MiniMeedia v0.86 Released (01/06/2009)

[skunkm0nkee]

Thanks again to everyone for all the feedback over the last few days and all the help in tracking down bugs and issues. I've managed to deal with most of them (I think) and have also made a few improvements and tweaks which will hopefully add to the skin.

The main changes are as follows:

Added: Initial version of shutdown timer (with options at 15 minute intervals)
Added: Support for genre poster packs within List, Low List and High List views
Added: Title information to the Minimal Video OSD
Added: Option to Hide Weather Fanart
Added: Displaying of Star Rating image to the info on the Music Vis (to make it easier to adjust rating)
Added: Larger version of Arial font
Added: 31 more studio logos
Added: Credits in skin.xml for all those who have helped out with translations
Added: Italian translation (thanks to ZIOLele)
Added: German translation (thanks to Haggy)


Updated: Tidied up the displaying of backgrounds for video and music playlists
Updated: Tidied up Kai Toast dialog (used for shutdown timer messages etc)
Updated: Tidied up Video OSD to work better when using larger fonts
Updated: Widened the list area for the High List view when looking at TV Episodes
Updated: Duplicated the 'Watch your' strings so that they are easier to translate
Updated: System Info screen now shows more platform specific info
Updated: Tidied up displaying of thumbs in File Browser
Updated: Portuguese translation (thanks to xbs08)


Fixed: Displaying of 9 key in numeric dialog
Fixed: Navigating to/from scrollbar in Select dialog
Fixed: Navigation to/from the Tracks/Members lists in the Artist/Album info dialogs
Fixed: Info displayed in list views when viewing pictures

New Shutdown Timer:
http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/8954/shutdowntimer.png

New Minimal Video OSD for TV Episode:
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/6493/videoosdmini.png

Use Recent Version of XBMC
In order to get the best out of this release you need to be using a version of XBMC built in the in the last week or so (since the changes to XBMC to allow background loading of multiimages). A new version of t3ch was released for xbox on 21st May, any earlier t3ch builds will not work with the skin.

If you do decide to use it without an up to date version of XBMC then you'll probably find that none of the backgrounds appear. You have been warned. :shocked:

If you really have to run an old version (or you run PLEX which doesn't support the newer features that XBMC does) then have a look at this thread - Temporary Fixes for Older XBMC Builds (http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=51904)

Genre Poster Packs
In this version I've added support for Genre Poster Packs (such as the one in this thread - Movie Genre Posters (http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=45361)). To take advantage of this feature please see this thread - MiniMeedia and Genre Poster Packs (http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=51900)

Feedback
If you do find any problems or have any suggestions on improvements to the skin please describe them as fully as possible and give screenshots where possible.

Have fun and enjoy!

-------------------

Skin download link - MiniMeedia v0.86 (http://www.mediafire.com/?ynymgcmnmfe)

Background Images
The skin itself does not contain any real background images since most users will already have a set of background images that they like (for MediaStream and Aeon skins etc) and I assume most users will be using fanart for the Movies and TV Shows anyway.

I have a nice set of custom background images that I use and aim to provide download links so that users can use these if they want.

Background download links -
Movies - Movies Backgrounds 1 (http://www.mediafire.com/?gjmyyz3yyfn) Movies Backgrounds 2 (http://www.mediafire.com/?jng3gklzmiw)
TV Shows - TV Show Backgrounds (http://www.mediafire.com/?zwnge0yy5em)
Videos - Videos Backgrounds (http://www.mediafire.com/?fzummdjznwi)
Music - Music Backgrounds (http://www.mediafire.com/?lngtqzzjzt1)
Pictures - Pictures Backgrounds (http://www.mediafire.com/?nmhmwhnyuon)
System - System Backgrounds (http://www.mediafire.com/?mj2zimf2win)
Power - Power Backgrounds (http://www.mediafire.com/?gwqm0yqyt4e)
DVD - DVD Backgrounds (http://www.mediafire.com/?ymmt5n25zom)

The skin is setup to work with Weather Fanart (the weather background should match the current weather conditions) and to get this working properly I recommend downloading timdog's Weather Fanart pack (http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=41650)

[Waffa]

Thanks, Moviegenres works great !!!

[skunkm0nkee]

Excellent, glad you like it :nod:

[Radikaltimes]

Great work .. once again

thank you

[feerlessleadr]

something I noticed last night on .81 (am still at work so I can't check the new version) but when I went to browse movies by year, a blank screen showed up, whereas I was able to browse by year using MediaStream.

Also, is there a way to update the skin, without losing my skin settings, such as where the background images are coming from? Are those settings stored in the skin, or are they stored in the general XBMC settings?

Thanks so much

[skunkm0nkee]

something I noticed last night on .81 (am still at work so I can't check the new version) but when I went to browse movies by year, a blank screen showed up, whereas I was able to browse by year using MediaStream.

I haven't tested it but I did do some changes to the backgrounds code for videos so hopefully it works better now.

Also, is there a way to update the skin, without losing my skin settings, such as where the background images are coming from? Are those settings stored in the skin, or are they stored in the general XBMC settings?

Thanks so much
All those settings are stored in your userdata folder so deleting the skin/MiniMeedia folder and replacing it with the new one won't affect those at all. TBH you can just copy the new one over the top of the old one anyway.

[feerlessleadr]

I haven't tested it but I did do some changes to the backgrounds code for videos so hopefully it works better now.

All those settings are stored in your userdata folder so deleting the skin/MiniMeedia folder and replacing it with the new one won't affect those at all. Tbh you can just copy the new one over the top of the old one anyway.

beautiful...thanks so much for your help

[Waffa]

Some pictures for in the gallery.(Genre thumbs)

http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/7406/screenshot004vkd.jpg

http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/1482/screenshot009s.jpg

http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/3919/screenshot014h.jpg

[xbs08]

Great release, thank you!

[ezechiel1917]

Thanks for this lovely skin, have been always fan of MediaStream, and minimalistic version of it is just perfect.

