INTERACT FORUM
More => Old Versions => Media Center 12 (Development Ended) => Topic started by: jmone on December 20, 2007, 03:52:34 pm
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While we wait to see if V400 is the last of the MC12 builds I was thinking of what new features (as apposed to bug fixes) I'd like in MC13....Here is my cut down list but what is yours?
1) Native Blu-ray & HD-DVD support (is it the year of HD yet?) ;D
2) TheaterView Enhancements - keep them coming, the more we can do with Theater View the better for us HTPC users! (Assignable Thumbnails for TV Channels, Handheld device sync)
3) Complete PVR type functionality - solid start but it is yet no replacement for a dedicated PVR (Scheduled Recording from Theater View, EPG, control of 3rd party devices)
Thanks
Nathan
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A streaming media server that can transcode video (all types) on the fly...
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Ability to add custom pages to Theater View (with custom buttons doing custom commands)
2) TheaterView Enhancements
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A TV program guide, specific to my cable provider, just like Windows Media Center provides, would be enough for me to start using MC for television viewing.
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I think that it would be nice to have an add on for the upgraded TV functionality in MC13 or future releases or an integration of Sage or BTV or the like. I would be willing to pay for that but I was really holding out and hoping to see Theater View improvements in MC12 w/o having to pony up more money. I am new to MC so don't know if that is how it works with versions that what we get with the last stable (400) is what we get.
Theater View Enhancements I would like to see:
- Keyboard functionality (USB/PS2) for searches and web links
- Library refresh button or a configurable menu that I could add buttons, text and assign my own commands to the buttons
- Web Media Accessable in Theater View
- Ability to download and puchase media from Theater View (maybe work something out with Amazon and others). Keyboard would probably need to work for this
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Multi-Artist support with support for multi-tag for file formats that handle it ;D
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I think that it would be nice to have an add on for the upgraded TV functionality in MC13 or future releases or an integration of Sage or BTV or the like. I would be willing to pay for that but I was really holding out and hoping to see Theater View improvements in MC12 w/o having to pony up more money. I am new to MC so don't know if that is how it works with versions that what we get with the last stable (400) is what we get.
Bare in mind that MC12 has been in development for around 2 years. If you want to see how much theater view has changed,
load up MC11 on a machine! MC12 is in a different league!
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Finishing touches on the world's best skin: Intention
Merry Christmas Mr. ChriZ.
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Ok, I do love Theater View. I didn't see MC11 but in the spirit of being Thankful for what I have it is great as it is and I would pay more for improvements.....oh I hope I do not have to wait two years for them...that would like be like telling my kids we are skipping Christmas every other year. :)
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humm,
A native implementation of What's Playing Now in Windows Live Messenger. ::)
2 audio cards support : with DJing features (Cue or Custom Looping, etc.)
:)
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Perhaps they could add DVB-S (digital satellite) support...
But even if they don't: I love this piece of software and I'll buy their new version even if they just offer a new start up webpage ;)
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Alot more features and innovations with regards to photos!
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I know I'm not the only one to have found that tabs and split view are really great, but to have found it really frustrating to have frequently changed the wrong view. Personally I gave up trying to use tabs altogether because I always forgot they were there and just changed my current one, losing wherever I was. Now I use a split column view, but still frequently change the wrong view.
People have suggested locking tabs and suchlike, which would certainly help...but wouldn't really hide the fact that having one tree to control multiple views really isn't sufficient.
If I hide the tree, I get this:
(http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/4216/currentat7.jpg)
This is great, and got me thinking: why couldn't everything in the tree be shown like this?
Quick mockup:
(http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/55/mockupvq2.jpg)
This would give a separate selector for every view, and would save space usually taken up by the tree.
The Action Window etc. would be the only problem...but this could slide out when it was needed.
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I know I'm not the only one to have found that tabs and split view are really great, but to have found it really frustrating to have frequently changed the wrong view. Personally I gave up trying to use tabs altogether because I always forgot they were there and just changed my current one, losing wherever I was. Now I use a split column view, but still frequently change the wrong view.
People have suggested locking tabs and suchlike, which would certainly help...but wouldn't really hide the fact that having one tree to control multiple views really isn't sufficient.
If I hide the tree, I get this:
[...]
This is great, and got me thinking: why couldn't everything in the tree be shown like this?
Quick mockup:
[...]
This would give a separate selector for every view, and would save space usually taken up by the tree.
The Action Window etc. would be the only problem...but this could slide out when it was needed.
Wow, nice idea! I think it could be a perfect PLUS but no instead. Tree must be there at least optionally!
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Funny how there is never a shortage of feature requests--no matter how far ahead of every other media program MC is!
My TOP request:
0. Store everything possible in the MC database (settings, etc.) so if I have two computers pointing to the same server database, skins, plugins, settings, etc. would all be updated from the database. Now, the registry holds this info. This doesn't transfer to other computers. Look at how Firefox stores its profile--I really like their system. Skins are even stored in the profile. So your MC use is based on your profile and NOT the computer you're at.
