ps! persoanly i would prefer if the default cvs keymap is mapped like the dvd-remote was for xbmp, so like this one here (link)
2004-02-21, 21:00
i've been playing around with the keymap file for the last week or so trying to find a combination i like for using the dvd remote. i ran in to the same troubles you've found, and think that this is one area that doesn't seem to be as well thought out as the rest of the interface stuff. i personally find the keymap and the available mappings to be missing some key capabilities and it seems to that the mapping structure as well as the steps required to accomplish certain tasks just aren't well designed for using the remote.
anyway, if anyone wants my ideas for how the interface should behave with the remote i can post it.
anyway, if anyone wants my ideas for how the interface should behave with the remote i can post it.
2004-02-21, 21:02
(indierocksteve @ feb. 21 2004,19:00 Wrote:i've been playing around with the keymap file for the last week or so trying to find a combination i like for using the dvd remote. i ran in to the same troubles you've found, and think that this is one area that doesn't seem to be as well thought out as the rest of the interface stuff. i personally find the keymap and the available mappings to be missing some key capabilities and it seems to that the mapping structure as well as the steps required to accomplish certain tasks just aren't well designed for using the remote.please do so.
anyway, if anyone wants my ideas for how the interface should behave with the remote i can post it.
i'm tweaking mine to. but would like to give your keymap a go
2004-02-21, 23:10
man, i had a nice little post going then my laptop decided for no good reason to go into suspend mode without wanting to wake up...
so i'm going to condense my old intro into this:
controller has 9 general function buttons, dvd remote only has 5.
the interface is written requiring 6/7 general function buttons.
the interface movement paths need to be designed for the dvd remote's 5 buttons.
basically what i did was map back to go up a directory, mapped title to go to the main menu, mapped the play button to be the select button, and mapped select to add to playlist.
but, this sucks... its not intuitive, and it doesn't overcome the other shortcomings...
what needs to be done is a change in the movement path required to accomplish tasks. this is very remote control centric and completely ignores the use of a controller, but i think most people will want to use xbmc with the remote (esp. since its like $15 which is not a huge investment). now, i'm assuming this is not something that can be changed in the skin since they all seem to behave the same way...
some of this will change how xbmc behaves currently, and this might require a lot of code revision, so i'm not expecting it to be done soon or quickly, but hopefully it will give some thought to future development...
first, all sections: video, music, pictures,etc. must behave the same. right now they are a little splintered as far as their exact functioning and layout. which is fine, since they've been designed to be feature specific, and it works well, but the way they behave is too different to allow for a unified feel, and that makes it difficult to use.
so here's how i think the mappings should work with the remote...
title should always take you back to the main menu. thats all it should do.
menu should be used to switch between fullscreen mode and the menu(ie the vis or the video or the pictures to the menu and viceversa)
back should take you up one level in the file tree heirarchy.
info should give info on the currently selected file.
play should add the current file to the playlist.
select should immediately play the current file.
now, what would be really really cool is if each skin could define its own mapping that would allow the skin to control how the interface behaves... currently the skin doesn't have this ability, but doing so would allow for some pretty inovative interfaces.
just what i've come up with in using and watching my friends use xbmc. really what most of my friends say is they wish it behaved more like the tivo interface, which makes sense since they all know how to use it and it is a great interface for using a few general buttons and a directional pad interface.
so i'm going to condense my old intro into this:
controller has 9 general function buttons, dvd remote only has 5.
the interface is written requiring 6/7 general function buttons.
the interface movement paths need to be designed for the dvd remote's 5 buttons.
basically what i did was map back to go up a directory, mapped title to go to the main menu, mapped the play button to be the select button, and mapped select to add to playlist.
but, this sucks... its not intuitive, and it doesn't overcome the other shortcomings...
what needs to be done is a change in the movement path required to accomplish tasks. this is very remote control centric and completely ignores the use of a controller, but i think most people will want to use xbmc with the remote (esp. since its like $15 which is not a huge investment). now, i'm assuming this is not something that can be changed in the skin since they all seem to behave the same way...
some of this will change how xbmc behaves currently, and this might require a lot of code revision, so i'm not expecting it to be done soon or quickly, but hopefully it will give some thought to future development...
