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[sraymond]

Now that I'm playing around more with my HTPC (not myHTPC, but *my* HTPC!) and MC's Hairstyle, I've come across some things that make the Hairstyle more painful than it needs to be.  Sorry if this may be a repeat of past comments...

0.  I know this came up in the recent past, but I think the jump to full-screen is horribly counter-productive in practically all cases.  Especially "wrong" is when I pause from Hairstyle; why should I be forced to toggle back to hairstyle to continue where I left off?  I know you can't please all of the people all of the time, so at the least, might this be a setting like the other "jumps"?

1.  It's too hard to get to "Playing Now".  When I'm browsing media (either playlists or media library) looking to play something, I'm quite deep in the tree structure.  To see what's PN, I have to navigate all the way back out and then all the way back in.  I suggest there's a way to jump to PN.

2.  When looking at the PN list, there should be an option to toggle between thumbnail and a text list (probably just filename, but better if it was customizable).  This goes for playlists and media library as well.  I know I can turn of the text, but I can't turn off the thumbnail.  And it'd be great to do it on-the-fly as a toggle vice setup.

3.  There should be a way to see where in the PN list the current play is at.

4.  There should be a way to delete one or more items from the PN - if one currently exists, I couldn't fathom it.

Please don't take my ciriticism (and "shoulds") as anything but constructive.  Overall, I think the presentation of Hairstyle has gotten quite good.  The only thing it is missing (presentation-wise) is the nice "eye-candy" of alpha shading for the buttons and the presence of a "back arrow", "up arrow", and "down error" (like the forward error that already exists when there is navigation forward).  While it might seem like a little detail, I think it'd go a long way in elegance.  I'd really love to see the alpha shading.

I'm thinking I'll stick with MC (vice myHTPC) for my HTPC unless the dual-access to the DB cuases too much pain.  Until then, I'll keep good backups!

Scott-

[NoCodeUK]

I think that the auto jump to full screen setting can be turned off.  It is the auto hide option in Hairstyle settings...as for the rest all good ideas.  At the moment tho I have to say I am using myHTPC for HTPC access as it currently is more customizable.  I would like it to integrate with MCs database which I know there was talk off but does not seem to have been any more since then...

Adam

[sraymond]

Thanks Adam...  I didn't know about the "auto-hide".  Turning it off is much improved!

I know what you mean about myHTPC.  It is currently the better product from the presentation and HTPC-functionality perspectives.  But JRiver has repeatedly promised that Hairstyle will undergo short-term improvements, so I'm still willing to give them some more time!  If after a month or so there has been no progress, I'll be reprogramming my USB-UIRT for myHTPC.

Scott-

[JimH]

Scott,
Can you give us a short list of what you think is missing?

Jim

[bennyd]

Here's my list:

- When stopping a movie/song in fullscreen, I would like the option that it switches back to hairstyle mode.

- When something has been recorded from TV, I would like to see in hairstyle what I've recorded without having to import it.

- Also sound on the thumbnail navigation (like on the buttons)

- To be able to navigate to e.g. "Playing now" via MC commands or girder. (maybe enable the "Favorites" in hairstyle)

all for now :-)

[difool]

Hi,

Just wanted to second Scott's no. 2.
I would also like to get rid of the thumbnails and just have a configurable list like "Artist", "Name", "Album"...

[NoCodeUK]

Jim,

the big thing for me with myHTPC is the customization aspect.  At the moment HS is restricted to the menu that is present in the tree.  myHTPC is totally configurable and can therefore be used to do just about anything and set up in just about anyway you want.  Check out some of the tips and tricks on their forum for ideas of what people are doing.  I think MC is THE best backend for music organization, nothing else can shake a stick at it and combined with a front end to rival myHTPC it would be an awesome tool.  At the moment Hairstyle looks very nice but it does not really have any functionality that is not available from the main interface.
The beauty of myHTPC is that it has been thought of from the ground up to be most useful as a TV interface for use on an HTPC.  At the moment I think Hairstyle is a nice interface to MC but is not entirely sufficient as an HTPC front end.

I will play with my current myHTPC setup a bit more and will give you more specific ideas of what is good and bad about it and how they relate to Hairstyle,

Cheers

Adam

[sraymond]

Jim,

Thanks for asking...

I'll let Adam respond to the myHTPC-esque features that are missing from Hairstyle.

After only a few days of using Hairstyle to drive my HTPC, I came up with my items 0-4:

0.  I know this came up in the recent past, but I think the jump to full-screen is horribly counter-productive in practically all cases.  Especially "wrong" is when I pause from Hairstyle; why should I be forced to toggle back to hairstyle to continue where I left off?  I know you can't please all of the people all of the time, so at the least, might this be a setting like the other "jumps"?

1.  It's too hard to get to "Playing Now".  When I'm browsing media (either playlists or media library) looking to play something, I'm quite deep in the tree structure.  To see what's PN, I have to navigate all the way back out and then all the way back in.  I suggest there's a way to jump to PN.