Anyway, how can I add custom studio logos? I'm particulary looking for The CW, The WB studios for TV-Shows, can they be included in some future build? Thanks very much.

[skunkm0nkee]

Thanks for this lovely skin, have been always fan of MediaStream, and minimalistic version of it is just perfect.

Anyway, how can I add custom studio logos? I'm particulary looking for The CW, The WB studios for TV-Shows, can they be included in some future build? Thanks very much.
I've got a few more studio and network logos to add for the next release so hopefully those are included.

Do you have links to images of those logos? If so then they'll almost certainly be included in the next release

[ezechiel1917]

Unfortunately I don't know studio/network logo picture resolution/size rules neither do i know how to extract .xpr file.

original logos:
The CW logo here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_CW.svg
The WB: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikinews/en/2/2e/TheWB...logo.gif

[xbs08]

After playing around with this release i found a few things (mostly profile related):

Pressing right to access the profiles menu doesn't work you have to press enter.
http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/9002/screenshot002brv.th.jpg (http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/9002/screenshot002brv.jpg)

Activate "Login screen" does seem to work (had to go to PM3.HD to activate this).
http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/9002/screenshot002brv.th.jpg (http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/9002/screenshot002brv.jpg)

The shutdown timer moves to the log off icon when there's more than one profile.
http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/4356/screenshot004gce.th.jpg (http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/4356/screenshot004gce.jpg)

Some characters dont show when highlighted, works fine on the PC but not on the XBox. (all other previous releases have this bug)
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/9121/screenshot000u.th.jpg (http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/9121/screenshot000u.jpg)

http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/5686/screenshot001cle.th.jpg (http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/5686/screenshot001cle.jpg)

Other minor stuff:
In system info fan speed has an extra ":" and there are some other labels missing the ":"

I also suggest that the "restart" in power menu should be changed to "restart xbmc" like in the shutdown menu.

Thanks again skunkm0nkee for this amazing skin :nod:

[skunkm0nkee]

Unfortunately I don't know studio/network logo picture resolution/size rules neither do i know how to extract .xpr file.

original logos:
The CW logo here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_CW.svg
The WB: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikinews/en/2/2e/TheWB...logo.gif
Done, those have been added for the next release.

Thanks :grin:

[skunkm0nkee]

After playing around with this release i found a few things (mostly profile related)
Thanks for the feedback xbs08 :grin:

I'll have a look into each of these shortly and hopefully have them fixed for the next release.

[ezechiel1917]

Done, those have been added for the next release.

Thanks :grin:

Awesome, thanks! :cool:

[skunkm0nkee]

After playing around with this release i found a few things (mostly profile related):

Pressing right to access the profiles menu doesn't work you have to press enter.
http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/9002/screenshot002brv.th.jpg (http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/9002/screenshot002brv.jpg)
I've tidied up the navigation for this. (You can't press right but at least the arrow doesn't make you think you can)


Activate "Login screen" does seem to work (had to go to PM3.HD to activate this).
http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/9002/screenshot002brv.th.jpg (http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/9002/screenshot002brv.jpg)
Oops! I had it in the wrong place. It's now moved back up a screen to sit beside the Profiles menu.


The shutdown timer moves to the log off icon when there's more than one profile.
http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/4356/screenshot004gce.th.jpg (http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/4356/screenshot004gce.jpg)
Fixed for next release.


Some characters dont show when highlighted, works fine on the PC but not on the XBox. (all other previous releases have this bug)
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/9121/screenshot000u.th.jpg (http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/9121/screenshot000u.jpg)

http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/5686/screenshot001cle.th.jpg (http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/5686/screenshot001cle.jpg)

No idea why that might be as it should be the same font and same code on both?


Other minor stuff:
In system info fan speed has an extra ":" and there are some other labels missing the ":"

The way the system info screen now works it picks up ALL the labels, captions and values from XBMC itself (other than the XBMC and MiniMeedia version details at the bottom) so if there are any dodgy ones then it is most likely an XBMC issue. Can you check the same system info in PM3.HD and see if you get the same problems there?



I also suggest that the "restart" in power menu should be changed to "restart xbmc" like in the shutdown menu.

Done.


Thanks again for the excellent feedback, it makes it a pleasure to develop and fix these issues when they are explained so clearly :grin:

[skunkm0nkee]

The way the system info screen now works it picks up ALL the labels, captions and values from XBMC itself (other than the XBMC and MiniMeedia version details at the bottom) so if there are any dodgy ones then it is most likely an XBMC issue. Can you check the same system info in PM3.HD and see if you get the same problems there?

Just had another thought about this - I guess these extra and/or missing colons etc are happening in the Portuguese translation?

JMarshall updated the English XBMC strings.xml a while back to remove a lot of these colons and updated the way the System Info works in accordance with those changes. I guess the Portuguese version of the XBMC strings.xml might not have been updated to match these changes?

[willers.nail]

I love this skin and it works great on the xbox. Hope to see it continually improving and working with the xbox. Thank you guys :;):

[skunkm0nkee]

I love this skin and it works great on the xbox. Hope to see it continually improving and working with the xbox. Thank you guys :;):

You're welcome, hopefully it will! :cool:

[feikenberg]

I love this skin. Thanks again for your great work! I have one question:

I'm using the german translation and "watch your" is not translated anymore.
How can i change that? Has it something to do with the duplication of the 'Watch your' strings?

[vajonam]

If you see the two screen shots

you will see that the folder icon is missing when it is the selected in the poster info view. it is visible when the scroll over to the next poster in either direction.

I have Hide Parent Folder Items Disabled so this should. It seems to have broken between 0.81 and 0.86

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/1333/screenshot000npp.th.png (http://img132.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screenshot000npp.png) http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/1018/screenshot003c.th.png (http://img5.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screenshot003c.png)

Let me know if you can repro it. I upgraded by deleting the dir and unzipping the new MiniMeedia dir in the skins folder.

