/srv/irclogs.ubuntu.com/2011/12/02/#ubuntu-tv.txt

mhall119tgm4883: the whole purpose of Unity was to create a common interface for use on multiple devices03:12
mhall119which is why my mockups at least have been focused on how Unity would look and work on a 10' UI03:13
tgm4883mhall119, which means we should force something that doesn't work because of policy?03:13
mhall119tgm4883: no, it means we should figure out what doesn't work, and fix it03:13
tgm4883Which is what I thought this whole discussion was about03:14
mhall119Unity's goal is to work on multiple form factors, including 10' displays.  So if it doesn't do that, that's a bug03:14
tgm4883then it's a bug03:14
mhall119it is, and the mockups are to help us discover those bugs03:14
tgm4883not if nobody looks at the usefulness of mockups03:15
mhall119so that the design and functionality of Unity can be changed03:15
tgm4883or doesn't think about how a mockup on a 4 in screen at a distance of 30 inches translates to a 47 in screen at 10-12 feet03:15
mhall119tgm4883: I'm thinking about that, AlanBell is too, I think we're mostly all on the same page with that03:16
tgm4883I don't know if we are. Every mockup I've seen has small icons taking 5% of the width of the screen03:16
mhall119tgm4883: did you see mine?03:17
tgm4883IDK, link?03:17
mhall119http://people.ubuntu.com/~mhall119/utv/index.html#03:17
mhall119if we use the remote control buttons as keyboard input, then we don't need to worry so much about the target size for clicking, we just need to worry about being able to identify items and the current highlighted ones from a distance03:18
tgm4883mhall119, your's and mine are kinda similar. I don't like screen 3 (launcher) though03:18
mhall119what don't you like about it?03:18
tgm4883mhall119, I'm not worried about clicking, I am worried about identification03:18
tgm4883identification beyond "that one is blue, that one is red"03:18
tgm4883I don't think it translates to a 10' UI03:19
mhall119tgm4883: I have a Wii, which has like a 5x4 grid if icons, and I can identify them all fine on my less than 42in display03:19
tgm4883I don't think you can tell what those icons will be from 10 feet away03:19
tgm4883how large are the icons03:19
mhall119on the wii?03:19
tgm4883yes03:19
mhall119the grid covers probably 90% of my screen03:20
tgm4883IIRC, they were like 5 inch squares on my 32-in TV03:20
mhall119sounds about right03:20
tgm4883right, but your screen 3 doesn't cover 90% of the screen03:20
tgm4883it covers 10%03:20
mhall119no, that's kind of big, I think they're about 2 inches on the side03:20
mhall119right, but it's only 1 column03:20
tgm4883i think your column is too small03:21
tgm4883I like the rest though03:21
mhall119possibly03:21
tgm4883I think we could combine ours for something really nice03:21
mhall119ditching the colored backlight might help the identification of the icons as well03:21
mhall119where is yours?03:21
tgm4883http://people.ubuntu.com/~alanbell/unitytelly/tgm4883/#03:22
mhall119tgm4883: my goal in these mockups was more to imagine how the remote would be used to navigate Unity as it is today, so I didn't give much through about sizes and colors03:22
tgm4883mhall119, I'd also like to add a small icon to each of the menu entries (eg. a music note for music, video reel for movies, etc)03:22
mhall119tgm4883: but that would seem over-bearing on a desktop or tablet03:23
tgm4883mhall119, this isn't for a desktop or a tablet though03:23
tgm4883this is for a TV03:23
mhall119it's for all of them, that's the goal of Unity03:23
mhall119so the question is, can we make a single UI that, with the least amount of changes, will work on all of them?03:24
mhall119I think we can03:24
tgm4883mhall119, no03:24
mhall119I hope we can03:24
tgm4883they are fundamentally different03:24
mhall119I'm not sure Canonical has the resources to devote to another UI development03:25
tgm4883mhall119, so there is two issues with that statement03:25
tgm48831) You assume that making unity work on a TV would require a complete rewrite03:25
mhall119of the code, no.  But of the design and testing, yes03:26
tgm48832) If it did require a complete rewrite, you assume that there isn't anything already done that would work03:26
