OverlayHD Skin...

[IanSav]

Hi All,

I am pleased to announce the availability of my skin for the Beyonwiz T Series PVRs and PVRs that run the OpenViX version of Enigma2. The skin is known as "OverlayHD".

OverlayHD should not be seen as a revolution but more of a evolution or a refinement of the default "easy-skin-aus-hd" skin. As you scroll through all the menus and screens you should note that they take the same look and feel as each other. The colour button bar should be in the *same* exact place on every screen. The heading line should be uniform on *all* appropriate screens. Most menus now have a menu image on the left of the screen and the menu on the right with a help/information box below. Screen items like LCNs or channel names, event names, event times etc should be similarly coloured throughout the user interface (where it is possible for me to change these items). Where the OverlayHD design does not make sense OverlayHD considerate design layouts are used. The idea is that the whole user experience should be more uniform and predictable.

OverlayHD is, and will probably always be, under development and refinement to keep pace with user feedback and to take into account firmware updates and changes. You may find areas of the UI (User Interface) that have not yet been converted to the OverlayHD style. There may be places where it doesn't look right or is not following your colour selections. This may be particularly noted after firmware updates. I welcome bug reports, feedback and comments via this thread. I will try my best to address user input.

If you wish to report a problem with OverlayHD then please include a screen capture of the problem (via the OpenWebif web interface "Grab Screenshot" command) and all the key presses from Live TV required to get to the problematic screen.

I am aware that there are some menus where the text does not fit properly or symmetrically in the available space. Some of these issues are beyond the capability of the skinning system to address. The require code / firmware changes. I will try to maintain a list of problematic screens and currently identified wish list items in the next post. Please check this list before adding new posts to report known issues or feature requests.

Some features in OverlayHD or added to the firmware to support OverlayHD include:

• A new feature of OverlayHD is a theme option. OverlayHD allows some fairly fine grained control over the user interface. This may be daunting for some users to maintain so I have added a theme selector. With the scheme selector you will be able to create and save a range of UI looks or themes and save them for simple recall. You can fine tune and update the scheme if you so desire. To submit suggestions for integrated themes simply collect all the settings for your proposed scheme and post them in the OverlayHD themes thread. Any themes that get notable public support will be considered for inclusion into the built-in themes.
• Enable visual confirmation of the SMS name search feature built in to the Movie Selection (MEDIA) menu. Try pressing number buttons while you are in the Movie Selection menu. Also take a look at the new "Sort" and "On end of movie" icons I created for this screen. If you are in interactive mode watch how these icons change to remind you of the current settings for each of the "Sort" and "On end of movie" settings.
• Make the Setup menus automatically show/hide the restart footnote depending on the option currently being highlighted.
• Add a Setup option that controls the graphical switch icon used in many screens. The option will allow the graphical switch to be replaced with more contextually and grammatically accurate On/Off, Yes/No, True/False or Enables/Disabled text messages.
• To assist users with colour selections an OverlayHD Skin Colour Chart is available at https://iansav.bitbucket.io/OverlayHD.html.

I have other user interface improvements under development or submitted for consideration for inclusion to the firmware. Proposed changes under development are behind the scenes improvements for the Setup and Menu controlled screens. For example all true Menu screens that allow numeric entries to select an item will *show* the selection before executing the option. There is also an option to display the short cut number before each menu item. I have already completed code development for allowing the UI to display dates and times in user selectable formats. Another completed code change allows for improved formatting of event start and end times. These code changes are awaiting approval for inclusion in a future firmware update. I am sure there will be more improvement suggestions in the future.

WARNING: Skins are closely related to the firmware on which they are used. Changes in the underlying code *MUST* be matched by the skin. Failure to do so can result in a malfunction and even possibly a crash. If you find this happening please post a bug report ASAP. Should this happen to you please note that you should always be able to reselect the default skin and OverlayHD should be effectively taken out of the picture. If you have any doubts then you can always remove OverlayHD from the "skins" category via the "Remove plugins" option in the Plugins option from the main menu or Setup interface.

NOTE: OverlayHD version 1.68 has now been released and supports the series 17.5 beta firmware version 2018-09-10 and later. This version of the skin should not install on firmware versions older than the series 17.5 beta firmware dated 2018-09-10. I aim to keep this post updated with OverlayHD and firmware compatibility information.

OverlayHD Release Information:

• Current version 1.70 is released and supports the beta firmware version 2018-09-10 and all subsequent 17.5 betas. This is the most appropriate version of OverlayHD to use with the 2018-09-10 beta firmware release and all subsequent betas.
• Version 1.69 has been removed as it contains an issue.
• Version 1.68 is being left online until the next release for any users who don't wish to use the latest version (1.68 was to be used for beta firmware version 2018-04-17 and newer.
• Version 1.64 is being left on-line until the next release for any users who don't wish to use the latest version (1.64 was to be used for firmware version 2017-03-10 up to 2018-04-17, beta version after this date added features incompatible with OverlayHD 1.64).
• Version 1.61 is being left on-line until the next release for any users who don't wish to use the latest version (1.61 was to be used for firmware version 2017-03-10 and newer).
• Version 1.60 is being left on-line until the next release for any users who don't wish to use the latest version (1.60 was to be used for firmware version 2017-03-10 and newer).
• Version 0.81 is being left on-line until the next release for any users who don't wish to use the latest version (0.81 was to be used for firmware version 2016-04-16 and newer).
• Version 0.80 is no longer available (0.80 was to be used for firmware version 2015-10-20 and newer).
• Version 0.75 is no longer available (0.75 was to be used for firmware version 2015-10-20 and newer).
• Version 0.73 is no longer available (0.73 was to be used for firmware version 2015-10-09 and newer).
• Version 0.72 is no longer available (0.72 was to be used for firmware version 2015-09-30 and newer).
• Version 0.71 is no longer available (0.71 was to be used for firmware version 2015-08-31 and beta updates up to 2015-09-16).

