[Usability] Use coloured remote button to open extended menus (1 Viewer)

[doveman]

Started on: 2011-10-15
last update: 2011-10-15

Summary: Use a coloured remote button instead of left/right to open extended menus

Area: Interface

Description:. In my experience, new users are confused when they're navigating up/down a list and accidentally press left/right and a menu pops-up. They often don't know how to get rid of it either.

I feel it would be much better if these menus could be opened/closed with a coloured remote button, say Blue. I realise some people may love the current way things work, so perhaps this could be made an option and maybe also the Remote Config section could allow the user to select which remote button to assign to this.

I think this would also allow for designing more user-friendly skins, as they could then show a tip on screen i.e. Blue Dot - "Extended Menu", as is common on STB rather than expecting users to remember which button does what.

 

[tourettes]

One issue with that approach is that not all (majority!) of remote controls have those coloured buttons (or anything similar). Even MCE US version is missing those if I remember correctly.

 

[Spooky]

One issue with that approach is that not all (majority!) of remote controls have those coloured buttons (or anything similar). Even MCE US version is missing those if I remember correctly.

Why is that an issue? You could have it both ways. I also always thought, that the 'navigational paradigm' used in MediaPortal is often not a good solution, when it is supposed to be controlled by a dedicated remote. I am not a particular fan of colour buttons myself, but it wouldn't hurt to introduce such an option (or maybe keep it in mind for MP2's design).

Regarding the colour buttons not being present on all remotes: so far I have never seen a remote without it, except really small ones, like the one for the Antec Micro Fusion Remote case. But since you mention, that the US version of the MCE remote is missing those as well, may be this is simply a regional thing.

 

[doveman]

Yes, maybe it's just Europe that tends to have these coloured buttons, but that's still a lot of potential users who are used to them.

And as I said, perhaps this can be made an option in Remote Config, so the users that don't have coloured buttons could use the hash key or something else, which would still be preferable, in my opinion, to the 'navigational paradigm' as Spooky calls it. Or if we want to hardcode it, to make it simpler for skins to display a tip, maybe we could just use the hash key.

 

[Paranoid Delusion]

Coloured buttons only exist in Country's with teletext, mainly Europe\Asia\Australia, North America\Canada\South America\Japan and quite a few others do not.

 

[netexplorer]

AW: Use coloured remote button to open extended menus

My opinion is also, to use the coloured buttons more. With this solution you can control MP with less buttons, because remote's don't have as much buttons to control all functions in MP. I' m working just on a configuration with window related functions of the coloured buttons.
Here is a screenshot:

 

[doveman]

Hi netexplorer

That looks like an excellent start. It makes it much easier for users to quickly get to the things they want, rather than drilling through menus and it makes sense to show on-screen what each button will do, so that the user doesn't have to try and remember.

I can avoid a lot of menus myself as I'm lucky enough to have EPG, Radio, Video buttons on my remote, but even so there's lots of ways to use the coloured buttons to make things easier (i.e., I'd like to be able to press Yellow on the EPG to set a reminder on the highlighted programme. I appreciate that Red has a specific function in MP, so pressing Record as a one-button Record on the highlighted programme works well for that (and I recall there was a mod to do just that, but I haven't tried it with 1.2.1 so not sure if it still works / is compatible).

Keep up the good work

 

[netexplorer]

AW: Use coloured remote button to open extended menus

Hi doveman,
so i have published my configuration for everyone. ->Click<-

Regards, Netexplorer.

 

[doveman]

Hi netexplorer

That looks like excellent work. I'm looking forward to trying it out later.

I really hope this idea catches on, as it really makes MP more user-friendly.