Using focus overlay in graphical EPG

[prl]

Peteru has suggested that an overlay pixmap be used to more uniformly apply the highlight to the EPG grid cell that currently has focus.

Here is an example of how that might look in the easy-skin-aus-hd EPG:

This is a simulation of the effect. I haven't yet done the code to actually use an overlay pixmap.

So far, I've only tried it for easy-skin-aus-hd.

The it could all do with some tweaking of the transparency and colouring, especially for the selected non-recording cells.

[jpp]

Hmm.. I personally still think that there is no need to overlay any other events then the "now showing" cells. Adding more shadings to the existing colours for other events (Rec, Zap etc) just makes interpretation more complex and is likely to confuse things IMHO.

When you bring up the EPG, it comes up on the "now showing" events and the duration and end of the programs is equally well shown/differentiated from the following programs whether the cells are in the currently considered lighter highlighted shade, or in any of the other colours, e.g. Record, Zap etc - they all clearly show the end and start of the next program which is what I thought this is all about.

[IanSav]

Hi Prl,

It appears that you are trying to offer a similar display experience for the Graphics display that is currently offered in the Text mode display. If this is the intention then I would like to see how this pans out. The idea has merit as, in my opinion, the Graphics display has been lacking.

The only question is why have both the Text mode and Graphics mode displays if they end up almost identical? (I prefer the Text mode display simply because it can easily be re-skinned with OverlayHD.)

Regards,
Ian.

[prl]

Hmm.. I personally still think that there is no need to overlay any other events then the "now showing" cells. Adding more shadings to the existing colours for other events (Rec, Zap etc) just makes interpretation more complex and is likely to confuse things IMHO.

I'm not sure what you're getting at. In the graphics mode of the graphical EPG, a rec event with focus has different shading from a rec event without focus.

When you bring up the EPG, it comes up on the "now showing" events and the duration and end of the programs is equally well shown/differentiated from the following programs whether the cells are in the currently considered lighter highlighted shade, or in any of the other colours, e.g. Record, Zap etc - they all clearly show the end and start of the next program which is what I thought this is all about.

The idea of the change is that currently the event cells have 8 different fill pixmaps:
CurrentEvent.png
SelectedCurrentEvent.png

OtherEvent.png
SelectedEvent.png

RecordEvent.png
SelectedRecordEvent.png

ZapEvent.png
SelectedZapEvent.png

The intention is to simplify this to 5 fill pixmaps:
CurrentEvent.png
OtherEvent.png
RecordEvent.png
ZapEvent.png

SelectedEventOverlay.png

The "overlay" pixmap would be part-transparent to allow the colour of the base pixmap to show through. That's what is being simulated in the examples I posted.

[prl]

...
It appears that you are trying to offer a similar display experience for the Graphics display that is currently offered in the Text mode display. If this is the intention then I would like to see how this pans out. The idea has merit as, in my opinion, the Graphics display has been lacking.

No, that's not what I'm trying to achieve at all. I'm trying to reduce the number of pixmaps that are needed to create the background for the EPG event cells.

The only question is why have both the Text mode and Graphics mode displays if they end up almost identical? (I prefer the Text mode display simply because it can easily be re-skinned with OverlayHD.) ...

I don't think that:

is much like:

However, I have been thinking that the text mode could also be changed to have a single overlay colour for the in-focus cell, instead of having all the *BackgroundColor*Selected colours.

Using fewer pixmaps could make it easier to re-skin the graphics mode displays than it is now.

[jpp]

I'm not sure what you're getting at. In the graphics mode of the graphical EPG, a rec event with focus has different shading from a rec event without focus.

OK, you're dead right. You can see that I haven't had a Wiz to play with for now almost 3 months!! . You need that differentiation anywhere where an event/cell already has a highlight active. Keep up the good work .

[MrQuade]

Just throwing the idea out there, but would this enhancement open the door to improving the accuracy/precision of the recording fill colour? Probably only achievable in Graphical mode, not Text mode?

What I mean is, could the recording fill colour only fill the portion of the event that is covered by a timer, a bit like the DP series would do?
If the current selection is now being handled by an overlay, then having an event with a partial recording fill would perhaps be less difficult to handle now.

I'd imagine that the "now event" fills would also have to be converted to overlays as well.

[prl]

Just throwing the idea out there, but would this enhancement open the door to improving the accuracy/precision of the recording fill colour? Probably only achievable in Graphical mode, not Text mode?

I've thought about it, but I haven't thought of a way to do it that I like.

What I mean is, could the recording fill colour only fill the portion of the event that is covered by a timer, a bit like the DP series would do?

That's not what the DP does. It colours part-recorded EPG slots completely, but with a lighter shade.

If the current selection is now being handled by an overlay, then having an event with a partial recording fill would perhaps be less difficult to handle now.

Probably.

I'd imagine that the "now event" fills would also have to be converted to overlays as well.

Why? Currently recorded "now" events are displayed in the same way as other recorded events.

My basic idea for colouring record events would be to use the normal record colouring for the event entry itself and a lighter shade for padding. It gets a bit messy, though, when the padding shading overlaps with either another timer's padding or with another timer's main body. For example, for consecutive programs on the same channel or for programs on the same channel that are only separated by a short time.

I think it's a discussion well worth having, but perhaps in another topic.

The current "clock icon" setup doesn't work well, either: for example, there's no clock icon that represents a partial recording in the middle of an event slot, or its inverse where an event is partly covered by padding from both the preceding and the following events.

I wouldn't exclude having a focus overlay in the Text mode of the graphical EPG. I'm certainly considering doing it.

For now, my main issue is how to create an overlay for the focus event that allows through enough of the colour of a red recording entry, while still having enough contrast with the text when the same overlay is applied to a non-current, non-timer entry (see the poor contrast of the second line of "Bon Appetit!" in the first image in my initial post. I suspect that this problem will be even worse in the Full-Metal-Wizard skin.

[MrQuade]

I'd imagine that the "now event" fills would also have to be converted to overlays as well.

Why? Currently recorded "now" events are displayed in the same way as other recorded events.

Yes, but with a partial recording fill, it might be better if the "now" events were highlighted with an overlay as well so that the unrecorded portion of the event was also shaded as "now".

Anyway, it was just a thought, and I'm pleased that you had already been thinking about it.

[jpp]

I'm not sure what you're getting at. In the graphics mode of the graphical EPG, a rec event with focus has different shading from a rec event without focus.

OK, you're dead right. You can see that I haven't had a Wiz to play with for now almost 3 months!! . You need that differentiation anywhere where an event/cell already has a highlight active. Keep up the good work .

Well, after being AWOL for yet another 3 months, and having just installed the current firmware update, my thanks and congrats to PeterU for having included the Now Showing shading . Yep, it took a while to get all the settings back - a real memory jogger that one is, but all is working just fine now - it reminds you just how configurable this little (T2) machine is. Had a short play with my son's Fetch Mighty machine a couple of weeks ago and just shook my head at just how little could be configured/personalised, particularly in the Video and EPG set-up.

I noticed an improvement in the Media Player too in that it now is able to list all of my hundred or more movie files on my NAS - before it would just show less than a third of them. Again many thanks for the countless hours spent doing this upgrade.