My top 5 choices:
1. Some way to store tags in DVD files (xml file or whatever).
2. On the fly encoding of video (mainly DVD folders for me) over library server.
3. A partial image loader algorithm that would download just the needed resolution of images over library server and then continually download more information. Now, I live with thumbnails only (which are fast) because opening an image can take a minute to download (large digital camera pictures are big).
4. iPhone Syncing!!! I know...
5. Much more advanced server/client setup that would allow certain users the ability to rip CDs/DVDs/etc. and MC client would send the CD data to MC server and IT would store the data where it is configured to. So clients would be essentially configured mainly from the server. This applies to my #0 request.
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Since we are making a late Christmas list:
- More layout configuration abilities. The Action Window should be undockable. I would like both the display action window and lyric action window to be able to be opened at the same time and maybe also have the Burner window up too.
- There needs to be separation in the status bar. Right now if you make a selection you get a selection summary. But if you edit the selection it changes into a progress summary. These status bar functions should be separated in the status bar. Directory Opus has the best customizable status bar in existence.
- Move multiple folders in the "Drives & Devices" tree/view at the same time.
- Relational databasing for fields like Artists & Album. I really like tagging my stuff, but I spent countless hours re-entering information that is more object based than purely track based.
- Using split views- I would like a way to lock a view pane so when you click a different view, the locked pane will never be over ridden unless unlocked
- Search box in options pane: filters options as you type
- Edit properties by pasting an excel spreadsheet rows "on top" of track selection- excel rows and MC track rows would need some unique identifier to use a the key.
Thanks for making 12 into a great product!
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Support for a "standalone" MC HD extender; like the SageTV people have, except with MC Theatre View. :)
At ~$200, or ~$250 with MC 13, a lot would be sold to new and existing users... a lot cheaper than a full HTPC and none of the configuring problems.
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I'd love to see a companion MC version that runs on my Motorola Q9m smartphone. The phone runs with Windows Mobile 6. (Not a touchscreen).
Verizon includes 2 music interface programs on the phone. A proprietary Verizon interface and Windows Media from Microsoft. I use Windows Media, the Verizon version is poor in my opinion.
It would be a dream to use MC on the phone. Easier navigation, integrated album art, playlists and so on. Plus, having a WM6 capable version should work on smartphones from different manufacturers. This seems like an expanding market too.
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I'd like to see a mobile version that can run from a thumbdrive (no install) and play music through Library Server. That way you can listen to all your music anywhere without needing MC installed.
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My list of must-haves would include:
1. User-configurable custom data fields. I'm talking about the ability to create your own new fields, not just the default fields in the program.
2. Maybe a way to rate the tracks, say from 1 to 5. Going even further, what about a star system for ratings?
3. It would be cool if we could have playlists that populated themselves, based on pre-configured criteria. This would be a really smart thing--we could call it a "smart list"!
4. I'd like to see some sort of way to automatically import things. I'm tired of having to right-click on each individual file--I've spent HOURS at that!
5. Lastly, and I know this is asking a lot, is there any way to have multiple views in the same instance of the program? It's hard to describe what I'm thinking of here, but what if we could split the views up, and maybe even order them in some sort of delimited fashion, kind of like manilla folders are. What do they call those little flaps on the folders that work so well?
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1. User-configurable custom data fields. I'm talking about the ability to create your own new fields, not just the default fields in the program.
Am I missing something? Can't you do this amazingly well already? I created several custom fields for my use!
Addition: OKAY, I read the rest. Nevermind.
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JGreen has been reading too many Scientific Americans, soon he'll expect MC13 to magically copy his phonograph albums into some "black box" that he can strap onto his back so he can listen to music while hiking in the country... and what's it going to run on JG? Little tiny legs? C'mon, let's be realistic, dude.
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I'm predicting this will be jpgreen's post in about 15 months (approximate life of MC12) FOR Media Center 14 (ohhhhhh).
My list of must-haves would include:
1. Copy my phonograph albums into a "black box" that I can strap onto my back so I can listen to music while hiking in the country.
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From an earlier thread: http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=39943.0
I like number 7 :)
1. Video encoding. Support for major codecs, including newer mp4 standards. 'Nuff said.
2. Video Editing. MC is perfect for organising my photos, videos and music. They are all in one place and are easily found and organised. What better program to offer a "Movie Maker" mode or similar? Basic slideshows, timelines, text overlays, transitions, effects and encoding to a variety of output formats would be fantastic. Ability to then burn projects to DVD would make MC a nero killer :P
3. Online Reference Database. Kingsparta's Datamaster has come close to what I'm thinking about here. We have YADB. We have coverart lookup and submission. At the moment this is only really for audio, and at that rate, only audio CDs. The lookup isn't all that useful if I'm dealing with files already on my hard drive. What we need is something like allmusic.com's database, which contains extended data such as genre, style, mood etc. aTagger when it was around was perhaps the most useful thing I've ever used in MC.
