Windows Media Player Classic Interface Dominik Gradzi ... - Courses

Program Description
Windows Media Player Classic Interface
Dominik Gradzi
dominik.gradzi@gmail.com
Windows Media Player Classic (MPC) is an open source media player and compared to
Windows' media player has additional features such as subtitle management and better
rendering of obscure formats. However like most players out there it lacks a good interface for
dual displays such as when a laptop is connected to a LCD TV.
MPC has a minimalist design which can give
novice users a hard time accessing basic
features such as full screen mode. Most of
the interface is accessible through the menu
bar or by right clicking on the screen. There
exists short cuts such as left clicking within
the video area plays or pauses the video or
double clicking will toggle the video between
full screen and windowed version. When
wanting to play video on a separate display
other than the computer one must drag the
screen over to the extended desktop area
then double click on the video to have it in
full screen.

Analysis
Primary functions of MPC's interface are as follows:
I. Able to go into full screen mode by double clicking on the video. To get out of full screen
mode one must double click on the video again. Another way to access full screen mode
by clicking on full screen in the view menu located on the menu bar.
II. Able to display on a secondary display device by moving the video to the extended
desktop area.
III. Mute and adjust the volume directly on the seek bar. In order to mute a secondary
display devices one must go to control panel and open up the Sound program. Then
under the Playback tab the user selects the device to turn off.
The majority of users who use this program are probably multimedia enthusiasts, or users who
prefer alternatives to what Windows default player offers. It also can be the case it is used by
novice users who have had their computers setup for them for maximum compatibility.
The requirements on for the system are as follows:
I. The system needs to be compatible with the many file formats and codecs.
II. Performance (ex. when skipping forward not to have artefacts in the video)
III. Access to codecs in windows
IV. Icons and text should be clearly visible
Current Problems with the interface are as follows:
I. The program does not have an intuitive way of displaying video on a secondary display
device. As mentioned before the application has to be dragged to the extended desktop
space in order for it to display. The figure below demonstrates the process of moving
MPC over to the extended desktop space.

II. The interface is setup for users with experience who prefer shortcuts and have a
minimalist interface. There is no option for turning on a novice interface. Also when in
full screen mode it might not be intuitive on how to exit full screen. When in full screen
mode the seek bar only appears when the mouse is
moved to the bottom of the screen.
III. There is no easy way of controlling turning off the
secondary device's sound or computer's sound off. This
is especially true for HDMI compatible devices where
the sound jack and HDMI are separate sound device
ports. Figure below demonstrates the current program
used to disable sound.
Design
Dual Display Device Interface & Sound Solution
The assumption regarding this solution is that the user has already connected a secondary
display device to their computer and it is setup as an extended desktop space. A possible
solution would be is when the user opens a video file, MPC would detect if there is a secondary
display. Then a dialog would then pop up asking the user which screen they would like to view
the video on. If the user selects the secondary device there should be miniature version of the
MPC on the first display. This miniature version should consist of the seek bar and buttons that
enable the user to control where the video gets played. These buttons' functions should be
clearly labelled or at least have text pop up when the mouse is moved over them. There should
be sound buttons that correspond to the display devices. These buttons should allow the user
to mute the sound either on the secondary or primary display device.

Novice User Interface Solution
This is easily remedied if the essential functions such as full screen or changing subtitles were
located as buttons on the seek bar of the player. Also it is important that the non universal
buttons have labels on them because some inexperienced users are less reluctant of pressing
buttons they do not know their function of. Mouse over text would also be useful if it described
the function of the buttons. When in full screen mode the seek bar should appear when the
mouse is moved and disappear after a second of inactivity. The full screen button's text should
change accordingly. An example is if MPC is in full screen mode then the button should read
'exit full screen'. When the mouse is moved in full screen mode there should also be a big
button that appears in the upper right or left corner of the screen labelled 'exit full screen'. This
makes it easy for the user to recall next time they are using the player to perform the same
tasks.
Cost Estimates
For the development of the novice interface it would probably only take about 3 hours
assuming the developer is native to MPC, because it is only changing the GUI and adding icons.
The detecting of multiple display devices and muting the device inputs probably will take about
20 hours, because this type of programming requires more critical thinking. Also detecting
display devices might take some research into windows API which would take up time.
Assuming the developer makes $30 an hour the extra changes would cost about $690.