05-04T16:47:13.5672515-04:00 Music.Kill Start
2026-05-04T16:47:13.5674838-04:00 Music.Kill Finished
2026-05-04T16:47:13.9318873-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T16:47:13.9324458-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T16:47:14.5597580-04:00 Beginning GamesViewModelBase dispose process...
2026-05-04T16:47:14.5600437-04:00 Disposing videos...
2026-05-04T16:47:14.5602361-04:00 Disposing background view model...
2026-05-04T16:47:14.5606252-04:00 Disposing background image view model...
2026-05-04T16:47:14.5608577-04:00 Disposing image video view model...
2026-05-04T16:47:14.5611310-04:00 Disposing image view model...
2026-05-04T16:47:14.5621859-04:00 Disposing games list view model...
2026-05-04T16:47:14.5632512-04:00 Disposing list view model...
2026-05-04T16:47:14.5640895-04:00 Disposing menu items list view model...
2026-05-04T16:47:14.5642483-04:00 Disposing game details view model...
2026-05-04T16:47:14.5654277-04:00 Disposing image video view...
2026-05-04T16:47:14.5655932-04:00 Disposing background video view...
2026-05-04T16:47:14.5657214-04:00 Nulling out image video view...
2026-05-04T16:47:14.5658266-04:00 Nulling out background video view...
2026-05-04T16:47:14.5659175-04:00 Nulling out all image sources...
2026-05-04T16:47:14.5664828-04:00 Nulling out view...
2026-05-04T16:47:14.5666579-04:00 Processing garbage collection...
2026-05-04T16:47:14.5668176-04:00 Reducing nondisposed count...
2026-05-04T16:47:14.5669600-04:00 GamesViewModelBase dispose process completed successfully.
2026-05-04T16:47:14.7174650-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T16:47:14.9533637-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T16:47:15.1374323-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T16:47:15.3468309-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T16:47:15.3472334-04:00 FiltersViewModelBase.PauseVideo Started
2026-05-04T16:47:15.3478390-04:00 FiltersViewModelBase.PauseVideo Completed
2026-05-04T16:47:15.3482390-04:00 Navigation Manager loading new view
2026-05-04T16:47:15.3484176-04:00 FiltersViewModelBase.PauseVideo Started
2026-05-04T16:47:15.3492016-04:00 FiltersViewModelBase.PauseVideo Completed
2026-05-04T16:47:15.3493739-04:00 Navigation manager changing views. ResetTree: False
2026-05-04T16:47:15.4011552-04:00 New Navigation Manager stack: PlatformWheel3FiltersViewModel > TextGamesViewModel
2026-05-04T16:47:15.4016186-04:00 Music.Kill Start
2026-05-04T16:47:15.4017749-04:00 Music.Kill Finished
2026-05-04T16:47:16.4868661-04:00 Music.StopAndResumeBackground Start
2026-05-04T16:47:16.5155881-04:00 Music.StopAndResumeBackground Start
2026-05-04T16:47:16.6629076-04:00 [FFME Log]: Direct Command 'Close' not accepted. Open media before closing or changing media.
2026-05-04T16:47:16.9945664-04:00 [FFME Log]: SYNC AUDIO: SKIP OK | Initial: 54 ms. Current: -10 ms. Requested: 50 ms.
2026-05-04T16:47:17.4469041-04:00 [FFME Log]: SYNC AUDIO: SKIP OK | Initial: 42 ms. Current: -10 ms. Requested: 50 ms.
2026-05-04T16:47:20.8478331-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T16:47:21.6576857-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T16:48:02.8930949-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T16:48:12.9925970-04:00 Music.Pause Start
2026-05-04T16:52:21.9344555-04:00 Music.Resume Start
2026-05-04T16:52:21.9997645-04:00 Music.Pause Start
2026-05-04T16:52:22.0732017-04:00 [FFME Log]: SEEK TP: Target Pos 0.000 not between 0.021 and 41.221
2026-05-04T17:00:17.8237359-04:00 [FFME Log]: SYNC AUDIO: SKIP OK | Initial: 57 ms. Current: -10 ms. Requested: 50 ms.
2026-05-04T17:00:18.4453189-04:00 Music.Resume Start
2026-05-04T17:00:19.2195869-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T17:00:19.2204148-04:00 Music.StopAndResumeBackground Start
2026-05-04T17:00:19.2206435-04:00 Disposing videos: Disposing ImageVideoView...
2026-05-04T17:00:19.2223549-04:00 Disposing videos: Disposing BackgroundVideoView...
2026-05-04T17:00:19.2225104-04:00 Disposing videos: Invoking UI thread...
2026-05-04T17:00:19.2226203-04:00 Disposing videos: Starting delay dispose process for all video control classes...
2026-05-04T17:00:19.2228436-04:00 Navigation Manager going back
2026-05-04T17:00:19.2238457-04:00 New Navigation Manager stack: PlatformWheel3FiltersViewModel
2026-05-04T17:00:19.2263333-04:00 Music.Kill Start
