View Full Version : MiniMeedia - New Skin
skunkm0nkee
2009-01-25, 20:10
Since the release of MediaStream there have been quite a few comments relating to the fact that some users wanted to see more of the fanart and that they thought the MediaStream UI covered up too much of the backgrounds.
Once v1.00 was released I began work on a new skin where the core concept was to keep as much of the background visible as possible, whilst keeping the skin clean, tidy and usable.
A number of MediaStream users have been making requests for additions and changes to that skin in the last few weeks so I thought it was probably a good time to post some screenshots of the new skin to show that we are still active, even though MediaStream is not our current focus.
A final point I want to make clear is that currently this skin is not yet a Team Razorfish collaboration as it's just been me working on it so far (there is another skin also in the works from other members of the team). The plan is to finish coding the various dialogs and other screens and then discuss it with the designers on the team so that they can give their artistic input and add a bit more style/polish to the skin.
This is nowhere near a finished skin and as such it's unlikely it will be released for another few months but I thought it was important to let people know that things are moving along.
Please don't make requests for features, changes or additions as we won't be looking for that type of feedback until it's officially released.
Enough of the flannel, here's the screenshots! :nod:
Home screen:
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/4930/home4vj3.png
Movie Poster view:
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/5087/posterinfomovies5rp1.png
TV Show Info:
http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/1231/videoinfotv1hy5.png
Music Showcase-style view:
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/5404/musicshowcasemc3.png
coredalae
2009-01-25, 20:46
must say.
I LOVE IT.
will definatly use this when its done.
Great start. I'll keep an eye on this topic and starting to wait. Gook luck !
rwparris2
2009-01-25, 22:14
Looking very nice :)
I particularly like the movie poster view.
I'm interested to see how that TV Show Info view would look with poster-style icons instead of banner ones, though.
I'm sure you (and team razorfish, if you guys decide to collaborate on this) will come up with something awesome.
Discaciate
2009-01-26, 04:08
WOW! That look gorgeous. Mediastream is by far my favorite skin, and this one looks like the only one that can take its place. I can hardly wait for it! :grin:
Just out of curiosity: In the second photo, we are seeing album view or the coverflow?
skunkm0nkee
2009-01-26, 13:29
Just out of curiosity: In the second photo, we are seeing album view or the coverflow?
Not sure what you mean by album view and to me a coverflow view has angled covers in it? ???
If you are asking if the posters will animate when moving through the list then the answer is yes, they will.
lompelurt
2009-01-26, 16:20
Looks great. Espically I like the TV Show view.
smcnally75
2009-01-26, 16:40
Excellent job! I really like this concept!
good work, it looks awesome!
jhonny30
2009-01-26, 19:23
i can't see anything...?!?!
i can't see anything...?!?!
You have to click on the links the pictures are not hosted here
neoanderson2002
2009-01-26, 19:34
I really love the concept! Instantly recognizable MediaStream flair to it and fanart focus. I can't wait for this to come out! Keep up the great work Skunkmonkee and Razorfish team!
skunkm0nkee
2009-01-26, 20:33
You have to click on the links the pictures are not hosted here
The pictures are embedded in the first post are they not? I don't have to click on anything I just see them in the post.
Is anyone else having problems seeing the images?
smcnally75
2009-01-26, 20:43
I see them embeded
I see them embeded
me too
djdafreund
2009-01-27, 01:11
Looking pretty great so far. Will look forward to see more development with this one.
Discaciate
2009-01-27, 06:31
Not sure what you mean by album view and to me a coverflow view has angled covers in it? ???
If you are asking if the posters will animate when moving through the list then the answer is yes, they will.
Sorry for any confusion. English is not my main language and sometimes I have a hard time making myself clear.
But thats pretty much what I was talking about. In the second picture we see the small covers, but since it's only a photo I wondered if there was some animation to go along with it. Specially 3d animations.
In the original MediaStream my favorite view is the Coverflow. I think the 3D flipping effect works really well. And I was wondering if we can expect to see some sort of view that resembles the Coverflow in the MediaStream skin, but with more space for the fan art.
skunkm0nkee
2009-01-27, 15:29
I've not actually really planned out exactly what views are going to be included in the skin but what I would like is to have a decent set of views for all media so that users have a wide and varied choice. There is no real restriction on the number of views anymore but I wouldn't think we'll be going overboard on it as it would become too unwieldy.
The pictures are embedded in the first post are they not? I don't have to click on anything I just see them in the post.
Is anyone else having problems seeing the images?
Sorry but i only see the links which is ok as i then get the full screen view
Hi skunkmonkee just had another good look at your pics, i must on second look am more impressed, my question is will the main menu scroll vertically inside the small frame in a similar fashion to mediastream? if so great . also i think it would be nice to keep it as simple and uncluttered as possible i believe thats what is needed as skins are starting to become overcomplicated in my humble oppinion, nice work so far:)
If the objective is to show as much as possible of the background, a good idea was to make the home menu auto hide when not in use, something like the PM3 fanart view.
skunkm0nkee
2009-01-27, 18:23
Hi skunkmonkee just had another good look at your pics, i must on second look am more impressed, my question is will the main menu scroll vertically inside the small frame in a similar fashion to mediastream? if so great . also i think it would be nice to keep it as simple and uncluttered as possible i believe thats what is needed as skins are starting to become overcomplicated in my humble oppinion, nice work so far:)
Yes, the main menu on home will scroll up and down through the items (it's based on a wraplist control, as was the menu on MediaStream).
