List Views

[mistervee]

FINISHED

Some polishing required but working in all parts of the skin.

Videos, Music, PVR, Addons, Pictures, Games ect.

[mistervee]

@gibxxi @bartolomesoriano @Slipass

Ready for feedback when you have time.

[bartolomesoriano]

@mistervee, here goes my feedback for Movies, TV Shows, Seasons, Music Videos, Artists, Albums and Tracks. I will provide further feedback for Video Add-ons, Audio Add-ons and Live TV.

I. General:

1. More of a question, have you thought on how you want the view selector to look like once you add other views (Wall, Banner, etc.)? We might be running quickly out of real estate on he side blade.

2. Would you consider having, instead of separate Big List viewtypes, Big List as a viewtype option of each of the List viewtypes? I am not sure if that complicates the code too much.

3. Would you consider adding audio/subtitle info to the mediaflags for all video media types? I was thinking along the lines of what you have in DialogVideoInfo.xml. I think it would be a great complement to our media flag info. This for the views that have the space, like Simple and 3 Panel.

4. In all viewtypes that have a right panel or rightmost panel (info 1, info 2, low, 3 panel), I think it would be good to have the highlighted first line in that panel (plot outline, etc.) be able to scroll horizontally.

5. For all view types, remove the Top Bar and Floor toggles from the viewtype options in the sideblade, and just leave the Global toggles (as per your question and our opinions in the General Issues/Feedback issue).

6. When you change from one media type to another (say, from Movies to TV Shows, or from Seasons to Episodes, etc.) and press Left to get the sideblade and select which viewtype you want, the viewtype highlighted is the one you used last, not the current viewtype for the media you just changed to.

II. Movies

7. Feature request: Would you consider adding IMDb Top 250 info in views with a right panel (maybe icon and number, like you are doing with rating?)

8. I really like the use of the faded logo in the background for the info lists and on top of the rightmost panel for the low list.

III. TV Shows

9. Maybe add studio/network to the left of the last aired info on all non-big list views? Similar to having the studio logo for movies where the media flags go. Perhaps there would be no room in low list.

10. I think the views for TV Shows and Seasons are missing # of seasons, # of episodes and # of unwatched episodes. Maybe work these in for all views?

11. In Big lists other than Poster, the first highlighted line on the right(most) panel should be something other than Genre, since the Genre is already on the left panel for each list item.

IV. Episodes

12. For Info 1 views, replace tv show fanart with episode thumb, like in Info 2. Perhaps use fanart only as a fallback if there is no episode thumb?

V. Music Videos

13. When using small info views, maybe add Artist in the right panel as well as Genre? This would be really useful when sorting on anything other than Artist.

14. When sorting by Playcount, maybe add some sort of indicator in the left panel? Maybe "Plays: " before the number? t's hard to tell what the number next to the watched/unwatched indicator is for each list item.

VI. Music - Artists

15. In Big lists, Genre is both on the left panel (second line of each list item) and on the right panel.

VII. Music - Albums

16. Maybe include year in the right(most) panel for info 1 & 2, low and 3 panel? It would be very useful.

17. In Big lists, Artist shows up twice on the left panel if you are sorting by Album name. I guess this situation would happen with other sort options no matter what you choose to use for the second line on the list items.

VIII. Music - Tracks

18. I think it makes sense to include the Album name on the right(most) panel for the views that have a right(most) panel, since it is only in the Top Bar if you have it enabled.

19. Maybe include the Artist name in the breadcrumbs in the Top Bar? (Music / Artist / Album)? I don't know if this is doable, but I think it would really help with non-big Simple list when you are looking at tracks.

That's it for now. Please let me know if there is any of this which needs further clarification.

Again, thanks for the great work on these views! As I mentioned before, so far my favorite is Big Info 2.

[gibxxi]

Aside from what Bart's already highlighted, the only thing that I noticed, was the sheer "size" of the elements in the views. That includes Icon sizes, row height & text size. It occurred to me you were probably designing to a 4K screen size, which is fine, but I do think your going to have to scale it down and offer an option (somewhere in general skin settings - definitely not in the view selector) to allow the user to specify their usage scenario (i.e: 1080p vs. 4K) and haver two size elements to display. For me, the layout looks fine "per-se", but everything looks a bit too "big" on a 1080p interface.

Lastly, with the potential issue Bart pointed out with regards the side-blade, i agree. The sheer number of options there is a bit daunting to sift through at the moment. Maybe there is some way this can be simplified, i.e: with a drop-down selector for each view category perhaps? Also, I wouldn't use the term "poster" for any view that doesn't explicitly contain actual poster orientation icons / thumbs / fanart / movie covers / movie posters, as this is confusing. If it's a square image, it can't also be a "poster" image (OCD-me). I'd call it "Default", "Icon View" or simply "Normal (List View)".

