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[Boltron]

I am very close to getting my Theater View to look the way I want. One area in which I am having a challenge is with TV shows. As a long time XBMC user, I have come to like the episode name format it uses which is:

"S.EE   EpisodeName         WatchedFlag  Rating"
where:
S = Season #
EE = Episode #
WatchedFlag = a check mark or anything really
Rating = Always nice to have

See image below.

I can of course embed the S.EE into the Name (TheaterView > Advanced > File Caption) and even do some very crude RightJustifing to imbed a Watched tag. However there is a major problem if I do this. TheaterView > Advanced > File Caption is global for all of Theater View and what happens is this custom Name format then extends to my Movies and Documentaries which I don't want.

I realize that I am being very specific about the Name format but I have many TV series and watch about 3 at the same time and having the WatchedFlag and even S.EE naming is really very nice/handy.

I don't know if it is possible to do this today. If it is, I would love for someone to show me how.  If it isn't, I would like to submit this as a new feature request.

Thx

[NickF]

Take a look at this thread. I received a lot of help on this subject.

http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=71530.0

Nick.

[MrHaugen]

That thread will give you some easy to start with examples of how to get almost what you want. It is possible to get it much more similar to XBMC, but I fear that you'll need formating and what not in an already complex caption. So I would recommend starting a bit slow and applying more and more in time.

This is what I use today.

Code: [Select]

If(IsEqual([Media Type], Audio),[Name] - [Artist] - /([Album]/)   //   Rating: [Rating],If(IsEqual([Media Sub Type], TV Show),If(IsEmpty([Name]),S[Season]E[Episode]/ (NP:[Number Plays]/),S[Season]E[Episode]/ (NP:[Number Plays]/) - [Name]),If(IsEqual([Media Sub Type], Music Video),If(IsEmpty([Artists]),[Artist] - [Name],[Artists] - [Name]),If(IsEqual([Media Sub Type], Conserts),[Artist] - [Name],If(IsEqual([Media Sub Type], Standup),If(IsEmpty([Season]),[Name]/ (NP:[Number Plays]/),[Name] - S[Season]E[Episode]/ (NP:[Number Plays]/)),[Name])))))
There's plenty of things I would like to do with it. This example does not include text formating and things like actual graphics for rating etc, but it gives you a good idea of what can be done to separate the different media types and Media Sub Types. Even though I'm used to code and consider my self one of the most geeky of IT geeks, I do not manage to muster enough courage to do this the time consuming and confusing task. How are the more casual users supposed to deal with this if I don't want to?

While things can be done almost exactly how each user wants, there is almost NONE that does what they really want here. I'm willing to bet on that. Most people get scared when they see 10+ lines of code in one small field! It's not intuitive or casual friendly at all. Not one bit. This is one field where JRiver have to do some improvement before we see the users start using it extensively.

One way of accomplishing this would be to create some sort of Caption manager, and to allow people to create several captions, so we could create less confusing captions for each media type that we want. This would also make it much simpler to start using formating and graphic representation of data in views, and it would suddenly look much more like the competition that does this with ease. Even though many of them is not that customizable, it does the trick for most people. There's something to learn from that.

[Boltron]

Thanks for the info.

I didn't think of using an if statement to format caption based on the media type. Nor, did I imagine people do such elaborate scripting within a single field lol. I think with this I will be able to get close enough to what I want.

Much appreciated.

[MrHaugen]

Rick.ca have some very good posts about formating the text and including graphics as well. You can try to search for those if you want some more challenge

[Boltron]

Crap. I just got it all finished the way I like it. I prefixed TV show names with season.episode and rating and I used color to distinguish watched episodes.

Now, I just read your post... what, graphics you say?? That would be cool...

Damn, I spend so time much time tinkering I hardly have time to watch shows any more Now I have to go search for Rick posts.

[preproman]

darn, I spend so time much time tinkering I hardly have time to watch shows any more Now I have to go search for Rick posts.

This is the problem.  To much tinkering is needed.  This is coming from the customers prospective of - Just work baby. 

Could you all please post some pics on how this looks?

[rick.ca]

This is the problem. To much tinkering is needed.