A lot of the navigation and elements in the new skin are based on how MediaStream worked but the idea this time has been to completely tone down the UI so as to make it as minimal as possible (and therefore to display as much of the background as possible).
As an indicator of the difference, the textures.xpr in MediaStream is about 30MB or so. The textures.xpr in MiniMeedia is less than 200KB so far - it's nowhere near complete yet but at a similar stage in the MediaStream process the xpr was probably around 20-25MB!
Fantastic! This will be a hit for sure.
The focus skin had a homescreen menu that would fit this skin nicely! (high usability)
rwparris2
2009-01-27, 19:59
Speaking of mediastream & focus... are submenus planned? That little blue arrow tells me probably but I thought I'd ask anyways
skunkm0nkee
2009-01-27, 20:15
Submenus are there and are currently very similar in content (but not necessarily in look) to the submenus in MediaStream although there's no guarantee that won't change before release. :;):
Submenus are there and are currently very similar in content (but not necessarily in look) to the submenus in MediaStream although there's no guarantee that won't change before release. :;):
I love that you seem to be taking into consideration a view that uses banners and not posters. I like banners way more than I do posters, especially for TV Shows, and MediaStream really hates banners.
skunkm0nkee
2009-01-29, 00:43
I love that you seem to be taking into consideration a view that uses banners and not posters. I like banners way more than I do posters, especially for TV Shows, and MediaStream really hates banners.
The TV Wide view in MediaStream is designed for wide banner thumbs for TV Shows, have you tried it?
The TV Wide view in MediaStream is designed for wide banner thumbs for TV Shows, have you tried it?
I must be doing something wrong. I don't seem to have that view:
http://eduo.info/hdp/mediastream.png
To be truthful, I'm looking for a banner-based view free of information...
EDIT: This could've been so much better. Can't I resize the IMG tag?
The TV Wide view is library mode only. You're still in file view.
The TV Wide view is library mode only. You're still in file view.
Ah. I suspected as much. I don't use Library view. I've never really liked it.
It's strange, because I defend Library vs. File views in programs like iTunes and iPhoto, but in XBMC I just can't force me to use it. I have never been able to place what is it that doesn't click for me.
Why are some views only available in Library mode? I'd understand if it took advantage of it's metadata and such, but other than that?
I admit I tend to have my directories so well organized there's not much need for Library view :P
My folders are well orginized, but I just love the fan art.
Is there a way to have the file listing like in PM3HD where the movies are listed by text not flipping of a movie cover? Maybe its not file view, but it lists the name of the movies to the very right and then the fan art shows on the left.
Either way I'm really liking the simplicity of this skin.
timdog82001
2009-01-29, 03:39
My folders are well orginized, but I just love the fan art.
Is there a way to have the file listing like in PM3HD where the movies are listed by text not flipping of a movie cover? Maybe its not file view, but it lists the name of the movies to the very right and then the fan art shows on the left.
Either way I'm really liking the simplicity of this skin.
Sounds like "fanart" view.
djdafreund
2009-01-29, 03:43
Because the library mode is one of the best things about XBMC. And more then a few skins also only have certain views in library mode only, including the one i help work on. I can't think of a reason you wouldn't want to use this anyway. I was totally cool without it at 1st until one day i just set it up and gave it a shot, and NEVER even hesitated to going back and wondered how i stood using file mode even. Even the XBMC code has coded advantages not available in file mode, although over time slowly they have included some of them.
This skin is looking really nice so far. Great job!!!
Aenima99x
2009-01-29, 04:31
nm....should read the entire thread first
Skunkmonkey just wondered if you we're planning on testing on Xbox for this? or will the fanart nip it in the bud?
smcnally75
2009-01-29, 16:11
Fanart with Media Companion works fine on my xbox so I would assume that if his textures.xpr file is that much smaller then it will run well.
MPauley73
2009-01-29, 16:15
This skin would replace focus as my preferred look... Please finish soon :rofl:
skunkm0nkee
2009-01-29, 16:30
I'm currently running it on my xbox and as the textures is so small then I'm not experiencing any memory issues even with the fanart turned on. :grin:
Currently it's all coded for a 720p display and I'm considering doing a 1080p version too but there are no plans (at the moment) for a specific 4x3 version (it will run in 4x3 but it will look squished)
nemrod95
2009-01-29, 16:49
Awesome Skin, i'm waiting to test it, especialy in 1080p
I like the mini UI, Mediastream is a very good skin but the screen is too busy for me by the UI
Sounds like "fanart" view.
Thanks I'm a bit slow sometimes. ;)
Lucleonhart
2009-01-30, 10:55
Wow, that one is AWESOME! Will use it definitly! :)
Any release candidates? gg
THX-UltraII
2009-02-02, 11:15
WOW! what a great skin! When can we expect a (beta) release?
skunkm0nkee
2009-02-02, 15:58
No Beta release is planned. At the moment the plan is to do a release similar to how we released MediaStream - release a pretty much complete version and then tidy it up and polish it further based on user feedback.