Thanks

[xbs08]

Just had another thought about this - I guess these extra and/or missing colons etc are happening in the Portuguese translation?

JMarshall updated the English XBMC strings.xml a while back to remove a lot of these colons and updated the way the System Info works in accordance with those changes. I guess the Portuguese version of the XBMC strings.xml might not have been updated to match these changes?

You're right, it's the Portuguese translation :(

[vajonam]

Also do think it will be possible to mark certian Genre's as favorites. So they can show up in the movies submenu?

The reason I ask I have multi-lingual library, for which I use "Genre" to differentiate. As there is no "Language" field in the DB.

So I have different smart playlists and added them to the Submenu by modifying the Home.xml. Is this a feature that can be added at all?


Language one's play list is "select all movies whose Genere = Language1"
Language two's play list is "select all movies whose Genere = Language2"
English Movies' play list is "select all movies whose Genere != Lang1 or Lang2"

Thanks

[xbs08]

I love this skin. Thanks again for your great work! I have one question:

I'm using the german translation and "watch your" is not translated anymore.
How can i change that? Has it something to do with the duplication of the 'Watch your' strings?

Yes, you'll have to go to MiniMedia/Language/Dutch and add them to the strings.xml


<string id="31009"></string> <!-- used for Movies -->
<string id="31010"></string> <!-- used for TV shows -->
<string id="31011">Kijk je</string> <!-- used for Videos -->

[feikenberg]

Thanks, Strings 31010 and 31011 where empty in the German translation. Fixed that now.

[thonton]

thanks for the great skin.
i've found a problem with the OSD playback-buttons in TV-Shows while "Minimal Video OSD" is activated. Because of the Season and Episode Information they overlap.

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/8891/screenshot001ujw.th.jpg (http://img268.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screenshot001ujw.jpg)

[skunkm0nkee]

If you see the two screen shots

you will see that the folder icon is missing when it is the selected in the poster info view. it is visible when the scroll over to the next poster in either direction.

I have Hide Parent Folder Items Disabled so this should. It seems to have broken between 0.81 and 0.86

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/1333/screenshot000npp.th.png (http://img132.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screenshot000npp.png) http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/1018/screenshot003c.th.png (http://img5.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screenshot003c.png)

Let me know if you can repro it. I upgraded by deleting the dir and unzipping the new MiniMeedia dir in the skins folder.

Thanks
Fixed for next release.


Also do think it will be possible to mark certian Genre's as favorites. So they can show up in the movies submenu?

The reason I ask I have multi-lingual library, for which I use "Genre" to differentiate. As there is no "Language" field in the DB.

So I have different smart playlists and added them to the Submenu by modifying the Home.xml. Is this a feature that can be added at all?


Language one's play list is "select all movies whose Genere = Language1"
Language two's play list is "select all movies whose Genere = Language2"
English Movies' play list is "select all movies whose Genere != Lang1 or Lang2"

Thanks
You can already add Genre's as favourites? If you are asking for those favourites to show up in the main menu on home then, no that won't happen. (Not unless you want to get your hands dirty and update the Home.xml code yourself)

You can update your keymap to have a keypress which will bring up the favourites list in any screen though and that should mean you can access your favourite Genre's from any screen.


thanks for the great skin.
i've found a problem with the OSD playback-buttons in TV-Shows while "Minimal Video OSD" is activated. Because of the Season and Episode Information they overlap.

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/8891/screenshot001ujw.th.jpg (http://img268.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screenshot001ujw.jpg)
Damn, forgot about that when I updated the Minimal Video OSD :eek:

Have fixed it for the next release.

[xbs08]

Now that your working on the new showcase view i would like to request some sort of feature that allows fast scrolling, normally showcase views tend to have slow scroll because of the fanart loading times, something like skin Focus fanart view would be great.

Personally i prefer views with several posters visible, like minimeedia poster info view, because they are easier for children that dont know how to read to chose the movie they want to see :D

[vajonam]

You can already add Genre's as favourites? If you are asking for those favourites to show up in the main menu on home then, no that won't happen. (Not unless you want to get your hands dirty and update the Home.xml code yourself)

You can update your keymap to have a keypress which will bring up the favourites list in any screen though and that should mean you can access your favourite Genre's from any screen.



That is what I do, I apply a patch of a diff to Home.xml everytime there is new skin :-). But thats no biggie.

[skunkm0nkee]

Now that your working on the new showcase view i would like to request some sort of feature that allows fast scrolling, normally showcase views tend to have slow scroll because of the fanart loading times, something like skin Focus fanart view would be great.

Personally i prefer views with several posters visible, like minimeedia poster info view, because they are easier for children that dont know how to read to chose the movie they want to see :D

The new background loading of the fanart should mean that there's not really any delay any more when scrolling through?

Do you use a keyboard at all? If so then pressing Shift + [Letter] navigates straight to the first item beginning with that letter. It's very cool :grin:

I'm not planning on adding a scrollbar to the Showcase at this time but once I've finished all the other changes I plan to make then I may come back to it and look at it again just to make sure.

[xbs08]

Shift + [Letter] is a very nice feature but i use remotes only, PC and Xbox, i could use that sms thing on the keymap.xml too but on the xbox i dont know if that would work because of 3.6.9 keys (volume+mute).

I dont know if this is possible but loading the fanart on key release would take care of that delay. Pressing right would advance to next item, releasing the key would load fanart, if right is pressed for a long time it would scroll thru without any delays.

If that isn't possible a scrollbar would be very nice too :D

[xstrikax]

Hey! This is a great skin. I love the fact that there is not much clutter! One question I can get music fanart working under artists view. However they don't seem to work under Album view. Is it the skin? Or is the feature just not available in xbmc?

Thanks!

J.

