New GUI Layout Idea

General questions or discussion about HandBrake, Video and/or audio transcoding, trends etc.
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Nonsanity
Moderator
Posts: 46
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 4:34 am

New GUI Layout Idea

Post by Nonsanity »

I just got an idea for a new GUI layout and wanted to write it down before I forgot. I'll try to make a mock-up image and add it here later.

The basic idea is to swap the importance of the settings and queue displays. Right now we see the settings primarily, then we pick a Title to apply them to and add it to the queue. Instead, I'd like to see the queue first with all the Titles already in it with default settings, but disabled. Then you can enable the Titles you want to rip and change which settings preset to use from a pop-up in the list. If you want to make a new settings preset, THEN you bring up the settings display, adjust it, and give the new preset a name. Then back in the queue display you can use the new preset.

You can think of it like Gmail's interface... Each Title is like an email in the list, with as much info about the track as possible displayed with it (length, chapters, audios, subtitles, etc... and the chosen Preset name) in columns. An icon next to each Title (and maybe bolded text) marks it as being "active" and ready to convert.

The top of the queue window would have a Start/Stop Queue and Cancel Current buttons. When the conversion is running, you could still modify the queue elements that haven't yet been completed, including creating new settings presets. Stopping the queue lets the current conversion continue, but it won't jump to the next item in the list when it is done. Hitting Cancel would abort the current conversion (with confirmation), and then either continue if the queue is started, or stop.

Unconverted items in the list could also be reordered at any time. Opening additional discs or disc images would add their tracks to the end of the list. If a source becomes unavailable, those lines gray out, disabled. A Clean List button would remove them and any completed conversions.

This sort of layout would make it easy to pick out the titles you want, especially for TV episode discs. It would also make it easier to select extras that you might want to keep.

The icing on the cake would be a thumbnail preview from the Title right there in the list, and marzipan flowers would be the ability to step through the preview snapshots there in the thumbnail (as well as bringing up a full-sized version). (The gold ribbon would be enabling AppleScript such that all the displayed track data and disc info could be used by a script to pick the correct preset.)

Again, I'll try to mock-up this interface later and post the image... there ---v

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(click for larger image)

As you can see, the image is really REALLY rough, but it should convey the idea well enough.
Nonsanity
Moderator
Posts: 46
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 4:34 am

Re: New GUI Layout Idea

Post by Nonsanity »

No comments on the layout idea? Or was I not clear? If necessary, I can make a better mock-up...
royone
Enlightened
Posts: 124
Joined: Thu Sep 06, 2007 6:06 pm

Re: New GUI Layout Idea

Post by royone »

For what it's worth, I think it's got some potential. I don't think the layout you've chosen would work, because there are too many possible settings to make it practical.

But being queue-oriented and pre-loading all the titles into the queue could be done. In the area where you now select the title, you'd have a scrolling list. Each item in the list would have a check box for whether it is enabled. Additionally, the items are selectable, and the settings in the rest of the interface would reflect the settings assigned to that title.

It's a major rework of the interface, and I doubt anyone's going to pick it up, but it's an interesting approach to think about.
Bog
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 2:51 pm

Re: New GUI Layout Idea

Post by Bog »

I would love to see a fresh new GUI. Although I'm a Mac head and have used Handbrake for a long time I've started using DVD Fab (in a Windows virtual machine using VMware) because of the user interface and it can rip from DVDs that have more difficult protection.

With DVDFab I can select multiple titles at once to rip and they are added to the queue.

* Sorry, I don't know how to make the images smaller like the previous post.

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saverio
Posts: 34
Joined: Tue Feb 19, 2008 7:24 pm

Re: New GUI Layout Idea

Post by saverio »

It would be good to have a multi title DVD rip into a single file, for kids' short cartoons for instance (anyone Pocoyo?). It's better for kids to have 8-10 5 minutes chapters in a sigle movie than to have to selct them like episodes of a series (more like 30-60 minutes each). My baby daughter is 3 and knows how to push space to play and arrows to select movie based on the image she sees, but to go back to menu avery 5 minutes means I'd add a special image for each chapter (long and tedious if you want a significant image) and she'll be moving more in the menu than in the video itself.
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