Everything else looks fine, and smartly laid out. Good work.

:)

Dan / Gib.

[mistervee]

@bartolomesoriano @gibxxi

I am slowly working through Barts comments.

My approach is trying to make one variable fit all, for maintainability. This is in regards to the same info to the right and in the list panel.

Aeon Madnox has quite a lot of bloat and it looks to be a hard to maintain skin, it has an excess of variables. I do not want to go down that path.

I will try my best not to repeat information in each view, but in some cases will be unavoidable do to the way i have coded the skin for the sake of simplicity.

The size of the elements, i assume you are referring to the big list views. I will see if i can fit in an extra line. Not sure yet. Overall all though i am not so keen on changing font sizes. They are intentionally made larger than Aeon Madnox for readability and are no bigger than Aeon nox 5. I would rather have the general size of the elements a little to large than too small. For reference i am coding on a 60 inch 1080p TV from 2 meters away. So for my eyes the only thing i think may be too large is the Big List and colored media flags, the flags do need improvement. I will not be providing an option for changing view element sizes apart for List and Big List, makes everything too complex to code in an already complex skin.

4k vs 2k. There should be no difference apart from the clarity of what you see.

For the side blade, there will be a lot of views. Each view is separate and will be configured that way. If i were to add a toggle for the big list views in the normal list that would affect the view for all areas of the skin, so you could not have big poster list in tv show and small poster list in movies. More options with minimal code.

When the view selection spills off the screen, there will be arrows at the bottom. https://imgur.com/a/ZT4y7Tx

In future there will be an option to disable views, if you don't need them all.

[bartolomesoriano]

@mistervee, understood in regards to repeated info. I agree with you that maintainability and avoiding bloat are high priorities. I am fine with scrolling through the sideblade if we have the option to disable views in the future.

What were you thinking in terms of the colored media flags? I only use those, so please let me know if I can help in any way with them.

[mistervee]

@bartolomesoriano

I need some more thought on the colored flags.

@bartolomesoriano @gibxxi

In regards to Dan's comment and the size of the elements.

After some more thought, i can see the issue with the elements being too big.

The main focus on any view should the the list content;

• the colored flags are too big and take your attention away from the main list,
• the info on the right, the text is around the same size as the list and that too takes your focus away from the main content
• the studio logos in the the big list are too large, this again takes your focus away from the list

In general when you first open a view, naturally your eyes should be drawn to the list. There is not enough definition between the various view elements.

[bartolomesoriano]

@mistervee, have you looked at the colored flags in Jurialmunkey's Aura skin? His are some of the best I have seen, and also unobtrusive.

[mistervee]

@bartolomesoriano @gibxxi @Slipass

New update on git. Info below.

@bartolomesoriano In response to your previous points GENERAL

1. View selector, added up down arrows (in future you will able to disable views)
2. Big list views will remain separate
3. Language flags added - you need to make sure you have installed the resource in settings.
4. First info line now scrolls
5. Removed redundant topbar and floor control in Video area settings
6. The last view highlighted will be the same in any skin area. It is the same list in all views. The only other option is to have it always highlight the first item? what do you think? MOVIES
7. Top 250 added. Not added to 3 panel yet.
8. Thanks. May be i should add this to other list views? TV SHOWS
9. It is only shown if there is enough space and not in the biglist views. So the only views where there is room are, simple list and wall views.
10. Added unwatched count ect for TVshows and Seasons. (where space allows)
11. Not sure what info i could change it to? EPISODES
12. Episode thumb for Info 1 view added. MUSIC VIDEOS
13. Instead of your suggestion, i have added the artist name to list, depending upon sort options.
14. Added "Playcount" label, when sorting by playcount to all views.
    ARTISTS
15. Not sure what info i could change it to? ALBUMS
16. Added year
17. Think i fixed part of it. Need to take another look. TRACKS
18. Album name now shows when viewing tracks in right info
19. Artist name in topbar. It is possible, i decided not to do this, there is not enough space.

@gibxxi @bartolomesoriano @Slipass

Some general comments;

1. I have not finished with the variables yet. Still some repeat info in some views. I will try my best to fix what i can.

2. For INFO 1 and INFO 2, the Text size has been reduced, (i need to update the other views)

3. TVSHOWS and MOVIES - Big List. As a test the list size has been reduced, to add an extra item. There is a bit of code to change for other areas of the skin, just want to make sure this is an improvement before i change the rest.

So any thoughts on point 2 and 3? (before i change the rest of the views)

[bartolomesoriano]

@mistervee, thanks! I am not seeing a new update on Git; perhaps you did not commit it?

[gibxxi]

...same here. Last commit I see was 23rd Feb,

With regards my earlier comments (size) I'd be happier with three rows of icons / thumbs for wall view as a pose to the current two (more info = less scrolling), and a possibility of setting horizontal scrolling instead of vertical (via view-type settings) if this hasn't been added already.

