[Sranshaft]

Just a quick update to let everyone know where Immersive stands.

I've recently finished coding the updated weather section.



Some more updates:

• The profile / login screens mock-ups have been finished and coding shouldn't take more than a couple of days to finish / refine. Let's see, what else...some more code refinement regarding the appbar. Things are even more streamlined. Nothing visually but it does make things easier to read code-wise.
  
• Added app-bar to AddonBrowser.xml, MyMusicSongs.xml, MyPics.xml among others.
  
• Tweaked some of the visuals.
  
• Bug-fixes a-plenty.
  
• Added touch / mouse support for seeking on the OSD.
  
• Buffer cache progress now appears on the seekbar.
  

An update is soon to come so stay tuned.

[carmenm]

@Sranshaft: Great work. Your skin is really the one i enjoy the most.
If i just makes "navigation" remarks. Not that i want you to change anything you dont want to. It s just remarks from someone using your skin on a daily basis. Also all my remarks are based on the fact that i dont have many buttons on my remote so i must rely on navigation.
- I love the navigation shortcuts when going up, but i miss going home from there. I often find myself trying to move from tvshows to movies for example.
- I am not "sure" about this one but i dont think i can disable "featured" in tvshows and movies. I would prefer to see latest directly when coming in.
- The deck widget on the home screen is nice, but would be great to have "latest" instead. This would prevent a lot of navigation to get the latest movie or tvshow
- Would be nice to have an option to disable the "letter display" when navigating fast. I usually have to stop navigating to see where i am at exactly.

That s about it, i completely love everything about that skin.

Thanks for your amazing work.

[baruchin]

Just a quick update to let everyone know where Immersive stands.

I've recently finished coding the updated weather section.



Some more updates:

• The profile / login screens mock-ups have been finished and coding shouldn't take more than a couple of days to finish / refine. Let's see, what else...some more code refinement regarding the appbar. Things are even more streamlined. Nothing visually but it does make things easier to read code-wise.
  
• Added app-bar to AddonBrowser.xml, MyMusicSongs.xml, MyPics.xml among others.
  
• Tweaked some of the visuals.
  
• Bug-fixes a-plenty.
  
• Added touch / mouse support for seeking on the OSD.
  
• Buffer cache progress now appears on the seekbar.
  

An update is soon to come so stay tuned.

Is this version going to include the option to disable the blue transition image to speed up performance in low end hardware?
That's all I need to make it my default skin.

[Sranshaft]

I've got to say, this is one of the best themes I've ever seen. Great work! I've noticed a few little bugs, but it's coming along great.

If you can let me know what those bugs are I'll try to get them fixed. See below for the best way to report bugs.

Is this version going to include the option to disable the blue transition image to speed up performance in low end hardware?
That's all I need to make it my default skin.

Yes, though I'm trying to do this based on the platform and not as a user-configurable option so that it's invisible to the user.

And now, on to the updates.

I've just set up a GITHub page for the skin for those users that want to keep track of the latest changes to XBMC Immersive. This will also be the place to get the repo when Immersive gets closer to a beta release.

What should I do if I find a bug?

Please report the issue to the GIT page at https://github.com/Sranshaft/skin.immersive/issues Note: you will need a GIT account to do this. Please do not report the issue here. While I try my hardest to read each post, chances are it'll get overlooked / forgotten. It's much easier keep track of these issues when they are all in one place.

Where can I get it?

The latest version will now always be available from here. Please note that this version might be unstable and won't always be as bug-free as the official stable version found in the OP.

[carmenm]

Such a great news, already cloned to my pi!

Thanks a lot!

[Glutamat]

Thanks for all your work, Sranshaft!

I've been using your skin pretty much all the time since I've discovered it. Every time I try a different one, I end up returning.

Here's a few inputs though:

Is this version going to include the option to disable the blue transition image to speed up performance in low end hardware?
That's all I need to make it my default skin.

Yes, though I'm trying to do this based on the platform and not as a user-configurable option so that it's invisible to the user.

I'm with baruchin here. My box is absolutely capable of rendering the transition animations and yes, it does look pretty the first few times. But it doesn't really add anything. I know I selected the movies button on the home screen a few instants ago, I don't really need a light blue screen telling me exactly that. I get that you don't want to overwhelm users with too many options that need explaining, but I'd love to be able to turn it off manually.

Also, I'm not really a fan of the title pop up thingy that appears a few seconds into the movie and disappears you introduced in 0.0.5. I haven't figured out to control it and, again, it doesn't seem to be essential in a decidedly un-cluttered skin. Another thing i'd love to be able to turn off manually.

