StreamMP skin on MP2? (1 Viewer)

[Requiem]

@ltfearme Do you intend to port StreamedMP over to MP2 in the future? There's nothing like it!

 

[Spaldo]

I was wondering the same

 

[Lehmden]

Hi.
Due to the completely different structure of MP2 it is not possible to port the skin exactly. But someone can make a very similar skin if wanted. This can be @ltfearme but also someone else. Like it is in progress for the Windows Media Center "lookalike" skin.

Nevertheless I'm not very sure if it is wise to port lot's of "old" skins to a new program as other possibilities are raising that are not covered by an old style skin. As example, MP1 has two "home" screens, that are always there. Also it is possible in MP2 to have a "home" screen, MP2 can work pretty nice and clean without any "home screen" at all. This will make navigation faster and more efficient as you can jump directly from one module to another (e.g. from TV to music) without the need to go to some sort of home screen in between. But this needs a different kind of "home menu" than the menu known from (basic-) home in MP1. Keeping things as they always were sometimes is nice but sometimes it is holding back any progress.

As a designer you can choose, if you want the "old fashioned" behaviour but you are not limited to it so maybe some really "new" skins would be better for progress than stuck only on old ones.

 

[Requiem]

It'd be just nice to know if there's a StreamedMP for MP2 in the making or if @ltfearme has no interest (or no spare time) to port that skin to MP2. But as far as I know, he has not yet replied to this question.

 

[cpsarros]

Any news on this?

 

[ge2301]

Any news on this?

It was discussed also in a separate thread last week. I've no time and personal interest to port the skin and ltfearme's situation is similar I fear.
The main problem is, that there will be mostly disappointed people even the skin is ported because it will work differently. It's easy for me to take the resources of a skin and make another skin look like it (visually!). The main problem is, that MP2 has a different structure, so 50% of the things like (views, menu entries, navigation, ...) will be only possible, if a dev creates new models. However the idea in MP2 is to use common models as much as possible and not to copy MP1 behaviours. Partly it would break other existing skins, so some changes are even not possible.

You would need to find a motivated designer and a dev to realize the skin. I'm only able to support, but will not drive this topic.

 

[FrankBert]

I am using MP1 with StreamedMP and MCE remote control happily for years now.
After testing many different skins, StreamedMP was the one which has for me the most logic user interface using a remote control.

E.g. the back key on the remote always get me one level back from where I came from and the info buttom get me to the selected infos for the screen or media I currently watch/play - all very intuitive and logical.

Additionally the WAF (womans acceptance factor) is quite high.

I tested MP2 in parallel from time to time, to see the progress and really like the functionaly - though, the user interface operating it with a remote control really is a pain. I tried all available skins so far, but imho, all do not have a high WAF - even a high MAF. I do not understand how the operation works and how the logic behind is. I really struggle to find out what a key on the remote does in one screen and in another. That's why I am still stuck with version 1 and StreamedMP.

I can agree with Lehmden, that sometimes new implementation will and should change known behaviours, but I am not talking about home screens or navigation in general, I am talking about operation in e.g. TV or Vidoe play mode (show info, change language, change channel, go back to program etc.).

In my understanding, usability can be measured in how logical and simple and operation is - and not how long I need to learn it.
With the current skins in MP2 I do not have the patience to learn it - my wife for sure also not.

Please do understand me correct, I am very happy for all the effords developing MP1 and MP2, but I believe there is quiet some room for improvement in the usability using a remote control in MP2.

If I can help, I am happy to assist.

 

[Requiem]

I totally agree.
I am experimenting quite often and try to make the most of our HTPC - what keeps me from switching to MP2 is still its surface and not-so-intuitive surface. StreamedMP is so far the best and most customizable skin Ive seen so far, and I also dont think that any of my family members would like to learn from scratch.
I really WANT to use MP2, and I am installing every milestone, but it is far from being a replacement for MP1 (usability design, not technical arguments).
It doesnt have to be a StreamedMP2-Skin, but somthing more comfortable than what MP2 has to offer up to now (at least for me)

 

[HTPCSourcer]

Tastes are different.

I have been using MP1 myself for more than eight years but never liked skins like StreamedMP with the moving section list. For this reason I used Titan when it got published and switched over to Titanius, which I've been using ever since it was released. From this perspective the change was very small and I can use MP2's Titanium Extended, which offers a very similar experience to Titan/Titanius under MP1.

Pivoting between the two worlds of MP1 and MP2 I realized though that a lot of the criticism that people express stems from difficulties to abandon long-trained MP1 habits. After having used MP 2.1 now for a week, I can say that I don't have problems to use it - once you realize that the full screen video picture is restored with the red button .

Regarding skin development in general, there is only @ge2301 who is actively working on MP2 surfaces. His WMC skin has met very positive feedback by countless former Windows MediaCenter users. That said, there is only that much one single person can do and we would be more than happy if somebody invested time to port StreamedMP (or any other skin) to MP 2. @ge2301 would certainly assist and explain how the MP2 skin engine works.

 

[ge2301]

As HTPC sourcer said, tastes are different. There will be always users unhappy. If it feels like MP1, other users will ask for a KODI like look/navigation/feeling.
But I'd like to express one thing: MP2 is not MP1, MP2 has a completely different source code, so it's not even possible to just port a skin. Doing photoshop and make everything look like StreamMP is easy and I can do within 3 weeks, but I can not simply modify the navigation.
That said, I'm also not fully happy with the usability of MP2 yet, but I - as a designer - can not change it, I can just report it and hope, that designers get more free room to change something. I'm not able to change the content of menus, I'm not able to hide or add view modes, I'm not able to change the OSD navigation structure, ...
As a summary, don't think that everything is about a skin A StreamMP skin would have the same navigation - so the same problems - as other skins of MP2.

If somebody has basic coding skills and is willing to start design work on MP2, I'm of course willing to support.
But currently I have 4 skins, that are still developed (They are not finished!) and I do not have the time to start another project.