http://centerstageproject.com/news.php CenterStage News Blog - all articles are supplied in full via RSS en-uk (c) 2005-2007 Mr Zippy http://centerstageproject.com/news.php?id=219 earlier news post Jan has begun to implement the OSD into the current Alpha already. (in fact this news is more than a few weeks or so old).

As you can see in the screenshot below, there is good progress being made visually on this despite it being early days. There are still some issue to be worked out with all those 1's and 0's that makes your computer do cool stuff under the hood though.

What has become evident is the VLC aspect of getting CenterStage up to date has caused some concerns and issues. The actual implementation or the ability to make CenterStage playback media with VLC (meaning VLC is integrated as part of the CenterStage code) happened fairly successfully but with a lot of work and discussion with the VLC group to boot. Now we face another issue where the CenterStage download is coming in at the stupidly huge size of 120mb. That is if we want it to be a Universal Binary. So some work is going to need to be done to produce a separate version for both Intel Mac's and those of you with PowerPC enabled systems.

So, it is frustrating and it looks like there isn't anything happening around here, but, the SVN, that magical place developers upload to which organises and keeps all the code handy has barely seen a week go by without something committed and added to it. There has also been an upturn in developer interest on this project, Enrique has come on board, and we hope one or two other guys will be really getting into it in the New Year.

As a side note, in case anyone is wondering the music used in the Demo material you can download from my previous post is by our very own Jan and his band called 'The Cellophane Suckers'. If you like the music, want to hear more or want to enquire about it then please contact Jan through our online contact form here.

Anyway, little random screenshot of the what the current OSD lookes like at an early, stage. With some more tinkering it should work out nicely. Oh, and this OSD will be available in an Alpha update as soon as we can get that to you.

  ]]> Wed, 12 Dec 2007 15:56:07 +0000 David McLeod (Mucx) id:219 http://centerstageproject.com/news.php?id=218 teething troubles concerning the combination of Leopard and CenterStage. We now have a remedy for you.

UPDATED x2 (Beta 3 version)
So please download the test CenterStage app 0.6.2a by clicking here

This 'release' is not considered official so use at your own discretion. It hopefully fixes the Apple remote control problems and the startup problems reported by different users.

Please report back in the forum if it was successful for you or not. If it is ok we will soon release the official 0.6.2a.

Thanks for your help!
Jan  ]]> Tue, 27 Nov 2007 18:01:19 +0000 Jan Litzinger (Jan_L) id:218 http://centerstageproject.com/news.php?id=217
With the integration of the VLC engine it opens up a lot of avenues for interaction, selection and toggling of settings during media playback. (e.g. language selection). This meant Enrique questioned our current Alpha implementation of the OSD as he set about his work.

Of course in the UI Demo you saw that an OSD was present when a media file is being played. There was some negative feedback in regard to the design of this which was based on the Quicktime OSD (when a video is being played fullscreen). I listened to the comments and took on board the criticism. I mean I can't get it right all the time I guess.

As Enrique was so proactive in getting to grips with the VLC aspect and he wanted to take the current Alpha OSD and make it better and work with the Apple remote I realised that if I were to redesign the OSD now and get that work out to him things would really be moving.

So, you will find at the bottom of this post a large and comprehensive package detailing and previewing the new OSD material. I can also state that this isn't just going to exist as a mockup for a while, but this OSD is actually being implemented now and it will appear in future Alpha releases.

Once you follow the link below and unzip the file, you will find a Full HD video in the appropriately labelled folder. You will also find an animated movie file in the 'Control Method & Instructions' folder which gives you a better understanding of the buttons being pressed when using the OSD. In this same folder, there is a .png file (best opened in Preview and zoomed in) and it gives you the basic instructions on how the OSD is open and closed and how you return back to the main UI. Finally, there are some screenshots of various OSD's and buttons combinations again, in full HD.

In regards to the OSD itself and how things are organised onscreen. All non-interactive or pure information/feedback elements slide in from the top and all interactive elements or buttons that can be pressed or scrolled to with the remote slide in and appear from the bottom. I also only animated the Music version as I felt this pretty much gets the idea across in terms of how the thing moves. Obviously the only thing that changes is slight tweaks in layout and button arrangements.


Click here to download the material here (227mb...hey its HD material!)

As always you can follow along and comment on all things reagarding the new UI Demo and associated work in this forum thread.