mhall119let me clarify, I didn't mean specifically programmer resources03:26
tgm4883mhall119, again, i disagree. AFAIK, There has been zero testing of the design for UbuntuTV03:26
mhall119as you point out, the extra programming would probably be managable03:26
tgm4883mostly because it doesn't exist03:26
mhall119right, but there was been significant testing for Unity itself03:27
tgm4883On the other hand, there has been loads of testing of media center design03:27
mhall119I'm not sure that a media center is the target Mark had for Unity on TVs03:27
tgm4883I'm about to say something that is probably going to be widely unpopular03:27
mhall119moving to Mint?03:28
tgm4883I sure hope it is03:28
tgm4883Thats what we discussed in the UDS session03:28
tgm4883there was zero discussion of writing documents on a TV03:28
tgm4883anyway, back to my widely unpopular statement03:29
mhall119I don't think anybody would want to03:29
tgm4883There is a reason that almost every media center out there follows the same design principles.03:29
tgm4883it works03:30
tgm4883I think we should be similar to those03:30
mhall119a fair statement03:30
mhall119but then again, if Apple followed that, we'd all still have crappy portable music players03:31
mhall119not that I don't still have a crappy portable music player, but that's beside the point03:31
tgm4883mhall119, would you say that apple made that change because it worked better?03:32
mhall119yes03:32
dmj726We don't want to make a clone of stuff that's already out there03:32
tgm4883Then we agree03:33
dmj726That's not how you make a leading technology03:33
tgm4883dmj726, I have no issue with change03:33
tgm4883I have an issue with changing things for the sake of change03:33
mhall119tgm4883: we seem to have fundamentally different desires for the end product03:34
mhall119I don't want a media center03:34
mhall119I already have one, almost every cable and satelite operator ships some kind of media center03:34
tgm4883If we are going to change something, it needs to be because A) something wasn't working right, and B) this change was to fix that03:34
tgm4883mhall119, what do you want then?03:34
mhall119I can use boxee or xbmc or myth or whatever03:34
dmj726I want a device that *is* good for recording and consuming media03:34
dmj726but it should also do new things03:34
dmj726like collaboration and social interaction03:35
tgm4883dmj726, boxee already does that03:36
dmj726Not like I want.03:36
tgm4883how do you want it?03:36
dmj726Well, if I'm right about boxee it's basically twitter apps and such on the Boxee, right?03:37
dmj726and you control the app via the remote with a built-in keyboard03:38
tgm4883dmj726, I believe it has that, but you can also recommend shows to friends and such03:38
tgm4883I honestly haven't used it in quite a while03:38
dmj726yeah, that's not really what I'm thinking of03:38
dmj726So all built-in functionality should be remote friendly.  I'm making this clear.03:39
tgm4883ok03:39
dmj726However, Ubuntu TV should allow applications to take advantage of different input devices, like tablets, smartphones, and PCs as appropriate for the app.03:40
tgm4883Are you talking about having your tablet act as a mouse/keyboard?03:41
dmj726Additionally, I want apps that can be seamlessly transparent over the network and use the TVs strengths when used combined with other devices03:41
dmj726tgm4883: That's part of it, yes.  But not the whole story03:41
tgm4883that would be an OS function it seems, but whats the rest of the story03:42
dmj726So, I'm editing an image, animation, video, whatever.  Me and my group are all working on our pieces03:42
dmj726The TV is our shared screen.03:42
tgm4883oh, your that guy03:42
dmj726So I work individually on my task, but we can easily collaborate03:43
dmj726THis would also be really nice for games03:43
tgm4883I have zero idea how you are going to do that as a function of the OS and not a function of the application03:43
tgm4883if you have any insights into that, please share03:44
dmj726Well, you need a Shell, and a couple of basic pieces in place in the OS to make this work well.03:44
dmj726If your device is just a media center, there's no infrastructure for that, short of hacking the media center out of it03:44