:)

Dan / Gib.

[mistervee]

Oh...

Sorry, didn't hit the sync button.

[bartolomesoriano]

@mistervee, thanks for all of the changes/fixes! While I will respond later with more detail, here are my comments to your latest questions:

2. Info 1 and Info 2 look fine to me, so, in my opinion, go ahead with the other views.
3. Big Lists look great with the size change, so, again, in my opinion, go ahead with the other views.

The only really quick issue I see is that there should be a little more separation between the audio codec flag and the audio language flags, kind of like what you have between the subtitle flag (the blue CC) and the subtitle language flags.

I will provide more detailed feedback before the weekend is over.

[gibxxi]

Likewise, I will offer my reaction (and propose some enhancements) I think would make the current views and those not yet looked at even better, later. I need to capture some screenshots first and go over the completed views again, in case there is anything I missed / didn't notice first time around. I'm a bit busy this afternoon, so this may be today, or tomorrow (my time).

However, on the whole, liking what I see so far.

Dan / Gib.

[Slipass]

Hi, Mr. V.

Unfortunately I was very busy and only now came to test the skin. First of all great work.

I have followed the posts regarding the views and would also make my statement, even though I might not make any friends with it :)

1: Basically all views work fine for me. However, Info 1 and 2 hardly differ, so I would simply control the additional view of Info 2 under the "View Options" of Info 1. From my point of view you don't need an extra view. It's the same with the "Big List", wouldn't it be easier to control it with the "View Option"? I personally don't use the "Poster and 3 Panel" view at all but all works. 1.1 For the LiveTV the views are unfortunately not advantageous. Here is the view from Madnox 1 more clearly arranged

2: Low List - My favorite for TV series 2.1 I still lack the info, how many episodes the seasion contains and how many of them were seen. 2.2 For the view it would be nicer to have a small visual break https://i.imgur.com/j7pF5fj.jpg

2.3 A Case View with Disc Art would be cool, too.

3: General Would it be possible not to have the TOP Bar continuously? Similar to Madnox 1? https://i.imgur.com/xsAZfqV.jpg

The marking of episodes that are in progress is difficult to detect. https://i.imgur.com/Nhe4Ato.jpg

The number of series does not work if you work with playlist. https://i.imgur.com/u7a9NHq.jpg

[mistervee]

@Slipass

I see what i can do going to work on the skin a bit today.

A few questions 1.1 Not sure what you mean. There is no screenshot

3. Top bar, can you please provide a screenshot from madnox how you want it to look. I will see what can be done.

[mistervee]

@gibxxi

Not looking at the wall views until the list views are finished.

In the future, i will add and option for scroll direction.

In regards to more images on the screen, that would be a separate view. So any option (apart from scroll direction) that changes the container size will be a separate view. We will likely have 30+ different view types. Not sure yet but may have to have some disabled by default.

Thanks for you help and take your time no rush.

@bartolomesoriano

I thought there may be overlap in some cases or be too close. The CC flag is a fixed size so there wont be an issue. The others vary in width, making it a bit troublesome as i do want some overlap with the audio codec flag dimensions.

This one will have to wait until the media flags are finalized.

@Slipass

Answers to you other questions

1. Number of view types There will be a silly amount of views to choose from when the skin is done. I am thinking 30+.

The reason for this; Having a toggle list/big list reduces the customization the user has. You cannot have a slim list for movies and tvshows at the same time in a single view. That toggle would affect every part of the library. Hence why i made separate views.

In future i will add an option to disable views.

2.1 Episode Count low list view In this view there is not enough space to have that info as a media flag. I am thinking i could change that year in the list to show the episode count. Like this, 10/50. So this will be for all list views.

2.2 Visual break in low list view info Sounds good. I will make it happen.

2.3 Case and disc art Cases will be done after alpha release. Disc art is working when artworkbeef provides it. No so keen on adding it for tv series. If fanart.tv ever supports discart for tvshows i will more than happy to add it then.

3. Episodes in progress Looks like you may have set opacity for the 'Panel Highlight Color'? https://imgur.com/FKnOri3

Some updates are required for the theme/color picker. Too many options and consistent throughout the skin.

3. Series playlist I will have a look.

EDIT: All good @Slipass. Take as long as you need and post what ever you think. Any feedback is good feedback.

[mistervee]

@bartolomesoriano @gibxxi @Slipass

Any preference for movie/tvshow genre icons? So a single kodi resource icons or something on the forum?

EDIT: I quite like these https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=227484&highlight=genre+icons

[Slipass]

Thank you, Mr. V.

