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Thinking outside the box
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<blockquote data-quote="Verbal" data-source="post: 22146" data-attributes="member: 15517"><p>This post is going to ramble a bit, so I apologize in advance. And I know it's bad form to write something like this on a first post, but I 've lurked for over a year and am only saying this becuase I think it's really important.</p><p></p><p>I'm a user and big fan of mediaportal, and have turned two friends onto it. I'm really looking forward to the new release. So I'm writing to spur some discussion about what MP should be like from a big picture standpoint to make it really cool.</p><p></p><p>Think about what the iPod did for mp3 players, and let's rethink the media server/living room pc a little bit in the same way. </p><p></p><p>I think there are things that can be done that will not take a lot of technical effort but which will put MP on the map as the one and only living room solution, and leaving other products look like inferior by comaprison, including the commercial ones.</p><p></p><p><strong>Menu Design</strong></p><p></p><p>For example, why is everything on the menu preceded by "My"? My Programs, My Music, My Pictures, My TV, etc. </p><p></p><p>I know why it's like that, because MCE does it that way, and Windows names some user folders that way. </p><p></p><p>But that's how people are used to interacting with their computer, because on the computer, most of the files and folders belong to the OS and the software, not the user.</p><p></p><p>But that isn't how people to interact with their TV, or their personal property like movies, music and pictures. Of course those pictures, music, and movies are "mine", who else's would they be? But placing MY in front is confusing and disorganized because everything starts with "MY MY MY MY MY", etc. </p><p></p><p>Maybe you think its a silly point, but it's also really quick and simple change too. Does putting "My" in front make the system better? I don't think so.</p><p></p><p><strong>Some key plugins are missing</strong></p><p></p><p>I know people have created these seperately, but there should be <strong>a one- or two-click way to rip a CD or DVD to the system</strong> and bring in the album art, info, etc. I realize that the DVD solution is lawsuit prone, but there is no question, in the US at least, that ripping a CD you own is completely legal. </p><p></p><p>By making it part of the system out-of the-box, though, you make it easier for non-techies (and wives/girlfriends) to use MP and accept it under the tv. Have it execute behind MP so that it returns control to MP immediately while the cd is still ripping.</p><p></p><p><strong>skinning</strong></p><p></p><p>I realize the skinning engine is going to improve a lot in the next release, but my comment is more about skins in general. I hope to contribute some skins in the future, so I'll put my money where my mouth is, so to speak.</p><p></p><p>On a standard NTSC tv, there isn't a lot of screen space - 720x480. PAL doesn't have much more than that.</p><p></p><p>The skin shouldn't be crowded with drop shadows, reflective transparent buttons on the menu text or the like. The best way to show a selected item is to change the text color and add a big dot or other symbol in the front of it, rather than changing the background color.</p><p></p><p>Likewise, we need to make more efficient use of the screen area. For example "My News" Rss fees puts the actual text of the feed in the bottom 40% of the screen, and scrolls it. That makes it hard to read.</p><p></p><p>On another topic, and I'm sure there's a good technical explanation, why can web design technologies like CSS and flash be used to make skins for MP? (Aren't the screens just xml files?) It seems like the MP skin engine is almost a separate markup language unto itself? If there was some way to leverage web design experience to make skins more people would skin, and there'd be a greater variety.</p><p></p><p>It would also be possible to do context sensitive skinning (like changing to another skin at night, based on the weather or a holiday, etc)</p><p></p><p><strong>Pre-built media collections</strong></p><p></p><p>One of the really neat things about MP is seeing it filled with stuff- photos, music, etc. So why not preload (or provide as a separate download) pre-made art and music packs of public domain works? Imagine having hundreds of renaissance paintings or Beethoven's symphonies ready when you install. Granted, there may be a limited audience for this, but it's just the kind of "nice touch" that makes people take notice.</p><p></p><p>If people are interested, I can provide this now, as I have public domain collections of all of this stuff.</p><p></p><p><strong>Thinking out of the box</strong></p><p></p><p>In general, I think if we think a little bit about why people would use a media center device, and what would satisfy, surprise, or frustrate them about such a device, we can come up with some new ideas</p><p></p><p>What do you think?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Verbal, post: 22146, member: 15517"] This post is going to ramble a bit, so I apologize in advance. And I know it's bad form to write something like this on a first post, but I 've lurked for over a year and am only saying this becuase I think it's really important. I'm a user and big fan of mediaportal, and have turned two friends onto it. I'm really looking forward to the new release. So I'm writing to spur some discussion about what MP should be like from a big picture standpoint to make it really cool. Think about what the iPod did for mp3 players, and let's rethink the media server/living room pc a little bit in the same way. I think there are things that can be done that will not take a lot of technical effort but which will put MP on the map as the one and only living room solution, and leaving other products look like inferior by comaprison, including the commercial ones. [b]Menu Design[/b] For example, why is everything on the menu preceded by "My"? My Programs, My Music, My Pictures, My TV, etc. I know why it's like that, because MCE does it that way, and Windows names some user folders that way. But that's how people are used to interacting with their computer, because on the computer, most of the files and folders belong to the OS and the software, not the user. But that isn't how people to interact with their TV, or their personal property like movies, music and pictures. Of course those pictures, music, and movies are "mine", who else's would they be? But placing MY in front is confusing and disorganized because everything starts with "MY MY MY MY MY", etc. Maybe you think its a silly point, but it's also really quick and simple change too. Does putting "My" in front make the system better? I don't think so. [b]Some key plugins are missing[/b] I know people have created these seperately, but there should be [b]a one- or two-click way to rip a CD or DVD to the system[/b] and bring in the album art, info, etc. I realize that the DVD solution is lawsuit prone, but there is no question, in the US at least, that ripping a CD you own is completely legal. By making it part of the system out-of the-box, though, you make it easier for non-techies (and wives/girlfriends) to use MP and accept it under the tv. Have it execute behind MP so that it returns control to MP immediately while the cd is still ripping. [b]skinning[/b] I realize the skinning engine is going to improve a lot in the next release, but my comment is more about skins in general. I hope to contribute some skins in the future, so I'll put my money where my mouth is, so to speak. On a standard NTSC tv, there isn't a lot of screen space - 720x480. PAL doesn't have much more than that. The skin shouldn't be crowded with drop shadows, reflective transparent buttons on the menu text or the like. The best way to show a selected item is to change the text color and add a big dot or other symbol in the front of it, rather than changing the background color. Likewise, we need to make more efficient use of the screen area. For example "My News" Rss fees puts the actual text of the feed in the bottom 40% of the screen, and scrolls it. That makes it hard to read. On another topic, and I'm sure there's a good technical explanation, why can web design technologies like CSS and flash be used to make skins for MP? (Aren't the screens just xml files?) It seems like the MP skin engine is almost a separate markup language unto itself? If there was some way to leverage web design experience to make skins more people would skin, and there'd be a greater variety. It would also be possible to do context sensitive skinning (like changing to another skin at night, based on the weather or a holiday, etc) [b]Pre-built media collections[/b] One of the really neat things about MP is seeing it filled with stuff- photos, music, etc. So why not preload (or provide as a separate download) pre-made art and music packs of public domain works? Imagine having hundreds of renaissance paintings or Beethoven's symphonies ready when you install. Granted, there may be a limited audience for this, but it's just the kind of "nice touch" that makes people take notice. If people are interested, I can provide this now, as I have public domain collections of all of this stuff. [b]Thinking out of the box[/b] In general, I think if we think a little bit about why people would use a media center device, and what would satisfy, surprise, or frustrate them about such a device, we can come up with some new ideas What do you think? [/QUOTE]
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