tgm4883dmj726, IMHO, you are still going to need the application to support multiple people working on a single project at the same time03:45
tgm4883dmj726, and you are thinking media center 1.0, not 2.003:45
dmj726Also, some network friendly hooks into the interface system for pointing devices, basic things like that will be good for tablet control03:45
tgm4883that would all be at the OS level though, not part of a 10' UI (other than the portion that would display the image)03:46
dmj726tgm4883: I know you do need application support.  I'm developing one such application.03:46
tgm4883dmj726, ok, so for future clarification. Don't call that social. Call it collaborative03:47
imnicholThe thing I see with dropping unity is that there really isn't a point for Canonical to be involved in this project then.  We might as well just be using xbmc03:47
dmj726well, social referred more to social gaming and the like03:47
tgm4883dmj726, all of which you can do with current media centers03:48
dmj726which is social engagement rather than collaboration, but point taken03:48
tgm4883imnichol, if we use Unity and that is Canonical's only connection, they shouldn't be included anyway03:48
tgm4883That is a weak reason for them to be involved03:48
imnicholtgm4883, if we drop unity, then canonical has to spend time/money investing in a new gui03:48
imnicholThat will only be used for one thing03:49
dmj726Yeah, I think we should keep unity, make the window manager maximized/full screen only, tweak unity for 10 foot UI niceness, add proper input/output APIs and call it a day03:49
dmj726tgm4883: Who else will push this to OEMs if not Canonical?03:49
tgm4883imnichol, I'm not saying drop unity (ok, I am, but only because there is other stuff out there more developered). I'm saying it needs to work for a 10' UI03:50
imnicholAdding a new UI will necessitate a bunch of new code03:50
tgm4883dmj726, 1) why does this need to be pushed to OEMs 2) Why couldn't Canonical be involved for other reasons that Unity03:50
tgm4883imnichol, no it wouldn't03:51
dmj726tgm4883: You think this will become popular if it isn't?03:51
tgm4883imnichol, well, define "a bunch"03:51
tgm4883dmj726, yes03:51
tgm4883dmj726, but you're missing my point anyway. I still think Canonical would be involved without Unity03:52
dmj726So your mom will install Ubuntu TV on her PC and hook that up to her TV?03:52
* tgm4883 rolls eyes03:52
tgm4883dmj726, no, but my mom isn't going to buy a Ubuntu TV either03:52
imnicholWell hold on, it's a valid question03:52
imnicholWhy wouldn't she if it was in stores as a set top box?03:52
dmj726tgm4883: I'm not saying they would take their ball and go home, though they might not let that decision happen with their distro03:52
dmj726tgm4883: My mom would if it could record her shows and do other cool things.03:53
imnicholI want it on the record that I don't speak for Canonical or the Ubuntu community in any sense03:53
tgm4883imnichol, dmj726 so here's the thing. Canonical isn't taking their ball and going home. They said they were doing Ubuntu on TV's, so that is happening. Whether we (you and I and the community) actually have any say in what the UI is remains to be seen03:53
dmj726tgm4883: true03:54
tgm4883honestly I think popey, willcooke, and the other canonical employees need to take charge of this room a little more and at least give us a little bit of direction03:54
dmj726BTW, I like the idea of Unity for consistency's sake across Ubuntu03:54
imnicholtgm4883, agreed03:54
tgm4883dmj726, I can take a PC, install Unity, and hook that up to my TV. Sit on my couch with my keyboard and mouse (since there is no remote support yet) and wouldn't be able to make Unity functional for a TV03:55
imnicholtgm4883, only because there aren't any apps that do TV stuff (afaik, I've never tried)03:56
dmj726I really don't see how Unity *wouldn't* be really easy to make functional for a TV03:56
dmj726It's just the shell03:56
dmj726Now apps is another story03:56
imnicholThe entire point of unity is that it gets out of your way, which is exactly what you want when you're watching tv03:56
dmj726Unity would be really nice for a TV interface03:56
tgm4883imnichol, thats a strawman argument03:56
tgm4883there isn't a media center in the world that doesn't get out of your way when watching TV03:57