2.  When looking at the PN list, there should be an option to toggle between thumbnail and a text list (probably just filename, but better if it was customizable).  This goes for playlists and media library as well.  I know I can turn off the text, but I can't turn off the thumbnail.  And it'd be great to do it on-the-fly as a toggle vice setup.

3.  There should be a way to see where in the PN list the current play is at.

4.  There should be a way to delete one or more items from the PN - if one currently exists, I couldn't fathom it.

0 - May not be much of an issue now that I've learned about the auto-hide function.

1 - This is important for novices who don't know the navigation tree in Hairstyle.  My wife couldn't find what was "playing now" to save her life.  In all fairness, it was SIX backarrows.

2, 3, and 4 - These speak for themselves.

Oh, and a little thing that causes a hassle:  Why not let an "enter" on the navigation tree select all files on the right (i.e. the components of the playlist or media library) for play and a an "enter" while tabbed to the right select the highlighted file for play.  

And about getting to the right:  If I've navigated to the end of the tree (let's say I'm at the last level of my media library or playlist), why shouldn't another right arrow do the same thing as a "tab"?

And lastly:  Why not get at the low hanging fruit like the "eye candy"?  I.e. the alpha shading for the buttons and the presence of a "back arrow", "up arrow", and "down error" (like the forward error that already exists when there is navigation forward).

Scott-

[Ingo]

have a look at
http://www.musicex.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=MediaCenter;action=display;num=1048424166;start=0#0

didn't check for #3
5 is fixed,
7 is partly fixed

so it's 11 1/2 (or 12 1/2) issues still open ;-) (didn't check for new ones.... just can't use it like it is)

Ingo

p.s.: mc9 is still the best for organizing.

[nila]

Alot of good ideas - especially the playing now window one which is something that was buggine me a LOT when I set this up on someone's machine.

Also the following features would be nice:

1. (already said) a text only list with customisable text columns that display instead of thumbnails

2. A method of searching for files like there is in main mode. The difference is this would be designed for very basic entry mode. The best way I can think of is an onscreen keyboard to enter the search text. There could be an option for this for configuration mode:
- normal mode
- mobile mode (this would let you enter text like you do in a mobile which is PERFECT for remotes with 0-9 buttons on them
http://www.myhtpc.net/images/screens/large/titlesearch.jpg
it could be presumed that only basic searches would be done and not long complex ones so if you did a :
search by:   all/title/artist/name/year etc where we could just click up onto the 'search by' and then right click to make the option change as to what we were searching by it'd make it pretty basic and easy. Just an idea.

3. Ability to customise the tree so I could for instance always have a link to see the list of what's 'playing now' with just one button click. I could then navigate up and down the list and use -> to go into a list of options for each file (play again, remove from playlist, move up playlist, etc. etc.)

4. When I reach the end of a tree if I click -> again it then either as mentioned jumps to the right hand pane or it would do as suggested for playing now and bring up a list of options (add to playing now (next), add to end of playing now, replace playing now, etc. etc.)

5. there needs to be some way of choosing how files/albums are added to the playing now window - maybe I slipped up but I couldn't see one - this needs to be on a per track/album method not a global option that's set then forgotten type thing.
Maybe let us go through and select a bunch of tracks, then push a button that brings up options where we decide if we want to add all the tracks to playing now, replace playing now, insert into playing now and play etc.

6. More customisable views. This for instance is a great way to browse an album and choose tracks in it:
http://www.myhtpc.net/images/screens/large/music2.jpg
This is a great view if I want a lot of info about one file (eg for a film)
http://www.myhtpc.net/images/screens/large/small_video8.jpg

[Soundman]

Hi, JRiver crew,

The thing I want most in Hairstyle is scriptability - manipulate menu items and respond to user selection events in a script.

Second most wanted: #2 in sraymond's list, because album art is the exception rather than the rule for me.

2.  When looking at the PN list, there should be an option to toggle between thumbnail and a text list (probably just filename, but better if it was customizable).  This goes for playlists and media library as well.

[jfmus]

Jim,

What about add to playing now in Hairstyle?
The hairstyles should be the finishing touch to an awesome program. But I am getting a bit impatient with the wait. MJ is the only piece of software I use for listening. I've been waiting for for a killer interface to use with the home stereo since version 7.

A compaint other than a few mentioned above, was that to select the next song you had to wait until the first had finished. No way to trigger or set up a remote control press, that I can find, to allow for the song to be added to playing now.

I really love the program, but this interface is really what I have been waiting for, I am getting to the point that I my need to look into myHTPC. Could we get some feedback on where you guys are headed with the hairstyles and its functionality.

Thanks,
JFMUS

[Bryan]

I've got an idea for Media Center that would play well with some of these suggestions for Hairstyle.  

What about adding the ability to assign properties to playlists, media library views, other top level entities in the tree to include (but not limited to :

1) Show in Hairstyle
2) Include in "Export All Playlists"
3) Sort by:...  (selectable options here)
4) Assign Shortcut key (for quick access)

I'm sure there could be many others ...