[thonton]

i have a stylish suggestion. i like the menu video osd of pm3.hd a lot. its clean, its nice.

would something speak against to put the cover to the left side and show it a bit bigger? imho, at the moment the cover is to small to see it while menu is pressed.

to compare, i've made 2 screenshots to show you, what i mean:
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/3253/minimeediaosd.th.jpg (http://img149.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minimeediaosd.jpg)
minimeedia osd

http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/9598/pmhd3osd.th.jpg (http://img149.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pmhd3osd.jpg)
pm3.hd osd

[Waffa]

Hey! This is a great skin. I love the fact that there is not much clutter! One question I can get music fanart working under artists view. However they don't seem to work under Album view. Is it the skin? Or is the feature just not available in xbmc?

Thanks!

J.

http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?p=342135#post342135

[skunkm0nkee]

Hey! This is a great skin. I love the fact that there is not much clutter! One question I can get music fanart working under artists view. However they don't seem to work under Album view. Is it the skin? Or is the feature just not available in xbmc?

Thanks!

J.
That's an XBMC limitation I'm afraid

i have a stylish suggestion. i like the menu video osd of pm3.hd a lot. its clean, its nice.

would something speak against to put the cover to the left side and show it a bit bigger? imho, at the moment the cover is to small to see it while menu is pressed.

to compare, i've made 2 screenshots to show you, what i mean:
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/3253/minimeediaosd.th.jpg (http://img149.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minimeediaosd.jpg)
minimeedia osd

http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/9598/pmhd3osd.th.jpg (http://img149.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pmhd3osd.jpg)
pm3.hd osd
That is something I've considered in the past but I think the current Default Video OSD in MiniMeedia already takes up a bit more of the screen than I would really like, hence the reason why I developed the more minimal version as an option.

The poster at the moment is the full height of the area so the only way to increase it's size would be to allow it to spill over and further cover up the video and that's not something I really want to consider at this point.

Thanks for the suggestion though :nod:

[mcage]

Some issues I found so far with the 86 release:
- Mouse enabled option seems inverted. Disabeling it enables the mouse and the other way around.
- When mouse mode is enabled (disabled in reality), the first time xbmc starts it looses the whole menu. Pressing up or down on remote shows the menu though. This does NOT happen when the mouse mode is there.

When going to the settings menu and the up following submenu (for example settings -> Screen settings -> next menu, it looks like it uses a fixed font rather then your selected font for the menu!!

A wish: A dedicated photo view. Right now the different listing views are not very usuable when in photo mode.

Other then that: great!

[skunkm0nkee]

Some issues I found so far with the 86 release:
- Mouse enabled option seems inverted. Disabeling it enables the mouse and the other way around.
- When mouse mode is enabled (disabled in reality), the first time xbmc starts it looses the whole menu. Pressing up or down on remote shows the menu though. This does NOT happen when the mouse mode is there.
Skin isn't designed for mouse at all. The menu probably disappears as it thinks the menu has lost focus? I never use the mouse for control as I use the keyboard or a remote and wouldn't recommend trying to use the skin with a mouse.

When going to the settings menu and the up following submenu (for example settings -> Screen settings -> next menu, it looks like it uses a fixed font rather then your selected font for the menu!!
I think you are referring to the far right menu which doesn't have the little blue text above each item? That is because of the way that part of XBMC works, the controls (and the types of controls) are hard coded into the screen so I can't get it to work the same as the other menus. I wasn't able to figure out a way to 'hack' it to look the same but may come back to it at a later date if I remember.

A wish: A dedicated photo view. Right now the different listing views are not very usuable when in photo mode.
Have you tried the Exhibit view?

Other then that: great!
Thanks :grin:

[Waffa]

A wish: A dedicated photo view. Right now the different listing views are not very usuable when in photo mode.

Think he means that all the views already look like exhibit view.

You need to have a look at it Skunk. Let me point it out.

First off all
Did do some testing in pictures and on windows platform it works like it should work.

But the xbox has some trouble with loading the pictures as backgrounds.

- First view in pictures (where you did add your locations) it won't load the picture as background if the folder is not located on xbox. And most of my pictures are on NAS.

- Browsing further it works good but many times the background wil not focus.
Example.
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/8785/screenshot129.th.jpg (http://img151.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screenshot129.jpg)

But in general I think that that you should not go for the 4 thumbs.
It's totally out of skin concept if you ask me. (also the default thumb that shows when your in folder without images)
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/3323/screenshot131z.th.jpg (http://img151.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screenshot131z.jpg)

It would be nicer to see 1 picture at time (slideshow) but this would be a killer for the xbox.

I would suggest to use the pictures background images until you reach a folder with images and show the 4 thumbs only as cover. (This is xbox friendly)
And keep exhibit view as it is so you can display the 4 thumbs big if you like.

Talking about Exhibit view.
(This is an old post but you never gave an answer.)

Looks very nice on my windows platform and like it. (default thumbs 512 x 512).
But on the xbox the default thumbsize is 192 x 192 and that doesn't look nice.

I would suggest an option in skin settings to exchange exhibit for animated view like in MediaStream.
And make the thumb of animated view a little bit bigger.
Please consider it.
Animated view (without info) was my favorit view in MediaStream because it was so minimal and clean.

Give you an example.
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/5822/screenshot130.th.jpg (http://img151.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screenshot130.jpg)

[vajonam]

The first line on the System Info/Hardware is cut off. I think it might be font related, dont know what you can do about the spacing.

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/1858/screenshot000bjn.th.png (http://img5.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screenshot000bjn.png)

[skunkm0nkee]

Think he means that all the views already look like exhibit view.
I don't understand what you mean? He mentioned that the list views don't work for him so I suggested a non-List view, like Exhibit.


- First view in pictures (where you did add your locations) it won't load the picture as background if the folder is not located on xbox. And most of my pictures are on NAS.

I guess that's an issue with the xbox version then, not the skin?


- Browsing further it works good but many times the background wil not focus.
Example.
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/8785/screenshot129.th.jpg (http://img151.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screenshot129.jpg)

But in general I think that that you should not go for the 4 thumbs.
It's totally out of skin concept if you ask me. (also the default thumb that shows when your in folder without images)
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/3323/screenshot131z.th.jpg (http://img151.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screenshot131z.jpg)

That image with the 4 thumbs is not something I create, that is the image for a folder that contains images. XBMC generates that.