What we really need is the ability to submit more information than standard artist, album, track, name etc and to choose which information I wish to receive from other users. Any fields we can create in MC should be available to submit and share with other users. If User X has a custom field for his classical music, I would like to see this in the lookup dialogue and add it to my library if I want. What would be ideal is a universally agreed upon standard for submission (yeah contentious I know...) Standard fields for each type of media that we agree on. Like composer, performer, conductor etc etc for classical music ~ or Series, Network, Season, Episode, Name for TV shows.
4. Streamline expressions. Expression editor is great and the applications of expressions are almost limitless. What would be great is a more user friendly interface for entering them. I'm terrible with expression language ~ have managed to write a few that are over a page long in word and it was a logistical nightmare. Something along the line of excel's "point and click" way of doing it would be ideal. If i want an IF expression, I should be able to click on IF and select the fields and enter values I want. Ability to save expressions is a must, and integration into all aspects of the program, including fields, views, renaming, filters, searches, theatre view would be great. We're almost there. Some way to share our expressions with other users would be useful and quickly expand the functionality of the program. And hey you guys could kick back and let your users code the program for you! haha
5. Document handling. The organisational capacity of MC (at least as far as I can see) vastly exceeds that of windows... I've started using MC to organise documents and journal articles as well as eBooks. The ability to create fields and have multiple list entries is great for cross-referencing. More intimate support of documents could help MC to create useful and functional databases for research articles, personal files, projects etc. At a minimum, would we'd be looking at text searches, preview thumbnails of major formats (office, pdfs, html etc) and reading metadata (author, etc etc).
6. Dammit I lost my tags! I can't count the number of times I've had to move my library or parts thereof to a new machine and, oh no, the metadata from my avi, mov, flac, mp4, bmp, tiff, document files is gone. Crap. I know it's stored in the database, but it's not always possible to retain that data if you're a) moving your files somewhere else b) sharing your files with a friend. It's just not practical to migrate the database in pieces just to retain tag information. If MC can't write metadata to a file, we should have the option to save it to the folder as a separate .tag file or something. Just like saving a coverart file. Each folder, if we choose, could have it's own .tag file which contains all of the field entries for the files in the folder. When the folder is imported on another machine, this data could be recovered. I know, I'm excited too.
7. Hierarchical Database. This one's my favourite, but I don't know if that's necessarily the best way of describing it... at the moment we have fields, but these fields have no relationship to each other. Fields are only linked to the file. What would be ideal would be the ability for certain fields to be linked to each other within the database. For example, bio is generally a field that we use to describe the artist. Each time I get a file from artist X, I have to manually add the bio. Again and again. We should be able to make [Bio] a tag that is linked to [Artist]. A "tag for a tag" if that makes sense. That way every new file for "The Beatles" will have the same bio tag, and this will happen automatically. I could also do this with things like [Artist Nationality] or [Artist Members] etc etc. Think about it, this would be incredibly useful... and would save incredible amounts of time. The data could still be written to the files, it just wouldn't have to be done manually each time.
Examples: For photos, we have the field [People]. My name is Chris. Imagine the possibilities if I could make a field called [Birthday]. I could tag the entry "Chris" with a birthday of "1984". I could then use this in a custom field (using expressions) to calculate my age in any given photo. Each new person can be tagged with their appropriate birthday. And best of all, this would only have to be done once, as it's the [People] tag we're referencing, not the photo. I hope this makes some sense.
Another example: [Movie] (a custom field) could be linked to [Director], [Studio], [Cast] etc etc
This could be done in the options menu under create new field dialogue. We could have the option when creating or editing a field to "Make a child of...." and select the field we want it to be linked to. Done. Then in the Tag AW, under [Artist] for example, there could be a little dropdown with the child fields underneath. Make sense?
9. A direct line to Jim's Office. This is essential. MC should be able to dial up J River HQ so that customers can impart their useful ideas and random musings at any random hour.
So.... any hugely ambitious / unrealistic / impossible ideas out there?
Where do you guys see MC going in the next few years?
Other issues for discussion: Blu-Ray, HD-DVD, PS3/XBox Support, DVD ripping and encoding, Home Theatre Solutions, MC Portable, better photo acquisition and editing, theatre view improvements
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Sorry but I feel like all of these requests are sorta "meh." Kind of like well, I guess... Video editing I don't ever want to see in Media Center. There are plenty of appropriate things that could be added before video editing. Premiere Elements provides all the video editing goodness I could ever want--and it costs twice the price of MC with ADOBE behind it. Good grief! I don't know if J River is big enough to embark on a project that there isn't even an open source solution for that I know of.
