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Author Topic: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13  (Read 17995 times)

jack wallstreet

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #50 on: December 22, 2007, 08:37:57 am »

How about a "no-brainer" front end and a simple set of instructions to use it  to increase sales revenue for those who just need basic functionality.  Perhaps with limited and/or preset views.  The power of MC can be intimidating and may be limiting sales.  I think a simple front-end (default status) may be important to marketing and may be the most important "enhancement."
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glynor

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #51 on: December 22, 2007, 08:50:20 am »

I am actually a little divided here... a big part of me would like to see MC go the way of VLC Player and support as many file formats as possible out of the box... there have been lots of times I've recommended MC to people, installed it for them, and then lost them at.... "now you'll need this codec/direcshow filter" to play these files. I always get asked "why shouldn't I just use VLC player?" ... and for people who aren't all that interested in video organisation, just playback, that's a hard question to answer.

It would take a lot of resources to stay on top of EVERY popular format out there (not to mention subtitles, multiple audio streams etc)... and it might come at the expense of the configurability of direcshow, however... what do others think?

I understand where you're coming from, but I don't agree.  Being a DirectShow player allows MC to do a lot of things that VLC can't, and provides much greater flexibility.  True, VLC "Just Works" for most people, on most systems, with most media.  However, there are plenty of examples where it doesn't work well (or at all).  It has very limited options if one particular built-in filter doesn't work very well...  For example, just try playing a 1080p x264 high-bitrate encode (such as a rip from a HD-DVD disc) in VLC on a Pentium 4 or single-core Athlon 64.  Because libavcodec provides no acceleration support, and because you can't use third-party directshow filters, there's no way to do it and not drop frames.

VLC does have other limitations (no real support, no Intel Indeo support, among others)...

There's another huge problem with VLC's system... It violates patents left and right.  They barely get away with most of what they've done because it is free, open source, and fairly low-profile.  If MC tried to do anything similar, poor JimH would get sued out of his pants.
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dcwebman

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #52 on: December 22, 2007, 10:26:00 am »

1. Aliases for songs so that duplicate song files aren't needed if wanted in more than one album.
2. Store/retrieve multiple cover art images in YADB
3. Cleanup of image organization & playback, e.g. double-clicking an image opens up in a separate zone regardless of anything in Playing Now, IPTC read/writing
4. Separate tree views for each tab.
5. Everything stored in library so one backup backs up everything.
6. Separate options per library, e.g. file locations could be different
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Jeff

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #53 on: December 22, 2007, 10:27:44 am »

How about a "no-brainer" front end and a simple set of instructions to use it  to increase sales revenue for those who just need basic functionality.  Perhaps with limited and/or preset views.  The power of MC can be intimidating and may be limiting sales.  I think a simple front-end (default status) may be important to marketing and may be the most important "enhancement."
Sounds like a good idea but there are so many alternatives for this already aren't they :)

I'd like to think one moves to MC when those alternatives aren't good enough anymore. Given than MC has manged to get this far must mean there is a niche for it.

this is in no way means things have to be uncessarily complicated  but i think, at times, you are drawing a very fine line between providing what others dont and also being kept to the same standard of making it as simple as they do
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AoXoMoXoA

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #54 on: December 22, 2007, 10:28:27 am »

5. Everything stored in library so one backup backs up everything.

X2 !!
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benn600

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #55 on: December 22, 2007, 11:07:49 am »

Quote
5. Everything stored in library so one backup backs up everything.

Can I get a X3?  I've wanted this always.  Everything in the MC profile/database!  Drop the registry--it's forward looking.
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rjm

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #56 on: December 22, 2007, 12:48:53 pm »

5. Everything stored in library so one backup backs up everything.

!!!!X4!!!!
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hit_ny

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #57 on: December 22, 2007, 01:15:54 pm »

Haha, count me in on this one too.
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morrison

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #58 on: December 22, 2007, 05:27:23 pm »

my 5 cents top  :)

1. true client-server system, groups/users rights
2. touchscreen support
3. TV support
4. Theater view updates (like custom info in playnow selection)
5. Linux version ::)


thanks for your great work!

