Update SageMC?

[18Scoobz]

I know this is probably not the place for this but, is there anyone that still likes SageMC. My wife hates all the other interfaces and loves SageMC. It still works but slowly is losing functionality. Am I the only one that wants to keep it alive and maybe update it?

[wayner]

I liked SageMC but switched to Diamond/Gemstone a while after V7 came out as it was working well with some of the plugins. I don't think you are going to find many supporters for SageMC - you may be the last.

[Stu Gare]

Used to use it on the mvp's (all replaced now)
Still think I prefer the music interface on SageMC though.

[jmv]

not sure 2 votes matter but I'm exclusively SageMC

[BigSwifty]

Make that 3! I wasn't crazy about Gemstone/Diamond...had a family revolt as well so went back to SageMC. Still works great and I really like the interface

[stuckless]

I think people need to embrace change The person that used to maintain SageMC, helped to start Phoenix, and I'm not sure he even visits the forums any more... So not sure SageMC is ever going to see a refresh.

[stanger89]

But anyone interested could always pick it up and update it, just like could have been done at any point since the last update.

[something fishy]

And another supporter here.
It looks dated (but less so IMO) than the stock Sage design) but for ease of use it can't be beat.

eric

[Fuzzy]

I think, going forward, it might be 'easiest' to have you few SageMC users compile a list of what gemstone doesn't do that SageMC does, and work towards filling the gaps.

It really helps that the bulk of the gemstone devs are still around and using SageTV, so hopefully once the core development gets more 'off the ground and running', more work will start happening on the STV end.

[reggie14]

I was a SageMC user for a long time, but I switched to Gemstone a couple years ago. Once you get things customized to your liking, I think Gemstone is significantly better than SageMC.

My main problem with Gemstone, which I've voiced before, is that it doesn't always show Fanart. That's annoying, but where it really gets bad is when you use something like Banner view, that is designed to show the banner instead of using text for the show name. If it detects that there's a banner, is won't show the name is text. But, if the banner doesn't display, then you just get a blank line.

[Madz]

Add me to the list of people who miss SageMC. I'm mostly used to the alternative now, but I still find it ugly and annoying. For me it's not so much what SageMC does that the others don't as the fact it doesn't try to do all the things the others do. I don't want 100 different menu options whenever I try to do anything. ... imho the other UIs are not as intuitive for people who aren't familiar with Sage to use (which equals lower WAF, parents AF etc)...

[mhatten]

+1
SageMC is all about ease... which my family loves. Personally, I love the simplicity of it.

If i load a different UI all I hear are complaints.

[iumgrad]

I still use and love , tried others not very intuitive to non geeks (Wife, kids).

[davidk21770]

Another sagemc user here.
Works well for the wife and that is a good thing!

[Monedeath]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

I think, going forward, it might be 'easiest' to have you few SageMC users compile a list of what gemstone doesn't do that SageMC does, and work towards filling the gaps.

It really helps that the bulk of the gemstone devs are still around and using SageTV, so hopefully once the core development gets more 'off the ground and running', more work will start happening on the STV end.

It is nice to see people cheerleading for the MC Interface, but if nobody is stepping up to maintain it. Those same cheerleaders really need to heed advice like Fuzzy gave above.

While there may not be alternative available right now that you find acceptable. If you don't bother to provide feedback to people who are maintaining and building new UI's for Sage as to your "want" or "must have" items that are currently lacking, they're not likely to be there in the future going forward.

It is hard to implement something for somebody else when you're not getting meaningful feedback on what is actually wanted. Be specific, be nitpicky, but also remember to be courteous about it.

[Madz]

Let me put it to you this way - we want something where you can give the sage remote to a 4 year old or an 80 year old and they can watch tv without needing help or stuffing things up. We want something simple. Minimalist. When I press delete I want it to delete the file. I don't want to be given 4 options as to why I'm deleting it. When I click on a file I want it to play - I don't want a menu with a whole lot of options on what I may want to do - that's what the options button is for.... I don't want lots of icons and overlays everywhere worrying about eg which tuner recorded what etc, just a simple, clean interface showing the key details. Hope that gives you the idea? And that's the problem - it's not a matter of adding a few extra features to an existing UI - that will actually make things worse, not better. It would ideally require stripping stuff out of the existing UIs or reorganising them so the details are buried a bit deeper and not so in your face... The only possibility I can see would be adding a simple/advanced mode kind of option. But frankly I think it needs to be a UI specifically designed with simplicity in mind...

I wish I had the time to work on it, but even for an experienced developer, Sage is it's own beast and so there's the learning curve on top of actual time required... maybe one day...

[stuckless]

While I doubt that SageMC will ever be updated... It doesn't seem like it needs to be. People are happy enough with it's simplistic menus, etc. I know people that still use Win95 and don't see a need to upgrade

Really when you look at something like Phoenix and Gemstone... These UIs are built because rarely does one size fit all. So, you have the ability to re-organize menus (remove menus, submenus, etc), and create custom views, that are pre-sorted and pre-filtered as per your requirements. That part takes some work, but once that is setup, you rarely use the configuration options. (I know I don't).

Even if you were to create the most simplistic UI... It's going to grow over time... people are going say, "hey, I realize this is simplistic, but could you add posters for the movies", and then "hey, I realize this is simplistic, but you could you add an option for delete because it's the wrong recording, instead of just delete". That the evolution of UIs.

I think the biggest barrier to people using something that is NOT SageMC, is the fact that it's not SageMC People hate change, no matter how small, it drives us insane. It could be something as simple as a font change, or text size, and we immediate, got "I don't like it".

I can respect that people don't like to change. In fact, I can relate, since up until about a week ago, I ran Phoenix. But since Phoenix is not being developed, and the people that did develop it, have moved on, I decided to try Gemstone. Immediately, I didn't like it it. It was different. Over the week, I configured, the menus, and configured the views, etc, and now it's a point where I really like it... but the initial thought was, "I can't use this". What gets me through it, is the knowledge that IF I embrace the change, the things that I dislike will start to evaporate. I felt this way coming from XBMC to SageTV (many years ago)... and now, when I go into XBMC (Kodi), I hate it... not because it sucks, but because it's different...

[jusjoken]

If there is a SageMC user (or better a few) who is will to try out Gemstone for a bit and then provide specific list of features/changes needed to simplify functionality and meet their requirements then I'd be will to review those and see what it should take to add that optional functionality if it is not already present. Gemstone is VERY flexible and many times something exists but the user just has not yet discovered the option yet.

k

[BigSwifty]

Originally Posted by jusjoken

If there is a SageMC user (or better a few) who is will to try out Gemstone for a bit and then provide specific list of features/changes needed to simplify functionality and meet their requirements then I'd be will to review those and see what it should take to add that optional functionality if it is not already present. Gemstone is VERY flexible and many times something exists but the user just has not yet discovered the option yet.

k

Thank you so much for your willingness to add to Gemstone. I've configured it so that my wife and kids can be happy and, thus by extension I can be happy. My biggest request is to add the functionality of an easy alphabetical search function like this:



to the imported movies and music. Scrolling is a drag.

[jusjoken]

Hot keys work on the flows by just pressing a number on the remote which then jumps to that specific letter.

Others have requested the jump alpha bar....can you describe how it functions.


k