"Resume" / "Play from beginning" (for Video)
#1
first request and then wordiness:
request: when one presses the white button or the "title" button on the remote, can the first two options be:
1. resume (or "play")
2. play from the beginning

now the wordiness:

i know that there's a feature to resume a video that's been started by pressing the white key (or i think "title" button on the remote) in the file listing. when you do this, the top option is to "resume". several options down the list is "play with". it would be nice to have resume be the first option and "play" as the next option. that way, you can choose with minimal moving of the selections whether to start the file from the beginning or resume.

also, if the file has not been started and then stopped, when pressing the white key / title button, "resume" is not an option (which, of course makes total sense). but, once you have the menu opened, you have to go down several spots to select "play with".

so, ideally, having the options when pressing the white button / title key on a video file be:
1. play (or "resume" as it currently is worded)
2. play from beginning.

would allow for easy choices once in the menu as to whether or not to start the video from the beginning or resume. if the file had never been started and then stopped, then "play" or "resume" would simply do the exact thing as "play from the beginning". basically, it would play from the last viewed point. if you haven't viewed the video previously, then the last viewed point would be the same as the first viewable point (or, the beginning).

i know that there's already a thread that starts to talk about the resume feature (this one but it seems like it's become an "auto start after power-off" thread.

thanks.
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#2
my argument is that a user typically shouldnt be using the context menu to play from the beginning. just "select" the file from the gui.
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#3
sure you wouldn't use the context menu to play a file from the beginning unless you weren't sure which files had been started already and need to be resumed.

let's say i have a couple of movies and drama tv shows. due to various reasons, i might have to stop in the middle of one. then, instead of continuing with that file, my s.o. wants to start a new one. we have to stop in the middle of that one. if this happens to a couple of them (and this happens quite often with the tivos and replaytvs we have), you don't quite remember which one's you've started already and which ones you haven't. so, if you use the context menu thinking that there might be a "resume" there, and there isn't, there's a few extra motions to get the file to play. if you always just select the file from the gui then you wouldn't know which ones you'd already started (and therefore should have selected to "resume").

basically, all i'm asking for (i think) is to move the "play" option in the context menu up to the top (or 2nd if "resume" is an option).
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#4
Quote:sure you wouldn't use the context menu to play a file from the beginning unless you weren't sure which files had been started already and need to be resumed.

no, i wouldnt... play on the remote resumes if there is a resumable point. otherwise it starts from the beginning.

Quote:basically, all i'm asking for (i think) is to move the "play" option in the context menu up to the top (or 2nd if "resume" is an option).

dont worry. i know exactly what you're asking for. the menu could use a little re-arranging, but personally i think "movie info" should always be at the top.



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#5
thanks. i'll just use "play" on the remote instead of "select" from now on. that'll accomplish what i'm looking for.

sorry for the bother.
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#6
i was just doing a comparison between the context menus in music and videos. if anything, i think they need a little more consistency. i'm thinking of this:

music:
info
play
queue
now playing
music specific stuff
delete
rename
settings

video:
info
resume
play
queue
now playing
video specific stuff
delete
rename
settings
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#7
agreed, though i'd be tempted to merge the resume/play buttons into one. resume if it's a single file and has resume info, play otherwise (folders or files without resume info). sure, you miss the "play from the beginning" functionality, but that's doable just by select anyway (no need for a separate button imo)

oh, and maybe line up the music scan with the video query all files items (directly after now playing... i think)

cheers,
jonathan
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#8
i don't want to merge resume and play into a single item. first, resume is only valid if the item is resumable. for this reason, i think it should be inserted above play. and "play" is really a menu item that says "play" or "play with" depending on the selected item. if its a folder or playlist, it'll be play, and queue up the items into an adhoc temporary playlist. if its a media item, it'll be play with so the user can use an alternate player.

and yes, i agree about the scan item. i already lined up under now playing in both windowsscan since its a common item. i'm also considering changing the text.

both "query info for all files" from video "scan folder to database" are a little confusing. to me, "scan folder to database" somewhat implies that the currently selected folder should only be scanned, but this is not the case. "query info for all files" is a bit more appropiate, but inconsistent.

i think they should use consistent text string, but i'm unsure what it should be. maybe "scan all items to database"? do you have any thoughts ?



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#9
agreed about scan all items to database. either that or just "scan items to database" for music.

not sure about videos though, as it's a net lookup that's done rather than just a scan of the files.

as for the play thing - sounds good. i forgot about the play with... option.

cheers,
jonathan
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#10
i understand what you're saying about videos. it's not just scanning, its querying (damn the lack of video metadata!Wink

i'll just leave video's text as is then.
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#11
i think the resume from last position feature is great, however i miss a more simple way to play a movie from the beginning or starting from a specific disc (for stacked movies)

upon selecting a previously played movie, what about having xbmc ask the user, whether he wants to play from the begining or resume the movie.

i know there are workarounds for this e.g. using the play button from info view. but still i think it could be done more user friendly.
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#12
use the context menu? there is both "play" and "resume". and if you "play" a stacked video, you will get the cd selection dialog if you dont have "bypass cd selection" set to zero.
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#13
what version are you taking about here?

i have the t3ch 29-01-06 release and in this version the context menu only has (previously played video):
movie information
resume video
play using...
queue item
...
and so on

vs. the context menu for a movie not previously played:
movie information
play using..
queue item
...
and so on

is what you describe added later?
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#14
yes. "play using" starts from the beginning. "resume" starts from the last position you stopped.
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#15
first of all play using still resumes the video? wrong setting maybe? i have resume from last position set in settings - movies - player

secondly it forces you to decide which player you wish to use.
i just think this could be done more user friendly, if you have no intentions to switch player, why should the user be forced to select this, in order to play a movie from the begining?

i was also thinking maybe the resume from last position function could a few seconds back on resume (just to make sure you wouldn't miss something in the begining.)
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