It would be nicer to see 1 picture at time (slideshow) but this would be a killer for the xbox.

I would suggest to use the pictures background images until you reach a folder with images and show the 4 thumbs only as cover. (This is xbox friendly)
And keep exhibit view as it is so you can display the 4 thumbs big if you like.

Exhibit view already does just show 1 picture, it just so happens that XBMC generates an images for a folder that contains 4 of the images from that folder. Believe me it's not something I have specifically chosen to show.


Talking about Exhibit view.
(This is an old post but you never gave an answer.)

Looks very nice on my windows platform and like it. (default thumbs 512 x 512).
But on the xbox the default thumbsize is 192 x 192 and that doesn't look nice.

I would suggest an option in skin settings to exchange exhibit for animated view like in MediaStream.
And make the thumb of animated view a little bit bigger.
Please consider it.
Animated view (without info) was my favorit view in MediaStream because it was so minimal and clean.

Give you an example.
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/5822/screenshot130.th.jpg (http://img151.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screenshot130.jpg)
I doubt I'll be creating any platform specific views so if the Exhibit view doesn't work for a specific media type on xbox then you're better choosing one of the other views.

I may look into adding some more views (particularly ones which work better with pictures) but what I don't want to end up with is a situation like we have in MediaStream where there are lots of options for views which completely change the style of the view. (Most of that happened because at the time of developing MediaStream we were limited to 10 views). If there is a different style to a view then it will be setup as a separate view.

The first line on the System Info/Hardware is cut off. I think it might be font related, dont know what you can do about the spacing.

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/1858/screenshot000bjn.th.png (http://img5.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screenshot000bjn.png)
Bizarre :shocked:

I've tried it on my current development version and it works fine so it's either something I've already fixed or an issue with your bleeding edge version of XBMC (mine is about a week old).

Hopefully when I release the next version it will magically be fixed :nod:

[Waffa]

I don't understand what you mean? He mentioned that the list views don't work for him so I suggested a non-List view, like Exhibit.

All views have the exhibit look only the covers/list are displayed on different places, background is the cause.


I guess that's an issue with the xbox version then, not the skin?


Nope, did test on other builds. Seems like xbmc doesn't look into the folder if it's on NAS and if I select the folder it needs to load. how bigger how longer and in that time you see a black background.
The xbox is just not powerfull enough to handle it well.:sad:

So I suggest to use the picture background images as backrounds not only for that but also more because it looks cleaner, nicer and runs smoother.:nod:
And if I want the xbmc generated thumbs as backgrounds I'll choose exhibit view.



That image with the 4 thumbs is not something I create, that is the image for a folder that contains images. XBMC generates that.


Exhibit view already does just show 1 picture, it just so happens that XBMC generates an images for a folder that contains 4 of the images from that folder. Believe me it's not something I have specifically chosen to show.


OK, but you choose to display it as background.:grin:



I doubt I'll be creating any platform specific views so if the Exhibit view doesn't work for a specific media type on xbox then you're better choosing one of the other views.

I may look into adding some more views (particularly ones which work better with pictures) but what I don't want to end up with is a situation like we have in MediaStream where there are lots of options for views which completely change the style of the view. (Most of that happened because at the time of developing MediaStream we were limited to 10 views). If there is a different style to a view then it will be setup as a separate view.


That's cool ! (10 view limit is gone)
Could you please add animated view.:grin:
I don't think it a platform specific view and it totally goes with the concept.

[paul]

Hi skunkmonkee can you explain how i go about adding extra mediaflags into this skin and which .xml i need to edit etc.
Ps i like the new showcase view very nice indeed

[skunkm0nkee]

Hi skunkmonkee can you explain how i go about adding extra mediaflags into this skin and which .xml i need to edit etc.
Ps i like the new showcase view very nice indeed

No need, I've been playing about with it the last day or so since CapnBry started up the work on adding media flagging to XBMC again :grin:

There'll probably be a temporary version in the next release (similar to how it works in other skins) so I can get the placement, sizing etc right. Then, when media flagging arrives in XBMC it'll hopefully be a quick switchover of the code. :oo:

[xbs08]

Would love to see something like this implement on MiniMeedia...
http://blog.xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=36623&page=3 :nod:

[Waffa]

I would recommend a harmony remote and set SMS functions.:grin:

[xbs08]

On the xbox? i already have a xbox remote and i dont want to spend more money.

[Waffa]

Yes for the xbox and many more. I Have the Harmony 525 (http://www.journaldugeek.com/images/2006_03/logitech_harmony525.jpg) (40 euro) and use it for everything.

For the xbox you can set the harmony as Media Extender Remote and have 19 buttons more.
http://xbmc.org/wiki/?title=Keymap.xml#Remote_Buttons
http://xbmc.org/wiki/?title=Xbox_Media_Extender_Remote_Global_Controls

Did wright an how to, Long time ago but is still good. in that time there wasn't SMS function.
http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?p=188706#post188706

It's so nice to have extra buttons, you can set them the way you like.
Shortcuts, SMS, etc etc
http://xbmc.org/wiki/index.php?title=List_of_Built_In_Functions

ActivateWindow(window,dir)
http://xbmc.org/wiki/?title=Window_IDs

[xbs08]

wow thats a great remote but 40 euros was the price of my xbox with remote :)

[mkv1080p]

Thank you!

[Waffa]

The best way to spend your money xbs08, believe me.:grin:

[mcage]

Skin isn't designed for mouse at all. The menu probably disappears as it thinks the menu has lost focus? I never use the mouse for control as I use the keyboard or a remote and wouldn't recommend trying to use the skin with a mouse.

That's the issue.. I had mouse disabled and the behaviour as described occured. Then I found that the enable/disable mouse setting seemed inverted.


