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+---- Forum: Quartz (https://forum.kodi.tv/forumdisplay.php?fid=141)
---- Thread: v18 QUARTZ - Leia (/showthread.php?tid=331334)
QUARTZ - Leia - nonJon - 2018-04-26
Hat tip to the creator of Quartz: pecinko
The story continues... with the porting of my favorite skin to KODI 18.
The quartz is strong in this one:
- new menus
- configurable menu transparency – 2 x 6 levels
- configurable fanart visibility – 10 levels
- custom backgrounds/slideshows for home screen
- background video playback
- reanimated Media Info 2 view for movies
- PVR/Live TV support
- more skin colors
- theme support
- additional media views
- game support
Available in the official KODI repo.
Please to enjoy and may the quartz be with you!
watch gallery
Quartz - nonJon - 2018-04-26
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RE: Quartz 5 CE for Leia - nonJon - 2018-04-26
Change Log
2020-10-06 [v5.4.11]
- video player seekbar now properly displays step-size/position when seeking using directional buttons
- hide time/temp while screensaver is active
2020-04-12 [v5.4.10]
- movie director is searchable in video info dialog
- proper skin for pvr channel guide that somehow slipped thru the cracks
- new skin settings category:icons for hiding various UI elements
- add 'Play program' button to pvr info dialog
- improved add-on browser
- add Auto-update and Dependencies buttons to add-on info dialog
- new sideblade menu option 'Choose art' allows custom wallpapers for embedded players (pvr channels/recordings views)
- cleaner options menus resize on the fly rather than include disabled (grayed out) entries
- add watched/unwatched progress overlays for icons and big icons views
- add 4K badge for list-type media views
- add option to animate fanart background in fullscreen music player
2020-01-30 [v5.4.9]
- reskinned video info dialog w/respect to actors
- new weather widget - see skin settings category: General
- added icons for 480p, 540p, 576p & 4K media
- improved player status textures for seekbar
- added volume icon to seekbar
- file manager path fix
- enable HD icons for fanart 1 & 2 media views
- numerous bug fixes and UI tweaks
2019-10-15 [v5.4.8]
- new skin setting to mute now-playing background video - category: player
- fix thumb placement for music videos in media info view
- added volume muted indicator to the right of the system clock
- improved volume dialog
- added elapsed/duration time display for music now-playing shelf
- "Use extened info bar for OSD" skin setting now applies to seekbar when video playback is paused
2019-04-01 [v5.4.7]
- fanart slideshow for homepage
- enable icon view for music/artists
- added KodiTV MultiPass support
2019-02-17 [v5.4.6]
- filter/search support
- improved video info window
- surface libreELEC config add-on in settings
- improved navigation for settings dialog
- dismiss ext info bar on video OSD exit
- reduced footprint for slider dialog
2019-01-24 [v5.4.5]
- game support
2018-12-07 [v5.4.4]
- bump xbmc.gui version to 5.14.0
2018-10-30 [v5.4.3]
- fixed UI glitch induced by v5.4.2
2018-10-25 [v5.4.2]
- improved textures for angular theme
- added random option for populating movie shelf
- added PVR fullscreen HUD for 0-9 direct channel input
- improved autosizing of context menus w/scroll indicators for large lists
- bug fixes
2018-08-24 [v5.4.1]
- new skin theme - angular
- improved scrolling animation for add-on browser
- fixed 'In progress' link for TV shows sub-menu on home screen
- language files cleanup
2018-08-08 [v5.4.0]
- added to official kodi repo
2018-08-02
- new skin setting - category: Homepage
2018-07-31
- playlist window gets improved handling of mixed media and background video/fanart support
- added default icon for music sources
2018-07-29
- removed deprecated audio codec option from music OSD menu
2018-07-28
- added rudimentary progress indicator to TCM wrapper
- minor cosmetic changes to mypvrchannels window
2018-07-18
- options menus go on a diet to match context menus
- improved handling of video player covers and tv logos for video info OSD and now playing shelf
- fixed display of live tv program end time in video info OSD
- fixed truncation of 3 digit temps in weather app
- fixed truncation of plot/synopsis in media info and media info 2 views
2018-07-14