Document handling...don't really see much additional use here for me personally. And lost tags? You need to configure Media Center properly and you'll be fine...however, I think this is my favorite of your requests. I want DVD tags stored very much. Okay, and Video Encoding--would be amazing if I could add episode names to my television DVDs that pointed to the correct chapter...then select an episode and have MC automatically pull the DVD data (appropriate spot) and encode for transfer to my iPod Nano 3rd Generation.
So I'm interested in 1 & 6 the most.
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If any possible newer versions of MC12 doesn't get to these features, I'd love to have them in MC13 ...
1 ) a)More options for when starting Image files (associated with MC) from windows. Maybe the whole MC can open with the MC fullscreen viewer, but with the viewer having 2 extra buttons for the user to choose from ...one to close MC (completely) , and the other ... "Browse with MC" (which will close the fullscreen viewer) and take you to the folder of where the image is located, but within MC.
b) when the fullcreen viewer has opened an image from windows, then to be able to go "previous" and "next" with the MC fullscreen viewer, all the inages within the folder, from which the original image was opened. ( similar to what Windows picture and fax viewer can do).
2 ) More access to basic editing commands for images from MC fullscreen view. Shortcuts icons of basic editing such rotate, crop etc. could also be put on the MC fullscreen toolbar, similar to what can be done with the MC main application bottom and top toolbar.
3 )Batch image file conversion.
4 ) Some basic and user friendly filters, eg. sepia , black & white , etc.
Filters which could also be used for batch processing. ie. change group of images to sepia ...
5 )To be able to save ALL MC setting as a backup in one file. View schemes, playlists, MC user options, skinz... the works.
6 ) More user options for users in the MC options, eg. to be able to choose wether double-clicking an image opens in "playing now" or not, ...etc.
7 )Improved image resize (batch) tool options. Adding percentage, print resolution etc...
8 ) Easier access to external programs. If a user is using external programs alot, the present right-click route to it, can become too much.
Maybe an ability for MC users to be able to customize how their right-click context menu is layed out.
9 ) stacking and version tracking ( I think there might be plans for this already) Nice! :)
10 ) a very big wish. To be able to compare images side-by-side. Up to four images, with option to be able to include information.
11 ) And shoo!, lastly ... a little more improvement to MC's own image editor. I'm definitely not looking for a high-end image editor like photoshop, but one that can have a little more strength, which could also include some of those basic filters, etc...
Or, in the meantime , for a user to be able to select his/her default editor for MC, which could replace the present MC editor, when right-clicking and selecting "edit image".
Thanks
cosmic
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5 )To be able to save ALL MC setting as a backup in one file. View schemes, playlists, MC user options, skinz... the works.
This is solved by my request to store all settings and such in the user's profile/database. It means no more dealing with the registry. Hey, just use an XML file inside the users's profile and mimic the registry. This is my top request (FYI--see above).
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better database, one with recovery/rollback (optional tools??) as well as record locking for use with multiple players.
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free upgrade from MC12?
;)
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6. Dammit I lost my tags! I can't count the number of times I've had to move my library or parts thereof to a new machine and, oh no, the metadata from my avi, mov, flac, mp4, bmp, tiff, document files is gone. Crap. I know it's stored in the database, but it's not always possible to retain that data if you're a) moving your files somewhere else b) sharing your files with a friend. It's just not practical to migrate the database in pieces just to retain tag information. If MC can't write metadata to a file, we should have the option to save it to the folder as a separate .tag file or something. Just like saving a coverart file. Each folder, if we choose, could have it's own .tag file which contains all of the field entries for the files in the folder. When the folder is imported on another machine, this data could be recovered. I know, I'm excited too.
This must be a priority for MC13. As our media libraries grow in size and complexity, features for keeping our databases secure and portable must keep pace.
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Document thumbnails
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From an earlier thread: http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=39943.0
I like number 7 :)
7. Hierarchical Database.
Other issues for discussion: Blu-Ray, HD-DVD, PS3/XBox Support, DVD ripping and encoding, Home Theatre Solutions, MC Portable, better photo acquisition and editing, theatre view improvements
Big, noisy votes for these ones.
Gotta say though, I'm not a huge fan of the idea of turning MC into an all-round editing tool as seems to be oft-suggested. I want to use it for managing and enjoying my media, not for editing it. It's difficult enough trying to find a product that can effectively manage huge libraries in an efficient manner, has multiple useful interface modes, and has the ability to interface with other devices and software. I think if MC can manage to keep up with, and ahead of, the competition in these facets, then they have a winning product right there.
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Sorry but I feel like all of these requests are sorta "meh."
Funny, I said the same thing about your list.
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I would personally love to see 2 things...
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...
DVD Lobby provides interraction, but who wants to spend that sort of moola for a half basic system when MC is so close to perfect...
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I would personally love to see 2 things...
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...
DVD Lobby provides interraction, but who wants to spend that sort of moola for a half basic system when MC is so close to perfect...
Could you start a new thread and provide more details?