Bryan

[Matt]

Thanks for all the ideas everyone.

We're going to throw some attention at Hairstyle over the next few days, so keep your eyes out for some improvements.

More later.

[NoCodeUK]

Nice One!

I have just one small request.  It is really just for consistency purposes and to make navigation easier.  I have just set up some new view schemes specifically for HS (see thread : the REAL Problem) to make it easier to navigate larger lists.  What I would like to see is Albums to always group at Album level in the thumbnail view until I drill down to the album level where I want to see individual tracks.  At the moment if an artist has more than 1 album then the artist level shows album thumbnails but if they have 1 album only it shows track thumbnails.

Adam

[sraymond]

Hoo-aah!  (I guess that's militaryspeak for w00t!)  I can hardly wait.

Scott-

[nila]

My vote too for not splitting up into Tracks unless we're down to that level even if the artist only has one album.
It makes you think the artist has loads of albums and gets confusing.

Also,
I'd like to see options for the thumbnail text so I can choose what text is displayed there.

I'd like it to be set up similar to how AV2 has it where we can configure the display. This works perfectly, including the right click option to see all available tokens.


Also, it seems to be jumping to track info page when I'm playing my music.
I ONLY want it to jump for my video's, (I dont use it for pictures) and DEFINITELY not for mp3's even if they do have cover art.


I'd also like to be able to lock it in hairstyle mode (also including full screen playing now for watching the video's) so that I can leave my computer on as a jukebox and people cant leave the hairstyle - especially not by accident as it's quite easy to do now.

But a text only version instead of thumbnails to be able to scroll a list of track info for the songs would be a HUGE benefit

[bennyd]

Another thing that would be nice:

- That we can choose a different track info page in fullscreen then the one in mega me.

[nila]

I've started setting this up for myself now at home as well as all the other machine's I've set it up on.

One thing is I have a very limited remote (hauppauge WinTV Theatre standard remote).

There's a plugin for girder for it so it works and I've re-mapped most the buttons to work with MC.

The problem is the shere number of functions and the lack of buttons.

One thing I'd love to be able to do is rate the songs - This right now is set up to take 5 buttons in girder which is a LOT of buttons for us with cheap remotes.

What'd be great would be if we could press one button that brought up a screen with starts on it, we can then use the left and right buttons we use for the rest of hairstyle to move left or right to set the rating then press enter to set it. This would only require one additional button instead of 5.

Also, could we have an event to toggle between hairstyle and playing now fulll screen (when we're watching the video's full screen) because in hairstyle we need both these modes.


Please try to remmeber the lack of buttons when adding new features to Hairstyle and give us clever ways to do it with left, right, up, down and enter

Thanks!!

[sraymond]

One thing I'd love to be able to do is rate the songs - This right now is set up to take 5 buttons in girder which is a LOT of buttons for us with cheap remotes.

I wonder if this is a result of less-than-ideal Girder programming?

Also, could we have an event to toggle between hairstyle and playing now fulll screen (when we're watching the video's full screen) because in hairstyle we need both these modes.

This is already present...  you can send the APPS keystroke to MC and it toggles the Hairstyle.  I haven't checked to see if it's included in the latest additions to the MCC_COMMANDS, but I'd bet it is.

Scott-

[nila]

sraymond - U mean bad programming by me or MC?

If u mean me then do u have any tips? I'm new to Girder and dont have much experience with it and would more than welcome any and all tips as to how to get the best use out of it.

Thanks

[sraymond]

Nila,

I can't offer you any specific advice wrt programming girder (I'm hardly an expert!)....  but I've seen some pretty impressive things done that I wouldn't have thought possible.  You might pose the question on the girder forum and see if anyone has a solution to what you'd like to do.

Scott-

[Eiffel]

Nila,

If you don't mind pressing a key multiple times, you could use a single key to set ratings from 0 to 5...

One way of doing this is to create a girder multigroup associated with the IR signal/key in question and create 6 different commands sending the Sendmessage for each rating (0..5), and then to associate states to each of these commands (right click, state settings, State Sount set to 6, and adjust begin state from 1 to 6).

This simple solution should work ok, but you probably want to set up some visual indication of the assigned rating (which could be done via Girder OSD commands and the same state concept).

The main drawback of this approach is that, after rating one song (say a 3) , you have to press the key 6 times to give the next song the same rating (4->5->0->1->2->3). There are ways around this, but it won't be as simple as the solution indicated above

[nila]

Eiffel - Sounds like I have a lot of learning to do

[Eiffel]

Nila,  let me know if you're having difficulties (I also have some Girder scripts which work more along the lines of what you initially suggested - ie 3 keys: one to set the rating to a default value, and 2 to increase/lower this value).

There is another approach which you might like too: set a key on your remote to work as a shift key (You could then press shift+number to set the ratings)... now you have twice as many buttons! it is described in the trick and tips section of the girder forum

[nila]

Thanks Eiffel,

I'm going to play a bit and if I get too stuck I'll get back to you. I'm going to check the tips and tricks section too to see what info I can get out of that.