Topic: Too Easy V -- Things we should have done because they were so simple (Read 45540 times)

JimH · « **on:** January 25, 2019, 06:09:44 pm »

We've done several "small change" request threads. Here's the last one.
https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,112049.msg774281.html#msg774281

The rules are the same and if you don't read them, you will find your post missing.

PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE POST BEFORE POSTING
Long or complex posts will be removed.

In the Too Complex thread, we were told how unintuitive MC could be.

So here's the challenge for those who want intuitive software.

Suggest a change that will make MC easier to use (but NOT a feature request).

If you can meet the following guidelines, we'll try to make the change.

A change needs to be:

1. Easy to implement (less than an hour)

2. Generally useful to most users

3. Something that doesn't remove existing functionality and that isn't controversial

In other words, it must clearly be an improvement.

and

4. Something that can be described in 10 lines or less (not complex to describe)

PLEASE don't post anything else in this thread (no "+1" posts or comments). Start a new thread if it doesn't fit the requirements.

Thanks!

leezer3 · « **Reply #1 on:** January 25, 2019, 06:17:27 pm »

Theatre view backgrounds-
Allow a playlist of images to be set to show as the top level background.

I've got a hacky workaround using a handheld folder, but this would make my life much easier

DJLegba · « **Reply #2 on:** January 25, 2019, 07:21:08 pm »

Hotkey to randomize the sort of the current view without changing the view's default sort.

jmone · « **Reply #3 on:** January 25, 2019, 07:58:16 pm »

Zone Switch: "Return to this zone" on media playback stop. Allow a user to select a particular zone, return to the "Previous Zone", or simply "Do Nothing" (as is currently the case).

Issue: This ensure that you don't get "stuck" in a zone when playback stops.

Use case: As a default, I want to MC to decode all audio unless it is ATMOS / DTS:X in which case switch to a Bitstreaming Zone on playback then Switch back to the main zone when playback finishes.

8139david · « **Reply #4 on:** January 25, 2019, 11:08:38 pm »

For audio files (at least), if one double clicks on a thumbnail, one sees the full size cover art.
Add an option to display lyrics instead (if any). Double clicking again then returns to the normal view.
(It is cumbersome to have to manually move from Covert Art to a given Track Info. Then too Lyrics. Then too full size view.)

raldo · « **Reply #5 on:** January 25, 2019, 11:58:57 pm »

I'd like to be able to change the EXIF time in a photo from within MC

jmone · « **Reply #6 on:** January 26, 2019, 12:31:11 am »

1) Use MediaInfo instead of ffprobe to determine if a video has ATMOS or DTS:X (who knows when ffprobe will get this ability - it's been years)
2) Add an ATMOS and DTS:X as a Bitstreaming format option in Tools--> Options--> Audio--> Bitstreaming. Note: Even if #1 is not doable, this option could still work with "Swag Of Tools" as it adds in the "Compression Field" a "+Atmos" or "+DTS:X" to the end of the string.

jmone · « **Reply #7 on:** January 26, 2019, 12:47:59 am »

Particles - Create by Chapter option

jmone · « **Reply #8 on:** January 26, 2019, 12:49:08 am »

In BD Menu mode show what Playlist is being used

jmone · « **Reply #9 on:** January 26, 2019, 01:01:34 am »

Live TV Support in Remotes (the MCWS calls are all there but only EOS uses them)

jmone · « **Reply #10 on:** January 26, 2019, 01:02:01 am »

Pushing On Line radio via DSP for DLNA devices (to solve compatibility issues)

RoderickGI · « **Reply #11 on:** January 26, 2019, 01:04:26 am »

Enable a deleted Dynamic Zone (DLNA Renderer) to be visible to MC again.

At present, if a Dynamic Zone (DLNA Renderer) is deleted rather than hidden, there appears to be no way to make MC see it again. Forever.

My Use Case is that I have at some time deleted the Dynamic Zone for my Sony TV, and now I want to get it back. But there is no method I can find to do so. The TV is advertising itself as a DLNA Renderer and is visible to DLNA Server Apps on my Sony Xperia ZX Premium Android phone, and to AndrewFG's DMRA.

8139david · « **Reply #12 on:** January 26, 2019, 01:43:40 am »

Option to apply current column view to a library view and all its descendants (including to a top view like Audio). Currenlty, even when using column presets, one has to manually apply the preset to each single view.