2026-05-04T17:00:19.2265409-04:00 Music.Kill Finished
2026-05-04T17:00:19.5988611-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T17:00:19.6012773-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T17:00:20.2246510-04:00 Beginning GamesViewModelBase dispose process...
2026-05-04T17:00:20.2249576-04:00 Disposing videos...
2026-05-04T17:00:20.2250889-04:00 Disposing background view model...
2026-05-04T17:00:20.2257265-04:00 Disposing background image view model...
2026-05-04T17:00:20.2259176-04:00 Disposing image video view model...
2026-05-04T17:00:20.2261186-04:00 Disposing image view model...
2026-05-04T17:00:20.2263780-04:00 Disposing games list view model...
2026-05-04T17:00:20.2267222-04:00 Disposing list view model...
2026-05-04T17:00:20.2280188-04:00 Disposing menu items list view model...
2026-05-04T17:00:20.2281647-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T17:00:20.2281740-04:00 Disposing game details view model...
2026-05-04T17:00:20.2289229-04:00 Music.StopAndResumeBackground Start
2026-05-04T17:00:20.2289371-04:00 DataManager.SaveInternal started.
2026-05-04T17:00:20.2291076-04:00 FiltersViewModelBase.PauseVideo Started
2026-05-04T17:00:20.2298212-04:00 FiltersViewModelBase.PauseVideo Completed
2026-05-04T17:00:20.2309383-04:00 Saving InputBindings.xml...
2026-05-04T17:00:20.2380564-04:00 Navigation Manager loading new view
2026-05-04T17:00:20.2382942-04:00 FiltersViewModelBase.PauseVideo Started
2026-05-04T17:00:20.2388581-04:00 FiltersViewModelBase.PauseVideo Completed
2026-05-04T17:00:20.2389864-04:00 Navigation manager changing views. ResetTree: False
2026-05-04T17:00:20.2391415-04:00 New Navigation Manager stack: PlatformWheel3FiltersViewModel > SystemViewModel
2026-05-04T17:00:20.2392587-04:00 Music.Kill Start
2026-05-04T17:00:20.2393491-04:00 Music.Kill Finished
2026-05-04T17:00:20.3160653-04:00 Disposing image video view...
2026-05-04T17:00:20.3163534-04:00 Disposing background video view...
2026-05-04T17:00:20.3164791-04:00 Nulling out image video view...
2026-05-04T17:00:20.3165817-04:00 Nulling out background video view...
2026-05-04T17:00:20.3166816-04:00 Nulling out all image sources...
2026-05-04T17:00:20.3176947-04:00 Nulling out view...
2026-05-04T17:00:20.3180220-04:00 Processing garbage collection...
2026-05-04T17:00:20.3182738-04:00 Reducing nondisposed count...
2026-05-04T17:00:20.3184985-04:00 GamesViewModelBase dispose process completed successfully.
2026-05-04T17:00:20.3387691-04:00 Saving GameControllers.xml...
2026-05-04T17:00:20.4469965-04:00 Saving ListCache.xml...
2026-05-04T17:00:20.5774255-04:00 Saving Settings.xml...
2026-05-04T17:00:20.6863996-04:00 Saving BigBoxSettings.xml...
2026-05-04T17:00:20.8632549-04:00 Saving ImportBlacklist.xml...
2026-05-04T17:00:20.9738741-04:00 DataManager.SaveInternal completed successfully.
2026-05-04T17:00:21.1240182-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T17:00:21.8276621-04:00 Attract Mode stopped
2026-05-04T17:00:21.8295425-04:00 Big Box Beginning Shutdown Process...
2026-05-04T17:00:21.8298818-04:00 Big Box Shutdown: Killing Controller Thread...
2026-05-04T17:00:21.8302617-04:00 Big Box Shutdown: Killing Keyboard Automation...
2026-05-04T17:00:21.8325995-04:00 Big Box Shutdown: Clearing View Models...
2026-05-04T17:00:21.8328965-04:00 Navigation Manager loading new view
2026-05-04T17:00:22.5336883-04:00 Big Box Shutdown: Shutting Down LEDBlinky Support...
2026-05-04T17:00:22.5341256-04:00 Big Box Shutdown: Closing Windows...
2026-05-04T17:00:22.5539330-04:00 Big Box Shutdown: Unhiding Taskbar...
2026-05-04T17:00:22.5545251-04:00 Big Box Shutdown: Unhiding Cursor...
2026-05-04T17:00:22.5550158-04:00 Big Box Shutdown: Saving Selections...
2026-05-04T17:00:22.5554598-04:00 Big Box Shutdown: Shutting Down Audio Engine...
2026-05-04T17:00:22.5560127-04:00 Big Box Shutdown: Waiting for Save Process to Complete...
2026-05-04T17:00:22.5576388-04:00 Big Box Shutdown: Removing Temporary Files...
2026-05-04T17:00:22.5585578-04:00 Big Box Shutdown: Killing Background Updater...
2026-05-04T17:00:22.5589921-04:00 Big Box Shutdown: Running Automatic Data Backup...
2026-05-04T17:00:23.8540831-04:00 Big Box Shutdown: Invoking Before Final Quit...
2026-05-04T17:00:23.8546364-04:00 Big Box Shutdown: Shutting Down CEF...
2026-05-04T17:00:23.8764604-04:00 Big Box Shutdown: Final Shutdown

