[mythtv-users] 0.25 Music

Steven Adeff adeffs.mythtv at gmail.com
Sat Feb 25 22:25:06 UTC 2012


On Fri, Feb 24, 2012 at 4:12 PM, Neil Cooper <neilcoo at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>
>
> --- On Fri, 2/24/12, Steven Adeff <adeffs.mythtv at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> From: Steven Adeff <adeffs.mythtv at gmail.com>
>> Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] 0.25 Music
>> To: "Discussion about MythTV" <mythtv-users at mythtv.org>
>> Date: Friday, February 24, 2012, 12:55 PM
>> On Fri, Feb 24, 2012 at 11:03 AM,
>> Neil Cooper <neilcoo at yahoo.co.uk>
>> wrote:
>> > --- On Fri, 2/24/12, Steven Adeff <adeffs.mythtv at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>> >> From: Steven Adeff <adeffs.mythtv at gmail.com>
>> >> Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] 0.25 Music
>> >> To: "Discussion about MythTV" <mythtv-users at mythtv.org>
>> >> Date: Friday, February 24, 2012, 8:16 AM
>> >> On Fri, Feb 24, 2012 at 7:57 AM,
>> >> Christopher Kerr <mythtv at theseekerr.com>
>> >> wrote:
>> >> > On Fri, Feb 24, 2012 at 11:39 PM, Scott &
>> Nicole
>> >> Harris
>> >> > <snharris99 at live.com>
>> >> wrote:
>> >> >> I don't think your suggestion of using
>> "Album
>> >> Artist" will do much with 0.25
>> >> >> (I could be very wrong).  The Navigation
>> Tree is
>> >> pre-filled with
>> >> >> categories....All, Album, Artist, Rating.
>>  Also,
>> >> it may help a little with
>> >> >> compilation albums, but it doesn't help
>> much with
>> >> all the individual songs
>> >> >> that my wife has purchased from ITunes
>> that she
>> >> wants organize "Like X" and
>> >> >> all the songs she's bought from Amazon
>> that she
>> >> want "Like Y".
>> >> >
>> >> > I'll admit that I hadn't considered this case
>> -
>> >> personally I'd
>> >> > probably fudge the Genre tag because I never
>> use it
>> >> anyway.
>> >> >
>> >> > Re: making it work with MythMusic - I guess if
>> you need
>> >> a feature you
>> >> > could ask really nicely? ;o)
>> >> >
>> >> >> Also, none of this allows me to just
>> navigate to
>> >> Kangaroo Cry and just play
>> >> >> it.  I don't do playlists, never have,
>> [hopefully]
>> >> never will.  I have
>> >> >> always been a jump around and listen to
>> individual
>> >> songs on whims, or entire
>> >> >> albums in the background type.
>> >> >
>> >> > This I understand - I gave up on MythMusic
>> because the
>> >> playlist thing
>> >> > drove me nuts. A software-Squeezebox solution
>> has been
>> >> much less
>> >> > painful for me - some day I might even get
>> around to
>> >> writing a halfway
>> >> > decent MythTV plugin for it based on the XML
>> api it
>> >> provides.
>> >> >
>> >> > - Chris
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> I use Jaikoz to tag, multi-platform (java), works
>> great,
>> >> ties in with
>> >> MusicBrainz and discogs. My music collection tags
>> are "clean
>> >> as a
>> >> whistle" for all but my new music finds from blogs
>> and such,
>> >> which all
>> >> are in their own separate folder.
>> >>
>> >> That said, the current MythMusic (0.24) ability to
>> display
>> >> the folder
>> >> layout is essential for my music collection. I have
>> music
>> >> from various
>> >> sources (various music stores, my ripped CD's, HD
>> versus
>> >> non, etc plus
>> >> all my housemates music as well). and I want to be
>> able to
>> >> see that
>> >> separation in MythMusic.
>> >>
>> >> The other option is to use a system like WinAmp's
>> media
>> >> player with
>> >> it's smart playlists and such (which, in the end is
>> my vote
>> >> for how
>> >> the on screen layout for MythMusic should look,
>> like
>> >> WinAmp's Media
>> >> Library (minus the non-music stuff).
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >
>> > The problem with 'smart' anything is that it is based
>> on one person's idea for how they like things done.
>> Consequently it can NEVER satisfy 100% of the people all the
>> time.
>> >
>> > Sure provide all the smart options you like, but don't
>> drop the simple case (good ol' directory browsing). There
>> will always be people that don't 'fit the model', or grumpy
>> old men (like me) that just find needless complexity and
>> computers second-guessing you badly just f***ing annoying.
>>
>>
>> have you used Winamp? Regardless, I'll assume some here have
>> not, so
>> I'll explain a little further...