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9. A direct line to Jim's Office. This is essential. MC should be able to dial up J River HQ so that customers can impart their useful ideas and random musings at any random hour.
Why stop there? Let's start a campaign!
Home number! Home number! Home number! ;) ;D
I like a lot of these suggestions... I thought I'd add a few more in the spirit of jgreen's tab's post...
- It would be nice if you could somehow "unify" all the different display modes, so that the controls in Full Screen View would look just like they look in Standard View, and while you're at it if we could get a special mini-view that doesn't need it's own skin, that'd be great.
- In the new "Display View" discussed above, could you make it so the border appears and disappears when you move the mouse over the border, with some kind of logic so it doesn't get too distracting if we bump the mouse a bit?
- Could we get some sort of On Screen Display that not only gives us information about what we're watching and what the player is doing, but actually lets us set settings and control the player with only four arrow keys and an enter key?
- In that on-screen display, could you go ahead and give us multi-track audio switching support, aspect ratio support, display controls (including brightness, contrast, and other similar settings), zoom and positioning controls, and anything else you can think of.
- Oh, and could you make sure the library and the application runs fast? It's getting a little slow, even on my big powerful machine. Make sure to multi-thread everything from thumbnail display, to the loading system, to playback, to thumbnail generation. A lot of us have these fancy new dual-core and quad-core machines, and we could use some thread love here.
- Can we get full control over what DirectShow filters are used for playback? I'll need full control over settings, the ability to change it on a per-filetype basis, and some separate settings for DVD playback?
- How about support for DVD Ripping, with YADB database support for automatic DVD lookup?
- We need all kinds of changes to the Advanced Expressions capabilities. How about letting us use expressions in-place on the columns with multiple files selected? And give us some fancy tag manipulation expressions that let us trim letters from one side or the other, copy data from field to field, and parse complex data out of fields. Oh, and could you do it today, because I really have some files that this could help me with. ;)
- The TV Tuner support REALLY needs some work. So just go ahead and have a blast in that section, will ya?
- Even though I want this spiffy new "unified" display motif, I'd also really like to be able to "detach" the display and move it around wherever I'd like independent of the main player. That way I can use the MC UI to control what plays on this detached display (which might be up on a big-screen TV or a projector or something like that. Oh, and if you could let us have a separate detached display for each zone, all running simultaneously and independently, that'd be superb!
- Could you completely re-work the Tag Editing Action Window to make it look a lot nicer and be useful for tag display, not just editing? Oh, but a whole bunch of us are going to freak out and make all kinds of high-maintenance (and usually conflicting) demands of you about this. Deal with it and come up with something that works well for everyone.
- Oh, throw us full support for Podcast downloading integrated right into the application. Make sure to include Video Podcasting too. I know, every podcast seems to use its own wacky interpretation of what the XML should contain, but could you just figure it all out and make sure that every podcast under the sun works properly?
- I've been screaming for about 3 versions for full, built-in, FLAC and MPC support (including encoding and decoding). I know you spent a lot of time developing your own beautifully engineered lossless encoding system, and that it works quite well, but we want choices so FLAC would be fantastic. There's this Scot character that should be able to help!
- Can we get full IPTC read/writing support for pictures? Oh and XMP would be good too!
- Theater View needs all kinds of work. I can't even really list it all. It should be slick and super functional. Allow us to build playlists on the fly and support easy playback. We need all of the possible Play or Add commands immediately accessible with a simple ENTER keypress. Oh, and none of us will agree on which option is best, so could you make sure to come up with some easy-to-use way to make us all happy, and even allow us to change our mind on which way is best "on-the-fly" without digging into some complex option dialog?
- Even though Apple refuses to give any information whatsoever about their player, could you go ahead and make sure you can import Playlists from iTunes? Oh, and can we export our Smartlists out to a file so we can move them around to different machines and share them with each other online?
- That whole library browser system needs a lot of work. Could you replace it with a "tile-like" view of that can be switched with the Panes on-the-fly, and remembers its setting on a per-View Scheme basis?
- Can we change the thumbnail size in thumnnail mode with our mouse wheel and with a simple slider control?
- I need full expression support in the Send To --> External menu so that I can send complex searches to Google and IMDB and other web sites, to automate retrieving of information. I think I'd probably use that feature every single time I tag my files.
- I'm sure I'll come up with a lot more as time goes on (I did).
KThankxBye!
[Mod note by JimH -- glynor has just described some of the new features that are now available in MC12.]
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You know... In writing that up, I was going through Alex's amazing MC12 Change Log thread (http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=38834.msg264221#msg264221)
(which could probably use a build 400 update when it goes public). Nevermind, he updated it while I had it open in another tab.
Not only did I only get to build 12.0.90 or so before I had that huge list (including what I came up with on my own), but I remembered a bunch of stuff that I had totally forgotten about. I found both features that I haven't been using, but should be, and features that I use all the time but are now so second nature that it feels like they've been there forever.