Not quite sure on timescales yet but I'm hoping to be in a position to release something by the end of the month. (Don't hold me to that though!)
Looking forward to that! I love a minimalistic skin. I sure hope the fonts will be readable on a 82cm PAL screen (unlike Aeon/Horizon).
Looking forward to that! I love a minimalistic skin. I sure hope the fonts will be readable on a 82cm PAL screen (unlike Aeon/Horizon).
There unreadable on a 24 inch 16/9 pal tv.
Good news about a possible release i look forward to testing this skin
skunkm0nkee
2009-02-03, 15:50
I don't currently have any other screenshots that are for sharing at the moment but hopefully there will be something in the next few days.
As for fonts and screen sizes, this skin is designed around a 720p/1080p target audience and am not currently planning on releasing loads of resolution and font options for it so there probably will be users who will need to mod it in order to get it to work for their particular screen desires.
Discaciate
2009-02-03, 16:00
No Beta release is planned. At the moment the plan is to do a release similar to how we released MediaStream - release a pretty much complete version and then tidy it up and polish it further based on user feedback.
Great news! Thats the best way to do it.
We users would sure like to test an alpha or beta version, but the truth is that it only makes our excitement grow a little weaker.
The MediaStream example you gave is perfect. Releasing a finished skin is the way to go (even if it takes a little longer).
I will hate myself for saying this, but I'm glad you won't release any alpha or beta (even tough I would not be able to control myself if you did :D )
skunkm0nkee
2009-02-06, 19:16
The first set of screenshots I posted were all concerned with video related media so I thought it was about time I posted something music related.
Here's a very early music view:
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/5404/musicshowcasemc3.png
As for the current status of the skin, it's coming along nicely, although probably slower than I would have liked. The dialogs and media screens are 90% done, although I'm not totally happy with all the dialogs so will probably need to do some tweaking on those.
Once that's done it'll be the fun part where I can put together a decent set of views that can work for all types of media (only 3 views have been properly setup so far).
As for time scales, that's all up in the air at the moment but I wouldn't hold your breath for a release in the next few weeks that's for sure!
Can't wait for this...
To me, this is the ideal skin. Not too much info to mess with, just the necessities on screen. I hate seeing an IMDB plot synopsis of a movie I've seen 20 times on screen that looks to be written by a 2nd grader...and as much as I like Aeon and have used it, I could care less what studio made what movie.
And it shows off fanart! Keep up the good work.
looks amazing. cant wait for the first release :-)
Discaciate
2009-02-07, 01:24
The more I see the more I like.
Keep up the good work.
whats the estimated release date for this..
i love the whole clean aspect. i feel its much better than all of the cluttered big text and menu themes.
have you thought what a default background would look like aswell? eg. if theres no fan art for a particular film.?
skunkm0nkee
2009-02-09, 17:50
whats the estimated release date for this..
i love the whole clean aspect. i feel its much better than all of the cluttered big text and menu themes.
have you thought what a default background would look like aswell? eg. if theres no fan art for a particular film.?
No definite idea of a release date as there's a lot of work still to be done in polishing etc but I would doubt this will be out before March/April.
As for default backgrounds, there aren't any really. I'm trying to keep the xpr as small as possible at the moment and don't really see the need to include background images when people can use their own custom backgrounds and fanart.
There are a whole bunch of properties to allow you setup custom background folders for each of the different areas of the skin (movies, tv shows, music etc) so it's up to you what images you want to use as your defaults. (I may release a suggested set of custom backgrounds but they won't actually come with the skin itself)
skunkm0nkee
2009-02-10, 21:04
Added music view image (from above) to the first post (http://xbmc.org/forum/showpost.php?p=274822&postcount=1) as it should be easier to track from there.
I live what you're doing with this skin.
Yeah, nice job Skunk! My type of skin :)
crash123
2009-02-15, 12:23
Looks great! I'm quite excited :laugh:
I love the music view, can you make a video view more like it? I like when all the views have a similar layout, kinda ties it all together...
skunkm0nkee
2009-02-23, 15:56
The way I'm currently designing it is that pretty much all views will be available for all types of media (where possible). At the moment I've setup 3 different view types and these can be used on all media and that is what I hope to do with the rest of the views too.
Work has slowed somewhat in the last few weeks (other priorities atm I'm afraid) but hopefully I'll get on it again soon and get something ready for release sooner rather than later.
bionic1234
2009-02-23, 16:15
Very cool, really like the simplicity of the home page view
jmadonald
2009-02-23, 21:16
can't wait for this skin!
manturafs
2009-02-27, 21:55
wow, loooks great!
umm.. no updates? come on, give us some release infos ;-)
skunkm0nkee
2009-03-13, 06:21
I'm on holiday in Singapore this week but when I get back (next week) I'll put up some new screenshots and give more details on expected release schedules etc
paularms
2009-03-15, 21:18
I'm on holiday in Singapore this week but when I get back (next week) I'll put up some new screenshots and give more details on expected release schedules etc
Thanks for the update. I'm really looking forward to a new simple skin that actually looks beautiful. Have a good holiday break!
skunkm0nkee
2009-03-19, 18:02
As promised I'm in the process of taking stock on the skin's development and attempting to give an update on what the release schedule will be.