>>
>> They actually call them Smart Views", which are designed by
>> the user,
>> what is smart about them is that they are populated based on
>> criteria
>> the user specifies.
>> http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/1999/smartview.jpg
>> http://www.anythingbutipod.com/archives/images/winamp/winamp-smartview.jpg
>>
>>
>> If you use google images and search "winamp media library"
>> you'll see
>> a lot of various layouts the media library in winamp can
>> take on. The
>> one I'm thinking of in terms of how I would like to see
>> MythMusic's
>> interface behave is this one:
>> http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9ynZ1LviUi0/S1RV-OGG-MI/AAAAAAAAB5w/O9NGKiUW5ns/s1600/winamp+media+fixed.JPG
>>
>> The Media Library portion (ignore the far right, that is the
>> current
>> playlist section) is made up of 5 panes, the far left "side
>> bar" style
>> pane is the "Library" portion, it is, as you can see, the
>> various
>> sections of the Library.
>> For MythMusic I envision this "side bar" would autohide to
>> the left
>> and open when you go to it, with categories such as:
>> "Local Media Filtered" - what you see here with filtering
>> options,
>> I'll get to this further down.
>>
>> "Local Media Drive" - basically the drive layout basically
>> how the
>> current MythMusic works in "directory" mode.
>>
>> "Smart Playlists" - smart playlists(for only local media)
>>
>> "Playlists" - user saved static playlists(for only local
>> media)
>>
>> "Remote Media" - sources on the network that are locally
>> mounted
>> (could be merged into the "Local Media Drive" category?)
>>
>> "Removable Media" - the CD/DVDROM drive
>>
>> "Portable Devices" - external HDD, iPod, Zune, Sandisk Clip,
>> Cell
>> Phones, etc. with the ability to transfer music to/from
>> these devices
>> (could be merged with "Removable Media"?)
>>
>> "Online Services" - perhaps not a top level in and of
>> itself, but more
>> a section that comes at the end for services like Pandora,
>> Spotify,
>> Rdio, MOG, Amazon, Google, etc.
>>
>> Then the main space would show what is needed for what
>> section you are in.
>>
>> The screen shown in that image is how I envision the
>> Filtered display
>> to look, roughly. In Winamp the three filter sections are
>> customizable, you can have none or up to 3, and you can
>> choose which
>> tag data to filter by, with some "canned" options. Below are
>> the
>> tracks that match that filter.
>>
>> The main space could flip back and forth between the chosen
>> Library
>> section contents, and where appropriate, the Playlist
>> screen, which
>> shows the tracks currently queued.
>>
>
> Personally I'd never use it. Its way way too complicated and therefore inefficient for what I need.
> If you're really set on implementing that approach please offer it as a configurable option, but don't make it the only way Mythmusic works.
> I really don't want another way of working imposed on me when I already have the directory structure I want set up.
> Also dont forget most mythtv users have a remote not a keyboard. This makes any features where the user enters text (search terms etc.) very awkward if not impossible, therefore useless.
>
> Neil.

That's fine, there could always be a setting to lock you into
directory mode, which would be basically just like it is now, you
wouldn't have to use the other parts. That's partly why I like the
"Library" concept, each of those sections works independently of each
other so once your "in" one of them the others don't affect your work
flow.

As for controls, the beauty of this is layout is you could implement
it in such a way that you would only need the basic directional
buttons and select to maneuver in the system easily, if you wanted to
throw the number pad in for further button options you could do that
as well. The only thing the keyboard/virtual keyboard would be needed
for is if you wanted to search, or to add Smart View's (which could
also be added via MythWeb), but those are not required abilities to
get basic playback.

I'm no good at programming, and nowhere nearly knowledgeable to do
something like this, but I think it's an idea that could incorporate
everything everyone wants and still be usable with limited remote
control buttons.

-- 
Steve
http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/User:Steveadeff
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