P.S. i think price very low
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benn600

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #59 on: December 22, 2007, 07:39:27 pm »

Touchscreen support?  What would that be specifically?  I have been hoping to create a HTPC with a small touchscreen that could theoretically go in the walls in a house.  Wouldn't the touch screen finger touch simply mimic a left mouse click?  What needs to be added for touchscreen support?
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glynor

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #60 on: December 22, 2007, 08:09:52 pm »

Touchscreen support?  What would that be specifically?  I have been hoping to create a HTPC with a small touchscreen that could theoretically go in the walls in a house.  Wouldn't the touch screen finger touch simply mimic a left mouse click?  What needs to be added for touchscreen support?

MC already "supports" touchscreens just fine, especially in Theater View.  Of course, Windows does most of the work.  Using a Touchscreen just works like a mouse and screen mostly.  You do need the Tablet Edition of Windows to get some of the fancy UI features (though there are probably 3rd-party ways to enable those as well), but most stuff is just normal windows support.

I'm not sure what specifically Morrison was interested in, though it'd be nice to know more if there are specifics.
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benn600

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #61 on: December 22, 2007, 09:40:57 pm »

Quote
MC already "supports" touchscreens just fine, especially in Theater View.

And I wouldn't want a touchscreen when not in theater view.  Many fingers are fat!
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imugli

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #62 on: December 23, 2007, 03:59:31 am »

Could you start a new thread and provide more details?

Done :-)

darichman

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #63 on: December 23, 2007, 05:58:44 am »

There's another huge problem with VLC's system... It violates patents left and right. If MC tried to do anything similar, poor JimH would get sued out of his pants.

I didn't know that!

Quote
I understand where you're coming from, but I don't agree.  Being a DirectShow player allows MC to do a lot of things that VLC can't, and provides much greater flexibility.  True, VLC "Just Works" for most people, on most systems, with most media.  However, there are plenty of examples where it doesn't work well (or at all).


I wasn't sure if I agreed with myself :) I guess it would just be nice to have a truly portable media solution. Maybe a bit idealistic of me!

Quote
If MC tried to do anything similar, poor JimH would get sued out of his pants.
Poor, poor Jim :)
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morrison

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #64 on: December 23, 2007, 11:45:23 am »

Touchscreen support?  What would that be specifically?  I have been hoping to create a HTPC with a small touchscreen that could theoretically go in the walls in a house.  Wouldn't the touch screen finger touch simply mimic a left mouse click?  What needs to be added for touchscreen support?

i use 7" 800*480 touchscreen in my car. For normal use need to add "only left-click mode". You don't have right button on screen )) - only long touch, and this no usable with MC.. Action menu in theater mode activate by rightclick or enter... In old bulds i can press "Play" in screen menu, in latest builds its no worked... sorry 4 my english )
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benn600

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #65 on: December 23, 2007, 09:27:27 pm »

Our EEEs are 800x480!  Where'd ya get the LCD?  How much money?  They always seemed way out of range price wise compared to what larger screens sell for.
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Lossless Dave

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #66 on: December 24, 2007, 03:20:44 am »

I find it remarkable that full write (as well as the current read) support for .m4a tags is not included with MC.

This is a major format used by millions of iPod users, who are then are given the opportunity to use that fine product iTunes.  ;)

The jriver home page states that MC

 - organises and experience all your media.
 - shows an iPod with the caption, supports more hardware players than any other application.

As the program already reads .m4a tags it cannot be a big deal to implement the writing of them also.

Regards
Lossless Dave

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p7389

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #67 on: December 24, 2007, 04:55:52 am »

Firstly, I concur - with the one who said this - do not put undue effort into editing capabilities.

Many things in this thread I like. Some I don't care about. But still, it's not the p7389 media center...

Anyway, I didn't read every post... But here goes a small suggestion (I'm thinking possibly a 12.x update?)...:

Let us combine columns with tabs; i.e. for instance one tab with two columns and one tab with one column. Oh, and the lock pane thing! I want that!
Oh yeah... 360 support too...

Merry Christmas all.
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ShayB

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #68 on: December 24, 2007, 08:55:00 am »

Hi Everyone,

I am not sure if this is the correct thread, maybe the feature already exists or not. or even if we want it earlier than mc13 but I find the following very important.

while transfering audio files to handhelds / burning data (or audio) discs,  The tags contain the replay gain info but the players don't use them so I suggest an "adjust volume" check-box so that files will be transfered with the wanted volume.
also (and this is "nice to have")  additional check-box "add volume adjustment suffix" so that all the files that could be volume-adjusted will be renamed to a special pattern that can be set in the options.