1: Top Bar I meant that Madnox 1 here had the function "shadow". Do I find personally more chic https://i.imgur.com/WBXzvfq.jpg

1.1 The current views in Madnox 2 (Poster, Info 1, Info 2) also work for LiveTV. But unfortunately the views are not optimal. Enclosed a screenshot of Madnox 1 https://i.imgur.com/ubggcEx.jpg

2.3 Too bad, I found the Fallback solution for Discarts for TV Series very cool and special. No other skin. Why don't you like it? The screenshot also shows a solution for 2.1 (Epsiode and Season counter) https://i.imgur.com/Oe55zqD.jpg

Hint: When a video is running, it is currently playing in the preview window and in the background. https://i.imgur.com/G1fg0A4.jpg

Icons I had already looked once but unfortunately I don't find enough icons for all topics. https://i.imgur.com/ik4xBHM.jpg

About Genre: I personally don't use genre icons.

[bartolomesoriano]

@bartolomesoriano @gibxxi @Slipass

Any preference for movie/tvshow genre icons? So a single kodi resource icons or something on the forum?

EDIT: I quite like these https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=227484&highlight=genre+icons

@mistervee, I am all for genre icons and for genre fanart as well. I like those that you referenced, as I prefer colored vs monochrome. Do you have the PSD to either create new ones or modify some of those? Is there a monochrome version for those who prefer that?

What do you think about genre fanart? Also, I imagine we would, for release and to keep the skin small, create a texture file with all of those icons?

Is the code there for me to try genre icons? I have a very large collection and wanted to see if there are any genres missing for me from the icon set that you referenced.

[gibxxi]

I'm going to keep this a bit brief tonight as I've not had time to do today what I wanted to...

1. Firstly a bug report. Fallback cdART / DiscArt is not being displayed in any of the list views. It appears in the Music Vis screen however. Properly named cdart.png files are being displayed in the list views.

Without "cdart.png" file in music folder: https://imgur.com/3LZucxP

With "cdart.png" in music folder: https://imgur.com/bcnSQYX

This leads me to an enhancement proposal. I'm a long-time user of cdART Manager, but I think it's time may be done at this point, much like Artwork Downloader. There are better methods available now that are quicker, and don't hog the Kodi UI like cdART Manager does, at least from Leia, going forwards.

The Universal (Album) scraper now has the option to search for, and download artwork for the music library at scrape time, and Artwork Beef also has music artwork download functionality built-in. While there is an option in Artwork Beef that allows it to recognize (and not re-download the same files, with a different filename) artwork, including disk artwork from other plugins, it's almost certainly likely that the art it does download, will not be called "cdart.png". More likely "disc.png" (as per movie library) or "discart.png". So the skin will need to check against at least these three potential file names when playing back music tracks IMHO. See link below for my reasoning:

https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=341200

2. The list views look fine. In fact they look more than fine, they look very good. In this skin revamp I especially like the crispness of the textures and attention to detail you've put in. There's no fuzziness, or blending between different elements, and it's all very well laid out. So if I don't specifically mention something in this post, assume I think it's OK as is, from a looks perspective. ;)

3. I agree with the other guys that having multiple entries in the side-blade for list-view types that are essentially variations on the default list views (i.e: Big List Views) would be better served as a toggle option within "view-type settings". Especially if, as you said previously, you plan to have at least 30+ view types going forwards.

Categorizing the view types is good, but having categories for every perceivable view type, even if it's simply a minor alteration of an existing (default) view-type is going to make users have to do a lot of scrolling to get to the options they are going to want to change. With 30+ view types, they'll lose interest and start asking for simplification, IMHO, going forwards.

4 In the (current) list views, there is unused space we could be displaying information in. For Movies, the list views show codec information about the content contained within...

Movie Library - List View: https://imgur.com/ibc8dY1

Whereas for music, we have unused space...

Music Library - List View (1): https://imgur.com/WPeJajB

Music Library - List View (2): https://imgur.com/YniPzBs

Music Library - List View (3): https://imgur.com/4tjw9r7

In the second screenshot I've highlighted the area above the bio. This would also be an ideal place for total album duration / runtime info.

In the third screenshot, I noticed the scroll button is only partially visible at the edge of the screen, but it appears the right margin allows space for it to be fully visible.

Finally (and this is me being OCD), I would place the item value in the bottom right corner first, followed by the label; i.e: "18 Tracks" as a pose to "Tracks 18". The second method should include punctuation (:) ideally, but either way, the critical info the user needs/wants to see first (IMHO) is the value.

Also, I'd use "Tracks" as the label, not "Songs". While it is the "Music Library", Kodi has no provision for handling of other audio-based content, e.g: Audio Books, Radio Shows, Podcasts, etc. I have all of these types. While it's true they are all "Audio Tracks", it's not true that they are all "Songs", so for me, "Tracks" makes more sense.

Finally, I think the bio text box could use some shadowing or fade-in / fade-out effect on the upper and lower areas as a pose to the "hard cut" on the text currently present.