Based on what's being read here is that the video file it was playing was slightly corrupt, in a way where the file is out of sync with its own start/end time. Basically it's reporting its time incorrectly and Big Box ends up using the incorrect time to make a decision and it locks Big Box. I tried with a few files, even attempted to corrupt one of my files but was unable to recreate this scenario. It was enough to attempt a fix, but I cannot test the fix. If either of you have a file where it's always doing this, send that, along with your data folder that represents all the settings you have when the issue happens, to me in a PM.

13 hours ago, JaredN said:

Hello!

Thanks for this beta!

As noted by @Rlad, the auto-import wizard launches at startup whether or not it's checked in the options.

BUT if it's not checked, it doesn't seem to be “actually” active! It's brief, and in my case, it doesn't detect a ROM that's been added.

On the other hand, if I check the option, it seems to perform a proper scan, detects the added ROM... and crashes for no apparent reason in that case.

See attached video.

And I didn’t look into it (the crash) further because that wasn’t the point. However, the added ROM was a different version (in another language) of a ROM that was already present. Maybe that’s related?

As for the fanart backgrounds, I get the same crash as @Rlad when I try to view them in BB using the “View images fullscreen” option. No problem in LB, though.

BUT I don't have this problem only with fanart backgrounds. Here is the log of an error that occurred with a Disc image, without any fanart background present :

The calling thread cannot access this object because a different thread owns it.

App: Big Box
Version: 13.27-beta-4
Theme: VisioN
Type: System.InvalidOperationException
Site: Void <VerifyAccess>g__ThrowVerifyAccess|7_0()
Source: WindowsBase