dmj726The issue you're talking about is the TV app03:57
dmj726granted it's the main app, and it would be started the moment you boot your TV03:57
tgm4883You do full screen video, you have an OSD available for info and your done03:57
imnicholWell, no, since a strawman requires intent to deceve, I apprently just don't understand the why Unity doesn't work for TVs except for the remote issue, which we've all agreed is going to need to be fixed03:57
tgm4883imnichol, I think I've stated multiple times that it's a vision issue in that you have to be able to know what each item on the screen is03:58
dmj726so design a great set of core TV, video, music, etc apps, heck use existing media center software for the time being03:58
imnicholtgm4883, I guess I haven't been here for that03:58
tgm4883imnichol, guess not03:59
tgm4883dmj726, and that is my second complaint about what everyone is suggesting03:59
imnicholSo is it icon size then?  Icon clarity?03:59
tgm4883the "lets use unity and have it launch rhythmbox for music"03:59
imnicholOh ok, continue03:59
tgm4883imnichol, yes, the wasted space issue03:59
dmj726said applications should be designed for TV03:59
dmj726Maemo didn't throw rhythmbox on the phone and call it a day04:00
dmj726they designed a front end that was very usable on a tiny screen with fat fingers04:00
tgm4883dmj726, I disagree a bit (I agree, but with clarification). the music app should be explicitly written to work with the 10' UI04:00
dmj726tgm4883: I agree04:00
dmj726the use existing meant maybe do use a media center as your media app04:01
imnicholdmj726, tgm4883 The issue with interface was discussed on the mailling list04:01
tgm4883because A) You don't want a strange transition to a different UI just for music, and B) you will still need a 10' UI for the music04:01
imnicholWe can use repos in order to resolve that problem04:01
dmj726in the long run, writing apps to be consistent and easy to use with the overall scheme should be done04:01
tgm4883dmj726, yes04:02
dmj726and default apps should fit with the TV setting perfectly04:02
tgm4883dmj726, so let me get a little clarification from you then. Are you saying use Unity, then if you want to watch media launch a media center app?04:02
dmj726that said, maybe using existing backends and just writing a nice webkit UI (or something) for the front end is a good idea04:03
dmj726yes, Unity is just the shell04:03
tgm4883hmm04:03
tgm4883not sure I really like that either, let me ask this04:03
dmj726it lets you find your apps, get to them easily, and it launches any app to either a full screen or maximized view04:04
tgm4883The point of Unity is to launch your applications?04:04
dmj726Also, important apps would be right in the launcher04:04
dmj726tgm4883: also find media04:04
dmj726and provide whatever notifications04:04
dmj726like new messages or system time04:04
tgm4883ok, but all of those things can be done in current media centers04:04
dmj726So in a current media center, how do I launch the video editing app that I installed through the software center?04:05
dmj726and how would I switch back and forth between the video editor and the TV?04:06
tgm4883In a current media center, you would launch it from the menu item that said "video editing app" (or whatever)04:06
mhall119hmmm, I wonder if a scrollwheel on a remote would be useable04:06
dmj726tgm4883: So current media centers have a window manager?04:07
tgm4883mhall119, for what?04:07
mhall119tgm4883: for scrolling04:07
dmj726Clarification I do not have a media center04:07
tgm4883dmj726, what you are asking, can already be done with XBMC04:07
mhall119well, for *faster* scrolling than hitting the arrow buttons repeatedly04:07
dmj726The hold the mouse like a remote says scroll wheel could work04:07
dmj726tgm4883: okay04:08
imnicholtgm4883, but it would require some coding, just like if we go with Unity04:08
mhall119that method has never felt natural to me04:08
tgm4883mhall119, you can hold down on a remote button04:08
mhall119I always way over or under shoot04:08
tgm4883imnichol, what would require coding? It already does it04:08
mhall119it might make for an overall better remote UX04:08
tgm4883'already' implies that the coding part is done04:08
dmj726Can I open say Firefox inside XBMC?04:09