One last thing, and I don't want to sound like a jerk, I really love your work, but one last thing I never understood is the black screen I get after selecting Movies or TV Shows from the home screen. The one with the options to view stuff by genre, title etc. with the featured fanart thing to the right. I usually select the title entry to access my stuff, which ends up being ordered by date added 'cause I like it that way. I guess the black screen might be helpful for some users, but for me it's another case of adding unnecessary and confusing options and steps to an otherwise (graphics-wise and conceptually) very lean skin. But maybe I just don't get it (or my Boxee remote is too simple).

ie, I'd love to be able to configure your skin to throw me straight to my movie covers when I click the Movies tile on the home screen. I could live with an advancedsettings.xml entry, too.

[pancheto]

I also would firstly like to thank you for your work, and secondly ask for a few things

could we expect a more descriptive "list" view, or a vertical "details" view? having the "list" view filled with year at least, and with rating ideally, would be great, but I can see that you were aiming for a detailed view when you created the "details" one. in that case, would it be possible to have that "details" view with a vertical layout such as the "list" one?

I also agree on the animations removal (I don't see why they can't be in options, because I see users that may be capable of using them that would like to remove them, and viceversa), although I also agree that they are great. in my personal case, performance and responsiveness of the gui are crucial.

ie, I'd love to be able to configure your skin to throw me straight to my movie covers when I click the Movies tile on the home screen. I could live with an advancedsettings.xml entry, too.

I also must agree on this. the typical skin behavior is that when you press on movies you get to the library listing directly, not through the intermediate page. +1 for this request.

[Sranshaft]

My box is absolutely capable of rendering the transition animations and yes, it does look pretty the first few times. But it doesn't really add anything. I know I selected the movies button on the home screen a few instants ago, I don't really need a light blue screen telling me exactly that. I get that you don't want to overwhelm users with too many options that need explaining, but I'd love to be able to turn it off manually.

Think of the home screen in XBMC as the start screen in Windows 8 / Windows Phone 8 and Music, Movies, TV shows as apps within XBMC. Now when you go to the Music app in Windows Phone 8, you don't immediately go to your music files. You go to the Music hub which pulls all the music data together. From there you can choose where to go. This is reasoning behind the hubs in XBMC Immersive; they give you a quick overview to everything related to that app.

It's an integral part of the skin's experience and not something I'll personally change. You can, however, change it so the home screen menu will take you directly to the library. Open Includes_Home.xml and change the <onclick> under Movies and TV Shows to:

Code:

<onclick>ActivateWindow(videos,MovieTitles,return)</onclick>

Code:

<onclick>ActivateWindow(videos,TVShowTitles,return)</onclick>

Also, I'm not really a fan of the title pop up thingy that appears a few seconds into the movie and disappears you introduced in 0.0.5. I haven't figured out to control it and, again, it doesn't seem to be essential in a decidedly un-cluttered skin. Another thing i'd love to be able to turn off manually.

I've added an option for this (default is set to disabled) in Personalize > Notifications. Now available on GitHub.

One last thing, and I don't want to sound like a jerk, I really love your work, but one last thing I never understood is the black screen I get after selecting Movies or TV Shows from the home screen. The one with the options to view stuff by genre, title etc. with the featured fanart thing to the right. I usually select the title entry to access my stuff, which ends up being ordered by date added 'cause I like it that way. I guess the black screen might be helpful for some users, but for me it's another case of adding unnecessary and confusing options and steps to an otherwise (graphics-wise and conceptually) very lean skin. But maybe I just don't get it (or my Boxee remote is too simple).

ie, I'd love to be able to configure your skin to throw me straight to my movie covers when I click the Movies tile on the home screen. I could live with an advancedsettings.xml entry, too.

See my explanation above. I wouldn't consider it unnecessary / confusing either. Besides the drop down menu (which unfortunately most will only discover by accident) how else is the user going to get to the various other subsections of the library? I understand you tend to only go to the titles subsection but others have a use for genres, sets, directors, etc.

Above everything else, this is a skin created specifically for my needs and as selfish as that may sound - and I apologize if it does come across that way - I will only consider adding options for things if 1. they aren't very hard to include and 2. if they go with my concept of what the skin should look like. This is unfortunately one of those times where the idea - as understandable as it is - doesn't really mesh with what the main goal of the skin is to accomplish.

I also would firstly like to thank you for your work, and secondly ask for a few things

could we expect a more descriptive "list" view, or a vertical "details" view? having the "list" view filled with year at least, and with rating ideally, would be great, but I can see that you were aiming for a detailed view when you created the "details" one. in that case, would it be possible to have that "details" view with a vertical layout such as the "list" one?

