This is a collection of little things, but it is very annoying. I'm using MC19 on my HTPC in Windows 8.1 (but all of this stuff applied to Windows 8 too). It can be challenging to keep Theater View on top. I'm not sure what you can do about all of this, but there should be at least one simple thing that will make it nicer.
I have a shortcut for mc19.exe /Mode Theater pinned to my Start Screen. This is nice for launching MC directly to Theater View, and it works great with a remote on the Start Screen.
However, if the user then switches applications, making Theater View no longer in-front (without first closing Theater View) it is challenging to get it back "on top" without picking up a mouse and clicking on it. MC19 is actually somewhat better than MC18 in this regard, but it can still be fiddly. The main issue is that when you use that /Mode Theater shortcut, it does not bring MC back to the front, like using one for mc19.exe /Start would. Can this be fixed?
That would largely solve my problem.
One way I encounter this constantly is if I use my remote to switch to the Start Screen, and then I launch a Web Browser or something. When I go to switch back, if I choose Desktop, then I "see" Theater View (because it is covering the desktop), but it isn't active and I can't use it with my remote. If I go back to Start and then launch the regular MC shortcut, this brings Theater View "forward" again and I can use Theater View. As mentioned, I like to keep that Theater View "direct" shortcut pinned to start (so I can directly launch into Theater View), but when you pick this when Theater View is already running, it does NOT bring Theater View back to the front, so I can't use it.
That's confusing. There are two icons on my Start screen for users to use to launch MC (depending on which mode you want, Theater or regular), but you can only use the Theater View shortcut if it ISN'T already running, and to bring it forward, you have to use the other one.