I'll never understand the logic behind this notion. I don't think there is any. It's certainly not a 'Real Man' thought. How can one want the ability to do something, and simultaneously object to the means to do it? Oh, well. I suppose we have to be open-minded and accept the fuzzy-wimpy-girly POV of such things...

[Boltron]

Two pics. One is my Movie layout. The other the TV layout. I use grey/green for watched/not watched for TV only. Movies and others I just decided to leave in simple white text. It's the TV layout I was concerned about, it's to easy to forget what episodes I've watched as I do switch shows from time to time.

[JustinChase]

I'll never understand the logic behind this notion. I don't think there is any. It's certainly not a 'Real Man' thought. How can one want the ability to do something, and simultaneously object to the means to do it? Oh, well. I suppose we have to be open-minded and accept the fuzzy-wimpy-girly POV of such things...

It's quite easy to understand really.  One simple example comes to mind.  I would think that most people 'could' be an exceptional guitarist, and make a living doing so. (i.e. they want the ability to do something), but almost no one devotes 6-8 hours every day to gain the proficiency to make this desire a reality (they object to the means to do it).

It's not limited to fuzzy-wimpy-girly people.  It's pretty common actually.

With everything there is a pain/benefit scale.  Reading guitar magazines to learn that it just takes a LOT of practice to be great, then doing the practice is heavier to most people for the reward of being a professional musician.

Searching forums to learn you can do something, then learning to write expressions and craft views to do so is heavy on most peoples scale when compared to the benefit they hope to gain from the work.  Especially when Matt might make a change one day making the work useless/obsolete.

[Boltron]

Just to clarify, I wasn't complaining about more scripting. Truth be told, I enjoy doing scripts, and doing sound calibration and doing TV video calibration... My home theatre is my hobby and I "tweak" it a lot and enjoy doing it.

I am loving MC17 because I can do so much. However, that being said, the average joe will have no clue how to do this stuff. You need to have a basic programming skill set. I can see how a non-computer person can search a forum and paste "Season [Season], Episode [Episode]" in a column to get something they may want for example. However that same person will never be able to do something like "IfElse(IsEqual([Media Sub Type], TV Show), If(IsEqual([Last Played], never played), <font color="4AA02C">[$TV Name]<//font>, <font color="736f6e">[$TV Name]<//font>),  1, [Name])"

Again, I am not complaining and I found MC17 worked fabulous right out of the box for music and real well for movies. Its only TV shows that I really needed to tweak. But I am happy with those now.

[MrC]

Food for thought - most folks speak/write subjectively, indirectly, focusing more on expressing their emotional state (right brain).  Statements such as:

   This is the problem.  To much tinkering is needed.  This is coming from the customers prospective of - Just work baby.

probably should be read less literally, and more like:

   This is the problem I HAVE.  To[sic] much tinkering is needed FOR ME.  This is coming from the THIS customer's prospective of - Just work FOR ME baby.

In other words, "I'm struggling to accomplish what I want - I wish it were easier for me."

The focus should be not on *what* is said, but *why* was it said at all.

[rick.ca]

I am loving MC17 because I can do so much...

From your comments and screen shots, it seems clear you'll continue to love MC. You might even appreciate there will always be some tweaking to do, if you're in the mood.

I can't agree on the suggestion some sort of programming skill is necessary. Not only am I not a programmer, I seem to lack even the basic aptitude necessary for programming-like tasks. I'm sustained by my desire to learn how to do things I find useful, and my compulsion to tweak. If the means to the end is "programming," I'm better-off not knowing that. If I do, there's people like MrC here who will help me get through things I'm clueless about.

I believe what most people are referring to when they talk about MC 'difficulty of use' is not so much the effort required to learn it's tools and how it works. It's more about the difficulty in deciding exactly what it is they want to do. It's unsettling to realize the program will do just about anything, to make it do so is rather easy for those who have made the effort to learn how, and it will do what's required very effectively. The much bigger problem for most is in deciding exactly what it is we want in the giant realm of opportunities the program presents to us.

Generally speaking, I'm much happier with software that empowers me to do whatever it is I might want to do, rather than the much more common type that assumes I'm an idiot and gives me little or no choice in how things are done. I realize not everyone is the same in this regard. But if this is the attribute by which the software is to be judged, MC has to be the obvious choice for people like me, and perhaps not the best first choice for those who strongly prefer something that "just works out of the box," and doesn't require any investment in learning it's capabilities or configuring it to one's personal needs.

