Okay, without meaning to be rude, could you stop comparing MC to WMC? MC isn't supposed to work like WMC and isn't supposed to emulate it. MC has a learning curve. It is different. Please be patient and learn how to use it. I found it just as usable as WMC when I started using it back in 2013, and it has become much better for TV since then.
Been using JRiver for many years for my music library. Think it's great for that. I just switched from Windows Media Center to JRiver for my HTPC. So far it seems an OK choice but I'm still getting through the learning curve. Hence a couple of questions:
1. When watching live TV, The << and >> controls on the fly down panel look just like fast forward and rewind, but for me it changes channels. Can I change that behavior?
No, you can't change the behaviour. The actual buttons on the fly down menu are |<<, ||,
□, and >>|. These have the functions of Previous or Rewind (hold for rewind, as per tooltip pop up help), Pause, Stop, and Next or Fast Forward (hold for fast forward, as per tooltip pop up help).
By the way, on any remote control I have ever used there is a big difference between |<< & >>| and << & >>, although sometimes they function the same, in certain situations.
I have never found the |<< or >>| buttons on the fly down panel particularly useful, especially the |<< button because it is "unreliable", in the sense that the function changes depending on a few factors, but this is what they do when playing Video and TV.
|<< click it to go to the beginning of the video or Time Shift buffer if watching TV. A double click to go to the previous item in Playing Now. If you selected "Play All" when displaying the episodes in a Season of a Series, then all episodes are added to Playing Now. In that case, double-clicking the |<< button will go to the previous episode in the Playing Now list, unless you are already on the first item, in which case it does nothing.
For TV, when you start playback of a channel, the channel list that you have set up, in the order you have configured, is added to Playing Now. So a double click takes you back to the previous channel in the channel list. In practice I find that a triple click is often required in this instance.
|<< press and hold to Rewind to an earlier point in a video or Time-Shifted TV. The video isn't played in Rewind, but you can see the progress bar moves back in time, and release the button at the correct time. Personally, I prefer to just click on the progress bar to using this method.
|| click on it to pause playback. The icon will change to the Play button. Click again to restart playback, of either video or TV (which is just video in the Time Shift buffer at this stage).
□ click to stop playback. If you click the Play button again after this, MC will play what is currently selected in Playing Now. Learn about Playing Now and how it works. It is an important aspect of MC.
>>| click to go to the next item in the Playing Now list. If there are no more items in the Playing Now list, does nothing. If you are playing a TV channel, all channels have been added to the Playing Now list, so MC goes to the next channel in your custom list.
>>| click and hold to Fast Forward to a later point in a video or Time-Shifted TV. The video isn't played in Fast Forward, but you can see the progress bar moves forward in time, and release the button at the correct time. Personally, I prefer to just click on the progress bar to using this method.
BTW, try the Scroll Wheel on the mouse while watching, both while hovering over the fly down menu (volume change)and over the vide itself (jumps forward and back).
2. Similarly on my windows remote there are |<< and >>| buttons that in WMC skip forward and back in time. In JRiver they change channels. Can I change that behavior?
No, you can't change the behaviour. See my comment above about the Scroll Wheel, and also below about the Left and Right Arrows. The |<< and >>| buttons on an MCE (WMC) Infrared Remote work pretty much like my descriptions above, I think. I don't use them except in DVD playback, because I don't need to use them. MC uses other controls.
3. Also similarly, using J-remote, the << >> controls change channels for me. They are positioned as if they should affect something in the time dimension. Is that what << and >> are supposed to mean in JRiver, or am I doing something wrong?
I don't have or use JRemote, so cant' comment, other than to say are you sure that they are the << and >> buttons, and not the |<< and >>| buttons? In which case, as above.
4. When configuring a recording, the menu says hit Enter or OK. Is there supposed to be an OK on that menu to click on? Or is the only option to use a different input device than a mouse?
When configurng a recording in Theatre View, if you see the heading "Select any setting or press Enter/OK to edit", just click on the item you want to use. That is exactly the same as using Enter or OK.
5. Where are the TV controls on any of the remote control apps (JRemote or Panel)? Am I just overlooking TV controls? Or are they designed to be of limited for TV watchers.
