Okay, may as well throw my feature requests on the pile. I know this thread is old, but I hate to start a new one.
ALL
1. Do something with the lower-left visualization – maybe make it clickable to switch back/forth between fullscreen/theater view (clicking goes fullscreen, then any key goes back to theater view), or maybe make it an ever-present shortcut to Playing Now a la WinMCE.
2. Store thumbnails on local PC, even if the files themselves are on a network drive.
3. Transitions/animations, as with Windows Media Center Edition. A small thing, but pleasant to look at.
4. Single key shortcut to go back to the main menu.
5. Ability to choose different size fonts for nav bar vs. main menus.
6. Ability to choose list/thumbnail for each menu/level individually, if desired.
MUSIC
1. Better “Playing Now” view. I’d like to see the current track nailed to the top, in larger/highlighted type, maybe with small (thumbnail-size) album art/visualization next to it. The rest of the Playing Now queue could go below this and be scrollable and maybe numbered.
2. More tag info listed in Playing Now – specifically, “[name] – [artist] [time]”, or at least artist - name.
3. Jump automatically to Playing Now once play is pressed, <back> takes you back to area where you actually pressed play.
PICTURES & VIDEO
1. Choice to jump to fullscreen view automatically when viewing.
Overall, though, I think the theater view should always take an iPod-like approach: keep the UI simple and intuitive, and focus on usability by remote control. In my opinion, since theater view is a living room thing, you should never need to pick up either a keyboard or a manual to operate it (after setup by a semi-expert, of course).
To that end, I think the requests I’ve seen for 50 additional options in the left-side bar are misguided. Track up/down in the playlist, 2-3 enqueue options…this is way too much. Keep it simple, or at least give the option to get rid of extra menu items if they’re going to be included. IMO an intuitive, remote-accessible UI, good for navigating tens of thousands of files, is of paramount concern - additional features are a far, far distant second.
The reason it’s a pleasure to use an iPod isn’t the huge number of features and options, it’s the great UI. I don’t know why home theater programs/devices haven’t embraced this approach.
That all said, this thing is getting MUCH better quick. Great to see the work being done on it.