2017-07-18, 12:32
A New Blue Themed PVR [Mod] for Aeon Madnox
I would like to preview a new Blue Themed Mod of the Pvr Section for the Aeon Madnox skin. Currently there is no way to switch between this [Mod] and the default Pvr Section, although this is hopefully planned for the future. In the meantime, this Mod can easily be installed as a alternative/replacement to the default PVR section included on the Aeon Madnox skin that offers some new features which may appeal to some KODI users.
I'm currently looking for a few users across a broad range of different platforms and devices to fully test and identify any problems. For those interested in helping out, you can let me know by using this thread.
Background
Watching Live TV on Kodi has always played a large part of my overall viewing experience and quite a long time ago I saw a Blue Themed Mod of the Pvr Section which I really liked. Unfortunately, development for that particular Mod seemed to stall and appeared to never actually get finished. So around that time I set about attempting to create something similar to the original concept, whilst also adding some of my own ideas and new features. The main aim was not to create something completely new and away from the original default design and layout of Aeon Madnox, but rather to make some supple changes that would have further practical use and information for the end user, over and above the default layout(s). I also wanted to add artwork, but not to over do it as I personally feel this it not necessary. So after experimenting with many different ideas and layouts, I've now finally settled for something I'm happy with, in terms of both look and practical use.
KODI has given me many hundreds of hours of endless enjoyment over recent years, so I wanted to try and contribute something back to the community as my way of thanking all those involved on the team and particularly those directly involved with maintaining the Aeon Madnox skin, which still remains my preferred skin of choice above any other.
New Features and Enhancements
[2] In order to access content available on Amazon Instant Prime and Netflix, a valid subscription to these services is required.
[3] iPlayer plugin will only work for users residing in the UK.
Screenshots
New EPG Layout with horizontal sideblade button integration.
New Info-Bar Layout
New Programme Info Dialog Layout
Big List TV Channel View
New Now/Next TV Channel View (This replaces the small list view)
New Recording Screen Layout
New Timer Screen Layout
Horizontal buttons for Movie/Tv show libraries and Amazon Instant / Netflix / iPlayer Apps integrated into EPG
Required Scripts
For all features, the following scripts need to be installed in addition to the Aeon Madnox skin. These can all be found in the official KODI repository:-
Skin Short-Cuts
Skin Helper Service
Extended Info Script
KN Switchtimer Service
iPlayer Plugin
Playon Browser Plugin (For Amazon Instant Prime and Netflix access)
Compatibility
[1] Disable top left-side breadcrumb which can be found in Aeon Madnox skin settings.
[2] PVR artwork is activated by using the On/Off switch in the sideblade.
[3] Horizontal EPG buttons are accessed by pressing 'UP' from the first channel in the EPG.
[4] Disable the 'Enable PVR artwork for Recording/Timers only' in the Skin Helper Service settings.
[5] In order to get the best artwork results and other Skin Helper Service information, I would recommend using a personal TMDB API key.
Known Issues
[1] Problems with Manual Artwork searches if personal API Keys have been applied.
[2] Problems with Movie Artwork being scrapped unless a personal TMDB API Key is used.
[3] Custom Artwork folder is not currently working as expected.
[4] Genre information not showing on a couple of screens currently.
Please note that these issues are thought to be caused by problems with the Skin Helper Service script. They have been reported to the author of this script.
Disclaimer
[1] Please bear in mind that I am in no way a skilled skinner, nor do I claim to be, or ever expect to be. I now know just how much time, work and effort goes into creating these skins/mods and my utmost respect and admiration goes out to all the skilled skinners we are fortunate enough to have here working on their various skins.
[2] With the exception of changing many of the default layout co-ordinates and adding PVR artwork and other Skin-Helper-Service information , most of the other work I have done with this Mod has been purely cosmetic. Very little of the original code has actually been changed.
[3] This project started life very much as a personal hobby for myself and something I've done in my spare time to suit my own individual taste and needs. On that basis, it is not my intention to add any additional feature requests from users. If you find that you wish to add something new, then please feel free to do this yourself. My hope is this Mod will give others the same kind of inspiration I originally had and want to get involved. Who knows, even improve on this Mod.