ShayB
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AustinBike

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #69 on: December 25, 2007, 10:53:43 am »

Exportable views.

If I have a view scheme that I like, I'd love to package it up and send it to a friend.



Video handling for tivo server


Theater view for tivo server (HME integration so it shows album art or visualizations, not just name and artist.)
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Listener

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #70 on: December 25, 2007, 02:43:38 pm »

I'm reluctant to propose lots of new features for MC 13.  I'd like to see some obvious fixes made.  My list:

1. Provide a simple summary on the top part of the file list area after a CD is ripped.  If all tracks ripped with confidence, just say so. Most of the CDs I rip (securely) are done without incident (100%) so I just want to know whether I have to look in more detail. 

2. Make the ripping report dialog big enough to show the details clearly.  The current dialog is just too small and is not resizeable. 

3. I'd like a summary after importing files that says whether there are any problems and summarizes them.  If I need details, I want the imported files report dialog to be big enough to show the lines of report text.  Currently, I have to enlarge the dialog box vertically and horizontally.

4. I'd like to have a one hand, one click, always works  way to play the files that I have selected.  The play button in the player area is overloaded.  Even if I check the option to make it play the selected files, it will resume play of the previously playing file if I have paused playback earlier.  I'd like an additional button that always plays the files that are selected or all files listed if none are selected.  And if you can, an add to playback list button.

5. Better documentation.  MC 12 has decent documentation of menu items and commands compared to most players.  However, MC 12 has lots of features that will not be obvious to newcomers.  It needs better explanation of the underlying concepts and better how-to descriptions that provide step-by-step descriptions of things a beginner needs to do. 

---
I do have one new feature I'd like to see.  I'd like to be able to combine music files in MC (as I copy and convert format.)
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TCube

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #71 on: December 25, 2007, 11:36:29 pm »

Touchscreen support?  What would that be specifically?  I have been hoping to create a HTPC with a small touchscreen that could theoretically go in the walls in a house.  Wouldn't the touch screen finger touch simply mimic a left mouse click?  What needs to be added for touchscreen support?

Sounds like a hot idea  ;D   I thought about investing in the following for commun household use - HD inside holding MC12 + network card and Terratec souncard [coming ot market Jan. 08 in Europe - I wouldn't dare to throw away my HiFi stack anyway]
TCube



Links to the software
Link to the Box
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park

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #72 on: December 26, 2007, 01:57:58 am »

Most of what I'd like to see involves further polishing of the MC user interface. If the following things were done, I'm pretty sure that doing things in the program would be much more intuitive and thus easier, without needing to dumb down the feature set.

Sorting
I'd like to see an interface tidy up. At the moment, there are too many ways to change the sorting, and they arent really consistent. I say dump the sorting pane in Customize current view, and put it into an "advanced" entry in the Sort menu. You would of course be able to customize all of the preset sort rules there too.

Groups
I'd also like to see the "Group" functionality developed.
1. I suggest putting back a toolbar in the the bottom files list and filling it with sexy little icons to allow the user to switch between thumbnails, album thumbnails, and group views on the fly. And if you have an album selected and switch views, then the selection shouldnt be reset. Instead you should be auto scrolled down to that selection in the new view.
2. The sort menu should be applied to the groups too.
3. Make the large thumbnail a defualt column in this view and unify it's size.
4. Like i suggested for the sort menu, create an advanced entry in the group menu, where we can customize the presets, and add our own.

View layout
I dont know what gets saved, and what gets applied if we use this function. I suggest that when you save a new preset, it brings up some kind of summary of what will be saved, and when you apply one, it should bring up a summary of what will be applied, so that you can confirm that is what you really want to do.

Tagging mode
This is one of MC's best features. It's so much easier than alternatives such as itunes. But I get the feeling that most people discover this feature accidentally, rather than naturally. I'd put a "Tagging mode" toggle in the main toolbar above the panes, or a "Tagging mode" button at the top of the Tag action window.

This getting lengthy so I'll stop now. Looking forward to MC13.
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MusicHawk

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #73 on: December 26, 2007, 06:54:36 pm »

These two are essentially the same idea, and I have the same request... 

>> Some way to store tags in DVD files (xml file or whatever).
>> save tags to the folder as a separate .tag file or something. Just like saving a coverart file.