mhall119anyway, added a Shotwell mockup to http://people.ubuntu.com/~mhall119/utv/index.html#04:09
tgm4883dmj726, yes04:09
tgm4883dmj726, it will launch applications04:09
tgm4883AFAIK anything you say it will launch, providing you can launch it on the underlying OS04:09
imnicholtgm4883, If we go with one of the existing media centers, it will require that we modify the code, and if we use unity, we'll have to modify code as well...(continued)04:10
dmj726tgm4883: Can you switch between open ones?04:10
* mhall119 is contemplating a tiling window manager04:10
tgm4883dmj726, I would have to check. I'm assuming you can via alt-tab, which you would need with any frontend04:10
imnicholtgm4883, the only difference between using an existing media center or unity is which code we have to modify04:10
dmj726mhall119: I wouldn't mind a tiling manager being included (might be good for PiP or PoP) but full screen should be the most obvious and default case04:11
tgm4883imnichol, not true, there is way more you have to modify for Unity04:11
mhall119dmj726: yeah, I'm thinking for multi-windowed apps04:11
dmj726tgm4883: So I don't disapprove of XBMC if what you say is true and the firefox window is usable and accessible within XBMC on that ground04:12
imnicholtgm4883, I'm not sure that would be true...04:12
dmj726However, I still thing Unity might be a good idea for other reasons04:12
tgm4883Unity coding: Change unity to accept remote control input, change sizing/layout for inclusion on a TV, create (or modify existing) each type of media app (music, video, picture, etc) so it will work in a 10' and look decent during transitions04:13
tgm4883XBMC coding: Theme it to look like unity04:13
dmj726mhall119: Might be good if GIMP could use that, though I bet GIMP will be single window friendly by then (note I'm not saying GIMP is a key app on TV)04:13
tgm4883Seems like there is less coding on the XBMC side ;)04:13
imnicholtgm4883, can XBMC keep a movie/tv playing while you browse the internet?  Also using xbmc means that the codebase gets a lot bigger.04:14
dmj726mhall119: nice mockup04:14
tgm4883imnichol, yes I believe it can04:14
dmj726reminds me of the dmedia browser prototype04:14
imnicholtgm4883, how does allowing remote control input require a huge code change?04:15
tgm4883imnichol, did you not read the rest of that line?04:15
tgm4883imnichol, I'm starting to wonder about your motives here, do you really love Unity this much?04:15
imnicholHm04:16
imnicholI'm a secret microsoft plant here to destroy ubuntu by pushing unity ;)04:17
tgm4883sweet, are you a Ficus?04:17
imnicholLemme guess, Steve Jobs paid you to do the same thing on belalf of apple?04:17
imnichollol04:17
dmj726I'm a secret Novacut plant here to ensure Ubuntu TV is awesome.04:18
imnicholMy god, how deep does the conspiracy go?04:18
dmj726hehe04:18
imnicholtgm4883, What's that a reference to?  I feel like it's a book I've read.04:21
tgm4883imnichol, IDK, a Ficus is an office plant. I thought it was funny :)04:21
tgm4883probably exists in some book though04:22
imnicholOh ok.  I could have sworn that there was some story about people being a ficus.  I think it was Douglas Adams.04:22
tgm4883could be04:22
imnicholtgm4883, tell you what, put up a unity screenshot with arrows that point out what sizing/layout issues you think there are in unity that won't work for a tv, and you'll convince me that we should use xbmc/whatever04:57
dmj726mhall119: you around?05:23
dmj726http://imagebin.org/18658805:23
popey03:54:24 < tgm4883> honestly I think popey, willcooke, and the other canonical employees need to take charge of this room a little more and at least give us a little bit of direction07:59
popeynoted07:59
* AlanBell agrees09:03
AlanBellwould be good to get clarity over whether this is an Ubuntu TV or Unity TV project09:03
AlanBellwhat I find interesting about mhall119's mockups is that the thinks like shotwell and the unity launcher look about right on the 1/4 scale screen when they are regular sized09:04
AlanBellso desktop things scaled up by a factor of 4 seem to fit the full HD 10 foot UI09:05
AlanBellfactor of 4 in terms of pixels09:06
dmj726AlanBell: I would tend to agree09:12
dmj726One might actually argue what the exact scale factor is09:12