I think you are referring to the far right menu which doesn't have the little blue text above each item? That is because of the way that part of XBMC works, the controls (and the types of controls) are hard coded into the screen so I can't get it to work the same as the other menus. I wasn't able to figure out a way to 'hack' it to look the same but may come back to it at a later date if I remember.

Correct.. That's the menu part.


Have you tried the Exhibit view?


Yeah, tried them all but didn't like them too much. Problem also is the folder thumbs that get in the way in the background. Sorry don't have a good screenshot example right now.

[yadster]

I first tried MiniMeedia a couple of weeks ago and at first it just didn't feel like a skin that I would use. However, after trying it again and spending some time configuring it I'm completely bowled over by it. I have fanart shrunk to 960x540 and use the low list view and it looks absolutely gorgeous. And best of all it works very well on my old xbox.

I have a few questions.

I edited the keymap.xml so that at the home screen pressing the TITLE button on the msremote fetches up the shutdown menu. Is it possible to add a settings button and filemanager button to the shutdown menu as well?

When in file mode if browsing a folder how do I get it so that the folder.jpg is used instead of tbns/screenshots. I have a few folders full of 100's of kids cartoons and it would look really nice if the folder.jpg (a wide banner) was used instead of been blank because there were no tbns/screenshots.

Is it possible to add a button for the Weather Channel Script to the weather page?

Keep up the great work and I can't wait to see what else you'll be adding.

[Waffa]

You can endless edit your keymap.:nod:
List of Built In Functions (http://xbmc.org/wiki/index.php?title=List_of_Built_In_Functions)

You need.
ActivateWindow(window,dir) : for opening settings menu and file manager.:grin:
http://xbmc.org/wiki/?title=Window_IDs

and
RunScript(script[,args]*) : for running a script (weatherscript.)

Normally folder.jpg should picked up by xbmc.

If there is a .jpg in every folder you could clear your video thumbs in your userdata and xbmc will scrape the thums again and like I said it should pick up the folder.jpg's in file mode.

edit : For your library you need .tbn as extension.

edit 2: SendClick([window,]controlID) isn't in the list of build in functions. (should be)
Very handy in some cases.

[Msan]

I have a Harmony remote and have been trying to map a key for toggling a video's status to watched/unwatched.. I tried everything and can't make it work :(

But I have to agree, the Harmony remote is the best accessory I have ever bought..

And I LOVE MiniMeedia.. best skin ever!

[Waffa]

http://xbmc.org/wiki/?title=Keymap.xml#Available_actions

"ToggleWatched" is what you need.

Add this to your keymap global (keyboard). example

<w>ToggleWatched</w>

The "w" key should toggle now between watched / unwatched.

For remote pick a button you like and put it in global (remote).

[Filete]

some version of this skin with Backgrounds and configured.

alguna version de este skin con Backgrounds ya configurados.

[Waffa]

some version of this skin with Backgrounds and configured.

alguna version de este skin con Backgrounds ya configurados.

Nope, but in first post in this thread you can download backgrounds.
To configure those is a little bit off work 5 min.

[Filete]

not set the skin to make backgrounds

[xbs08]

not set the skin to make backgrounds

???

[Radikaltimes]

not set the skin to make backgrounds

Filete: en primer mensaje estan los links para bajar los backgrounds.

dejame saber si necesitas ayuda.

[vajonam]

Bizarre :shocked:

I've tried it on my current development version and it works fine so it's either something I've already fixed or an issue with your bleeding edge version of XBMC (mine is about a week old).

Hopefully when I release the next version it will magically be fixed :nod:

Just tried on a more "bleeding" edge build from the 7th r20937, still exists, will wait for your next release.

[skunkm0nkee]

Sorry about the lack of responses over the last few days but I'm due to take part in a charity bicycle ride going from London to Paris this week and that is kind of dominating my time at the moment.

I would like to think I can get an updated release of the skin out either tonight or tomorrow night but if I don't then it'll be after the weekend before I get another chance.

From what I can see most of the questions that have come up have already been answered (thanks Waffa :nod:) and hopefully the rest will be dealt with when the next version is released.

[Radikaltimes]

Sorry about the lack of responses over the last few days but I'm due to take part in a charity bicycle ride going from London to Paris this week and that is kind of dominating my time at the moment.

I would like to think I can get an updated release of the skin out either tonight or tomorrow night but if I don't then it'll be after the weekend before I get another chance.

From what I can see most of the questions that have come up have already been answered (thanks Waffa :nod:) and hopefully the rest will be dealt with when the next version is released.

have fun riding! ... is for charity but u can beat them :)

we can wait for you :)

[Waffa]

Yeah, have fun.

[ianmen]

Thank you for the great skin ! I only have one problem, I can't get an background image on the home screen. It stays dark. The movie,music,picture menus I all have some nice background images. But for the home screen I can't find the menu/setting where I can choose a dir for the background files. Is this a common problem ? I have searched the forums but can't find anything about it.

[xbs08]

Use an updated build (20445 up will work)
Configure the System / Configure the Skin / Configure Settings for Backgrounds.

[xbs08]

Can someone confirm that DVD BG's, in home, aren't showing when a DVD is playing?

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/7075/screenshot000v.th.jpg (http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/7075/screenshot000v.jpg)

[thonton]

Can someone confirm that DVD BG's, in home, aren't showing when a DVD is playing?

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/7075/screenshot000v.th.jpg (http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/7075/screenshot000v.jpg)

sorry, but i can not confirm this. try to set your dvd-background again. i had similar problems before i did this.
http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/3755/dvdwhileplaying.th.jpg (http://img268.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dvdwhileplaying.jpg)

[mcage]

Thank you for the great skin ! I only have one problem, I can't get an background image on the home screen. It stays dark. The movie,music,picture menus I all have some nice background images. But for the home screen I can't find the menu/setting where I can choose a dir for the background files. Is this a common problem ? I have searched the forums but can't find anything about it.

In case you're on the xbox.. use the latest t3ch svn build. Had the same issue till I upgraded my xbmc build.

[Filete]

Filete: en primer mensaje estan los links para bajar los backgrounds.

dejame saber si necesitas ayuda.

