Xtuned Volume 1

by **Roscoe62** on Wed Jun 23, 2004 10:01 am

Air,

I'd be really keen on looking at a 1280x720 version of this skin. If you can produce the skin at that rez, I could have a go at doing a suite of PPC screens to match.

Don't know what your available time is like though.

Let me know if you're interested.

Cheers
Roscoe

by **AirPost** on Wed Jun 23, 2004 9:55 pm

Roscoe, I might have some time in a few days so I'll work on Volume 2 of this skin which will have some face lift, as well as, improvements to the music screen (taking advantage of the new artist sorting) and also the new plugins. I will also do the different resolutions that I've been trying hard to finish.

Tracie, my fault was that I did the skin as a surprise. I guess it was me that got surprised since she didn't like the overall, gray, metal look. Perfectly fine since I've already started on a second skin that "we" both like.

BeauB, 1024x768 will be available with Volume 2 along with the other resolutions.

by **Roscoe62** on Wed Jun 23, 2004 10:09 pm

Thanks Air,

In some ways it seems a shame that you have to lose the look of v.1 because it was absolutely beautiful!

Here's hoping that v2 comes close to matching the aesthetic milestone that was v1.....and will please "both" of you :wink:

Cheers
Roscoe

by **Tracie** on Thu Jun 24, 2004 12:32 am

Here's hoping that v2 comes close to matching the aesthetic milestone that was v1.....and will please "both" of you

Amen to that. Personally I like the metal look, it's what I've been looking for. And I actually changed it up a bit & used some backgrounds from blindman's xpad skin on a few of the screens - they work really well with what was already there.

Looking forward to what you've got planned for v.2.

by **AirPost** on Thu Jun 24, 2004 1:14 am

Roscoe, forgot to ask. Do you need any background or buttons for the ppc screens that you will be creating? Let me know so I can send it your way.

by **Roscoe62** on Thu Jun 24, 2004 2:16 am

Unless you're planning on radically changing the "theme" of the new version (and who knows...you might be) I was just going to steal the buttons from version 1.

If there are big differences, let me know and I'll wait until you're ready.

...and I have to agree with Tracie. The metal look was a big part of the appeal of v1 for me too.

Actually, now that I think about it, I think I'll just wait until v2 comes out. I'm guessing the look is likely to be quite different and if that's the case, the backgrounds in v1 probably won't suit. I'll just keep an eye on the skins thread for when you're ready.

Cheers

by **Tracie** on Sat Jun 26, 2004 4:20 am

Hey Airpost,
I have a quick question. How do I disable the overlay that pops up when you insert a DVD into the DVD Rom? I created a separate button that starts TheaterTek as an external application, so I don't need an overlay for offline movies - everything I own is online, the only time I view offline stuff is when I rent one so I don't want to have to take the time to set it up in the database, etc.

Another question that's related, I suppose. The button that I created that starts TheaterTek works great, but I've got one small thing that I'd like to be able to add. Normally when TT starts up an online movie, it goes from my desktop resolution (856x480) to the DVD resolution that I've set up in Powerstrip (1920x1080i), & then back when the movie is over via a command line switch that I was able to set up under the F2 setup menu. So my question is do you know if there's a way to add that switch to the button that I've created since it's set up as an external app? I can manually change the resolution with hotkeys that I've set up in Powerstrip, but it would be cleaner if I could get that command line switch to work.

I hope all is going well with you. I think that I've converted some people to Xlobby & HTPC in general, & I think that part of it can be attributed to your skin.

by **ken** on Sat Jun 26, 2004 2:29 pm

AirPost wrote:Thanks Simon. Yeah, those are already functional, except of course for the others like dvdburn, cdburn, lock and a couple, if that's what you meant. These are reserved for the plugins that will or should be coming, erhm, soon. I just want it future ready so I don't have to go back and reedit my skin. Steven was, I've heard, going to add a screen lock or some sort so that should go nice with my exit menu.

The other reason I'm redoing my skin is to stay away from embedding fonts into buttons so yes, those text are editable.

Very Nice !

Iv'e installed this on my 2000 machine and works as advertised. I put in on my HTPC with XPro and I have no text in the buttons ?

What am I doing wrong ?

by **AirPost** on Sun Jun 27, 2004 7:47 am

Tracie, try going into the Event Manager (F2) and look for the "dvd popup" event under Skin>Autoplay. You can probably change that screen to your own screen that contains your personalized button for launching TT. Or, you can just leave that blank and see if it works.

I too am watching movies in 1920x1080i resolution with the help of a freeware screen-resolution changer app. Didn't like powerstrip since it was causing some problems plus did I mention that the program I 'm using is freeware? :wink:

Anyways, in Event Manager, under File Types, I assign a Start and End event for my Zoomplayer extensions. I point the Start event to the event batch file to change the resolutoin to 1080i and the End event to the 856x480 batch file. Works pretty well except I still see the dos box flash for a couple of seconds when the resolution changes. I think powerstrip has an application feature where it changes the resolution for a specified application on the fly - have you tried this first?

Ken, the only thing I can think of is that you probably started the skin in a high resolution in your Xp box instead of the 856x480 resolution. I am working on different resolutions for this skin so hopefully this problem would be avoided. Sorry for the inconvenience.

by **Tracie** on Mon Jun 28, 2004 5:58 am

I think powerstrip has an application feature where it changes the resolution for a specified application on the fly - have you tried this first?

Yeah, for some reason it doesn't work - I end up with a split screen. But if I change it manually or via command line, it works fine so I'm not sure what's up with that. I'll do more poking at it, maybe I can get it to work.

by **Tracie** on Tue Jun 29, 2004 4:19 am

Hey Airpost,
I have a favor to ask. Would it be possible for you to make me a stop button that would match up with the other buttons in the music section (play, ff, rw & pause)? I've finally gotten around to fiddling with the music section & I need that to really make it right.

Thanks in advance.

by **AirPost** on Tue Jun 29, 2004 4:36 am

Sure thing. It's in my volume 2 skin but since that will be awhile before I can post it, send me an email address or ftp site that I can send the button to.

by **Tracie** on Tue Jun 29, 2004 8:15 am

You rock! My email is: mailto:wakegirl001-wb@yahoo.com

Thanks so much!

by **paul_mullen** on Tue Jun 29, 2004 12:01 pm

Hey Airpost,

Sorry for going a little off topic, but what is the freeware app your using for custom resolutions? I've tried powerstrip, but had some strange problems with it. I'd be interested in trying an alternative.

Thanks,
Paul

by **AirPost** on Tue Jun 29, 2004 8:22 pm

Tracie, just sent it a minute ago.

Paul, no problem. The name of the resolution changer app is, get ready for this....reschange. It's only a 52kb executable that only does one thing - changes resolutions and it does it great. I just put the file in the system path and call it using a batch file like : ResChange.exe -width=1920 -height=1080 -depth=32 -refresh=30 I then create an OS Execute File event that points to the batch file and specify that event in Start Event for the type of media that I use.

If you want to try it, give me an email address I can send it to or you can google for it.