5. Small issue with justification / positioning of the "Next Aired" info for TV shows:

https://imgur.com/fxwiNAv

That's it for now. I do have some general issues (bugs & inconsistencies) potentially, to report / get clarification on, but I don't have time to submit those tonight. I'll get the relevant screenshots and post them up to the general feedback thread sometime throughout the week.

I really like the way this skin is shaping up, looking forward to the day I can replace Madnox 1.0 with this.

:)

Dan / Gib.

[mistervee]

@bartolomesoriano @gibxxi @Slipass

Thinking more about the views and the number of them.

I understand there will be too many. For my usage i need list and big list separate. As per your suggestion to merge it into one with a toggle does not work me. Note that PVR uses the same views as the media library, for a sake of simplicity. There are various parts of the skin that i want list and big list.

If i were to merge them with a toggle this is not possible. I would be stuck with the smaller list view if i selected this, in a particular view throughout the entire skin. So when i mean entire skin, Movies, TVshows, PVR, games, addons, videos, pictures, playlists and any library view. Visually the difference is just the list content.

I could code it into the skin for different areas, but that make everything way too complex and the amount of visibility conditions would be mind-bendingly frustrating. Not so good for maintenance of the skin, also possibly speed.

Keeping all of this in mind, If you think there are too many, just disable the ones you do not use. That is when i implement this feature.

What i could do is to remove the big list option for low and 3 panel, as in my opinion are not required.

In regards to your other questions/comments, give me some time, still trying to catch up a bit.

Cheers Mr. V

[bartolomesoriano]

@mistervee, I kind of understand your reasoning, and ultimately I am fine with being able to disable the views I do not want to use.

Having said that, I am just wondering if it would be extremely complex or make maintenance much harder to "remember" which view option (imagining that Big List was an option in all of the List views) you had selected for each part of the library (movies, tv shows, seasons, episodes, etc.). Is this what you meant by "visibility conditions would be mind-bendingly frustrating"? In case it is, by all means, keep them separate. Please do not do away with big list for 3 panel, as that is one of my favorite views right now.

On another note, there are two issues I forgot to mention:

1. For movies, in all views that have a right(most) panel, if the movie has a plot outline, the plot outline is repeated both on the first line of the panel and below. If the movie does not have a plot outline, then the Genre(s) are shown in the first line, and the plot below. I think the plot should always be shown below, instead of repeating the plot outline when a movie has one.

2. For Seasons, in all List views where a Season poster is shown, it is always the TV Show poster and not the Season poster. This does not occur in views for Episodes, in which the correct Season poster is shown.

And lastly, whenever you get to doing Banner views, having a 3 panel banner view (like the 3 panel list view, but the list is composed of banners for movies. If the movie does not have a banner, then one is created from the fanart and the logo, or the fanart and the movie title) is the feature from Madnox 1 that I miss the absolute most. Just to keep in mind as a feature request for later.

[gibxxi]

Understood. Disabling views we don't use is a good enough compromise for me.

:)

While i'm here, one thing I forgot to mention last night, the shadow overlay (over the top of background fanart) in "Music Vis View" has some banding issues going on by the looks of it. It may be because of the monochrome background, if so, please ignore me here.

https://imgur.com/JAElcjZ

Any plans to animate the backgrounds?

Dan / Gib.

[mistervee]

Thank you, Mr. V.

1: Top Bar I meant that Madnox 1 here had the function "shadow". Do I find personally more chic https://i.imgur.com/WBXzvfq.jpg

1.1 The current views in Madnox 2 (Poster, Info 1, Info 2) also work for LiveTV. But unfortunately the views are not optimal. Enclosed a screenshot of Madnox 1 https://i.imgur.com/ubggcEx.jpg

2.3 Too bad, I found the Fallback solution for Discarts for TV Series very cool and special. No other skin. Why don't you like it? The screenshot also shows a solution for 2.1 (Epsiode and Season counter) https://i.imgur.com/Oe55zqD.jpg

Hint: When a video is running, it is currently playing in the preview window and in the background. https://i.imgur.com/G1fg0A4.jpg

Icons I had already looked once but unfortunately I don't find enough icons for all topics. https://i.imgur.com/ik4xBHM.jpg

About Genre: I personally don't use genre icons.

@Slipass

1. Top bar It is working like aeon madnox. Just need to change the theme and color. SkinSettings/Themes/Topbar/ - two choices Deafult or Shadow - pick shadow Then SkinSettings/Colors/Topbar/ Change the 'texture' color to Black Change the 'shadow' color to anything and set the 'opacity' to 1%

It is not ideal the way it is working. Themes and Colors in general has way too many option and is a bit confusing. Prior to an alpha release this area will be reworked.