- video bookmarks window get a new look
- fixed a couple menus ignoring the no animation setting
2018-07-12
- added poster image and 'show fanart' button to video info window
- improved animation for large lists
- improved handling of fanart on home screen
- numerous/minor cosmetic improvements
2018-07-10
- added recently recorded option for auto-populating tv/pvr media shelf
- new skin setting to select recently watched or recently recorded for tv media shelf - see Settings>Skin>Homepage/Home media shelf customizer
2018-07-08
- added episode thumbnail option for populating tv shows media shelf
- new skin setting to choose thumbnails or posters for tv shows shelf - see Settings>Skin>Homepage/Home media shelf customizer
- added category icons for initial settings window
2018-07-07
- PVR (not just live tv) is now fully supported
2018-06-30
- new advanced skin setting for slower hardware - see FAQ
2018-06-26
- added background video capability to the skin
- new skin setting to disable video playing in the background - category: Player
2018-06-25
- improved PVRrecordings window
- bug fixes
2018-06-20
- port related bug fixes for music playlist editor and smart playlist editor
2018-06-18
- Settings>System information window gets a complete makeover
- added support for RSS ticker w/skinsettings level control - category: Homepage
- added two new skin fonts
- clock is now overlayed for consistent presentation throughout the skin
- improved consistency of window headers
- epg genre tweaks
2018-06-16
- new skin settings - category:Menus
- autoscroll and scrollbar settings now default to active
- improved layout for dialog confirm
- fixed issue with kiosk setting being ignored
- epg tweaks
2018-06-12
- added Fanart 1 & 2 views from Quartz 4
- new skin setting category to disable unused views - this can improve UI performance on low power devices
2018-06-10
- added 4 new skin settings - category: Player
2018-06-08
- EPG mark 3
- fixed issue with subtitle call from OSD menu
2018-06-06
- new skin setting to select recently added or recently played for populating the music shelf - see Settings>Skin>Homepage>Home media shelf customizer
- added auto scroll for plot in live tv channels view
2018-06-04
- enhancements to EPG
- increased movie/tvshow media shelf item limit to 14
2018-06-01
- added TCM utility - see comment above
2018-05-31
- improved live tv channel switching
- added support for channel switch preview
- added proper player caching indicator to fullscreen video player
- fixed conditional visibility issue when summoning video codec from OSD menu
2018-05-30
- fixed issue with the PVR sideblade menu deploying when it shouldn't
2018-05-29
- reorganized skin settings categories to make way for new features
- new skin setting to hide Live TV link on homepage
2018-05-28
- improved scrolling animation for live TV channel list
2018-05-18
- added watched content indicators per user request
- watched and unwatched/progress indicators are now off by default
- added dynamic sort letter badge for scrolling in movie/music views - on demand page control (right arrow) is unaffected by this change
- added a slew of default icons appropriated from Estuary
- improved DialogVideoInfo with respect to actors/roles and default thumbs
- port related bug fixes
2018-05-10
- new skin setting to play music fullscreen
- fullscreen music player now defaults to showing fanart
- new skin setting to hide fanart in fullscreen music player
RE: Quartz 5 CE for Leia - nonJon - 2018-04-26
reserved
RE: Quartz 5 CE for Leia - mediumdry - 2018-05-25
I've been waiting for this for a while, as I cannot code the skins myself. Hope there's TV Guide support... Willing to beta (alpha?) test and give constructive feedback if appreciated
RE: Quartz 5 CE for Leia - mediumdry - 2018-05-25
oh my.... this is great!!!! A question though, Live TV is somehow grouped under TV Shows. Is there an option to give it its own menu? Default shelf items would be the last channels watched and menu items would be Channels, Guide, Recordings, etc. And it would allow addons that show live tv as well. I find it doesn't really fit well under TV Shows. For now, I'm just changing the Pictures menu that I don't use. It requires me to edit some favourites to go to the Guide and Channel screens and it doesn't allow me to auto-populate the shelf.