This is the motivation for my tongue-in-cheek comments about the preferences of 'Real Men'. I appreciate ease-of-use and good design as much as anyone. But it's clearly the power and flexibility of MC that sets it apart for anything else. I'm not happy seeing those attributes compromised in attempts to appease those who seem to believe it should just magically do what they expect it to do without any effort on their part. WMP and iTunes already do an excellent job of that.

Food for thought - most folks speak/write subjectively, indirectly, focusing more on expressing their emotional state (right brain).

I'm no better at psychology than I am at programming. When I don't know exactly what someone means or care to ponder their emotional state, I usually tell myself "I don't know what they mean." That doesn't stop me from commenting, of course. Being almost completely left-brained, I know the emotional state of others is generally (especially in this medium) not my responsibility or concern. But now I know who to ask should I ever feel the need. "MrC, is there a regex that will tell me what this message means?"

[preproman]

It's certainly not a 'Real Man' thought. How can one want the ability to do something, and simultaneously object to the means to do it? Oh, well. I suppose we have to be open-minded and accept the fuzzy-wimpy-girly POV of such things...

Rick,

Really?  Did my comments offend you that much that you had to results to such words as "not a Real Man" and "fuzzy-wimpy-girly POV"? I can a sure you that this POV came from a 100% MAN.  Dude.  I was just poking fun and you got your little panties up in a bunch. "Get Real"

"For me" I would just like some of the more simpler things to be a default. Like properly named TV shows. I don't want to work so hard on something that does not come second nature to me like "scripting" I would like my Seasons to be already named Season 1 instead of just the number "1", sort of like the OP said about being a long time XBMC user.  It came like that.

[preproman]

I can't agree on the suggestion some sort of programming skill is necessary. Not only am I not a programmer, I seem to lack even the basic aptitude necessary for programming-like tasks. I'm sustained by my desire to learn how to do things I find useful, and my compulsion to tweak. If the means to the end is "programming," I'm better-off not knowing that. If I do, there's people like MrC here who will help me get through things I'm clueless about.

I believe what most people are referring to when they talk about MC 'difficulty of use' is not so much the effort required to learn it's tools and how it works. It's more about the difficulty in deciding exactly what it is they want to do. It's unsettling to realize the program will do just about anything, to make it do so is rather easy for those who have made the effort to learn how, and it will do what's required very effectively. The much bigger problem for most is in deciding exactly what it is we want in the giant realm of opportunities the program presents to us.

Generally speaking, I'm much happier with software that empowers me to do whatever it is I might want to do, rather than the much more common type that assumes I'm an idiot and gives me little or no choice in how things are done. I realize not everyone is the same in this regard. But if this is the attribute by which the software is to be judged, MC has to be the obvious choice for people like me, and perhaps not the best first choice for those who strongly prefer something that "just works out of the box," and doesn't require any investment in learning it's capabilities or configuring it to one's personal needs.

This is the motivation for my tongue-in-cheek comments about the preferences of 'Real Men'. I appreciate ease-of-use and good design as much as anyone. But it's clearly the power and flexibility of MC that sets it apart for anything else. I'm not happy seeing those attributes compromised in attempts to appease those who seem to believe it should just magically do what they expect it to do without any effort on their part. WMP and iTunes already do an excellent job of that.

I'm no better at psychology than I am at programming. When I don't know exactly what someone means or care to ponder their emotional state, I usually tell myself "I don't know what they mean." That doesn't stop me from commenting, of course. Being almost completely left-brained, I know the emotional state of others is generally (especially in this medium) not my responsibility or concern. But now I know who to ask should I ever feel the need. "MrC, is there a regex that will tell me what this message means?"

Speak for your self and not most people. Because for me it's the other way around.  I know exactly want I want it to do, but just don't know how to do it.  No one, including me ever said anything about compromising the abilities of MC.  I think it's a great thing.  At times I have time to tinker.  Other times I just want to watch and would like the more simpler things already done.  

[rick.ca]

Really?  Did my comments offend you that much...

