Simple Preferences

Read this first

The current preferences use a tree that matches the vlc internal mechanisms. The new preferences don't have to use this tree. We can use whatever we want. My first thought is a 1-level sorting, with the main topics displayed with images on the left pane and preferences pages on the right pane.

We can select preferences items one by one, we don't need the full pages that are currently used

VLC definitively needs a "simple" preferences window. Here is a list of some of the settings which would be needed:

Now, proceed

I will agree with the basic premise, VLC needs a simple preferences menu. But if you can't see the current tree of simple preferences as they exist presently how can you have the discussion as to include them or not? There also maybe a few that are not now in the simple preferences that should be or a few that best be handled in a different way or done away with entirely. But how can you see them to be able to relate to them or know out of context? Plus the fact that you will never be sure that you have reviewed them all and the new simple preferences will go through several changes while the end user is still confused and or ends up locking down the advanced options. -- User:DJ

(?) = to be decided

• Audio
  • Enable Audio
  • Default audio volume
  • Use S/PDIF when available
  • Force detection of Dolby surround
    • Filters
      • Equalizer
        • Equalizer preset
      • Headphone effect
        • Characteristic demension
      • Volume normalizer
      • Parmetric equalizer
        • All Presets (?)
    • Output modules (?) -- Disagree. Only needs to be modified in case of problems -- User:Zorglub --> It's still one of the options which many people have to change, having it handy will be usefull -- User:DJ. If we show it up, we should only include really useful modules, like DirectX/Waveout only for aout under windows. Don't show file and dummy for instance User:Zorglub
      • DirectX Audio output -- It'd be best to not have any "module specific" option in these simple prefs. We could have an "Output device" option ... which could be shared by each of the audio output modules. -- User:Dionoea. Very hard to do. Much simpler is to ask for all of them to show. Only those compiled in will show up. Very easy. User:Zorglub
        • Output device
      • File
        • Output file (?)
      • Waveout
    • Visualizations
      • Goom
        • Goom Didplay height (?)
        • Goom display Width (?)
        • Goom Anamation speed (?)
      • Visualizer
        • Video width
        • Video height

• Video
  • Enable video output
  • Full screen video output
  • Skip Frames (?)
  • Overlay video output
  • Always on top
  • Video snapshot directory
  • Video snapshot format
  • Display video snaphsot preview (?)
  • Video cropping (?)
  • Source aspect ratio (?)
  • aspect ratio (?) -- Disagree. Is a seldom used function -- User:DJ
  • Windows decorations (?)
    • Filters
      • Image adjust
        • All Image properties (?)
      • Clone
        • Number of clones
      • Crop
        • Crop geometry (?)
        • Automatic cropping
      • Deinterlace
        • Deinterlace mode
        • Streaming deinterlace mode
      • Distortion
        • Distort mode
        • Gradient image type
        • Apply carton effect
      • Motion blur
        • Blur factor
      • Motion detect
      • Transform
        • Transform type
      • Image wall
        • Number of columns
        • Number of rows
        • Element aspect ratio
    • Output module -- Disagree. Only needs to be modified in case of problems -- User:Zorglub --> It's still one of the options which many people have to change, having it handy will be usefull -- User:Dionoea
      • Image file
        • Image format
        • Recording ratio
        • File name prefix
        • Always write to the same file
      • Open GL
        • Effect
      • DirectX
        • Name of desired display device
        • Enable wallpaper mode (?)
    • Subtitles/OSD
      • Enable subpictures (?)
      • Onscreen display
      • Use subtitles file (?)
      • Autodetect subtitles
        • Text renderer
          • Font
          • Text default color
          • Relative font size
          • Font effect
        • Logo overlay
          • Logo file names
          • Transparency of the logo
          • Logo position
        • Marquee
          • Text
          • Marquee position
          • Opacity
          • Color
          • Font size, pixels
          • Timeout
        • Mosaic
          • Transparency
          • Height
          • Width
          • Position method
          • Number of rows
          • Number of columns
          • Keep aspect ratio
          • Keep orignal size
          • Elements order
          • Delay
          • Blue screen
          • Blue scerrn U value
          • Blue screen V value
          • Blue screen U tolerance
          • Blue screen V tolerance
        • RSS / Atom
          • Fixed URLs
          • Text position
          • Opacity
          • Color
          • Font size, pixels
          • Speed of feeds
          • Max length
          • Refresh time
          • Feed images
        • Time overlay
          • Text position
          • Opacity
          • Color

• Input / Codecs
  • Audio language
  • Subtitle language
  • DVD device
  • VCD device
  • Audio CD device
  • UDP port -- err ... what does that mean ? -- User:Dionoea
    • Access filters
      • Record
        • Record directory (?)
      • Timeshift
        • Timeshift directory
    • Access Modules
      • Directory
      • Fake
      • File
      • FTP
      • HTTP(S)
      • MMS
      • Real RTSP
      • SMB
      • TCP
      • UDP/RTP
      • Audio CD
      • DVD with menu
      • DVD without menu
      • Screen
      • VCD
      • DirectShow
    • Audio codecs
      • A/52
      • DCA
      • Tolame
      • Vorbis
    • Demuxers
      • RTP/RTSP
      • Matroska
      • AVI
      • Dump
      • H264
      • MJPEG
      • MOD
      • MPC
      • Playlist
      • Subtitles
      • MPEG-TS
    • Other codecs
      • FFmpeg
      • dvbsub
      • Subtitles
      • SVCD subtitles
    • Video codecs
      • Fake
      • Theora
      • x264
• Stream output
  • Keep stream output open (?) -- That shouldn't be in the prefs but in the stream configuration wizards and dialogs -- User:Dionoea Is there basic cases where we don't want to keep it open. I would be to changed the default to true in libvlc -- Xtophe

• Advanced
  • Allow only one running instance
  • Allow only one running instance when started from file (?) -- i kind of agree with ipkiss that this option shouldn't exist anyway ... i guess that i'll remove it and change the default value for "Allow only one running instance". People who want more than one instance can change the prefs -- User:Dionoea.. NOoooo please don't. Current behaviour is optimal (but we certainly don't want to show this in simple prefs) ! User:Zorglub
  • Enqueue items to playlist when in one instance mode

• Playlist -- Do these options really need to be in the prefs ? couldn't we just leave them in the playlist dialog/main controller and remember the state when quiting ? -- User:Dionoea. These options are indeed useless here. Just add change_autosave() on them User:Zorglub
  • Play files randomly forever
  • Repeat all
  • Repeat current item
  • Play and stop

• Interface
  • Language
  • Show advanced options -- This is "Complex preferences" specific so it shouldn't be in the "simple prefs" -- User:Dionoea

• • ffmpeg-hq ? -- Is this out of place? I can't find it in this context -- User:DJ. It's currently not in video, but codecs, but we are free to put whatever we want wherever. User:Zorglub. Isn't that going to get kinda confusing? User:DJ. Nope :) User:Zorglub

• Subtitles
  • default encoding
  • size
  • color
  • font

• HTTP proxy
• HTTP caching -- why would we only include http caching and not all other caching options ? -- User:Dionoea Because that's almost the only one people will really want to change. We might want to add MMS. User:Zorglub