[4] If you find that something doesn't work or breaks, all I can say is that will I will attempt to fix any issues myself, or if that isn't possible, try to seek help from elsewhere.
[5] Please be aware that Aeon Madnox is a very heavy skin, well over 700Mb in size and therefore probably best suited to hardware with a higher end specification. Performance on devices such as the Raspberry Pi and some other lower end Android spec boxes may be significantly affected by using this skin and Mod.
Credits
Everybody on the Madnox team.
Big Aero and his original Blue themed concept idea.
Maniac for the original Live TV mod.
Lunatixz for the Playon Browser addon.
CaptainT for the iPlayer WWW addon
Birger Jesch for the KN Switchtimer Service addon.
Special thanks to:-
Mike_Doc for all his continued help, support and advice.
Schimi2k (RIP) with helping me out with some of the graphics included on this mod.
Angelinas for all his guidance and support on my artwork questions.
Marcelveldt for his help and support and his amazing Skin Helper Service script. Without this script, many of these new features would not be possible.
Installation
Copy/Paste/Replace all of the XML files included in this Mod into the 1080 folder on the MadNox Skin.
Copy/Paste the Blue folder and all of it's contents and sub-folders into the New_Pvr folder, which is located in the media folder on the MadNox Skin.
I would recommend making a back-up of the original xml files you are going to replace in order that you can use them again, should you wish to return to the original default layout(s)
I would like to preview a new Blue Themed Mod of the Pvr Section for the Aeon Madnox skin. Currently there is no way to switch between this [Mod] and the default Pvr Section, although this is hopefully planned for the future. In the meantime, this Mod can easily be installed as a alternative/replacement to the default PVR section included on the Aeon Madnox skin that offers some new features which may appeal to some KODI users.
I'm currently looking for a few users across a broad range of different platforms and devices to fully test and identify any problems. For those interested in helping out, you can let me know by using this thread.
Background
Watching Live TV on Kodi has always played a large part of my overall viewing experience and quite a long time ago I saw a Blue Themed Mod of the Pvr Section which I really liked. Unfortunately, development for that particular Mod seemed to stall and appeared to never actually get finished. So around that time I set about attempting to create something similar to the original concept, whilst also adding some of my own ideas and new features. The main aim was not to create something completely new and away from the original default design and layout of Aeon Madnox, but rather to make some supple changes that would have further practical use and information for the end user, over and above the default layout(s). I also wanted to add artwork, but not to over do it as I personally feel this it not necessary. So after experimenting with many different ideas and layouts, I've now finally settled for something I'm happy with, in terms of both look and practical use.
KODI has given me many hundreds of hours of endless enjoyment over recent years, so I wanted to try and contribute something back to the community as my way of thanking all those involved on the team and particularly those directly involved with maintaining the Aeon Madnox skin, which still remains my preferred skin of choice above any other.
New Features and Enhancements
- New Blue Themed Panels added throughout
- Poster and Landscape artwork added for Live TV listings and Recorded programmes.
- Fallback images added to indicate when no artwork was found.
- New Now/Next view added to TV channel list screen.
- New horizontal integration of PVR Sideblade buttons into the EPG screen.
- Additional horizontal EPG buttons added with direct access to latest movies, episodes and TV Box Sets (local library only)
- Direct access from new horizontal EPG buttons to Amazon Instant Prime and Netflix via Playon Browser plugin. [1] [2]
- Direct access from horizontal EPG button to BBC iPlayer catch-up TV [3]
- IMDB and TMDB ratings added.
- New infobar layout with poster artwork, ratings added.
- Support for real-time TV recommendations added based on ratings.
- Director, Writer and MPAA rating information added.
- New Recordings screen layout with landscape artwork and ratings.
- New Timer screen layout.
- Find Similar programmes and Switch-Timer buttons added to Programme Info Dialog
[2] In order to access content available on Amazon Instant Prime and Netflix, a valid subscription to these services is required.
[3] iPlayer plugin will only work for users residing in the UK.