Also, is it still easy to change the number of items that the shelves are populated with? Right now it's just whatever fits, I'd like to increase that for some shelves.
Last remark, when I'm watching a channel, there is no display when I go through the channels, but when I select, it does change the channel. I'm guessing that's work in progress?
RE: Quartz 5 CE for Leia - mediumdry - 2018-05-27
Here's what I am talking about for Live TV (I made some favourites as workaround). Unfortunately, there is no way to remove the Live TV entry from the TV Shows menu (that I can see)
Also, the time is displayed in a smaller font size than the other text on the page. It's been bugging me a bit...
RE: Quartz 5 CE for Leia - nonJon - 2018-05-27
Re Live TV: Previous iterations of quartz arbitrarily put Live TV under add-ons. I moved it to TV Shows b/c it made more sense to me and is fewer keystrokes to access something I use often. An option to place it anywhere or hide it altogether would be useful. Will look into that. Otherwise, the day IPTV gets its own home screen category will be the day I decide to fully support all the features PVR has to offer. Don't expect that anytime soon. I have neither the need nor the backend infrastructure to support time-shifting of live content. You already found the workaround I would have suggested. If lack of slots is a problem, consider linking an add-on like Super Favorites.
Will look into the channel switch issue. Works in the jarvis/krypton versions so something was missed in the port to leia.
You're kidding about the clock, right? My inclination would be to shrink the font size to better match other info that displays in the notification area. Ok, I'll play with it.
RE: Quartz 5 CE for Leia - nonJon - 2018-05-28
Playing around with Super Favourites as a means for adding content to the home screen...
RE: Quartz 5 CE for Leia - mediumdry - 2018-05-30
I looked into Super Favourites, but that doesn't really work for me. I am not sure what you mean about supporting all features for Live TV, everything I want to do (or can think of doing) is already working! So the shortcuts/favourites to TV Guide and TV Channels work (although TV Guide starts with the options enabled and going back also goes to options first and then it backs out). In the TV Guide (which is my main entry into TV) I can schedule recordings and a favourite pointing to recordings also works as expected.
I do have some remarks about the TV Guide view... compare and contrast these options:
Here is Quartz CE
A large number of programs have no text, only ... because there isn't enough space. I prefer something like that SIO has:
this has a lower line height, a smaller font (narrower would also work, I suppose) and gets rid of the logo's (only one of my 2 backends has TV channel logos anyway)
Of course, looking at the default Kodi skin, Estuary, it has this:
The colours are nicer, the lack of logos creates more space for the names of the programs and the best part, it shows the program info. Since this is the closest to channel surfing we get nowadays (it's no longer fast enough to just flip through the channels, there is too much delay between programs) I like having this extra bit of info.
For me, a mix of how SIO does things and how Estuary does things would work best, for me. Is it worth looking into that? Or are you not willing to incorporate changes?
As far as implementing a full menu item.. I am ok with things as is (although I'd like to hide the menu option under TV shows), the only thing it would really add for my use case is the ability to have the last watched channels on the shelf.
Speaking of shelf, I changed the music shelf to show the last played albums and changed the number of items for music (now 9), tv shows and movies (now 13). To me, it just gives a bit more breathing space, the numbers you put in (only enough to show statically with the space there is) was a bit too restrictive. Was it a conscious choice on your part?
Lastly, looking more into the Music views, if I go to "Now Playing" (which basically shows the on the fly playlist from manually queing songs), I get this:
All the track names are replaced with "T". I guess some slash or parentheses is missing somewhere, but I'm not sure where! Could you help? I know the music views don't matter much to you, as you have solved it differently, but any help in finding the right file to edit would be appreciated.
In the same vein, if I make any changes and want to share them back with you to review and possibly incorporate, how would I do that? I realize that my nits might not be in parts that you use or care about, but it might just be what others want as well.
RE: Quartz 5 CE for Leia - nonJon - 2018-05-30
A lot to parse so I'll just comment briefly...
