It is intended for use on a TV and can be controlled with a remote.
but I hear he has a girlfriend now.
So what is the direction of the Hairstyle interface?? Is anyone working on new views/schemes? I am interested in making this customized, but I'm very limited in programming knowledge? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Anyone allready working on this... the topic seems to have died out... or did it move?
However, no one has posted instructions or an example of a hairstyle .xml file that contains scripts, so I do not know how to embed my script.
I want to use Windows XP Media Center Edition, but I can't afford to buy a whole new computer. Besides, I like MC better than WMP anyhow.
So I guess, without digressing too much, what I'm trying to say is this: please make Hairstyle comparable to, if not better than, WinXP MCE in the user interface/GUI/user experience area.
When can I submit hairstyles to the plug-in section??
OK, Kurt. How about this one:
(http://www.jriver.com/~jriver/misc/thumbnails/freeworld.jpg)
A larger image is here: http://www.jriver.com/~jriver/misc/freeworld.jpg
It's not just the look, though, that I'm worrying (probably for nothing) about... it's how MCE works.
I've seen some people do some amazing things with flash, and I think that PVR/HTPC interfaces, built in flash, could be just gorgeous. Again, dunno how to do it, but it'd be rad, fo sho.I am guessing that you may not know about MainLobby from Cinemar (http://www.webpromotion.com/cinemar/mainlobby.html) this tool uses flash to allow you to make GUI's and front ends really easily... In the last 3 months development via AVS has made some games (casino lobby) an EPG (TVLobby) and very soon a music player that will be using MJ and the web remote plug in (MusicLobby) there is a DVD launcher as well and as it can launch any external programs it can launch TV apps / DVD apps etc... It can support animations and all kinds of eye candy...
We could probably support an ActiveX control embedded in the xml code without too much trouble, if that would help.
What do you need?
Okay, a little intro, then (hopefully) a quick question. I've been using MJ for about a year, and now I'm trying to get my brain around MC9. Whenever I play a media file, or show a picture, at the end of the file, I pop back into hairstyle and have to esc out. Now when I have my HTPC up and running, this will be great, but for now I can't seem to disable the hairstyle. HELP!
Is there some way to jump to playing now in hairstyle when something starts?
* A 'Music Only' Hairstyle mode that doesn't include the DVD, TV, and Image controls.
* Bigger (tv-readable) fonts
* A visual indication of where you are in the tree. If you're in 'Now Playing,' the title of the screen should say so.
* In 'Now Playing,' display album art of the song that's playing and small album art of the next song, along with a list of songes that are queued.
* Play controls always available via buttons (and/or their remote control equivalents).
* If we're navigating the MJ tree structure, some visible indication of where in the tree you're currently located. (If you're three levels deep, there should be an easy way to get back to the top, and/or other parts of the interface).
* As much as possible, flatten the deep tree structure in Hairstyle.
* Put arrows in the interface to indicate where the cursor will go (e.g. on the top level, there would be a right arrow icon to go deeper in the tree, but no left arrow.)
* 'Now Playing' always available via a single button (one-click access).
* Basic song search and filtering functionality with a virtual keyboard. (Ape Jukebox has a good start on this interface.)
* Skins (change through Hairstyle, add through MJ)
* Expose music down to the song (not just album) level throughout Hairstyle.
* Avoid drop down menus and (especially) right-clicks. These tend not to work on a TV screen.
* Browse music interface using album art or text. Hide unnecessary fields (all but album, artist and title).
* An 'Exit' button.
F11 or CTRL-W go there.
Is there any way to use a remote to back to hairstyle from the full screen track info page?
Yes! An ActiveX control in the XML for Hairstyle would be terrific. Here is what I want to be able to do:
1. Programmatically move to a given node in the tree by giving it the tree path name.
2. When a node is selected, my script gets control via a method call. The value I return from my method determines whether Hairstyle will process the selection event or not. Thus, I can either intercept the event and do something different, or do some pre-action and let the event go ahead.
3. Add arbitrary choices to the current node. When the user selects one of these, I simply get notified and can do whatever. This allows non-tree-related features to be added by the script author. Example: Reshuffle using My Super-sophisticated Shuffling Algorithm (TM) ;D or Toggle display of the current weather on the screen.
4. Modify text labels on a button, preferably via DHTML.
5. Ability to totally rearrange the screen via DHTML.
In summary, I think what I am asking for is an SDK that offers similar flexibility as Metamorphasis does for mini-mi skins.
Is this in line with what JRiver is thinking, or am I way off base? Thank, JimH, for asking!
JimH: I've asked about this a few times... is it a lot of work to add an MCC_COMMAND or fix MC's Girder Plugin? I (and others, I'm sure) would like to get the most out of the remote control.