Development is coming along quite nicely (just wish I had more time to spend on it really!) and the skin is almost feature complete (all dialogs and windows should now be skinned) so I now just(!) need to spend some more time testing and polishing the existing stuff as well as taking the time to create some more views.
Creating the views is the toughest bit really as I'm trying to keep all UI stuff pretty minimal (hence the skin's name!) so coming up with ideas for views that don't take up a lot of screen estate is a challenge! (Especially as I'd like to create some views that are a bit different to most other skins to give it some uniqueness)
As for schedules, I'm hoping to get an initial release out during mid to late April. The initial release will hopefully be very nearly the final release but I know that I'll need feedback from a wider group of users to confirm this and will no doubt have a few changes to make before the skin can be considered properly released.
In the meantime, here's a couple more screenshots. They're slightly out of date as there's been quite a few changes since these were made but they should still give you a flavour of what you can expect next month.
List view (TV Shows):
http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/8103/listtvshows.png
Video scan dialog:
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/8728/videoscan.png
Keep up the good work! i'm really looking forward to experiencing this skin.
Discaciate
2009-03-19, 21:22
Mediastream is still one of my all time favorite skins.
And this one looks like its taking everything MediaStream has that I love and making it even better.
Superb work.
lompelurt
2009-03-30, 16:49
Really looking forward to this skin. It looks just like they way I want my media center to look like. Hope it's still on for a April release :grin:
skunkm0nkee
2009-03-31, 18:05
Yep, I'm still aiming for an end of April release. A lot of it is coded (if not fully tested) and I'm working through ideas for possible views at the moment so it's coming along
Hate to be that guy who makes requests, but a scrolling list for movies that goes top to bottom of the screen on the far left would be ideal! Similar to the PM3HD fanart view, and the early stages of "serenity" skin.
Thanks for all the work, we appreciate it.
Yep, I'm still aiming for an end of April release. A lot of it is coded (if not fully tested) and I'm working through ideas for possible views at the moment so it's coming along
Please skunkm0nkee, don't forget a "wall stream" view in videos :D
skunkm0nkee
2009-04-16, 11:55
Since the skin is all about being minimal so that the fanart/custom backgrounds can show themselves I seriously doubt there will be a wall view.
Coding of the new views has been slow (mostly due to the fact I've been away from home so often recently) but I've no more holiday plans for the next few weeks so things should start moving a lot quicker again.
Am also trying to push the development along by posting updates on twitter, http://twitter.com/skunkm0nkee. My thinking is that if I want to post stuff on twitter then I need something to post so that will make me work quicker! ???
This skin looks like a fantastic alternative to Focus. Lightweight thus XBOX friendly (I suppose?) I'm looking forward to the release!
Will it support PAL16x9?
skunkm0nkee
2009-04-16, 12:09
Will it support PAL16x9?
It's being developed with 720p in mind but I'll be testing it on 16x9 before release.
Great. If needed I can help testing. I'm not a skinner, but I can ajust font sizes for a pal tv.
Looking forward to this skin too, especially on the xbox ;)
If you need some testing i'll be glad to help on the xbox, windows and ubuntu.
skunkm0nkee
2009-04-20, 19:23
Things are moving along quite nicely at the moment (that's probably a cue for another workload to come my way and spoil it!)
I'm still working my way through the new view ideas. I've coded 4 of them in basic form so just need to polish them up a bit, add animation and make sure they all work consistently.
The first of these 4 is now almost completed so I thought it would be a good time to post a screenshot.
Waterfall view:
http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/8199/waterfall2.png
Still hoping to release this skin sometime in the next few weeks.
WOW, looking very nice :grin:
skunkm0nkee
2009-04-22, 19:10
Making progress on the views, not quite as quickly as I would like but since I don't really have much time at the moment there's not too much I can do.
Have made some changes and added a bit of polish (animations etc) to another new view and this one is called Exhibit. It was originally designed for Photo's (the central poster will not be shown for pictures as the full background will be taken up but the focused photo) but seems to work quite well as a large poster view (but still keeps a lot of the background visible).
http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/2223/exhibitview02.png
Next up is the Exposure view, this is one I'm not too sure about as I don't really know how it will work once the animation code is done (it could look brilliant or it could just be messy and confusing) but I'll give it a try anyway.
That's really awesome work. Keep going - I'm hanging for it.
skunkm0nkee
2009-04-23, 17:24
Been playing about with another view currently called Exposure, although the name is likely to change (if the view survives the cut). I like the look of it when it's static but the coding of the animations is proving to be a bit troublesome (to say the least!)
The idea behind it is that it will look something like the following:
http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/3790/viewexposure02.png
This screenshot is missing all the info details, nice touches etc but it does shows the positioning of the thumbs which is what I'm having the problems with.
It's actually a wraplist for the central row and the background rows are shown by using image controls and ListItem(x).Thumb info (along with some conditional slide anims to make sure the background thumbs stay the same even when you navigate left/right in the central row).
The real problem I have is that I want to have a nice animation when the user moves up/down but to do that I think I need to have some sort of Container.OnNextRow/Container.OnPreviousRow type info. Obviously that is not going to happen whilst XBMC is in feature freeze so can anyone think of another way of acheiving the same effect?
I quite like the idea behind this view and the way it could look so it would be a shame if I had to can it.
