My NetFlix 2.0 Update News & Community Feedback (1 Viewer)

[Lolento]

Do you use the Netflix Top 100? If I replaced it with something similar would it be okay?
=>Yes, absolutely, I very rarely use Top 100.

Is the details page really necessary if most of the information is provided in the listing view? I've thought more about this and I think it is due to people using the other views, (filmstrip, coverart, etc)
=>Details page is not necessary for me but like Moving Pictures, I think we should be able to enable or disable it in the settings.

Would a multiple selection be nice to add more than a disc at a time to the queue?
=>This would be great....also another related suggestion would be to have continuous play if it isn't already available.

 

[WileECoyote]

I like the idea of being able to add multiple selections to the queue. Unlike one of the above posters, I use My Netflix nearly exclusively for DVD queue management and status, and rarely for Instant viewing.

The menu layout you described looks good. Will there continue to be support for multiple DVD queues (i.e., sub accounts)? This is a very important feature to me, and I hope you give it some consideration.

Thanks for your continued hard work.

Hey jmvaughn,
You are much like me, I use it mainly for disc management, but my family uses it mostly for instant viewing.

Yes, there is still support for sub accounts. You will see one more level...

User 1
- Disc Queue
--- Movie 1
- Instant Queue
--- ...
- ...
User 2
- Disc Queue
--- Movie 1
- ...

The only difference will be the 'Sub' users will not have an Instant queue or Recently Added queue's since they dont have the ability to play instant movies.

Thanks for your feeback!

 

[WileECoyote]

Do you use the Netflix Top 100? If I replaced it with something similar would it be okay?
=>Yes, absolutely, I very rarely use Top 100.

Is the details page really necessary if most of the information is provided in the listing view? I've thought more about this and I think it is due to people using the other views, (filmstrip, coverart, etc)
=>Details page is not necessary for me but like Moving Pictures, I think we should be able to enable or disable it in the settings.

Would a multiple selection be nice to add more than a disc at a time to the queue?
=>This would be great....also another related suggestion would be to have continuous play if it isn't already available.

Hey Lolento,
Thanks for the feedback!

The only problem with continuous play is knowing when the movie stops. There is no way for MP to detect when the movie stopped and you wouldn't want the browser to auto close after the movie stopped if you were watching a series and wanted to skip to the next episode. I'm not sure how we could tackle this problem but I can appreciate the need for a playlist.

Maybe hzn79 can give us some insite on closing the browser when a movie completes. If this is possible, then the browser is auto closed only if your playing the playlist? Or maybe a configuration option?

 

[WileECoyote]

Update...

I think I have finalized the configuration page (see attached.) I have tried to simplify the process by putting everyting on one page, in the order it should be done...

1. Authenticate Main Account - This is the primary account (this will be the ONLY instant view account)
2. Authenticate Sub-Accounts - This is only if you want to view Disc Queue's of other users. It's setup on NetFlix's site.
3. Select Default User - After you authenticate all accounts and sub-accounts, select the primary queue you want to see the first time you enter the plugin.
4. Enter # of results - This mainly for the search results returned.
5. Show Details Checkbox - Disable this only if you want the movie to start when you hit OK. Otherwise it will go to the details page.
6. Hide All But Instant Queue - This is mainly for folks that use the plugin for Instant viewing and do not want to see the other queues.
7. Select Default Screen - Select the screen you want the browser to open up on.
8. Enter Instant Queue Users - Same as before, enter username and click add user. All users will show up in the list below.
9. Cache Images - This is new. Since all the main queues are now cached, it is imperative that you cache the images before you enter the plugin the first time. Otherwise the plugin (and MediaPortal) will be real slow for 15-20 minutes while it caches the images.

Items removed from the 1.x Config:

• Browser Location - Now that we use IE as the default browser, this is no longer needed.
• Select Default User (Instant) - This was removed as the first person added to the queue will automatically be the default.

Notes:
As mentioned above, I have found a great way to control the IE browser via the plugin so we will no longer be using a custom web browser. It will use IE as the default and will open it on the screen selected in the config. It will default to the primary if you only have one screen.

Please let me know if I forgot something...
Wile E.

 

[gserg]

Only the actual upload! Seriously though, it looks great and I love the options to do Instant Only. That will simplify it greatly for what I use it for.

 

[jmvaughn]

Very nice. Can't wait for my first peak at 2.0 beta

 

[WileECoyote]

Update...

I have updated the first post with some screenshots. The project is moving along nicely, I expect to start a private beta sometime this weekend.

I have started playing with the 'select' function a little more and have found some great uses for it. For example, while in the Disc Queue, you enter select 'mode' by hitting the Record button, you move up & down to reorder the selection in the queue, then hit the OK to 'place' it in its new position. This way we can easily reorder the disc queue. The other use is mulitple selections. When you do a search you can enter select 'mode', select all the movies you want to add to your queue, then hit the context menu and add them all at once.

The integration with thetvdb.com is going nicely as well. As you can see in some of the screenshots, the TV Series now have fan art and the episodes have the episode coverart. The screenshots also show the flow TV Series -> Seasons -> Episodes whereas before it was TV Series -> Episodes.

Wile E.

 

[jmvaughn]

That looks gorgeous, Wile E. By the way, what skin are you using?

 

[WileECoyote]

That looks gorgeous, Wile E. By the way, what skin are you using?

Thanks! The screenshots were done with the DefaultWide skin.

 

[WileECoyote]

Update...

Here are a few notes I would like to get community feedback on...

1. In the screenshots on the first post you will occasionally notice an icon "TV" to the right of the title. This represents that the title is a TV Series. Does that icon work for everyone or is it too much? I wanted a way to call out the TV Series titles, but was not sure the best way to do it. This was just my initial though on what would work. Thoughts?

2. The Instant, At-Home and Recommendation Queues are sorted Alpha by Title, while the other queues (Disc and History) are sorted by NetFlix order (i.e. position in the Disc Queue or History Received etc...) The reason to sort the Instant, At-Home and Recommendation queues in alpha order is, or so I think it is, easier to find a movie in the list. Thoughts?

Thanks!
Charles