first, all sections: video, music, pictures,etc. must behave the same. right now they are a little splintered as far as their exact functioning and layout. which is fine, since they've been designed to be feature specific, and it works well, but the way they behave is too different to allow for a unified feel, and that makes it difficult to use.
so here's how i think the mappings should work with the remote...
title should always take you back to the main menu. thats all it should do.
menu should be used to switch between fullscreen mode and the menu(ie the vis or the video or the pictures to the menu and viceversa)
back should take you up one level in the file tree heirarchy.
info should give info on the currently selected file.
play should add the current file to the playlist.
select should immediately play the current file.
now, what would be really really cool is if each skin could define its own mapping that would allow the skin to control how the interface behaves... currently the skin doesn't have this ability, but doing so would allow for some pretty inovative interfaces.
just what i've come up with in using and watching my friends use xbmc. really what most of my friends say is they wish it behaved more like the tivo interface, which makes sense since they all know how to use it and it is a great interface for using a few general buttons and a directional pad interface.
2004-02-22, 02:03
in general i agree. a global "back" is absolutely critical for an intuitive user interface. back, back, back, back.
of the top of my head, i disagree on
- play as add to playlist. play should be play. i think perhaps select should bring up a little sub menu - play now, play from bookmark (if appropriate, grayed out otherwise for consistency), or enqueue. perhaps delete too (!!
, as i watch a lot of tv shows i just want to get rid of. but the crux is that play should aways just immediately play the file in any context.
- menu as fullscreen. what? menu should take you to the top menu. display is the ideal candidate for fullscreen. unless display becomes like the "tivo button," which would be great. display hit twice would go to my videos. display + number key 1: my music, display + number key 2: my programs, etc. msg if you'd like more elaboration.
- incidentally, with the gobal back concept, some things would need to change, like going to my videos would need to take you to the top level instead of the most recently visited folder.
i'm waiting to see how the new osd goes before really getting into the usability issues-- if the osd totally rocks, which i think it will, then the rest of xbmc's navigation will need to catch up.
of the top of my head, i disagree on
- play as add to playlist. play should be play. i think perhaps select should bring up a little sub menu - play now, play from bookmark (if appropriate, grayed out otherwise for consistency), or enqueue. perhaps delete too (!!
, as i watch a lot of tv shows i just want to get rid of. but the crux is that play should aways just immediately play the file in any context.- menu as fullscreen. what? menu should take you to the top menu. display is the ideal candidate for fullscreen. unless display becomes like the "tivo button," which would be great. display hit twice would go to my videos. display + number key 1: my music, display + number key 2: my programs, etc. msg if you'd like more elaboration.
- incidentally, with the gobal back concept, some things would need to change, like going to my videos would need to take you to the top level instead of the most recently visited folder.
i'm waiting to see how the new osd goes before really getting into the usability issues-- if the osd totally rocks, which i think it will, then the rest of xbmc's navigation will need to catch up.
2004-02-29, 16:36
hi all,
i decided to change the xbmc keymap and cbf learning someone elses, so i've altered mine to be default keys for the controller but as close to xbmp as possible for the remote.
one thing i've noticed about most is that they are lacking a universal gui/fullscreen button. in mine it is simply display (as in xbmp).
i haven't extensivley tested it however it seems fine. retains all the functions (as far as i can see).
any feedback to perfect it would be appreciated.
based on 2004-02-12 build.
i'll also upload it to the xbmc end-users upload. if the link could be given for a download (if deemed neccesary) that would be appreciated.
update: file uploaded as morien-alternate-xbmc-keymap.rar
morien
i decided to change the xbmc keymap and cbf learning someone elses, so i've altered mine to be default keys for the controller but as close to xbmp as possible for the remote.
one thing i've noticed about most is that they are lacking a universal gui/fullscreen button. in mine it is simply display (as in xbmp).
i haven't extensivley tested it however it seems fine. retains all the functions (as far as i can see).
any feedback to perfect it would be appreciated.
based on 2004-02-12 build.
