Topic: Theater View skins - are they out there? (Read 5688 times)

raym · « **on:** June 24, 2006, 07:52:27 pm »

Hey guys.

I'm aware of the couple of Theater View skins available from the download site but was wondering if anyone has created their own TV skins that they'd be happy to share with others?

Cheers,
Ray

LanceD · « **Reply #1 on:** June 28, 2006, 05:41:27 pm »

I'm pretty surprised I haven't seen more of them. I've made a couple that I'll post later. What kind of skins are you looking for? Clones of other apps, themes, etc...

raym · « **Reply #2 on:** June 28, 2006, 07:15:39 pm »

Quote from: LanceD on June 28, 2006, 05:41:27 pm

I'm pretty surprised I haven't seen more of them. I've made a couple that I'll post later. What kind of skins are you looking for? Clones of other apps, themes, etc...

I guess I'm not looking for anything specific - just a variety like there is for MC standard view. I believe there's only so much that can be done when it comes to creating skins for Theater View but I'd ultimately like to see something like the many nice skins available for media portal: http://www.team-mediaportal.com/screenshots/. MP's "AQUA" and "BLUETWO" are particularly nice.

ferent · « **Reply #3 on:** June 29, 2006, 02:47:47 pm »

uahu!!! these screenshots are beautiful!!!

LanceD · « **Reply #4 on:** July 02, 2006, 01:12:09 pm »

I just sumbitted a port of the "Classic" skin from Beyond Media. I don't know how long it will take to be put up though...

It looks best when you set it to "Large" in options.

Mr ChriZ · « **Reply #5 on:** July 02, 2006, 02:23:29 pm »

Quote from: LanceD on July 02, 2006, 01:12:09 pm

I just sumbitted a port of the "Classic" skin from Beyond Media. I don't know how long it will take to be put up though...

http://home.comcast.net/~lancedrolet/Beyond_Classic.zip

It looks best when you set it to "Large" in options.

Thats cool :-D

raym · « **Reply #6 on:** July 02, 2006, 07:22:26 pm »

Quote from: LanceD on July 02, 2006, 01:12:09 pm

I just sumbitted a port of the "Classic" skin from Beyond Media. I don't know how long it will take to be put up though...

http://home.comcast.net/~lancedrolet/Beyond_Classic.zip

It looks best when you set it to "Large" in options.

This is so good!!! Thanks so much. I had no idea you could achieve this level of change.

At the risk of pushing it, would it be possible to port Media Portal's "BLUETWO" skin also - http://www.team-mediaportal.com/screenshots/catid,3/

Thanks again and perhaps this will inspire others to create more TV skins also...

Magic_Randy · « **Reply #7 on:** July 02, 2006, 08:24:53 pm »

Quote from: LanceD on July 02, 2006, 01:12:09 pm

I just sumbitted a port of the "Classic" skin from Beyond Media. I don't know how long it will take to be put up though...

http://home.comcast.net/~lancedrolet/Beyond_Classic.zip

It looks best when you set it to "Large" in options.

I'm sure I'm doing something wrong, but I can't figure out how to configure the Theater View.

I can go to -- Tools -- Options --- Theater View --- and set appearance to Acajou or Beyond Classic or Glass, or Hairline.

No matter what I set the Appearance to be, everything looks the same.

Any idea what I'm doing wrong?

Randy

LanceD · « **Reply #8 on:** July 03, 2006, 12:12:53 am »

Quote from: Magic_Randy on July 02, 2006, 08:24:53 pm

No matter what I set the Appearance to be, everything looks the same.

Any idea what I'm doing wrong?

Randy

First of all, are you going into Theater View (Ctrl+5 or View|Theater View)? If so, what are you seing?

LanceD · « **Reply #9 on:** July 03, 2006, 12:17:56 am »

Quote from: raym on July 02, 2006, 07:22:26 pm

At the risk of pushing it, would it be possible to port Media Portal's "BLUETWO" skin also - http://www.team-mediaportal.com/screenshots/catid,3/

I'll give it a shot. It's a great looking skin. I might have to spend some time sharpening my skills with the Gimp. ;-)

Magic_Randy · « **Reply #10 on:** July 03, 2006, 12:26:21 am »

Quote from: LanceD on July 03, 2006, 12:12:53 am

First of all, are you going into Theater View (Ctrl+5 or View|Theater View)? If so, what are you seing?

