NMJ V2 Source Menu whats your opinion

[marocco]

(05-24-2011 12:32 PM)hairball Wrote:  why not make it more like xmbc.

I agree 100%

[requis]

(05-23-2011 12:55 PM)ehatzinikolaou Wrote:  

(05-22-2011 04:42 PM)sanctrum Wrote:  TRIPLE BAD! Personally I am shocked how this kind of interface would have been even proposed for NMT?!

I hate Windows Phone 7 interface. It does not look modern at all and it is several steps back into icon design. All it can propose is the smooth animation motion. Nothing else. It is just ugly as much it can be.

Now transferring it to NMT is just a joke, yes?

NMT is not multi-touch 3' screen phone. It is NMT! It must have WOW effect at the FIRST LOOK.
Simple geometrical shapes, meaningless icons, bad organization of media... VERY BAD impression at first look.

How to improve?:
1. At first THINK what users want to have/do at the first level UI... Then at LAST step think how to make it look WOW!
2. The first level UI MUST be simple for everyone even for not PC friendly user. People just want to watch MOVIES, listen to the MUSIC, browse INTERNET, watch albums of PICTURES and put some CD/DVD/BD... They do not want to know if the movie is streamed from NAS, internal HDD, USB, SAMBA, NFS, Youtube or other unspecified network service. This kind of knowledge is needed ONLY for the person (let's call it admin) who is putting those files to the NMT for the family. My family DO NOT WANT me to come EVERY time to help them to use the BASIC NMT functions.
3. The first level UI must be configurable... The users must have the possibility to add/hide unneeded icons... eg... NOT everyone has NAS at home. Not everyone has internal HDD put inside... and NOT everyone has BD drive... at last NOT everyone are using APPS and other Network or Internet services...
4. The settings button CAN NOT be at the same "level" then other media icons/buttons. My family DO NOT WANT to go there. They are simply NOT interested into the settings.
5. In general people are sorting their media as much as they can in the way THEY and theirs families used to. Why not to let them doing it the same way? LET the admin DECIDE how he wants to organize the media.
The family wants to watch movies? OK so the admin will SHARE the corresponding files to the MOVIES icon... E.g. all movie type files from HDD selected folder + some network shares + some SELECTED APPS (Youtube, HD nation, etc.) - but HE decides what is best option for the family.
6. The same for MUSIC and PICTURES albums - the admin shall decide if he wants to put/share there some HDD files, network NAS shares, Internet Apps, etc.. or not.
7. NOW you can start thinking how to make it look nice, impressive, WOW, etc... NOT like a phone

Organize the NMJ front end for Content NOT BY LOCATION.
Location is irrelevant to our families.

I would entirely agree with this post, and the post above with the exception of point 8 removed. This is about the content afterall. If you had one icon to come back to this source submenu then that would be the one icon everyone in my family would stay away from...

And to be clear if its about making everything flash ready for the menus...use what you have the current menu is very effective, and is not broken....going backward in this regard if you change it.

Regards,

Requis

[joe citizen]

(05-24-2011 04:00 AM)conejo99 Wrote:  I'm afraid I'm the only one who did this, but I already divided my vidios by content.
380 kids movies on one hard drive (4TB raid),
540 Grown up movies on a different 4TB hard drive,
pre teen TV shows on the 2TB A200 hard drive
other TV shows on the 2TB C200 hard drive
documentary TV shows on the 2TB A210 hard drive
Anything that combines all video reguardless of source will clutter my searches, not help.

If the menu system is moved to a content menu (Movies, TV, Photos, Music, etc..) like many users feel it should be, you could still search your content by location with one simple click on the remote file mode button that would bring up the various locations like you currently enjoy. A new menu system doesnt have to be an either/or situation. If properly thought out a new menu system could be designed so it looks very easy to use for the wife, kids, grandparents but still provide advanced functionality that other users want.

[Jon]

Agree with Sanctrum - this is not a hand held simple device, it's a central point in a house for media, 99% of the time in the front room.

You have 32bit 1920 x 1080 pixels, 0-255 colourspace, with alpha blending etc., not 8bit 320 x 480 pixels, so use it!

My PCH A-200 is customized up the eyeballs with customized backgrounds, icons, layouts etc - this looks like 4 steps backwards and IMO is worse than the original theme.

Get what's under the bonnet working first, then polish the surface.

[super75hr]

Icons: promising
Icons need to be more round, less square. Maybe some transparency would help. Three sizes for icons are too much. Top and bottom icon in the same vertical should be the same size and they should be on the same vertical line.

