Ideas for Music Section (2 Viewers)

[jameson_uk]

The way i propose implements an "extra sort" option, without changing the existing code (so no massive code change needed).

But you want to be able to set the sort fields in config which in itself is quite a big change and we would need to update all the existing sort modes toi. I will look at a new hard coded sort method but it might be too difficult to achieve in the time I have available

 

[jameson_uk]

i would like a sort of :

artist-year-album-tracknr-trackname

but NOT also as the display

display should be:

tracknr--trackname-album

Ok been looking at this a little and it is not quite what you want but by virtue of the way the year sort method is setup you can kind of achieve this now (I think....)

If you change your tracks level of the view to use sort method year and then change the make in the sort tab for year to

[%album%] - [%track%. ][%title%]

You will actually get the sort you want just with the description in slightly the wrong order. This should work in MP now. Just thought I would let you know about this quirk now whilst I am looking at the code

 

[Gup]

The way i propose implements an "extra sort" option, without changing the existing code (so no massive code change needed).

But you want to be able to set the sort fields in config which in itself is quite a big change and we would need to update all the existing sort modes toi. I will look at a new hard coded sort method but it might be too difficult to achieve in the time I have available

Perhaps i explained it wrong. The way i mean is this :

You add an new textbox/field with the sort option i proposed :
in my example you would fill it with [%artist%][%year%][%album%][%track%][%title%]

In code you just check if that field/textbox is filled then use it for setting the sort-order. If it's not filled everything stays the same as it was. So the old stuff keeps working as it is.

i would like a sort of :

artist-year-album-tracknr-trackname

but NOT also as the display

display should be:

tracknr--trackname-album

Ok been looking at this a little and it is not quite what you want but by virtue of the way the year sort method is setup you can kind of achieve this now (I think....)

If you change your tracks level of the view to use sort method year and then change the make in the sort tab for year to

[%album%] - [%track%. ][%title%]

You will actually get the sort you want just with the description in slightly the wrong order. This should work in MP now. Just thought I would let you know about this quirk now whilst I am looking at the code

Thanks for all your effort!!!............

Just year isn't available in the sort TAB.

It works as i see the list in MP, just the Display only contains the albumthumbs and the year.

 

[wonkyd]

Something else I've thought of!

The music configuration settings, especially the view settings should be configured as outlined in this sticky by default https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/listen-music-99/guide-music-section-mediaportal-77404/ . Why it isn't already I don't know, it was how I would have expected it to be in the first place.

Also in addition to what I've said before, perhaps if pressing green/blue/yellow isn't an option to "quick add to playlist" maybe use remote button "1" I don't think it is used for anything else as far as I know?

So to sum up my suggestions:

1. Set music views to those outlined in the Music Guide thread by default
2. Play/Enter/OK should always "Play" until a playlist is being created

//
3. Playing a track should play through all the tracks following it after, like playing an album. If you change to another album/folder/view it should play that track then all the remaining tracks of that album/folder/view. No playlist should be visible to the user (even though technically there is one). You should also be able to press prev to go to tracks in that album/folder/view before the track you chose to play, pressing prev shouldn't jump to the track from the last album/folder/view
//edit This appears to be how it works now, which is good!

4. Once the user chooses to create, open or edit a playlist Enter/OK should revert to "Add to playlist" and add to the bottom of the playlist. Play should always be play and should start playback of the playlist. There should be a small notification that the selected track has been added to playlist. This shouldn't take focus or stop you from continuing until it has been cleared. Once playback of the playlist has commenced Enter/OK should revert back to "Play"
5. Green or "1" should act as a quick add to playlist once a playlist is playing, or maybe a quick create playlist and add track to it? Perhaps better still would be "1" & Green acts as add to playlist (bottom) then yellow could add all to playlist (bottom) and blue is play next (add after current track). Then if you don't have the coloured buttons you still get the quick function, but if you do you get extra functionality.
6. I've just noticed this but when you enter an album or artist the highlighted option is "go back". Can this be changed to the first album/track (unless there isn't any, which should never happen). This could just be a skin problem though (I'm using Maya)
7. Top album tracks. They're listed which is great but if you press it, it doesn't play it! Can it be made that if that track is in your library you can click it and it will play? It's the same with Similar tracks.
//edit
What it seems to do is queue it up to play next but doesn't tell you that's what has been done. I'd prefer it plays straight away when clicked.

