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iViewWMC - Watch iView without keyboard/mouse
this thread has 54 replies and has been viewed 4362 times
This is great work! The only problem I have is that I already have EventGhost running for other things. Could you add an option to not start & stop eventghost when the plugin starts & stops?
Hmm, I didn't think of that. I should add an option for it. In the future when I get the MCML interface up and running, EventGhost won't be needed at all, so that will solve the problem. But in the meantime, I will add an option to not start/stop EventGhost.
Since the latest iView update, I have had to have iViewWMC display every show in an "iView" category, rather than the 9 that were used previously, due to iView now having a different structure. However, I want to implement the new category structure. Not the genre one, but the other one. This would result in 11 categories.
- New (the episodes that have just been added)
- Expiring (the episodes that will be removed very soon)
- ABC1
- ABC2
- ABC3 (doesn't exist yet, but elements of it exist in the episode listing XML, so I assume it will be added to the menu once ABC3 starts airing)
- iView Exclusives
- Shop Downloads
- Australia Network
- NewStuff
- Kazam!
- Faves
What do you all think?
I wanted to say thank you for taking the time to create the plugin and sharing it with everyone.
I haven't installed it yet (my htpc has only been up and running a few days) but I have had a look at the install instructions and plan to give it a go in the next few days.
Thanks for the feedback paulo. Just a word of caution: you might want to try it out on your desktop/laptop PC first before putting it on your Media Center. In its current state, it is not ideal for everyone, so I recommend you test it out first to see if you think it is suitable for your Media Center.
Also something I probably should have mentioned earlier. I don't recommend running iViewWMC while Media Center is recording. In the event that iViewWMC crashes, EventGhost will be left open, and pressing arrows and other buttons on your remote will result in you essentially pressing random keyboard letters. The only way to close EventGhost if iViewWMC has crashed is to either use a mouse, or restart your PC - it can't be done with the remote. Once iViewWMC stops needing EventGhost, this will not be an issue.
The next update is on its way, hopefully within the next few hours.
It includes a setting to stop iViewWMC from automatically starting and stopping EventGhost. This is useful if you already use EventGhost, and don't want iViewWMC stopping EventGhost when iViewWMC closes.
It also includes a description of the episode you are currently hovering over, like you would see on the iView website.
Program/episode sorting will not be in this update. I need to store the data values a bit differently first. But it will not be too long, I hope.
Change log:
- Settings moved to "C:\iview\settings" folder.
- New setting: "UseEventGhost.txt" (default setting) starts and stops EventGhost when iViewWMC starts and stops. "NoEventGhost.txt" stops iViewWMC from doing this.
- When hovering over an episode, a description is displayed below the picture.
Update instructions:
If you are updating from a previous version, you should delete the entire "C:\iView\" folder, and replace it with this version.
Here is the full instruction for the new EventGhost setting:
In the settings folder, if UseEventGhost.txt exists, iViewWMC will automatically start and stop EventGhost when iViewWMC is started and stopped. Rename this file to NoEventGhost.txt if you do not want iViewWMC to automatically start and stop EventGhost. If neither file can be found, or both files can be found, iViewWMC will use the default setting, which is UseEventGhost.txt.
Another update. The previous update was just over a day ago, but I have done a lot of coding today. Most of it is behind-the-scenes, but there are a few graphical/functionality changes.
Change log:
- When hovering over a series, a description of the series is displayed. When hovering over an episode, a description of the episode is displayed.
- Series' that have no episodes (all expired, none available yet, etc) are not displayed anymore. This makes it a bit easier to browse what is available.
- Some pretty big behind-the-scenes code changes, in preparation for channels/categories in a future update.
Update instructions:
If you are updating from a previous version, you should delete the entire "C:\iView\" folder, and replace it with this version.
As mentioned in the change log, series' that have no episodes are not displayed anymore. Previously they took up a lot of extra menu space, and you couldn't watch them anyway (because the actual videos don't exist anymore/yet). Before this update, iViewWMC displayed around 280 series, and around 130 of them were empty. Now it just displays the approx 150 series that have episodes/videos associated with them.
you might want to try it out on your desktop/laptop PC first before putting it on your Media Center. In its current state, it is not ideal for everyone, so I recommend you test it out first to see if you think it is suitable for your Media Center.
I am currently working on categories/channels, and it is actually working quite well. For the next release, I think these will be the categories/channels. They will be expanded on in future updates. Oh, and at the moment they are all in alphabetical order, but there will eventually be an option to change that.
- All - everything, regardless of category.
- ABC1 - series that were aired on ABC1.
- ABC2 - series that were aired on ABC2.
