Questions re: Classic and also 3.0.5271.29451

[mmmann 8]

I've never posted before, but I've been using Media Browser for a few years. It has always worked--simply, and well. I use MB Classic on my 2nd monitor, sitting at my computer, in /nochrome mode to get full resolution, using my mouse. I have some real problems I want to notate.

 

#1 - The only view that I can deal with is "List View." Everything else is far too jittery--posters flying all over hell and tarnation. How do I set /EVERYTHING/ to be in list view, permanently? It seems that I have to recurse into every folder (15 of them at the top level, dozens more when you count TV series' seasons and disks) and go through the process of configuring every page for list view. And the list view settings seem to disappear, sometimes (when the version upgrades?)

 

#2 - Every time a new version installs, it poisons my desktop icon by removing /nochrome on the command line. Shouldn't this be preserved?

 

#3 - The new interface--3.0.5271.29451--I don't like / understand it. When I swipe the mouse cursor from my work monitor over onto the left-hand MB monitor, the translucent play controls don't show up. If I click somewhere on the movie that's playing, the controls don't show up. By working through the entire keyboard, I found that hitting [Enter] makes the control show up. This is a terrible regression--I can't control the timeline / slider with my mouse. When MB gets "focus," shouldn't it show the play controls, and when I give focus back to one of my other work windows, shouldn't the play controls disappear? Also, while I'm working, ignoring the MB interface entirely, the play controls keep popping up, randomly. I can't watch media with this bug: It's too aggravating when I'm watching a movie, and very distracting when I'm trying to work and just casually glancing over to the movie.

 

#4 - If I go back a level with my mouse's "page back" thumb button, sometimes a modal dialog pops up that has an [X, person, moon] for [exit, logout, sleep] and Media Browser goes nuts, repainting the dialog in a tight loop. I get into this dialog frequently--I don't know how or why. Sometimes I'm just trying to go back a level, or sometimes to go all the way back to the main Media Center menu to exit (there is no [x] to kill the app when using /nochrome). Once in this dialog, there appears to be no way to get out--[ESC] does not exit, mouse clicks don't help, clicking away doesn't help! I'm forced to exit and restart. Why do we need this dialog? If I want to exit, I go all the way out to the main Media Center menu and exit. If I want to logout or go to sleep, Microsoft has methods for doing this.

 

For me, it seems that Media Browswer is getting harder and more confusing to use. Maybe my modality (computer, a separate monitor, keyboard and mouse) and/or my usage patterns are not being tested or accounted for?

 

Finally question #5 - how can I back up a few revisions and install an older MB until some of this stuff is sorted out? It's not very usable for me at the moment.

 

Do forums posts need a sugar coating when reporting difficulties? I don't post much on the internet and I really need some answers but don't want to upset anyone. If so, I'll add that Media Browser is a lovely product and I appreciate the programmers who have worked so diligently over the years. I hope that prevents people from being unkind to me in response to what I've tried to make an honest, earnest and polite post.

 

Thanks. Mike.

 

[Luke 37045]

Well I'll comment on the server/web interface, which is #3. Getting focus is when the controls are supposed to show, so if that's not happening, then it's a bug. I'll check into it.

 

I can't really answer too much for MB Classic but I think #4 can be turned off.

[techywarrior 688]

Yes, for #4 there is an option in MBC settings to turn that off. But if it's appearing then MBC is trying to exit and by turning off the option you will find yourself exiting MBC frequently even tho you aren't intending it. I'm wondering why you are getting the exit confirmation screen that often when you don't intend.

 

There is also an option in MBC to enable "mouse mode". Do you have this set? It may help with some of the jittering (or maybe not, but you should try it out).

 

 

I think the rest are going to need Ebr to answer but as for the desktop icon. I would recommend you create a new one with your /nochrome switch in it. If it's not the shortcut created by MBC then I believe it won't be deleted when MBC updates. However it will create new links each time you will need to delete each time (not sure if that's any help or not).

 

I don't believe there is any way to backup to previous versions with the way everything is setup now. Luke, Ebr?

[mmmann 8]

I'm really impressed by the concerned and polite replies I immediately received. Thanks, and thanks in advance to any and all who can help.

 

I think I understand the exit dialog and some of the recent changes: MB is attempting to work better as a stand-alone media device, competing against XBMC and some of those other boxes (Roku, etc.), and trying to be the we-stream-to-everything software package. BUT...it seems that the Windows-machine-mouse-and-keyboard paradigm is dying on the vine. That's the original, "MB Classic" experience.

 

- I cannot find any "mouse mode." I've been completely through the HTML-based dashboard and the Media Center menus.

 

- Another huge problem I have: the mouse wheel is useless for paging. I spin the mouse wheel (phrrrr! phrrr!) and the highlight moves one, may two entries down the list. I've had to resort to (1) hitting the first letter of the title then (2) using page-up and page-down then (3) fine tuning with the mouse wheel. This is EXTREMELY inconvenient. The mouse wheel worked great when I first discovered Media Browser a couple years ago.

 

My first post and this one boils down to MB Classic becoming far less usable in a Windows-centric setting, which is really disappointing because that's what it originally did BEST.

[techywarrior 688]

Hm, I could have sworn it was there but I just looked and couldn't find it either. I'm heading out but I'll look into it more when I get back (or tomorrow)

 

MBC is really designed to be used with a remote but mouse/kb should be working well. I don't think the intention is to make it work worse with a mouse. Hopefully we can find the issue since I am sure other people use a mouse with MBC and haven't reported the same issues (at least for some of the more annoying things you listed)

[ebr 14910]

Actually, many of the themes are not designed to work well with a mouse and never have been - this dates all the way back to the beginnings of MB 2.  Scrolling and selecting things with a mouse has always been a maddening prospect in most of the themes because they simply weren't designed for it.

 

Also, the new improvements to the playback interface in MBC are centric to dedicated media center usage. This is because that is the profile of 90% of MBC users but will probably improve for your usage in future versions.  If the new interface is giving you trouble you can also disable it in the Playback page in configuration.