Release plans for Beta 2 (0.2) (3 Viewers)

[mfo]

One feature that wil be a must for usability (maybe already asked for in this topic)
Make a REAL auto play CD/DVD function, not only a dialog box asking if we want to play the inserted CD/DVD but also an option to play any inserted media without dialog box.

Currently I have 3 dialog boxes asking if I want to play the inserted media (must be a bug otherwise the second box would ask if I really want to play it and the third one will ask if I'm positively certain that I'm persuaded I want to play it ...)..
If in the future, no confirmation at all would be really nice ...

marc

 

[MissSophie]

follow

after checking on mp progress out of nostalgia 2 weeks ago i've switched back from mce2005 (well on my second machine at least for the moment)
first off all i'm very, very impressed with the progress, less bugs and a much better look than back in november 2004 when i switched (blue 2 really is very good, and i like the steel mod so much i feel it should be default)

now for the egonomics :

i feel the basic point of mp is home theater, which means non cluttered view and remote control. being able to use all sorts of shortcuts on your keyboard is nice but should not be essential. therefore the entire gui should be controllable in the simplest way---arrow keys (read "joystick on the remote")

everything with a function on view should be controllable in this way-
move to "sort by :artist" with an arrow- enter changes to album' --same should go for switch view (which in my opinion would be better off as seperate boxes)

now selecting an artist -enter should go down a level (to seperate albums) another enter should go down to individual songs--another should mean play (or info on the song) this means you now need a new button on the side menu --play-- this should now play everything selected in the tree. (so all albums in view--play all albums/ artist in view- play all albums and so on)
to go up in the tree-- again one button (escape or backspace, whatever)

preview box should also be selectable (as said before) en should just maximise view (so- back or esc back to previous view)

i realise it's all a lot like mce 2005, but then again microsoft has people who try figure these things out every day (focusgroups, meetings, luches_) So why not emulate what works.
plugins should work in the same way, but thats been said before also.

on a sidenote- i used to have to hack the xml to get rid of the visualisation in the preview box (the squiggely blue things in the left bottom of the screen)- i would love to just display an album cover in the box, has this allready been done or should i request it now?

 

[JeanCC]

Miss Sophie,

I can follow your point of viewe about ergonomics but my main goal using MP is to get rid of my tuner and CD/DVD player.
Like MFO I would like a real autoplay(blind). You inseret a CD then you want to have it played, right?
Second thing I was very pleased with the radio autoplay playing my favorite french internet radio. I am disapointed that since 0.1.0.9 internet radio does not autoplay any more.
I am sure the great MP team will built an application that can satisfy you and me.

 

[MissSophie]

well i agree with this autoplay thing, it should all add up to simplicity, standardization--usability

after thinking about it some more i've been trying to figure out how many buttons you would need to controll everything in a simple standardized way

my grand total is 14 (or 15)

arrowkeys /enter/ backspace (or esc) ---- for main gui navigation (dvd menus?)

next /previous ----- next song-/-next movie-/-next chapter dvd (and perhaps for plugins next rss feed/ next message etc.

fast forward/ backward ----- skip in song/ movie/ dvd 2x-4x

stop/pause ---- obvious

vol up/ down---- same

and maybe one for extra functions (like find info/ add to playlist or whatever)

in this way (and considering my previous post) i would be able to pretty much do everything i would need to for everyday use, i could even use my phone as a simple remote.

 

[JeanCC]

I agree about standardization. The only issue I see now now is the next/previous chapter (N,P keys). Also the use of right mouse button and ESC is not obvious.
But, regarding the amount of keys, being the proud owner of a ATI remote which has, if I am correct, 44 keys, I wish to be able to use them at full. Maybe it is an idea to make a minimum config and a extended config?

 

[MissSophie]

well i dont mean less is more exactly, more functions on a remote i would concider a good thing-- i was trying to say that the 14 buttons are basically the main functions that you would need everytime (so should be standardized)

i would also like to be able to assign more functions (i like switching between dvd languages with a single button for instance, but this is a dvd function only) but most other things are not universal for "main usage"

so my point is standardization for main functions, and all the other keysyou want for a particular function. but dont assign anything to the main buttons ( deleting an rss feed should not be the same as volume up for instance ) if these minimum functions are clearly defined (plugin) devs could use any other function without confusion.

 

[Stubby]

I agree about standardization. The only issue I see now now is the next/previous chapter (N,P keys). Also the use of right mouse button and ESC is not obvious.
But, regarding the amount of keys, being the proud owner of a ATI remote which has, if I am correct, 44 keys, I wish to be able to use them at full. Maybe it is an idea to make a minimum config and a extended config?

To be able to use all of the remote wonder's buttons I use The remote wonder Key Master http://catsoft.wz.cz/sp/rwkeymaster.php. It's a replacement for the software which comes with the remote wonder. It allows you to assign key presses to every button on the remote and therefor is an ideal replacement when you use MP!

 

[Anonymous]

tooltips, feedback, doc

MP (along w/ its plugins) is a great app.

Regarding tooltips and user feedback in general I suggested sometime somewhere linking skin elements (windows, buttons) to short descriptions (displayed in tooltips) and long descriptions (displayed in the wiki or the man).
Perhaps that would help users find their way, and developers set the correct information ?
(note also that a tooltip usually displays at the tip of the tool, when there is none in keyboard/remote mode

I would move the "settings" section of the GUI to the configuration application. I know some are related to the screen itself, but I think it is a bit awkward to have 2 places for MP configuration right now.

I would also appreciate a codec pack distribution, or download of the codecs needed by the installer.

Other than that I think lowering CPU demands will widely contribute to usability.

 

[JeanCC]

Stubby,

thanx for the tip. I was already using RW key factory and was not aware of keymaster. I will give it a try later on.
Thanx again.

 

[hakuna]

Stubby,

thanx for the tip. I was already using RW key factory and was not aware of keymaster. I will give it a try later on.
Thanx again.

You also have this plugin for your remote:
http://www.youngtech.net/software/ati/

And read more in the wiki
http://www.maisenbachers.de/dokuw/howto:remote_control?s=remote+wonder#ati_remote_wonder_i_and_ii