- ABC3 - series that were aired on ABC3.
- iView Exclusives - series that did not air on TV.
I will add the others after that (Shop Downloads, Aus Network, NewStuff, Kazam!, Faves), and then the genre categories (News, Arts, Comedy, etc).
EDIT: with this larger number of channels/categories, the channel select screen will need to be changed around a bit. If you have suggestions for a better layout, please post them. Mock-up drawings in Paint or Photoshop are even better.
Here is one possibility. http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/679/41190445.png
Last edited by HiddenCake; 7th December 2009 at 08:51 PM..
Change log:
- Now includes 'channels'. The main channel is 'All', and contains everything on iView, in alphabetical order. In other words, the "A-Z Index".
- The other channels are "ABC1", "ABC2", "ABC3", "iView Exclusives", and "Favourites". All are in alphabetical order at this stage (except Favourites).
- At the moment you need to set up your "Favourites" channel manually using the "C:\iView\settings\CustomChannel.txt" file.
Update instructions:
If you are updating from a previous version, you should delete the entire "C:\iView\" folder, and replace it with this version.
There are some specific instructions for the Favourites channel. In the future you will be able to specify your favourite series from within iViewWMC, but for the moment you need to do it manually.
"C:\iView\settings\CustomChannel.txt" has a list of series numbers. If the file doesn't exist, iViewWMC will create it automatically, with "Doctor Who", "Doctor Who Confidential", and the "7:30 Report" as your favourites.
The format for the file is this: 123;42;98;2000;64;
The numbers depend on the series numbers. Each number must have ; after it, even the last number. Everything must be on one line, no spaces anywhere. The default favourites file looks like this: 2752184;2752205;2186770;
The first one is the "Doctor Who" number, the second is the "Doctor Who Confidential" number and the third is the "7:30 Report" number.
If you want to test out some other numbers, here are a few you could test.
2520789 - Lateline
2482309 - Message Stick
2502356 - Escape From Scorpion Island Series 3
2745572 - My Family
2740089 - The Wire
I wanted to say thank you for taking the time to create the plugin and sharing it with everyone.
I haven't installed it yet (my htpc has only been up and running a few days) but I have had a look at the install instructions and plan to give it a go in the next few days.
Once again, thanks.
Paulo
Yep, I agree with this I wish more capable programmers would do things like this.
__________________ If my post has helped you, please feel free to hit the Thanks button.
I think one of the reasons that people don't release their personally developed programs is because they don't think that other people would have any use for it. In my case, I have seen people asking for WMC support for iView, and I realised that the program would benefit from suggestions and feedback, so I decided to share it.
I have a survey that I would appreciate people filling out if they can. It is so I can get more of an idea as to what would improve iViewWMC and what should be a priority. If you don't know an answer, just skip that question.
Survey for people who use iViewWMC
- Do you use it on your Media Center? (Dedicated, or shared?)
--- Do you use it on the Media Center that is listed in your profile?
--- If it is not in your profile, are you running it in XP, Vista, or 7?
- If you are not using Windows 7, will you be upgrading to 7 within the next 6 months?
- Have you got your remote working with it?
--- Was it difficult to set up your remote?
--- Had you used EventGhost before?
- Was the "C:\iView" location a problem for you?
- What resolution do you use? (eg, 1280x768)
- Would you prefer an HTML-based Media Center Addon, or the standard program format it uses now?
- Would you prefer a proper MCML-based Media Center Addon, or an HTML-based Media Center Addon?
Survey for people who don't use iViewWMC (If the reason you don't use iViewWMC is that you don't use ABC iView, or because you don't use any sort of Media Center, you don't need to answer these)
- Do you have another addon/program that does the job?
- If tested, did you test it on your non-Media Center PC, and decide it was not stable enough?
- Are you waiting to see what it is like as a proper Media Center addon?
- If tested, did you have trouble getting EventGhost / your remote working?
- Are you worried that it might be unsafe (might be too buggy, might have spyware, etc)?
- Are you unwilling to try early-development software on your Media Center?
- Will you test it in the future when it is more stable?
- What does iViewWMC need to fix/change in order for you to use it, if not mentioned above?
EDIT: On a related note, I am making some small progress on removing the need for some of the annoying bits of iViewWMC, such as the need to be put in "C:\iView", the need for EventGhost, and a lack of integration with Media Center. I am doing this by creating a 'real' Media Center addon, using hosted HTML.
I will of course keep the current program working until the hosted HTML addon is ready to replace it.
Last edited by HiddenCake; 13th December 2009 at 12:43 PM..
I wish more capable programmers would do things like this.
