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Reproducing MBC themes for XBM3C / XBMC


Macburp

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Macburp

I'm chucking this out there in the hope of a positive response.

 

I'm a long-time user of MB, and still use MB Classic through WMC on my main TV. For me, the original USP of MB were the great look and feel of the MBC themes.

 

So now I'm looking for a cheap Linux-based box to replace my xbox extender (which is on its way out, crashes all the time), which means I'm very interested in XBMB3C as its the only MB3 linux client in town. I've been testing Frodo / Aeon Nox on my windows machine (worked well) and Gotham / Xperience 1080++ (not working so well). Sadly, to me the ported XBMC3 skins are not nearly as good as the MBC themes (YMMV of course, skins are a personal thing after all).

 

My question - is it possible to port any of the existing MB themes to XBMC / XBMB3C? I'm  conscious this is a big undertaking and beyond the scope of XBMB3C, so I suppose I'd like to understand how tough it would be :).

 

All the best, and thanks for a great plug-in.

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elcabong

creating a theme from scratch (or modding one extensively to look like a MBC skin) would take a huge amount of effort, and would be a lengthy process.  what may suffice is taking a look at existing xbmc skins that can closely fit your aesthetic/functionality requirements and requesting one of us mod it for xbmb3c/mbs3.

 

also, what do you mean by the ported skins are not nearly as good?  layout, functionality, menu flow?  theres not too much we can do to alter the general structure of how xbmc works, especially as an addon/skin mod, but how the information is presented and the amount of customization is where xbmc shines.  and there are many, many skins available in these two areas:

http://forum.xbmc.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=67

 

http://forum.xbmc.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=160

Edited by elcabong
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xnappo

I'm chucking this out there in the hope of a positive response.

 

I'm a long-time user of MB, and still use MB Classic through WMC on my main TV. For me, the original USP of MB were the great look and feel of the MBC themes.

 

So now I'm looking for a cheap Linux-based box to replace my xbox extender (which is on its way out, crashes all the time), which means I'm very interested in XBMB3C as its the only MB3 linux client in town. I've been testing Frodo / Aeon Nox on my windows machine (worked well) and Gotham / Xperience 1080++ (not working so well). Sadly, to me the ported XBMC3 skins are not nearly as good as the MBC themes (YMMV of course, skins are a personal thing after all).

 

My question - is it possible to port any of the existing MB themes to XBMC / XBMB3C? I'm  conscious this is a big undertaking and beyond the scope of XBMB3C, so I suppose I'd like to understand how tough it would be :).

 

All the best, and thanks for a great plug-in.

Curious what MB3 themes you like.. Personally I find quite the opposite.  I liked Throg's themes, but mostly because they reminded me of Aeon Nox when I switched from XBMC to MB2 a couple years back.

 

There are a TON of XBMC themes - if you could be more specific about what it is you are looking for I am sure we can help.

 

xnappo

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Macburp

creating a theme from scratch (or modding one extensively to look like a MBC skin) would take a huge amount of effort, and would be a lengthy process.  what may suffice is taking a look at existing xbmc skins that can closely fit your aesthetic/functionality requirements and requesting one of us mod it for xbmb3c/mbs3.

 

also, what do you mean by the ported skins are not nearly as good?  layout, functionality, menu flow?  theres not too much we can do to alter the general structure of how xbmc works, especially as an addon/skin mod, but how the information is presented and the amount of customization is where xbmc shines.  and there are many, many skins available in these two areas:

http://forum.xbmc.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=67

 

http://forum.xbmc.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=160

 

Thanks for the links. I can't knock the functionality of any XBMC skin as I don't have much of a clue as to all the possibilities. My issue is with look and feel. For example, I found the menu bar in Aeon Nox a bit stark, and the skin in general far too dark. Its a personal thing.

 

I'm pretty happy with my current MBC setup (if only the extender were reliable.....) so I'd like to try to replicate that if possible. I also need to be able to customise the menus  - I'm not too interested in options for recently added content etc, all I need is an entry into Movies, TV, and the iPlayer and Spotify Addons.

 

The skin that purports to be an MCE replacement is Bello. An XBM3C plug-in for that would be great, but I believe the skin is not ready for Gotham yet, so it may be worth holding off for a while.

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xnappo

So are you using WMC directly with entry points?  Again - what MBC themes do you like?

 

xnappo

 

[EDIT] BTW - that Bello is is mighty purdy.

Edited by xnappo
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Macburp

Curious what MB3 themes you like.. Personally I find quite the opposite.  I liked Throg's themes, but mostly because they reminded me of Aeon Nox when I switched from XBMC to MB2 a couple years back.

 

There are a TON of XBMC themes - if you could be more specific about what it is you are looking for I am sure we can help.

 

xnappo

 

Most of the MB3 themes do not suit me. I also dislike the EHS for all of the skins, and so use custom entry points from MCE to avoid that. Back in the MB2 days I was a Diamond user, but became a convert to Chocolate when MBC shipped with that as default. So I'd like a customisable skin that can do that! Pictures tell a 1000 words, so here are some - 

 

MCE front page - 

 

iVCc5Yy.jpg

 

MB3 Videos page (Movies is similar) - 

 

UR1u0Um.jpg

 

Series level - 

 

5RwoBhV.jpg

 

Episode Level - 

 

voFlVxA.jpg

 

Don't ask for much do I :)

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Macburp

So are you using WMC directly with entry points?  Again - what MBC themes do you like?

 

xnappo

 

[EDIT] BTW - that Bello is is mighty purdy.

 

There is a hack that allows entry points with MB3 - unsupported by the guys here, but it does work.

 

The MB3 theme I like is the list view in Chocolate

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xnappo

Yep - so Bello I agree looks the closest.  Since it is based on Confluence it might not be too hard for @ to mod, should he feel like it :) 

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