Quote:<!-- xbmp keymap for xbmc by morien. -->
<!-- this file contains the mapping of keys (gamepad and remote) to actions within xbmc -->
<!-- see the guilib\key.h file for the definition of the windows, actions, and keys. -->
<!-- the <global> section is a fall through - they will only be used if the button is not -->
<!-- used in the current window's <window> section. note that there is only handling for -->
<!-- a single action per button at this stage. -->
<!-- the remotecode tags are only needed if you intend to map buttons from other remotes. -->
<!-- in this case, the remotecodes are the obcs (original button codes) in the rca 5 protocol -->
<!-- -->
<keymap>
<global>
<action>
<description>play music</description>
<id>79</id>
<remote>play</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>fastforward music</description>
<id>77</id>
<remote>forward</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>rewind music</description>
<id>78</id>
<remote>reverse</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>move left</description>
<id>1</id>
<gamepad>dpadleft</gamepad>
<remote>left</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>move right</description>
<id>2</id>
<gamepad>dpadright</gamepad>
<remote>right</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>move up</description>
<id>3</id>
<gamepad>dpadup</gamepad>
<remote>up</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>move down</description>
<id>4</id>
<gamepad>dpaddown</gamepad>
<remote>down</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>page up</description>
<id>5</id>
<gamepad>lefttrigger</gamepad>
<remote>skipminus</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>page down</description>
<id>6</id>
<gamepad>righttrigger</gamepad>
<remote>skipplus</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>select item</description>
<id>7</id>
<gamepad>a</gamepad>
<remote>select</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>parent directory</description>
<id>9</id>
<gamepad>b</gamepad>
<remote>back</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>front menu</description>
<id>10</id>
<gamepad>back</gamepad>
<remote>menu</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>show file info</description>
<id>11</id>
<gamepad>white</gamepad>
<remote>info</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>pause</description>
<id>12</id>
<remote>pause</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>stop</description>
<id>13</id>
<remote>stop</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>skip next</description>
<id>14</id>
<remote>skipplus</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>skip previous</description>
<id>15</id>
<remote>skipminus</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>toggle between gui and fullscreen</description>
<id>18</id>
<gamepad>x</gamepad>
<remote>display</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>analog movement</description>
<id>49</id>
<gamepad>leftthumbstick</gamepad>
</action>
</global>
<window>
<description>my files specific actions</description>
<id>3</id>
<action>
<description>switch source and destination</description>
<id>32</id>
<gamepad>black</gamepad>
<remote>display</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>select/deselect a file</description>
<id>8</id>
<gamepad>y</gamepad>
<remote>play</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
</window>
<window>
<description>my music playlist specific actions</description>
<id>500</id>
<action>
<description>toggle between playlist and filelist</description>
<id>33</id>
<gamepad>black</gamepad>
<remote>title</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>remove item from the playlist</description>
<id>34</id>
<gamepad>y</gamepad>
<remote>info</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
</window>
<window>
<description>my music songs specific actions</description>
<id>501</id>
<action>
<description>toggle between playlist and filelist</description>
<id>33</id>
<gamepad>black</gamepad>
<remote>title</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>add item to the playlist</description>
<id>34</id>
<gamepad>y</gamepad>
<remote>info</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
</window>
<window>
<description>my music album specific actions</description>
<id>502</id>
<action>
<description>toggle between playlist and filelist</description>
<id>33</id>
<gamepad>black</gamepad>
<remote>title</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>add item to the playlist</description>
<id>34</id>
<gamepad>y</gamepad>
<remote>info</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
</window>
<window>
<description>my music artist specific actions</description>
<id>503</id>
<action>
<description>toggle between playlist and filelist</description>
<id>33</id>
<gamepad>black</gamepad>
<remote>title</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>add item to the playlist</description>
<id>34</id>
<gamepad>y</gamepad>
<remote>info</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
</window>
<window>
<description>my music genre specific actions</description>
<id>504</id>
<action>
<description>toggle between playlist and filelist</description>
<id>33</id>
<gamepad>black</gamepad>
<remote>title</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>add item to the playlist</description>
<id>34</id>
<gamepad>y</gamepad>
<remote>info</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
</window>
<window>
