feat(vegas): keep live games in the ticker by default (#699)

* perf(timing): say which render-thread work a late frame followed

The soak already says how often a moving frame reached the panel late, but
not what the render thread was doing just before it. Vegas does two kinds of
work there between frames -- building its strip (compose, extend) and, with
live elements, patching changed pixels into it -- and deciding whether either
is affordable needs their own numbers.

- FrameTimingRecorder.note_op(kind, nbytes) tags the next presented frame.
  Totals gain op_frames, late_op_frames, op_freezes and op_bytes per kind;
  aggregate() still takes frames without ops. The file schema is unchanged.
- Vegas tags compose and every strip extension (with the bytes it copied).
- frame_soak prints an "after work" table: frames, late %, freezes and MB
  moved per kind, only when something tagged its work.
- render_bench gains --strip-screens (Vegas-sized strips), --patch-bytes /
  --patch-every / --patch-where (in-place column writes, as a live element
  update does) and --extend-every-screens / --extend-width (append + trim on
  a fixed cadence that holds the strip's width).

No runtime behaviour changes: this is the measurement gate for live Vegas
elements.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

* docs(changelog): note the frame-op attribution and bench modes

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

* perf(scroll): build the strip's PIL image only when something reads it

Every Vegas strip extension rebuilt ScrollHelper.cached_image from
cached_array in full, twice (append, then trim), on the render thread:
Image.fromarray is 1.7ms for an 8,000px strip and 3.8ms for 20,000px on a
Pi 4 (measured on ledpi), about two thirds of an extension's render-thread
cost. Nothing on the frame path reads the image's pixels; every frame is cut
from the array.

cached_image is now a property. append_content and drop_scrolled_prefix
defer it; the first read builds it from the array it started with and keeps
it only if the strip has not changed meanwhile, so a sync push racing an
extension cannot leave a stale image cached. Assigning cached_image stores
exactly what was assigned, as before. has_strip() says whether there is a
strip without building its image; the helper's frame path, Vegas and the
adapter's scroll-cache invalidation use it. The strip is also no longer held
in memory twice.

In Vegas the image is now built only by a multi-display sync push.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

* feat(vegas): live elements -- a plugin API for content that changes while it scrolls

Vegas bakes each plugin's pictures into one strip, so a card already on its
way across the panel keeps what it showed when it was drawn. This adds the
API and bookkeeping for content that can be updated in place; the worker
that redraws and swaps it follows separately. No shipped plugin implements
the hook yet, so nothing changes for users.

Plugin API (core 3.8.0), all no-ops by default:
- BasePlugin.get_vegas_elements() -> [VegasElement(key, image, version,
  live, refresh_hz)]: named, fixed-width pieces of Vegas content.
- BasePlugin.redraw_vegas_element(key, width, height, at): a lock-free
  redraw for content that changes with time.
- BasePlugin.notify_vegas_data_changed(): data that lands outside update().
- src/plugin_system/vegas_elements.py (VegasElement, re-exported from
  base_plugin).

Core:
- PluginAdapter asks a plugin that implements the hook for elements on the
  background fetch only (under its lock, on its own canvas); every other
  path keeps get_vegas_content(). Live elements are pinned (padded with
  content_padding, never trimmed), tagged with their key, digest and data
  epoch in Image.info so the existing cache and group plumbing carry them
  unchanged, and untagged if a width budget crops them.
- RenderPipeline records where each live element lands (ElementRecord), in
  absolute strip columns a trim does not move; the block-start arithmetic
  is shared with the STATIC markers.
- PluginManager update listeners (add/remove_update_listener,
  notify_data_changed): told the moment update() completes, not at the
  next ~4s Vegas poll. The coordinator uses one to move each plugin's data
  epoch on.
- vegas_scroll.live_refresh (kill switch), live_max_hz, live_min_interval,
  live_lead_screens; per-plugin core-owned vegas_live. Live elements are
  off under multi-display sync, in swap mode and with offscreen_prefetch off.
- scripts/check_plugin.py checks the element contract
  (src/plugin_system/testing/vegas.py); test/fixtures/plugins/vegas-live-stub
  is a working example.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