I don't think JRemote has TV controls, though I'm not sure. It may have the five basic control keys available for all MC navigation; Left, Right, Up, Down, and OK. You can do "everything" in Theatre View using those five buttons. Panel does not have the same functionality. Gizmo and MO 4Media do have Theatre View remote control functionality. See this and following posts:
https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,117811.msg815530.html#msg8155306. The dense normal interface is fine for listening to music and superb for complex configuration. It's awful for watching TV. Theater mode is obviously what I'm after. How do I configure JRiver so the TV watching experience is as elegant as Windows Media Center? Is there a WMC skin or plug-in to emulate WMC?
No there isn't a WMV skin or plug-in. As above, JRiver Media Center isn't a copy or emulation of WMC. You need to learn how MC works, is all.
For example, above you wanted to skip/jump forward and back in time using the |<< and >>| buttons. Specifically;
In WMC, >>| skips forward 30 seconds; about a commercial's worth. |<< skips back 5 seconds, in case you overshot. Perfect for watching TV - a couple of hits on |<< gives you an instant replay. I already have dedicated change channel buttons on the remote. I don't need |<< and >>| to change channels, too. Forward and back one track on music is perfect; On video, increment forward and back in time would be my preference. Maybe this is another feature request. (i'd be OK with them being configurable)
MC uses the Left and Right Arrow buttons to do this. I think this makes way more sense than the |<< and >>| buttons, which are by definition "Previous" and "Next", even in WMC. Every remote has Left and Right buttons, and for me they are more logically "go left a bit" and "go right a bit" once a program is playing.
The amount of time MC jumps forward and backwards in time is configurable, independently for Audio and Video media. There is a Search field at the bottom of the MC Option dialogue window. Search for "Jump" to find the settings. The defaults are 30 seconds forward, 10 seconds backwards.
I have not yet found a way to use Panel to launch live TV; only recorded shows. Am I missing something?
You aren't missing anything. In this case, "very limited" means non-existent, although I believe it is being worked on, or at least on Yaobing's list. I think Yaobing's answer was being very diplomatic.
And in JRemote, I can change channels, but not program recordings.
A feature request then: When a menu that can be navigated with a mouse indicates the user should hit OK/Enter, provide a place to click with the mouse that provides that functionality. (configuring a recording is one example I am aware of)
Not required, as the functionalityis already there. Start in the MC Theatre View Guide and use the five buttons mentioned above to navigate the menus to set up one time recordings or subscribe to a Series. To be honest though while subscriptions can be set up this way, particularly if all the defaults are set up in Options, I tend to use Standard View to create Subscriptions, or at least check and edit them. That's because I set up extra rules usually. But it can all be done fro Theatre View.
For watching TV, both JRemote and Panel, while pretty cool ideas, are much less functional that the hardware remote; enough so, that I have totally quit using them.
Using JRiver as a HTPC for watching TV, I tend to use the remote as the primary user input device, reverting to the mouse only as a last resort when the remote functionality is inadequate to the task.
I use a Logitech hardware Infrared Remote for the same reason. But the MO 4Media version of an Android remote looks pretty good, and has more buttons including the ones I use most. The free version includes the Theatre View Remote Control functionality. Try it out, if you have an Android device.
https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,114964.0.htmlI only use my wireless keyboard/mouse when I am doing maintenance on MC, and need to key in data, for example. Maybe also when I want to do a search, because the on-screen keyboard functionality is pretty slow to use. For general Theatre View use, and mouse adds no value.
It's a challenge when the buttons on the Windows remote have different behaviour than WMC. (Whose UI is by far - orders of magnitude - better than any competing HTPC software I have tried)
It is always a challenge to learn new paradigms, but you can do it. As above, MC isn't a copy of WMC, so there is a learning curve. Get on it. You will find MC matches WMC in ease of use and is far more configurable, once you learn how to configure it. I assume that you know about Views in Standard and Theatre View, as you have been using MC for some time. My use of MC for TV is very straightforward, and anyone can pick up the remote and start using it very quickly.
PS: I see Yaobing has responded further while I was writing. Not usual, because I write a lot!
PPS: I didn't thoroughly proof read all the above, so forgive any errors!