<description>my music top 100 specific actions</description>
<id>505</id>
<action>
<description>toggle between playlist and filelist</description>
<id>33</id>
<gamepad>black</gamepad>
<remote>title</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>add item to the playlist</description>
<id>34</id>
<gamepad>y</gamepad>
<remote>info</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
</window>
<window>
<description>fullscreen video specific actions</description>
<id>2005</id>
<action>
<description>zoom/stretch/normal</description>
<id>19</id>
<gamepad>start</gamepad>
<remote>back</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>play</description>
<id>68</id>
<remote>play</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>pause</description>
<id>12</id>
<gamepad>back</gamepad>
<remote>pause</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>stop</description>
<id>13</id>
<gamepad>a</gamepad>
<remote>stop</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>fastforward</description>
<id>16</id>
<remote>forward</remote>
<gamepad>righttrigger</gamepad>
</action>
<action>
<description>rewind</description>
<id>17</id>
<remote>reverse</remote>
<gamepad>lefttrigger</gamepad>
</action>
<action>
<description>step forward</description>
<id>20</id>
<gamepad>dpadright</gamepad>
<remote>skipplus</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>step backward</description>
<id>21</id>
<gamepad>dpadleft</gamepad>
<remote>skipminus</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>big step forward</description>
<id>22</id>
<gamepad>dpadup</gamepad>
<remote>right</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>big step backward</description>
<id>23</id>
<gamepad>dpaddown</gamepad>
<remote>left</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>toggle the osd</description>
<id>24</id>
<gamepad>black</gamepad>
<remote>title</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>show/hide subtitles</description>
<id>25</id>
<gamepad>white</gamepad>
</action>
<action>
<description>next subtitle language</description>
<id>26</id>
<gamepad>b</gamepad>
</action>
<action>
<description>show codec info</description>
<id>27</id>
<gamepad>y</gamepad>
<remote>info</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>remote button 0</description>
<id>58</id>
<remote>0</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>remote button 1</description>
<id>59</id>
<remote>1</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>remote button 2</description>
<id>60</id>
<remote>2</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>remote button 3</description>
<id>61</id>
<remote>3</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>remote button 4</description>
<id>62</id>
<remote>4</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>remote button 5</description>
<id>63</id>
<remote>5</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>remote button 6</description>
<id>64</id>
<remote>6</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>remote button 7</description>
<id>65</id>
<remote>7</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>remote button 8</description>
<id>66</id>
<remote>8</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>remote button 9</description>
<id>67</id>
<remote>9</remote>
</action>
</window>
<window>
<description>slideshow/picture view specific actions</description>
<id>2007</id>
<action>
<description>show picture info</description>
<id>27</id>
<gamepad>black</gamepad>
<remote>info</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>next picture</description>
<id>28</id>
<gamepad>righttrigger</gamepad>
<remote>skipplus</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>previous picture</description>
<id>29</id>
<gamepad>lefttrigger</gamepad>
<remote>skipminus</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>pause/continue</description>
<id>12</id>
<gamepad>start</gamepad>
<remote>pause</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>zoom out</description>
<id>30</id>
<gamepad>x</gamepad>
</action>
<action>
<description>zoom in</description>
<id>31</id>
<gamepad>a</gamepad>
</action>
<action>
<description>zoom level 1 (normal)</description>
<id>37</id>
<remote>0</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>zoom level 2</description>
<id>38</id>
<remote>1</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>zoom level 3</description>
<id>39</id>
<remote>2</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>zoom level 4</description>
<id>40</id>
<remote>3</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>zoom level 5</description>
<id>41</id>
<remote>4</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>zoom level 6</description>
<id>42</id>
<remote>5</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>zoom level 7</description>
<id>43</id>
<remote>6</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>zoom level 8</description>
<id>44</id>
<remote>7</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>zoom level 9</description>
<id>45</id>
<remote>8</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>zoom level 10</description>
<id>46</id>
<remote>9</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>move picture left (in zoom mode)</description>
<id>1</id>
<gamepad>dpadleft</gamepad>
<remote>left</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>move picture right (in zoom mode)</description>
<id>2</id>
<gamepad>dpadright</gamepad>
<remote>right</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>move picture up (in zoom mode)</description>