dmj726Might turn out say 3x or 2x or 6x is really the right size.09:12
dmj726but I think it does need scaling up09:13
dmj726AlanBell: Unity will need this anyway for tablets and smartphones09:13
dmj726AlanBell: hmm...they're not *too* far off, but I do feel the launcher icons are a bit too big09:17
dmj726My guess is 2-3x is probably right09:17
dakerwho want to see my mockup ?10:40
AlanBellme!, where are they daker?10:46
dakeri have only one at the moment ツ10:46
AlanBelldmj726: interestingly 1920x1080 divides by 3 to 640x36010:47
dakerAlanBell, http://ubuntuone.com/0tZlYZ2bf5WqFyuS6nAcEC10:48
dmj726AlanBell: intestestong10:49
AlanBellnice looking bottom bar thing10:49
dmj726I'd say we should allow enough space for at least 8 icons vertically in the launcher10:50
AlanBelldmj726: I think I will add a second slide to the base design frame with the screen at 640x36010:50
dmj726gut feeling says that's a good number10:51
dmj7265 seems to limited10:51
dakerAlanBell, what do you think ?10:57
AlanBelldaker: the playback controls are nice11:00
daker11:01
mhall119dmj726: were you wanting me to use that image in a mockup?12:36
dakermhall119, have you seen my 1st mockup ?12:44
mhall119daker: no, the U1 link you posted earlier wasn't working12:54
dakermhall119, yes look here http://people.ubuntu.com/~daker/ubuntu-tv/13:06
mhall119daker: nice, except I think the text is too small for people to read from a distance13:07
dakermhall119, click on the image to see it13:08
mhall119daker: I meant that, at 10 feet (3-4 meters) away, that'll be hard to read13:10
mhall119even on a large screen tv13:11
dakeri see13:11
AlanBellthat isn't 16:9 ratio13:14
dakerAlanBell, i think you are right13:18
sladenhttp://www.youtube.com/leanback  is quite an interesting, simple TV interface14:49
sladenhandy to run full-screen on a monitor/TV14:49
sladennavigation appears to be all left/right/up/down/enter14:51
dmj726mhall119: just noticing some similarities between your shotwell bit and our dmedia browser prototype15:00
dmj726if you'd like to use the screenshot, that would be kinda cool though15:01
tgm4883dmj726, (off to work), but might be better to have a second info screen with that smaller text a bit larger. eg. hit info once, it pulls up the controls and volume, hit it again pulls up a larger overlay (maybe the bottom half of the screen) for you to tweet, see video info, etc15:04
mhall119sladen: nice one15:47
mhall119I think once we have a platform like Ubuntu on the TV, there will be more TV-layout webapps like that15:48
mhall119just like we have phone-layout webapps now15:48
mhall119sladen: I added a screenshot of leanback to my mockups: http://people.ubuntu.com/~mhall119/utv/index.html#15:56
mhall119I'm beginning to question the need for number buttons on the TV remote.  Besides picking a channel by number for broadcast television, is there any use for them?16:03
mhall119none of my mockups have used them so far16:03
dmj726mhall119: perhaps picking items from a list?16:14
dmj726I'd say we should keep them if we want to interact with TV at all, just so we don't make people with lots of channels surf back and forth all the time16:15
mhall119dmj726: ok, maybe they can be smaller and less in the way though, if we're not going to use them much16:20
dmj726mhall119: that makes sense, though I'm not sure the remote design is really up to Canonical other than saying what buttons are absolutely necessary16:29
dmj726I would think OEMs would design that, perhaps with a little guidance from Canonical.16:29
popeysladen: bbc have a similar thing... http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/bigscreen/16:52
popeyyou can click into the browser content and then navigate with arrow keys16:52
mhall119I get the feeling webapps like these may be a prime use of UbuntuTV21:36
mhall119we should see if anyone is working on a browser optimized for TV use21:37
MrChrisDruifmhall119; webapps? Did I miss something?21:38
mhall119MrChrisDruif: like the BBC's iplayer, or youtube's 'leanback'21:38
mhall119MrChrisDruif: in much the same way people make mobile phone apps using HTML5, they could make TV apps too21:39
MrChrisDruifHow did I get this link? http://imagebin.org/18540523:41

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