Video mode: Bringing up the playback control bar

[Anonymous]

Currently (v1.0.3) if you’re watching a video and use the Wimote to move the pointer to one of the 4 edges of your tv screen, the playback control bar disappears, and if you point the Wiimote back towards the centre, it pops up the playback control bar again.

I don’t mind (in fact: I like) having it hide when I move the pointer off ANY edge of the screen, but in testing out WiiMC for the first time last night, I discovered that it’s quite annoying to have the playback control bar suddenly pop up on the screen when you don’t want it to, which happens quite easily if the Wiimote is accidentally moved and its aim happens to move the pointer inward from ANY edge of the screen.

Sure I could put the Wiimote on the coffee table or on the floor but that’s not ideal.

My suggested solution would be to only bring up the playback control bar when the pointer touches the BOTTOM edge of the tv screen. (That’s how many computer media player apps do it).

What do other people think? Do you like it how it currently is, or would prefer what I suggested, or .. something else?

[rodries]

Then we’ll have a whole bunch of people who can’t figure out how to bring up the bar, and rightfully so.

[Anonymous]

I’d update the documentation!

[wii_about_guide]

I checked Windows Media Player, iTunes, VLC, and SMPlayer, and all of them behave the same way as WiiMC currently does (in full screen mode, the on-screen controls appear when the cursor moves to ANY point on the screen, not just the bottom of the screen), so the current behavior makes the most sense. Just point the Wiimote away from the screen when you set it down.

[En.Ki]

you could have it auto-hide the playback controls after 3 seconds of the pointer position remaining idle (and the pointer isn’t currently over the controls).

[Anonymous]

@qwertymodo wrote:

I checked Windows Media Player, iTunes, VLC, and SMPlayer, and all of them behave the same way as WiiMC currently does (in full screen mode, the on-screen controls appear when the cursor moves to ANY point on the screen, not just the bottom of the screen), so the current behavior makes the most sense.

Well, see I use Media Player Classic and Zoom Player, and they both operate the way I described.

I can certainly adapt to a new way of doing things. I was just curious if others felt it was annoying to have it pop up any time the remote was on and pointed in the general direction of the screen.

@qwertymodo wrote:

Just point the Wiimote away from the screen when you set it down.

Yup, that’ll work for me!

[rodries]

Also your remote turns off after 60 secs of inactivity.

[Zack]

I updated the documentation to explicitly state, how to bring up the on screen controls. 🙂

[Anonymous]

^Cool.

Check this out:

I was laying on the couch yesterday running a video in WiiMC and I’d set the wiimote down next to me, taking ‘qwertymodo”s adice to making sure it wasn’t pointed at the screen. In fact, I angled it >90-degrees from the tv screen (so actually pointing slightly backwards from the tv and wii sensor bar on top of it). So far, so good, I thought. Then about 45 seconds later, as I reached next to me to grab a drink off a side-table, the wiimote must have moved slightly because the WiiMC playback control bar suddenly appeared on the screen!

“That’s weird”, I thought. So I picked up the wiimote and experimented to see if I could get it to do it again – that is get the pointer to move even when the wiimote was pointed not at the screen. And yes, I could replicate it. I could even get it to move on screen when I had the wiimote turned 160-170-degrees opposite from the wii sensor bar! 😕 😮

I forget – how does the Wiimote & sensor bar work? The sensor bar is sending the signal, or the wiimote? (I have WiiMotionPlus installed, if that’s at all relevant).

Maybe it’s due a reflection off either of the 2 large windows that are on the opposite side of the room from my couch? Maybe it’s due to reflections off the large glass coffee table nearer the middle of the room, or a reflection off the shiny leather on either of the 2 recliners I have set back further in the room, or even perhaps off the angled window in my kitchen, which is located 20ft directly behind the living room? Or maybe the beam is just bouncing around off all or many items?

I don’t know what it is but I exited WiiMC and of course, it did the same thing on the main Wii Menu page.
It’s not really ‘usable’ when the wiimote is pointed backwards or nearly completely backwards, but it certainly moves the pointer.

Obviously as I was surprised to realize this, I’ve never noticed it being a “problem” in any other game or app. But in WiiMC Video Mode when sufficient left or right movement of the wiimote is detected within the 60 seconds of a previous movement (such as me moving the pointer off-screen to hide the playback control bar), that means the playback control bar will pop up, unintentionally.

I think I’ll just have to learn to sit still! 😆

[romo1925]

If this is happening the go to wii settings and change the sensitivity of your wii remote under the ‘sensor bar’ settings section.

[Pap]

@RazorX wrote:

I forget – how does the Wiimote & sensor bar work? The sensor bar is sending the signal, or the wiimote?

Basically,the Wiimote is a simple infra-red camera and the sensor bar is simply two spots of infra-red light. If your Wiimote sees two other spots of infra-red light it thinks it’s the sensor bar. I have problems like this all the time because my TV is right next to a big window. But as long as I close the curtain properly every thing’s fine.

[Anonymous]

@pitchuk wrote:

If this is happening the go to wii settings and change the sensitivity of your wii remote under the ‘sensor bar’ settings section.

Thanks for the suggestion, but it only doesn’t do it anymore when it’s set to full-left ie:”1″ – and when it’s on that, the wiimote isn’t usable from my couch.

Obviously, the reason it’s never been an issue before for me until WiiMC is because a media-player is the only thing on the Wii that most people will ever use where there’s no need to hold the wiimote (during use).

[wii_about_guide]

On the calibration screen, point your Wiimote in the direction(s) where you were having the OSD pop up and see if there are any dots that pop up to try and figure out what the Wiimote is “seeing”. Maybe it’s a window or a bright light or something like that.

[Anonymous]

^ Yeah, when it’s calibrated to 2 dots from a gameplaying seating position and I turn the remote to the side>, it gives me 5+ dots, in a circular pattern. It’s the window in the tv room, it’s the table, it’s the glass on the electric fireplace, it’s the window in the kitchen, it’s my shiny head. 😆

[Author]

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