What would you like documented?

[stevenhanna6]

I appreciate all the offers guys, chad you can keep going with your skin documentation I know you have pretty much figured out my skinning engine. And HTML would be the preference if your using images...but don't worry to much about that....we need a good HTML template first. I do have to warn you I will be making a few changes to the external appa/girder/xlobbycommands tabs in the skin editor...just warning you.

PS to Steven - how many posts to you have to have to start getting some of those little headphones under your name?

its not really based on post counts....I delete posts all the time...even my own posts to keep the forum clean and up to date.....so just because someone has a low count doesn't mean much here. But to get the headphones you would have to contribute something like a skin or I guess documentation now


I honestly have a ton of features to add to xlobby still, and good documentation just wont get done while I have important features to add....so you don't have to worry about me documenting anything right now....nobody is stepping on my toes.

If you guys want to write some new documentation about something you are comfortable with, just start a thread in this section of the forum and go nuts I think starting with just text would be the easiest...then it can be moved into an HTML template later.

[Hiller]

Okay guys. I'm finally going to get off my lazy butt and start documenting some of the setup of Xlobby. I need input from all of you though, especially some of our newbies. Many of us have been around XLobby for a while and have been eased into all the changes so it wasn't a big deal for us to change our setup but I can understand how intimitating it can be to get going with XL.

What I need to know is where any of you ran into trouble or things you didn't understand until you asked questions here. I will cover things that I feel are necessary for a good setup but I'm sure I'll miss things without all of your helpful input!

Thanks,
Steve

[steveschauer]

I just came back to XLobby at pre40 so I'm still a newbie.

The startup guide at http://www.xlobby.com/help/start.php is actually pretty decent, but besides being out of date, now and then it falls into the common pitfall of assuming the reader can read between the lines. Example:

+++++++++++++++++++++
DVD player
Very simple, just add your dvd player exe file. You can use Zoomplayer, Theater Tek, ATI DVD player, or Win DVD 4.0.
+++++++++++++++++++++

For someone coming in cold to a program, no matter how experienced you are with Windows, not understanding a little beginning step like this can completely stymie you. "I tried XLobby once but it's buggy as hell. It wouldn't even play a DVD."

The docs didn't explain HOW to add the dvd player exe file, it just said you should do it. You might ASSUME it's obvious to everyone, but it's not. It needs to be step by absolute step. "Click the File Types tab. Click the Enable checkbox. Etc." Stay on subject until there is cover art and movie info displayed and you can click Play to see if it works. Then go on to Music. Don't even mention multi-zone audio or events.

There needs to be a complete walkthrough for DVD, music, pictures, and weather. Then go on to more advanced topics:

Installing a new skin
Setting up a remote control
Add a button/Add a screen
Events
Using Girder
Using a Pocket PC
Client Server setup
Multi Zone Audio
Adding a Plugin
The Skin Guide

[Myth]

For someone coming in cold to a program, no matter how experienced you are with Windows, not understanding a little beginning step like this can completely stymie you.

As a someone who recently came in cold, I completly agree.

While I also realise that Xlobby is still in development, when I first looked at it, I was wondering what all the fuss was about. Luckily I poked about in the forums and realised that there was much more to it than first appeared.

I still dont understand heaps, and would really appreciate a fully fledged tutorial/ documentation etc.

Steven, if you are still adding features to Xlobby, then maybe you could indicate which parts will not be changed, and documentation could be started on just those areas.

Anyway, it's about day 14 of my Xlobby experience, and I'm enjoying the ride. Thanks Steven for an application that seems to have a great future

[Hiller]

Thanks for your input guys. I'll start working on some docs this week...then I'll need feedback on whether it's helpful!

Steve

[cavitycr33p]

Great! can't way to see em hiller

Being about a 2 week newbie also, Im looking for lots of answers, quite a learning curve from myhtpc to xlobby.

Id love to have xlobby setup to function in the same way myhtpc does, which is very remote friendly, but I want the graphics/skinning to be there unlike myhtpc.

[Myth]

I'll start working on some docs this week...
Steve

Hey Steve,

How is the documentation going ?

[Hiller]

It's going but slowly...I unexpectedly got myself a girlfriend so I have been spending a lot of time with her. If I get a couple of free nights I'll try to pound out some more and get you guys something to chew on.

