Help make new default skin

[Kevl]

Having explanatory text on screen can significantly improve usability for non technical users. The wife might well be pc literate and might guess the functions of symbols but when the wife's aged mother visits she might be less able to identify the functionality.

A significant point of an HTPC is to allow control of a very complex AV setup through a simple user interface with a single remote. That is one reason I have been playing with this stuff for so long. The hope of getting the same quality output that my very complex AV gear can give through 1 UI with 1 remote.

I remember trying to explain how my gear worked to a non tech savvy user. Set input 3 to aux, enable AV1 using remote 6, press green button on remote 4 etc etc. I might as well have been talking chinese (said aged relative is not a native chinese speaker) - nightmare.

Having text which explains functionality on a main screen is a really good idea.

I would rather see the space on the screen used for explanations. Keep the info panels telling me what the weather is like on the moon to submenus etc.

Just my humble opinion.

Kev

[daphatty]

a new approach....

i think, it works with every background, exept light ones.

Refreshing, but I like your original concept a little more. It just felt... sexier?

[Torque]

I got the GBPVR logo in there... might be a little much with both the watermark and in the lower left corner... anyway here's a sample:

[stefan]

Yes, I think the watermark can be skipped.

[reefboy]

Torque,
Very nice! Looks very polished & clean! Nicely done.

Is that in widescreen format?

[Torque]

@reefboy, no, it's in the regular 720x480.

@tipstir, the only changes that need to be made for the different color schemes are setting the background image filename and the 2nd hex color value for the highlighted button. I think your utility could probably do that?

[heikopeters]

I'm a big fan of BlueMCE2, and it looks good on the MVP

[heikopeters]

In addition. One of the reasons I love gbpvr is that it replaces the ugly (but functional) mvp menu with a beautiful menu of my choosing. The flat blue reminds me to much of the default mvp, it's not wow. BlueMCE2 and Scan have wow factor with their graphics and style

[reven]

hey sub in the guide skin (and all of them i suppose) can you remove the special elements for the time, selectedshowdesc/title and add them as "@SelectShowDesc" to the background composite image. im using this cheap little trick like so

Code:

<CompositeImage name="Background" size="856,480">            
            <DrawImage filename="background.png" loc="0,-8" size="810,470"/>
            <DrawText text="geebo media centre" loc="66,35" size="500,24" textStyle="geebo" align="Left"/>
            <DrawText text="my music" loc="256,35" size="500,24" textStyle="title" align="Left"/>
            <DrawImage filename="@PageUpButton" loc="760,420" size ="24,22"/>
            <DrawImage filename="@PageDownButton" loc="736,420" size ="24,22"/>            
            <DrawText text="@CurrentLocation" loc="238,54" size="540,24" textStyle="CurrentLocation2" align="Right"/>
            <DrawText text="@CurrentLocation" loc="242,54" size="540,24" textStyle="CurrentLocation2" align="Right"/>
            <DrawText text="@CurrentLocation" loc="240,52" size="540,24" textStyle="CurrentLocation2" align="Right"/>
            <DrawText text="@CurrentLocation" loc="240,56" size="540,24" textStyle="CurrentLocation2" align="Right"/>
            <DrawText text="@CurrentLocation" loc="238,52" size="540,24" textStyle="CurrentLocation2" align="Right"/>
            <DrawText text="@CurrentLocation" loc="238,56" size="540,24" textStyle="CurrentLocation2" align="Right"/>
            <DrawText text="@CurrentLocation" loc="242,52" size="540,24" textStyle="CurrentLocation2" align="Right"/>
            <DrawText text="@CurrentLocation" loc="242,56" size="540,24" textStyle="CurrentLocation2" align="Right"/>
            <DrawText text="@CurrentLocation" loc="240,54" size="540,24" textStyle="CurrentLocation" align="Right"/>
            <DrawText text="@NoOfObjects" loc="278,32" size="500,24" textStyle="NoOfObjects2" align="Right"/>
            <DrawText text="@NoOfObjects" loc="282,32" size="500,24" textStyle="NoOfObjects2" align="Right"/>
            <DrawText text="@NoOfObjects" loc="280,30" size="500,24" textStyle="NoOfObjects2" align="Right"/>
            <DrawText text="@NoOfObjects" loc="280,34" size="500,24" textStyle="NoOfObjects2" align="Right"/>
            <DrawText text="@NoOfObjects" loc="278,30" size="500,24" textStyle="NoOfObjects2" align="Right"/>
            <DrawText text="@NoOfObjects" loc="278,34" size="500,24" textStyle="NoOfObjects2" align="Right"/>
            <DrawText text="@NoOfObjects" loc="282,30" size="500,24" textStyle="NoOfObjects2" align="Right"/>
            <DrawText text="@NoOfObjects" loc="282,34" size="500,24" textStyle="NoOfObjects2" align="Right"/>            
            <DrawText text="@NoOfObjects" loc="280,32" size="500,24" textStyle="NoOfObjects" align="Right"/>
            <DrawText text="@PageNumber" loc="630,419" size="100,24" textStyle="PageUpDown" align="Right"/>            
        </CompositeImage>

which allows me to paint a black border around white text (so you can always read it). but at the moment in the tv guide the "Time" for instance can be hard to make out sometimes (since in the PM3 skin its over an image with some white in it).

also it makes it much more flexible if everything is in the composite images.

[dottore]

i know, i am stuck to my task-images ;-)