Just checked out the development page of MythTV and found out that there seems to be a todo-list for the plugin MythMusic. Finally! I have long been thinking of a better way to redesign that application, which is the builtin music player for the MythTV PVR system.

I have never ever been able to really use MythMusic up to this date. Since my music library is stored centrally on a file server and about 130 GB large, only well-written music players seem to handle the enormous amount of music and MythMusic takes a half eternity to load. Immediately when it loads, all you see is a list of strange songs that seem to be randomly picked from the music collection, and the player immediately starts to play. Hey, I never ever picked those songs, and I never even wanted to play those songs! Nevertheless, it starts the music (and it is the same song _every_ time I feel like trying out MythMusic).

Trying to navigate around, I discover I just not understand how the application works. Trying to navigate in with the remote control keys just gets me confused, how do I stop the music player? How do I edit the current playlist? How do I keep myself from being frustrated?

Since I am a heavy-duty MPD and ncmpc user I have learned that I have a few preferences when it comes to music players. Selection of songs should be ultra-quick and very thought-through. There is no reason to press the mouse 41 times just to select a new song, you have the database there and all I should have to do is to select the artist or song I want to play. Everything seems to be even more confusing because of the fact that it is almost impossible to se which control on the screen that is actually selected (this is probably a theme problem). MPD also has the strength that it always runs, and there is no dependance for an application to keep the music streaming from the loudspeakers. You can even log in and out, the music never stops!

Perhaps one could incorporate some design ideas from MPD in the new version of MythMusic? I would very much like to keep my music playing when I show photos for my friends with MythGallery. (MythGallery is also in need of some serious redesign, but let’s save that for another blog post…) The user should be asked with a friendly question whether to pause the music when TV mode is entered (I don’t like listening to music while watching TV) or the user starts the Myth NES emulator.

Perhaps I should write a witty little program that is nothing but a MPD client for MythTV? I don’t have the time, so if anybody out there could feel the call…?

Phew. Remember to help out with open source software, you can always help! Not a programmer? A complete computer illiterate? You are needed! If not for hardcore development, there is a big need for coordination, translation, support or donations! I believe MythTV is a very important system for the FLOSS world, and a shift in development speed is required. LiveTV seems pretty good to me already, we really need to get the “other” features really polished and thought-through. I (and probably many others) will want to play music, play games and show photos in a very, very simple way.

MythTV development team; I have nothing against you, just needed to get this little rant of mine down on the keyboard.

I really hope I can bring my little pet program, “evad”, to an enough usable state to release an alpha version of the code to bring some more professional designers and programmers to dissect and improve the code. I really like ncmpc, but the developer doesn’t seem to work on the code anymore, and the latest release was in the end of 2005.