aMPed User Mods (1 Viewer)

[CyberSimian]

Colour of EPG Grid Cells

When I first started using MP and aMPed, I decided that I would not modify any of the skin files, in order to make migrating to each new release as simple as possible. But now that I have been using MP/aMPed for a few months, there are several customisations that I would like to make. I am happy making changes to XML files, but need some guidance on what to change.

The first modification that I would like to make is to the colour of the grid cells in the TV and Radio EPGs. I did briefly try coloured genres, but for me that adds little value. What I want to change are the colours of the grid cells for:

(1) The programme that has the focus.
(2) Programmes that are on now.
(3) Programmes that are not on now.

In the DefaultWide skin, (1) is displayed in blue, (2) is displayed in green, and (3) is displayed in very dark grey. AMPed does seem to use different shades for (2) and (3), but the difference is so slight as to be virtually invisible! And I would also like (1) to be more conspicuous than it currently is.

Is it possible to change these colours? If so, what do I need to change? I would like to try some different colours to find what would be a suitable match for the "Wine Glass" theme. Thank you!

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

 

[Dadeo]

Is it possible to change these colours? If so, what do I need to change? I would like to try some different colours to find what would be a suitable match for the "Wine Glass" theme. Thank you!

Yes it is possible. There are a couple of ways depending what you prefer:

1. Try enabling/disabling the setting 'Enable color buttons in TV' in TV Settings. That's the easiest solution, if it works for you with Wine Glass theme.
2. Change the aMPed colours for Wine Glass theme in aMPed.colors.xml - see aMPed wiki: Custom Themes for details. You can find the colours used in the TV/Radio guides in the mytvguidecolors.xml (mainly #amped.button.color and #amped.bar.color) BUT this will change the colors everywhere.
3. Change the colors ONLY in mytvguidecolors.xml to whatever you wish (look for the <colordiffuse> tag).

I decided that I would not modify any of the skin files, in order to make migrating to each new release as simple as possible. But now that I have been using MP/aMPed for a few months, there are several customisations that I would like to make

One way to make it easier, is to create your own 'Theme' folder in the Themes subdirectory. Copy the Wine Glass theme folder (or whichever existing theme you prefer) and copy all the skin xmls you wish to modify there. Then you only need to backup that theme folder and restore it when you reinstall aMPed/MP.

Hope that helps!

 

[CyberSimian]

Try enabling/disabling the setting 'Enable color buttons in TV' in TV Settings. That's the easiest solution, if it works for you with Wine Glass theme.

I had not tried that setting before, so I have been using it for the past few days. The result is (like the Curate's egg) "good in parts". (Aside: for those who are not native English speakers, see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curate's_egg.) Some points:

(1) The colours used for this setting seem to be specifiable by the skin. DefaultWide and Titan use colours that are different from Amped, and different from each other.

(2) The colours used by Amped are excellent! The three categories of EPG cell ("focused", "on now", and "not on now") are all displayed in a colour from the turquoise area of the spectrum, but are sufficiently different to make them easily distinguished. (Aside: turquoise is my most favourite colour! ) However... the theme colour does affect legibility (see below).

(3) Programmes scheduled to record are flagged in the EPG, but by means of a "red dot" at the end of the EPG cell. Now I recognise that this actually conveys more information, since a one-off recording has a single red dot, while a series recording has a sequence of three overlapping dots. Nevertheless, on balance I prefer the entire EPG cell to be coloured red, as it makes it easier to see where recordings start and end.

(4) When a programme scheduled to record is "on now", a fourth colour is introduced into the EPG -- the cell is displayed with a black background. This differs from the normal EPG (with "uncoloured" EPG buttons), where the EPG cell for the programme is displayed in red, whether it is on now, or on later (and this is my preference).

(5) Channel names (leftmost column in the grid) are not shown in a different colour, and this does worsen intelligibility (depends on the horizontal scroll position relative to the on-now programmes).

(6) The radio EPG is not controlled by this setting, but is adversely affected by it (the channel names are no longer coloured according to the theme). DefaultWide and Titan are similar, so it is not obvious whether this is an oversight on the part of skin authors, or a limitation in the support offered by MP.

(7) The theme colour does affect the legibility of the EPG. For me, one of the most important characteristics of a skin is the legibility of the text. Legibility is controlled by two factors:

(a) Size of text.
(b) Contrast between text colour and background colour.

Amped is excellent for (a) , and some Amped themes are excellent for (b) , but other Amped themes are not. I have tried all of the themes again, and it is noticeable that the legible themes all have backgrounds that are very dark (e.g. Midnight, Wine Glass). The themes with poorer legibility have light backgrounds (e.g. Arctic Ice). I guess that this is caused by the EPG grid cells having a degree of transparency that allows the background to blend with the foreground.

(8) The turquoise EPG with the Wine Glass theme is a strange combination, so I am currently trialling Midnight (which is at least a shade of blue, even if it is not turquoise! ).

Overall, I think that the lack of support for the radio EPG means that I will not use the "coloured EPG buttons" setting as currently implemented. I have not yet looked at your other suggestion, so that might provide a solution that is a better match for my preferences. I will post again when I have tried that.

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

 

[Dadeo]

Yup - to everything you said I could help with the coloured buttons for Wine Glass theme, but it would not solve the problem of lack of support for Radio EPG. Customizing/creating your own theme will allow you more control, and of course you can always copy all the EPG textures/images to your theme folder and alter the colours in a graphics editor like Photoshop/Paint.net etc. including the 'TV Guide' images for Programmes scheduled to record by means (red dot(s)).

 

[CyberSimian]

I could help with the coloured buttons for Wine Glass theme

Thanks; I am going to have a play with this over the next few weeks to see if I can arrive at a combination that better matches my preferences. I will post again if I encounter a problem.

but it would not solve the problem of lack of support for the Radio EPG.

I am starting to get the impression that MP regards digital radio as the ugly sister that no one wants to take to the party, and so keeps getting left behind!

-- from CyberSimian in the UK