Wow, the Exposure view looks amazing. Good luck with the coding. Looking at your work, I instantly have a feeling of familiarity. It has the same feel as Mediastream while being completely different. I wish you the best of luck with the Exposure view and the skin.
skunkm0nkee
2009-04-28, 19:29
Thanks! I've been really busy with work the last few days so haven't really been able to spend much time on it.
The last time I did look at it the Exposure view was in serious danger of being canned as I don't think it's viable with the current skinning engine. Still it might happen in the future so at least it's out there as an idea now.
There's a Low List view (simple list view which takes up a small slice of lower part of the screen) that I'm trying to polish up and finish at the moment. Then I'll need to do some spot checks before releasing this puppy out in the wild. (Assuming I can get JustMeD to do some changes to the fonts, as they are missing quite a few characters)
not too sure what I can offer to this particular project, but if there is anything you might need, I would be glad to lend a hand. I just got my brand new shiny copy of photoshop CS4, so I'm ready to test that sucker out. No more Gimp for me! I digress. As I said, if i can help you in any way, it would be a pleasure.
I just got my brand new shiny copy of photoshop CS4,
oh my god .. so slowww !
lompelurt
2009-04-29, 03:03
Is the low list view anything like this.
http://i37.tinypic.com/2h3df9l.png
It's a mockup I found in Minimalko mod tread. It's a shame it didn't got made,
because I loved it :grin:
skunkm0nkee
2009-04-29, 11:05
I had forgotten about that one but I must have taken it in subconsciously because it does share similarities! Will post a screenshot soon
lompelurt
2009-04-29, 14:43
Great news :grin:
Looking forward to see the screenshoot.
skunkm0nkee
2009-04-29, 19:02
Been playing about with the low list view today and thought it was about time I posted a screenshot.
It's still a bit work in progress as I'm not totally sure on the positioning and sizing of the various elements but this will give you an idea of where I'm at with it.
Low List (movies):
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/8871/lowlist03.png
Low List (tv shows):
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/4246/lowlist02.png
It's looking good though not so keen on the font but i do like the low list view
And it does have the mediastream look to it, will you have a choice of font styles etc like you did with mediastream?
paularms
2009-04-29, 21:38
It's looking good though not so keen on the font but i do like the low list view
And it does have the mediastream look to it, will you have a choice of font styles etc like you did with mediastream?
I agree with paul's feelings on the font(s?). They definitely have too much of that "comic sans" feeling to them.
minimalko
2009-04-29, 22:14
Is the low list view anything like this.
It's a mockup I found in Minimalko mod tread. It's a shame it didn't got made,
because I loved it :grin:
This actually is working screenshot, not just a mockup. I had this view working. Never released it however.
I agree with paul's feelings on the font(s?). They definitely have too much of that "comic sans" feeling to them.
I was thinking the same, I would have go with a more... serious, minimalistic font (helvetica? avantgarde?)
I think the movie poster could be smaller to show more of the fanart unless there's a way to hide it.
A thin, more stylish font would do a better job, that one is too cartoonish.
I love the idea behind this as well. The font looks very comic like. I prefer the clean, sleek look. Would there be an option for posters for tv that would look like the movie posters. I personally prefer the posters over wide banners. But once again, that's just my preference. I truly love the concept. Very minimal while still giving you all the information. Love it.
Glad I'm not the only one who thinks the font is spoiling the overall look of the skin.
No offence intended Skunkmonkee. just throwing in my humble oppinion but as i said before if theres a choice of font styles then problemo keeps all happy:)
skunkm0nkee
2009-04-30, 10:06
I love the idea behind this as well. The font looks very comic like. I prefer the clean, sleek look. Would there be an option for posters for tv that would look like the movie posters. I personally prefer the posters over wide banners. But once again, that's just my preference. I truly love the concept. Very minimal while still giving you all the information. Love it.
At the moment there are no plans for other fonts as I wanted a different look with the font since most other skins seems to have very staid and boring fonts. Perhaps I'll change my mind in time but at the moment the planned release will only include the one set of fonts.
I've considered those that use portrait/poster images for their TV shows and that's an option I built in early on in the skin development.
In tv show view, the tv show banner seems too small and a lot of space is empty after the tv show name, maybe tv shows could be pushed more to the side to give space for a bigger banner.
skunkm0nkee
2009-04-30, 11:43
I think the movie poster could be smaller to show more of the fanart unless there's a way to hide it.
I haven't added that option to the code yet but it is an option I'm considering.
In tv show view, the tv show banner seems too small and a lot of space is empty after the tv show name, maybe tv shows could be pushed more to the side to give space for a bigger banner.
Yep, valid point will do some testing and see how it works (there are long show names like CSI... and I have to cope with foreign show names which could be longer too)
XBMCG33K
2009-04-30, 17:11
I don't know but i have to say man i really like it.
Glad I'm not the only one who thinks the font is spoiling the overall look of the skin.
No offence intended Skunkmonkee. just throwing in my humble oppinion but as i said before if theres a choice of font styles then problemo keeps all happy:)
I agree that options are great and we'll keep more people happy with your skin, but I don't feel that the font is spoiling the skin. Actually the more I look at the screen shots, the more I like the font. Just my two cents.
I'll throw in my two cents about the font as well. For lack of a better word, and no offense here, but i think it looks silly.
