Hi guys,
moving to Kodi 19 Matrix I am trying out new skins since my beloved Titan MOD will not get an update anymore to fulfill the new requirements. I remember having used Artic Zephyr long time ago. So I was quiet excited about the additions that have been added to the MOD-version. I really like the Netflix views that have been included. But there is still some problems for me using the skin:
1. I have selected the "Vertical Multi-Widgets Netflix"-layout for the main menu. But all I see is the first widget of any menu entry. I cannot scroll or zapp through other widgets (I assume I would have to use "up" and "down"-keys for that). I tried my keyboard on my Windows PC as well as the remote control on my Android machine. When I select any other "multi widgets"-layout I can see the second widget as well, but I cannot access it. "Left" and "right" only navigates through the first widget. And "up" and "down" only work in the menu bar, but not on the widget. Any ideas?
2. I have deselected the "only show symbols"-option. So I have names and symbols shown in the main menu while navigating. When I move onto any widget the main menu slides out of the screen. But the symbols are still visible. That's ok for me. The only problem is that the symbols are only half visible then. The left half of any symbol is already out of the screen whereas the right half is still visible. To me it looks like a bug. I think the remainder of the menu bar has to be broader to still show the symbols completely (like it would if you select the "only show symbols"-option).
3. I am using EmbyCon to access my media. So my main menu items and my widgets do not refer to the classic Kodi database entries but to the EmbyCon links. That's why I was very happy to realize that Arctic Zephyr MOD is one of the few skins that also display the actors (in info section for a movie or a tv-show) when using the EmbyCon accesse. However, when I use the "Big Icon Flix"-view for movies or tv-shows and have the "show Clearlogo instead of title"-option activated most clearlogos are displayed too big for the avaible space. They are overlapping the descriptions above and below. I think the display of the clearlogos would need some kind of scaling algorithm or you would need to reposition them.
4. As explained I use EmbyCon instead of Kodi databases. This not only applies for movies and tv-shows but also for music. But there is a very strange behaviour with this skin: When I click on a music album of any artist the songs in this album will start to play right away. This not only happens in music section but even in the main menu with any widget displaying music albums. I only have to move the focus on an album and it immediately starts playing. This is not only irritating but also makes the music section and the music widgets almost unusable with EmbyCon
5. The main menu could need some redesign, especially when showing the entry names. Maybe an option to select a separate color for the background of the menu bar would help. Also it would be great (and more in line with the modern usability that we know from most streaming apps) to have only one set of widgets not seperate widgets for every menu entry.
Besides the aformentioned issues and remarks I would say Arctic Zephyr MOD is a great skin and definitly one of the best that is currently available for Kodi 19 Matrix. It also seems quiet responsive even with displaying fanarts, cleararts and (partly) disc arts. Thanks to @
beatmasterrs for making his hard work available to us.