Modern8 - A Metro Inspired Windows Media Center Theme

[NeoMesal 18]

I've updated first post with links to Modern8 1.1:

 

I think the RDP issues were caused by the audio files - the bit rate was too high (over 2000kbps!?) or something else was astray when I exported the files with Audacity.

Either way, I've converted the files again and reduced the bit rates to the same as Keef's un8y .wav files and everything seems ok now when I use remote desktop.

Also, just a few minor string changes.

 

Cheers and thanks for pointing it out

 

PS I don't have an extender to test, but it should have been due to the same issue

Edited January 9, 2014 by NeoMesal

[keef 37]

Been reading the RDP/extender issues with interest.

 

Do you guys regularly access Media Center via RDP, and does it usually work OK?

 

I've not got an extender, so can't test un8y with an extender, and I've never tried to open WMC on my main HTPC via RDP - until now.

 

RDPing from work and opening WMC resulted in WMC crashing immediately with un8y enabled.  Disabling un8y resulted in the same thing.

 

Then I came across this.  Uninstalled KB259287 update on my HTPC (via RDP...) and WMC via RDP now works with un8y disabled or enabled.

 

Don't know if this is related to any of the Modern8 RDP/extender issues you guys are reporting - guess it depends on whether these worked for you before installing Modern8...

Edited January 10, 2014 by keef

[NeoMesal 18]

Well, I don't normally use RDP - only if I rarely needed to access my HTPC with a keyboard and mouse (much more efficient than an IR remote!)

 

It's interesting that un8y also crashes when using RDP - perhaps it's just a coincidence? Because my HTPC and laptop are running Windows 8.1 and that update only applies to Windows 7. Previously Modern8 was fine via RDP, but I never did anything further because I can't play any videos or music via remote desktop.

 

I'm curious to hear what OS's the others are using who have/had the problem.

[ProAm500 3]

Nice work...is there anyway to get sceenshots of the light theme? I assume its basically just white?

 

EDIT: I dont need the screenshots...I did some tinkering on my other box. Great all-around work!!!!

Edited January 12, 2014 by ProAm500

[DigiTM 60]

Love this new theme.  It's what Media Center should have been.

[tobycth3 1]

Audio files fixed the RDP/Extender issue I was having. Thank you! This theme is great. I only have one suggestion for the guide: http://i.imgur.com/yFCrl.png

[NeoMesal 18]

Updated the first post with links to Modern8 1.2

 

@@tobycth3

Yeah, I normally use the guide with colours and logos (as you can see from the screenshots) - so I've put some accent files in for the guide. And now hopefully the Modern8 folders should be easier to navigate, as it was a bit or a mess before trying to customise stuff.

 

And FYI, the download is double the size not because of new stuff, but probably just lots of duplicates

 

Also the BACKGROUND.jpg is now found in \Modern8\Images\ and has been renamed to ALLBACKGROUNDS.jpg (so it is alphabetically at the top of the list)

 

Cheers

Edited January 16, 2014 by NeoMesal

[humantorch14 3]

First, I just want to say, fantastic work NeoMesal.  As soon as I saw the screenshots for this theme, I knew I had to have it.  I'm having one small annoyance that I'm hoping someone can help me with. I've tried everything I can think of as far as modifying files and nothing has worked. I noticed in your screenshot, all the text appears to be white, including program descriptions.  For me, program descriptions still seem to be the default light blue color.  I'm also getting the light blue color in other places, like the Zoom and Caption tabs. The highlighted option is white in Zoom and Caption, but the other options are blue. Below is a screenshot from the guide.  I tried a few other themes and even reinstalled Media Center Themer after clearing out the folder in ProgramData and it seems to stay blue across all themes.  Any idea what's going on there?

 

 

 

UPDATE: Finally managed to figure it out myself. I had to edit MCTDefault.XML to include:

 

<TextFormat>

 

<Text Font="Segoe Media Center">

<Replace Color="rgb(255,255,255)"/>

</Text>

 

<Text Font="Segoe Media Center Light">

<Replace Color="rgb(255,255,255)"/>

</Text>

 

<Text Font="Segoe Media Center Semibold">

<Replace Color="rgb(255,255,255)"/>

</Text>

 

</TextFormat>

 

Not sure if that's normal, or if my system is weird. I thought COLORS.mcml would handle all of that.

