StreamIt from Netflix (Alpha NPVR version)

[whurlston]

Requirements:

1. NPVR
   
2. .Net Framework 3.5 SP1
   
3. ADO.NET Data Services Update
   • Win7/2008 Server R2
     or
     
   • all other OSes
     
4. An active Netflix Account with WatchInstant capability (For playing movies only. All other features can be tested without an account.)
   

Known issues:

1. Plugin: Episode titles are not in the correct order.
   
2. Plugin: Skins need some work.
   
3. Player: Trick play commands can be unreliable. Trick play (ff/rew/pause) should not be attempted until at least 30-60 seconds after the video starts playing.
   
4. Player: Trickplay does not work in True Fullscreen mode.
   
5. Player: CTRL-P does not seem to work in True Fullscreen mode and Enter/OK should be used for Play/Pause.
   

Installation:

1. Unzip the files to the appropriate locations.
   
   
2. Add the following to config.xml in the <MenuLayout> section:
   
   
   Code:

   <MenuItem enabled="true">Netflix</MenuItem>
   
   
   
3. Run StreamIt.Netflix.Updater.exe located in the "[NPVR Program Folder]\Plugins\StreamIt" folder.
   By default, it will download all titles and the posters and update "C:\Users\Public\NPVR\Plugins\StreamIt\Netflix.db3" database and save the posters to "C:\Users\Public\NPVR\Media\Netflix\BoxArt".
   If your data folder is in another directory, you will need to override the defaults.
   

Override Options for the updater (not required):

1. "datadir=" will save the boxart and database to the directory specified. This should be set to the NPVR main data folder. The subfolder will automatically be appended. ("datadir=C:\Users\Public\NPVR")
   
2. "limit=" will limit the number of titles if you want a quick result. 500 titles are downloaded at a time so if you only want the first 500, set the limit to 499. ("limit=499")
   

Example command line:

Code:

"C:\Program Files\NPVR\Plugins\StreamIt\Streamit.Netflix.Updater.exe" "datadir=C:\Users\My Username\NPVR" limit=999

Plugin Usage:

Once you have updated the database, Run NPVR, select "Netflix" from the NPVR menu (it may take a few seconds for the list to populate and the screen to show).

CTRL-S (Stop button) will change the sort order.

CTRL-B (Blue button) will switch between List and Covers View.

Selecting a collection will display the sub items. Selecting an item will launch the player and play the title.

Player commands:

Enter/OK and CTRL-P (Play button) will operate as Play/Pause. (CTRL-P does not seem to work in True Fullscreen mode and Enter/OK should be used.)
CTRL-Right arrow will fastforward the video.
CTRL-Left arrow will rewind the video.
Right/Left arrows will step through the video. Select enter to start watching at the selected point.
F7 will cycle through view modes (Windowed, Psuedo fullscreen, True fullscreen).


The player's size (in windowed mode) and the player's last view mode will be remembered. However, if the last view mode was True Fullscreen, the player will start the next time in Psuedo Fullscreen.

[elbryyan]

When I try to run the updater, the cmd window will pop up and say 23718 titles expected, then get an error that the program has stopped working and then I have to close it.
Oh, and thanks for working on this, its truly a great addition.

[whurlston]

Oops! Try this version. It includes a copy of the System.Data.SQLite.dll (same version as the one in the NPVR program folder but it needs to be in the same folder as the updater). It also fixes an issue where the SQLite dll will not load on some systems.

Edit: You will actually need .Net Framework 3.5 SP1 as well as the ADO.NET Data services update for Win7/2008 Server R2 or all other OSes

[whurlston]

My mistake. I didn't include the logo in the package because the skin is not displaying it yet but I forgot to remove the code to load it. Here it is.

[whurlston]

EDIT: I noted at the top the mscorlib version as 2.0, when I searched on how to determine what .net framework was installed it mentioned looking at that file. Since it says 2.0 I'm guessing I don't have 3.5 installed even though I have a 3.5 folder within C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework.

You can ignore the "Loaded Assemblies" section. If there was an issue with your version of the framework, it will show in the "Exception Text" section.

[elbryyan]

Sorry, I deleted my post as i saw you updated the previous post before it and was going to try that but you already responded to it as well. Thanks for the help.

[elbryyan]

Awsome, It now works great, can't wait to load it at home and show the wife. Thanks again for the work you've done on this.

[whurlston]

Glad you like it.

[Hairy]

I've had a go at updating the skin file for Wave. I've also worked up an alternate version with meta data in the covers view. Have a look and let me know what you think.

I've attached it below along with the most current version of Wave. (I've tinkered around so much I've lost track of which custom fonts and colours are new since the beginning of the week

Also if you don't mind an aesthetic suggestion :o It appears that the image reflection is being done in the plugin. If it's at all possible, applying the gradient fade to only, say, 50% of the inverted image, as opposed to compressing the full image to 50% vertically.

The difference is a much more natural effect.

[whurlston]

I've had a go at updating the skin file for Wave. I've also worked up an alternate version with meta data in the covers view. Have a look and let me know what you think.

See? This is why I should leave skinning to the professionals. It looks awesome! I do like the idea of having the covers view with metadata as an alternate. Although the alternate version will be my personal choice, the default should probably be more in line with the NPVR standard.

Thanks for doing this.

Also if you don't mind an aesthetic suggestion :o It appears that the image reflection is being done in the plugin. If it's at all possible, applying the gradient fade to only, say, 50% of the inverted image, as opposed to compressing the full image to 50% vertically.

The difference is a much more natural effect.

That's simple enough. I have the "compressOriginalImage" as a variable so it's just a matter of changing "true" to "false" in a couple of places. I actually intend to make the reflection (and it's options) user configurable.