Help make new default skin

[Old Dog]

There will be support for new menu types in the next release, probably not free form layout though.

Sub,

A small implementation suggestion, feel free...

The following is a modified excerpt from your main menu skin:
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<CompositeImage name="MoreDown" size="85,10">
<DrawImage filename="MoreDn.png" loc="0,0" size="85,10"/>
</CompositeImage>
</CompositeImages>

<Path name="ButtonsPath" NVertices=7 Vertices="(10,10), (50, 50), (90, 90), (130, 130), (170, 170), (210, 210), (250, 250)"/Path>

<!-- special elements -->
<SpecialElements>
<SpecialElement name="Buttons" loc="60,75" path="ButtonsPath" alwayCentered="false" maxVisibleButtons="7" allowTopBottomWrap="false" showNumbers="false"/>
<SpecialElement name="TaskDescription" visible="true" loc="375,290" size="250,50" align="Center"/>
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Best Regards,
David

[Old Dog]

I'm happy to hear any suggestions, including new menu layouts etc. I may not implement them all, but its good to hear a variety of options.

Sub,

When I started my skin, one of the goals was to support various backgrounds. I had to abandon that goal because I couldn't control the transparency of drawn elements.

I do not know your cost on this, but the benifit is pretty fundemental. While I myself am artistically chanllenged, I'm sure some of the guys here could really make use of this enhancement.

Regards,
David

Some original Indigo concepts...

[pauly666]

i agree. i think, every option, you can access with the color-buttons can be accessed via menu-buttons, at least it should be this way (except va and osd, but who wants to have a blue button on live tv? )

tipstir: that's exactly the problem, every pvr uses a blue background (well nearly every). why? we don't need another blue mce-clone.

If the colored buttons are used their function should be represented on the screen. That's a fundamental UI design rule... if it isn't obvious, it needs to be spelled out (of course the first rule is make it obvious!). The function of colored buttons without text are not obvious. Unless people are using it a LOT, they will not remember.

And the reason PVRs use blue backgrounds has nothing to do with being an MCE clone. Blue backgrounds with white text create the best contrast without going full white on black. White on blue has been used ever since TVs and VCRs could do them cheaply.

[dottore]

hmmm, i don't know, if it was really the contrast which lead to blue backgrounds or just a matter of a windows xp-look ;-) a few years back, i played with a fast tv-server, a nice little box with a built-in harddrive and epg. the osd was orange and white. and it worked...

i think, the background is a thing, the user should decide. the default skin should provide a few basic backgrounds in a few contrasting colors. and a few different menu-layouts (horizontal, vertical, icons, text, both....). there must be a blue background, i agree, but it must not stick to that.

[dottore]

oh, and coloured buttons without text don't exist. in one case they are displayed near menu-buttons (the my-series) in the other case, the are labeld (va-plugin). the problem is: everyone can change the keymapping, so once changed, the skin will be displaying wrong information.

needs to be solved (another tag in the button-images, displaying different coloured buttons....maybe:
<compositeimage name="selectedbutton"..........>
<drawtext text="@buttontext"............/>
<drawimage filename="@color" ........../>
</compositeimage>
which will be shown ONLY if there is something in keymappings.xml concerning one of the color-buttons)

[nkh]

If the colored buttons are used their function should be represented on the screen. That's a fundamental UI design rule... if it isn't obvious, it needs to be spelled out (of course the first rule is make it obvious!). The function of colored buttons without text are not obvious. Unless people are using it a LOT, they will not remember.

I thought the point was that the coloured buttons should be shortcuts, so you could either choose their function through a (pop-up maybe) menu or you could use the coloured button. Like in the MyXXX series where the sorting can be selected with a button on the screen or with one of the coloured buttons. Or they're only used for functions that you don't need to use GBpvr (like, page up/down in the tv guide).

So, if you use a function a lot you can use the shortcut, if you don't then just use the direction pad on the remote to select the function.

And the reason PVRs use blue backgrounds has nothing to do with being an MCE clone. Blue backgrounds with white text create the best contrast without going full white on black. White on blue has been used ever since TVs and VCRs could do them cheaply.

My Sony tv uses white on transparent black for the menus, my parents Philips tv uses white on orange or white on transparent black, their old B&O used green on black. I think it all works pretty nicely, the only colour that could be a problem is red which tends to bleed if all the connections arn't top notch.

[nkh]

I don't like black background on with white text on a TV never looks right to me reminds me of the days of DOS on a PC before VGA, EGA, CGA ouch!

hehe, I always get reminded of my C64 when I see the blue/white combination ... actually... a C64 skin would be pretty cool in some strange way

[dottore]

tipstir, your tools to activate/deactivate panels and change backgrounds are good. i wish something similar would be default in the config-app.

concerning the backgrounds: again, we shouldn't stick to a blue background. the user should decide.

[reboot]

Until the next release supporing horizontal menu's, I'm not working so much on new skins...however...
For those of you that actually like the Bliss/Royale theme of XP MCE, here's one I'm working on.

[reefboy]

Now you guys did it by bringing back the old memories.
The C64 days, Junior High, my 1st computer, 300 baud modems, paper hole punches to use both sides of the 5 1/4" floppies, BBS's downloading games, dot matrix printers, LOAD"*",8 , LOAD"$",8
Sorry for the walk down memory lane!

Back to topic...
Reboot... the skin looks great!