TV Server Plugin: TvWishList (3 Viewers)

[Pat Clark]

I use View Only mode as a way of getting suggestions for upcoming shows that I might want to record.

Currently I use it for HD Movies, Documentarys and anything Sci-Fi related. To get you going I've included some screenshots of my setup. If I see a show I like I use the once-off schedule or if it is a series I create a new wish, very useful.

The screen shots were helpful. I still don't understand why View is a "mode" rather than merely an "action", and why it's labeled "view" rather than "remind."

The biggest change, to me, would be to have 3 actions (record, remind via email, remind via MP) and no modes. Seems a lot simpler.

>>>Personally, I don't care for the animated list.

I don't understand skins very well, so perhaps it is skin related. When the list of TvWish "wishes" is first shown, it rotates once (180 degrees) around a vertical axis in 3D. When the hidden menu is accessed, the list rotates back where it came from. I did use the .xml files from DefaultWide, almost verbatim.

Care to elaborate on this? There is some stuff I don't use like email but I do think that the MP way is to give users as much choice as possible and let them choose.

I don't use a supported skin. At the time I wrote the comment, I hadn't yet gotten the context-menu method working, and was using the "main" method through a Basic Home button. The functions that struck me are the ones moving "wishes" (what do you call them? ) to and from the "modes," and from MP's schedule. Now that I have the context menu working, it's much better, and my comment is less meaningful.

The other thing I can think of is the pervasiveness of "email" in the labels -- even the record mode is referred to as email mode in some cases -- when email seems to me to be a minor feature (albeit difficult to implement) being raised in the user's awareness unnecessarily.

[In adding the context menu to DialogMenu.xml, I came up with a simple but interesting way to do it: I lowered the listcontrol a little and add TVWishList's button above it, labeled item zero and aligned with the numbered items of the list. Looks good.]

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Please accept these comments for what they're worth ($0.02) and don't take offense. I really like the plugin.

 

[Pog]

Tests and results for 1.2.3.6

-----------------------------------------
Series: -5
Episode:
Error: Debug window
*Error: ConvertString2IntExpression() Unknown expression=-5
for keyword SeriesNumber
resetting to
-----------------------------------------
Series:
Episode: -5
Error: Debug window
*Error: ConvertString2IntExpression() Unknown expression=-5
for keyword EpisodeNumber
resetting to
-----------------------------------------
Series: +3
Episode:
Error: Search returned all episodes <= 3
-----------------------------------------
Series:
Episode: +3
OK:
-----------------------------------------
Series: 3,5,7,9
Episode:
OK:
-----------------------------------------
Series:
Episode: 3,5,7,9
OK:
-----------------------------------------
Series: 2-4
Episode:
OK:
-----------------------------------------
Series:
Episode: 3-9
OK:
-----------------------------------------
Series: 2-4
Episode: 5-10
OK:
-----------------------------------------

 

[Pog]

I use View Only mode as a way of getting suggestions for upcoming shows that I might want to record.

Currently I use it for HD Movies, Documentarys and anything Sci-Fi related. To get you going I've included some screenshots of my setup. If I see a show I like I use the once-off schedule or if it is a series I create a new wish, very useful.

The screen shots were helpful. I still don't understand why View is a "mode" rather than merely an "action", and why it's labeled "view" rather than "remind."

The biggest change, to me, would be to have 3 actions (record, remind via email, remind via MP) and no modes. Seems a lot simpler.

View Only was probably not intended as a reminder but that is the best use I found for it. I've also used it as a test ground to see what a particular wish would return. Labels could be streamlined a bit I think.

>>>Personally, I don't care for the animated list.

I don't understand skins very well, so perhaps it is skin related. When the list of TvWish "wishes" is first shown, it rotates once (180 degrees) around a vertical axis in 3D. When the hidden menu is accessed, the list rotates back where it came from. I did use the .xml files from DefaultWide, almost verbatim.

Yes thats the way the DefaultWide skin works, not a big fan of it either. StreamedMP skin all the way for me!

Care to elaborate on this? There is some stuff I don't use like email but I do think that the MP way is to give users as much choice as possible and let them choose.

I don't use a supported skin. At the time I wrote the comment, I hadn't yet gotten the context-menu method working, and was using the "main" method through a Basic Home button. The functions that struck me are the ones moving "wishes" (what do you call them? ) to and from the "modes," and from MP's schedule. Now that I have the context menu working, it's much better, and my comment is less meaningful.

The other thing I can think of is the pervasiveness of "email" in the labels -- even the record mode is referred to as email mode in some cases -- when email seems to me to be a minor feature (albeit difficult to implement) being raised in the user's awareness unnecessarily.

[In adding the context menu to DialogMenu.xml, I came up with a simple but interesting way to do it: I lowered the listcontrol a little and add TVWishList's button above it, labeled item zero and aligned with the numbered items of the list. Looks good.]

I've made many modifications to various skins to streamline things for my own use, MP is great that way and why I 'm here. You could change the text for some of the buttons by modifying the language file for TvWishList, ie. "Record and Email Mode" to "Record Mode". You can find it here: C:\ProgramData\Team MediaPortal\MediaPortal\language\TvWishListMP (Win7 x64 PC).

Please accept these comments for what they're worth ($0.02) and don't take offense. I really like the plugin.

 

[Pat Clark]

Thanks for the language path. I saw numeric labels, but didn't see where they came from. I changed them more to my liking. And now I like them.

 

[huha]

TestVersion 1.2.3.7
Pog, can you try again the new version on series number and episodenumber expressions?

PatClark, can you post your modified language file? May be other ones like it better, too

 

[Pat Clark]

Here it is. One thing I found out the hard way -- don't modify the constants that are used in the TVwish database after items exist which use them. Some database items use the constants as their values, and changing them makes those items unusable and generate errors.

 

[Pog]

Just ran a load of tests for 1.2.3.7 and it looks like filtering is working as expected.

 

[Pat Clark]

As I become more familiar with TVWish, I'm even more impressed. Nice work.

Another suggestion however would be to have the order of listing of wishes determine the priority, with the top item being the highest. The mechanism is already present to order the list as desired, but I don't see any effect that it has on the operation. FWIW, this is the way Windows Media Center handles priority, and I can't imagine any scenario where it would be inadequate.

{As you might guess, I just encountered a conflict where a show wasn't recorded because of the random nature of having all priorities being zero.]

 

[huha]

Pog, thanks for testing again!
PatClark, thanks for posting your file. I will look more on it. On your proposal with the priorities I believe a lot of users with many wishes just being added would not like to have the priority automatically set (including me). I think it should be sufficient to include the priority manually for each wish in the edit mode as defined now.

 

[melmak21]

Hi huha,
First! Thanks for this incredible plugin, it works perfect!!

I've 2 questions:
First is, is it possible to search for films/series that was made in one land e.g. 'DDR'? I use the TVMovie Clickfinder and there i can define a finder, that looks for sql-expression "Herstellungsland='DDR'", works it also in TVWishList and where/how?

Second; i record many series and i use TVMovie EPG import++ and episodescanner to find series- and episodenumber. After recording i cut my recordings and store these at an external drive as *.avi-file. In MediaPortal i use the TVSeries-plugin. Is it possible to build in a function, that compare the epg-data e.g. "Polizeiruf 110 (4.7 Das Inserat)" with the TVSeries-data "04 07 Polizeiruf 110 - Das Inserat" and if the episode is available, TVWishList will ignore the epg-entry and does'nt mark this for email/record?

Thank You