Weather 3 Wishlist

[whurlston]

I have started rewriting the Weather plugin from scratch and it is nearing completion so I figured I would ask if there are any wishlist items for it (and yes, the weather alerts already work.)

Some things I should mention about the default included maps:

• The default maps can be downloaded in just about any size so skins can be customized fairly extensively.
  
• Custom zooms will be available from a 25mi/km radius to a 9600mi/km radius.
  
• They are available in layers, so the base maps will be downloaded when you add a location. Only the weather layer will need to be downloaded during updates which will significantly improve update times. For example: This image in a 1920x1080 size is only 35KB to download.
  
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• I can get enhanced for radar North America and Europe but that's all I can find so far.
  
• Enhanced satellite images, daily/hourly forecast maps are available for the entire world.
  

There will be the option to add custom map urls for you to fill in any gaps but that may come after the initial release.

[johnsonx42]

I suppose one needs to actually have weather before one finds this useful. 'round here about all we get is "warm" and "not so warm" (with "hot, damned hot" every now and again).

[whurlston]

I suppose one needs to actually have weather before one finds this useful. 'round here about all we get is "warm" and "not so warm" (with "hot, damned hot" every now and again).

I will do a build just for you with only those forecasts.

Here are a couple of screenshots of the plugin (I am definitely not a skinner). There will be additional information on the Hourly/Daily screens where you currently see a blank space in the middle.

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[imilne]

I suppose one needs to actually have weather before one finds this useful. 'round here about all we get is "warm" and "not so warm" (with "hot, damned hot" every now and again).

Bah, last time I was out your way (San Diego, in Jan) I nearly froze to death. I even remember the local TV presenters asking people to send in their pictures of the 'pretty patterns' the frost was making on cars.

Iain

[mikeh49]

@whurlston - Great to hear that you're on this. This was a great plug-in, and I frequently used it to check the weather at my kid's.

Only thing wishlist item is dewpoint - it is much more meaningful than relative humidity. I know dewpoint is available on the aviation METARS, not sure how your source handles this. Also, the previous version had "metro radar" as well as "local radar", I think. I was never clear on the difference, other than they had different colored backgrounds.

Anyway, what you have now looks great. I'm looking forward to it.

BTW, will it work on 2.6.2? I'm stuck there until mvallevand gets Network Recorder updated.

Edit - Recognizing you're not a skinner, can the font of the warnings be increased for couch or bed distance viewing. It was too small on W2, so I had to get up to go read it. Terrible inconvenience. :eek:

[mvallevand]

BTW, will it work on 2.6.2? I'm stuck there until mvallevand gets Network Recorder updated.

I wasn't planning any update because AFAIK it is not broken! I am currently not planning on support EPG Mode for live tv since I can't use it until sub enables it for xbmc and touch clients.

Martin

[mikeh49]

Continuing the thread drift, I understood that Network Recorder needed to be "fixed" for .Net4. I use it for firewire from Sage Graph Recorder. If it should work in 3.1.1, I'll give it a try on my test box.

[whurlston]

Only thing wishlist item is dewpoint - it is much more meaningful than relative humidity. I know dewpoint is available on the aviation METARS, not sure how your source handles this.

I am getting the dewpoint info already, it's just not shown in the above screenshots. It's one of the things that will be in that blank area in the daily/hourly forecast screens.

Also, the previous version had "metro radar" as well as "local radar", I think. I was never clear on the difference, other than they had different colored backgrounds.

Those images that you currently get will be able to be added as custom images (might have to wait for 3.1). The screenshot above shows the enhanced radar zoomed out (to 1600 miles I think) because there was no weather over Louisville at the time. It can zoom in to a 25 mile radius which is, in effect, your local/metro radar screens. I will try to post a screenshot of it zoomed tonight.

BTW, will it work on 2.6.2?

It might. I don't think I need any .Net 4.0 specific things for it but I will double check later).

Edit - Recognizing you're not a skinner, can the font of the warnings be increased for couch or bed distance viewing. It was too small on W2, so I had to get up to go read it. Terrible inconvenience. :eek:

Easily configurable in the skin.

[whurlston]

I've still not completed this plugin but I've had several requests for it in "beta" form so here it is.

UNINSTALL all previous versions of the Weather plugin first!!!!!

Download Link: http://www.nextpvr.com/nwiki/pmwiki.php?...r3Beta.zip (2.8 MB)

To install, just unzip the files to the NPVR data directory.

After installation, you will need to open the NPVR settings and enable the plugin then restart NextPVR.

On first use, it will attempt to find your location via your IP address. If it was able to locate you near enough for your liking, no other configuration is necessary.

Settings (see screenshot below):

• You can search for a location by zip/postal code or by name (address, city, state, country, etc). The search will attempt autocomplete for you to choose from a list. If there are no autocomplete entries listed in the search results, you can press the "Search" button to force a search.
  
• Double click the search result you want to add it to your list of locations. Multiple locations can be configured.
  
• To rearrange your locations, simply drag and drop them in the order you want.
  
• To remove a location, highlight it and press the "Remove Location" button.
  
• When adding a location, the plugin will choose default maps for that location based on what it knows/believes to be available. It is not foolproof. You can enable/disable the maps you want but not all maps are available in all areas.
  
• You can choose different maps for different areas.
  
• Map size and zoom levels are global settings and will be applies across all locations.
  
• You can also choose the default language and measurement system that you want. This setting is also a global setting and will be applied across all locations.
  
• Enable/disable AutoUpdate and set the timeframe (default is enabled with a 15 minute timer).
  

Navigating the plugin.

• Use up/down to navigate between the following views:
  • Current Conditions
    
  • Warning (US only -- only shown if there are active warnings)
    
  • Hourly Forecast
    
  • Daily Forecast
    
  • Maps
    
• Use left/right to navigate between items in each of the views except for current conditions.
  
• Use fwd/back Skip to navigate between locations
  
• Initiate a manual update at any time by selecting "Update" in the hidden menu.
  

Extras:

• The plugin will load a background for the current weather conditions if the background file exists in the folder Skin\[SkinName]\Weather\Backgrounds\
  
• These backgrounds must be named 01 to 44 with a ".jpg" extention. A list of the numbers mapped to weather conditions can be found in the icons.html file in the main weather skin folder (note that some numbers are not used like 08 - 10)
  
• A set of default backgrounds can be downloaded here: http://www.nextpvr.com/nwiki/pmwiki.php?...rounds.zip (6.3 MB)
  

I still have some skinning work to do, mainly on the daily forecast.

[mikeh49]

Thanks, looks great. I'll give it a try when I get some time to play.