I managed to make most of my MC dreams come true with MC 12 (Audio server solution for my whole house), just two parts are now missing for this first stage:
1. Theater View Design
I read the how-to thread for a custom Theater View SDK. So far I understood most of what I can do with it. Have to try it out and learn by doing.
What is my goal?
I'd like to create a touchpanel GUI as easy to use as possible. The touchpanel has normal NTSC TV functionality. That's why I think 640x480 is the maximum resolution. All buttons should stay on certain screen positions and shouldn't jump around (I think they can even be included into the background picture design). I need only the common playback functionality: back, play, pause, stop, next, shuffle, endless and the four arrow buttons up, down, left and right. The rest of the screen can be filled with album/artist/genre/track lists to choose and during playback with the album cover, the track title, time and an overlay with a translucent audio analyzer would be cool...
Who has experiences with this and who can give some hints/tips?
2. Infrared
My touchpanels can be programmed and create external infrared signals (can be learned). I use an iMon inside/VFD IR receiver on my HTPC.
Who uses that too and can give some hints/tips what to avoid or suggestions how to implement it?
Thanks for any ideas!