Trust me! The world need a step by step tutorial on how to install all the nice Moviesheet on WD HUB

WD Legacy Products WD TV Themes
1

Im surfing and surfing around the net for a “up to date” simple step by step tutorial, on ho to get moviesheet running on a western digital hub.

Its cool with a lot of themes supporting moviesheet. But 90% most delete the files again, because noting explaining how to use / install them and how to get started with it.

Maybe IM so unlucky not finding the right tutorial, but I see many people asking for help.

Pleas take at Break, and help us using all the smart cool looking moviesheet. I hope some one will past a cool skilled step by step tutorial. Also on how to setup thombgen to work on hub. Wive information needed to. So hope one or to will take the break and help me on a tutorials for all the noob link my self.

Also so sorry for my bad English. Hope you understand the point!

Also pleas keep the red line in this post. “How do we make it more easy to use moviesheet on at WD Live Hub”

2

i am working on one!

I had the exact same issue as you when i started a few months ago, the informations are there but all over the place, it took me a loooooooooooong time to get my things generated as intended, once you know it you wonder why it didn’t work before. However with the final release of my theme in November there will be a PDF File with screenshots and and 3 languages, i hope other, more experienced users will contribute to that, so we all can put that somewhere on this forum and to our themes to make life easier for new members of the community.

3

Every theme is different so you can’t really have a universal tutorial as each tutorial is specific to it’s theme. However, Tinwarble made an awesome tutorial here which works for most Live Hub themes. You can’t get more straight forward than this.

Download:

http://www.mediafire.com/?qekoe94v9ydx3y6

Thread with Tutorial:

http://community.wdc.com/t5/WD-TV-Live-Hub-Themes/Mojo-1-10-02-MS-Moviesheet-version/td-p/213476

4

Shadow_cruiser >

  • This is not a “from the beginning” links you are posting.

  • Mojo themes you are linking to binds you to only one Mojo moviesheet. Only if you like this one moviesheet. You can try installing the Mojo themes. And you still need the beginner help (somewhere on the net) to install the Mojo them.

Tinwarble Are doing a great job. And are a kind and helpful themer. All respect to him and the Mojo themes.

A tutorial need:

A mega zip/rar pack with

  1. The tutorial firmware 2.07.17 (Problem with the last update)

  2. The tutorial ThombGen

  3. The tutorial Templates for ThombGen supporting Hub 2.07.17

  4. The tutorial Themes supporting moviesheet. (not a single maybe for some a “don’t like” one)

A PDF with all the info you need from the start. And step by step to a working moviesheet with not only one Templates/moviesheet support.

Info.

How to up/down grate firmware.

How to setup ThombGen options. Explaining the basic.

Were to install the moviesheet supported themes

Setting up the hub Setup > Interface Themes / Gallery view /  Slideshows Interval Time 5 min / Slideshows Transition Fade and so one.

Give hub drew letter and so one…

So if someone more skilled than me want help. Im ready to make the complete tutorial supporting the most of the moviesheet variable to the hub.

Hope to se some hands in the air :slight_smile:

5

Douink,

Well, as shadow_crusier said, each theme uses it’s own settings for how Thumbgen needs to be setup, so it is really impratical to try to make a “one size fits all” tutorial.

And since some themes use different tricks to implement different aspects, you really can cover them all.

As for a tutorial on firmware, there already is one here: http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5860/~/how-to-roll-back-the-firmware-on-a-wd-tv-live-hub-media-center

And if you are refering to how to fix a firmware problem, that can’t be done because every person finds different bugs with the firmware depending on how they use the HUB.

There are also already many different tutorials out there on how to set up thumbgen some of which can be found here:

http://www.wdtvlive.net/articles.php?c=18

These are not HUB specific, but will show you how to add templates and explain what different functions of Thumbgen are.

You should also check out the actual Thumbgen forum here: http://forum.wdlxtv.com/viewforum.php?f=25

6

as shadow cruiser mentioned. each theme has its own custom movie sheets.

You cant use any other moviesheet but the one provided with the theme.

Mojo has its TG MS template

Aeonish has its TG MS template

Devicious has its own TG MS template

each template ONLY works with that theme. no other template will work with that theme.