Axilian · « **Reply #13 on:** January 26, 2019, 08:25:50 am »

Internet Radio access - it's possible to do it but it's a pain currently

Fangio · « **Reply #14 on:** January 26, 2019, 08:28:28 am »

Cover Art > Get from internet: Allow the user to edit the text which will be used for the lookup.

DMC-A1 · « **Reply #15 on:** January 26, 2019, 12:15:04 pm »

Allow PERIOD field to be used on Videos - Movies and TV so a 1977 movie that takes place in 1800 can be so indicated without a custom field.

lepa · « **Reply #16 on:** January 26, 2019, 03:18:49 pm »

I sometimes upgrade my video files (DVD -> BD). I rip movie to matroska and replace the old one in the hard drive using same name. Now when I do "update library from tags" to force new resolution, codecs etc to be updated in the MC it will also empty the rating field. It would be acceptable if MC could read/write rating metadata from matroska but AFAIK it can't so why replace the value which is in the database with empty value as it isn't coming from tag anyway.

So my Too Easy is not to update fields which it can't read from tags.
My not so Easy as above would be to read/write matroska header data into MC database. For example stream languages and names.

lepa · « **Reply #17 on:** January 26, 2019, 03:26:37 pm »

copy / paste DLNA server settings in the "Add or configure DLNA servers". So basically ability to replicate customized views from DLNA server to other

Use case: I want to use same views and most of the configuration when creating another DLNA server. For example make one server to use headphone friendly DSP-settings but otherwise be the same as "main" DLNA server. Currently I need to create all my views manually when doing another DLNA server.

lepa · « **Reply #18 on:** January 26, 2019, 03:34:57 pm »

TheaterView: When doing "add to playlist" in TheaterView use Playlist Groups to clean up navigating to desired playlist. Currently if you have many playlist created it is hard to find the correct one. Using group nodes would be big help there like they are in standard view tree.

mattkhan · « **Reply #19 on:** January 26, 2019, 05:02:16 pm »

Provide an mcws endpoint that can edit DSP studio entries, start with peq (add/edit/remove individual filters)

NB: I have no idea if this fits the criteria stated because almost nothing is achieveable with one hour dev time so to my mind that excludes pretty much everything. For the "is it useful to people" side of the equation then I refer you to https://www.avsforum.com/forum/113-subwoofers-bass-transducers/2995212-bass-eq-filtered-movies.html which would be a whole lot easier to do in JRiver if either this feature were present (in which I would add it to the app I wrote for that thread) or the per file DSP worked properly.

AndrewFG · « **Reply #20 on:** January 27, 2019, 01:43:56 am »

Swipe left/right to browse photos in JRemote
Swipe left/right on now playing music to change tracks in JRemote

8139david · « **Reply #21 on:** January 27, 2019, 04:24:31 am »

Option to apply current thumbnail text to a library view and all its descendants (including to a top view like Audio). Currently, one has to set up thumbnail text for each single view.

jkauff · « **Reply #22 on:** January 27, 2019, 04:51:30 am »

Move the multiple display configuration to Options/Video and give it a top level sub-heading. Update Help so that it's easier to search for that functionality.

8139david · « **Reply #23 on:** January 27, 2019, 08:10:53 am »

When managing library fields, option to show only calculated fields.

8139david · « **Reply #24 on:** January 27, 2019, 08:11:58 am »

When managing library fields, option to export the definitions of all calculated fields to a single text file.

mattkhan · « **Reply #25 on:** January 27, 2019, 08:57:27 am »

From https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,119241

An indicator to show whether an item will be played directly from disk or whether it will be streamed by the server

Hendrik · « **Reply #26 on:** January 27, 2019, 08:59:07 am »

Quote from: mattkhan on January 27, 2019, 08:57:27 am

From https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,119241

An indicator to show whether an item will be played directly from disk or whether it will be streamed by the server

This would require a file system hit for every file in every view, thats far too expensive.

mattkhan · « **Reply #27 on:** January 27, 2019, 09:06:14 am »

Quote from: Hendrik on January 27, 2019, 08:59:07 am

This would require a file system hit for every file in every view, thats far too expensive.