* feat(vegas): live elements update in place while they scroll

One background worker (src/vegas_mode/live_worker.py) redraws a plugin's
live elements when its data epoch moves on (update listener) or on their
refresh_hz, nearest the screen first, and hands changed pixels lock-free to
the render thread, which copies them into the strip between frames
(RenderPipeline.apply_live_patches, ScrollHelper.patch_columns): at most
four patches or two screens of bytes a frame, no drawing or locks there.
The worker takes over group prefetch once a live element is placed, runs
inside the render gate, and is supervised. Update tick 1s while live
elements exist. Web UI switch for live_refresh. OFFSCREEN_RENDERING.md
describes what was built and why SegmentStrip was not needed.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

* feat(sports): live Vegas cards for the scoreboards (shared layer)

One live element per game, drawn only when what the card shows changes, so
a score changes on a card already crossing the panel. The shared part, so
each scoreboard adopts it in a few lines:

- src/common/sports_vegas.py: game_key, game_fingerprint (the whole game
  dict, frozen: no drawn field can be missed), dedupe_games, VegasCardCache,
  StickyOdds (odds a live poll left out stay drawn), finished_games /
  with_finished_games (a game that just went final keeps its card, after its
  league's live games; one a heuristic only judged over keeps its live
  state, so a tied end of regulation never shows FINAL early).
- SportsScrollDisplay.make_vegas_renderer() is the override point;
  build_vegas_elements() and SportsScrollDisplayManager
  .get_vegas_elements_for() do the rest. A card's version includes its
  teams' ranks, which the renderer draws from the rankings cache.
- SportsLiveSharedMixin._record_finished_game() / finished_games_snapshot():
  held for FINISHED_GAME_TTL after it leaves the live list.

A sport that does not implement make_vegas_renderer keeps its ordinary Vegas
content, so no scoreboard changes until it opts in.

scripts/render_plugin.py --vegas renders a plugin's Vegas block as the
ticker lays it out, and --timeline stacks it at successive moments as
the ticker would update it in place; the join is now
render_pipeline.join_plugin_rows().

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

* feat(vegas): keep live games in the ticker by default

display.vegas_scroll.live_in_ticker now defaults to true: through a live
game the marquee keeps running and the live scoreboard takes extra turns in
it -- its cards updating in place while they scroll -- instead of the ticker
giving way to the full-screen scoreboard.

The new default would reach nobody on its own: every existing config holds
an explicit false copied from the template (there was no control for it),
and the template merge only adds missing keys. ConfigManager therefore turns
a stored false on once, with a backup, and records live_in_ticker_migrated
so a false chosen afterwards stays. The marker is never in the template.

A "Keep live games in the ticker" checkbox under Vegas mode sets it. Tests
that pin the full-screen takeover now say live_in_ticker=false.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

* refactor(sports): a default _determine_game_type on SportsScrollDisplay

render_vegas_card looked the method up with getattr and a None default, which
static analysis (Codacy) reports as calling something that may not be
callable. The base class now has the default -- the card type from the game's
state -- and the plugins that define their own override it as before.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

* fix: review follow-ups on the shared live-card layer

- The reused Vegas renderer always gets the current rankings, empty
  included, so ranks cleared since are not kept drawn.
- render_plugin.py: --timeline refuses --no-live (a timeline shows live
  elements changing), --timeline/--no-live need --vegas, and the Vegas
  paths create the output's directory like the display path does.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

---------

Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

test/test_api_v3_partial_main_save.py

@@ -134,6 +134,20 @@ class TestJsonPartialSaves:
         assert resp.status_code == 200, resp.get_json()
         assert saved['config']['display']['vegas_scroll']['live_refresh'] is True
 
+    def test_live_games_can_be_kept_in_the_ticker_or_not(self, api_v3_client, saved):
+        resp = _post_json(api_v3_client, {'vegas_live_in_ticker': False})
+        assert resp.status_code == 200, resp.get_json()
+        assert saved['config']['display']['vegas_scroll']['live_in_ticker'] is False
+        # An unticked box is absent from a submitted form: that is false too.
+        resp = _post_json(api_v3_client, {'__form_section': 'display',
+                                          'vegas_scroll_speed': '50',
+                                          'vegas_live_in_ticker': 'on'})
+        assert saved['config']['display']['vegas_scroll']['live_in_ticker'] is True
+        resp = _post_json(api_v3_client, {'__form_section': 'display',
+                                          'vegas_scroll_speed': '50'})
+        assert resp.status_code == 200, resp.get_json()
+        assert saved['config']['display']['vegas_scroll']['live_in_ticker'] is False
+
     def test_double_sided_axis_only_keeps_enabled(self, api_v3_client, saved):
         resp = _post_json(api_v3_client, {'double_sided_axis': 'horizontal'})
         assert resp.status_code == 200, resp.get_json()