<id>3</id>
<gamepad>dpadup</gamepad>
<remote>up</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>move picture down (in zoom mode)</description>
<id>4</id>
<gamepad>dpaddown</gamepad>
<remote>down</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>rotate picture</description>
<id>50</id>
<gamepad>y</gamepad>
<remote>title</remote>
</action>
</window>
<window>
<description>movie calibration specific actions</description>
<id>11</id>
<action>
<description>swap calibration arrows</description>
<id>47</id>
<gamepad>a</gamepad>
<remote>select</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>reset the calibration</description>
<id>48</id>
<gamepad>black</gamepad>
<remote>info</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>change resolution</description>
<id>57</id>
<gamepad>white</gamepad>
<remote>title</remote>
</action>
</window>
<window>
<description>ui calibration specific actions</description>
<id>10</id>
<action>
<description>reset the calibration</description>
<id>48</id>
<gamepad>black</gamepad>
<remote>info</remote>
</action>
</window>
<window>
<description>select dialog specific actions (cddb lookups etc.)</description>
<id>2000</id>
<action>
<description>close window</description>
<id>51</id>
<gamepad>back</gamepad>
<remote>back</remote>
</action>
</window>
<window>
<description>osd keys</description>
<id>2901</id>
<action>
<description>move left</description>
<id>69</id>
<gamepad>dpadleft</gamepad>
<remote>left</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>move right</description>
<id>70</id>
<gamepad>dpadright</gamepad>
<remote>right</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>move up</description>
<id>71</id>
<gamepad>dpadup</gamepad>
<remote>up</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>move down</description>
<id>72</id>
<gamepad>dpaddown</gamepad>
<remote>down</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>select</description>
<id>73</id>
<gamepad>a</gamepad>
<remote>select</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>value plus</description>
<id>74</id>
<gamepad>righttrigger</gamepad>
<remote>skipplus</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>value min</description>
<id>75</id>
<gamepad>lefttrigger</gamepad>
<remote>skipminus</remote>
<remotecode></remotecode>
</action>
<action>
<description>toggle the osd</description>
<id>24</id>
<gamepad>black</gamepad>
<remote>title</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>zoom/stretch/normal</description>
<id>19</id>
<gamepad>start</gamepad>
<remote>back</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>pause</description>
<id>12</id>
<gamepad>back</gamepad>
<remote>pause</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>fastforward</description>
<id>16</id>
<remote>forward</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>rewind</description>
<id>17</id>
<remote>reverse</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>show/hide subtitles</description>
<id>25</id>
<gamepad>white</gamepad>
</action>
<action>
<description>next subtitle language</description>
<id>26</id>
<gamepad>b</gamepad>
</action>
<action>
<description>show codec info</description>
<id>27</id>
<gamepad>y</gamepad>
<remote>info</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>remote button 0</description>
<id>58</id>
<remote>0</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>remote button 1</description>
<id>59</id>
<remote>1</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>remote button 2</description>
<id>60</id>
<remote>2</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>remote button 3</description>
<id>61</id>
<remote>3</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>remote button 4</description>
<id>62</id>
<remote>4</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>remote button 5</description>
<id>63</id>
<remote>5</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>remote button 6</description>
<id>64</id>
<remote>6</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>remote button 7</description>
<id>65</id>
<remote>7</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>remote button 8</description>
<id>66</id>
<remote>8</remote>
</action>
<action>
<description>remote button 9</description>
<id>67</id>
<remote>9</remote>
</action>
</window>
</keymap>
i'll also upload it to the xbmc end-users upload. if the link could be given for a download (if deemed neccesary) that would be appreciated.
update: file uploaded as morien-alternate-xbmc-keymap.rar
morien
2004-03-01, 00:58
to help eliminate some of the problems of a lack of buttons on the remote, perhaps we should code up a long press option. ie press play does just that, whereas holding play for say 1-2 seconds queues the file instead (or even pops up a popup menu or whatever). this allows double the number of buttons, which would take the pressure off of most things.
just an idea. should be easy enough to code up as well.
just an idea. should be easy enough to code up as well.
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2004-03-01, 05:45
again i have to say that instead of making up for the lack of buttons on a remote, more thought to should be put into presenting the user with options when selecting stuff... for example, play starts a selected file immediately, select brings to a screen with metadata about the file and the options, play now, queue in current playlist, delete file, or somesuch. would make the interface significantly more intuitive.