I agree the list view could use some love but I've already stated I won't be adding any additional views to the skin. I will consider redesigning the list view at some point though.

I also agree on the animations removal (I don't see why they can't be in options, because I see users that may be capable of using them that would like to remove them, and viceversa), although I also agree that they are great. in my personal case, performance and responsiveness of the gui are crucial.

I also must agree on this. the typical skin behavior is that when you press on movies you get to the library listing directly, not through the intermediate page. +1 for this request.

Please see the response to Glutamat on this issue.

[pancheto]

Above everything else, this is a skin created specifically for my needs and as selfish as that may sound - and I apologize if it does come across that way - I will only consider adding options for things if 1. they aren't very hard to include and 2. if they go with my concept of what the skin should look like. This is unfortunately one of those times where the idea - as understandable as it is - doesn't really mesh with what the main goal of the skin is to accomplish.

it is completely understandable, and points 1 and 2 are very reasonable. we'll keep an eye on your github. thanks again for all your (I would definititely say non) selfish effort.

[Nander]

I've been using this skin on and off for a while on my Apple TV and I love the look of it. I recently purchased a Surface Pro and thought that this skin would be a perfect match for it. Unfortunately , since not all screens have a back button it is impossible to use without a keyboard attached. Would you consider adding back buttons to all screens, like Confluence?

Thanks for all your hard work!

[Krrish]

can i disable the splash screens?

[Glutamat]

Hey Sranshaft,

My box is absolutely capable of rendering the transition animations and yes, it does look pretty the first few times. But it doesn't really add anything. I know I selected the movies button on the home screen a few instants ago, I don't really need a light blue screen telling me exactly that. I get that you don't want to overwhelm users with too many options that need explaining, but I'd love to be able to turn it off manually.

Think of the home screen in XBMC as the start screen in Windows 8 / Windows Phone 8 and Music, Movies, TV shows as apps within XBMC. Now when you go to the Music app in Windows Phone 8, you don't immediately go to your music files. You go to the Music hub which pulls all the music data together. From there you can choose where to go. This is reasoning behind the hubs in XBMC Immersive; they give you a quick overview to everything related to that app.

It's an integral part of the skin's experience and not something I'll personally change. You can, however, change it so the home screen menu will take you directly to the library. Open Includes_Home.xml and change the <onclick> under Movies and TV Shows to:

Code:

<onclick>ActivateWindow(videos,MovieTitles,return)</onclick>

Code:

<onclick>ActivateWindow(videos,TVShowTitles,return)</onclick>

Oh wow, thanks for your reply! Makes sense, I totally get where you're coming from. I've never used Windows 8 (I'm a lifelong Mac user but I hear great things about it and your skin almost makes me want to try it) so for me personally consistency with the metro look and feel isn't important to me but I love the uncluttered, functional thought behind it. I'm totally fine with editing a few xml files myself but I'm in no way a skinner and I got kind of scared when I poked around those files a few days ago because I didn't know where to start. This will do the trick - I'm on it, thanks a lot!

Also, I'm not really a fan of the title pop up thingy that appears a few seconds into the movie and disappears you introduced in 0.0.5. I haven't figured out to control it and, again, it doesn't seem to be essential in a decidedly un-cluttered skin. Another thing i'd love to be able to turn off manually.

I've added an option for this (default is set to disabled) in Personalize > Notifications. Now available on GitHub.

Thanks!

Above everything else, this is a skin created specifically for my needs and as selfish as that may sound - and I apologize if it does come across that way - I will only consider adding options for things if 1. they aren't very hard to include and 2. if they go with my concept of what the skin should look like. This is unfortunately one of those times where the idea - as understandable as it is - doesn't really mesh with what the main goal of the skin is to accomplish.

You don't have to apologize. I totally get your perspective. Thanks again for all the work you put into this.

[Sranshaft]

I've been using this skin on and off for a while on my Apple TV and I love the look of it. I recently purchased a Surface Pro and thought that this skin would be a perfect match for it. Unfortunately , since not all screens have a back button it is impossible to use without a keyboard attached. Would you consider adding back buttons to all screens, like Confluence?

Thanks for all your hard work!

I'll be getting around to polishing touch support at some point in the future. In the meantime, if you can get me a list of windows that need a back button that would a tremendous help.

can i disable the splash screens?

I thought about it and decided that the only concession I'll make regarding the splash screen is to disable it on lower power machine automatically. There won't be a user-configurable option for this.

[Krrish]

Different colors for different tiles in the homescreen could have been vibrant.....instead of the same color for all tiles and the homescreen background

[Zangai]

How do I install this skin? I try to use "install from zip-file", but it says that dependencies are not met...
Nevermind, I was still on 11.0 :|