I find it much too risky to put any data in MC that can't be stored in the media file itself, ideally as standard tags. BUT, storing in an associated data/tag file is way better than nothing, which can literally be total loss of the associations between MC's data and the files.

An example of doing this is found in DVArchive (dvarchive.org), a free program which can directly connect to and retrieve TV shows from ReplayTV PVRs. Because the video files are mpg, they don't contain tags, so the developer Gerry Duprey created an XML format. Each TV show recording has a same-named XML file with all the show's tags. DVArchive presents all the recorded shows as a database table (similar to MC) but each row of data is actually stored in a separate XML file. (I could post some examples if anyone's interested.)

I use DVArchive daily, but also add the same mpg videos to MC -- which unfortunately requires adding all the tags manually. Wouldn't it be nice if MC could read DVArchive .xml files? ;D
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Managing my media with JRiver since Media Jukebox 8 (maybe earlier), currently use Media Center for Audio/Music and Photos/Videos.
My career in media spans Radio, TV, Print, Photography, Music, Film, Online, Live, Advertising, as producer, director, writer, performer, editor, engineer, executive, owner. An exhausting but amazing ride.

JimH

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #74 on: December 26, 2007, 07:02:07 pm »

I find it much too risky to put any data in MC that can't be stored in the media file itself, ideally as standard tags. BUT, storing in an associated data/tag file is way better than nothing, which can literally be total loss of the associations between MC's data and the files.
I think you may be overstating the case.  An MC library backup can save you in the case of a catastrophic failure.
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AustinBike

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #75 on: December 26, 2007, 07:52:58 pm »

What about the summary after importing?  Instead of just a full summary with all of the successes, why not a full summary or a "just the errors" summary option.
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MusicHawk

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #76 on: December 26, 2007, 09:54:21 pm »

Others (including some in this thread) say they've had a similar catastrophe, so there seems to be some basis for our request to maintain maximum data at the individual file level.

>> An MC library backup can save you in the case of a catastrophic failure.

I make MC backups regularly, but I imagine they can only help in certain situations. Though I've had to rebuild my MC library several times, it's never been a problem that the MC backup helped me fix. I actually don't know in what situation I'd restore an MC library backup -- perhaps someone can present a common scenario that I'm overlooking.

The problems that have happened were external to MC, so the only apparent solution was to start with an empty MC library and rebuild it entirely from files and their tags.


I hope MC can move towards a structure that is self-contained within MC's files, doesn't rely on a particular physical location, and doesn't reply on an OS-specific system such as the Windows Registry.

For instance:

Media files individually packaged as much as possible -- each file uses internal tags to the max, paired with external .xml data, so each song or video or whatever is a set of files: the media file itself, its tags/info in an .xml, and perhaps cover art in a .jpg.

Library files as self-contained as possible, with nothing important in the Registry. Store config and view design and playlists and everything in the library file/backup, and/or in one external config or .ini file.

MC as self-contained as possible, with nothing in the Registry (other than file type associations). Store everything that might be applicable to multiple libraries either in each library file, or in one external config or .ini file.


Firefox is one approach to this architecture. DVArchive that I mentioned earlier is another example. IBM Lotus Notes is another -- a very sophisticated database, collaboration and messaging program -- but I can move a complex Lotus Notes installation with hundreds of files to any arbitrary location, on Windows, MacOS or Linux, by just tweaking a couple of lines in one text .ini file. In the latest version, IBM even allows Notes to run from a USB stick.

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Managing my media with JRiver since Media Jukebox 8 (maybe earlier), currently use Media Center for Audio/Music and Photos/Videos.
My career in media spans Radio, TV, Print, Photography, Music, Film, Online, Live, Advertising, as producer, director, writer, performer, editor, engineer, executive, owner. An exhausting but amazing ride.

park

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #77 on: December 26, 2007, 11:20:36 pm »

Subtitles
I would also love to see subtitles handled like cover art.

1. You could run a "link subtitles to videos" tool, which would search a folder, or your database, for all subtitle files. If the subtitles have the same name as a video file in the database, then they would be moved over to a central definable folder, and from then on be handled like cover art is. For example, if you rename a video file, the subtitle gets automatically renamed too.

I'm so aching for this feature. Currently, tagging my video collection is a nightmare. I have imported all of my subtitle files into the library and try to edit tag data of subtitles and videos together, but sometimes I lapse, and rename a video by itself. It's so labour intensive.