2004-03-02, 06:18
i agree that popup menu type things are a great idea that i hope will be implemented - already this is being done in the osd, i believe. however, one must be careful not to bury things used regularly inside an additional menu.
the simple addition of a hold down the button action (for instance to queue a file for playback) seems obvious to me. it allows actions which are often performed to have a quick access route, instead of having to always go through a pop-up menu. i currently have exactly this setup on my universal remote - i have programmed up a long button press on my play key which sends a different remote code (queue_item) to the short press of play - it works great.
a good example of an excellent ui is the ipod - only 5 buttons and a scroller, yet everything can be done intuitively and quickly. some of this is due to the hold down button ability. (queue by holding down select, backlight by holding down menu, off by holding down play etc. etc.) while this may involve a little bit of learning, if done in the correct places, it eventually speeds the interface up markedly.
the simple addition of a hold down the button action (for instance to queue a file for playback) seems obvious to me. it allows actions which are often performed to have a quick access route, instead of having to always go through a pop-up menu. i currently have exactly this setup on my universal remote - i have programmed up a long button press on my play key which sends a different remote code (queue_item) to the short press of play - it works great.
a good example of an excellent ui is the ipod - only 5 buttons and a scroller, yet everything can be done intuitively and quickly. some of this is due to the hold down button ability. (queue by holding down select, backlight by holding down menu, off by holding down play etc. etc.) while this may involve a little bit of learning, if done in the correct places, it eventually speeds the interface up markedly.
Always read the XBMC online-manual, FAQ and search the forum before posting.
Do not e-mail XBMC-Team members directly asking for support. Read/follow the forum rules.
For troubleshooting and bug reporting please make sure you read this first.
Do not e-mail XBMC-Team members directly asking for support. Read/follow the forum rules.
For troubleshooting and bug reporting please make sure you read this first.
2004-03-02, 07:05
i think it would be great, if some of the posibilities of the ipodw way, would be considered and used in making a new and better keymap. this is a very interesting thread, i don't know how i missed it
2004-03-03, 22:48
i second the motion for popup style ui navigation.
i use a creative zen 60gb and can just by the scroller wheel plus selection plus the popup menus very quickly navigate all the music on the zen and setup playlists etc.
something like this would be great:
- all navigation should also be available as popupmenus.
- in addition some keys can be shortcuts to frequently used functions.
- the arrow keys, menu and back would be off limits since they would be part of the navigation.
- the menu key would always bring up the popup menu on the first click, second click would take you back to the main menu. (on the game controller start button=menu)
- back button always back up one level in folder, menu or submenu depending on the context.
i use a creative zen 60gb and can just by the scroller wheel plus selection plus the popup menus very quickly navigate all the music on the zen and setup playlists etc.
something like this would be great:
- all navigation should also be available as popupmenus.
- in addition some keys can be shortcuts to frequently used functions.
- the arrow keys, menu and back would be off limits since they would be part of the navigation.
- the menu key would always bring up the popup menu on the first click, second click would take you back to the main menu. (on the game controller start button=menu)
- back button always back up one level in folder, menu or submenu depending on the context.
personly i do not like the pop-up idea unless it's implemnted in a smart way, for the ir-dvd-remote only see it as a good idea to implement on the "select" button for music/video/picture media files as you then can use the "play" button to directly start the file anyway without having to go through a menu or doubleclick. also i think even a such 'little' funtion should have an enable/disable option under setting, (suggest leave as disabled by default until we how usefull vs. how annoying it is). i do not like to change the default behaveure of the "menu" like san9jay suggest, niether would i to have pop-up menus on any of the navigation arrows on the dvd-remote, ever, it couldn't get more annoying than that.
i do howver agree with: "back button always back up one level in folder, menu or submenu depending on the context"
i do howver agree with: "back button always back up one level in folder, menu or submenu depending on the context"
2004-03-04, 17:46
of course play, fwd etc could continue to work as now. the issue is that since we need to keep in mind that both ir remote and controller needs to be supported, using just a subset of the buttons with consistant usage will allow all xbmc functions now and in the future to work consistantly.
mapping extra buttons to frequently used functions is just icing on the cake.
at least for me since sometimes i use the remote and sometimes the controlle i can never remember which button maps to which function and i tend to constantly press the wrong button.
mapping extra buttons to frequently used functions is just icing on the cake.
at least for me since sometimes i use the remote and sometimes the controlle i can never remember which button maps to which function and i tend to constantly press the wrong button.