  ]]> Tue, 27 Nov 2007 15:34:38 +0000 David McLeod (Mucx) id:217 http://centerstageproject.com/news.php?id=215
Some notable problems that exist at present include:

• IMDB lookup seems to be a hit and a miss. It is working for some people, yet not working for others or even results in the application crashing.
• Remote control not working. Again this is a hit and a miss, seem to work for some and not for others.
• Startup bug. Once again a hit and a miss. Seems some people are having trouble loading and launching CenterStage.

We obviously monitor the forums and I know some if not all of the problems are being looked into. I am hoping we can quickly fix these things and get a .1 release out that fixes it as soon as possible.

In the meantime, please keep posting in the forums and helping us figure it out. I know Enrique and Fabien are looking at things but your help, well helps us track it down faster.  ]]> Sat, 17 Nov 2007 13:09:36 +0000 David McLeod (Mucx) id:215 http://centerstageproject.com/news.php?id=214 If you read yesterdays post about BackStage and then followed the full 'how we got there' post in the forum
you will see that there are elements of Delicious Library that we enjoy and just plain make sense to do something similar for BackStage. The Imports feature, is one example, because BackStage will be more than just Video files soon and when you are importing lots of different media and items, tagging them, making sure you know where they are and where they are going. Then it makes sense to have all new items in one spot. Then the search feature which is just nicely done and we should adopt the same thinking and interaction. It isn't just Delicious library that does that either, DVDpedia and other similar apps do the same thing when 'looking up' a files information. They try to present the information easily so the user doesn't get confused or end up tagging a file with entirely the wrong information.

So, like all designers and developers the world around us has lots of inspiration and you have to keep looking at and analyse all sorts of material, recognise what your peers are doing whilst trying to carve out your own unique ideas and work.

Sometimes, you come up with what you think is a cool idea, only to find (in this case 1 day later) that someone else had literally the same idea as well.

So, here in the forum is another story of ideas and mischief with some visuals for you...

  ]]> Sun, 28 Oct 2007 10:53:08 +0000 David McLeod (Mucx) id:214 http://centerstageproject.com/news.php?id=213
Of course, a visual direction and goal is always a good thing to have. The CenterStage UI Demo has taught us that much.

So, we have some visuals for you to take a look at! However, before you see them, you will get a nice overview of how we reached that point, how decisions were made and what other applications influenced the UI the general thought process.

That kind of detail belongs somewhere else other than a news post so you will have to follow along in the forum.

Then, we understand there are some of you who like to spoil yourself. You are the sort of person who reads the last page of a book first! That's ok because the final mockup screenshots have been made available right here for you to download.

  ]]> Sat, 27 Oct 2007 21:41:11 +0100 David McLeod (Mucx) id:213 http://centerstageproject.com/news.php?id=212 CenterStage Wikipedia entry. It wasn't easy for him to do but at least the page is up to date with some decent information and recent screenshots.

Now thats a good community effort. Of course, for those of you interested there are other ways you can take your media center enthusiasm and put it to good use. You can be part of the project.

Thanks!  ]]> Wed, 24 Oct 2007 10:11:57 +0100 David McLeod (Mucx) id:212 http://centerstageproject.com/news.php?id=211
You may have noticed that a new major version of Mac OS X is going to be released in a couple of days : Mac OS X.5 Leopard.

Like some people said about Leopard, it does provide to the user more evolution than revolution. Nevertheless, behind the user interface, there are a lot a new stuff, that makes some other people say that Leopard is more for developpers than for average user.

I'm quite sure that some amazing new apps, or new version of existing apps will come with Leopard including some very nice and fancy stuff.

Leopard is coming with a bunch of new things like Core Animation, and enhancements to existing technologies like, for example, Core Data that was first released with Mac OS X.4 Tiger. Those new developers "tools" are too good not to be used by the CenterStage project.

So, here it comes, CenterStage will most likely drop Mac OS X.4 Tiger support and use the possibilities of Mac OS X.5 Leopard.

We think that you, in the CenterStage community, are early adopters of new technologies (otherwise why would you ever used CenterStage ? ), so this should not be a big issue.

Anyway, I'd like to get your opinion about this major step in CenterStage development.

Click here and please let us know how you feel in the forum

Thank you.  ]]> Sat, 20 Oct 2007 20:04:27 +0100 Fabien Lydoire (Pifou) id:211 http://centerstageproject.com/news.php?id=210
All you need is a good bit of enthusiasm, good eye about what is going on in the Mac community at large and better english skills than me (can't be hard!).

So we have two 'jobs' that you might find interesting and will seriously help make a difference. When I say 'jobs' I don't mean a real paying job (might be some little 'bonuses' someday) but you will be taking that hobbyists enthusiasm for Mac related 'stuff' and help us enlighten the community of users who come here.