That's it. Thanks for the help.

I had it configured OK, but did not properly go into Theater View.

Randy

raym · « **Reply #11 on:** July 03, 2006, 11:37:58 pm »

Quote from: LanceD on July 03, 2006, 12:17:56 am

I'll give it a shot. It's a great looking skin. I might have to spend some time sharpening my skills with the Gimp. ;-)

LOL

I downloaded Media portal and am looking at all the BLUE TWO skin "bits" now. Very Nice. There's a black version too which is very sexy.

I might give it a shot at porting this to MC myself also... I've got a bit of learning to do but you've inspired me!

LanceD · « **Reply #12 on:** July 04, 2006, 01:35:27 pm »

Quote from: raym on July 03, 2006, 11:37:58 pm

I might give it a shot at porting this to MC myself also... I've got a bit of learning to do but you've inspired me!

Man... I wish I'd read that before I put the finishing touches on my port.... Well, theres always the black version

Mr ChriZ · « **Reply #13 on:** July 04, 2006, 01:50:02 pm »

These get better and better

LanceD · « **Reply #14 on:** July 04, 2006, 02:22:35 pm »

Just fixed it. It was a little off when you added too many items to the main menu...

I haven't tried it on a 16:9 display yet. If anybody has a chance to try it, let me know.

ferent · « **Reply #15 on:** July 04, 2006, 02:59:07 pm »

Quote from: LanceD on July 04, 2006, 01:35:27 pm

Man... I wish I'd read that before I put the finishing touches on my port.... Well, theres always the black version

http://home.comcast.net/~lancedrolet/Blue_Too.zip

WOW!! this is the best visualizaton in Mediacenter (Theater). Please, submit to the plugins web

BullishDad · « **Reply #16 on:** July 04, 2006, 07:01:51 pm »

Quote from: LanceD on July 04, 2006, 02:22:35 pm

I haven't tried it on a 16:9 display yet. If anybody has a chance to try it, let me know.

I have a 20" Dell Widescreen Monitor (1680x1050) and the BlueTwo skin looks great.

I'm currently using the "Small" size because that lets me see 15 thumbnails in Playing Now. "Normal" only shows 8. The only problem I have with "Small" is that the menu text is too small.

I don't know is there is a way to get 15 thumbnails with "Normal" or change the the text size of "Small" to be the same as "Normal", but that would be ideal for my use.

raym · « **Reply #17 on:** July 04, 2006, 07:14:36 pm »

Quote from: LanceD on July 04, 2006, 01:35:27 pm

Man... I wish I'd read that before I put the finishing touches on my port.... Well, theres always the black version

http://home.comcast.net/~lancedrolet/Blue_Too.zip

LanceD... You're the man!!!! Trust me, there's no way I would've been capable of producing anything as stunning as this. I'm so pleased I started this thread

Thankyou so much!!

Also, I think this shows yet again how capable MC really is ...

LanceD · « **Reply #18 on:** July 04, 2006, 07:49:29 pm »

Quote from: BullishDad on July 04, 2006, 07:01:51 pm

I don't know is there is a way to get 15 thumbnails with "Normal" or change the the text size of "Small" to be the same as "Normal", but that would be ideal for my use.

Thanks for the feedback!

To solve your problem, find the main.xml file in the Blue Too skin folder. Open the file in WordPad. In the <Buttons> block, you'll find this line:

<Image Bitmap="Buttons\Button.png" Columns="1,?-Flex,1" Rows="1,?-Flex,1" InternalMargins="6,12,6,12" />

Replace it with this:

<Image Bitmap="Buttons\Button.png" Columns="1,?-Flex,1" Rows="1,?-Flex,1" InternalMargins="6,6,6,6" />

That should make your Button text a little bigger.