Simplified Instructions:

OverlayHD can now be obtained via the IanSav Feed Server. This server allows OverlayHD to be listed as an available plugin via the "MENU > Plugins > Download plugins" screen. To access the IanSav Feed Server you must be running the 17.5 beta firmware version 2017-10-29/30 or later. This system will not work for any earlier firmware. (If the installation is forced it will make all online updates break!) To gain access to the IanSav Feed Server please follow these instructions:

To install the IanSav Feed Server plugin:

• Download the IanSavBeyonwizFeed plugin. (For OpenViX users the appropriate plugin to download is IanSavOpenViXFeed.)
• Place the .ipk file on the internal hard disk, USB or network attached storage device,
• Use File Commander to find the file and press OK to access the install menu and select "Install" to install the IanSavBeyonwizFeed or IanSavOpenViXFeed package.
• If you used a USB storage device remember to unmount the device after the installation before disconnecting it from the receiver.

To install OverlayHD:

• Go to the "MENU > Plugins > Download plugins" menu and open the "skins" category and then select OverlayHD.
• When installation is complete go to "Menu > Setup > AV setup > Skin setup" to select the OverlayHD skin.
• This should ask for a GUI Restart which will make OverlayHD the current skin.
• To configure the OverlayHD skin use the "OverlayHD Skin Manager" plugin from the Plugins menu.

To remove OverlayHD:

• If you wish to return to the default "easy-skin-aus-hd", or any other, skin you do *NOT* have to remove OverlayHD. Access the "MENU > Setup > AV setup > Skin setup" menu to select which skin you wish to be the active skin.
• If you wish to completely remove OverlayHD and its plugin please use the RED button (Remove plugin) option from the Plugins menu ("MENU > Plugins > Remove plugins"), select the "skins" category and then select OverlayHD. Please remember to select another skin before removing OverlayHD. (Go to "Menu > Setup > AV setup > Skin setup" and select a skin *OTHER* than OverlayHD.)

There are no specific upgrade instructions for the simplified installation as upgrades will now be automatic. As with all standard plugins, OverlayHD will now be included in the standard upgrade check process.

Legacy Instructions:

The OverlayHD skin and its related control plugin can be downloaded from: https://bitbucket.org/IanSav/overlayhd/downloads/.

Please ensure you download the correct version of the skin that matches the version of firmware that your unit is currently using. (See WARNING and NOTE above.)

To install OverlayHD:

• Download the appropriate version of OverlayHD from the above link.
• Place the .ipk file on the internal hard disk, USB or network attached storage device,
• Use File Commander to find the file and press OK to access the install menu and select "Install" to install the OverlayHD package.
• When installation is complete go to "Menu > Setup > AV setup > Skin setup" to select the OverlayHD skin.
• This should ask for a GUI Restart which will make OverlayHD the current skin.
• To configure the OverlayHD skin use the "OverlayHD Skin Manager" plugin from the Plugins menu.

To update OverlayHD:

• Download the appropriate version of OverlayHD from the above link.
• Place the .ipk file on the internal hard disk, USB or network attached storage device,
• Use File Commander to find the file and press OK to access the install menu and select "Install" to install the OverlayHD package.
• Restart the GUI to enable and activate the updated components.
• To configure the OverlayHD skin use the "OverlayHD Skin Manager" plugin from the Plugins menu.

To remove OverlayHD:

• If you wish to return to the default "easy-skin-aus-hd", or any other, skin you do *NOT* have to remove OverlayHD. Access the "MENU > Setup > AV setup > Skin setup" menu to select which skin you wish to be the active skin.
• If you wish to completely remove OverlayHD and its plugin please use the RED button (Remove plugin) option from the Plugins menu ("MENU > Plugins > Remove plugins"), select the "skins" category and then select OverlayHD. Please remember to select another skin before removing OverlayHD. (Go to "Menu > Setup > AV setup > Skin setup" and select a skin *OTHER* than OverlayHD.)

Emergency override of OverlayHD:

• If you have installed the incorrect version of the skin relative to the version of firmware running on your Beyonwiz you may find that some menus no longer work. A quick and easy way to recover from this situation is to download the correct version of the skin package and place a copy in the top level (root directory) of a USB stick. Insert the stick into a free USB socket on the T series Beyonwiz. After a few seconds you should be prompted to install packages from the USB stick. Select the correct skin and allow the install to proceed. Use the POWER button to restart the GUI and you should regain full control of your device.
• If there is a problem with the previous procedure and OverlayHD causes you to be unable to use the Beyonwiz normally you can use the following instructions to force remove OverlayHD as your current or active skin:
  • Use a Telnet client to log into the Beyonwiz. Log in as "root" with a blank password. (If you have changed the defaults then use your own settings.)
  • Stop the Enigma2 process by using the command "init 4". Do not use these instructions if any recordings are active or due to start. This command stops *all* Beyonwiz processing without further warning! You have been warned. Delay your changes until after the Beyonwiz has finished its tasks and is idle.
  • Use your favourite editor to edit the file "/etc/enigma2/settings" and delete the line "config.skin.primary_skin=OverlayHD/skin.xml".
  • Restart the Enigma2 process by using the command "init 3".
  • Log out with "exit".
  • The Beyonwiz should restart with "easy-skin-aus-hd" as the active skin.