Let me take this opportunity to just say... The work you have all done has been truly breathtaking. Thank you for your efforts not only in programming, but in dealing with and listening to all of us.
Sláinte!
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My list of must-haves would include:
1. User-configurable custom data fields. I'm talking about the ability to create your own new fields, not just the default fields in the program.
2. Maybe a way to rate the tracks, say from 1 to 5. Going even further, what about a star system for ratings?
3. It would be cool if we could have playlists that populated themselves, based on pre-configured criteria. This would be a really smart thing--we could call it a "smart list"!
4. I'd like to see some sort of way to automatically import things. I'm tired of having to right-click on each individual file--I've spent HOURS at that!
5. Lastly, and I know this is asking a lot, is there any way to have multiple views in the same instance of the program? It's hard to describe what I'm thinking of here, but what if we could split the views up, and maybe even order them in some sort of delimited fashion, kind of like manilla folders are. What do they call those little flaps on the folders that work so well?
Seems no one noticed the irony here :D
I'm in the same boat, i can't really think of anything i would want to have in a 13. Now with 11 and going to 12 there were tons of things, but this time..heh.
Still a way to go before i outgrow 12.
famous last words, yeah i know
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Seems no one noticed the irony here
Almost every post references its irony! I'm the first one to reply afterwards and I realized it after reading the second one.
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free upgrade from MC12?
;)
Thanks for the laugh :D,
I want MC to stay in business but funny how the simplest and best ideas are always the ones that get overlooked.
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i would love to see even more things i don't know, that i can not live without.
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Glynor, thanks for your list of wishes. As a newbie user, it actually gave me insight into what MC can do now, and has me curious to try out new things! :)
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So.... any hugely ambitious / unrealistic / impossible ideas out there?
Where do you guys see MC going in the next few years?
I asked for this (http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=10042.0) a while back..
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Theater View enhancements certainly are high on my wishlist. Starting from simply tzhings, like being able to being more flexibel in creating customized buttons, e.g. I hate that I cant really seperate music videos (operas etc) from action movies and so on by customizing seperate buttons on the Theater View Start Screen.
Also some more enhanced 3D-Views to display Coverart would be nice. You've already started in this directed with the rotated view - keep it coming ;D
BBrip
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I asked for this (http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=10042.0) a while back..
Oh, that reminds me of another feature I meant to mention...
Could you come up with some way that MC can just "read my mind" and pick what to play for me? When you do this, make sure to make it smart so that it can remember which songs we skipped past and use that knowledge to better predict the next songs that it'll pick. That way, the longer I let it play, the smarter it'd get. Oh, and since this fancy feature is quite likely to pick some files that might be inappropriate (or worse, embarrassing) we'll need some way to exclude certain tracks from eligibility.
It makes me laugh... hit_ny was obviously kidding in that thread, but they really kinda actually did it.
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- Better document handling. Including support for pdf tags!
- More tightly integrated with new music services such as these (http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=43256.0). Maybe users should be able to add music services
- Use Fx rather than IE for internet communication
- Linux build so I could get rid of this darn winXP
I can't think of anything else for the moment.
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Oh, that reminds me of another feature I meant to mention...
Could you come up with some way that MC can just "read my mind" and pick what to play for me? When you do this, make sure to make it smart so that it can remember which songs we skipped past and use that knowledge to better predict the next songs that it'll pick. That way, the longer I let it play, the smarter it'd get. Oh, and since this fancy feature is quite likely to pick some files that might be inappropriate (or worse, embarrassing) we'll need some way to exclude certain tracks from eligibility.
It makes me laugh... hit_ny was obviously kidding in that thread, but they really kinda actually did it.
..and you don't need to go to Radio Shack to make it work
:D
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There are a lot of great ideas in this thread. I would like to add mine. Doesn't even have to be a full version upgrade. 12.5 is fine.
Complete Native MP4 Support
Edit: As I sit here waiting while some MP4's burn to CD as MP3, I thought of some more wishes:
1. Multi-threading during rips and burns (when transcoding). See EAC how it uses multiple threads.
2. Update the Details view when burning an MP3 or other format disc. I have a queue of files transcoding via LAME. I can see LAME come and go in task manager. Yet, the entire queue always "Waiting". After a file is transcoded, it would be nice if the status changed to "Ready for Transfer" or something similar.
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Complete Native MP4 Support
Great idea.
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?
What I would really like, is to be able to pick up my entire MC program (settings, file support and all) and move it to a new system and be able to play back all my popular file formats, whitout having to reinstall a bunch of plugins and filters again. I don't wanna have to think about "did I remember this plugin" or "this expression" or "those codecs".
The license might be the only thing J River might wanna leave behind :)
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-- I would strongly support the already voiced opinion that better tools for backing up the database settings / music collection are badly needed and really wanted (as to be a priority #1).