test/test_config_live_in_ticker_migration.py

@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+"""live_in_ticker's new default reaches existing installs, once (src/config_manager.py).
+
+3.8.0 makes display.vegas_scroll.live_in_ticker true. Every existing config
+holds an explicit false copied from the template, which the template merge
+never touches (it only adds missing keys), so ConfigManager turns that false
+on once and marks the config. A false chosen after that -- the new checkbox,
+or by hand -- must stay false.
+"""
+
+import json
+import os
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+
+sys.path.insert(0, os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), ".."))
+
+from src.config_manager import ConfigManager  # noqa: E402
+
+REPO = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
+MARKER = ConfigManager.LIVE_IN_TICKER_MARKER
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def files(tmp_path):
+    template = {"display": {"brightness": 90,
+                            "vegas_scroll": {"enabled": False, "live_in_ticker": True}}}
+    paths = {name: tmp_path / f"{name}.json" for name in ("config", "secrets", "template")}
+    paths["template"].write_text(json.dumps(template))
+    paths["secrets"].write_text("{}")
+    return paths
+
+
+def _load(files, config):
+    files["config"].write_text(json.dumps(config))
+    manager = ConfigManager(config_path=str(files["config"]),
+                            secrets_path=str(files["secrets"]))
+    manager.template_path = str(files["template"])
+    manager.load_config()
+    return manager, json.loads(files["config"].read_text())
+
+
+def _vegas(saved):
+    return saved["display"]["vegas_scroll"]
+
+
+def test_the_old_default_is_turned_on_once_and_marked(files):
+    old = {"display": {"brightness": 90,
+                       "vegas_scroll": {"enabled": True, "live_in_ticker": False}}}
+    manager, saved = _load(files, old)
+    assert _vegas(saved)["live_in_ticker"] is True
+    assert _vegas(saved)[MARKER] is True
+    assert _vegas(manager.config)["live_in_ticker"] is True
+    # The config as it was is kept beside it.
+    backup = json.loads(Path(f"{files['config']}.backup").read_text())
+    assert _vegas(backup)["live_in_ticker"] is False
+
+
+def test_false_chosen_after_the_migration_stays_false(files):
+    chosen = {"display": {"brightness": 90,
+                          "vegas_scroll": {"enabled": True, "live_in_ticker": False,
+                                           MARKER: True}}}
+    _manager, saved = _load(files, chosen)
+    assert _vegas(saved)["live_in_ticker"] is False
+
+
+def test_a_marked_config_is_not_written_again(files):
+    marked = {"display": {"brightness": 90,
+                          "vegas_scroll": {"enabled": True, "live_in_ticker": True,
+                                           MARKER: True}}}
+    files["config"].write_text(json.dumps(marked))
+    before = files["config"].stat().st_mtime_ns
+    manager = ConfigManager(config_path=str(files["config"]),
+                            secrets_path=str(files["secrets"]))
+    manager.template_path = str(files["template"])
+    manager.load_config()
+    assert files["config"].stat().st_mtime_ns == before
+    assert not Path(f"{files['config']}.backup").exists()
+
+
+def test_a_config_without_vegas_settings_gets_the_new_default(files):
+    _manager, saved = _load(files, {"display": {"brightness": 90}})
+    assert _vegas(saved)["live_in_ticker"] is True
+    assert _vegas(saved)[MARKER] is True
+
+
+def test_true_already_is_only_marked(files):
+    on = {"display": {"brightness": 90,
+                      "vegas_scroll": {"enabled": True, "live_in_ticker": True}}}
+    _manager, saved = _load(files, on)
+    assert _vegas(saved)["live_in_ticker"] is True and _vegas(saved)[MARKER] is True
+
+
+def test_a_second_load_keeps_a_false_set_in_between(files):
+    old = {"display": {"brightness": 90,
+                       "vegas_scroll": {"enabled": True, "live_in_ticker": False}}}
+    _manager, saved = _load(files, old)
+    _vegas(saved)["live_in_ticker"] = False             # the checkbox, unticked
+    _manager, saved = _load(files, saved)
+    assert _vegas(saved)["live_in_ticker"] is False
+
+
+def test_the_shipped_template_has_the_new_default_and_never_the_marker():
+    template = json.loads((REPO / "config" / "config.template.json").read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    vegas = template["display"]["vegas_scroll"]
+    assert vegas["live_in_ticker"] is True
+    assert MARKER not in vegas