Tagging non taggable files
I agree with others about having some sidecar files next to untaggable files. I would like to see this, but rather than literal sidecar, I'd prefer it if the files were kept in one place and updated by MC. It would feel tidier.

I have ripped most of my DVDs to mp4s, thinking that in future MC or some other program might be able to write tag info to this better than it would be able to for avis. I do hope that MC manages to be able to tag m4as, mp4s some day.
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Rizlaw

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #78 on: December 27, 2007, 12:30:05 pm »

my 5 cents top  :)

1. true client-server system, groups/users rights
2. touchscreen support
3. TV support
4. Theater view updates (like custom info in playnow selection)
5. Linux version ::)


thanks for your great work!

P.S. i think price very low

Me too, for #4 and and especially#5 - Linux support, pretty, pretty, please
Also, I'd really like "Theatre View > Playing Now" to show the time length of each track and the real time "remaining time" for the playing track.
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cosmicfx

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #79 on: December 27, 2007, 12:40:33 pm »

With the current MC Library backup, I thought it was supposed to back up all view schemes too, but with a few custom view schemes which Matt so kindly helped me set up ... when I had to format and redo my pc ( which I land up doing almost every few months ) , I loaded my saved MC libarary backups , but was disappointed to find that it hadn't loaded the previously created view schemes.
So I have to start from scratch here. :(

Doesn't the backup save custom created view schemes, or was there something wrong?

Thanks
cosmic
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Matt

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #80 on: December 27, 2007, 08:37:51 pm »

What about the summary after importing?  Instead of just a full summary with all of the successes, why not a full summary or a "just the errors" summary option.

Newer builds of MC 12 put the errors at the top of the summary.  Give it a try, and feel free to start a thread if you think it still needs work.
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glynor

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #81 on: December 27, 2007, 09:23:59 pm »

With the current MC Library backup, I thought it was supposed to back up all view schemes too

It does.  Something must have gone wrong with your restore.  The library contains all View Schemes and Playlists, along with all the tag data for your files.
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benn600

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #82 on: December 28, 2007, 12:11:46 am »

...and if the "library" contained settings as well, then this would restore everything!  Please oh please move settings from the registry to the user library database!

Addition: my first post on Interact EVER was dealing with this issue.  It was my only real initial con to MC compared with other media applications I was trying.  Amazing how many things have gotten better since ~18 months ago.

Quote
I would really like to see all the settings, plugins, and themes be stored in the library folder.  Mozilla products (Firefox & Thunderbird) use this model and it works so well upon reinstalling and using across a network because all you have to do is point the library to the folder and everything--and I mean everything--is exactly how you want it.  If the plugins are stored there, then settings can also be stored there.  Otherwise, the setting may say use FLAC but it might not exist yet.

I am going through reencoding my library in FLAC and am looking for suggestions on how to guarantee no problems in the files.  I found one song with loud pops in the first 2 seconds of the song.  I am spending all this time and taking so much space to have literally perfect files.  It also means spending a lot of money buying CDs to get high quality rips.

Also, can you provide an easy way to have playlists exported to a specific folder--possibly just one inside the library, "Playlists," which would hold up to date standard playlists, such as .m3u because I really need this for 2 other applications I use.  I was using a program to get playlists out of iTunes before.

Thanks!

The second two parts are old news.  #3 was when my alarm clock was a computer and I had a keypad that let me snooze, etc. and I would wakeup to my "Monday" playlist which was editable on any computer at any time...I don't have anything like this now.  I should set it up again!  That was neat.
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Fred1

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #83 on: December 28, 2007, 01:41:06 am »

What i really would like for MC13, is a relational database for the library.
It is not fun to edit in a huge library because of the bad response times if you make any field changes.
A relational database would improve this very much.
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darichman

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #84 on: December 28, 2007, 02:26:50 am »

What i really would like for MC13, is a relational database for the library.
It is not fun to edit in a huge library because of the bad response times if you make any field changes.
A relational database would improve this very much.

If I could only pick one thing for MC 13 it would be this :)
There are sooo many cool things we could do with this!
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soulcancer

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #85 on: December 28, 2007, 11:07:10 am »

I would like to see an easier way to customize the keyboard short cuts.
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shelburt

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #86 on: December 28, 2007, 04:48:32 pm »

I'd like to be able to import videos I've purchased in iTunes into MC.
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thorathome

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #87 on: December 28, 2007, 10:29:57 pm »

First, I'm a Big Fan of Media Center.  I'm from the ex-MusicMatch diaspora, and just got an iPod.  MC works very well for me.  Thanks.
Have been on MC 12 for some time now and recommend it to all.