There are a fewer beginner themes that were made in the beginning that allow you to use almost any template [except the severe custom ones mentioned above]. there is a template pack that has tons of TG MS templates that can be used with these other themes.

7

As drizzt09 said:

as shadow cruiser mentioned. each theme has its own custom movie sheets.

You cant use any other moviesheet but the one provided with the theme.

Mojo has its TG MS template

Aeonish has its TG MS template

Devicious has its own TG MS template

each template ONLY works with that theme. no other template will work with that theme.

There are a fewer beginner themes that were made in the beginning that allow you to use almost any template [except the severe custom ones mentioned above]. there is a template pack that has tons of TG MS templates that can be used with these other themes.

If you only use a Hub, you do have other options. As Drizz said, way back in the past (maybe 9 months ago), Tinwarble and Extremedigital collaborated on a couple of themes. The ones I like and have used ever since was

ExtremeMix Coverflow 2.5 Tinwarble

ExtremeMix Trickle 2.5 Tinwarble

Along the way, a few things happened. One, WD added Games to the menu. TW extracted the necessary OSD and with a simple cut and paste, that was resolved. Two, WD again changed the firmware and only in the latest version they messed up the sizing of the covers on both the Coverflow and Trickle views. It’s annoying, but for me it’s not a deal breaker. People have put a great deal of time and effort making truly great Moviesheets. Hundreds of them in all kinds of formats and designs. As Drizz noted, the current crop of Themes doen’t really support, what some of us consider Moviesheets.

The current crop of Themes are some really nice looking, artistic and functional replacements for Moki.They have taken away the work of maintaining your library and at the same time presenting a very functional user interface. I’m sure they will tell you how difficult it has been. Joey has given up on supporting WDs constant newly created bugs in his life long WIP. TW has been a tireless supporter of this board and the Themeing subject.

Before I ramble on any further, I mentioned the two Extememix 2.5 TW themes. They combine the orginal Moki simplicity, with excellent Gallery views, REAL full sheet Moviesheets, no need for PNG/JPG renaming and TW’s flare for great presentation of your music library. Maybe I’m living in the moviesheet past, but I really wish someone with the knowledge and patience could do the necessary tweaking to bring “2.5” up to current standards.

Anyway, just my opinions and ramblings. Hope I didn’t ruffle any feathers. :wink:

8

the problem when you are at absolute beginner stage is that there is always info for particular themes but this info requires some prior knowledge that is not provided or not easy to understand when terminology is used that is unfamilar to someone who is new.

At this point it doesn’t matter what kind of movie sheets one is using when they don’t even know where to put the theme. If you can explain the very basics and make it understandable in terms that anyone can relate to, you can explain thumbgen and such without using a specific theme. If you can make someone understand to make a movie sheets for the standard themes then you got a fundament  where you can explain this person how your particular theme works and not the other way around. In fact… when i posted my first crappy little design for my theme i posted that it was my intention to make it easy for people like me who don’t have a clue and that it was my intention to make a documentation that people actually understand. We’ll see if they will, lol.

9

Hi all and thanks for all you posting. Nice to see all the replies.

Extreamdigital have updated the megamix to 3.5 supporting firmwere 2.07.17

In one of he’s post here, he say;

Re: ExtremeMix_Mega_Hub_Theme_Pack_3.5

08-22-201103:08 AM

 

Hello CoolDude…

 

My theme will work with any thumbgen template, that  how I design my themes…

 

And you are all saying that every theme have its own only working “build in” moviesheet!

Am I misunderstanding extremedigital total in this post? Can or can I not use any ThumbGen Template??

If so then its not possible for anyone  to use this nice list http://community.wdc.com/t5/WD-TV-Live-Hub-Themes/Moviesheet-Theme-List/td-p/214008

Or are this list only for WD TV LIVE.

If extremedigital are making the themes work with any template. Why are all themeres not making that kind of themes.

are ExtremeMix the only themes supporting all the template. Then my tutorial will be build up around ExtremeMix.

Still hoping for some help.