I hope OverlayHD helps to improve your Beyonwiz T Series usage experience.

Regards,
Ian.

[IanSav]

Hi All,

This post will be used to summarise all bug and wish list items for the OverlayHD skin...

Recent Changes (OverlayHD version 1.70) :

1. Correct an OverlayHD plugin crash due to a missing message.

Recent Changes (OverlayHD version 1.69) :

1. Improve the OverlayHD plugin version numbering.
2. Add the OverlayHD version number to the plugin logs.

Recent Changes (OverlayHD version 1.68) :

1. Replace image that causes a crash in OpenViX
   • This is a replacement small black 1 x 1 pixel image. The previous version caused a crash when loaded into OpenViX 5.2 firmware.
2. Improve transport control icons
3. [skin_filemanagers.xml] Update Slim MovieSelection Beyonwiz screen
   • This change adapts the Beyonwiz version of the Slim MovieSelection screen to cope with the new file selection UI. (This change was missed in the 43b696c92da2a09943b6973cba46e0b3ed6b0375 commit.)
4. [skin_plugins.xml] Rework and improve CutList Editor screen
   • The CutList Editor screen layout has been reworked to improve presentation and resolve clipping of the speed display.
   • There are now two versions of the CutList Editor screen to account for the different versions of the plugin on Beyonwiz and elsewhere.
5. [plugin.py] Match SMSHelperFont and bump version number
   • Set default SMSHelperFont to match the new font used in skin.xml.
   • Bump the plugin version number to reflect skin and plugin changes.

Recent Changes (OverlayHD version 1.67) (Not publicly released):

1. Fix issue #673: Tidy up FileCommander list headers (Prl - Pull request #31)
   • Use two widgets for the header entries, one a name widget for the file path and the other a source with a List/TemplatedMultiContent/Listbox chain to display the file status.
   • Display the symbolic file mode, the scaled file size and the modification time in the file mode.
   • Put the File Commander file lists skin into a panel so that the panel can be used in both FileCommanderScreen and FileCommander
2. Fix issue #681: Show link targets in File Commander file status (Prl - Pull request #31)
   • Add skin widgets for the link contents label, the contents themselves and a hideable separator pinstripe.
   • Reduce the height of the list so that the widgets can be placed just under the list.
3. Update CutListEditor to match update in easy-ui-4 (Adoxa - Pull request #25)
4. Update FileCommander mark icons
5. Update ON/OFF switch images for Setup screens
6. [skin_fiemanagers.xml] Update FileCommander
   • This change brings in compatibility with the latest FileCommander changes. Both the old and new style header codings are supported.
7. [skin_filenamagers.xml] Change movie search font
   • Change the MovieSelection search character font to allow full access to glyphs for all languages.
8. [skin_filemanagers.xml] Update MovieSelection Beyonwiz screen
   • This change adapts the Beyonwiz version of the MovieSelection screen to cope with the new file selection UI.
9. [skin.xml] Minor corrections - Correct the TextNormal font size
   • Remove the forced HELP button from the Setup screen
   • Correct the title for the Screensaver screen
10. [skin.xml] Update VirtualKeyBoard screen
    • Make the VirtualKeyBoard a full screen display rather than a pop up screen
    • Provide different VirtualKeyBoard screens for Beyonwiz and OpenViX
11. [skin.xml] Update NumericalTextInputHelpDialog font and layout
    • Use the DejaVu font to have more support for different languages
    • Widen the columns to allow for more characters per digit
    • Remove the "<" and ">" to the left and right of "0" as these characters are not available via those buttons

Recent Changes (OverlayHD version 1.66) (Not publicly released):

1. [skin_plugins.xml] Remove duplicated screen definitions
2. [skin_filemanagers.xml] Correct colour button heights
3. [skin_setup.xml] Update font size in IpkgInstaller
4. Update ON/OFF switch images for Setup screens
5. [skin.xml] Update ConfigList parameters
6. [skin.xml] Use new switchpixmap alphatest attribute
7. Update old PlexDVR plugin screen to new HRTunerProxy plugin screen
8. [skin_plugins.xml] Support ShootYourScreen plugin
9. [skin_system.xml] Improve TaskList screen
10. [skin_media.xml] Correct comment and move Web Cams to correct section
    • The Media Player was mislabelled as Music section
    • The Web Cams were incorrectly in the Photos section and not the Video section where they belong
11. [skin_media.xml] Add YouTube plugin screens
12. [skin.xml] Add initial support for auto display buttons
13. [skin.xml] Add noWrap attribute to all colour buttons
14. Allow multiple selections in the movie list (Prl - Pull request #26)
    • Add PNGs required for pull request #409
    • Allow multiple selections in the movie list in the easy-ui-4 repository.
15. Fix up default LCD picon (Prl - Pull request #27)
    • The default LCD picon, lcd_picon_default.png (used when no valid picon can be found) is an 8-bit greyscale colourmapped 76 x 45 pixel image with alpha plane. Picons need to be 8-bit direct greyscale 170 x 40 pixel images with a black background and no alpha plane. Changed lcd_picon_default.png accordingly.
16. Replace alphatest="on" with alphatest="blend"
    • This change aligns the skin with updated image processing code.
17. [skin_filemanagers.xml] Update FileCommander screens
    • Add the new FileCommander file/directory information screen.
    • Remove the old definition for the FileCommander settings screen which is now replaced by the system Setup screen.
18. [skin.xml] Add Setup image for FileCommander
19. Fix issue #674: [skins] Increase default font size for FileList (Prl - Pull request #29)
    • Add new FileList font alias with font size 20 (code default 18) and height 25 (code default 25).
20. [skin_filemanagers.xml] Add missing help buttons from FileCommander
21. Add DejaVu fonts
    • This change is prompted by Pull Request #28 made by Prl but it conflicted with a pending change already in the works.
    • These open source fonts have better support none non English languages.
22. Add user defined colour place-holders
23. Fix issue #678: Settings and actions menu for FileCommander (Prl - Pull request #30)
    • Add screen skin FileCommanderContextMenu for new context menu in FileCommander.
24. [skin.xml] Add Setup image templates Add place-holder templates for more of the Setup screens.
25. [skin.xml] Correct DejaVu font file names
26. Update button templates and plugin
    • Update colour buttons to latest implementation based on objectTypes attribute
    • Move colour buttons into ScreenTemplate
    • Move automatic version of MENU, INFO, TEXT and HELP buttons into ScreenTemplate
    • Remove unnecessary calls to ScreenTemplateButtonColours from through out the skin
    • Update OverlayHD plugin to latest Python support module standards (OpenViX now supports Beyonwiz style ActionMaps