1.1 PVR views Let me see what i can do.

2.3 TV Series disc art I simply do not like to look of fake discart, especially for tv shows. The same image repeated over for each season. Adding to that it a lot of coding to make it work with an excessive use of visibility conditions.

If fanart.tv provides, and kodi supports tv show disc art, then i will likely change my mind.

Video Background You can turn this off via 'now playing' options on the home screen. MainMenu/NowPlaying/Global/VideoBackground

It is also suppose to work under SkinSettings/Background. There is a bug in the code.

Icons All ok for icons. Bart provided me with a set. and working on current github. Cheers for your input.

[mistervee]

@bartolomesoriano

Spent some time making a template for genre icons. I am not happy with the resolution of the one i posted they seem a bit blurry at 1080p. https://imgur.com/a/sma9FMi

The thing now is images and text need to be dropped into the template for each genre.

If you are interested in making them let me know, we can discuss on discord.

I would like to have a full set put together so i can submit it to the kodi repo.

[bartolomesoriano]

@mistervee, I am definitely interested, thanks! I think it is another good learning experience for me 😊.

The image did look a little blurry when enlarged, were you able to solve that?

Anyway, I will get on discord so we can discuss.

[bartolomesoriano]

@mistervee I looked a bit more at the two issues I reported last. The second one (tv show season posters) please ignore, since when I tested on my main HTPC I do not have that issue.

As for the first one (showing plot when there is also a plot outline/tagline, instead of showing plot outline again), it looks like it is just a matter of evaluating that plot is not empty first in ViewPlotVar in Variables.xml.

[mistervee]

@bartolomesoriano @gibxxi @Slipass

New push to git.

I have not forgotten to look at your comments in regards to the list views. I will review after a couple of updates.

So for this update......

Skinhelper support has been removed for PVR and backgrounds. Still a few places left.

The main purpose of this update is to get feedback of the list in the views. So please ignore artwork and the info on the right.

I have refined the code, to improve speed and make it function better with the various sort options for all views.

Poster List and Simple List will show extra info to the right of the list. All other list views this info has been removed, to reduce the clutter. This info will be shown/refined in the right info panel in future updates. Twin list has been removed.

Thoughts?

EDIT To clarify; Poster list and Simple List. Extra Info https://imgur.com/q1zCNxS All other list views no extra Info https://imgur.com/j0xM14h

[bartolomesoriano]

@mistervee, had a quick go just now. The update is looking good! I like the list views and how they look. I have not tested the speed, since I am testing remotely. Only nitpicks I have on this update:

1. For Movies, in all Big Lists, MPAA Rating is not shown when you sort by MPAA Rating. This works with TV Shows.
2. For Music Videos, and just for the Poster List (not Big), when you sort by Album, Artist or Name, if the title of the music video is very long, it overlaps with the watched indicator. This does not happen in any other view or any other sorting option.

Thanks for this update, keep them coming! :)

Regards,

Bart

[mistervee]

@bartolomesoriano

MPAA sort options are working ok my end https://imgur.com/BOLxLnF The only thing i can think of, does changing the language fix it?

Music videos will be fixed next update.

Cheers for your feedback.

[mistervee]

@bartolomesoriano @gibxxi @Slipass

Updates to git

• List view visual improvements
• MediaFlag textures updated
• Language flags fixes. Added option to enable under "View options" NOTE: you need to download this https://github.com/mistervee/resource.images.languageflags.rounded
• Added option to enable video preview under "View options" only works in compatible views.
• Movie/Country node icons. enable under "View options" in country node
• likely a few other things i forgot to mention

[mistervee]

I'm going to keep this a bit brief tonight as I've not had time to do today what I wanted to...

1. Firstly a bug report. Fallback cdART / DiscArt is not being displayed in any of the list views. It appears in the Music Vis screen however. Properly named cdart.png files are being displayed in the list views.

Without "cdart.png" file in music folder: https://imgur.com/3LZucxP

With "cdart.png" in music folder: https://imgur.com/bcnSQYX

This leads me to an enhancement proposal. I'm a long-time user of cdART Manager, but I think it's time may be done at this point, much like Artwork Downloader. There are better methods available now that are quicker, and don't hog the Kodi UI like cdART Manager does, at least from Leia, going forwards.

The Universal (Album) scraper now has the option to search for, and download artwork for the music library at scrape time, and Artwork Beef also has music artwork download functionality built-in. While there is an option in Artwork Beef that allows it to recognize (and not re-download the same files, with a different filename) artwork, including disk artwork from other plugins, it's almost certainly likely that the art it does download, will not be called "cdart.png". More likely "disc.png" (as per movie library) or "discart.png". So the skin will need to check against at least these three potential file names when playing back music tracks IMHO. See link below for my reasoning:

https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=341200

2. The list views look fine. In fact they look more than fine, they look very good. In this skin revamp I especially like the crispness of the textures and attention to detail you've put in. There's no fuzziness, or blending between different elements, and it's all very well laid out. So if I don't specifically mention something in this post, assume I think it's OK as is, from a looks perspective. ;)

3. I agree with the other guys that having multiple entries in the side-blade for list-view types that are essentially variations on the default list views (i.e: Big List Views) would be better served as a toggle option within "view-type settings". Especially if, as you said previously, you plan to have at least 30+ view types going forwards.