Requests for the Future:  saving status across databases;  easier reset/restore of databases. 
I tend to clear my audio database (library) and rebuild it from time to time because
1) At home I have two DBs:  one for my main music library, one for my yet-to-catalogue library.  I sometimes want to switch back and forth. 
2) I sometimes travel with an external drive (and leave my music file server at home)
All in all, I have three different libraries I load up on my laptop:  music server main, music server uncatalogued, laptop travel files. 

Clearing the Library is a Big Deal.  I would like this action to be lower impact. 
I would MC like to
a) not default to 'revert database fields back to default'  when clearing the library (I'm lazy about unchecking the checkbox.)
b) keep my views, playlists, auto-import locations, etc.  (Yes, I export Playlists, and it works fine.  View Layouts, auto-import locations get lost, though) 
c) load up a new library faster.  Hate to compare, but MMJB was much faster loading up - probably my only real complaint abbout MC. 

I use and like the Tabbed view, thanks.  But whenever I clear my database or clear Playing Now, the Media Center forgets the layout view I use. 
Would be nice to keep it.  I'm just going to load up more music and reset to the saved preferred view. 

I've seen several suggestions to backup all MC settings.  Nice idea.  One command to save/restore would be great. 
Can we backup whole libraries, too?  (Not the files, just the library.)
Or is there an easier way to switch between two (or three) different databases? 

BTW, I have been impressed with MC's handling of a new iPod.  Smooth and easy.  Thanks. 

Thor
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eba

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #88 on: December 29, 2007, 09:27:25 am »

An 'Edit Field' for custom calculated fields would be nice.

If I edit Album Artist (Auto) it automatically changes Artist or Album Artist depending on whether or not Album Artist is set.

It would be great if, when I create a calculated field, I could just say what field to edit if I try to. 
I use a field for my Playing Now view scheme which is just equal to [Name] - [Artist] which is great because it saves space, but if I see a mistake in the name, I have to go to the Tag box, etc...would like to be able to tell it to edit Name.

If I could put in an expression to determine it all the better - e.g. If(IsEmpty([Album Artist]),"Artist","Album Artist") would give a similar result to what Album Artist (Auto) does.
I have a load of Video fields set up which, depending on the video type, show me the artist, or the programme or one of a number of other things...would be fantastic if I could also set it to edit whichever one it showed me.
 :)

MrHaugen

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #89 on: December 29, 2007, 02:10:08 pm »

I'll throw myself into this discussion as well.

Proper PVR functionality

Native interaction with DVDProfiler etc. I've ripped my DVDs to HDD and would love to be able to view the info that Profiler stores when choosing a movie in Theater View. I've got the covers to them all (god love IMDB) but sometimes when guests are over they'd like to see what a movie is about...

1. This days, proper PVR functionality is a must imo.

2. DVD Profiler is amazing, but I'm afraid I don't use it as much as it's not integrated at all in MC. DVD Profiler is now mainly based on xml and would therefor be reasonably easy to implement in theater view I belive. The ability to browse the colletion, selecting artists and browsing, browsing dependent on rating or watched or not. This would be a breakthrough. DVD Profiler is on of the most usefull DVD organizers, and popular one. Maby they would even be interested in contributing to see this implementation?

3. A more polished Theater View.

4. Ability to add customizable rating fields with more than 5 steps, and adding customizable images.

5. Ability to lock the tabs and columns.

6. Make the "playing now" image box fixed on size appropriate for the data type (higher rectangle for audio, wider for video etc.)
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Shredder

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #90 on: December 30, 2007, 09:15:51 am »

I wish MC was Linux compatible so I could run it on mt NAS w/Slim Server. I know a lot of Slim Device users would love this, too, as Slim Server is not much of a library manager (but the Squeezebox and transporter rock).
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p7389

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #91 on: December 30, 2007, 12:01:52 pm »

Oh, I forgot... I've inquired about this before, and it wasn't possible alas... But perhaps it may be made possible with the next major revision...