Layout: promising
No need for numbers on the top (01, 02 and 03). Maybe you should somehow simplify menus.

Colors: promising
Colors are too vivid. I like it, but it need some work on them.

[KidE79]

Icons: needs improvement. they look like the soft facebook and twitter icons you see in commercials. They don't blend in with the dark background. transparency would be a nice addition.

Layout: promising
No need for numbers on the top (01, 02 and 03).

Colors: need improvement.
Colors seem very pale. Like the icons use ciolors that blend better with the dark background.

[TheBigAristotle]

I don't like it, I think it will be way too confusing to have 3 columns. My wife will absolutely get lost.
Keep it simple, one navigation level on the screen, when selecting opening a second.

[mfsav2]

(05-24-2011 01:09 PM)marocco Wrote:  

(05-24-2011 12:32 PM)hairball Wrote:  why not make it more like xmbc.

I agree 100%

That would be lovely!

With AEON

[plm]

(05-24-2011 12:32 PM)hairball Wrote:  why not make it more like xmbc.

XBMC does seem to be a benchmark in in usability and functionality so I really think you guys should take a look at this to get an idea of how it could be done.

The interface is great, and unambiguous for new users, which isn't something the Popcorn Hour can claim.

[marocco]

(05-25-2011 07:12 PM)plm Wrote:  

(05-24-2011 12:32 PM)hairball Wrote:  why not make it more like xmbc.

XBMC does seem to be a benchmark in in usability and functionality so I really think you guys should take a look at this to get an idea of how it could be done.

The interface is great, and unambiguous for new users, which isn't something the Popcorn Hour can claim.

...and XBMC interface has been improved more and more during these years, it's fast, "multitasking" (you can watch a movie and navigate between menus) and much better UI (it's my opinion)

[vagnerrondon]

I do not understand why "reinvent the wheel. "
Why create a "custom NFO.
Why create a "new interface" with dozens of existing tested and functional interfaces.
Oh my God, please take a look at the XBMC forums and learn how.
What we want: NMJ = XBMC simplified

Simple that.

[Ian Morris]

From my perspective, I'm looking for something that's a little simpler, but more importantly a little more clever.

For example, can we make MyiHome combine folders together so they appear as one on the Popcorn Hour? At the moment, I have several TV folders, across several drives, but this seems hard to manage (unless there's a way to do it with a link of some kind, a la Linux).

Secondly, the PCH should really be able to remember my last location. I almost always use the MyiHome server, so it would make sense for the machine to remember that. I think it does this for local drives, but not remote.

Then, with regards to the Interface, I find myself looking at the Western Digital Live Hub as one of the nicest I've seen: http://common1.ziffdavisinternet.com/uti...z=1,00.jpg

The WD, however, is let-down by the lack of server software (this is a big deal for non-techie users, as it complicates the set-up process). The PCH could rule IF the interface took a leaf from the WD book and kept MyiHome.

[cyrus2007]

Ok how long to the end of the project, as looks like you tried to simplify but ends up looking like shopping web site with multiple colours and options. Can you make it so I can multilink my internal hd on my pch a210 to all my other media I use on network saves going in and out of multiple nmj as currently it's slow, I understand once loading takes awhile but tad frustrating. Please allow someone who never touched the first to look at it and see how simple an option to jump to nmj will be great and incorprAtes as above all media connected to it

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Sorry forgot to say also thank yours whatever happens you will always get critics but it's great you still support it . Regards

[johndts4ever]

I LIKE THE ONE WE HAVE NOW DONT CHANG IT PLEASE

[JamesC]

I just want a main menu that has the thinngs I use the most on it (that I can change) - e.g. links to iplayer, media servers (direct - e.g. one icon to go to swiss center, one to go to twonky), a button for the config menu can then be somewhere else, along with a button for 'other emdia sources' which then takes you to a menu like the current circular one with different media sources on it.

Could also add an 'auto detect' fucntion to the new main menu structure so that if you plug in a USB stick it shows up on your quick menu automaticly so you can quickly play stuff off it.

I just want to get to what i want to watch as QUCIKLY as I can (and then back out - as different things at present have different ways of quiting e.g. Source, Return, Eject, Home - OR A HIT THIS BUTTON FOR A FAIL SAFE WAY OF GETTING BACK TO THE QUICK ACCESS MAIN MENU) - It has to be designed for the non technical minded person (around 50% of the population )