You will also probably become better informed about what happens on this project and become an integral 'member of staff' should you stick around and help us out with this.

So, here is the two areas we need some help in and what they are about:

1. Mac Extras Content Co-ordinator
A suitable 'applicant' is required to help keep the Mac Extras section of our website up to date. Duties include keeping an eye on any new product or software releases that fall within the various sub-sections on this part of our website and adding new items using our easy to use content management system. You will work with Neil Curry and David McLeod who will give guidance and advice as required. You can also raise issues about expanding or adding new areas to this section. ideally, you will run and look after this area of our site and all technical and design support will be given. (no real web design skills or knowledge necessary at all!).

Typical duty example: Let's imagine Elgato release a new TV peripheral device. You will log into our admin panel, fill out a simple to use form, add a picture of the unit and click 'Add' to add it it to a relevant subsection of the Mac Extras page.

Skills needed: Enthusiasm, Good English Skills,
(Basic Photoshop or image editing would be a plus for adding images but not required. A very simple understanding of HTML/BBcode to create links back to the forum about new items would be nice - advice and guidance can be given).


2. News Reporter
A suitable 'applicant' is required to add news items to the News Blog portion of our website. Duties include, keeping a general eye on the ongoing Mac community outside of our project and 'reporting' or adding worthy news items that may be of interest to our media center enthusiasts here at CenterStage. You would be required to liaise with the 'Mac Extras Content Co-ordinator' who may have new and exciting products or software that are worthy of a news post.

The 'applicant' will be reporting about new Mac based hardware or software products of interest that would prove useful to our community. Any information in the media center world that is particularly useful or insightful. Personal reviews of Software and mini tutorials as well. Scanning our forum for 'tips' or information about our project that could be useful news posts....and anything else you think would make for a good news post. Think TUAW.com but skewed much more toward it being media center based.

Typical duty example: Let's imagine the HandBrake team release a new update to their much loved video conversion application. You would log into our admin panel and using our simple to use form, enter a news heading and type out your news story. (You can even add pictures should you require). Click the 'add' button to add the news item and you are done.

Skills needed: Enthusiasm, Good English Skills,
(Basic Photoshop or image editing would be a plus for adding images but not required. A very simple understanding of HTML/BBcode to create links back to the forum about news items would be nice - advice and guidance can be given).

- - - -

Of course this isn't a paying job as mentioned previously. It is about helping us keep up to date in both of these crucial areas which will seriously help out our project. It is also a way for you to extend your Mac or media center hobby knowledge and place it here on this site, live on the internet!.

If you would like to have a go at any or all of the jobs listed above then please do not hesitate in contacting us here.

CenterStage Staff  ]]> Thu, 18 Oct 2007 21:17:04 +0100 David McLeod (Mucx) id:210 http://centerstageproject.com/news.php?id=209 Engadget concerning the rumours that movie studio houses are going to start distributing DVD's that include video files that can be 'freely' copied off your purchased discs so you can play the file back on your computer or portable device.

Rumour has it that Fox will be the first to pioneer this new idea for the entertaining yet somewhat disappointing Die Hard 4.0 DVD release. (Although seriously over the top I enjoyed the film, but it was about John McClane in name only). Next up, the same idea is going to be used on Warner Bros. Harry Potter DVD

It certainly is an interesting idea. The first thing you will probably be asking is; "great I don't need to rip and encode my DVD purchases anymore! I can just pull the file off and drop it into iTunes and watch it there on my computer, through CenterStage or on my iPod right!?"

Well it doesn't look like you will be doing that if you are using a Mac. The news about the Die Hard 4.0 DVD is the file transfer of the movie file itself can only be done on Windows-based computers or PMPs equipped with Microsoft Windows' PlaysForSure feature. Then you need to enter a serial number (presumably inside the DVD box?) to unlock it.

It is an interesting concept, it tries to get around the piracy aspect and is giving people what they want in a way but...damn, they just screwed Mac users over here! Plus do the studios realise how popular iPods are? This method basically means iPod users cannot participate (Windows or Mac).

Now, what would be good is if you could fire up iTunes, enter the serial number found in the DVD box and download an iTunes DRM version. Steve? Apple...hello? You would get more people visiting the iTunes Store and they might just stay around and buy some other movies as well if you could do a deal here?

Live Free, Or Die Hard....can anyone spot the irony in that?

  ]]> Thu, 18 Oct 2007 16:18:47 +0100 David McLeod (Mucx) id:209