“” I only want make people use your themes. After 3 days surfing I still don’t have a 100% working moviesheet""

10

Well, the biggest problem that I find is that a limited number of  people don’t take the time to actually read everything that’s in a tutorial.  It doesn’t matter how detailed it is, they will just try to do things as quickly as possible and make mistakes, then blame it on not being able to understand a tutorial.

And I am not just talking about my tutorial, when I first started using TG for my older WDTVLive, I found out how to use TG by following one of the video tutorials posted on another forum.  And even though it seemed fairly clear to me (never having used it before and not knowing what a moviesheet was) there was always someone who complained that they didn’t understand it and couldn’t get it to work.

Now, I’m not saying my tutorial is perfect either, but I did do some testing by giving it to my better half, who is about as technical challenged as they come (I still have to show her how to attach pictures to an email).  However, she is very good at following directions, and she was able to configure TG perfectly following just my tutorial.

As for describing TG in a way that doesn’t involve a particular theme, yes you can do this, and it has already been done in the links that I provided above.  But that does not guarantee that someone will understand what they are doing anymore than describing it for a particular theme if they don’t have some technical know-how to begin with.  And frankly, it doesn’t matter how detailed you describe how to do something, there is always going to be someone who comes along and doesn’t understand.

11

well the simpler method that i use nowadays is to load the moviesheet as backdrops…

Thus, i can use any moviesheets template!

12

I’m NOT being mean when I say:

Part of the problem might be that a LOT of people do not know how to do the most simple things in Windows. Like un-hiding folders and files, copying files, renaming files, what a file extension is, using the .zip folders and cut and paste.

So, be prewarned noobs, if you don’t know how to use Windows most basic functions, you’re going to have problems installing themes. You’re going to have problems understanding the terminology used to describe HOW to use them as well. Don’t blame your problems with a theme entirely on the theme. It’s more likely you missed a step or didn’t do something right.

Just sayin’, not being a critic!

2 Likes
13

I agree Tinwarble,

no matter how good you’ll describe it there will always be people who moan but it doesn’t mean it isn’t the right thing to do. On top of that i have never nor will ever take BS from someone when I was offering free help, i just listen away :slight_smile:

8 Years running an online business and doing support myself made me a biatch when it comes to that :slight_smile:

14

@ firetix

Quote:

3 hours ago

well the simpler method that i use nowadays is to load the moviesheet as backdrops…

Thus, i can use any moviesheets template!

But, Moviesheets as backdrops (backdrops method) can only be used in  ‘Gallery View’

Nowhere else. :frowning:

But, if all you use, is ‘Gallery View’ then backdrops method is ok…  i guess :neutral_face:

15

Lol IM building up my own PC the last 15 years.

Im softmoding WI for about 2 years.

Not a single thing your writing down are new for me.

But pleas tell me were the tutorial explaining noob the basic of “setting up Thombgen” to run with extremedigitals 3.5 themes pack? I can’t find a single one.

Firetex saying I can use any moviesheets template!.. And people here are writing that "every theme are running with its own movisheet template.

Pleas help me out here firetex. Were are the tutorial to the way your running themes and moviesheet. What themes are supporting all the template. What themes are you using. Can you link me to a templace pack to suporting hub? Realy need your help!

Im dreaming about running every template I want. But nothing are linking me to the start.

Its nice to make 1000 of themes and moviesheet templates. But is it funny that no one know were to start. And every time your having 100 loving your template, only 5 are using it. Look around in forums. People searching for beginners guide. Try Google wd live hub for beginner or beginner guide or beginner tutorial. And you only find people “” looking for it “”

If I one day are getting Firetex theme supporting all template up running. I will make at total rar file Inc tutorials on how I did it!

Thanks for all the support. Hope things are getting easier one day. Love from Denmark!!! :slight_smile:

16

The standard build in moviesheet are showing every film Im getting info to fine. So maybe I will get back to costume moviesheet if its getting easier one day. Im giving up on all the nice looking stuff out there.

Every themes and moviesheet I have downloaded was fare away from running perfect. Its my problem, Im the noob. Still after 4 days hard reading and trying I didn’t find the way to setup Thombgen option, makes text and backdrop working on all the film. I will be back when there are a v 9.9.9.9 of your themes, hopefully with support to all kind of moviesheet!

Love from Denmark!!

