[Morien]

one basic with basicly just play/pause, volume/mute, ff/rw that pops up from bottom and only takes up a corner.

that is what a control panel is for, like the control panel in xbmp. it's great for people who only use the xbox game-pads. i would prefer to see separate osd and control-panel (like in xbmp), so no need(clogging up) for osd to have ff/rw/pause/mute,etc.

if this gets incorporated, perhaps a different style to the controll panel could be done. one that doesn't remind me of windows. don't get me wrong, it worked great and looked great, but didn't really seem a part of the skin.

morien

[Gamester17]

one that doesn't remind me of windows. don't get me wrong, it worked great and looked great, but didn't really seem a part of the skin.

the control panel in xbmp was/is skinnable, it was just that nobody of the skinners bothered to make new skins for it

[Morien]

the control panel in xbmp was/is skinnable, it was just that nobody of the skinners bothered to make new skins for it

oh, ok. i stand corrected then.
i will post some pics of my toshiba's osd tommorow too, i was thinking about it more and it could be made perfect for xbmc functionally.

morien

[Morien]

hi,

i've uploaded some captures of the osd of my toshiba. it's a bit bloated for xbmc purposes however i think the format is great and perfectly suited (and easily skinnable).

menu 1 (first menu press) - this is the more simple menu, with only the status, etc. highlighting the title, chapter or time allows you to change it via numbers (the time could be used as an advanced go-to function, where the time can be inputted in hours, minutes and seconds. also the angle, subtitle and audio is changable. the icons on the side are simply to show the status.

menu 2 (second menu press) - this one continues on from the previous, however with time remaining and video options, audio options and zoom. the door button exits the menu.

menu 3 (third menu press) - this one has more of a control panel interface at the top which, judging by other people's responses might be best if left seperate.

menu 4 (fourth menu press (fith switches it off)) - this one shows the bitrate information in graphial form (which imo looks great). icons could also be included for what codecs are in use. ie. for xvid files and xvid logo, divx files a divx logo, dvds a dvd logo, dolby digital a dd logo, dts a dts logo, etc. this in my opinion would make the file information much prettier.

subtitle select - this is just how subtitles are selected as a pull down list. the example is from it selected while in the first menu. audio, angle, etc is also selected this way, however picking the sub button when there are no subs just displays a stop symbol (circle with bar through it).

if their cut down a bit in parts and added to in others then i think theyd make a perfect osd. even just the style of the drop down menu for subs track/audio track would be a nice touch. there would only be around 3 menu pages as one is basically just a control panel and they could be accessed and cycled through by the info button say and closed prematurley by the back button.

what does everyone else think?

morien

[forza]

thanks for taking the time to make the shots morien, this sort of thing was what i had in mind for the new osd, although probably without having to click the button so many times to cycle through the options

further thoughts anyone?

[Gamester17]

i just like to say/state that i like xbmp osd, only beefs i got with it is that it's slow to bring up because of the slide-up 'feature'

ps! i like to see volume and mute at the first osd screen together with the subsection sections, ...if not in a control panel

[Morien]

forza:
no problem. some of the functions in the pics i posted are redundant and might'nt be needed for xbmc and they could also be seperated. ie: all the file info (filters, state, time duration, time remaining) could be left seperate just in the same style (although i'd personally like it as another page of the osd), the control panel could be accessible only through the controller (lets face it, it's not really needed with the remote) and then the osd seperate. if there isn't enough buttons during watching of a dvd for instance, the display button could also be made to access the osd and another button (such as the door button in the pics i posted) could go back to the gui.

gamester17:
yeah, i liked the xbmp osd, however it just felt a bit unprofessional compared with the rest of the player, if you know what i mean.

also, some functions i'd feally like to see implemented into the osd which haven't already been implemented or mentioned,
video:
aspect ratio switching (as described in my post here.
brightness contrast presets (preseted in settings and named with the virtual keyboard)

thanks
morien

[Gamester17]

yeah, i liked the xbmp osd, however it just felt a bit unprofessional compared with the rest of the player, if you know what i mean.

maybe, but one thing i think we all can agree on is that all menu options where selfunderstood, no un-clear buttons etc. and that is very important, anyone should be able to use it the first time trying it out (even without reading manuals or guides)

i vote that you make the new one to "an osd for dummies" simple, quick and selfunderstod being the keywords here

[floink]

so i took the liberty of using ur screenshoots morien. here are pictures of what i had in mind a couple of posts up. retro style though. but it gives you an idea.
pictures of osd step1 and step2 step1 accesible with a one button press. i believe pause/play could be in default focus? step2 and the others accessible via navigation in osd. the step2 picture is a pop-up that opens on first select and closes when selected second time, or if other button (outside of pop-up) is selected.
the names/functions of the 4 buttons on the right are divided in to:

sync: syncronise a/v and subtitles
subt.: select subtitle language, sub size, sub font.
video: filters on/off, ar-settings, brightness/contrast + codec/framerate/and so on info.
audio: audio settings on/off, treble/bass + codec/framerate/and so on info.

tell me what you think i know everybody don't like the size or colors of the buttons but what about navigation, usability and functionality?