-- It would be great and super-useful, IMHO, if an option for controlling the stretching of cover art in Display View (stretch full-screen / leave at 100%) was added to those wonderful enhancements that have been made in the recent build.
-- [Just a whim] When you choose "Display View", you have the control bar still visible at the top for a number of seconds and then the picture goes full-screen swallowing the bar. Well, in fact, I found that in some instances I'd prefer to have that control bar sitting there permanently. I wonder if an option would be a difficult thing to add... But this is, as I said, just a whim.
Holiday wishes and sincere thanks to the developers!
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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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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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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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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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5. Everything stored in library so one backup backs up everything.
X2 !!
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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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5. Everything stored in library so one backup backs up everything.
!!!!X4!!!!
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Haha, count me in on this one too.
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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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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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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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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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Could you start a new thread and provide more details?
Done :-)
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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!
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!
If MC tried to do anything similar, poor JimH would get sued out of his pants.
Poor, poor Jim :)
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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.
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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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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
(http://xs322.xs.to/xs322/07523/ThermaltakeDH102.jpg) (http://xs.to)
Links to the software (http://www.thermaltake.com/product/Chassis/desktop/dh102/NewRevolutionary7.html)
Link to the Box (http://www.thermaltake.com/product/Chassis/desktop/dh102/vh2001bns.asp#)
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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...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.
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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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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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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I would like to see an easier way to customize the keyboard short cuts.
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I'd like to be able to import videos I've purchased in iTunes into MC.
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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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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.
:)
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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I want a J River Media Center Operating System - for that media-only PC :D
why complicate things with Windows?
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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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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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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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Reply 100! In celebration.... (Many recent changes have made this much shorter than it was, but here we go.....)
Darichman's super-duper wish list for MC13
Major Changes
Relational Database
Discussed at length elsewhere. Functional artist and album database at least, with inheritance of information from what’s already in the database. Movie/Television database would also be nice. Even nicer, allow us to create our own groups based on fields – a true information database, not just a file database could offer something like AMG (Allmusic, Allmovies, Allgames), with user generated content. Pretty please?
Visualising Information during playback
Artist Info and Album Info views – would tie in nicely with database changes mentioned above. Need to make better use of extended metadata like lyrics. A flashy snazzy interactive menu to display this stuff while a file is playing would be cool. Track Info templates are a bit limited, afterall.
Tagging of non-taggable files
For files which don’t support embedded tags/metadata, have MC create “.tag” files in the folder to store this information for retrieval on other computers or as a backup of the information. Can’t count how many times I’ve lost info because it’s stored in the database only :(
Portable database
Looks like something might be happening here! Would be great to see MC backups containing library info, settings, view schemes and plugins if possible... a quick glance at any of benn600’s posts will show that there is avid support for this ;)
Photo Handling
MC12 has been fantastic for photos. Well done! Would love to see some more big changes here.
See: http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=43888.msg301182#msg301182
Feature Requests
The Tree
Allow customisation of tree root items (order/custom icons)
Allow tree root items in theatre view (PLEASE!)
Allow us to get rid of "Audio,Video,Images" for those of us who find these categories unuseful
Expression Editor
Expressions confuse me. I have found them incredibly useful when I’ve managed to find the time to sit down and plot one out from scratch, but an “Expression Wizard” would really help out with those nested “if(...)” functions. You could call it “Marko” :D
New Expressions
I’ve got “count” and “combine” (great!). I want to be able to do calculations etc across multiple tracks. This might only be possible if MC went to a relational database :P
In addition, I would really like a “Find & Replace” expression for use in view scheme panes. This would allow me to parse the [Artist] field based on “ & “ and “, “ etc. Many other uses as well.
Consolidate Move/Copy/Rename files
...and apply similar system to ripping and conversion
Bugs / Outstanding Issues
Clean file properties appends XXXX-01-01 00:00 to year field
(http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=44465.msg304295#msg304295 (http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=44465.msg304295))
Animated GIF files
MC, the one that plays it all, probably one of the most powerful media apps on the net, cannot play animated GIFs. Yes I know it’s hard to believe that MC cannot handle that which even windows picture viewer can do. Shame, J River, shame :)
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i just hope image playback gets some new attention. the fact that it stops nearly everytime i close fullscreen, even when there is nothing else playing back is driving me crazy.
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Allow us to get rid of "Audio,Video,Images" for those of us who find these categories unuseful
There is a work around for this. If you create a custom language translation file you can rename these to anything. In my case I renamed Audio to Main because I display all media types in this view. Its very easy and only takes a couple minutes to implement.
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There is a work around for this. If you create a custom language translation file you can rename these to anything. In my case I renamed Audio to Main because I display all media types in this view. Its very easy and only takes a couple minutes to implement.
Yes, you're right... still, I'd like to be able to remove the tiles completely.
At one point, we could right click>delete these entries (although they'd come right back on program restart!) but even that is greyed out now.
