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What is your impression after using WMC skin


  • Total voters
    7

ge2301

Lead Design MP2
  • Team MediaPortal
  • January 11, 2014
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    Please feedback anything you like about the WMC skin for MP2. There is also a voting button to collect some feedback from you.
    Please use the other corresponding threads, if you want to report problems or feature requests.

    Best regards,
    Ge2301
     

    fstx

    New Member
    June 18, 2017
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    In my opinion, this is the right thing

    sshot20100328011142.png


    Some notes on the attention to detail that interface exhibits:
    1. Navigation uses the four arrow keys.
    2. When an artist has more albums than one column, more columns will be used. The spacing between columns for the same artist is just a few pixels, but the spacing between artists is larger. Note that there is more space to the left of the artist name than to the right
    3. The squares with only text means missing album art. Note the backgrounds of those are different colors from the light end of the spectrum, but about 25% from white.
    4. The selected albumi is slightly enlarged, That movement that results when you step around makes it easier to follow where you are.
    5. The vertical text is tilt-your-head-right. I suspect they tried tilt-your-head-left and found this to be better.
    6. You get into this view directly from the main menu. Focus will be put where you where last.
    7. The view options and search are accessed by just going to them with the arrow keys
    8. The views are listed above the albums. Note how font size and color are used to mark the current view.
    9. I find this interface a good look. The content (album covers) is emphasized, and the interface is the background
    10. I t is also a very good feel. Navigation is simple and efficient.
    11. More importantly, so does the other people using it.
    Btw, the present view does not show album covers at all for me. I have embedded coves into the mp3 files, and a folder.jpg file in all of the folders.
     

    fstx

    New Member
    June 18, 2017
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    There is a missing alternative in the vote

    I used Microsoft's Windows Media Cente, and I still miss it.

    It's not that Windows Media Center wasa shining of perfection that could not be improved on. It's just that other alternatives are still missing some really good things from WMC.
     

    ge2301

    Lead Design MP2
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  • January 11, 2014
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    • #4
    In my opinion, this is the right thing

    sshot20100328011142.png


    Some notes on the attention to detail that interface exhibits:
    1. Navigation uses the four arrow keys.
    2. When an artist has more albums than one column, more columns will be used. The spacing between columns for the same artist is just a few pixels, but the spacing between artists is larger. Note that there is more space to the left of the artist name than to the right
    3. The squares with only text means missing album art. Note the backgrounds of those are different colors from the light end of the spectrum, but about 25% from white.
    4. The selected albumi is slightly enlarged, That movement that results when you step around makes it easier to follow where you are.
    5. The vertical text is tilt-your-head-right. I suspect they tried tilt-your-head-left and found this to be better.
    6. You get into this view directly from the main menu. Focus will be put where you where last.
    7. The view options and search are accessed by just going to them with the arrow keys
    8. The views are listed above the albums. Note how font size and color are used to mark the current view.
    9. I find this interface a good look. The content (album covers) is emphasized, and the interface is the background
    10. I t is also a very good feel. Navigation is simple and efficient.
    11. More importantly, so does the other people using it.
    Btw, the present view does not show album covers at all for me. I have embedded coves into the mp3 files, and a folder.jpg file in all of the folders.
    The navigation concept of WMC is known (I'm using it), but was only partly taken into MP2 due to existing structures, that can only be changed with huge efforts. Target was to take over as much as possible from WMC to provide a similar look and feel.
    The function you are missing is called "grouping" and in development also for WMC skin in MP2. You will be able to get a similar view in future.
    In case you have missing album covers please restart the import one again and post logs in case the problem presists. You are the first user reporting missing covers, so I believe it's not a common problem.
     

    ge2301

    Lead Design MP2
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  • January 11, 2014
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    • #5
    There is a missing alternative in the vote

    I used Microsoft's Windows Media Cente, and I still miss it
    Target of this vote is the WMC skin for MP2 and not WMC ;) You can still use WMC with Windows 10, just google for it and you'll find inoffical installers.
     

    fstx

    New Member
    June 18, 2017
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    I get it, You are pitching Mediaportal as a superior alternative, but as soon as somebody points out the deficiencies you tell them to go back where they came from.
     

    HTPCSourcer

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    You are pitching Mediaportal as a superior alternative
    I don't think this is accurate. That's certainly not what @ge2301 does.

    but as soon as somebody points out the deficiencies you tell them to go back where they came from.
    This comment is unfair. @ge2301 offers something that many people like - I personally never used WMC and prefer other skins. There is no reason to make such comments. If you feel that WMC is superior, you are free to make your own personal choices. @ge2301 is offering other threads to make improvement suggestions and you may want to add proposals there.
     

    fstx

    New Member
    June 18, 2017
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    From MediaPortal 2.1 Release - MEDIAPORTAL

    A specially designed WMC skin addresses the needs of former Windows Media Center users. This skin with its two themes Default and Dark offers the same experience that you were used to while providing additional features that make it even better than Windows Media Center.​

    And you say:

    If you feel that WMC is superior, you are free to make your own personal choices.
    Does this not imply that you are not interested in why?
     

    HTPCSourcer

    Retired Team Member
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    Does this not imply that you are not interested in why?
    Please don't put words into my mouth.

    Your comments should go where they belong and where @ge2301 asked you to enter them:
    Please use the other corresponding threads, if you want to report problems or feature requests.
     

    The Solutor

    Portal Pro
    August 25, 2012
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    I don't think this is accurate. That's certainly not what @ge2301 does.


    This comment is unfair. @ge2301 offers something that many people like - I personally never used WMC and prefer other skins. There is no reason to make such comments. If you feel that WMC is superior, you are free to make your own personal choices. @ge2301 is offering other threads to make improvement suggestions and you may want to add proposals there.


    I think that would be better to stop to take as a personal offence any reference to any function that was done better in WMC.

    You still not realize that for many people the UX is one of the main points to use a program over another.

    Now MP2 has an huge gap over WMC, a gap which is reduced but not eliminated by the WMC skin.

    Like it or not, replies like "an htpc is not supposed to be used trough a mouse" or something like that, aren't helpful at all.

    WMC copied (and improved) what showshifter did 1n 1999 or so, Mediaportal (and kody and other alternatives) tried to reinvent the wheel and, as usual, left a lot behind.

    MP tried to reinvent the wheel twice, restarting from scratch and killing most of what was perfectly working in MP1, together with parts that needed some improvements.
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    That's the actual scenario: MP1 is mostly working although is slow on rendering and has some under the hood disadvantages.

    WMC is far from perfect, but is snappy, it has both a good UI and UX, and is incredibly light for nowadays' PCs.

    MP2 has a very good rendering engine, but lacks almost any keyboard shortcut, it lacks a lot of plugins starting from ones that made MP1 a great choice, (mpextended, and eventghost just to mention a couple of them), it still lacks a lot on mouse usability side, something which is only partly addressed by ge2301's work.

    In short, I think that while the work on MP2 was/is amazing, but had some wrong priorities on its development.

    My humble suggestion is to stop to develop over your personal usage scenario, and start to listen to user's need, even if they look odd to your eyes.

    Just my two cents.
     
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