test/test_vegas_coordinator_config.py

@@ -67,10 +67,13 @@ class TestConfigWhileStopped:
 
 
 class TestLivePriorityThrottle:
+    """The full-screen takeover's live scan: live_in_ticker off, no longer the default."""
+
     def test_scan_runs_at_most_once_per_interval(self, monkeypatch):
         now = [1000.0]
         monkeypatch.setattr(coordinator_module.time, 'monotonic', lambda: now[0])
         c = _coordinator()
+        c.vegas_config.live_in_ticker = False
         c._live_priority_check = MagicMock(return_value=None)
 
         for _ in range(10):
@@ -84,6 +87,7 @@ class TestLivePriorityThrottle:
     def test_live_content_still_pauses_vegas(self, monkeypatch):
         monkeypatch.setattr(coordinator_module.time, 'monotonic', lambda: 1000.0)
         c = _coordinator()
+        c.vegas_config.live_in_ticker = False
         c._live_priority_check = MagicMock(return_value='nfl_live')
         c.pause = MagicMock()
         assert c.run_frame() is False

test/test_vegas_coordinator_iteration.py

@@ -58,11 +58,16 @@ def test_an_iteration_does_not_poll_every_plugin_for_its_mode(caplog):
 
 
 def _live_coordinator(live):
-    """A coordinator running the real run_frame(), with a switchable live check."""
+    """A coordinator running the real run_frame(), with a switchable live check.
+
+    live_in_ticker off: these pin the full-screen takeover, which is no longer
+    the default.
+    """
     coord = _coordinator({})
     del coord.run_frame  # the real one: it is what refuses frames while paused
     coord.vegas_config = VegasModeConfig.from_config({'display': {'vegas_scroll': {
-        'enabled': True, 'max_cycle_duration': 0, 'continuous_scroll': True}}})
+        'enabled': True, 'max_cycle_duration': 0, 'continuous_scroll': True,
+        'live_in_ticker': False}}})
     coord.render_pipeline.has_deferred.return_value = False
     coord.render_pipeline.needs_extension.return_value = False
     coord.render_pipeline.render_frame.return_value = True

test/test_vegas_live_weighting.py

@@ -5,10 +5,10 @@ live content did not appear in it at all, because the display controller
 refused to run the ticker while anything was live. With a dozen plugins
 enabled that left a live score either absent or minutes stale.
 
-Two things change, both off by default. `live_in_ticker` keeps the marquee
-running instead of yielding to a full-screen takeover, and the rotation is
-expanded by Smooth Weighted Round-Robin so a weighted plugin gets several
-slots per cycle, spaced through it rather than clumped.
+Two things change. `live_in_ticker` keeps the marquee running instead of
+yielding to a full-screen takeover (on by default since 3.8.0), and the
+rotation is expanded by Smooth Weighted Round-Robin so a weighted plugin gets
+several slots per cycle, spaced through it rather than clumped.
 
 Weights are per plugin, not per game: a scoreboard showing four live games
 still occupies one slot at a time and rotates its own games within it.
@@ -288,9 +288,9 @@ class TestTheSchedule:
 
 
 class TestConfigParsing:
-    def test_defaults_preserve_todays_behaviour(self):
+    def test_live_games_stay_in_the_ticker_by_default(self):
         cfg = VegasModeConfig.from_config({})
-        assert cfg.live_in_ticker is False
+        assert cfg.live_in_ticker is True
         assert cfg.live_weight == 3 and cfg.favorite_live_weight == 5
 
     @pytest.mark.parametrize("given,expected", [(0, 1), (-4, 1), (99, 10), (4, 4)])