Categorizing the view types is good, but having categories for every perceivable view type, even if it's simply a minor alteration of an existing (default) view-type is going to make users have to do a lot of scrolling to get to the options they are going to want to change. With 30+ view types, they'll lose interest and start asking for simplification, IMHO, going forwards.

4 In the (current) list views, there is unused space we could be displaying information in. For Movies, the list views show codec information about the content contained within...

Movie Library - List View: https://imgur.com/ibc8dY1

Whereas for music, we have unused space...

Music Library - List View (1): https://imgur.com/WPeJajB

Music Library - List View (2): https://imgur.com/YniPzBs

Music Library - List View (3): https://imgur.com/4tjw9r7

In the second screenshot I've highlighted the area above the bio. This would also be an ideal place for total album duration / runtime info.

In the third screenshot, I noticed the scroll button is only partially visible at the edge of the screen, but it appears the right margin allows space for it to be fully visible.

Finally (and this is me being OCD), I would place the item value in the bottom right corner first, followed by the label; i.e: "18 Tracks" as a pose to "Tracks 18". The second method should include punctuation (:) ideally, but either way, the critical info the user needs/wants to see first (IMHO) is the value.

Also, I'd use "Tracks" as the label, not "Songs". While it is the "Music Library", Kodi has no provision for handling of other audio-based content, e.g: Audio Books, Radio Shows, Podcasts, etc. I have all of these types. While it's true they are all "Audio Tracks", it's not true that they are all "Songs", so for me, "Tracks" makes more sense.

Finally, I think the bio text box could use some shadowing or fade-in / fade-out effect on the upper and lower areas as a pose to the "hard cut" on the text currently present.

5. Small issue with justification / positioning of the "Next Aired" info for TV shows:

https://imgur.com/fxwiNAv

That's it for now. I do have some general issues (bugs & inconsistencies) potentially, to report / get clarification on, but I don't have time to submit those tonight. I'll get the relevant screenshots and post them up to the general feedback thread sometime throughout the week.

I really like the way this skin is shaping up, looking forward to the day I can replace Madnox 1.0 with this.

:)

Dan / Gib.

@gibxxi

cdART / DiscArt

for displaying disc art i am using two list items $INFO[ListItem.Art(discart)] and $INFO[ListItem.Art(album.discart)]

"discart.png" is the new standard for kodi.

The thread you pointed out explains it all. You will need to rename your files to make it work. The reason for not supporting non standard file names is covered here https://rmrector.github.io/script.artwork.beef/skins/whyreplaceextra/ This is for extrafanart but would also apply for disc art. One of the main issues is to "Avoid file system delays or access issues"

My guess is you are seeing it in the now playing is due to the skin helper property not being removed yet.

Music views

With the the recent update i have added 'years active' to artists and 'Album_Label' to albums. I cant find any suitable info to add for songs.

For album duration / runtime info, there is no way to add this unless i use a plugin. I only want to use what is supported by the kodi database, it is a much smoother experience that way.

The scroll bar was intentional. Personal prefernce.

'songs' changed to tracks.

Switching the order of 'tracks' and the number. Currently; Tracks 1 Your suggestion; 1 Tracks I think it looks a little off when you have a single track.

Shadow on the plot If i could i would do this. It is not possible. Kodi does not support this and it would not work with the theme selector.

Next Aired Info Still need to update the media flags for next aired

[mistervee]

On another note, there are two issues I forgot to mention:

1. For movies, in all views that have a right(most) panel, if the movie has a plot outline, the plot outline is repeated both on the first line of the panel and below. If the movie does not have a plot outline, then the Genre(s) are shown in the first line, and the plot below. I think the plot should always be shown below, instead of repeating the plot outline when a movie has one.
2. For Seasons, in all List views where a Season poster is shown, it is always the TV Show poster and not the Season poster. This does not occur in views for Episodes, in which the correct Season poster is shown.

@bartolomesoriano

1. I am not seeing this behaviour. It may of been fixed with recent updates?

2. For Seasons i am using $INFO[ListItem.Art(season.poster)]. The default info label that kodi and artworkbeef provide. It could possibly be what your artwork is named?