Edited January 25, 2014 by humantorch14

[NeoMesal 18]

UPDATE: Finally managed to figure it out myself. I had to edit MCTDefault.XML to include:

 

<TextFormat>

 

<Text Font="Segoe Media Center">

<Replace Color="rgb(255,255,255)"/>

</Text>

 

<Text Font="Segoe Media Center Light">

<Replace Color="rgb(255,255,255)"/>

</Text>

 

<Text Font="Segoe Media Center Semibold">

<Replace Color="rgb(255,255,255)"/>

</Text>

 

</TextFormat>

 

Not sure if that's normal, or if my system is weird. I thought COLORS.mcml would handle all of that.

 

 

Since that the text was staying blue across all themes, there must be something unique about your setup. I was actually going to suggest the method you used to fix the problem once I read the email notification, but you beat me to it 

 

Just be aware that the auto-colourize feature of Media Center Themer might override the text colour of some add-ons, but you shouldn't have too many problems.

 

Glad it worked out in the end

 

Cheers

NeoMesal

 

EDIT: I also added details of your fix into the first post

Edited January 26, 2014 by NeoMesal

[AgileHumor 123]

This theme is awesome!  Thank you for all your hard work.  It must have taken 100+ hours....wow!

 

What theme are you using to match this in MediaBrowser...NEO?

Edited January 26, 2014 by AgileHumor

[NeoMesal 18]

Thanks AgileHumor

 

I originally started using Keef's un8y theme. Except for a few changes, it was mostly the same as his; after a while I wanted something a bit more 'metro' to suit the design of Windows 8. Some of the members had been toying with some flat tiles in the un8y thread, so after a few months work, voilà: Modern8.

 

And yes, it's easily 100+ hours work. But it was a good excuse to watch TV at the same time!

 

So for that reason, there isn't really a particular companion theme in MediaBrowser. Also, the HTPC I use is primarily for over-the-air TV in WMC, so I don't use MB a whole lot  (hope the mods don't boot me  )

[AgileHumor 123]

Well, I thank you again sir. My Fiance gave it the thumbs up too.

 

Just installed the Square theme which brings XBox One look and feel.  I welcome evolution of Neo.

[humantorch14 3]

Since that the text was staying blue across all themes, there must be something unique about your setup. I was actually going to suggest the method you used to fix the problem once I read the email notification, but you beat me to it 

 

Just be aware that the auto-colourize feature of Media Center Themer might override the text colour of some add-ons, but you shouldn't have too many problems.

 

Glad it worked out in the end

 

Cheers

NeoMesal

 

EDIT: I also added details of your fix into the first post

 

I actually messed around a little more, since it bothers me not to know the root cause of things, and I found the actual issue.  Turns out it was a single registry key mucking up the works. I navigated to: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\MCE.PerUserSettings] and deleted the key: "optimizeFor"="Television"

 

Interestingly enough, I went through the Configure TV or Monitor settings in WMC again after deleting this (and confirming the text was white without the modification to the XML file) and when the registry key was recreated, even though I chose Television in the settings, the registry key was entered as ComputerMonitor this time.  So no idea how it ever got set to Television in the first place.

[NeoMesal 18]

Interesting. How did you discover that it was the registry key causing the problem?

 

(Also, I edited the first post again to reflect what you just posted)

Edited January 26, 2014 by NeoMesal

[humantorch14 3]

Interesting. How did you discover that it was the registry key causing the problem?

 

(Also, I edited the first post again to reflect what you just posted)

 

Through a lot of trial and error. I created a new user profile and it didn't have the issue with font color.  So I copied my entire profile to the new profile and then it had the issue.  Then I just went through and started deleting registry keys under that user profile.  I noticed that the problem went away when I deleted everything under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ so I restored everything and then just kept drilling down and repeating that process until I found the key that was causing the issue.