Depends how you implement it, e.g. a menu option so you only show this on demand would work or a way to show that this is actually playing from a file once you start playing it.

Since it is a path match then I imagine you could optimise this based on the mounted drives too (so it wasn't a per item lookup)

mattlauck · « **Reply #28 on:** January 27, 2019, 02:03:33 pm »

Would love to see
Manage Library Fields/Data/User Data/Relational

STORE ONE VALUE PER ALBUM ARTIST as a choice. (Current have 'Store one Value per Artist')

I have some custom fields which will denote Favorite Artist, Essential Artist, Ohio Artist.... to help organize, group and sort my large collection.

Storing one value for Artist kind of sucks because it may only update Artist Tom Petty and NOT Artist Tom Petty & The Heart Breakers which are BOTH under ALBUM ARTIST Tom Petty.

yooz · « **Reply #29 on:** January 27, 2019, 02:24:22 pm »

Hotkeys to set Start and End Bookmarks !

RoderickGI · « **Reply #30 on:** January 27, 2019, 05:08:05 pm »

Quote from: yooz on January 27, 2019, 02:24:22 pm

Hotkeys to set Start and End Bookmarks !

Do you mean start and end points of a program in the [Playback Range] field, so that MC always only plays the actual program in a recording and not the padding?

If so that's a good idea.

I don't use [Playback Range] field enough. But then, I don't rewatch recordings that often. Could be handy in a house full of people, who watch programs at different times, or setting up recorded programs for kids.

Matt · « **Reply #31 on:** January 27, 2019, 06:17:06 pm »

Quote from: mattlauck on January 27, 2019, 02:03:33 pm

Would love to see
Manage Library Fields/Data/User Data/Relational

STORE ONE VALUE PER ALBUM ARTIST as a choice. (Current have 'Store one Value per Artist')

I have some custom fields which will denote Favorite Artist, Essential Artist, Ohio Artist.... to help organize, group and sort my large collection.

Storing one value for Artist kind of sucks because it may only update Artist Tom Petty and NOT Artist Tom Petty & The Heart Breakers which are BOTH under ALBUM ARTIST Tom Petty.

How about one per Album Artist (auto)? That way it would have a value even if album artist was empty. Thanks!

syndromeofadown · « **Reply #32 on:** January 27, 2019, 06:44:19 pm »

In standard view Playing Now, with videos it's very difficult see seek accurately when using a mouse or touch screen. More sensitive seeking is needed so users can get within a few seconds of where they want to be instead of a couple minutes.

Another request for Playing Now is a tiny set arrows to skip chapters in videos. VLC has these and they are quite nice.

I'll also throw in my annual request for an import/export button on tag on import so rules can be be copied between different folders.

darichman · « **Reply #33 on:** January 28, 2019, 01:47:52 am »

EXIF date editing!

"Library tools > Update EXIF date with [Date] field" or similar

raldo · « **Reply #34 on:** January 28, 2019, 02:56:54 am »

Quote from: darichman on January 28, 2019, 01:47:52 am

EXIF date editing!

"Library tools > Update EXIF date with [Date] field" or similar

Why couldn't MC just update the exif date immediately after it has been edited? This is how it currently works with keywords.

Matt · « **Reply #35 on:** January 28, 2019, 08:16:28 am »

Quote from: mattlauck on January 27, 2019, 02:03:33 pm

Would love to see
Manage Library Fields/Data/User Data/Relational

STORE ONE VALUE PER ALBUM ARTIST as a choice. (Current have 'Store one Value per Artist')

I have some custom fields which will denote Favorite Artist, Essential Artist, Ohio Artist.... to help organize, group and sort my large collection.

Storing one value for Artist kind of sucks because it may only update Artist Tom Petty and NOT Artist Tom Petty & The Heart Breakers which are BOTH under ALBUM ARTIST Tom Petty.

Coming in MC25, we'll have this:
NEW: Added a new relationship to the database to store one for each album artist (auto).

Thanks for the idea

mark_h · « **Reply #36 on:** January 28, 2019, 08:29:32 am »

Add individual views to Customise Toolbar to compliment the ability to add individual playlists.

Vocalpoint · « **Reply #37 on:** January 28, 2019, 01:23:34 pm »

Consider having MC "remember" the correct startup context for each library managed/accessed by a specific instance of MC.