Screenshots
New EPG Layout with horizontal sideblade button integration.
New Info-Bar Layout
New Programme Info Dialog Layout
Big List TV Channel View
New Now/Next TV Channel View (This replaces the small list view)
New Recording Screen Layout
New Timer Screen Layout
Horizontal buttons for Movie/Tv show libraries and Amazon Instant / Netflix / iPlayer Apps integrated into EPG
Required Scripts
For all features, the following scripts need to be installed in addition to the Aeon Madnox skin. These can all be found in the official KODI repository:-
Skin Short-Cuts
Skin Helper Service
Extended Info Script
KN Switchtimer Service
iPlayer Plugin
Playon Browser Plugin (For Amazon Instant Prime and Netflix access)
Compatibility
- Tested with FilmOn / MediaPortal / WMC / IPTV Simple / Enigma Pvr Clients
- Tested on Windows 7, Android and Android TV platforms.
- Works with Jarvis and all versions of Krypton.
- Not tested with Leia as yet.
[1] Disable top left-side breadcrumb which can be found in Aeon Madnox skin settings.
[2] PVR artwork is activated by using the On/Off switch in the sideblade.
[3] Horizontal EPG buttons are accessed by pressing 'UP' from the first channel in the EPG.
[4] Disable the 'Enable PVR artwork for Recording/Timers only' in the Skin Helper Service settings.
[5] In order to get the best artwork results and other Skin Helper Service information, I would recommend using a personal TMDB API key.
Known Issues
[1] Problems with Manual Artwork searches if personal API Keys have been applied.
[2] Problems with Movie Artwork being scrapped unless a personal TMDB API Key is used.
[3] Custom Artwork folder is not currently working as expected.
[4] Genre information not showing on a couple of screens currently.
Please note that these issues are thought to be caused by problems with the Skin Helper Service script. They have been reported to the author of this script.
Disclaimer
[1] Please bear in mind that I am in no way a skilled skinner, nor do I claim to be, or ever expect to be. I now know just how much time, work and effort goes into creating these skins/mods and my utmost respect and admiration goes out to all the skilled skinners we are fortunate enough to have here working on their various skins.
[2] With the exception of changing many of the default layout co-ordinates and adding PVR artwork and other Skin-Helper-Service information , most of the other work I have done with this Mod has been purely cosmetic. Very little of the original code has actually been changed.
[3] This project started life very much as a personal hobby for myself and something I've done in my spare time to suit my own individual taste and needs. On that basis, it is not my intention to add any additional feature requests from users. If you find that you wish to add something new, then please feel free to do this yourself. My hope is this Mod will give others the same kind of inspiration I originally had and want to get involved. Who knows, even improve on this Mod.
[4] If you find that something doesn't work or breaks, all I can say is that will I will attempt to fix any issues myself, or if that isn't possible, try to seek help from elsewhere.
[5] Please be aware that Aeon Madnox is a very heavy skin, well over 700Mb in size and therefore probably best suited to hardware with a higher end specification. Performance on devices such as the Raspberry Pi and some other lower end Android spec boxes may be significantly affected by using this skin and Mod.
Credits
Everybody on the Madnox team.
Big Aero and his original Blue themed concept idea.
Maniac for the original Live TV mod.
Lunatixz for the Playon Browser addon.
CaptainT for the iPlayer WWW addon
Birger Jesch for the KN Switchtimer Service addon.
Special thanks to:-
Mike_Doc for all his continued help, support and advice.
Schimi2k (RIP) with helping me out with some of the graphics included on this mod.
Angelinas for all his guidance and support on my artwork questions.
Marcelveldt for his help and support and his amazing Skin Helper Service script. Without this script, many of these new features would not be possible.
Installation
Copy/Paste/Replace all of the XML files included in this Mod into the 1080 folder on the MadNox Skin.
Copy/Paste the Blue folder and all of it's contents and sub-folders into the New_Pvr folder, which is located in the media folder on the MadNox Skin.
I would recommend making a back-up of the original xml files you are going to replace in order that you can use them again, should you wish to return to the original default layout(s)
