2013-07-17, 08:30
Good morning XBMC fellows,
I am giving ViMediaManager a try using a test folder with just 10 movies in it. It looks visually pleasant although I'd like to see more immediate reactions to my actions with the click of a button. For instance, to be able to click on the icons for chart, poster, backdrop, etc... right there on the main display instead of having to pull down a menu, and another for that. Less clicks, less time needed to set up movies properly, straight to the point please. Also I don't see a way to change the flags right there from where I am looking at them. If I see the red flag saying 1080p but I also want the Blu-Ray flag to show, I should be able to define this kind of information right there, whether by dragging or ticking a box. Easier and powerful customisation is certainly something users are looking for. Everything should be clickable and selectable right from the main GUI, without having to look for submenus and set of options within them, or going into an increasing succession of repetitive movements that could very well be kept at bay. That just doesn't contribute to being productive. When you have 16TB and growing of movies, shows, documentaries and music, let me tell you chap, every click and every minute less you spend setting up your media library right counts.
There should be also a way to tell the manager how I want certain key things done always and automatically: I want to tell the manager to always download posters, backdrops and extra fan-art if a specific criteria is met. In my case I would like to be able to define this criteria to only download the material if minimum resolutions and proportions are found, depending on the kind of art. So I don't have to inspect one by one. Another criteria would be filter images by colour or B&W; sometimes one is just looking for a great B&W vintage backdrop and whatever makes that finding faster, it is highly appreciated. You have an option to define the player, let's say XBMC, so when selected, the items under xtras within configuration should all be set automatically to match the naming conventions used by XBMC. Currently that doesn't happen and instead one has to go through every extra to check if the right movie filename is selected. There is no way to tell preferences to download banners, thumbs, logos and discart in their original resolution if available. I have compared discart downloaded by ViMediaManager and the resolution is inferior in about 33% from that downloaded by Artwork Dowloader in XBMC, which means ViMedia is doing a compression somewhere, which I very much would like it not to do per default. That makes a huge difference in big high resolution screens. The best resolution image available is desirable and if not by everyone, then one should be able to define this via drop-down menu.
On the main pane of preferences it says YouTube is the default trailer preference, however under services it says HD-Trailers is enabled without any option to set it as default. How these two work together and when ViMedia decides where to download from and when, if only YouTube is set as default?
The application keeps crashing when looking for metadata or downloading fanart on some movies. I have pasted an error report here for you to analyse and see what could be generating the problem. I am using OS X 10.8.4. After a few more crushes the application now stays bouncing at the dock attempting to run but nothing happens, besides ending in a force eject.
I see ViMediamanager could become something outstanding, but I yet need to see improvements such as those described on first paragraph, besides having a stable version, able to handle big libraries without crushing. The ability to recognise and rename TV Shows and to do so in a whizz would be also a winner. Is the latter implemented yet?
Best,
CF
I am giving ViMediaManager a try using a test folder with just 10 movies in it. It looks visually pleasant although I'd like to see more immediate reactions to my actions with the click of a button. For instance, to be able to click on the icons for chart, poster, backdrop, etc... right there on the main display instead of having to pull down a menu, and another for that. Less clicks, less time needed to set up movies properly, straight to the point please. Also I don't see a way to change the flags right there from where I am looking at them. If I see the red flag saying 1080p but I also want the Blu-Ray flag to show, I should be able to define this kind of information right there, whether by dragging or ticking a box. Easier and powerful customisation is certainly something users are looking for. Everything should be clickable and selectable right from the main GUI, without having to look for submenus and set of options within them, or going into an increasing succession of repetitive movements that could very well be kept at bay. That just doesn't contribute to being productive. When you have 16TB and growing of movies, shows, documentaries and music, let me tell you chap, every click and every minute less you spend setting up your media library right counts.
There should be also a way to tell the manager how I want certain key things done always and automatically: I want to tell the manager to always download posters, backdrops and extra fan-art if a specific criteria is met. In my case I would like to be able to define this criteria to only download the material if minimum resolutions and proportions are found, depending on the kind of art. So I don't have to inspect one by one. Another criteria would be filter images by colour or B&W; sometimes one is just looking for a great B&W vintage backdrop and whatever makes that finding faster, it is highly appreciated. You have an option to define the player, let's say XBMC, so when selected, the items under xtras within configuration should all be set automatically to match the naming conventions used by XBMC. Currently that doesn't happen and instead one has to go through every extra to check if the right movie filename is selected. There is no way to tell preferences to download banners, thumbs, logos and discart in their original resolution if available. I have compared discart downloaded by ViMediaManager and the resolution is inferior in about 33% from that downloaded by Artwork Dowloader in XBMC, which means ViMedia is doing a compression somewhere, which I very much would like it not to do per default. That makes a huge difference in big high resolution screens. The best resolution image available is desirable and if not by everyone, then one should be able to define this via drop-down menu.
On the main pane of preferences it says YouTube is the default trailer preference, however under services it says HD-Trailers is enabled without any option to set it as default. How these two work together and when ViMedia decides where to download from and when, if only YouTube is set as default?
The application keeps crashing when looking for metadata or downloading fanart on some movies. I have pasted an error report here for you to analyse and see what could be generating the problem. I am using OS X 10.8.4. After a few more crushes the application now stays bouncing at the dock attempting to run but nothing happens, besides ending in a force eject.
I see ViMediamanager could become something outstanding, but I yet need to see improvements such as those described on first paragraph, besides having a stable version, able to handle big libraries without crushing. The ability to recognise and rename TV Shows and to do so in a whizz would be also a winner. Is the latter implemented yet?
Best,
CF