Quote from: raym on July 04, 2006, 07:14:36 pm

LanceD... You're the man!!!! Trust me, there's no way I would've been capable of producing anything as stunning as this. I'm so pleased I started this thread
Also, I think this shows yet again how capable MC really is ...

Awww shucks...

Seriously though, I'm hoping that if enough of us submit stuff for Theater View, the J River folks will give it more thought. Maybe give us a bit more configurability with it or even *gasp* a few docs about it...

Quote from: ferent on July 04, 2006, 02:59:07 pm

Please, submit to the plugins web

Submitted

raym · « **Reply #19 on:** July 04, 2006, 08:26:15 pm »

Quote from: LanceD on July 04, 2006, 07:49:29 pm

Thanks for the feedback!

Seriously though, I'm hoping that if enough of us submit stuff for Theater View, the J River folks will give it more thought. Maybe give us a bit more configurability with it or even *gasp* a few docs about it...

Yeah good point.

Could I just ask please.... I'm trying to work out how to make the menu slightly longer (toward the top of the screen), to allow me to fit one or two more visible menu items. I think it relates to the PlayingNowRect field for the <buttons> block and menu_bg picture?

If you have a second, a brief explaination of how to generally position and re-size objects would be much appreciated as I just don't seem to be able to achieve this the way you seem to...

Thanks again.

BullishDad · « **Reply #20 on:** July 04, 2006, 09:16:41 pm »

Quote

To solve your problem, find the main.xml file in the Blue Too skin folder. Open the file in WordPad. In the <Buttons> block, you'll find this line:

<Image Bitmap="Buttons\Button.png" Columns="1,?-Flex,1" Rows="1,?-Flex,1" InternalMargins="6,12,6,12" />

Replace it with this:

<Image Bitmap="Buttons\Button.png" Columns="1,?-Flex,1" Rows="1,?-Flex,1" InternalMargins="6,6,6,6" />

That should make your Button text a little bigger.

Thanks so much, Lance. I know nothing about XML, but I was able to make the easy edit given your clear and specific instructions. Now it is just how I was imagining it.

Looks great with Ferent's excellent Blackstars visualization sitting in the bottom left corner of the screen.

LanceD · « **Reply #21 on:** July 04, 2006, 09:28:38 pm »

The easiest way us to just switch to a smaller view in the options menu.

Otherwise, if you're talking about the "Now Playing" screen, it has to do with the "PlayingNowRect" field. If you're talking about the Main Menu, it's the "Rect" property for the menu_bg picture and the "NoListRect" property for Buttons.

Either way, the Rect (or NoListRect) property determines how the buttons are sized on the screen. The coordinates are percentages of screen. So (NoListRect="10,8,50,95") means the upper left corner of the main screen buttons is 10% of the screen size from the left, 8% of the screen height from the top. The bottom right corner of the buttons will be 50% of the screen width from the left and 95% of the screen height from the bottom.

The menu_bg picture might be a little more tricky. Bitmaps don't get stretched. So, the picture will be sized to whatever dimension (horiz or vert) is smaller. This means that if you make it taller, you're also making it wider. That's why I didn't make the menu any taller than it is.

I'll comment the main.xml as much as I can in the next skin.

Hope this helps.

raym · « **Reply #22 on:** July 04, 2006, 10:57:03 pm »

Quote from: LanceD on July 04, 2006, 09:28:38 pm

...
...
Hope this helps.

It does. Thanks.

LanceD · « **Reply #23 on:** July 07, 2006, 01:00:55 am »

The Blue Too and Beyond Classic skins are on the plugins page, so I'm taking them off of my site.

LanceD · « **Reply #24 on:** July 10, 2006, 10:16:20 am »

I just put up this thread:

http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=34639.0

to help anyone who wants to get started making theater view skins. Let me know what you think.

jojo1967 · « **Reply #25 on:** September 01, 2006, 03:19:41 am »

I love the Blue too... looks great on my living room tv/monitor.

Is there a way to make the visuals window a bit biger ? another thing, but with all skins I've seen, the text for everything is biger than will fit on the screen, so I get part of the name with ... behind it.

INTERACT FORUM

Author Topic: Theater View skins - are they out there? (Read 5688 times)