If I am in Library A and switch to Library B - I would love to see Library B to open with my views and position intact as I left them the last time I was in the library. What I get now is Library B opening to the JRiver website. Cannot see how that is helpful for me.

VP

Awesome Donkey · « **Reply #38 on:** January 28, 2019, 02:19:05 pm »

I'm not sure how 'easy' it'd be but...

I'd like to see the ability for clients to be able to save the sizes of columns and whatnot in panes views for just the client itself (and not the server). Right now for example it inherits the column width sizes from what's set on the server (which is 1440p) so on devices with smaller resolutions (e.g. 1080p) the columns are wider (which matches the 1440p server) and go outside 'view', so to speak.

If I resize the columns in the panes view (specifically a custom panes view in my case) on the client, then close the client version of MC and reopen it, it resets to the column width sizes of the panes view of the server again. Clients being able to have their own 'customization' in this regard would be much appreciated.

Does this make any sense?

Gedeon · « **Reply #39 on:** January 28, 2019, 02:47:08 pm »

"On the fly" reencode Atmos and DTS-X to E-AC3+ so extra height channels info could be sent by smart TV and other mkv players to receivers. Most premium brands don't send high res audio when playing mkv files. Only from legal streaming services or from optical disks.

Gedeon · « **Reply #40 on:** January 28, 2019, 02:50:34 pm »

I personally still use folder structures for movies so mergerfs does a great job when adding new disks to my pool (over Linux and backed up with snapraid). I'd love to see that "merged view" in JRiver library without needing Linux and mergerfs.

Moe · « **Reply #41 on:** January 28, 2019, 04:20:56 pm »

Fix video backgrounds in Theater View.

Moe · « **Reply #42 on:** January 28, 2019, 04:22:53 pm »

I've been asking for this for years...

A way to change sorting in Theater View on the fly. So if it defaults to Alphabetical, allow us to change to Date Imported/year/etc.

If you implement this I will definitely purchase 25.

mwillems · « **Reply #43 on:** January 28, 2019, 07:59:03 pm »

I would love it if Gizmo and/or JRemote (on android in my case) would accept fully qualified domain names with https/ssl for a server. Folks using a domain name with ssl can't use Gizmo or JRemote away from home without some workarounds (especially if you don't have a static IP).

biblio · « **Reply #44 on:** January 28, 2019, 09:17:08 pm »

Quote from: DJLegba on January 25, 2019, 07:21:08 pm

Hotkey to randomize the sort of the current view without changing the view's default sort.

ctrl + click or something similar

BryanC · « **Reply #45 on:** January 28, 2019, 10:18:36 pm »

Also include a "details" link (that links to the handheld sync window) in the completed sync action window, as is present in the action window during a sync.

Mike Rubin · « **Reply #46 on:** January 28, 2019, 11:49:46 pm »

Quote from: Fangio on January 26, 2019, 08:28:28 am

Cover Art > Get from internet: Allow the user to edit the text which will be used for the lookup.

Yes, please. I tag my hi-res files with "[24-xx]" or "[DSD]" to make it easier to find them with a search, but doing so before I look for internet cover art kills the search. It would be great to delete those characters in the search term without affecting the files themselves.

franswilco · « **Reply #47 on:** January 29, 2019, 06:17:19 am »

1
When connecting to a remote server, the client does not remember column layouts. Whenever I close the client and start it up again, I need to rearrange the columns manually using a preset I made. I'd like the client to remember these settings.

2
When launching Media Cente, it has a certain default of which 'tree branches' at the left side of the screen are opened or closed. It does not remember any changes I made. For instance, I want Playlist and Audio to be open at startup, and all the others (playing now, drivers & divices) to be closed.

The Big Labinski · « **Reply #48 on:** January 30, 2019, 05:30:35 am »

Request: A CEC volume control over HDMI would be great as well

Hendrik · « **Reply #49 on:** January 30, 2019, 05:45:27 am »

Quote from: The Big Labinski on January 30, 2019, 05:30:35 am

Request: A CEC volume control over HDMI would be great as well

Graphics Cards don't support CEC, you would need additional hardware to facilitate that.

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Author Topic: Too Easy V -- Things we should have done because they were so simple (Read 45540 times)