Keyboard combination to skip forwards/backwards x seconds/y minutes?

[Silver 1]

Hi,

 

In Windows Media Center you can type 520 [ctrl] [shift] F and it will jump forward 5 minutes and 20 seconds. Doing 120 [ctrl] [shit] B will jump 1 minute 20 seconds backwards.

 

In Media Browser, if you do the first example then it jumps forward a chunk of time, immediately jumps back to the place where you were and then starts playing in double speed.

 

Is there a key combination that allows you to jump forwards/backwards in the same way you can in Windows Media Center? Does this key combination differ if you're using the enhanced video player?*

 

Doesn't matter if you have to enter minutes and seconds or if it's just seconds. I intend to map the keyboard combination to a button on my remote.

 

Many thanks!

 

* I have to turn this functionality off because it makes playback jittery.

[AdrianW 1054]

Read the first post in this topic for the enhanced video player: New Internal Player Interface - Usage Guide

 

If you're using the non-enhanced player in MBC, then you are using the standard Media Center player. So the usual shortcuts will work (enter digits & press play, enter digits and press skip forwards or backwards).

 

This is worth reading if you want to adjust the skip forwards and skip backwards times from the defaults of 29 and 7 seconds to something more reasonable: Changing Media Center Skip Intervals

Edited October 28, 2014 by AdrianW

[Silver 1]

Hi, thanks I've already seen that. However I'm specifically looking for the keyboard combination to do that seeking forwards and backwards. I cannot use >| or |< because that is what buttons I'm remapping.

 

Although the usual shortcuts do seem to work between WMC and MB - the keyboard combinations appear to be different.

 

To give another example, 500[ctrl][shift]B takes you back 5 minutes in WMC. In MB, it briefly bounces you back, then returns you to the exact point you were when you pressed the combination and starts playing backwards.

 

Regarding the skip intervals, I've written a third party app which adjusts the skip intervals dynamically to help you quickly jump over adverts - however since MB keyboard shortcuts are different to WMCs, when it attempts to send the WMC key presses to MB, the result is completely different.

 

It's a nifty approach (if I say so myself) but it currently only works on WTV and DVR-MS files, which is a bit of a shame.

 

 

[Silver 1]

Did some additional testing and the good news is that both the enhanced player and the standard player within MB do the same thing with the keyboard combination.

 

So provided I can work out what this different combination is, then it'll work on every video I can throw at Media Browser.

[ebr 15364]

Did some additional testing and the good news is that both the enhanced player and the standard player within MB do the same thing with the keyboard combination.

 

So provided I can work out what this different combination is, then it'll work on every video I can throw at Media Browser.

 

If that's the case, I'm not sure what we can do about it.  That surprises me though because if you turn off the custom interface, you are just in the standard WMC player and everything should be the same as if you were playing anything else - with the exception of the fact that certain types of content have different capabilities when it comes to seeking and ff/rew.  So, if you aren't testing with the exact same content, then that will be a factor as well.

[Silver 1]

Ignoring turning the custom interface, is there a keyboard shortcut for jumping (say) 60 seconds?

 

I tried:

• 60 = Does nothing
• 60F = Does nothing
• 6[shift]F = Jumps the video forward 3 minutes 28 seconds(?). 60[shift]F often goes past the end of the video!
• 6[ctrl]F = Also jumps the video 3 minutes 28 seconds(?). 60[ctrl]F also often goes past the end of the video!
• 60[ctrl][shift]F = Jumps forward some time, returns to original place and then plays at double speed.

Not sure what else to try to be honest!

[ebr 15364]

Ignoring turning the custom interface, is there a keyboard shortcut for jumping (say) 60 seconds?

 

Does this mean you are using our custom interface or not?

[Silver 1]

Yes, I'm now using the custom interface.

 

[ebr 15364]

Okay, we don't have any special handling in there for those key presses.  I believe that ctl-F and shift-F are shortctus for the >| and FF remote buttons.  However, 6 and FF or >| with our interface should move ahead 6 seconds.

 

It sounds, instead, like you didn't have our interface on and, in that case, 6 and >| will move you ahead 6 jump amounts (whatever is defined in skip ahead).  Or, even though our interface is in control, those keyboard shortcuts are still making it through to the standard interface.

[Silver 1]

Thanks ebr. In the end I disabled the custom interface so that I could use 1-ctrl-b to jump backwards 27 seconds and 1-ctrl-f to jump forwards 1 minute.

 

It's a little odd as you can enter 0.1858-ctrl-b and jump back 5 seconds - but seems to work!

 

Is there any way I can put a feature request in to have the standard WMC keyboard shortcuts implemented for both the custom and non-custom interfaces in Media Browser? As in, when you do 123-ctrl-shift-F then it jumps forward 1 minute 23 seconds.

[ebr 15364]

I can make ctl-shift-F and B mimic the skip forward and back buttons but just ctl-F and ctl-B already work for ff and rew (which is a skip also in most formats) so 123 ctl-F will take you ahead 123 seconds.  To go ahead 1 minute and 23 seconds you would enter 1.23 and ctl-F.

[Silver 1]

Ahhh, now the lightbulb has come on!

 

So, using my first example, 520 ctrl-F would be replicated in the enhanced interface with 5.20 ctrl-f (or 320 ctrl-F if you have the total seconds). That makes a lot of sense now.

 

Thanks very much!

[Silver 1]

To go ahead 1 minute and 23 seconds you would enter 1.23 and ctl-F.

 

To be honest, the difference between that and the 123 ctl-F that the standard player uses is going to be annoying for me because I have to write two different apps depending on what your setting is. So if you could bring it in alignment with WMC then that would be awesome.

 

On the other hand, since it'll probably only affect me - I doubt it'll be something that you'll consider high priority

[ebr 15364]

I'm not sure the standard interface works the way you think it does. I think 123 ctl-f is going to jump ahead 123 minutes (or perhaps 123 skip amounts which would be 123*29 seconds)  and 123 ctl-shift-f is going to go 1 minute 23 seconds.  At least that appears to be what is happening with my testing...

[Silver 1]

That's right. So to jump forward 1 minute 23 seconds:

• In the standard interface: 123 ctrl-shift-F
• In the custom interface: 1.23 ctrl-f

It would be great if they were both the same.

 

Or am I misreading what you're saying?

Edited November 13, 2014 by Silver

[ebr 15364]

No, but I think you are inter-mixing the ctl-f and ctl-shift-f.  In the standard interface, they jump different amounts but I normalized them to be the same thing in the custom one.

 

I'm reluctant to change it at this point and screw up people who are accustomed to the current functionality...

[Silver 1]

Totally understand. It's a little bit of an annoyance for me, but the majority of people would be inconvenienced by the change.