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+--- Thread: Over Complicated? (/showthread.php?tid=86164)
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Over Complicated? - MarkTaunton - 2010-11-26
I am sat here looking at my xbox 360 (with kinect btw) and sat here looking at the UK version of Netflix or possibly anyway.
It is called Zune.
Now for XBMC I personally find simple skins boring, but I am sat here looking at how simple the user face is.
You log in
It has poster views
Browse all movies, custom custom, movie poster movie poster and so on
Above the movie posters it has say for example music videos, search, independent videos etc as a top scroll list.
You can click on the movie poster and it plays a trailer and brings up that movie page, it plays the trailer, displays the information. allows you to scroll to cast members then obviously you can play the movie.
Is XBMC too over complicated or are the skins trying to be too over complicated?
As I say, I hate simple skins on XBMC I prefer a few bells and whistles, but I seem to like the user interface of netflix/zune.
To the developers and skinners, and of course to people like me the end users, is XBMC trying to be too over complicated for it's needs?
I have found a reasonable example from you tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAbzFjJgyV0&feature=fvw
The last time I posted a debate thread xbmc went down, so if it happens again, I shall not post another gossip topic lol
Are the users or the programmers wanting to go more overboard on what they need to do, or are the skinners who use the first main skin for XBMC going too overboard?
- rausch101 - 2010-11-26
A few comments (Note that I have no affiliation with XBMC):
1. You never actually said a single specific thing that you thought was overcomplicated.
2. Nearly every skin on XBMC has "poster" views for both TV and Movies
3. You can customize XBMC to look even simpler than XBOX360's interface if you really want.
4. XBMC caters to an average user that is more technologically savvy than the average user of XBOX360.
People do say that XBMC is overwhelming at first and that's understandable, though XBMC improves on this with each version. If you spend the time though, you can make the final UI look very well polished, simple and personalized. I have several roommates that have no clue how to use technology, but do perfectly fine with my XBMC media center setup.
- MarkTaunton - 2010-11-26
Yey, someone from DC, the heart of American democracy.
Only one reasonably valid point which was number 1, what is over complicated?
I suppose in respects the package is over complicated for the skins, e.g you have a basic skin such as alaska, everyone who tries and make a skin uses that model, so the skin is basically the same.
It is only skins such as Xperience, Welo and the paper company (I still love Shade) that have really gone into moving forwards.
I when I first got into HTPC back row or a variety of it was what blew my mind away and that was using media portal, I found xbmc and the stability and at the time skins blew my mind away. So I swapped from media to xbmc.
So without getting long winded that answers question 1, 23 and 4 are pretty simple.
- mcborzu - 2010-11-26
I know I personally try to strike a balance of easy of use and catering to the 'extra mile' club. All the extras I include have a fallback or work automatically if setup right..I believe Refocus has the simple but sleek look down pat, I believe 'The Carmichael' does the same.
Even though this youtube video is posted recently, this explanation starting 7:45, shows how complicated XBMC was before the addon system...
- darkscout - 2010-11-26
Simple skins are too simple. Other skins are too hard? It doesn't help that you don't seem to grasp paragraphs and everything seems to be written stream of consciousness...
"Now for XBMC I personally find simple skins boring, but I am sat here looking at how simple the user face is."
I almost want to post a picture of Jules Winnfield from Pulp Fiction for that.
- jmarshall - 2010-11-26
What about music? What about pictures? What happens if you have 1000 movies + 10000 tv episodes like many XBMC users have - how does it handle quantity?
From the youtube video, I doubt it handles it very well!
- natethomas - 2010-11-26
As pretty much everyone else has said, I have no idea what you are talking about. Rather than trying to guess exactly what aspects are too overcomplicated, I'm going to suggest you attempt to rephrase in a slightly less haphazard way.
With that said, one "feature" of Zune (which also exists in the states) is a common feature of all Microsoft Media Center programs (note: Zune is also made by MS). When you click on a movie or other video, you are taken to an info screen, rather than simply having the movie immediately play. XBMC requires you to click a different button to go to the info screen. I'm really of two minds about which method is better, but it's certainly reasonable to argue that going to an info screen before watching the movie COULD be, in theory, less complicated for new users.
- Hitcher - 2010-11-26
natethomas Wrote:With that said, one "feature" of Zune (which also exists in the states) is a common feature of all Microsoft Media Center programs (note: Zune is also made by MS). When you click on a movie or other video, you are taken to an info screen, rather than simply having the movie immediately play. XBMC requires you to click a different button to go to the info screen. I'm really of two minds about which method is better, but it's certainly reasonable to argue that going to an info screen before watching the movie COULD be, in theory, less complicated for new users.Nate, have you forgotten we now have the Info first option?
- MarkTaunton - 2010-11-26
Apologies for not being clearer, but did had a few to drink before posting this
I suppose that I mean that skins are sometimes too technical, even the simple ones, you need to know what keystrokes you have to press to watch a trailer.
You press i for information, but then you have to choose if you want to see the cast, view the trailer etc etc.
Wouldn't be a lot easier in respects if a skin like Zune was created, where it could handle all the information on one page, play an automatic trailer if available and give cast details, movie details all in one go.
- spiff - 2010-11-26
the troll sleeps full tonite.
- Hitcher - 2010-11-26
MarkTaunton Wrote:You press i for information, but then you have to choose if you want to see the cast, view the trailer etc etc.I did away with having to select the 'Cast' button on Alaska Revisited - the list already there and you simply move up to it to scroll through the cast.
- tcchris - 2010-11-26
One thing I have found very helpful is kiosk mode. You set it up the way your family can use it , then set kiosk and thet can't accidentally change views.
- Hitcher - 2010-11-26
tcchris Wrote:One thing I have found very helpful is kiosk mode. You set it up the way your family can use it , then set kiosk and thet can't accidentally change views.This is something I'd like to see moved to an XBMC setting and not have to be coded into the skin.
Devs?
- spiff - 2010-11-26
how about you educate your family instead.
- MarkTaunton - 2010-11-26
spiff Wrote:how about you educate your family instead.
Ooooo who's a grumpy bastard today then lol