[feat] Playlists

[accforgithubtest]

I saw this post on reddit and immediately thought erin could probably include this feature.

My understanding is that, in erin, the folder structure already serves as a sort of playlist.

What could be potentially added are visual cues about the playlist, along with features to allow some reasonable level of navigation and auto playback.

I am thinking -

1. Option to go in full screen (another button in the bottom bar perhaps ?).
2. A new feature controlled by environment variable to proceed to next video (PLAYLIST_MODE=true/false), which will automatically play the next video after the current one ends. Given there already exists ways to easily go to previous video, as well as seek, this should be a very useful feature.
3. Some way to "navigate/browse" the folders / subfolders / one level up folder as a side bar or something like that. Selecting a folder is basically the same as a "playlist".

I understand the reddit post is also looking for a way to continue the streaming from a specific point as someone else viewing / or time based, but I am not sure if something like that can be implemented here. I am just thinking of some feature that might be useful in erin.

Would you consider if any of these features belong in erin ? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts / ideas.

[will-moss]

Hi,

Thanks a lot for opening the issue, and most importantly for all the great ideas and suggestions.

To address every point :

• Option to go full screen : Definitely adding it. I will implement a double-tap-to-enlarge / double-tap-to-reduce, like Youtube does, so as not to add another button.

• A feature to automatically play the next video : If I'm not mistaken, that's actually already implemented, via the AUTOPLAY_ENABLED setting, isn't it?

• A UI control to browse through the folders (playlists) : So far, it's true that accessing a folder is possible only via its direct URL. I have now added that feature to my roadmap (= add a navigation control for browsing), and I'll try to find a way to implement it without "bloating" the UI with yet another big button (maybe something gesture-based).

• The continuous streaming feature, as indicated on Reddit : It is, indeed, impossible to implement it natively, as everything happens client-side in the currect architecture. However, one way to have "the same mechanism" would be to have an always-opened browser on Erin, and have people view that browser instance. Something like : https://github.com/m1k1o/neko - There would be a Neko instance having a tab opened on Erin, and users would connect to Neko, and hence, all have the same browser and display.

Thanks a lot once again, and let me know if you see anything else!

Looking forward to releasing those great features very soon.

[accforgithubtest]

Looking forward to seeing the new features. You are right, I will try out the AUTOPLAY_ENABLED settings now. Thanks & Cheers !

[will-moss]

Just released the new features! You can pull the latest image.

There is now a new button dedicated to viewing the playlists that were discovered on disk, and you can easily browse through any of them by tapping the button, and picking a playlist. (I thought initially that a gesture-based navigation would be simpler, but I was wrong, or so I believe now. I concluded that adding a fourth button wouldn't be an issue for anyone, and would make using the app easier than introducing a new hand gesture).

Additionally, you now have three double-tap mechanisms : seek backward, enter / exit fullscreen, and seek forward, depending on which third of the screen you double-tapped.

Hoping that it works smoothly on your end, and meets the initial demand!

Edit : Should the controls be hidden in fullscreen mode?

[accforgithubtest]

Thank for such a quick update !

I just pulled the latest image, and agree that the current implementation for browsing the folders is clean and easy to use with the button there. The double tap features are good too.

Just want to see what your thought on this is - I guess sometimes the pause and full screen being center-tap based is a bit hit/miss, but thats a minor thing imo, so the current implementation for this is good.

I noticed few issues -

1. The browser list is displaying both folders and files. With a lot of videos, the files being shown there is not practical, takes a while to scroll to the next folder. So, if possible, can only the folders be listed and not the individual files ? Nested folder makes the problem worse when all the files are listed. So, displaying only the folders and nested folders would make it less cluttered.

2. Upon selecting the video from browser list, it is not playing the correct video, but some other random video - not even from the correct folder but a different folder. I tried this a few times already and see the issue consistently.

3. Is it possible to get the playlist / folder UI to follow the same theme as the browser / system ? I am on a Ubuntu desktop with firefox browser, with ubuntu system set to dark theme and firefox set to follow system theme. The browser list displays in white / light theme.

If these issues are sorted, I think the current implementation is pretty good for covering the playlist feature.

Should the controls be hidden in fullscreen mode?

Is it possible to hide controls in full screen but show them on mouse move ? Would be nice to see controls easily without having to exit full screen, but it will be nice to have them hidden if there is no mouse activity for x seconds.

[will-moss]

Thanks to you for the feedback, all the ideas, and reporting back on the issues!

About :

• The tap-to-pause / tap-to-unpause : Maybe adding a final fifth button in the center would be the solution ? So there would be this play/pause button in the center, and only double taps would be handled on the video itself for fullscreen and seeking forward/backward

• The browser list issues on your end : This is what I observe in my setup : https://ibb.co/TPc9Y8z - It only shows folders, even though I have 500+ files distributed across those. Maybe does the UI show one playlist (folder) per video on your end because every video has its own folder with the mp4 file and the JSON file that represent it? If not, it would be super helpful if you could show me an excerpt of your folder hierarchy, so I can reproduce it and see what makes the code display one playlist per file, rather than one playlist per folder. Otherwise, I will still look linto the one-folder-has-mp4-and-json case to try to prevent those from showing up as playlists. I hadn't thought of it before.

• The wrong video playing upon selection : I think it has to do with the previous point, or maybe with enconding / characters in the folder that wouldn't work well in the URL? Characters like : # / \ ! ? =

• The UI following the system theme : Let's do it. I'll definitely agree that this white color kills my eyes as well.

• The fullscreen mode : Let's do it too -> hiding controls by default in fullscreen, and showing them on mouse move.

Once again, thanks a lot. It's very enjoyable to see what the app is becoming.

[accforgithubtest]

Thanks for the reply !

So there would be this play/pause button in the center, and only double taps would be handled on the video itself for fullscreen and seeking forward/backward

Yes, that sounds perfectly fine, and should make it clear to user.

For the folder structure - Most files have non-english (asian languages) characters in the file names. Does that cause any issues ? I will try to create a folder structure to recreate the issue and share it.

every video has its own folder with the mp4 file and the JSON file that represent it?

No, that is not the case. Most files are videos from phone sitting in one folder. I have created folders and renamed files based on location of the trip, or events or something or some description, etc. There are no json files created, just videos in folders.

Thanks again for all your work and effort & Cheers !

[will-moss]

Alright, thanks a lot once again.

You were absolutely correct for the Asian characters!

I have just published a new release that includes everything discussed :

• Asian characters are now supported, and playlists should display and link properly. (I have tested Japanese, Thai, and Chinese on my end).
• There is now a fifth button in the middle, to play or pause the current media, and that replaces the previous tap gesture.
• Fullscreen mode will now hide the navigation bar by default, and moving the mouse will reveal it for three seconds, or as long as it's moving.
• The playlist and blacklist managers now have a dark theme style, applied automatically based on the OS preferences.

You can pull the latest image, and I hope that everything works way better now!

[accforgithubtest]

@will-moss - awesome and that was quick !

All the above points are working well as expected.

I have found that I have a few files with emoji and "%" in the files names. Looks like these files names need fixing as they still show up as individual files in the file browser - hopefully the last fix for this feature !

Thanks a ton for all your efforts !