[mythtv] [PATCH] Time Stretch UI stuff

[Brad Templeton]

On Sun, Mar 06, 2005 at 06:35:57PM -0700, henri wrote:
> > I see that 3x smooth FF has joined the stickeykeys RW/FF set which is
> > good.
> > 
> > I am torn because in some ways timestretch is like RW/FF and one would
> > say "do it like stickeykeys" namely:
> >         a) Space returns to normal
> >         b) Increment and Decrement keys turn it on
> >         c) Digits allow quick jump to particular speeds
> > 
> > On the other hand it's also like a permanent watching mode which should
> > not take over regular keys like spacebar and digits.   However, the
> > idea of having its own dedicated increment/decrement which are also how
> > you turn it on.    It would be OK to have it so that a digit pressed
> > _before_ the increment or decrement key would go to a specific setting,
> > which would also give a 2-keystroke "turn it off" sequence.
> 
> I guess i use it more like the first case (in my codebase i
> have the RESET code pasted inside the "Space returns to
> normal" handler, seems to work well according to my wife)

Yes, I have been thinking I might like to take "Set position" (which
I actually never use since I much prefer Escape setting the bookmark) off
of space, and have space always return you to normalcy -- from timestretch
or from fast forward or from menus and OSD -- but NOT to quit viewing
like escape does.

When designing this sort of UI you have to keep in mind that users will
hit keys more times than they meant to, and do it without thinking,
especially on remotes.   At some point I should see if I can sit down
and do an attempt at a cleaner UI.

I'm not as much against modes as Jeff Raskin (who sadly died last week) was
but you definitely don't want keys to have radically different (and hard
to correct) functions depending on what mode the system is in.   That's
why I don't like that escape clears the OSD and various other modes but
sometimes pulls you right out of watching.   Or that Home and End move
between commercial breaks (cutmarks) while watching but one of them clears
the cutlist while editing, and pgup/pgdn move among the cutmarks.

As I have recently written, PVRs are one of the rare products that
develop what I call a TUI -- a telepathic user interface.  This means a
UI that you use without being aware of it.  You just think "skip back
8 seconds" and your hands push the right keys without you really
being consious of it.   Not as telepathic as a car or typing on a keyboard,
but some people get very non-consious in the use of their remotes over
time.  But modes often require conscious thought.