Thread: FrontRow Remote

Originally Posted by ckny

Mahalis, I just checked this out on my desktop and while it's fun playing guess the cursor, this definately looks to be shaping up to be what I will be going with in the short term. I'm putting together my system soon and think front row will work best for my multimedia stuff.

Great! Glad you like it.

One question, I was controlling front row using your remote (up, down, play/pause as enter key).

Well, the way what I've got is set up - it basically gives Front Row the focus and simulates those same keys (actually, left-right-up-down-space-escape).

If so, anyway to incorporate faster scrolling? Scrolling through artists is a bear one at a time. The keyboard simulates this by holding down the arrow key.

I'm working on it... I've found a way to simulate keydown/keyup events using, of all thing, Core Graphics, but I'm a complete novice at event handling and have no idea how to capture the relevant mousedown/mouseup on the interface's buttons.

Well, sounds very promising. Unfortunately my programming days ended before they got off the ground so to speak (at vb7), but I definately appreciate your effort. Maybe throwing it out on the forum someone else will be able to point you in the right direction.

Originally Posted by Mahalis

Great! Glad you like it.


Well, the way what I've got is set up - it basically gives Front Row the focus and simulates those same keys (actually, left-right-up-down-space-escape).


I'm working on it... I've found a way to simulate keydown/keyup events using, of all thing, Core Graphics, but I'm a complete novice at event handling and have no idea how to capture the relevant mousedown/mouseup on the interface's buttons.

Mahalis: great job. thanks for implementing my idea so quickly and putting out exactly what i had in my mind. i love the way the controls look over the interface.

Two things:

1. We need to put an option in the preference pane that will allow you to change the location of the controls. ie. have six positions all the corners and top/bottom in the middle.

2. i also agree about the press and hold commands in the functions. i completely forgot about them when i first listed the commands. getting to the "T's" in a 16,000 song library can be a real chore hitting it one at a time ;-)

Okay, press-and-hold works beautifully, as does regular ol' clicking. ++
Current version: http://www.mm-3.net/frremote/frremote.dmg

Now to work on the preferencing.

I tried the app in my setup, which is just a standard Mac mini with Front Row and the app works for the most part!

The functionality is there and even the hold-click works...for the up button. It does not seem to work for me when I hold-click the down button, it seems to recognize the click when I release my finger, rather than when I first press it.

I think the controls are small, especially when driving. I was under the impression that the controls would take up most of the screen. Why not make them really big so it's easier to maneuver while driving?

I don't really understand the transparency, how long does it take for the app to disappear? I don't really want to look at it while content is playing. I thought it would disappear after a few seconds and then once you tap the screen, it reappears. Is this not the case?

Finally, the app seems to work for a short while and then crashes. I realize it's a beta, but I just wanted to let you know.

Thanks for your great work! This has the potential to be a fantastic app! I think you could sell this, once it's done. Right now, I just use my Nokia with Salling Clicker to run Front Row and it does a fantastic job, but I could see this replacing it in the future. Again, great job and keep up the good work.

Best Regards,
Adam

The functionality is there and even the hold-click works...for the up button. It does not seem to work for me when I hold-click the down button, it seems to recognize the click when I release my finger, rather than when I first press it.

That's really odd - all the buttons use the same code. Do the left and right buttons work held down, like when you're scrolling through a movie?

I think the controls are small, especially when driving. I was under the impression that the controls would take up most of the screen. Why not make them really big so it's easier to maneuver while driving?

It's doable... with your other suggestion, about tapping the screen, there wouldn't be a problem with obscuring things (which is why the controls were small in the first place).

I don't really understand the transparency, how long does it take for the app to disappear?

2.5 seconds after your last click. It can be shortened if need be, but from what I've seen that makes for a lot of annoying fading in and out if you're clicking things repeatedly.

I thought it would disappear after a few seconds and then once you tap the screen, it reappears. Is this not the case?

No, but that's a good idea...

Finally, the app seems to work for a short while and then crashes. I realize it's a beta, but I just wanted to let you know.

Hmm.. does it close, or does it just freeze?

Thanks for your great work! This has the potential to be a fantastic app! I think you could sell this, once it's done. Right now, I just use my Nokia with Salling Clicker to run Front Row and it does a fantastic job, but I could see this replacing it in the future. Again, great job and keep up the good work.

Thanks.

hey mahalis,

just got a quit on the new version while testing it on my desktop. this was after 2 minutes or so of opening. i'll pm you the report if youd like.

chris

Alright, I figured out most of the problem. I just downloaded the app last night, but it must have been the previous version. I redownloaded it from the link in your previous post and sure enough, the up and down does work while held down. The right/left however do not work held down. I thought this was a limitation on Front Row, but has anyone else been able to fast forward a song or movie midstream or will it automatically go to the next or preview track?

This version also seems more stable. I have not had a crash today while using it. With the previous version, it didn't freeze, it just disappeared and then when I got out of Front Row, the crash message would appear and I'd just relaunch it.

I think a much bigger version of the app would be beneficial, one that takes up most of the screen. It would be great if it disappears after a short (say 2.5 seconds) period of non-use and then pops back up after you tap the screen.

Great job Mahalis! What a great program you've built! Thanks for making my MacCar experience that much more enjoyable.

Best Regards,
Adam

P.S. An idea for an easier interface for those who do not have the graphical experience or resources would be just to build an invisible app that would sit on top of Front Row that would just respond to mouse clicks. So if you click on the right side of the screen, it would go to next. If you click on the top part, the volume would increase. And then say, you could click on the top left corner and that would be the menu button. Center of the screen would be play/pause. It would work the same way as this program, except there would be no visible interface. Could be cool! Just an idea.