fix(vegas): eliminate plugin re-appearance at scroll cycle boundaries (#327)

* fix(vegas): eliminate plugin re-appearance at scroll cycle boundaries

The Vegas scroll image is wider than the display. scroll_helper marks a
cycle complete only after total_distance_scrolled >= total_scroll_width +
display_width, meaning it keeps scrolling for an extra display_width of
pixels after all content has exited left. During that extra travel the
scroll_position wraps back to ~0 and the first plugin re-enters from the
right - visible for ~2-3 seconds as a plugin partially displaying before
the next one starts.

render_pipeline.render_frame(): end the cycle the moment
total_distance_scrolled >= total_scroll_width (the natural wrap point),
before any second-pass content becomes visible. Push a blank frame
immediately on detection so hardware never shows a frozen content
snapshot while start_new_cycle() recomposes (~100 ms).

display_manager.py: add capture_mode() context manager. When active,
update_display() and the canvas clear in clear() skip the hardware
write, preventing plugins that call update_display() internally from
flashing on the matrix during off-screen content capture inside
start_new_cycle().

plugin_adapter.py: wrap all plugin.display() calls in
_capture_display_content() and _trigger_scroll_content_generation()
with capture_mode() so the fallback capture path never produces
hardware output.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

* fix(vegas): tighten exception handling in clear() and blank-frame push

display_manager.clear(): replace bare except/pass on the three hardware
Clear() calls with (RuntimeError, OSError) and a logger.error() so
failures are visible in logs rather than silently swallowed.  Still
non-fatal — the PIL image buffer is already black before these calls,
so the next update_display() will push clean content regardless.

render_pipeline.render_frame(): replace broad except/pass in the
blank-frame push with (ImportError, ValueError, TypeError, MemoryError)
and a logger.error() that includes display dimensions for context.
update_display() already handles its own hardware errors internally.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

* fix(vegas): catch OSError and RuntimeError in blank-frame push

Image.new() can raise OSError in some PIL environments and hardware
libraries may surface RuntimeError on I/O failures.  Add both to the
exception tuple alongside the existing ImportError/ValueError/TypeError/
MemoryError so no boundary failure escapes the local handler.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

---------

Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

src/display_manager.py

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ if os.getenv("EMULATOR", "false") == "true":
     from RGBMatrixEmulator import RGBMatrix, RGBMatrixOptions
 else:
     from rgbmatrix import RGBMatrix, RGBMatrixOptions
+from contextlib import contextmanager
 from PIL import Image, ImageDraw, ImageFont
 import time
 from typing import Dict, Any, List, Tuple
@@ -28,6 +29,8 @@ class DisplayManager:
         self.config = config or {}
         self._force_fallback = force_fallback
         self._suppress_test_pattern = suppress_test_pattern
+        # When True, update_display() and clear() skip hardware writes (used during off-screen content capture)
+        self._capture_mode_active = False
         # Snapshot settings for web preview integration (service writes, web reads)
         self._snapshot_path = "/tmp/led_matrix_preview.png"
         self._snapshot_min_interval_sec = 0.2  # max ~5 fps
@@ -255,6 +258,22 @@ class DisplayManager:
         except Exception as e:
             logger.error(f"Error drawing test pattern: {e}", exc_info=True)
 
+    @contextmanager
+    def capture_mode(self):
+        """Suppress hardware output during off-screen content capture.
+
+        Plugins call update_display() as part of their normal display() flow.
+        When fetching content for Vegas mode the render loop is still running,
+        so any incidental hardware write causes a visible flash on the matrix.
+        Entering this context prevents those writes without affecting the PIL
+        image buffer, which the adapter reads to extract content.
+        """
+        self._capture_mode_active = True
+        try:
+            yield
+        finally:
+            self._capture_mode_active = False
+
     def update_display(self):
         """Update the display using double buffering with proper sync."""
         try:
@@ -265,6 +284,9 @@ class DisplayManager:
                 self._write_snapshot_if_due()
                 return
 
+            if self._capture_mode_active:
+                return  # Skip hardware write — content is being captured off-screen
+
             # Copy the current image to the offscreen canvas
             self.offscreen_canvas.SetImage(self.image)
 
@@ -305,20 +327,22 @@ class DisplayManager:
             self.image = Image.new('RGB', (self.matrix.width, self.matrix.height))
             self.draw = ImageDraw.Draw(self.image)
 
-            # Clear both canvases and the underlying matrix to ensure no artifacts
+            if not self._capture_mode_active:
+                # Clear both canvases and the underlying matrix to ensure no artifacts.
+                # Failures are non-fatal — the image buffer is already black above, so
+                # the next update_display() call will push clean content regardless.
                 try:
                     self.offscreen_canvas.Clear()
-            except Exception:
+                except (RuntimeError, OSError) as e:
-                pass
+                    logger.error("Failed to clear offscreen canvas: %s", e)
                 try:
                     self.current_canvas.Clear()
-            except Exception:
+                except (RuntimeError, OSError) as e:
-                pass
+                    logger.error("Failed to clear current canvas: %s", e)
                 try:
-                # Extra safety: clear the matrix front buffer as well
                     self.matrix.Clear()
-            except Exception:
+                except (RuntimeError, OSError) as e:
-                pass
+                    logger.error("Failed to clear matrix front buffer: %s", e)
             
             # Note: We do NOT call update_display() here to avoid black flashes.
             # The caller should call update_display() after drawing new content.