8. Set track ratings on the now playing screen.

I think that's all I can think of. You already added a quick jump to Now Playing didn't you?

 

[jameson_uk]

You add an new textbox/field with the sort option i proposed :
in my example you would fill it with [%artist%][%year%][%album%][%track%][%title%]

In code you just check if that field/textbox is filled then use it for setting the sort-order. If it's not filled everything stays the same as it was. So the old stuff keeps working as it is.

But that would impact on all the sort methods as they would all need to check this and the way things are sorted now is based on the method you set in the view definition. The mask is (sometimes) used to set the labels but is not actually used to sort items. to implement a dynamic sort option which turned the mask into a sort method would be quite a lot of work

Also...

Just year isn't available in the sort TAB.

Forgot that the date and year sort method (the ones you can choose in the view definition) share the same mask in the the sort screen in config. Therefore if you change the date sort method to the above mask and set your tracks sort to year in the view definition it might work.

I say might as the whole sort and label setting in Music is a little messy and needs tidying up. I have not had chance to work this through but labels actually gets set three times which each step possibly overwriting the last. So this might even work.

 

[jameson_uk]

1. Set music views to those outlined in the Music Guide thread by default

Will look at the default views.

2. Play/Enter/OK should always "Play" until a playlist is being created
3. Playing a track should play through all the tracks following it after, like playing an album
4. Once the user chooses to create, open or edit a playlist Enter/OK should revert to "Add to playlist"
5. Green or "1" should act as a quick add to playlist once a playlist is playing, or maybe a quick create playlist and add track to it? Perhaps better still would be "1" & Green acts as add to playlist (bottom) then yellow could add all to playlist (bottom) and blue is play next (add after current track). Then if you don't have the coloured buttons you still get the quick function, but if you do you get extra functionality

I am looking at the whole play/enter/ok setup. One isssue is that on a standard remote we have basically run out of buttons. 1 can not be used as below

6. I've just noticed this but when you enter an album or artist the highlighted option is "go back". Can this be changed to the first album/track

Should be possible but not sure this should be done (needs to be consistent with the rest of MP). Will have a look

7. Top album tracks. They're listed which is great but if you press it, it doesn't play it! Can it be made that if that track is in your library you can click it and it will play? It's the same with Similar tracks

//edit
What it seems to do is queue it up to play next but doesn't tell you that's what has been done. I'd prefer it plays straight away when clicked.

This is all related to the whole ok/enter play functionality and I will make sure this is taken into account too

8. Set track ratings on the now playing screen.

1-5 on remote do this (hence why 1 can't queue to playlist

I think that's all I can think of. You already added a quick jump to Now Playing didn't you?

Even now red/X should jump to now-playing if no vizualisations are selected. I have added a new shortcut to now-playing but I am now thinking that X should possibly always jump to now-playing and the new Z shortcut should jump to full screen viz

 

[Dadeo]

4. Once the user chooses to create, open or edit a playlist Enter/OK should revert to "Add to playlist" and add to the bottom of the playlist. Play should always be play and should start playback of the playlist. There should be a small notification that the selected track has been added to playlist. This shouldn't take focus or stop you from continuing until it has been cleared. Once playback of the playlist has commenced Enter/OK should revert back to "Play"

Can you explain the benefit of this? Why not just have play always play (never add to playlist), and Enter/OK does whatever the user chooses in Config - play and queue to playlist, or Play only, or Queue only? Then each user can decide their preferred method.

I think changing the behaviour of keys depending on the last view entered is a usability nightmare, because no two users ever follow or prefer the same behaviour. God help you if you forget you opened a playlist at some point, did not play anything and then press the Enter/OK thinking it will play the track, but since you actually had 'looked' at a playlist (maybe to see what had been scrobbled) it will not, it will add a track to the playlist which you didn't want.

I do like the idea of a playlist icon/notification whenever anything is added to playlist - maybe even scrobbled tracks.