Recent Changes (OverlayHD version 1.65)(Only released for OpenViX):

1. Correct spacing in CutListEditor templates
2. Correct spelling of the ETSI-ALL.png file
3. Optimise some of the the IceTV configuration tests
4. [skin_plugins.xml] Correct some overlapping components in IMDb screen
5. [skin_filemanagers.xml] Use MovieInfo converter enhancements
   • This change uses an enhanced MovieInfo converter that uses the same display options as the EventName converter. Specifically a new FullDescription option is now available together with the [Not]Separated and [Not]Trimmed options.
6. [skin.xml] Update colour buttons to use new objectTypes attribute
   • This new attribute allows screen objects to be overlapped in the screen definition but restrict the actual item being displayed based on the control used to produce the object.
7. Update skin and plugin to latest version of objectTypes implementation
   • This version of the skin and plugin now matches and supports the latest implementation of the objectTypes attribute.
8. [skin.xml] Add missing fonts used in OpenViX

Recent Changes (OverlayHD version 1.64):

1. Add missing OpenViX ImageManagerDownload screen
2. Improve MovieSelection screen
3. Change from Label to Button style buttons

Recent Changes (OverlayHD version 1.63) (Not publicly released):

1. Add support for U4 remote TV-OUT button
2. Remove Picture Player screen (This screen is programatically created and is incompatible with the skinning engine.)
3. Truncate rather than wrap long titles
4. Update IPTV streaming screens

Recent Changes (OverlayHD version 1.62) (Not publicly released):

1. Add missing MENU button to Samba settings screen
2. Add support for PlexDVRAPI plugin

Recent Changes (OverlayHD version 1.61):

1. Correct spelling of firmware
2. Remove OpenSan-Regular font (This font was not producing acceptable results.)
3. Add "Body", "ChoiceList" and "MovieSelectionFont" access to OverlayHD plugin control
4. Add volume level number to volume display
5. Create option to add OverlayHD plugin to the Extensions menu
6. Don't bother sorting an empty list of themes
7. Use the XML parse option to process the XML file directly rather than pre-opening the file to a file channel
8. Correct MultiEPG parameter templates
9. Enlarge text font in pop up box screens
10. Improve Date/Time and Date/Time/Duration screen layouts

Previous Changes (OverlayHD version 1.60):

1. Add enhanced date and time formats.
2. Improve Channel Selection screen.
3. Restore EPG NOW highlighting.
4. Add the new parameter to enable the new date and time configuration options and displays.
5. Add new Circle button bar option.
6. Improve Australian flag icon.
7. Update tuner setup screens.
8. Correct LanguageSelection screen.
9. Suppress skin errors in MoviePlayer info screen.
10. Start adding Enigma2 / OpenViX compatibility.
11. Add Trimmed option to Rating and Genre displays.
12. Remove defunct "ScreenTemplateButtonColourBacks". These entries are no longer required as all the main colour buttons are now protected by conditional attributes.
13. The code to support the analogue clock has been removed from recent firmware releases. Rather than have the feature work on some systems yet break on others it has been removed for everyone.
14. Add templates for new EpgList.py parameters.
15. Replace SmallRating text with a rating icon.
16. Add entries for new Enigma2 fonts.
17. General tidy up of skin code.
18. Make OverlayHD compatible with both Beyonwiz and OpenViX. With OpenViX compatibility is should be easy to make OverlayHD compatible with any Enigma2 build.
19. Use menu_path_compressed only when available. This change suppresses skin errors on screens where menu_path_compressed is not yet defined.
20. Add option to make colour button display optional. This change allows the user to nominate if all four colour buttons should always be displayed or only display the buttons which are defined to be active in the current code context.
21. Update OverlayHD plugin icon.
22. Use build agnostic default picon image.
23. Improve the ScreenSaver default transparency.
24. To avoid skin errors and conflicts all fonts used by OverlayHD will now be kept within the OverlayHD directory structure.
25. Add skin support for refactored Setup code.
26. Remove defunct clock and EPG alignment settings.
27. Add EPG NOW highlighting options.
28. Add option to control forced display of unused colour buttons.
29. Remove defunct colours, EPG alignment code, defunct clock code.
30. Add code to support EPG NOW, new fonts and the cleaned up colour button system.
31. Add ProgressBar and TextDisabled colouring to OverlayHD.
32. Add AutoBouquetsMaker and ViX plugins to OverlayHD.
33. Move InputDeviceSettings from skin_other.xml to skin_setup.xml. Move InputDeviceSettings to the more appropriate location and update it to the current standards.
34. Add system logs UI to OverlayHD.
35. Make common pop up dialogues wider. This change is to support some of the longer messages used on OpenViX.
36. Rework most of the Setup Network screens to match the revised NetworkSetting.py code.
37. Add more OverlayHD format screens for network options enabled in OpenViX but not Beyonwiz.
38. Rework the network test screen to adopt the OverlayHD look.
39. Assorted little tidy ups and corrections to prepare for the next release.
40. Update the CrossEPG plugin screens.
41. Add EPG-Import plugin screens.
42. Add Fan Control 2 plugin screens.
43. Add Temperature and Fan Control plugin screens.
44. Add VU+ DUO Fan Control plugin screen.
45. Add VU+ Remote Control plugin screen.
46. Move CI Interface screens from skin_other.xml to skin_setup.xml and update to OverlayHD style.
47. Improve CronTimers screen.
48. Add ServiceInformation panel for Enigma2 / OpenViX users.
49. Improve Enigma2 / OpenViX Information screens by using new unique menu ID keys for Information menu.
50. Improve the look of the Network information screen on OpenViX.
51. Make the Text, Input and Choice boxes wider to allow for longer text strings.
52. Add test parentalcontrol image for new Setup.py testing.
53. Update OverlayHD plugin version number for 1.60 release.

Previous Changes (OverlayHD version 0.81):

1. There are now five styles of colour buttons selectable in the OverlayHD control plugin. The original style is called "Legacy" but there is also a new style called "Wizard" (the buttons from Full-Metal-Wizard) as well as three new designs "Bar", "Block" and "Button". "Bar" is a small vertical colour bar within a button frame that looks similar to the grey buttons to the left and right of the colour buttons. "Bar" looks like "Legacy" but within the button frame (and no drop shadow). "Button" is a colour jewel within the button frame.
2. Most screen fonts are now selectable via the OverlayHD plugin. This is a new feature that will be improved over time. (I needed to bring the feature forward to incorporate it into the theme engine.)
3. Skin refinements like improved Main Menu (larger more consistent fonts) and other similar small tweaks here and there.
4. Boot background images can now be changed.
5. Spinner animations can now be changed.
6. Some new fonts have been added.
7. Status bar recording and firmware update icons can be made to blink (default) or not blink.
8. Two more colours have been added and other colours updated.
9. The OverlayHD colour chart has been updated.
10. The default EPG colour scheme is now based on neutral grey rather than blue tones.
11. The MovieSelectionSlim screen now shows file sizes.
12. The InputBox screen has been improved.
13. The VirtualKeyboard screen has been improved.
14. Support the new Date/Time/Duration recording screen.
15. Update NetworkFtp screen to match code change.
16. Improve IMDb screen layout and add missing INFO button label.
17. Create three OverlayHD plugin selectable banner and pop up clock display panels
18. Make timeline tick graphic a neutral silver colour, add an option to hide or display the tick marks.
19. Replace more hard coded colours and fonts with skin colour and font definitions.
20. Update ChannelSelection screens and add missing attributes (highlighting during move and edit is now working).
21. Add EPG event alignment, EPG font alias and EPGGridBorder colour definitions.
22. Add options to reduce the long settings list available in OverlayHD into a number of related groups.
23. Default the OverlayHD configuration groups to enabled and closed to simplify the initial plugin display.
24. Add an EPGTimeLineFont alias to allow the time line font to be changed.
25. Themes are now available. Themes can save and restore colours, fonts, button styles, spinners, boot image and some other UI settings.
    Over the release candidates the following changes have been made:
    • Update OverlayHD Theme Manager screen and add OverlayHD Theme Menu screen.
    • Move the themes data file to the Enigma2 configuration directory so that the themes are saved during a backup
26. Code optimisations to increase speed and reliability.
27. Improve reliability of updating the screen after a theme is applied.
28. Improve initialisation and notification code to eliminate a rare crash condition.

Bugs:

1. Some descriptions in the OverlayHD Skin Manager plugin are missing.
   Fixed in 0.73.
2. EPG screens are not under OverlayHD Skin Manager control.
   Fixed in 0.73.
3. MEDIA player infobar is missing its background colour.
   Fixed in 0.74.

Wishes:

1. Add ability to preview background images.
2. Themes - ability to simplify colour selections into single colour theme entry.
   Delivered in 0.81.
3. EPG - make the description location the same for both the PIG and non PIG versions of GraphicalEPG.
   Fixed in 0.73.

Regards,
Ian.

[MrQuade]

Huge congratulations for getting your skin to public release stage.

Quite an epic undertaking .

[prl]

Hear, hear!

[IanSav]

Hi,

Thank you! It has been over 15 months of hard work to get this far.

Hopefully T Series Beyonwiz users will get behind this effort and will encourage others to start contributing code, skins and/or ideas.

Regards,
Ian.

[Sir Lancelot]

Hi
Congratulations on the new skin.
Downloaded this and installed on both my T3 and T4 without problem.
Very nice looking skin, although I have not had the time to look at things thoroughly.
Only one minor complaint. Any programs set to record no longer have the solid red infill, and the little timer indicators could be easily missed. But I think that with time this would be fairly easy to adjust to (mentally that is).
Keep up the good work!

Regards
Lance

[IanSav]

Hi Lance,

Thank you for your supportive comment.

I am currently reworking the EPG screens to integrate them with the OverlayHD plugin controls. Please let me know which EPG screen looks wrong and I will be sure to check it out.

Regards,
Ian.

[peteru]

The skin is licensed GPLv2+, but Bitbucket does not contain the source code. Can you please use git push to distribute the source code to go with the binaries? Thanks.

[IanSav]

Hi PeterU,

Not yet, it is undergoing some heavy changes and refinements.

Regards,
Ian.

[Sir Lancelot]

Hi IanSav

On both the T3 and T4 EPG screens which are wrong are:-

1. Guide > Epg
2. Menu > TV/Radio > Program Guide > EPG

Hope this helps you out.

Despite this slight problem, great work in all.

Regards
Lance

[osc.wilde]

Hi Ian,

First up, thanks for putting in the hard yards.
It installed and ran without probs on my T4.
I had no issues with the colour changing and customised all items to test functionality - all good - and enough flexibility to make the interface truly gaudy and hideous .
I do like the more "muted" colour palette you chose as the default.
The system menus look "clean". Did you change/adjust fonts or is it an optical illusion created by framing box/shading/transparency changes?

As mentioned above - and obviously something to look forward to - are your planned refinements to the (main) EPG.
The rec / auto timer event infill issue was mentioned above - and I concur.
I did/do like the highlighting of the active channel name - it is clearer than the trans blue used in the default skin.
The showstopper (for me) is the "trans grey" navigation highlighting of events in the EPG - if this was yellow/assignable to another colour, I'd be happy to switch to OverlayHD as my default skin. If I've overlooked a colour setting, please point me in the right direction.

Thanks once again, hope some of this is of use.

[IanSav]

Hi Lance,

What is your default EPG? There are a number available and you can select which one becomes your default EPG. If you long press EPG you get a selector menu that allows you to run any EPG on demand or you can nominate the default EPG.

After your previous comment I looked at the EPG skins and decided that they were not up to the quality and funtionality to match my more recent efforts. I last worked on the EPGs about 12 months ago. A lot has changed since then. I am currently refreshing all the EPG screens and adding them into the OverlayHD plugin so that all the colours should become selectable.

Note that the "Text" and "Graphic" modes of the EPG switch between text colouring (which can include a transparency component) or a graphic background that is always opaque. Similarly any EPG that offers a PIG (Picture in Graphic) will have an opaque background.

Regards,
Ian.

[IanSav]

Hi Osc wilde,

Thank you for your supportive comments.

When coding the plugin I deliberately avoided putting in any blocks that would stop users from making the UI as loud as they wanted to make it.

If there are any colours you would like added to the selection list please let me know the colour name and its RGB hex code and I will consider adding it.

I have made considerable effort to position and size all the screen elements I can to optimise the consistency and presentation of the UI. That does include changes in fonts, font sizes, colours, backgrounds and positioning.

All the EPG screens are currently undergoing a major rework. This will include making colour selections for various elements. As with Lance's comment could you please confirm exactly which EPG is currently causing you concern.

All input for OverlayHD is welcome and will be considered.

Regards,
Ian.

[osc.wilde]

If there are any colours you would like added to the selection list please let me know the colour name and its RGB hex code and I will consider adding it.

All the EPG screens are currently undergoing a major rework. This will include making colour selections for various elements. As with Lance's comment could you please confirm exactly which EPG is currently causing you concern.

Hi Ian.

I think there are already plenty of colours to choose from, but if I were to suggest any additions, they'd be closer to the "Dull" variants - as these are useful for menu highlighting (notably the Main menu).
I don't know if it's possible to control the colours of the RGYB buttons in the same way - or if they are actual graphic file elements?

Re: EPG - I favour the (full screen) graphical EPG with PIG enabled.
I also occasionally use the Info Bar EPG.
The Now/Next (Multi EPG) and Single Channel EPG views are a little anachronistic, IMO, but I'm sure some folks like them.
Interestingly, the navigation of highlighted events and the highlighting of the channel name/icon varies between the different EPG options in "graphics" mode. In "text" mode, the various EPGs are (almost) consistent from a colour of text/highlighting perspective.

[IanSav]

Hi Osc.wilde,

The buttons are graphical elements so not subject to direct control by the OverlayHD plugin. If there was a choice how would you like them changed? If the change is subtle I could doctor the images (again).

As I have been looking at all the EPG screens I have decided to give them all a major overhaul. Consistency in colour use etc is all on the agenda. I am also looking at the details (or lack thereof) in the data available to try and improve this aspect as well. I am nearly done with the rearranging and adding useful information but then I have to start on fixing the colour allocation and updating the plugin to suit. I should have something more to show later in the week.

For now I have attached some sample screen grabs of the current state of progress.

Regards,
Ian.

[osc.wilde]

Hi Ian,

The buttons obviously need to remain RGYB.
I think that it's a transparency thing - rather than the button colours per-se.
In essence, the buttons appear a little "bright" when compared with the more subtle colours available/used in various windows for text/menus - very noticeable in the graphic EPG.
This isn't a problem if the user favours a more "circus" look, but if going for a darker overall appearance that enhances text/info contrast, the RGYB buttons tend to "pop" more.
This is all a matter of degrees, and if it's possible to adjust the transparency of graphical elements, it would be a cool addition - but don't bust your nuts trying to change things like the actual image files - this will only lead you down a path of changing ALL graphics

Speaking of graphics - liking the "in-progress" pics. Will you end up going for green or blue to highlight the selected service. IMO, the green provides better contrast / is easier to spot at a glance.

[IanSav]

Hi Osc.wilde,

I may leave changing all the graphics files for another project. I can see no clean and easy way to change the transparency of the graphics on the fly as I am able to do with all the other elements.

When I am finished with this round of coding virtually all the EPG element colours will be configurable. (Except the graphics in Graphics view. ) What you are seeing in these sample shots are some of the colour configuration changes I was testing. These will all be under user control.

Regards,
Ian.

[Sir Lancelot]

Hi IanSav

I use Favourites (bouquet) as my default EPG.

Regards
Lance

[IanSav]

Hi Lance,

May I please have a screenshot of the screen with the "broken" colouring?

Regards,
Ian.

[Sir Lancelot]

Sorry IanSav

Graphics screen not Text. I forgot to put this in.

Regards
Lance

[IanSav]

Hi Lance,

Ahhhh, I was looking in the wrong place! A screen grab would still be helpful.

Regards,
Ian.

[Sir Lancelot]

Hi IanSav

Here is a photo of my T4 screen showing the lack of red infill on programs set to record.
I don't quite know how Ainsleys street food got two auto record arrows on it....never seen that before.

I am having fun changing item colours and seeing how they look.

Great work IanSav, muchly appreciated.

Regards
Lance

[IanSav]

Hi Lance,

This looks like an image file isn't loading for some reason. That is odd because I wrote a program to check skin consistency errors and I am not getting any faults flagged. (Maybe my checking program is broken as well! ) I think I now have enough info to trace the problem. Let me investigate and see what I can find / fix.

Thank you for the report.

Regards,
Ian.

[Sir Lancelot]

Thanks IanSav

Regards
Lance

[prl]

There should only be two icons in that position if the program has both an IceTV timer and an AutoTimer set for it. The right-hand icon should be the green double-arrow for AutoTimer, and the left-hand icon should be a small blue IceTV "star".

I've checked the code that applies the icons, and that looks OK.

My guess is that in the OverlayHD Skin, icons/epgclock_icetv.png is a copy of icons/epgclock_autotimer.png.

[IanSav]

Hi Prl,

Thank you for the suggestion. I will check that out.

I have also posted in the developer's area about my suspected problem with the "i" graphic with text mode highlighting. While this may not be behind this particular issue I can see this a being a problem. (It is also a visual annoyance! )

Regards,
Ian.

[prl]

I've replied there.

[IanSav]

Hi Prl,

My guess is that in the OverlayHD Skin, icons/epgclock_icetv.png is a copy of icons/epgclock_autotimer.png.

Nope, the icons are different and correct.

(I wish the EPG icons lived in the epgs folder where they should belong. )

Regards,
Ian.

[peteru]

I had a quick look at the skin. Later, I changed to another skin and restarted the GUI. However, the plugin menu is still showing the OverlayHD skin plugin, even though the skin is not active. Further to that, the plugin allows you to change settings and does a GUI restart, even though the OverlayHD skin is not in use.

I think that the OverlayHD plugin should only be shown if OverlayHD is the current skin.

[dRdoS7]

Hi,

I installed the skin, no problems.

I selected the skin, restarted the GUI, no problems.

I changed some settings, love the solid black, non-opaque, background.

Here's where it went wrong.

When I went to save the settings, because it was recording (or about to), there was a pop-up asking yes or no. I selected "no", didn't want to stop "Peppa"!

Then it crashed.

I've attached the log.

Thanks for what looks like a great skin.

dRdoS7

PS. It's OK, Peppa survived.

[IanSav]

Hi PeterU,

I had a quick look at the skin. Later, I changed to another skin and restarted the GUI. However, the plugin menu is still showing the OverlayHD skin plugin, even though the skin is not active. Further to that, the plugin allows you to change settings and does a GUI restart, even though the OverlayHD skin is not in use.

I think that the OverlayHD plugin should only be shown if OverlayHD is the current skin.

I am very careful to ensure that changes are only applied if OverlayHD is the active skin. I left the plugin itself active so that users could prepare and save settings at any time but they will only happen if the skin is active.

I assume you believe / propose that it would be a better UI choice to completely remove OverlayHD from the plugin menu until OverlayHD is the active skin. I am okay with this change.

Do any other users object to a change where the OverlayHD Skin Manager plugin will be hidden if the OverlayHD skin is not active?

Regards,
Ian.

[IanSav]

Hi dRdoS7,

Is this crash repeatable? I tried starting a recording and being in timeshift but could not trigger a crash.

I would welcome any other information about the context of the crash that may explain what was happening at the time.

Regards,
Ian.

[dRdoS7]

Hi,

The colours I have selected for highlighted items text colour don't seem to be used in the Main Menu or the EPG (where it's hard to discern the difference between selected & non-selected).

Menu:

Colour Settings:

The EPG:

Like the colours!

Hi dRdoS7,

Is this crash repeatable? I tried starting a recording and being in timeshift but could not trigger a crash.

I would welcome any other information about the context of the crash that may explain what was happening at the time.

Regards,
Ian.

I don't know what else I can add to the description of circumstances.

I haven't tried again whiles a recording was in progress, I'll give it a go soon. See if it's repeatable.

Thanks,

dRdoS7

[IanSav]

Hi dRdoS7,

The issue with the main menu should be addressed when the code changes recently made Prl are released in the next Beta firmware update and I can test the skin changes that will match this change.

The EPG problem is currently being addressed. The EPG screens were not being controlled by the OverlayHD plugin. See above for some samples of the current rework efforts.

I await your further testing to verify / identify the circumstances of the crash.

I am *hoping* to have an update ready by the end of this weekend. (Updates will be easy to apply. Just download the newer package and install it over the current installation.)

Regards,
Ian.

[dRdoS7]

Hi,

I await your further testing to verify / identify the circumstances of the crash.

Definitely repeatable.

I waited for a scheduled timer to start, went in and changed some skin settings.

Press the button to save.

A pop-up asking if I wanted to restart the GUI, I selected "yes".

A pop-up asking if I still wanted to, because a recording was in progress, I selected "no".

It crashed.

I did forget the fact there were 2 requests, sorry.

dRdoS7

[prl]

... The issue with the main menu should be addressed when the code changes recently made Prl are released in the next Beta firmware update and I can test the skin changes that will match this change. ...

Make that "the changes that prl will be making soon". So far all I've done to GeneralMenu (the main menu in live TV) is to cut out the round 30 percent of the code that was old, dead clutter.

Once those changes have been accepted into the main repository, I'll do the actual work needed to make GeneralMenu more skinnable.

The acceptance of the cleanup changes for GeneralMenu and the changes I made to make GeneralSetup more skinnable are currently waiting on me to make the corresponding changes to the Full-Metal-Wizard skin.

The changes I made to Components.Multicontent to allow colour names to be used in skin templates have been accepted into the source repository, and I guess will be in a beta coming up soon.

[IanSav]

Hi Prl,

Thanks for the update. These changes will be welcomed and should allow some significant improvements for OverlayHD and any other skins that want to move away from the default skin layouts.

Regards,
Ian.

[peteru]

I assume you believe / propose that it would be a better UI choice to completely remove OverlayHD from the plugin menu until OverlayHD is the active skin.

That is correct. If OverlayHD is not the active skin then there should be no OverlayHD item in the plugin list. When OverlayHD is the active skin, the plugin list should show the OverlayHD entry so that the user can customise the skin.

[IanSav]

Hi PeterU,

I have taken this suggestion on-board and come up with a solution. The plugin now has a configuration option that can force the plugin to remain available at all times (the current behaviour) or only appear when the OverlayHD skin is active. The latter mode, new behaviour, is the default.

This has already been coded and tested and will appear on the next release.

Thank you for the feedback.

Regards,
Ian.

[prl]

... The issue with the main menu should be addressed when the code changes recently made Prl are released in the next Beta firmware update and I can test the skin changes that will match this change. ...

Make that "the changes that prl will be making soon". So far all I've done to GeneralMenu (the main menu in live TV) is to cut out the round 30 percent of the code that was old, dead clutter.

Once those changes have been accepted into the main repository, I'll do the actual work needed to make GeneralMenu more skinnable.
...

Those changes are now in the repository, so I'll get on with making GeneralMenu more skinnable.

[dRdoS7]

Hi,

I noticed last night that the "mute" icon no longer appears.

I did a search, and find no mention of it in this thread.

dRdoS7

[IanSav]

Hi dRdoS7,

That is a design feature. The mute icon is there but moved to behind the UI. If you are just watching TV or video the icon is on the top left. When you start interacting with the UI the icon moves to the background where it doesn't overlap the data in the UI. When you return to the show the icon returns.

Regards,
Ian.

[IanSav]

Hi,

I am working on a quick OverlayHD skin update to account for all the changes in last night's firmware update. I should have this ready to go tonight.

Unfortunately this update has delayed my completion of the plugin updates to include EPG control but does have the latest version of most of the EPG screen updates. (The InfoBar EPG rework is not yet complete.)

(Bug and wish list post updated.)

Regards,
Ian.

[dRdoS7]

Hi,

Hi dRdoS7,

That is a design feature. The mute icon is there but moved to behind the UI. If you are just watching TV or video the icon is on the top left. When you start interacting with the UI the icon moves to the background where it doesn't overlap the data in the UI. When you return to the show the icon returns.

Regards,
Ian.

Definitely not there.

Doesn't appear, even with nothing else on the screen.

I thought about what you wrote, and disabled the subtitles, then it did appear in the top left corner.

I have also found that if you press OK - OK, then mute, the info bar & info disappear.

dRdoS7

[IanSav]

Hi dRdoS7,

No MUTE icon when subtitles are active has been confirmed. Let me see how best to address this. I like the MUTE falling to the background but not at the cost of subtitles.

Regards,
Ian.

[Star6key]

Just installed this yesterday. I like it.

However, I've just had a crash(es). Went into Media, pressed the Menu button and it came up with the crash report screen, then rebooted. I've just done it 3 times in a row.

[IanSav]

Hi Star6key,

This is a result of last night's firmware update. I have the changes required in place and running some tests at the moment. I should have an update ready for later tonight or tomorrow at the latest. This is listed as bug 3 in the list above.

Regards,
Ian.

[Star6key]

Hi Star6key,

This is a result of last night's firmware update. I have the changes required in place and running some tests at the moment. I should have an update ready for later tonight or tomorrow at the latest. This is listed as bug 3 in the list above.

Regards,
Ian.

Ahh... ok. I'll wait for the update.

[Sir Lancelot]

Hi IanSav

I had a problem last evening. Was using OverlayHD Skin as my skin for the T3 and wanted to change something not associated with the skin. Went Menu>setup and found that everything in the setup was blank. No way could I get anything to show (tried booting and switching off the T3 etc). All other items along the Menu line worked ok. Finally I had to reinstall the latest USB Beta firmware to get everything back to working also the on line updates. All working fine this morning, although I am not using OverlayHD skin in case this was the cause of the problem.

Thought I had better let you know.

Regards
Lance