at System.Windows.Threading.Dispatcher.<VerifyAccess>g__ThrowVerifyAccess|7_0()
at System.Windows.DependencyObject.GetValue(DependencyProperty dp)
at System.Windows.Controls.Image.get_Source()
at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.Controls.PixelPerfectImageScaler.InsertServerController()
at RandomCompressorAggregator.ReadExplorerList(Object, RandomCompressorAggregator)
at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.Controls.PixelPerfectImageScaler.ResetScale()
at PassiveDicAggregator.ReadExplorerList(Object, PassiveDicAggregator)
at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.Controls.PixelPerfectImageScaler.set_ScaleMode(PixelPerfectImageScaleMode value)
at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.BigBox.ViewModels.ImagesViewModel.AssembleReg()
at AggregatorBuilderPredictor.SumCustomizableProgram(Object, AggregatorBuilderPredictor)
at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.BigBox.ViewModels.ImagesViewModel.ConvertRandomSubscriber()
at ConverterDictionary.SumCustomizableProgram(Object, ConverterDictionary)
at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.BigBox.ViewModels.ImagesViewModel.OnRight(Boolean held, Boolean onlyRightPressed)
at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.BigBox.NavigationManager.OnRight(Boolean held, Boolean onlyPressed)
at RemoteResolverAggregator.SumCustomizableProgram(Object, Boolean held, Boolean onlyPressed, RemoteResolverAggregator)
at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.BigBox.ViewModels.MainViewModel.OnRight(Boolean onlyRightPressed)
at AggregatorTaskTransformer.SumCustomizableProgram(Object, Boolean onlyRightPressed, AggregatorTaskTransformer)
at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.BigBox.ViewModels.MainViewModel.InterruptDecorator(Guid setup)
at (Object, Guid)
at TransferableSetAggregator.SumCustomizableProgram(Object, Guid setup, TransferableSetAggregator)
at Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows.BigBox.ViewModels.MainViewModel.<>c__DisplayClass261_1.ReceiveGroupedObserver()
at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.RunInternal(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state)
--- End of stack trace from previous location ---
at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.RunInternal(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state)

Recent Log:

09:16:04 Exception

---------------------

As for FFmpeg, it still seems just as unstable to me, since LB shut down without an error message a few minutes after I switched to FFmpeg instead of WMP.

I haven't retested it in BB, but I imagine the problem must be the same.

Thanks anyway for this update!

I was unable to get this to happen, but I attempted a fix for the automatic ROM import combine ROMs situation, so we can hope that helps, and you can help test when it's out.

10 hours ago, bikeking8 said:

Windows 11, v13.27 beta 4: I'm still having problems with the latest version during the import process, where it has the usual death spiral when it gets to "Refreshing Metadata - Validating Database"; it just never stops. Tried importing one game and I had to force close LB after 5 minutes. Just for reference, I've had LB since version 7 (love it), and I've only recently since last year had to keep the "Search for games in the local database" box unchecked to get around the hangups.

Based on what's happening during that step, that usually means there's some kind of "LaunchBox can't manipulate a file" issue due to all the normal reasons you can think of, like - another process is holding it hostage, or file permissions, or AV/security software.. etc. I made some changes to the process to try and simplify it as much as possible, but if the OS is telling LaunchBox that it doesn't have access to the file, it may not be enough. Sometimes Windows can get into a bad state and a restart of your computer could clear things like that.

May 4

Beta 4 is out with the following fixes:

New Feature: Added Save Management maintenance tools to repair missing save metadata or clear and rebuild save metadata from emulator and vaulted saves
Improvement: PCSX2 save matching now supports CHD disc images
Improvement: Dolphin Wii save discovery and restore now support both disc saves and channel saves
Improvement: 3D models now handle cached and fallback artwork more reliably
Fixed: GOG media downloads now work reliably for icons, posters, and screenshots
Fixed: Fullscreen image viewing no longer overlaps the taskbar and scales images correctly across image types, DPI, and monitors
Fixed: Imports and media downloads now respect media limits more accurately, including no-limit automated imports
Fixed: Game details videos no longer steal focus from the game grid
Fixed: FFME video cleanup is more stable and less likely to hang or crash
Fixed: Welcome wizard selections are saved more reliably when finishing setup
Fixed: The bundled Xbox - White controller input pack no longer incorrectly reports that an update is available
Fixed: The Manage Storefronts window no longer errors when using the Close button
Fixed: Save Management now removes deleted save metadata immediately and more reliably, preventing stale saved-game and save-state badges from remaining after saves are deleted

We are coming up to the end of the cycle and we are overall fairly happy with where we've landed. Thanks everyone for helping with this release cycle.