 

[Gup]

Forgot that the date and year sort method (the ones you can choose in the view definition) share the same mask in the the sort screen in config. Therefore if you change the date sort method to the above mask and set your tracks sort to year in the view definition it might work.

I say might as the whole sort and label setting in Music is a little messy and needs tidying up. I have not had chance to work this through but labels actually gets set three times which each step possibly overwriting the last. So this might even work.

Nope doesn't work. Actually the entire Sort doesn't work then. Selecting any other Sort in MP doesn't change a thing (it stays on "date" sort).

Display is only the albumthumb + year (listview).

View definiton i have for "Artists" :

artist ------------>Sort = Artist
track------------->Sort = Year

 

[wonkyd]

4. Once the user chooses to create, open or edit a playlist Enter/OK should revert to "Add to playlist" and add to the bottom of the playlist. Play should always be play and should start playback of the playlist. There should be a small notification that the selected track has been added to playlist. This shouldn't take focus or stop you from continuing until it has been cleared. Once playback of the playlist has commenced Enter/OK should revert back to "Play"

Can you explain the benefit of this? Why not just have play always play (never add to playlist), and Enter/OK does whatever the user chooses in Config - play and queue to playlist, or Play only, or Queue only? Then each user can decide their preferred method.

I think changing the behaviour of keys depending on the last view entered is a usability nightmare, because no two users ever follow or prefer the same behaviour. God help you if you forget you opened a playlist at some point, did not play anything and then press the Enter/OK thinking it will play the track, but since you actually had 'looked' at a playlist (maybe to see what had been scrobbled) it will not, it will add a track to the playlist which you didn't want.

I do like the idea of a playlist icon/notification whenever anything is added to playlist - maybe even scrobbled tracks.

This is true, you can end up with configurable options for everything and that becomes a nightmare in itself. My suggestion was that enter would only change to "add to playlist" when you were creating a playlist and remain as play at all other times. From using the create a playlist feature in MP as it is currently, it takes 2-3 clicks to add one song to the playlist then the same amount to get back to the playlist.

1. Set music views to those outlined in the Music Guide thread by default

Will look at the default views.

Thanks, noticed the other thread you made.

2. Play/Enter/OK should always "Play" until a playlist is being created
3. Playing a track should play through all the tracks following it after, like playing an album
4. Once the user chooses to create, open or edit a playlist Enter/OK should revert to "Add to playlist"
5. Green or "1" should act as a quick add to playlist once a playlist is playing, or maybe a quick create playlist and add track to it? Perhaps better still would be "1" & Green acts as add to playlist (bottom) then yellow could add all to playlist (bottom) and blue is play next (add after current track). Then if you don't have the coloured buttons you still get the quick function, but if you do you get extra functionality

I am looking at the whole play/enter/ok setup. One isssue is that on a standard remote we have basically run out of buttons.

...This is all related to the whole ok/enter play functionality and I will make sure this is taken into account too

Thanks, hopefully we can strike a balance!

6. I've just noticed this but when you enter an album or artist the highlighted option is "go back". Can this be changed to the first album/track

Should be possible but not sure this should be done (needs to be consistent with the rest of MP). Will have a look

I'm not sure why the rest of MP doesn't work this way, if I open a folder the first option I'd want to select wouldn't be "Back up".

8. Set track ratings on the now playing screen.

1-5 on remote do this (hence why 1 can't queue to playlist

Sorry, I did not know about this. However 1 - 5 are only used for this purpose on the now playing screen, so surely "1" whilst in the usual music views could be used for something else? Pressing it on my remote does nothing...

I think that's all I can think of. You already added a quick jump to Now Playing didn't you?

Even now red/X should jump to now-playing if no vizualisations are selected. I have added a new shortcut to now-playing but I am now thinking that X should possibly always jump to now-playing and the new Z shortcut should jump to full screen viz

Yes this would be preferable, to me at least. Maybe an extra option on the now playing screen for "Visualisation" or something.

 

[mbuzina]

Even now red/X should jump to now-playing if no vizualisations are selected. I have added a new shortcut to now-playing but I am now thinking that X should possibly always jump to now-playing and the new Z shortcut should jump to full screen viz

I guess that should be a config option: What screen is Full-Screen Music?