Perdon no me pasaba desde hace mucho por aki, si se k estan, pero es k no se configurarlos.

[ianmen]

In case you're on the xbox.. use the latest t3ch svn build. Had the same issue till I upgraded my xbmc build.

Thnx for your reply. I am not on the xbox, I run xbmc on a ubuntu htpc. And I think I have the latest build. When I run apt-get update/upgrade. It doesn't update xbmc so that shoud meen that I have the latest version. Doens't it ?

I have found the fix, thank you guys for your reply's !

[matt11601]

@skunkm0nke

I was wondering why users are able to select the vertical navigation bar when scrolling through lists. Example: I'm in the movies section, I scroll through my list of movies using up and down, I click right and then the bar is selected which I can use to scroll too, I click right again and I bring up the option menu.

Is it possible to not select the bar at all? Or get rid of the bar entirely? The reason I suggest this, is because non-techy family members get confused when using the skin. They do not know what's highlighted and it adds frustration.

What do you think?

[Waffa]

With a large library it's very handy to have a scroll bar, I use it a lot. :grin:

It's a good feature and needed with large library.

[xbs08]

When the bar is highlighted the circle gets red when its not its blue.
But i'm pretty sure that skunm0nkee could add a option to hide it.

[matt11601]

With a large library it's very handy to have a scroll bar, I use it a lot. :grin:

It's a good feature and needed with large library.

Ahhh I see. Didn't think about that.


When the bar is highlighted the circle gets red when its not its blue.
But i'm pretty sure that skunm0nkee could add a option to hide it.


Yea I hear ya. But visitors or friends may not know that. From a usability standpoint I think it's confusing and makes navigation more difficult. But that's my situation since non-techy people use my XBOX as well.

An options to hide the bar would be nice.

[fat.hamster]

i have trouble with MiniMeedia :(

i installed latest xbmc (on Win7 RC), i installed MiniMeedia (from this topic), downloaded background images, configured path to folders with images - but in home screen i always get blank (black) screen :( - like this (http://picasaweb.google.ru/lh/photo/hjdsK7I6sZfkYcFm2vX1YA?authkey=Gv1sRgCN3t_ojN0_Tm-AE&feat=directlink)

i like this skin very mutch, but blach home-screen :'-(
any tips?

[willers.nail]

The blank backgrounds issue on home screen can be fixed by downloading the very latest build such as the nightly builds. Just do a search on google for "XBMC nightly builds".

[fat.hamster]

The blank backgrounds issue on home screen can be fixed by downloading the very latest build such as the nightly builds. Just do a search on google for "XBMC nightly builds".

yes, its works.. thanks & sorry

[willers.nail]

no need to apologize for something you do not know

[mng70]

Firstly, great skin and really usable on my Apple TV!

One strange thing has occurred though. Most of my library is of ripped DVDs in ISO format complete with menus. But when I try to select Play movie (or any other option on the DVD menu) it brings up the movie control window. How can I select DVD menu options using the Apple remote?

Keep up the great work!

[Waffa]

Look into your keymap.xml and see all default actions.
Example <global>
<joystick name="AppleRemote">
<!-- plus --> <button id="1">Up</button>
<!-- minus --> <button id="2">Down</button>
<!-- left --> <button id="3">Left</button>
<!-- right --> <button id="4">Right</button>
<!-- play/pause --> <button id="5">Select</button>
<!-- menu --> <button id="6">PreviousMenu</button>

<!-- hold play --> <button id="7">Fullscreen</button>
<!-- hold menu --> <button id="8">ContextMenu</button>
<!-- hold left --> <button id="9">BigStepBack</button>
<!-- hold right --> <button id="10">BigStepForward</button>

<FullscreenVideo>
<joystick name="AppleRemote">
<button id="1">VolumeUp</button>
<button id="2">VolumeDown</button>
<button id="3">StepBack</button>
<button id="4">StepForward</button>
<button id="5">OSD</button>
<button id="6">Fullscreen</button>

You need the "OSD" and choose DVD (Top of screen) for dvd menu.:grin:

Should be the play/pause button.:;):

Edit:
If you like you could add a button (in FullscreenVideo) that opens directly the dvd menu.
<button id="8">ShowVideoMenu </button>

Hold menu button and get dvd menu.:nod:

[dteirney]

Skunkmonkee, is it possible to redistribute some of the background images that you posted in this thread?

I want to use three of them for a new black and white version of my photeon set of backdrops. They will replace the not so great existing Play Disc, Settings and Videos images from version 1.1 http://www.teirney.net/blog/2008/07/27/version-11-photeon-backgrounds-for-xbmc-aeon-skin-released/

[Waffa]

Please do use the backgrounds, I did upload most of these backgrounds so people could use them.:grin:

http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?p=267201#post267201
http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?p=267908#post267908

[mng70]

Look into your keymap.xml and see all default actions.
Example <global>
<joystick name="AppleRemote">
<!-- plus --> <button id="1">Up</button>
<!-- minus --> <button id="2">Down</button>
<!-- left --> <button id="3">Left</button>
<!-- right --> <button id="4">Right</button>
<!-- play/pause --> <button id="5">Select</button>
<!-- menu --> <button id="6">PreviousMenu</button>

<!-- hold play --> <button id="7">Fullscreen</button>
<!-- hold menu --> <button id="8">ContextMenu</button>
<!-- hold left --> <button id="9">BigStepBack</button>
<!-- hold right --> <button id="10">BigStepForward</button>

<FullscreenVideo>
<joystick name="AppleRemote">
<button id="1">VolumeUp</button>
<button id="2">VolumeDown</button>
<button id="3">StepBack</button>
<button id="4">StepForward</button>
<button id="5">OSD</button>
<button id="6">Fullscreen</button>

You need the "OSD" and choose DVD (Top of screen) for dvd menu.:grin:

Should be the play/pause button.:;):

Edit:
If you like you could add a button (in FullscreenVideo) that opens directly the dvd menu.
<button id="8">ShowVideoMenu </button>

Hold menu button and get dvd menu.:nod:

Many thanks indeed Waffa. Much appreciated.