Example (working fine for me) https://imgur.com/uxwwl3q

My setup seems to align with this https://kodi.wiki/view/TV-Show_artwork

EDIT

And lastly, whenever you get to doing Banner views, having a 3 panel banner view (like the 3 panel list view, but the list is composed of banners for movies. If the movie does not have a banner, then one is created from the fanart and the logo, or the fanart and the movie title) is the feature from Madnox 1 that I miss the absolute most. Just to keep in mind as a feature request for later

Will do when i get to that area of the skin

[mistervee]

What do you think about genre fanart? Also, I imagine we would, for release and to keep the skin small, create a texture file with all of those icons?

@bartolomesoriano

Added a new issue for background rework and a reminder for genre fanart. For future updates. https://github.com/mistervee/skin.madnox/issues/40

[mistervee]

While i'm here, one thing I forgot to mention last night, the shadow overlay (over the top of background fanart) in "Music Vis View" has some banding issues going on by the looks of it. It may be because of the monochrome background, if so, please ignore me here.

https://imgur.com/JAElcjZ

Any plans to animate the backgrounds?

@gibxxi Banding Fixed

Animated backgrounds works for now playing. I removed the feature for library views, due to it not being smooth between windows. I will add it back when i get to the rework of the backgrounds https://github.com/mistervee/skin.madnox/issues/40

[mistervee]

1.1 For the LiveTV the views are unfortunately not advantageous. Here is the view from Madnox 1 more clearly arranged

2.1 I still lack the info, how many episodes the seasion contains and how many of them were seen. 2.2 For the view it would be nicer to have a small visual break https://i.imgur.com/j7pF5fj.jpg

The number of series does not work if you work with playlist. https://i.imgur.com/u7a9NHq.jpg

1.1 Live TV Updated live tv. I am try to only show the essential information as to not clutter up the interface. Keeping the aeon madnox view in mind;

• I have decided not to include the progress bar as i think that is to much clutter.
• Removed info 2 view, not required if not using skin helper service for artwork
• Added Next Title

As it is it should show everything that aeon madnox included apart from the channel number and progress bar. The channel number was not included due to using a channel logo in place.

Thoughts?

2.1 Removed the episode/season count from the media flags. Now shown in the list.

2.2 I tried the visual break. My preference is to not have one, did not like the look.

Series playlists Episode numbers fixed

[mistervee]

5. Small issue with justification / positioning of the "Next Aired" info for TV shows:

@gibxxi Fixed

@bartolomesoriano @gibxxi @Slipass Another git push.

• Media flag alignment fixes
• Updated Next aired icons
• Low list alignment fix.

Now i am all out of fixes and ideas how to improve the list views. I will fix any bugs you may find, it is time to move onto another viewtype.

[bartolomesoriano]

@mistervee , had a quick look just now. I love the changes! Well done on the country and language flags, even with my large movie collection, all languages and countries were covered.

Issues:

1. I still have the issue of movie views with a right panel showing the same info for title in the right panel as for plot. This for movies that do have a plot outline. In those cases, I get what is shown in the attached file "with plot outline". When there is no plot outline, I get what is shown in the other attached file.

This is because you are using tagline as the title for the right panel when there is one (and genre when there isn't), and usually the tagline and plot outline are the same. I think it would be better to show the plot instead of the plot outline as the plot var in the right panel. Thoughts?

2. I have not been able to see extrafanart in any views, even though all of my extrafanart is in an extrafanart folder, and named fanart0.jpg through fanart.jpg. Is this because this is still WIP or a bug?

3. In music, in the View options, there is a second Backgrounds button that I don't think should be there, and you cannot navigate to it anyway. See the screenshot attached.

4. I could not figure out what the option Video Preview Window does for movies, tv shows or episodes. I did not try with live tv.

5. There is a navigation issue in Skin Settings, Artwork. You cannot go down from Weather Icons to Weather Background with the keyboard, only with the mouse.

6. I don't know if I mentioned this before, but in the artist info dialog, there is a tracklist that is always on the bottom in the panel above the buttons, which overlaps with any other info, like albums or youtube videos. See the attached file.

Again, thanks for these updates, looking great! :)

[mistervee]

@bartolomesoriano

1. The tagline and plot outline are different Info Labels. Likely a nfo/scraper issue?

This is what i see when the plot outline is shown. https://imgur.com/n5eacfL

You can turn the plot outline off. SkinSettings/Furniture/Plot outline

2. Extra fanart needs a rework as i removed skin helper support.

3. Fixed

4. I added some visibility conditions to the option. Only works for Info 1 and Info 2 views when a video is playing. I plan to add a video preview to more view types in the future.

5. Fixed

6. Music info in not finished yet. Added a quick fix github.

Thanks for your feedback

[bartolomesoriano]

@mistervee , thanks! You are correct, the software I use to generate the NFOs puts the plot outline in the tagline if there is no tagline. I will turn off the plot outline.

I will re-test the other items I mentioned (except extra fanart).

[mistervee]

Complete. All view discussion in this thread https://github.com/mistervee/skin.madnox/issues/42