[Blog] MPEI V2 -The Easy Way to Install Skins and Plugins (1 Viewer)

[Dadeo]

After my last Blog, several users posted comments (thank you all) asking about our Repository or Downloads page and how it could be improved. As many of you know, we have tried for almost two years to find a web developer to improve it. Although several offered, they all left us, with nothing usable. So, about a year ago Infinityloop posted in the user Forums asking for feedback: The future of MPI - we need your opinion! The idea was to develop an alternate, consistent method to install and update skins and plugins.

It was a very hot topic! The result was, that now, one of our genius developers, Dukus, has written a whole new Extensions Installer from scratch, incorporating the feedback which users and community developers provided. Dukus is already well known for his many excellent plugins like Youtube.fm, Radiotime, MTV MusicVideos and Yahoo MusicVideos (he likes music ). A lot of testing has already been done, as you can see in this forum post Extension Installer V2.

If you want to find out the new, easy way to install and auto update plugins and skins, read on! Yes, you heard me, I said 'auto update'. You can even choose only the plugins and skins that support your version of MediaPortal. Impressed? You should be!

Here is The Inside Scoop Vol 1-2 with Duka aka Dukus:
MPEI V2 - The Easy Way to Install Skins and Plugins

 

[midknight]

Great news for the community

I hope many plugin developers adopt MPEI v2 soon so we can have our favourite plugins ready for it when 1.1.0 comes out!

Thanks a lot to the team and specially to Duka/Dukus! :-D

 

[joostzilla]

Thats the way to go! Two thumbs up!

 

[Shukuyen]

Great blog post about a great feature, thanks!

An idea for the installer: post update notifications to the InfoService plugin

 

[emphatic]

Very nice work! Would it be possible for skinners to release "patch" updates, since many skins use so many files (.pngs, .xml files) that hardly ever get updated? So if the user already have the last version before the new updated skin, the installer recognizes this, and goes for the smaller patch instead of the whole skin release? Also, a "backup previous "version" would be nice for skin downloads, as many users like to modify their Basic Home screens or use custom views etc. that can't be stored in a skin settings file alone.

Emph

 

[mazemp]

thanks a lot.
Cant wait for 1.1 RC !

 

[Mouch.net]

Many thx, new MPEI V2 looks amazing and sooooo easy.
Can't wait to see it in action

 

[DieBagger]

thx for another great inside scoop...

Who's next?

 

[Dadeo]

DieBagger - you have a request or suggestion ?

emphatic - good questions, unfortunately I don't know for sure! I have not installed 1.1 yet (waiting breathless for RC!) but I can't wait to try this out for aMPed. I require backup of skin files/mods, and even settings that aMPed stores in Program Files. So I should be able to give it a thorough workout! You know what it is like though - it's a new plugin, and once we all start using it and giving Dukus some really good feedback I think he will be able to ensure we have a fantastic tool to work with.

 

[DieBagger]

@DieBagger - you have a request or suggestion ?

How about morpheus_xx and/or my fellow countryman i-loop on the future of tv-server (specially when it comes to mp2). Not sure who else is involved in tv-server development...