2004-03-05, 23:35
a thought i had last night was to slightly repurpose the "info" screen as it currently exists (at least for videos, but probably for music and pictures (exif) too)... add "play now," "enqueue," "delete" (if anyone wanted that)... whatever else is appropriate. then all you do is map select to info and pretty much you're done.
from a ui-purity standpoint, i really can't stand "popups" on tv-- except for informational purposes, such as imdb scanning status. i much prefer full-screen sliding that supports the forward-back metaphor for anything that requires user action.
i also have an ipod and love the select-to-enqueue concept. i am totally in favor of long-hold-play to enqueue, if the remote supports that. i don't think that any of the system's functionality should be limited to just the remote or controller. it should be clearly advertised onscreen in one way or another... and still be available on the remote or controller for those in the know.
to be perfectly honest, the inscrutable keymapping is my primary beef with xmbc. it prevents effective use of the interface by those, like my girlfriend, who don't care and just want to find a video. this is especially true with the back vs. menu thing... "how do i go up a folder?" "how do i get to my music?" it can get a little confusing.
from a ui-purity standpoint, i really can't stand "popups" on tv-- except for informational purposes, such as imdb scanning status. i much prefer full-screen sliding that supports the forward-back metaphor for anything that requires user action.
i also have an ipod and love the select-to-enqueue concept. i am totally in favor of long-hold-play to enqueue, if the remote supports that. i don't think that any of the system's functionality should be limited to just the remote or controller. it should be clearly advertised onscreen in one way or another... and still be available on the remote or controller for those in the know.
to be perfectly honest, the inscrutable keymapping is my primary beef with xmbc. it prevents effective use of the interface by those, like my girlfriend, who don't care and just want to find a video. this is especially true with the back vs. menu thing... "how do i go up a folder?" "how do i get to my music?" it can get a little confusing.
2004-03-06, 01:41
a new radical idea for my music:
i think that most people that have used the ipod know and love the interface. i therefore propose the following idea for my music:
click my music from the main menu, we then get a new menu with:
albums
artists
songs
genres
top 100
playlists
when one of these is clicked on, we are then presented with everything in that category as a list - nothing else around to confuse the display. there need not imo be any file browsing - this can be all done via the database. perhaps a final option "files" on the above menu screen will bring up a system where people can browse files individually and add them to the database etc.
controls might go something like this:
menu goes to the root main menu.
back goes back 1 menu.
select goes forward one menu, or plays a track if that is what is highlighted.
play automatically plays what is being highlighted - if a directory/album/artist will queue up and play all songs underneath.
hold down select will queue current highlighted item + all items inside that. if nothing yet playing, it'll maybe start playing.
once something starts playing using play button, we go to a now playing screen which has the currently playing playlist info on it, along with info (album, artist etc.) about the current song. we can move between tracks on this playlist and delete or rearrange songs as necessary. also, skip etc. should be doable from this screen.
not sure how much of this is doable immediately through skinning, but i think that quite a bit can be done via skinning.
i guess it comes down to how much we want to rely on the database functionality (ipod is all database for instance).
any comments?
i think that most people that have used the ipod know and love the interface. i therefore propose the following idea for my music:
click my music from the main menu, we then get a new menu with:
albums
artists
songs
genres
top 100
playlists
when one of these is clicked on, we are then presented with everything in that category as a list - nothing else around to confuse the display. there need not imo be any file browsing - this can be all done via the database. perhaps a final option "files" on the above menu screen will bring up a system where people can browse files individually and add them to the database etc.
controls might go something like this:
menu goes to the root main menu.
back goes back 1 menu.
select goes forward one menu, or plays a track if that is what is highlighted.
play automatically plays what is being highlighted - if a directory/album/artist will queue up and play all songs underneath.
hold down select will queue current highlighted item + all items inside that. if nothing yet playing, it'll maybe start playing.
once something starts playing using play button, we go to a now playing screen which has the currently playing playlist info on it, along with info (album, artist etc.) about the current song. we can move between tracks on this playlist and delete or rearrange songs as necessary. also, skip etc. should be doable from this screen.
not sure how much of this is doable immediately through skinning, but i think that quite a bit can be done via skinning.
i guess it comes down to how much we want to rely on the database functionality (ipod is all database for instance).
any comments?
Always read the XBMC online-manual, FAQ and search the forum before posting.
Do not e-mail XBMC-Team members directly asking for support. Read/follow the forum rules.
For troubleshooting and bug reporting please make sure you read this first.
Do not e-mail XBMC-Team members directly asking for support. Read/follow the forum rules.
For troubleshooting and bug reporting please make sure you read this first.
