Do You Prefer Random Backdrops or a Dynamic Backdrop Based on the Selected Movie? (1 Viewer)

Do you prefer random backdrops, or backdrops for the currently selected movie?

  • I prefer random backdrops, it's a smoother display and there is always artwork to display.

    Votes: 5 8.1%
  • I prefer dynamic backdrops always tied to the selected movie.

    Votes: 57 91.9%

  • Total voters
    62

fforde

Community Plugin Dev
June 7, 2007
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Simple question. Do you prefer the dynamic backdrops that are currently implemented in Moving Pictures, or would you rather see random, cycling backdrops ala the Aeon skin? With random backdrops you don't get the rapid artwork change so it might be a bit more aesthetically pleasing, but at the same time, you don't have the same contextual artwork with a dynamic backdrop which changes with the selected movie.

So which is it, random backdrops, or dynamic backdrops based on the selected movie?

EDIT: Just to be clear we are talking about a 30 second to one minute cycling of a random backdrop for the background of the plug-in, or a constantly updated backdrop that changes upon each selection. And also, just to be clear, this is totally a skin issue, I am just trying to decide if we should make changes to the default skins. Other skinners could implement things either way.
 

marvenius

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September 3, 2008
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I really like the movie backdrop based on the selected movie. As for missing backdrops, that can be solved by including a basic/generic backdrop. (probable as well for missing cover art)
 

cul8er

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  • August 31, 2006
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    I like the Dynamic Backdrops

    Hi,

    I like the Dynamic Backdrops. And if I read the Aeon thread many users are trying to implement this in the skin as well for music and videos with some hack.

    Thank you for a great plugin!

    Best Regards
    cul8er
     

    jonaskp

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    October 23, 2006
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    Dynamic, absolutely. The backdrop should reflect what movie you are currently "hovering" and give a sort of "teaser" to it.
    I would just like it to not change the backdrop when browsing quickly through the list, until I stop at a movie. I tried playing with the timeout a bit, but it didn't seem to help alot. I will try it again soon though, to see if something has changed according to this in the new version (been awhile since I changed the timeout).

    Also, when there is no backdrop, there should be a generic backdrop (as suggested in this thread and in others before). Having a random backdrop show up for movies that have no backdrop is bad, in my opinion. If the backdrop shows what movie you're selecting, this should be the case always. It would break continuity (spelling?) if some movies had the correct backdrop and others showed a random one.
     

    pato_mld

    Portal Member
    November 30, 2007
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    I agree with the dynamic backdrops. I think the generic backdrop for movies without personalised backdrops is a good idea too.

    To assist machines without the grunt to deal with it, perhaps a configurable time period before displaying the backdrop would be a good idea, that way when scrolling through movies it wouldn't be particularly jerky. The new XBMC 'Atlantis' build has a similar functionality where the backdrops fade to and from black when switching movies to give the computer enough time to cache the fanarts on a separate thread so it's very smooth (or at least I think how its done).
     

    pzycho

    Portal Member
    March 14, 2008
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    Dynamic for sure. I modified mine (darkened the background.png, zoomed in on the cover art) so that when a backdrop isn't available, it looks like this:

    (note: the glitchy text is just because the screencap was taken over a slow vnc connection).
     

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    emphatic

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  • August 25, 2006
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    I've come to like the dynamic backdrops now that I know how to add my own to the movies that doesn't have it already. One cool way of skinning this would be to have the random cycling as you're viewing the list (faster scrolling etc) and then show the dynamic content on the details screen.

    Emph
     

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