To me, it makes the movie/TV show look silly. Imagine "The Godfather" written in that font, or "Schindler's List". It takes out the seriousness of it.
But what do I know, I'm only an end user and don't know the first thing about skinning.
skunkm0nkee
2009-05-06, 00:35
Yep.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion but at the end of the day a skin doesn't have to be 'serious' as some seem to think. Variety is the spice of life and all that.
Watching movies and tv shows, listening to music and other media centre functions are supposed to be fun, are they not?
davegregoire
2009-05-06, 02:46
I am with keeganl. At first, I too thought it looked kinda of out of place and silly but the more I look at it the more I like it. Something different like skunkm0nkee says is always nice.
Please post some screenshot of the new features (studio flag's, etc...)
:)
skunkm0nkee
2009-05-09, 10:52
Will hopefully get a chance to post some screenshots tomorrow (things are really hectic at the moment).
I'm posting small updates every now and again on twitter and will aim to post to the forums soon as I've made quite a bit of progress over the last week or so.
Great. I would love to see how the tv show view turned out.
skunkm0nkee
2009-05-10, 19:14
As promised, here's an update on the skin development as I'm getting closer to being able to release it (some time in the next week or so I hope). I'm currently going through and testing/tweaking various parts of the skin, trying to make sure that the skin is in a releasable state.
One of the more obvious recent changes has been the inclusion of studio and ratings flags for movies. Currently I'm not planning on doing video/audio format flags until the relevant information is in the video database. (I don't really want to have to rename my files to achieve it atm, and don't really want to force others to do it either).
High List view (Movies):
http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/9616/highlistmovies.png
List view (Movies):
http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/2527/listmovies.png
I've also updated the tv area to include ratings flags (TVDB scraper now fetches them) and have also added code for network flags as I hope that will soon be scraped for TV shows too.
The following is a screenshot of the list view, showing what the Low List view would look like for TV shows once the network field is scraped.
Low List view (TV Shows):
http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/2149/lowlisttv.png
I've also added an option to use the Arial font. It doesn't look all that great but will make the skin look a bit more 'serious' and also will help foreign language users.
Time permitting, I hope to carry on polishing and fixing any bugs over the next few days and will look to release the skin towards the end of the week. I'll also try and post a few more screenshots during the week to try and whet people's appetite before the release. :;):
XBMCG33K
2009-05-10, 23:05
Spectacular man very nice skin IMO.
skunkm0nkee
2009-05-10, 23:29
Thanks! :grin:
FourTwentySmilz
2009-05-11, 00:11
I love the font you chose to use for the Movie titles. What's it named? Looks like Comic Sans.
skunkm0nkee
2009-05-11, 00:47
It's not Comic Sans although it is similar. I can't remember what it is called as I've made quite a few changes to it since I originally found it.
XBMCG33K
2009-05-11, 03:45
Thanks! :grin:
Payment where payment is due my friend keep it up.
Great work!
Can you post a actual home screenshot? and a episode view?
I didn't find any watched/unwatched icons, can you post some of that too?
skunkm0nkee
2009-05-11, 14:20
No probs, I'll be posting more screenshots throughout this week and will make sure I include those.
davegregoire
2009-05-11, 19:44
In the movies section, are you displaying the resolution media flag? All of my videos are contain the the res in the NFO so aeon can pick it up and I really really like the way this skin is going. Is there going to be support for that?
skunkm0nkee
2009-05-11, 20:49
In the movies section, are you displaying the resolution media flag? All of my videos are contain the the res in the NFO so aeon can pick it up and I really really like the way this skin is going. Is there going to be support for that?
Not at the moment -
One of the more obvious recent changes has been the inclusion of studio and ratings flags for movies. Currently I'm not planning on doing video/audio format flags until the relevant information is in the video database. (I don't really want to have to rename my files to achieve it atm, and don't really want to force others to do it either).
davegregoire
2009-05-11, 21:06
Thanks man. Sorry I missed it earlier.
Hi skunkmonkee are you planning on putting a filemanager into this fine looking skin?
As the new trend seems to be not to put them into skins any more (not saying which skins)
What's your view on this?
Great looking screenshots.
Its good to see a truly minimalistic skin. It's awesome that you've kept function over form as #1 priority - and this includes your stance on external flagging & nfos. I tried to do it but I had to put it all in the too hard basket.
Keep up the good work.
Hi skunkm0nkee
I am very very excited over the new skin. It looks like youv'e covered all i ever wanted from a skin :).
Just to make sure there is no anti-climax like with Aeon..will it be able to run on 4:3? I really really hope you haven't forgotten about us "normal" guys (uni students with no money ;))..:nod: that are still stuck with old TV's
Thx
Zeltak
skunkm0nkee
2009-05-12, 09:49
Hi skunkmonkee are you planning on putting a filemanager into this fine looking skin?
As the new trend seems to be not to put them into skins any more (not saying which skins)
What's your view on this?
Yep, file manager is coded. I coded it quite a while back, and never actually use it myself, so I'll have to have another look at it to make sure I actually finished it but it should be in there.