Steve

[Myth]

It's going but slowly...I unexpectedly got myself a girlfriend so I have been spending a lot of time with her.
Steve

Yep That'll do it

[likwit]

It would be nice to have some documentation about adding webcams (to Jowaldo skin)

[jowaldo]

It would be nice to have some documentation about adding webcams (to Jowaldo skin)

Here's a quick way to add webcams to my skin

In xlobby, hit F2, then go to the databases tab, then find the "webcams" database. Click edit, then you should see the existing webcams listed.

You can either change the fields in there already, or click "Add new Item" then name the item, put the url to the webcam image in the "coverart" field, and the name of the webcam in the "display" box.

You can also add a description, by typing the word "description" in by the "add field" button then clicking it. Then enter the info for it in the box to the right.

Hope that helps.

[briands]

Pretty new to Xlobby (actually any networked media solutions). I just got Sage running on 2 machines and am noticeing the weakness with regard to anything not PVR. There are some great mods for it, but I really like what I see with Xlobby. I am looking for some more information about the client- server / multi server aspect of it. It is my understanding that the clients are pretty much control boxes for the server(s) and that the media does not actually pass throught the client. Is that correct?

Basically, the system that I am looking to set up includes-


Media file server - remote pc with storage space for TV, some kids DVD files, trailers, music files and picture. This box will likely contain MyHD card and store files locally. I don't intend to achive all DVD's here because I do not "rewatch" much. There may be some "timeshifted" temporary rips to manage. Also has WIFI access point capability.

Theater PC - mostly watching movies (local DVD) and HD streamed from the server and HD from Motorolla 6208. Have MX1000 remote to use, but am considering other options (see ppc below).

Living room - SAGE (Server) box on 25" NTSC TV. I expect to get music, pictures, weather and kid's movies (gotta love Barney) on this machine as well. Currently using SAGE for all of this. Snapstream remote.

Bedroom - Sage (client) box on 21" NTSC TV I expect to get music, pictures, weather and kid's movies on this machine as well. Currently using SAGE for all of this. USBUIRT remote. Like to add second sound card to this machine for a second audio only zone to send signal to wireless speakers in kitchen below. This audio zone should be able to be synced with Living room zone.

Currently all machines are connected via ethernet. Have wifi accesspoint (b) to add to server machine for PPC support.

PPC - None yet - I'd like to start with a single "roaming" pocket PC to control all of the zones. Maybe adding others later.

My understanding of the xlobby client/ server arrangement is that the Theater, Livingroom and bedroom would all be running server and that the ppc would be running client. I think the client would allow logging in to each of the zones for control where ever I happen to be watching/ listening.

I'm pretty sure this is all doable with XLOBBY, but I don't really find much regarding the configurations that are supported. Is there any documentation on this? Maybe some line drawings of some typical (or atypical) configurations.

Also interested in any implementations that would support Sage for PVR/TV functionality. I know that some of the skins support it and will be investigating that shortly.

Any good skins for use on small (crappy) NTSC displays?

What about shared configurations such that my machines would all look/ act the same way? Is there some way to read configuration/ DB files from a common location so updates would not require reloading/ updating multiple machines? How are multi server application environments typically handled with regards to maintenance?

How exactly would one handle a second audio only zone? Would that machine have two instances of XLOBBY?

Sorry to dump all of this out there, but I was hoping Sage would be a good all in one solution, but it really is only great as a PVR and I need to get the additional functionality elsewhere.

[Edward]

How do I extend the Movieviewer page?
I can move stuff around but I don’t know how to add more stuff. I’d like to be able to add:
- a section on Audio Format with Language, AudioChannels and AudioCompression in rows for each format. I’d also like to be able to put up an icon for DTS and THX certified formats
- a section showing available Video Format, e.g. 16:9, 4:3 etc
- a scrollable section showing the cast and roles

I can see the data in the XML output from DVD profiler but getting from there to the screen… I can’t be the first to want to do this.

I guess I’m looking for documentation on what happens after I press Pause/Break. I’ve found some but not enough to help me do the above.

[kevl]

How about an XL biased overview of required database structure for the included plugins and meta masks to get data into databases.

I followed links to web based explanations of regular expressions etc but the syntax was very difficult to understand as the examples were not biased towards XL usage.

Looking at forum these topics seems to confuse many.


Kev