[NeoMesal 18]

 ...I noticed that the problem went away when I deleted everything under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ so I restored everything and then just kept drilling down and repeating that process until I found the key that was causing the issue.

 

Wow, that's brave messing with the registry like that, but I guess it paid off in the end.

 

Nice work!

Edited January 27, 2014 by NeoMesal

[NNate 10]

Excellent work on this theme, it's the first WMC theme that prompted me to switch from the default WMC skin!

 

I'm fighting with some blue text on my 360 extender.  I applied the fix in the OP in MCTDefault.xml which cleared up the majority of the blue.  However, I'm still getting some blue in the "Scheduled Recordings".  If text on the left panel is selected it's white, but the right panel is blue.  If the text on the right panel is selected it's white, but the left panel is blue.

 

Everything looks good on the PC itself - it's only a problem on the extender.  I tried checking the registry settings mentioned by looking under the appropriate extender account in HKEY_USERS.  The optimizeFor key was set to ComputerMonitor.

 

Any further ideas?  Perhaps things are slightly different when using an extender?

Edited January 29, 2014 by NNate

[NeoMesal 18]

Thanks NNate

 

Normally, that blue text that you are seeing is recoloured using the COLOURS.mcml and COMMONSTYLES.xml in the shell folder. I'm not sure why this isn't working for you and (initially for) humantorch14.

 

So the MCTDefault.xml is the next best thing to recolour text, but that's the issue using this method - it doesn't seem to recolour everything. (It is just using Media Center Themer's autocolourise function, so I'll see if there is anything else better)

 

You also could try reconfiguring TV/monitor and see if that does anything. And do you have the new clock format? - because it uses CLOCK.mcml, which is also in the shell folder and might be affected.

Edited January 29, 2014 by NeoMesal

[NeoMesal 18]

Could you try and see if this does anything? (I don't have an extender and can't replicate the problem)

• Right click on the Modern8.zip which you downloaded
• Unblock the zip file from the properties window

• Now try using the unblocked files instead, and see if it this has any effect

Edited January 29, 2014 by NeoMesal

[NNate 10]

I tried unblocking the zip file and re-extracting.  Unfortunately, that didn't change anything.

 

Yes, I am seeing the expanded clock in the guide (I'm assuming that's what you're talking about).  Clearly, it's seeing some stuff and ignoring others...

[NeoMesal 18]

Yeah, it is strange that it's just a few font types that are being ignored.

 

You can also un8y and see if it has the same problem, I suspect it will: in that case, it could just be a limitation of Media Center Themer with an extender or there's something about your setup interfering with MCT.

 

I can't think of anything else that might be causing the problem; so it's a bit of a shame it's not working correctly for you 

[NNate 10]

I was looking at samples from Patchou's site.  http://www.patchou.com/projects/media-center-themer/doc/samples/

 

Sample 2 looks to describe what's going on since it's a selected/unselected text problem that I'm having issues with.  I'm not enough of an expert on this stuff to fully understand or know how to fix, however.

[NNate 10]

Here's some info from my MediaCenterThemer Log.  I opened up "Scheduled Recordings" at 18:42 and see the blue on the unselected text.  Maybe this will help.

