Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Streaming iPad App - Focus Interface?

I'm especially interested in how easy people are finding the focus feature, especially in relation to the focus feature of the C15. Does it work for you? Do you prefer one over the other? Do you have suggestions?

Thanks,
Michael

www.audiohigh.com

Not sure if I should be posting here or in bug thread but...since you were specifically asking about focus, I figured here will do.

Definitely issues with regards to focus on composers. Essentially, when you focus on a specific composer, not all albums by said artist appear.

Example: Focus on Billy Sheean: Eat me and Smile and Mr. Big albums show up....but not Skyscrapper. He is listed in the credits on Skyscrapper, so it's a database issue. Since this is a pretty integral part of the focus feature, the bug is pretty significant.

I use Focus quite a bit from the C15. I have a large classical collection that lends itself to this feature.�I like the layout (tabs at the top, selected criteria to the right). It makes it easy to quickly narrow my library down. The nested tree approach on the iPad is less efficient. It could be similar to the way the iPad handles the queue, a completely new screen.

Going full screen on the iPad probably represents more than 'scope creep' (more like a redesign).

Reg

Focus is good but the iPad implementation is bad, in two ways.

First, there are some practical flaws:
. The Genre list is far too long, hierarchical taxonomy is not used, and they could drop the empty genres.
. Most types of filter require Add... But album info and forensics do not.
. A lot of clicks
I find that I don't use it much on the iPad.

But more fundamentally, the user interface hasn't really absorbed the touch metaphor. It is sort of a touchy Windows 95 model. (And W95 was designed in 1992, 20 years ago...)

Consider Search. I hit Search icon, a dialog box pops up, I start typing. To their credit, it refines the search per character, and I don't have to specify search artist or album or track, it searches all (unlike Rhapsody). But it doesn't search credits. Unlike credit focus: I open an album, view Credits, touch Paul Motian, and it focuses on all albums where Motian played. Focus understands Credits without explicitly being told to, Search does not...

But more fundamentally, I Search for Miles, a lot of albums show up. In a text list. Why? We have a really good album display. Why isn't search an instantaneous filtering of the main list, like focus?

And if I select an album in the search result, I get a dialog box with See album details, Queue album, Play now...Cancel. Don't need that, if the albums show up in the main display, I know how to view it, I know how to play it. Fewer clicks. Fewer concepts. Less learning.

In fact, why is search distinct from focus? They have slightly different semantics, search doesn't change the current focus. Seems powerful. But is this comprehensible? Is the search within the current focus? If you open album details from search and then close it, do you land in the same focus? Are you sure? Not worth the trouble.

And all these modal dialogs...

Imagine if the main album display had a set of filters on top, always visible. Including Search. You select something from Genre or Composer, and the list is focused. You type Miles in the search box, and the list is focused, on Miles Davis and on 900 Miles by Bethany and Rufus. No dialog boxes, no new ways to look at a list or choose an album.

And a sort order selector. Sort by Import date, we no longer need Recently imported albums under Explore.

Fewer concepts is a good thing.

How would apple do it if they really got their hands dirty with the core app? Less clicks, more intuitive, better flow?

BTW, where did the full screen album art tap go?

Also, I really miss being able to view liner notes pdf from my downloaded albums. Detracts from the 'Experience' of enjoying the album and artists intentions fully.

I also need to be able to star songs!

This seems like just the kind of thing Meridian need feedback on, things that only become apparent as you use the system more.
Thanks for the great suggestions there.
Hopefully we will get refinements over time.
Thoughts, Chris

When going into select focus of a small subset of discs, the focus screen obscures the focused albums until you leave the focus selection screen.

It would be nice if when choosing the focus items, the first couple of columns of the album screen were not obscured. Useful if you are trying to fine tune your focus which would return a small number of albums.