Just to make sure there is no anti-climax like with Aeon..will it be able to run on 4:3? I really really hope you haven't forgotten about us "normal" guys (uni students with no money ;))..:nod: that are still stuck with old TV's
At the moment I haven't tested it on 4:3 as I don't have a 4:3 TV anymore (I had one when I adapted MediaStream) so it's unlikely to happen but I can't completely rule it out. Will just have to see ho wthe demand goes and whether or not I can find the time.
Yep, file manager is coded. I coded it quite a while back, and never actually use it myself, so I'll have to have another look at it to make sure I actually finished it but it should be in there.
At the moment I haven't tested it on 4:3 as I don't have a 4:3 TV anymore (I had one when I adapted MediaStream) so it's unlikely to happen but I can't completely rule it out. Will just have to see ho wthe demand goes and whether or not I can find the time.
Great news skunkmonkee will have to give it a try seeing as your including everything i need in a skin!:)
skunkm0nkee
2009-05-13, 00:51
Sorry, things have been a bit manic at work and at home so haven't had a chance to post any screenshots until now.
First up is the Home screen with the Music item selected and the sub-menu activated.
http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/8546/homemusic.png
The skin itself contains no real background images (other than a white noise background which is shown when no other background is available). That means that all the backgrounds will come from fanart or custom backgrounds that you want to use.
I plan to offer some download links to sets of background images that I'm currently using with the skin. This will be good to get most people started but if you already have your own backgrounds (for skins like Aeon etc) then you'll be good to go.
skunkm0nkee
2009-05-13, 00:57
Next up illustrates how the default list view works for TV show episodes.
http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/7613/listtv.png
Unfortunately the machine I picked these screenshots from has data from an out of date scraper which doesn't have the ratings for the TV shows. The blank section above the First Aired date should contain the rating logo (and hopefully in the future the TV network logo too) so try and imagine it yourself for now! (Before I release the skin I will be updating the code so that area will be filled with the Genre if there is no rating or studio data)
The above screenshot if the out of the box version of the List view but there are options to hide the thumb image (in the top right of the screen) and also to show the plot. The screenshot below illustrates the view with the Show Plot option enabled.
http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/8469/listtvinfo.png
skunkm0nkee
2009-05-13, 01:02
Finally (for now), here is a screenshot of the Low List view for TV show episodes (as before you'll need to imagine the rating/logo images!)
http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/2149/lowlisttv.png
I'll hopefully have a bit more spare time tomorrow and will post further screenshots. If you have anything specific you'd like to see, let me know and I'll see what I can do.
The release of the skin is still planned for sometime before the end of the week (Sunday at the latest).
cant wait to see this skin in action.
will it works well on xbox?
The release of the skin is still planned for sometime before the end of the week (Sunday at the latest).
Awesome!
Did the exposure view make the cut for movies?
If you have anything specific you'd like to see, let me know and I'll see what I can do.
I'd really love to see the OSD if you have the time.
I love your low list tv view i did not think that would look any where near as good as that.
Keep up the great work your doing.
FernFerret
2009-05-13, 05:58
Looks cool, I'll definitely give this one a try!
Great work!
--FF
skunkm0nkee
2009-05-13, 10:20
will it works well on xbox?
Yep, it should do. I've been using it on my xbox at home since January without a problem. There shouldn't be any major memory problems as the skin is pretty minimal and there aren't many large textures in the xpr at all.
Did the exposure view make the cut for movies?
Nope Exposure view has been culled, for now, until I can figure out a way to get it to animate properly.
I'd really love to see the OSD if you have the time.
Will see what I can do.
skunkm0nkee
2009-05-13, 15:28
Here is the default Video OSD (all the images in this post are showing the OSD whilst playing a TV episode):
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/4586/videoosd.png
...and then with the option to Show Plot in the Video OSD enabled:
http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/4597/videoosdinfo.png
...and again with the option to display a minimal Video OSD enabled:
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/6493/videoosdmini.png
skunkm0nkee
2009-05-13, 15:37
Will attempt to post screenshots of the Settings screen, a screen with the Music Now Playing UI visible and possibly a screen showing the Options Menu.
Yep, it should do. I've been using it on my xbox at home since January without a problem. There shouldn't be any major memory problems as the skin is pretty minimal and there aren't many large textures in the xpr at all.
Can you post some screens of minimeedia running on the xbox with debug logging enabled?
I'm really curious about the memory usage :nod:
skunkm0nkee
2009-05-13, 18:46
You'll have to wait until it's released for that kind of thing I'm afraid as the machine I run and test (where I code and create the screenshots) is a PC and nowhere near my xbox.
skunkm0nkee
2009-05-13, 18:53
As promised, here's the Settings screen, showing some of the custom skin settings.
http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/4876/settingsskin.png
skunkm0nkee
2009-05-13, 21:26
The music now playing UI is visible on pretty much every screen and looks like the following (on Home screen):
http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/6416/homemusicplaying.png
and when you activate the player controls it looks like the following:
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/9239/homemusicplayingcontrol.png
If you don't want to see it (or want to temporarily hide it) then press left/down, depending on the screen/view your are currently in.