17

@Douink

I am not going to disagree that being new to moviesheets is easy, but you have to do things one step at a time, expecting all the answers to every question, or being able to do it all in a couple of days won’t happen.

There are a couple of things you have to understand here.

  1. Most themes use different moviesheets, just because they have different graphics in different places, so the moviesheet is setup a certain way to fit into that theme.

  2. Themes get messed up with different firmwares, thats why you will see Theme creators saying what firmware to use to get a Theme/Moviesheet to look right.

  3. Stick to 1 theme, use Thumbgen and make up moviesheets and get it to save all the data in a TMGD file, then it wont have to scrape all the data when you change to a different theme/moviesheet setup.

18

   Please don’t “blame” the themers. Start with WD, who not only doesn’t make themes an easy thing to install, but seem to “break” things with every new “update”. The themers and community use this and other forums to report these problems. WD’s engineering (software) department, appearently reports to marketing and NOT to customer service. Complaints seem to be ignored, while new features are implemented in an effort to boost sales.

   If you have found a link to Extremedigitals V3.5 I wouldn’t mind trying it IF it includes TW’s music enhancements and isn’t “broken” in the latest firmware.

   Please remember that everything presented here is a GIFT.  Made by people with an artistic flare and some tricks learned along the way to make the WD box perform that WD doesn’t actually support. Yes they provide MINIMAL support for selecting themes but not really any support for movie sheets.

   TW and others have provided tutorials and endless support for their work. Making these things happen REQUIRES some computer knowledge (if not expertise). You are wotking in the realm of program hacking. If something doesn’t work the way you expected it to, then 99% of the time you have made an error along the way. Use the tools provided, re-read the tutorials, try again, ask specific questions and if all else fails, ask a more computer savy person (a nerd) to help you.  

Best of Luck

19

Hi Guys, really interesting reading…

Yeah the whole world of themeing and moviesheets CAN seam to be confusing. However if you break it down into small chunks it gets easier.

I am kinda in theming semi retirement at the moment, but keep an active eye on the forum.

The current work that TW, Joey and DeVicious are doing is nothing short of amazing, and i would say i am in awe of their work.

Perhaps call me OLD SCHOOL… but i like full screen moviesheets as it  means that you can use any moviesheet hence i kinda have my box working the way i want it so stopped development. BUT there is always room for improvement

Theme and moviesheet 101:-

There are 2 main methods to showing moviesheets.

The first method involves ‘tricking’ the Hub to use the moviename.jpg thumbnail as a bigger background image.

The second method involves using a local backdrop image as the moviesheet, a trick discvovered to work with the newer firmwares.

Technically the second method is the easier to learn as it can be used with ANY theme with some tweaking…,

All you have to do is use the latest version of thumbgen and make sure the xml has the correct link to your local backdrop moviesheet.

But the first method is used by extensively by some of the best themes out there as the results are INSTANT, without the delay you get with the local backdrops method

My advice is download and install ALL available themes and TRY THEM ALL, see how they work for you personally then choose which theme you like.

Then decide how to implement moviesheets with that particular theme…

However i will disagree with one point, whilst it is usually best to use the themes own moviesheet template you DON’T have to… when you get to that stage and are willing to ‘tinker’ then you become the themer yourself, its all about personal taste.

Hope that helps a little

20

Thanks all… Your all kind and helpful.

Im not trying to attack the themers, NEVER. I respect people using so much time for no money. If I one time have sound like IM angry at the themers, so correct me if I sound like that.

Extreme thanks for taking your time.

I like the fast dropping to local method. But can’t make anything work. Something with my sittings in ThombGen I think.

Maybe IM running a old setup tutorial with the No hub supporting ThomGen. I don’t know. ?

Maybe IM using “not supporting hub” templates ?

Maybe my sittings in ThombGen are wrong.

My ThombGen are not downloading backdrops?

Can you link me to a setup TumbGen tutorial?

Do I still need to make png. To jpg

ThombGen are showing me perfect and cool moviesheets. but when I process them, they are so **bleep**ed up, double text in cower flow. Only background in cowerflow wiev, downloading from the net.

Thx and respekt to all the themers. also the old schools :slight_smile: