Most recent - yes again - 2009/12/16 04:28I see there have been a range of patches over the last year towards implementing a "most recent browse" option. Unfortunately I don't see any of these addressing the real need. For me this has been the most annoying limitation since departing from the old Pinnacle software.
What I don't like:
I don't like the idea of using a filter. The problem here is that sometimes what I want was added 10 minutes ago and other times 10 months ago. It all depends on how frequent I add media and it is different for different media categories. Regardless, I will be searching for the "most recently added" media.
I don't like selection/browsing on individual files. This is not practical for music and photos (I have zillions and trust others do to). Names of individual photos are meaningless. For these two categories (music and photos that is) I want to browse for albums/directories.
What I would like to see:
An option to browse for recent music/photos based on albums/directories respectively. The list presented must be sorted by date/time in DESCENDING order.
The approach should be "TOP x" in each category sorted in DESCENDING date/time order and NOT a filter.
Have I missed something or are we still in limbo with respect to this issue?Player: ShowCenter 1000g (wired) + PopcornHour A-100 Server: Windows XP (SwissCenter)
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klaasvaak
User
Posts: 1305
Re: Most recent - yes again - 2009/12/16 09:05EDITED POST
Well, it’s not that difficult to create your own way of searching. Have a look at file ‘/music_search.php’. By changing the the array of $search, you can define the search method of your choice; this search option, then, will be applicable to the normal music search.
So, if I understand you well, you want to have a list of your albums ordered by the date that the album were added to the DB. In file ‘/music_search.php’ you’ll get something like
regards, Klaas ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SwissCenter SVN 1344
Simese 2.5.9 / PHP 5.2.9-1 / MySQL 5.1.32 / Windows XP SP3
Apache 2.2.11 / PHP 5.2.10 / MySQL 5.1.34 / Linux Synology 2.6.15
Synology DS107+ (128), firmware: DSM 2.2-0959
Pinnacle SC200 / PCH A-110
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BenF
User
Posts: 23
Re: Most recent - yes again - 2009/12/18 05:37I set out to try the suggested mod, but am not able to locate the script referenced. In base (SVN 1344) I have "search.php" and "music.php", but no "music_search.php".
Also I trust it is probably not difficult to implement what I'm after, but why not add this functionality to the standard package? If I patch the scripts now and later upgrade, I trust the upgrade will put me be back at square one again.
Judging by what other posters say, there is still an open gap when it comes to easy access to TOP x albums/directories/videos list in REVERSE date order. The requests however seem to be answered by a never ending stream of obscure search/filter options that are only good for a few if any at all. Rather they add to the complexity of the user interface and the burden of maintenance towrads new releases.
Looking back at the Pinnacle software, its design was quite good in this respect although it was flawed and shortcoming in many other ways. What is it that makes this so hard to get right?Player: ShowCenter 1000g (wired) + PopcornHour A-100 Server: Windows XP (SwissCenter)
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klaasvaak
User
Posts: 1305
Re: Most recent - yes again - 2009/12/18 09:52In base (SVN 1344)I have "search.php" and "music.php", but no "music_search.php". Yep, you’re completely right it should be ‘/music_search.php as the file is stored in the main SwissCenter directory (I’ve edited my first post).
If I patch the scripts now and later upgrade, I trust the upgrade will put me be back at square one again. Again, this is true, however, only when file ‘music_search.php’ is adjusted by the update, otherwise it remains the way you changed it.
The requests however seem to be answered by a never ending stream of obscure search/filter options that are only good for a few if any at all. Rather they add to the complexity of the user interface and the burden of maintenance towrads new releases. I think the way you’re putting this is not very fair to the work of the developers. Many users have various preferred search options and have different wishes to have the search results displayed. I can fully understand that it’s simply not feasible to have everyone’s expectations fulfilled, and personally I have no problem with that; I suggest we leave the decision to implement something and to prioritize it up to the developers.
regards, Klaas --------------------------------------------------------------------------- SwissCenter SVN 1344 Simese 2.5.9 / PHP 5.2.9-1 / MySQL 5.1.32 / Windows XP SP3 Apache 2.2.11 / PHP 5.2.10 / MySQL 5.1.34 / Linux Synology 2.6.15 Synology DS107+ (128), firmware: DSM 2.2-0959 Pinnacle SC200 / PCH A-110
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BenF
User
Posts: 23
Re: Most recent - yes again - 2009/12/20 03:39I think the way you’re putting this is not very fair to the work of the developers. I can't agree with this, it's not about lack of developmenrt - quite the contrary I reckognize the effort. If the core need is not addressed however development effort is abused.
Within a reasonably large user base there will always be enthusiasts with specific needs and quite often these individuals will be the most active forum contributors and so influence development more so than the typical user. We may have the nature photographer who tags his photos with GPS coordinates and is perfectly comfortable with structuring his photo collection accordingly. Other enthusiasts again may use various means of naming or ID3 tagging individual photos or collections to serve their specific interest.
I trust the typical user however as a first effort will just dump photos off their cameras into a single directory. As the directory grows (hundred+ photos) most will realize that a structure is needed and so we create sub directories. Typically they are named efter events such as "Christmas", "John's birthday", "Trip to Nice" and so forth. Only later, we realize that Christmas is in fact every year as is John's birhtday and in a single year we made multiple trips to Nice. Then it's back to restructuring again and finding that prefixing directory names with year (e.g. "2009 Christmas") works pretty well with a minimum of effort needed.
When we return with fresh pictures from an event/holiday we typically dump the last pictures taken into a new sub directory. Then we grab the remote to view them with friends/family through SwissCenter. If I choose to list photos by albums/directories, the list will be alphabetic (e.g. starting with 1998 when I got my first digital camera). A lot of fiddling with the remote is then needed to finally get to the most recent set of pictures.
If I use any of the search functions, I will (if lucky) get a collection of meaningless filenames that may or may not include what I'm after (or include a lot more than I want). Rather we should get a list of albums/directories in reverse date order with minimum effort (top entry) so that we can select and "play" photos sequentially (normal date order). This I think is the typical usage and it is not supported well today. For music albums the issue is similar. We buy a new album for Christmas, rip it and add it to the media catalog. Finding it however is a hazzle - or at best a lot more diffciult than it needs to be.
This I think is the fundamental need that is lacking proper support in the user interface and I would much like to see this fixed.Player: ShowCenter 1000g (wired) + PopcornHour A-100 Server: Windows XP (SwissCenter)
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Stu2j
User
Posts: 2307
Re: Most recent - yes again - 2009/12/20 15:08 active forum contributors and so influence development more so than the typical user. I don't know about that.
Personally, I would much rather have "recent" for the TV Episodes than I would the photos.
However, you point is well taken.Showcenters 1000g/250HD/Popcorn Hour A-100 Netgear HDX101 Powerline Adapters Windows XP SP3 Simese 2.6.4 Beta SwissCenter latest SVN NAS Server Intel PD 2.66Ghz/2GB Mem/1.5TB Storage Hauppauge HVR 1600 GB-PVR
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Magician
User
Posts: 34
Re: Most recent - yes again - 2010/03/18 16:49Hi,
I updated the recently added window to sort to the dates selected. If systemoption RECENT_DATE_TYPE is set to: ADDED: sort by discovered date CREATED: sort by create date ADDED_OR_CREATED: sort by title/album
I also added the browse recent TV Series.
In the next/prev you will also get the Next/Prev season if available
Please try this and give your comments.
The following text strings need to be added to the language files:
Pinnacle Showcenter 200 Vista x64 3TB Apache 2.2.14 / php 5.2.12 / mysql 5.1.43 SwissCenter: Latest SVN with local modifications.
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Stu2j
User
Posts: 2307
Re: Most recent - yes again - 2010/03/18 19:35OK. I installed this to have a look at it and this is pretty freaking cool...
Pernod, could you have a look at this for possible inclusion?Showcenters 1000g/250HD/Popcorn Hour A-100 Netgear HDX101 Powerline Adapters Windows XP SP3 Simese 2.6.4 Beta SwissCenter latest SVN NAS Server Intel PD 2.66Ghz/2GB Mem/1.5TB Storage Hauppauge HVR 1600 GB-PVR
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