2510 14/01/29 18:41:31| ---- Session started ----
2510 14/01/29 18:41:31| Loading themer dll
2510 14/01/29 18:41:31| Process launched (x64): C:\Windows\ehome\ehshell.exe
2510 14/01/29 18:41:31| Text format will be logged
2510 14/01/29 18:41:31| Theme loaded successfully from "C:\ProgramData\Media Center Themer\MCTDefault.xml"
2510 14/01/29 18:41:31| Initialization was a success
2510 14/01/29 18:41:36| [diagnostic] Text format in use: RGB(104,185,200), 44pt, "Segoe Media Center Light"
2510 14/01/29 18:41:36| [diagnostic] Text format in use: RGB(210,210,210), 44pt, "Segoe Media Center Light"
2510 14/01/29 18:41:36| [diagnostic] Text format in use: RGB(210,210,210), 23pt, "Segoe Media Center"
2510 14/01/29 18:41:36| [diagnostic] Text format in use: RGB(210,210,210), 16pt, "Segoe Media Center"
1dc8 14/01/29 18:41:45| Process launched (x64): "C:\Windows\eHome\ehExtHost.exe" 9488 6f537914-593d-4de7-a622-9cd906e115ab 5 False True True
1978 14/01/29 18:41:45| Process launched (x64): "C:\Windows\eHome\ehExtHost.exe" 9488 015cb25f-ba8e-48d5-8701-80575c1feaea 4 False True True
2510 14/01/29 18:41:45| [diagnostic] Text format in use: RGB(210,210,210), 17pt, "Segoe Media Center Semibold"
2510 14/01/29 18:41:48| [diagnostic] Text format in use: RGB(0,161,245), 48pt, "Segoe Media Center Light"
2510 14/01/29 18:41:48| [diagnostic] Text format in use: RGB(0,161,245), 16pt, "Segoe Media Center Semibold"
2510 14/01/29 18:41:48| [diagnostic] Text format in use: RGB(210,210,210), 18pt, "Segoe Media Center Semibold"
2510 14/01/29 18:41:48| [diagnostic] Text format in use: RGB(104,185,200), 21pt, "Segoe Media Center"
2510 14/01/29 18:41:48| [diagnostic] Text format in use: RGB(104,185,200), 18pt, "Segoe Media Center"
2510 14/01/29 18:41:48| [diagnostic] Text format in use: RGB(0,161,245), 18pt, "Segoe Media Center"
2510 14/01/29 18:41:48| [diagnostic] Text format in use: RGB(255,255,255), 16pt, "Segoe Media Center"
2510 14/01/29 18:41:48| [diagnostic] Text format in use: RGB(104,185,200), 16pt, "Segoe Media Center"
2510 14/01/29 18:41:48| [diagnostic] Text format in use: RGB(0,161,245), 22pt, "Segoe Media Center Semibold"
2510 14/01/29 18:41:48| [diagnostic] Text format in use: RGB(104,185,200), 22pt, "Segoe Media Center Semibold"
2510 14/01/29 18:41:50| [diagnostic] Text format in use: RGB(210,210,210), 20pt, "Segoe Media Center Semibold"
2510 14/01/29 18:41:50| [diagnostic] Text format in use: RGB(210,210,210), 18pt, "Segoe Media Center"
2510 14/01/29 18:41:50| [diagnostic] Text format in use: RGB(210,210,210), 16pt, "Segoe Media Center Semibold"
2510 14/01/29 18:41:57| [diagnostic] Text format in use: RGB(210,210,210), 22pt, "Segoe Media Center Semibold"
2510 14/01/29 18:42:22| [diagnostic] Text format in use: RGB(104,185,200), 29pt, "Segoe Media Center Light"
2510 14/01/29 18:42:22| [diagnostic] Legacy text color in use: RGB(104,185,200)
2510 14/01/29 18:42:22| [diagnostic] Legacy text color in use: RGB(210,210,210)

[NeoMesal 18]

You could try putting that text into the MCTDefault file and see what it does (I'd probably remove or rename COLORS.MCML & COMMONSTYLES.xml beforehand so you can see what's changing)

 

As I said before, I'm afraid I don't have an extender and can't play around with it.

 

It looks like that that example changes all text with a certain colour to another colour - I'm not sure where the extender part comes in (but I do understand what you mean)

 

EDIT: I'm referring to the post two above, not the log

Edited January 30, 2014 by NeoMesal

[NeoMesal 18]

2510 14/01/29 18:42:22| [diagnostic] Legacy text color in 
use: RGB(104,185,200)

That looks suspiciously like the colour of the blue Media Center text without the transparency

 

And from Patchou's documentation:

 I then entered the general settings of Media Center which caused the next 2 diagnostic lines to be generated. Because the text is located in the settings pages of Media Center, the lines start with "Legacy text color in use:" which is an indication that you'll have to add your conditional attributes in the LegacyText sub-elements of TextFormat to change the color of this text.

 

So you should be able to recolour the text, I'll have a play around with it and see what I can do...