Sigh. I wasn't the least bit offended. Even if I had not included the giant    to indicate my words were intended in jest, it's impossible to believe anyone could construe them as otherwise. Which leads me to the conclusion you were not offended, and therefore must believe there's something for you to gain by responding as this way. That I find dishonest and highly offensive. My failure to agree with you is no cause to take offence. You reacting like I have no business honestly expressing my opinion is. Especially when it seemed some might not have understood my odd sense of humour, and I went to the trouble to post again to make it clear where I was coming from. Your response to that indicates you didn't even read it (nothing in even remotely suggests I was speaking for others). Or maybe you did, but were already committed to the "oh, I'm so offended" response.

I know exactly want I want it to do, but just don't know how to do it.

Of course you don't. Instead of listening to those who would be happy to explain how things are done, you make self-defeating judgments like, "I don't want to work so hard on something that does not come second nature to me like "scripting." There is no "scripting" or anything "hard" involved. 'Season [Season]' is not a script. It's a simple, easy-to-understand expression of how to produce exactly what you want. You can claim it would be easier if the program just did that for you. That's only true because that happens to be what you want. If it did that, but you wanted it to be just '[Season]', or something more elaborate, what would you do? "Make it optional," you want to say. Forget it. Thousands of silly little options won't make it easier to use—especially when it's only purpose is so you don't have to come up with the mind-bending expression 'Season [Season]'. You're asking that the program be more arbitrary and more difficult to configure to one's preferences. XBMC might be able to show MC a thing or two. But that's about all, and this isn't one of them.

I'm not disagreeing with you to offend. I'm disagreeing with you because I know you're wrong and I have a right to share my views. You don't have to agree with me or try to imagine how my comments might be helpful to others. But if you feel the need to debate, please man-up and do so—without the distracting personal attacks.

[preproman]

distracting personal attacks.

Listen up SON...  I was not the one who said anything about being a real man because I don't want to tinker.  Tinkering is more like a real GEEK. lol... That was you..  I also didn't say anything about fuzzy-wimpy-girly POV. You also.  When you quoted my words -  then respond like such, that doesn't indicate personal attacks to you?

I'm wrong?  How can my opinion be wrong?  Man up?  Little geeky boy please.  And yes - that was a personal attack.  Man enough for you?  

Me using Seasons was just a simple example.  

You said:  " you want to say. Forget it. Thousands of silly little options won't make it easier to use"  Where and when did I say anything even close to that?   I said "No one, including me ever said anything about compromising the abilities of MC."  Did you read that?

You said " You don't have to agree with me or try to imagine how my comments might be helpful to others."  I don't see how anything you said is helpful - at all.

Beat it KID - go play with your toys - I got work to do.

[MrHaugen]

This is so stupid. People in this thread try to express their concern about the lack of a good default for Theater View. And with a good reason. Who is satisfied with only showing Name for Episodes? Probably not many. The only concern that is shown in this thread it that this somehow would remove the options to do more elaborate things them self? Come an. Get a grip!

Most people do NOT want to spend hours and days on captions and expressions to get what they want. They want to have a ok default right out of the box. And there should be no problem for JRiver to include those. People want stuff that for example XBMC has. Graphical ratings, indications of watched/not watched, episode numbers and names. Probably also info of the TV shows like how many episodes total, how many episodes not watched, if show is continuing or not and so on. With todays ability to save global variables, it should be possible to add many of this things, and tp represent it in a nice way.

And for those who like it, you can MODIFY and remove what ever you want. There is NO ONE who is saying that we should limit this for those that want to use days on this.

[preproman]

This is so stupid. People in this thread try to express their concern about the lack of a good default for Theater View. And with a good reason. Who is satisfied with only showing Name for Episodes? Probably not many. The only concern that is shown in this thread it that this somehow would remove the options to do more elaborate things them self? Come an. Get a grip!

Most people do NOT want to spend hours and days on captions and expressions to get what they want. They want to have a ok default right out of the box. And there should be no problem for JRiver to include those. People want stuff that for example XBMC has. Graphical ratings, indications of watched/not watched, episode numbers and names. Probably also info of the TV shows like how many episodes total, how many episodes not watched, if show is continuing or not and so on. With todays ability to save global variables, it should be possible to add many of this things, and tp represent it in a nice way.

And for those who like it, you can MODIFY and remove what ever you want. There is NO ONE who is saying that we should limit this for those that want to use days on this.

MrHaugen,

I agree with you 100%