/floink

[calle81]

floink: that looks amazing. it would be easy too use and good looking.

[maao]

i really like the osd of my tivo. very simple and uncluttered for displaying position in video, and play/ff/rew state. i like the sample also, but if i have to use arrow keys to select something using my dvd remote, it defeats the purpose of having a dedicated remote. if it's for controller only, then i suggest we have two osd's, one for controller, and one for remote, and the user configures which osd to use.

just my $2 (accounting for inflation).

[Morien]

floink:
my initial reaction to your design was that it looked too much like a control panel and that you may be missing the point, however, on second look, it does what everyone wants it too. as you've seperated synchronisation it is easily possible to have a menu selection ala my fifth screenshot, where it says the language of the sub (which is possible in dvd, and anything else with subtitles, given that the encoders spent that little bit of time on it, which i've rarely seen one where they haven't). this could also carry on to audio switching. so i'd have it carry across the language name from an ogm for example and so i could select 'english' or 'japanese'. if the encoder didn't change the language name then by default ogm called it 1 or 2, which still works. and under video you could have all the video related options or the angle selection when supported in dvd.

if people don't like your idea of having the control panel options (which, after looking at it, i think is fine), then that section could be replaced by video information in icon form. however i think the status bar (even if made unselectable) should stay in. so if i'm watching one of my dvds, it would display the dvd-video icon, the dts icon (if that's the selected track), and possibly the movie name. also you could add the current status (in icon form), so if the movie is paused, it will display a pause symbol, if it's zoomed in then display a zoom symbol, if a specific aspect ratio is selected (ala my request :d) than display a symbol for that, etc.

personally i don't really like the idea of the current info function being added into the osd like people have suggested, i think that should be left seperate, but the main info being displayed icon based (as i've mentioned here) would look great imo.

edit (just read your post properly floink ) : personally, i think sub font and size may be a little redundant in the osd, but that's just my opinion. 'brightness/contrast', just to add my input on this function, in my opinion it would be a bit messy if you could change it in the osd, but as i mentioned before, perhaps a variety of presets could be added (theatre, animation, normal, etc) and also custom presets made in settings and saved with a custom name (named via virtual keyboard). assuming ofcourse you didn't have the same idea. trebble/bass, perhaps this could also be left as presets? or then again, they could be displayed like volume which would look great.

i know everybody don't like the size or colors of the buttons but what about navigation, usability and functionality?

despite what i've already said, if the osd did end up like in your pic, i would be perfectly content. good job.

morien

[floink]

if i have to use arrow keys to select something using my dvd remote, it defeats the purpose of having a dedicated remote.

i don't see why buttons couldn't be mapped to specific function even in the osd. lika a section in keymap.xml called 'osd specific actions'  and when fex play is selected either with controllers' a button or dvdremote or navigation and select you could get visual feedback of play-button being selected.

@morien: thats alot of feedback
-the functions i listed were a draft and could change. but i think that this setup also leaves space for future changes and upgrades.
-i generally think that icons look better and it saves space, but are very hard to do as they tend to be interpreted different by every person. and when you have skinnability you could end up with even bigger variety of icons. thats why i choose text rather then icons (for the not so obvious funtions).
-in my opinion audio switching would be natural to do under the audio-button menu.
-for the subs menu i pictured something smilar to what you have in your screenshots.
-the addition of showing icons for current media is nice and could be partially done with existing icons. just ad some more icons.
-the current play/pause/ff/rew status is in my opinion already included in xbmc today with the icons in the top right corner. i think those could be the same, osd open or not.
-why shouldn't the status bar be selectable?

i also realised afterwards that i forgot to include some kind of navigation/menu for video-bookmarks which could be one more button on the right i guess. and remeber with skinnability all buttons and menus can be changed in size and position.

i'd like to hear forzas opinion, after all ur the one who'll end up coding it.

/floink

[Morien]

no i don't mean the status bar shouldn't be selectable, what i was trying to put across is that if people don't want a control panel type interface included then i'd like the status bar to remain anyway, whether it be selectable or not. the pics i posted had the current status in the osd and displayed normally. i like it like that (showing in the osd also). don't get me wrong, i like your design, i do realise that it's a draft, but if it's preferred for the control panel features to be otherwise then what i said was what i think would look good as a replacement.

morien

[mosax]

the names/functions of the 4 buttons on the right are divided in to:

sync: syncronise a/v and subtitles
subt.: select subtitle language, sub size, sub font.
video: filters on/off, ar-settings, brightness/contrast + codec/framerate/and so on info.
audio: audio settings on/off, treble/bass + codec/framerate/and so on info.

looks great! :d

maybe add this 5th name/function to the right button row:

bookm. : choose, add and delete bookmarks.


(btw, a bookmark could suggestivly also be set at any time when playing a movie by pressing same button as, when not playing any movie, adds a selected movie to a playlist.)


(not major in this context, but think you forgot a 'stop' button.   )


edit: i see you thought about a bookmark button before i had time to post my reply.