Gratifying to hear the PVR bits work; not having the means to test that functionality myself.
I will increase the movie/tv shelf item counts and look into a skin setting to toggle RA/RP for music.
I'm aware the guide is in need of improvement but there are bigger fish to fry ATM. Standby on that one...
Thanks for bringing the playlist issue to my attention.
Re: hiding the live tv link, you haven't been reading the change log, have you?
Leia is a real PIA to work with, ATM. I was not expecting this port to become anyone's daily driver this early in the cycle. The Krypton version is still getting the bulk of my attention for obvious reasons.
Finally, said it before but it bears repeating here, I maintain this skin for personal use but make it available to the community because I'm an awesome guy.
I'm neither resistant to feature requests nor a rubber stamp. If a change request interests me, or improves the user experience for everyone, it will be implemented. You're welcome to continue suggesting ways to improve Q5CE. Nothing ventured, nothing gained...
RE: Quartz 5 CE for Leia - mediumdry - 2018-05-30
(2018-05-30, 14:01)nonJon Wrote: A lot to parse so I'll just comment briefly...I mentioned the numbers I chose, but I can always change them from whatever you deem appropriate if I disagree
[...]
I will increase the movie/tv shelf item counts and look into a skin setting to toggle RA/RP for music.
Quote:I'm aware the guide is in need of improvement but there are bigger fish to fry ATM. Standby on that one...No worries, do you know what the file is for that view? It would allow me to take a stab at it and see if it is halfway acceptable. At worst, it won't help you with what you want
Quote:Re: hiding the live tv link, you haven't been reading the change log, have you?
Sorry, been playing around with the original code I downloaded, will check what happened after
Quote:Leia is a real PIA to work with, ATM. I was not expecting this port to become anyone's daily driver this early in the cycle. The Krypton version is still getting the bulk of my attention for obvious reasons.I didn't expect to move to alpha software myself, but the new live tv providers introduced with Leia were such an improvement in useablity that I even lived with Estuary (my wife and I did commiserate how much we missed Quartz, hence my joy at your sharing of your work!) I fully understand why Krypton would get more attention, as it's probably the most used version atm.
Quote:Finally, said it before but it bears repeating here, I maintain this skin for personal use but make it available to the community because I'm an awesome guy.
No arguments here!
Quote:You're welcome to continue suggesting ways to improve Q5CE. Nothing ventured, nothing gained...
Which reminds me.. I do prefer the clock to be the same font size as the other text that you normally see on the page. Notifications are just temporary so do not need the same look, imo. The notifications do not have enough space though right now, most are truncated halfway.
Last remark.. the selection indication for the menu is very subtle, whereas in the menu it is quite bold.. if the box around the menu item could be thinner and the selection of the menu a bit more pronounced, I think it would be better. I'm still torn about the rounded corners, I think it looks a bit dated now, but I'm not for following fashion for the sake of it..
Thanks for listening to my remarks!
RE: Quartz 5 CE for Leia - mediumdry - 2018-05-30
for completion:
In Includes_Shelf_Items.xml I changed this to get recently played albums (as opposed to recently added albums)
Quote:<include name="Music_RA_Items">In the playlist folder I simply change the limit to 13 like so
<content target="music" limit="9">musicdb://recentlyplayedalbums/</content>
</include>
Quote:<limit>13</limit>I'm sure you are well aware, just wanted to have it for my own backup
RE: Quartz 5 CE for Leia - nonJon - 2018-05-30
(2018-05-30, 17:24)mediumdry Wrote: No worries, do you know what the file is for that view?
Settings>Skin>Advanced>Enable onscreen debug info
RE: Quartz 5 CE for Leia - nonJon - 2018-06-01
(2018-05-30, 10:12)mediumdry Wrote: Lastly, looking more into the Music views, if I go to "Now Playing" (which basically shows the on the fly playlist from manually queing songs), I get this:
All the track names are replaced with "T". I guess some slash or parentheses is missing somewhere, but I'm not sure where! Could you help?
I am not able to reproduce this using the most recent nightly build.