[Waffa]

Like this one.:nod:
[MOD] Animated weather icons in PM3.HD home screen.
http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=52053

And you know it works also in MiniMeedia.:grin:

Edit: Make it easier.:grin:

Replace the Home.xml with this one.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=XP8SAXL8

Download the weather icons and place them (F:\weather icons) (xbox)

If your location is different change location in this line !!!

<imagepath>F:\weather icons\$INFO[Weather.FanartCode]</imagepath>

[Waffa]

Another little mod. (old one from MS)

Extra button in weatherscreen that opens TWC Supplemental script.

Replace the MyWeather.xml with this one.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=EZFYNM5P

My location of TWC Supplemental script = on xbox.
<onclick>XBMC.RunScript(Q:\scripts\TWC Supplemental\default.py)</onclick>

If your location is different change it !! :grin:

[yadster]

waffa, thanks so much for these mods, both work a treat. Really appreciate you sharing these :)

[yadster]

On page 1 of this thread there's a picture of the screen with the shutdown timer (blue) which also has buttons for system info (red), favourites (orange) and restart xbmc (green). I've tried to figure out how to add filemanager, scripts and settings to this screen but my brain cannot work it out. Is it possible to do this and if so how?

Any clues as to what will be added to the next release of minimedia :grin:

[xbs08]

@yadster
you'll have to edit the DialogButtonMenu.xml and add some more buttons.

[Waffa]

You need to customize DialogButtonMenu.xml.

But why ??? filemanager, scripts and settings are in "systems".

If you want a shortcut you can better customize your keymap.xml and open filemanager, scripts and settings with buttons on your remote.:grin:

[yadster]

Thanks for the pointers guys. I'm using the xbox and want to remove settings options from the screen to make it more kid friendly but still have the ability to access the file manager etc should I need to. Appreciate all the help.

[Waffa]

You know, there is an option in xbmc to create an extra profile.
Create a profile for your kids.

You can add your nature films to your profile now.:laugh:

[jmadonald]

Like this one.:nod:
[MOD] Animated weather icons in PM3.HD home screen.
http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=52053

And you know it works also in MiniMeedia.:grin:

Edit: Make it easier.:grin:

Replace the Home.xml with this one.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=XP8SAXL8

Download the weather icons and place them (F:\weather icons) (xbox)

If your location is different change location in this line !!!

<imagepath>F:\weather icons\$INFO[Weather.FanartCode]</imagepath>

I replaced my home.xml with yours and now my weather fanart has stopped working. Any ideas?

[yadster]

I replaced my home.xml with yours and now my weather fanart has stopped working. Any ideas?

I had a similar problem until I updated my copy of xbmc to the latest version. Google 'xbmc nightly build' and you should be able to get a bang-upto-date xbmc.

[yadster]

I have edited the DialogButtonMenu.xml to my liking. I changed 'system info' to 'settings' and 'favourites' to 'file manager'. Not sure where labels are stored so I added 'file manager' and 'settings' to the string.xml.

Now as far as I can tell my xbox is setup perfectly as a media centre and this skin is just superb. Cheers again peeps.

The latest nightly build of xbmc has the option of using the python weather.com plus (http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=52034) plugin instead of the default weather.com setting. I've not looked into it in great detail but it seems to add all the functionality that the TWC supplemental script has and makes it the default weather screen.

[yadster]

You can at your nature films to your profile now.:laugh:

:laugh:

[yadster]

Not a problem really but I thought I'd point it out. I have an RSS feed from tvrage.com and using the default font the tv show ' GRΣΣK' appears as 'GR""K'.

[xbs08]

no need to add labels to skin strings.xml just go to xbmc/language/.../strings.xml and pick the labels from there.

[TheBurner]

Hopefully skunk didnt ride off the mountain:) cant wait for the updates

[xbs08]

He posted news on twitter check it out

[skunkm0nkee]

Yep, I'm back and getting stuck back in to coding the skin. Have a few changes to make based on some ideas that I thought up whilst I was away bu thope to be able to release by Wednesday this week.

Cycling to Paris was tough, especially as my seat broke and I had 4 punctures, but felt a great sense of achievement when we got there. Also managed to raise a decent amount of cash for my charity so am very happy. :grin:

[TheBurner]

Welcome back and glad the ride went well. Looking forward to Wednesday

[maocul]

Now that I finally got my account sorted I just wanted to hop on and say that this is a beautiful skin. I have been tempted by the far more in your face skins in the past and always came away a little underwhelmed. This one is the perfect match form and function and I just love it! I do. I love it.

Now MiniMeedia Flagging...... :D

[xbs08]

Looking forward to next update :D

[TheBurner]

Now that media flagging is in the svn any plans to do further work to implement this in minimeedia?

[xbs08]

Yes, skunkm0nkee posted on twitter that he's working on that for the next release

[skunkm0nkee]

I already had some stuff coded (using the studio tag) before I went away but now that the proper fields are in XBMC then I'm converting it over and adding it to more of the views. (At the moment it's pretty much just the info dialogs and the new Showcase view)

Am still thinking about a release tonight but not sure how complete the flagging will be.

[TheBurner]

Skunk sounds great, yeah im excited to see how the flags work now

[Waffa]

Nice skunk, time to do a build update.:grin:
Show me the flags. :laugh:

[skunkm0nkee]

Nice skunk, time to do a build update.:grin:
Show me the flags. :laugh:

Hehe :grin:

Soon...

[Waffa]

Just found out that media flagging isn't merged to the xbox yet. :sad:
Have to wait, but will test on windows.:grin:

[bidossessi]

Damn! them linux folks always get the good stuff first!!! :grin:

[xbs08]

They didn't got XBMC first :D

[skunkm0nkee]

Closing this thread as newer version has been released.

Check MiniMeedia forum (http://xbmc.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=114) to find latest release