Search / DirectOK screen ordering.

I've never have and i doubt i ever will use the PIN feature. And i've never found the play by year feature useful either (though it is nice for demoing the unit). So could the search by artist (the only one i use) and search by track be put ahead of those two in the ordering so i only have to press DirectOK once instead of 4 times?

Of course, i don't speak for everyone, so this is another thing that should be configurable from emptool / emplode.

The PIN feature only makes sense if it's accessible with very few buttons presses. The point is that you can get straight to specific music without much effort.

If you're going to search by title or artist you're probably going to be looking at the screen anyway, so it's not such a problem if you have to cycle through a few other search menus first.

That's the theory anyway!

Rob

Well i can usually get to most of my artists with only the first 2 characters. If i do it when not looking at the screen then i press 3 to be sure. This means i can select an artist with fewer keypresses than with a 4 digit PIN option (im guessing here that one normally uses 4 digit pins), and without having to memorise a whole bunch of pins.

I'd be interested in knowing if anyone still uses the pin option. The pattern matching on the search by artist and search by title is excellent, i think you guys have managed to obselete the pin option.

I think you guys have managed to obselete the pin option.
I'll second that. Though PINs are a nice feature in theory, they're hard to use in practice. I've tried to use the PIN feature, but find deciding on a PIN for a single track difficult. Leave alone deciding (and remembering) PINs for 2500+ tracks. Direct Select of 'Title' and 'Artist' are far more powerful. (Same as YEAR select from a list). I would welcome moving the PIN down the list too.

Henno
# 00120

My two sheckels:

I think the search screens are in about the right order at the current time. I'm with Rob- the Pin should be first. I never use it, but it's the right way to do it and it makes the UI more consistent.

If anything was to be changed, I'd say the only thing worth moving would be the "search by year" screen, sending that to the back of the list. Sending the Year to the back of the list would be a good compromise. It would get the title/artist screens that much closer to the front, but wouldn't sacrifice having the Pin screen first.

Tony Fabris
Empeg #144

I'd be interested in knowing if anyone still uses the pin option. The pattern matching on the search by artist and search by title is excellent, i think you guys have managed to obselete the pin option.

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I could tell you that I've never used either the pin, or the year option... Kinda hard to use the year option anyways when most of your songs are "1999" :)
-mark

...proud to have one of the first Mark I units

I'm with you guys.. I have never used the PIN, nor ever will... Especially if I have to remember over 1000 PINs... I'd rather just use the menus to find the single song. And I also never use the year search, as most of my music is from 97-99.

Just giving you as many perspectives as possible. :)

(O|||||O)

Wow, Im really shocked about what im hearing about the PIN. I use it ALL the time. Who puts a pin number to a single track? (unless its really good :) ) I use it for quick access to a variety of playlist of either all of the same artist or different artist. Here is my setup for the menu.

"(1) New Rock/Alternative"
"(2) Old Rock"
"(3) Rap / R&B"
"(4) Reggae"
"(5) Techno/Rave"
"(6) Soundtracks"
"(7) Comedy"
"(8) Misc"

The numbers not only keep the playlist in that order on the menu but they also help me remember that for each of those catergories the main sub playlist is the number + 0. So like all my favorite old rock songs would be in one playlist with a pin # of 20. That main playlist, i name it "(All)" so i can get to it fast, and after that i have other playlist with the names of the artist. This is a very easy way to know the playlist numbers. Then in my misc catergory i have many "special playlists." Like for example, if i got a lady in the car i hit pin # 69. Very, very easy to remember, and it takes me to all my sexy and good sounding beat songs. For my favorite playlist that has all the songs i love in a wide variety of genres, i have the playlist pin # 911. For crazy, guy pumping, testosterone charging music, i have pin # 666. For other stuff i have common numbers like 123, or 101. I only have like 10 playlists with the pin number but i use them a lot. My main rap playlist (30) has over 250 songs in it. So i put that on and i can just cruise through that as i drive. Im also starting a new thing where any new songs i put in for a playlist will have pins of the number + 0 + the number again. So like new rap songs = 303. Now if you guys think thats to much to memorize then i have to say i cant really convince you then. But with the main numbered playlist and a few days of practice. You will be a pro like me BABY!!

-Jordan
That is my two cents anyways

Oh yeah and also, i was wondering. How do others set up there menu for their own personal pleasure?

Like for example, if i got a lady in the car i hit pin # 69. Very, very easy to remember, and it takes me to all my sexy and good sounding beat songs.

Reminds me of the scene in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", where the suave guy is trying to teach his nerdy friend how to score. He says something like, "and when it comes down to makin' out, put on side one of Led Zeppelin Four." Different era, I guess.

Oh yeah and also, i was wondering. How do others set up there menu for their own personal pleasure?

I really like your solution to numbering the root playlists like you've done. It's a great way both to sort them and to help memorize the PIN numbers. I might just switch to it, since I've been looking for an excuse to try out the PIN features. Great idea.

In the meantime, mine is much simpler than yours. It's just an alphabetical list of artists, with the albums set up as sub-playlists. Then, I have several "specialty" playlists at the root level that combine mixed artists:

Low Key
High Energy
Demo
Test Audio
Filks

Since these would normally be mixed up with the rest of the artists alphabetically, I make sure they come first in the playlist menu by surrounding them with hyphens. Like so:

- Low Key -
- High Energy -
(Etc.)

It's the same trick I used in Win95 to sort items on the Start menu (because you couldn't sort the Start menus until IE4/Win98 came around. I still use it on my NT4 box at work.

It works for me because I only have a few of the specialty playlists, and if I need to get to an artist, I can just use the letter code on the remote from the playlist menu.

Tony Fabris
Empeg #144

Different Era, Same Cave - Man urge! :)

Yeah, i use the hyphens to my advantage too. I wish there was a way to more easily organize the playlist orders in emplode. Sometime i want to switch them to non-alpha order and other times i want them to be seen in alpha order. I really dont like how it just does it in the order you put it it.

I just implemented a new reggae/trippy music playlist. As you can guess, its pin number is .... 420! :) See, everyone can have fun with pin's, even the numercally challenged! :) j/k
-Jordan

Yeah, in my case, I could make a PIN for my copy of Rush's "2112". I wonder what PIN number I could come up with for that one?

Or... what would I use for a PIN number for an audiobook of Douglas Adams' work?

Tony Fabris
Empeg #144

Hear, hear! Ninety percent of my empeg usage is through the PIN menu. Makes for very easy access to my most commonly used playlists.

I agree with shoving the Year search to the end of the queue.

And for the record, my PIN#69 takes you to about 85 Prince tracks. Yeah, baby, yeah!

Corby
SN#320, 6-Gig Blue

Eeeeewwwww.

Tony Fabris
Empeg #144

I don't use the search by PIN or year features, either...

-- Bleys

"If you would judge, understand." -- Seneca

Sometime i want to switch them to non-alpha order and other times i want them to be seen in alpha order. I really dont like how it just does it in the order you put it it.

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Umm..I'm pretty sure you can... try clicking on the fieldnames above the list of songs - you can tell emplode to sort it (when you're looking at it..) by either title/artist, or playlist order.. Also, you can move songs up or down to change the playlist order..
-m



...proud to have one of the first Mark I units