src/vegas_mode/plugin_adapter.py

@@ -329,6 +329,7 @@ class PluginAdapter:
             # Save display state to restore after
             original_image = self.display_manager.image.copy()
 
+            with self.display_manager.capture_mode():
                 # Method 1: Try _create_scrolling_display (stocks pattern)
                 if hasattr(plugin, '_create_scrolling_display'):
                     logger.info(
@@ -408,10 +409,7 @@ class PluginAdapter:
             original_image = self.display_manager.image.copy()
             logger.info("[%s] Fallback: saved original display state", plugin_id)
 
-            # Lightweight in-memory data refresh before capturing.
+            # Ensure plugin has fresh data before capturing
-            # Full update() is intentionally skipped here — the background
-            # update tick in the Vegas coordinator handles periodic API
-            # refreshes so we don't block the content-fetch thread.
             has_update_data = hasattr(plugin, 'update_data')
             logger.info("[%s] Fallback: has update_data=%s", plugin_id, has_update_data)
             if has_update_data:
@@ -421,7 +419,9 @@ class PluginAdapter:
                 except (AttributeError, RuntimeError, OSError):
                     logger.exception("[%s] Fallback: update_data() failed", plugin_id)
 
-            # Clear and call plugin display
+            # Clear and call plugin display — use capture_mode to suppress hardware writes
+            # that plugins may trigger internally via update_display().
+            with self.display_manager.capture_mode():
                 self.display_manager.clear()
                 logger.info("[%s] Fallback: display cleared, calling display()", plugin_id)
 
@@ -436,6 +436,7 @@ class PluginAdapter:
 
                 # Capture the result
                 captured = self.display_manager.image.copy()
+
             logger.info(
                 "[%s] Fallback: captured frame %dx%d, mode=%s",
                 plugin_id, captured.width, captured.height, captured.mode
@@ -454,6 +455,7 @@ class PluginAdapter:
                     plugin_id
                 )
                 # Try once more with force_clear=True
+                with self.display_manager.capture_mode():
                     self.display_manager.clear()
                     plugin.display(force_clear=True)
                     captured = self.display_manager.image.copy()
@@ -585,28 +587,6 @@ class PluginAdapter:
             else:
                 self._content_cache.clear()
 
-    def invalidate_plugin_scroll_cache(self, plugin: 'BasePlugin', plugin_id: str) -> None:
-        """
-        Clear a plugin's scroll_helper cache so Vegas re-fetches fresh visuals.
-
-        Uses scroll_helper.clear_cache() to reset all cached state (cached_image,
-        cached_array, total_scroll_width, scroll_position, etc.) — not just the
-        image.  Without this, plugins that use scroll_helper (stocks, news,
-        odds-ticker, etc.) would keep serving stale scroll images even after
-        their data refreshes.
-
-        Args:
-            plugin: Plugin instance
-            plugin_id: Plugin identifier
-        """
-        scroll_helper = getattr(plugin, 'scroll_helper', None)
-        if scroll_helper is None:
-            return
-
-        if getattr(scroll_helper, 'cached_image', None) is not None:
-            scroll_helper.clear_cache()
-            logger.debug("[%s] Cleared scroll_helper cache", plugin_id)
-
     def get_content_type(self, plugin: 'BasePlugin', plugin_id: str) -> str:
         """
         Get the type of content a plugin provides.

src/vegas_mode/render_pipeline.py

@@ -202,8 +202,25 @@ class RenderPipeline:
             # Update scroll position
             self.scroll_helper.update_scroll_position()
 
-            # Check if cycle is complete
+            # Determine if the cycle is done.
-            if self.scroll_helper.is_scroll_complete():
+            #
+            # scroll_helper considers a cycle complete only after
+            # total_distance_scrolled >= total_scroll_width + display_width.
+            # That extra display_width of travel causes a "wrap-around" phase
+            # where scroll_position resets to ~0 and the first plugin's content
+            # re-enters from the right — the user sees this 2-3 s window as
+            # "a plugin partially displaying before the next one starts."
+            #
+            # We end the cycle as soon as total_distance_scrolled reaches
+            # total_scroll_width (the wrap-around point), before any second-pass
+            # content becomes visible.  scroll_helper.is_scroll_complete() is
+            # kept as a fallback for edge-cases where that threshold is skipped.
+            at_wrap_point = (
+                not self._cycle_complete and
+                self.scroll_helper.total_distance_scrolled >= self.scroll_helper.total_scroll_width
+            )
+
+            if at_wrap_point or self.scroll_helper.is_scroll_complete():
                 if not self._cycle_complete:
                     self._cycle_complete = True
                     self.stats['scroll_cycles'] += 1
@@ -211,6 +228,20 @@ class RenderPipeline:
                         "Scroll cycle complete after %.1fs",
                         time.time() - self._cycle_start_time
                     )
+                    # Push blank immediately so the hardware never shows
+                    # post-wrap content while the coordinator recomposes.
+                    try:
+                        from PIL import Image as _Image
+                        blank = _Image.new('RGB', (self.display_width, self.display_height))
+                        self.display_manager.image = blank
+                        self.display_manager.update_display()
+                    except (ImportError, OSError, RuntimeError, ValueError, TypeError, MemoryError) as exc:
+                        logger.error(
+                            "Failed to push blank frame at cycle end "
+                            "(display=%dx%d): %s",
+                            self.display_width, self.display_height, exc
+                        )
+                return True  # Cycle done; coordinator starts new cycle next frame
 
             # Get visible portion
             visible_frame = self.scroll_helper.get_visible_portion()