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I second the expression editor idea. Even if it just gave you a simple way to add "if" statements to the current smartlist rules. That would be so useful for customizing the "Rename files from properties" tool.
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An OSX version :)
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I'm reluctant to propose lots of new features for MC 13. I'd like to see some obvious fixes made. My list:
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.
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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.)
These are the things I'd like most. I use MC for music only and the addition of these functions (which would basically amount to few buttons) would make MC, in my opinion, more touchscrren friendly and more juke-boxey...a playing now screen that also says what song was last played, is playing and is going to be played next would be cool as well..
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An OSX version :)
... and more realistically, tabs that remember what they were in the prior session would be nice.
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... and more realistically, tabs that remember what they were in the prior session would be nice.
well, that one reason why i think it is already 13. ;)
go to options>startup>startup interface>location> choose last location. :)
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You rock my small, self-centered little universe :) thanks
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Move functions need to be enhanced. Being able to convert format but use a special or custom field when doing so; would help to have this apply to Images. Currently you can't convert images via sync and have folders re-created. And I thought that if we moved files within the tree, the database is supposed to recognize the changes.
Also, full .ape support integration would be great; i.e. Verify function.
DC
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Just use the convert format option. You can then select the destination and I think unchecking all the boxes will act like a move with conversion.
The checkboxes are vital to the power of this feature.
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Convert function is limited. Play with it. Yes, if you select the same filetype, you can choose to "skip conversions of same file type", but you are stuck using Artist filed to build folders which is useless for many of us who use Album Artist (auto) or better yet a custom field to correctly preserve Artist (various incarnations, misspellings, duets). And you can't convert images (re-size) and retain folder stucture. Maybe the Sync Library function can do this, I haven't played with it yet.
DC
P.s. sorry I never got back to your pm, super busy with baby & grad school and I had to rebuild my PC, sell buggy unstable 790fx chipset & Phenom, and re-build again with new parts.
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I had to rebuild my PC
I recently rebuilt my PC, too! I swapped motherboards in my desktop and server and the server motherboard suddenly developed a very strange, unusual problem. Yes I was well grounded the whole time.
So I ended up being without a computer for a week while I ordered and setup the new motherboard/installation in my main workstation. It was horrible! That's one of the dreaded situations in life.
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It would be nice if each pane item shows its ratings for its children.
E.g. An album with 10 songs has a maximum rating of: 5 Stars multiplied by 10 = 50 points = 100 %
So on the left of each album there could be something like a mini box showing the rating by filling up - or maybe color coding with gradients between gray and green (will all gradients in between).
The same thing would go for Genre, Artist etc.
tom
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I've posted these before in a thread earlier this week, but here they are again if anyone missed them.
1. Option to make the group font size smaller. I feel like the existing font is way larger than it needs to be and wastes a lot of space.
2. The ability to go directly from artist thumbnails to a grouped list of albums like in WMP 11. Basically, if you are at your artist thumbnail view, double click on an artist and the current view switches to one which lists all songs by that artist in detail view grouped by album. I realize it is possible to do this with the 'Always Show Files' Option, but I would really love to be able to do all this in a single view because having two views eats up too much screen space.
3. Ability to select all members of a group by clicking on the large thumbnail. Should work with right click and left click.
4. Add the ability to place thumbnail text to the right the thumbnail instead of only bellow.
5. Add the ability to make thumbnail text 'hot linked' (just try clicking on thumbnail text in WMP 11, you will see what I mean.)
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A streaming media server that can transcode video (all types) on the fly...
This is one of my wishes too.
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5. Much more advanced server/client setup that would allow certain users the ability to rip CDs/DVDs/etc. and MC client would send the CD data to MC server and IT would store the data where it is configured to. So clients would be essentially configured mainly from the server. This applies to my #0 request.
I would add to this:
-- the ability to create/edit playlists and smartlists from clients that are connected to Library Server and have those changes stored on the Library Server (unless connected using party mode)
-- ability to do tagging from clients that are connected to Library Server and have those changes stored on the Library Server (unless connected using party mode)
Right now it is difficult to do library editing when you have Media Server running constantly (as I do). I either need to Remote Desktop into the server PC and do library changes there or shut down the Media Server while I make edits from another PC and then restart Media Server again. This is enough of a pain that I make edits much less frequently that I otherwise would.
-- Ability to have UPnP server work with the Xbox 360 dashboard media player as Twonky and Orb do.
-- Ability to have UPnP clients resume playback of a file where it was stopped.
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0. Easy to say of course: faster searching, reordering and opening of large playlists.
1. A bit more flexibility in moving around the components of a skin, and resizing them. (like for instance having the list of songs in the upper right corner, insted of the lower right, and so on)
2. Writing both album-gain and track-gan the same way as foobar
3. Able to tag files from a client when using server-client
4. Easier way to switch between beeing able to tag and not.
5. Option for a button and or key to skip to a random track on the list.