Beginner's Bunch of Questions (1 Viewer)

[c 4]

Hi everyone.

First of all, let me say that MediaPortal 0.2.3.0 is a great program and rockstable (I don't have a TV card yet).

After some testing, I have several questions now and I do not want to create individual threads for each - would be quite time consuming, ending up in different subforums. If this is not okay, please tell me or move this thread to the appropriate subforum, if this is the wrong place.

1) Why does the DVD menu stay open even after hitting ESC and removing the disk from the drive (how do I get back to the main menu form there) ?
2) How can I exclude subfolders from Music / Videos / Pictures menus ?
3) Can I remove the 'delete' option from the right-click menu (I know that it is possible to encrypt it, but it is just superfluos in common use and not so good if I want others to be able to interact with MediaPortal without being irritated by too much options)
4) How can I search for a specific music / video / picture file (alike in Winamp - just hit j and enter search phrase) in folder view (I don't know what database should be good for) - I know of gloabl search but as far as I know it only substitutes the search button in MyMusic ?
5) There is a resume function for videos. Can I have this for audio files as well ? Please ? ('last picture viewed' would be cool, too)
6) When there is a song playing and I start another one from the menu, both are playing parallel for 5 sceonds or so - why doesn't the old one get stopped ? The same happens when I start one song from the file list - before it is finished, it switches to the next song and the two are playing at the same time for some seconds.
7) How can I forbid MediaPortal creating Folder.jpg files ?
8) I have recently seen a device that interpolates LowDef video for use with HD Displays. Is the ffdshow filter method as good as such a commercial hardware solution would be ?
9) I have always been annoyed by channels increasing the loudness when commercials start, also some channels are louder than others - is there a plugin or something that can eliminate this problem ? (When I finally choose a TV card)
10) Where can I find a list of what new features are in the SVN releases?
11) Is there a skin gallery, where I can easily compare them ?

That's it (for now ;-)
I know that this is quite much, but so far I could not find answers in the forums or documentation for this, so thank you for reading this far and Happy Easter !

 

[mrkaras]

I can't answer all but I will at least comment on some;
You will most likely see the stability fall dramatical when you install a TV card, but you might be lucky, you might have a good version.
most of your questions should go to feature requests as I'm fairly sure their is no resume for photos or music.
to remove items from menus I think you can edit the skin files, probably no easy way although somebody may correct me on that.
the volume plugin would be good, but I don't think it exists.
the skin gallery can be accessed from the front page, the plugins and skins are grouped together just in separate sub categories, click plugins and extensions and you will be on the right track.
I think the SVN changes are listed in the forum post where you download each release.
I don't think you can exclude sub folders, possibly you could use NTFS permissions but I don't think thats what you want.

 

[c 4]

Thank you mrkaras,

I already feared that some of my questions would end up as feature requests, but I hoped that someone knows some secrets.

'Skin' could have been added to the 'gallery' Link on the frontpage - I thought that is only for other screenshots.

The SVN changes are in the respective threads but only in 'developer speech' - I would like to know where new features have been added, perhaps in the areas I mentioned. Could you recommend a newer build that has some interesting additions ?

 

[gxtracker]

Hi C4, I'll give a stab at some of your questions so hopefully I can point you in the right direction.

2) You cant. Any folder you add in the configuration will have all its file and subfolders accessable in MP. If you have a folder that you dont want visible, you'll have to remove it and organize your storage collection differently. For example, have a folder of movies for the kids, and a folder of movies for the adults, with a PIN required before entry. you can setup a PIN for any folder you've added in the MP configuration.

3) You will have to edit the source code for the desired plugin to do this.

5) That is a feature request (and a valid one) so you might want to search if someone has already made the request in the features forum.

6) the first song does stop, but the technique in use here is called 'crossfading' where it blends the playing song and new song. You can adjust this or disable it comepletely in the MP configuration.

7) Simple answer: You cant. It shouldnt be a problem though having a jpg file in a movie folder since MP will not show that file in my videos for example.

8) FFDShow Tryouts is much better, and is much more customizable. In that regard I hold it much higher than any commercial offering. You can customize anything to your needs, so the quality can become even better than a commercially available offering.

9) Again, FFDShow can do this with the 'volume normalize' option built into it. I hate that problem too, and this option works great.

10) SVN features arent listed because MP is currently in a feature freeze. the only thing being worked on now are bugs, and those you can see from the mantis bug tracker - My View - MediaPortal Bugtracker

11) The skin sections of the MP site will show you a screenshot of each skin uploaded. there is no functionality within MP to preview before you install.

Hope that answers some of your questions.

 

[c 4]

Thank you very much gxtracker,

this is really great.



Okay, just to keep it clear, all questions except No.1 have been answered so far.

 

[Furetto]

1) Why does the DVD menu stay open even after hitting ESC and removing the disk from the drive (how do I get back to the main menu form there) ?

Try pressing the STOP button. It does react different than a standalone player. But as soon as you get used to it, it seems logical.

 

[mrkaras]

I haven't played a DVD for a while but I used to find the only way out was to start the movie playing and then press escape, from the main menu their seemed to be no escaping and I though tit was a bug. I don't know if this is still the case but maybe you need to try that, once your back to the main menu you can press stop without the problems. I should have mentioned the crosfade, I knew that and just didn't mention it.

 

[c 4]

@ Furetto
Yes, pressing B works ! - I still think it is irritating, especially since the top menu is not accessible in 'DVD mode'.

Thanks !

@ mrkaras
Starting the film and then escaping just to go back from the menu - now that's a cool solution . I hope this has been adressed in the latest development releases. At least now I have two working solutions.

Thank you again.