Looks good the player controls and i am even getting used to those font's they do somehow fit in with the look and feel of the skin. i feel this is going to be a bigger hit than mediastream and i would imagine it should run well on xbox since i can't see any over large textures in it. nice work..:)
skunkm0nkee
2009-05-14, 00:43
Looks good the player controls and i am even getting used to those font's they do somehow fit in with the look and feel of the skin. i feel this is going to be a bigger hit than mediastream and i would imagine it should run well on xbox since i can't see any over large textures in it. nice work..:)
Thanks :grin:
skunkm0nkee
2009-05-14, 00:57
Another screenshot for you and it's the turn of the High List view this time, in particular for TV Shows. This image contains the rating and network logos I missed off with the images yesterday. Rating logos will be in the release in the next few days but network logos will hopefully be added in the near future.
http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/315/highlisttv.png
The unused space in the bottom right should be filled by release or shortly after.
skunkm0nkee
2009-05-14, 00:59
...and here is the Low List view again but this time with the proper logo images:
http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/2149/lowlisttv.png
skunkm0nkee
2009-05-14, 01:06
Last one for today and it's the video info dialog for TV Shows this time:
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/4525/videoinfotv.png
The blue arrow in the bottom right is to show pushing down will display further info on the dialog (like file size and location etc).
The blue arrows are a usability feature such that they are used throughout the skin to try prompt the user and show them what is available at certain times.
Last one for today and it's the video info dialog for TV Shows this time:
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/4525/videoinfotv.png
The blue arrow in the bottom right is to show pushing down will display further info on the dialog (like file size and location etc).
The blue arrows are a usability feature such that they are used throughout the skin to try prompt the user and show them what is available at certain times.
Strange but after looking at those screenshots again i now prefer the high list view as i like to see the plot info and you have a nice balance and it manages not to hide the fanart.
Really nice it also means i can go back to wide thumbs again:)
Thanks for taking the time to post those skunkmonkee. The OSD looks great...No wasted room on buttons for those with remotes.
TV show listings look tops.
I love that music background. Can you include it in your fanart pack or tell us where you found it?
I can tell this is going to look awesome on my TV.
lompelurt
2009-05-14, 04:07
This skin just keeps looking better and better. Can't wait for it to be realeased!!
skunkm0nkee
2009-05-15, 11:31
Sorry, work kicked in with a vengeance yesterday (and will take up a lot of time today too) so didn't get a chance to do much since Wednesday night. Will aim to post more screenshots later today/tomorrow and then get it ready for release on Sunday/Monday.
Thanks for taking the time to post those skunkmonkee. The OSD looks great...No wasted room on buttons for those with remotes.
TV show listings look tops.
Thanks, the buttons for the video OSD are similar to the ones in the Music Now Playing (see above) but only appear when needed.
I love that music background. Can you include it in your fanart pack or tell us where you found it?
I had planned to have the backgrounds ready for download already but (as seems to be the way with everything at the moment) it's had to take a backseat to work and training. That background will be available in the downloads though rest assured.
This skin just keeps looking better and better. Can't wait for it to be realeased!!
Thanks, neither can I! :;):
Take your time skunkmonkee we aint going nowhere.
if ya ain't got the time coz of work then no sweat we will just wait a little longer as i have said before great things come to those who wait:) so have a good rest and a few beers or whatever floats ya boat:laugh:
skunkm0nkee
2009-05-15, 16:00
Thanks. I've got a few other projects kicking on my door at the moment so want to get this one out there though so I can start on some of the others.
Plus the fact that I know it's not fully polished and bug/error free as I've done pretty much all the coding and testing myself so other users are bound to find things I haven't. So once it out there there's going to be a fair bit of updating and bug fixing for the next few weeks or so.
Sranshaft
2009-05-15, 20:20
Thanks for taking the time to post those skunkmonkee. The OSD looks great...No wasted room on buttons for those with remotes.
TV show listings look tops.
I love that music background. Can you include it in your fanart pack or tell us where you found it?
I can tell this is going to look awesome on my TV.
You can find the violin wallpaper over at Vladstudio.com. He has many more great wallpapers available as well. :D
Thanks. I've got a few other projects kicking on my door at the moment so want to get this one out there though so I can start on some of the others.
Plus the fact that I know it's not fully polished and bug/error free as I've done pretty much all the coding and testing myself so other users are bound to find things I haven't. So once it out there there's going to be a fair bit of updating and bug fixing for the next few weeks or so.
If it's anything like your mediastream then i can't imagine there being any major problems
if any i have every confidence in your skills as a skinner:nod:
Is it going to be released today?
Thanks. I've got a few other projects kicking on my door at the moment so want to get this one out there though so I can start on some of the others.
Sounds good Skunkm0nkee, are any of these projects going to be reveiled soon?
skunkm0nkee
2009-05-17, 20:50
Is it going to be released today?
It's looking unlikely. Just back from a 100km training ride on the bicycle but if I have the energy later on this evening I might try and get it out there.
Sounds good Skunkm0nkee, are any of these projects going to be reveiled soon?
Not anytime soon, one of them is xbmc related but it's not the next priority as I've got some stuff I want to do on the iPhone next.
However I do plan on revisiting and sorting out a few issues with MediaStream in the very near future as well as fixing any issues that arise once MiniMeedia is released so I've got my work cut out to find the necessary time (as usual!)
skunkm0nkee
2009-05-18, 16:03
Woohoo! It's released - MiniMeedia Release thread (http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?p=338014)
Hopefully there will soon be a MiniMeedia section in the Skin Support area.
The fun begins now! :;):