We've got more to come with a bunch of overhauled systems for the next release, and it should be a much larger one than this one. We spent quite a lot of time this cycle setting up new internal workflows to try and speed things while reducing risk at the same time, so hopefully the results will show off quickly with larger scoping changes coming out in faster succession than we were doing over the last few years.

On 5/3/2026 at 8:57 AM, Retrofrogg said:

I've noticed with the latest beta that the 3D box model icon doesn't always show as it should. When I'm browsing games, sometimes it loads correctly and sometimes it doesn't. Here it doesn't load:

And if I move onto another game or two then come back, it loads:

This should be specifically addressed in Beta 4.

April 30

19 hours ago, Retrofrogg said:

Having an issue with the latest beta where Launchbox will crash during the import game process. I drag the game into Launchbox, get past the first couple of import windows but then it crashes and I have to force quit.

Edit: after a while it stopped doing it and has since worked. I'll continue to monitor the issue.

Thanks, let us know. I haven't been able to reproduce this. Usually when this is reported it's due to something on the user's computer conflicting with the wizard. The wizards are somewhat i/o heavy, so other things happening on the computer can trip it up sometimes.

April 30

2 hours ago, SuperDaveOsborne said:

I am also experiencing random crashes while BigBox is playing video in Attract Mode. Sometimes it runs for hours, sometimes only a few minutes. I'm attaching screenshots of the event logs. Please let me know what other information you need--I am a brand-new customer and I am REALLY enjoying using LaunchBox+BigBox. I'm happy to do whatever I can to help y'all out! --Dave

Thanks, do you also have LaunchBox debug logs when this crash happened. Also, in that second report, there's that long link at the bottom of it which should lead you to the WER report. If you can attach that here as well, that would be super helpful.

April 29

33 minutes ago, Suhrvivor said:

I'm still getting random crashes without warnings in BigBox and on beta 3 (also previous betas), with both video backend players, the debug log shows a bunch of attract mode and music stuff right before crashing, i disabled them but made no difference.

Here's a couple of logs:

Debug Logs Beta 3.zip 175.29 kB · 1 download

For us to do research on your exact crash, we would need any Event Viewer application logs of the crash, which usually come in twos, along with any WER reports that come with the application log.

April 28

27 minutes ago, JaredN said:

More annoying bug: When I try to download logos, the download only starts for the first 2 or 3, or doesn't start, if I chose to limit the number of downloads for the category. If I don't limit it anymore, it works again. I only tested it for the Gamecube, the only platform I needed to update.

Thanks for the report. Yeah, noticed this yesterday and is fixed internally. Will be part of Beta 4.

3 hours ago, carbal said:

Same for me BETA 3 doesn't download automatically media files, I have to edit metadata and download them again with the dedicated button. It happens with every platform or storefront.

I did make some changes to this, but I'm unable to reproduce what you are seeing, so I'm not sure if I need to fix something or if there's just some configuration in your build that you need to change up.

Which method are you using to import your games/download media?

April 27

On 4/25/2026 at 8:39 AM, TheNewClassics said:

Scan for new games in a platform

I'm not entirely seeing what you are, as each of my test runs downloaded images just fine. I'll make a few changes though and see if that help you out.

On 4/25/2026 at 11:53 AM, kobaturtle said:

@faeran same "losing focus" issue with beta 3 which prevent typing a title name, using default theme

This is being caused by the new video controls. They are pulling focus when a video starts playing. I have a fix internally that should help with that situation.

On 4/25/2026 at 12:02 PM, Rlad said:

Beta 3 1080p

These are LB fullscreen images

And the same in BB

Took me 4 different monitors to be able to recreate this one, but I fixed it up internally and slightly changed how that whole pixel perfect system works, as well as put in a better fix for the taskbar showing in LB full screen image view.

April 25

1 hour ago, TheNewClassics said:

Hey LB team,

With the newest update, each time I try to import a new game, only the Screenshot - Game Title is imported, even when I have all the other media boxes checked. I have to go to each entry individually and download media for each one to get all the images.

Which methods are you using to import your games when you see this happening?

Profiles

Forums

Articles

Downloads

Gallery

Blogs

Posts posted by faeran