2010-11-07, 07:43
So first of all, I love XBMC--it is a work of art.
However, I have noticed a couple things in its design that feel a little convoluted to me. I'm merely posing these ideas for anyone who would want to use them--I'm not asking for anyone to do anything about it. However, I wouldn't mind hearing what people think.
1) The Video Library and the Up-Directory button.
I believe that most people probably both
a) have two separate buttons programmed for their remote, one to "escape" and close the whole library (thus going to the home screen most likely), and another button that is needed to go up a directory, like from a season folder to a show directory in TV.
b) use their video library almost exclusively for Movies, and TV (rather than other relatively obscure categories like documentaries, etc.) and that they access these libraries directly from buttons that link directly to the libraries from the home screen.
Therefore, when the back button is used from the list of TV shows or Movies (particularly in Library mode), it should return to the home screen, rather than revealing a list of sources that do not belong in the category selected originally from the home screen. This prevents using convoluted pathways to reach a directory, and increases the sense of a real physical location.
The same is true of sorting options. The option to sort by category (genre, actors, etc) should be presented as such, rather than as a parent directory which violates the logic of the location of the library as being accessed directly from the home screen.
2) "Library Mode" itself.
XBMC's interface employs this "2-versions of the same location" idea to differentiate between seeing a cleaned up "cataloged" presentation of all the metadata associated with a particular item, and seeing what is actually in the folder (i.e. file names like s01e01 rather than show titles).
While both views are very useful, I think that this idea of some strange alternate mode of viewing the same content is kind of a convoluted way of thinking about it. Instead, the same functionality could be a achieved by presenting the file mode as a completely separate location, accessed separately from the library, and NOT toggled between. This is especially true, considering as of now, when you switch from library mode to file mode, it drops you in the last location viewed in file mode, rather than the same directory you are viewing in library mode, which feels illogical and disorienting.
3) "Enabled Addons"
Are these addons really all "Enabled"? For example, under Skins in "Enabled Addons," it lists all skins "installed", but I don't think they would all be described as "Enabled" because that is more like what is done from the appearance settings. The same is true of many addons that need to be separately "enabled" for use in some settings menu.
Also, since some skins include an "addons" button on the home screen, it would be good to be able to launch addons from the enabled addons list. This is especially true if the only other way to do it was through a separated file mode as described previously.
To summarize, the main idea in the first 2 points is to streamline the experience to flow FROM THE HOME SCREEN, and reduce the ability for the user to take unexpected tangents through illogical pathways.
(For example, viewing TV Library, and switching to File mode only to be dropped off in file mode of Movies because it was the last thing viewed in file mode--or even by backing out to the parent videos directory and accessing movies from there, when it could just be done from the home screen--why need a separate location?)
The 3rd thing is just my opinion about wording.
Anyway, just some stuff I thought someone might find interesting/agree with. Let me know what you think.
However, I have noticed a couple things in its design that feel a little convoluted to me. I'm merely posing these ideas for anyone who would want to use them--I'm not asking for anyone to do anything about it. However, I wouldn't mind hearing what people think.
1) The Video Library and the Up-Directory button.
I believe that most people probably both
a) have two separate buttons programmed for their remote, one to "escape" and close the whole library (thus going to the home screen most likely), and another button that is needed to go up a directory, like from a season folder to a show directory in TV.
b) use their video library almost exclusively for Movies, and TV (rather than other relatively obscure categories like documentaries, etc.) and that they access these libraries directly from buttons that link directly to the libraries from the home screen.
Therefore, when the back button is used from the list of TV shows or Movies (particularly in Library mode), it should return to the home screen, rather than revealing a list of sources that do not belong in the category selected originally from the home screen. This prevents using convoluted pathways to reach a directory, and increases the sense of a real physical location.
The same is true of sorting options. The option to sort by category (genre, actors, etc) should be presented as such, rather than as a parent directory which violates the logic of the location of the library as being accessed directly from the home screen.
2) "Library Mode" itself.
XBMC's interface employs this "2-versions of the same location" idea to differentiate between seeing a cleaned up "cataloged" presentation of all the metadata associated with a particular item, and seeing what is actually in the folder (i.e. file names like s01e01 rather than show titles).
While both views are very useful, I think that this idea of some strange alternate mode of viewing the same content is kind of a convoluted way of thinking about it. Instead, the same functionality could be a achieved by presenting the file mode as a completely separate location, accessed separately from the library, and NOT toggled between. This is especially true, considering as of now, when you switch from library mode to file mode, it drops you in the last location viewed in file mode, rather than the same directory you are viewing in library mode, which feels illogical and disorienting.
3) "Enabled Addons"
Are these addons really all "Enabled"? For example, under Skins in "Enabled Addons," it lists all skins "installed", but I don't think they would all be described as "Enabled" because that is more like what is done from the appearance settings. The same is true of many addons that need to be separately "enabled" for use in some settings menu.
Also, since some skins include an "addons" button on the home screen, it would be good to be able to launch addons from the enabled addons list. This is especially true if the only other way to do it was through a separated file mode as described previously.
To summarize, the main idea in the first 2 points is to streamline the experience to flow FROM THE HOME SCREEN, and reduce the ability for the user to take unexpected tangents through illogical pathways.
(For example, viewing TV Library, and switching to File mode only to be dropped off in file mode of Movies because it was the last thing viewed in file mode--or even by backing out to the parent videos directory and accessing movies from there, when it could just be done from the home screen--why need a separate location?)
The 3rd thing is just my opinion about wording.
Anyway, just some stuff I thought someone might find interesting/agree with. Let me know what you think.