Please make it possible to make MC use Windows theme (I'm thinking about the frame and the close/minimise etc. buttons). Ie, the Aero stuff for Vista users. I want UI congruence across my OS ;)..
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benn600

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #92 on: December 30, 2007, 01:40:26 pm »

I think MC is its own thing.  I don't think Vista or XP is worthy of controlling MC.

I used to want this, too, especially in iTunes and other applications (Real Jukebox) but the reason was because the interfaces were so slow.  I think MC's custom interface is really close to the speed of a native Window.  In some cases it may be faster.  You know it probably wouldn't be impossible to make a custom skin that followed the theme of an OS--but probably not Aero (yuck).
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p7389

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #93 on: December 30, 2007, 02:18:23 pm »

Yes, but that would be worse. I really hate skins mimicking OS UI instead of using the native stuff... But I'm not speaking of a big change, really just the top bar. Well, I'll buy MC13 regardless, but it'd be nice. It's just a small thing that bothers me. (I don't hate Aero either; I quite like it ;)). Each to his own, just an option.

I also would like a toaster, or whatever they call those little popups that appears with artist, trackname and such info. And don't point me to some plugin, I think it should be built in (perhaps in the form of a plugin - sure - but still built in, included and officially supported - like the last.fm plugin (I love that one)).
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jack wallstreet

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #94 on: January 06, 2008, 08:33:14 pm »

EXPAND THE NEW FEATURE - GROUPING to more fields and print capability.

One of the updates to MC12 adding grouping as a scheme option.  MC13 could add more field options (I think it is just artist, album and rating or some such).  In addition, the grouping is only for display.  It would be very nice if we could print by the grouping (so it printed output looks like the displayed output.
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John

p7389

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #95 on: January 07, 2008, 09:23:53 am »

I'm not sure if the preceding poster was talking about this... But I think there should ba an option to customise the view in a manner similar to Windows Media Player, ie album cover art with title and artist underneath, nicely ordered. The closest we can get to that is group > album in conjunction with image (large thumbnail) column. And I don't really like that - doesn't look as good. There should be something similar to what they have in WMP, where the cover art is active (ie same functionality as the album name in the pane - add to playing now etc), preferably customisable.

Anyway, what I actually came here to write is that with all this talk of MC 13... Do we have any idea when such an update is due? I'm not in a particular hurry, but there's really a flurry of (community) discussion on the subject...
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AoXoMoXoA

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #96 on: January 07, 2008, 10:49:56 am »

I want a J River Media Center Operating System - for that media-only PC   :D 

why complicate things with Windows?
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benn600

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #97 on: January 07, 2008, 11:45:13 am »

Now that isn't a bad idea. It had occurred to me, too.  Unfortunately, they'd have a lot of work if they were gonna do that.  They'd essentially have to replicate Windows like WINE because MC requires Windows and all its glory.  But it would be neat.  Probably run much faster too.
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trott

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #98 on: January 13, 2008, 06:48:57 am »

Hi all,

I was wondering whether JRiver could shed any light as to any of the following features are likely to be included with MC13?

  • iTunes Party Shuffle-like functionality
  • ability to auto-refresh smartlists only when the metadata has changed  (ie a smartlist refreshes completely when you click refresh but will only auto-refresh when eg the last played field has changed. this would be good for syncing)
  • Native support for writing MP4 tags
  • native playback support for mp4 (directshow is almost, but not completely, perfect for these files)
  • EPG support for tv recording
  • ability to tell the mp3 tagging system not to write any non-standard fields to comment fields (as this occasionaly seems to 'break' the id3 comment field)
  • A way to reconnect missing files which is reasonably simple and idiot-proof [/b] (find & replace is very good for moving entire parts of your library, but too error-prone to reconnect missing files. Try it to see what I mean)

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leezer3

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Re: Idle Gossip of what you'd like in MC13
« Reply #99 on: January 13, 2008, 01:35:06 pm »

We really need a relational/ hierarchical DB in one form or another  :)
I've now got three subgenre fields, one for normal TV/ films, one for anime and one for audiobooks. It'd be a lot more convienient if I could merge each of these fields together, both for ease of editing, and because I occasionally want to use one of the genres for another file.

Another major feature I'd appreciate is the ability to store tags in a separate tag file for untaggable files. Yes, this is no solution for regular backups of the main library, but again it'd sometimes make my life so much easier.

Finally, I'd love to see Linux compatibility. Theres a separate thread for this here, if you want please post- http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=44438.0

-Leezer-
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