Kenbushi®
User Manual

Info For Media Player Distributors And Manufacturers


Contents
Introduction
Distribution of the Kenbushi software
Kenbushi customization and branding options
Detailed media information stored on the media player
A suggested media player button interface



Introduction
Kenbushi contains a number of key features to support a wide range of low cost media players, including:
This document describes a suggested user interface design, made up of an on-screen menu system, as well as a media player button interface. This suggested user interface can provide end-users with simple, intuitive and consistent control of media playback, thus adding value to media player hardware.


Distribution of the Kenbushi software
Details about distribution of the Kenbushi software can be found in the License Agreement of the User Manual.


Kenbushi customization and branding options
Lava Software offers media player, mobile phone and other manufacturers a number of customization options for Kenbushi, outlined below. These options can add significant value to your media player hardware at very low marginal cost, as well as helping you to increase consumer satisfaction substantially over the life of your products.

For full details on options and pricing, please email us at service@lavasoftware.com.

Quick Player Setup
On the Media Player Setting dialog, we can include each unique media player model in your range. With this set up, the user can select your media player directly by
'Manufacturer' and 'Model' - all the unique technical specifications of the your media player (screen resolution, compatible media types, codecs supported, etc.) will then be entered automatically for them. This makes it very easy for users without technical knowledge to ensure the media player is set up optimally. A picture of the media player can also be included, so the user is assured they have the correct model.

Firmware Upgrade Service
In the future, we plan to offer a firmware upgrade service for manufacturers, so that users can easily, quickly and safely update the firmware on their media player to enhance it's functionality and correct any issues.

Complete Rebranding
We also offer a complete rebranding service, such that your logos and other branding information is skinned onto Kenbushi. This provides your users with the best possible branded experience when using your media player products.

Detailed media information stored on the media player
In addition to the media files themselves, playlist information and detailed technical information about each media file is loaded onto the media player by Kenbushi. This information is stored in the form of an XML file called 'MediaPlaylists.xml', located in the 'MediaPrefs' folder (example). This XML file has a very simple structure, allowing it to be easily interpreted by media player firmware: it contains a list of playlists, each playlist containing a list of media.

Currently, media player manufacturers generally extract artist, album and genre information from ID3 tags embedded in MP3 music files. However, the quality of this data is always questionable and often of poor quality. This poor quality is, unfortunately, reflected in the user's subsequent poor experience with the media player when trying to select media by artist, album and genre. However, the 'MediaPlaylists.xml' file created and stored on the media player by Kenbushi provides media player manufacturers with a rich collection of information to allow them to build simpler and more powerful user interfaces for the end-user.

Of course, music files are not always in MP3 format, and in most alternate formats, no ID3-type metadata is available at all. This deficiency applies even more with movie files, especially when movies need to be of a particular resolution or be encoded with a particular movie codec to play properly on the media player. Most media players normally report a file playback error when the user tries to play incompatible media, diminishing the quality of the user's experience with the media player. Knowing the resolutions and codecs of a movie before even displaying it in a playable list eliminates this type of problem. The detailed media information provided by Kenbushi eliminates these problems.

Information about music files (XML tags are shown in bold in brackets) includes:

Information about movie files (XML tags are shown in bold in brackets) includes:

Information about playlist lists (XML tags are shown in bold in brackets) include:

Information about playlists (XML tags are shown in bold in brackets) includes:

In addition to XML information about media files, we suggest an XML format for storing the play position of the currently playing media in a playlist (example1, example2). This allows a user to stop playback at any time, and to later return to the playlist and resume from where they left off. This is important when the user is watching movies and TV shows, but particularly when the user is listening to an audio book. It is very important that they can return to the last play position easily. If the user changes the shuffle or loop mode of a playlist when away from the computer, this new status can also be stored in the 'shuffle' and 'loop' parameters of the XML file.


A suggested media player button interface
To minimize manufacturing costs and simplify control, a suggested 5-button interface is described below. It consists of an arrow key arrangement (left, right, up and down keys) with a central selector button. An optional power button is the only additional control required for the interface.

For example, a very simple top level menu on the media player may contain the following menu items: playlists, music, movies, pictures and settings. See Figure 1 below. This display could be set out to look similar to how Kenbushi looks in full-screen media control mode (KenbushiTV mode) when running on a computer.


Figure 1. Example top level menu

Moving the selection rectangle to 'Music' and pressing the right arrow button would scroll the display to the right, resulting in the screen in Figure 2 being displayed.



Figure 2. Example 'Music' menu

Button function is generally dependent on what the display shows, and is generally consistent. For example, navigating up and down items from a menu is done by using the up and down buttons. To move to a submenu (child menu), the right button is pressed. To return to a supermenu (parent menu), the left button is pressed. To activate an item (play media, toggle a setting, etc.) the selector button is pressed.

To achieve sufficient control with only 5 buttons, variation is used in how the buttons are pressed:

Press: press and release button
Double-press: press and release button, press and release button, in rapid succession (within the double-press period).
Press-and-hold: press and hold down button for a variable length of time (longer than the double-press period), then release.
Double-press-and-hold: Press and release button, press and hold button (longer than the double-press period).
Triple-press: press and release button three times in rapid succession (within 2 x double-press period).


This control scheme is particularly useful when the media player is in a location where the screen is not visible, or when the media player has no screen. For example, the user can easily adjust volume, skip forward to the next song or album, and perform other control functions when the media player is hanging around their neck or is in their pocket.

It is recommended that the following suggested control methods be listed in a 'Help' section in the media player, for easy user reference.


Suggested control method when navigating menus:


Up arrow press
move selector rectangle up
Down arrow press
move selector rectangle down
Left arrow press
move back to supermenu (parent menu)
Right arrow press
move forward to submenu (child menu)
Selector button press
activate an item (play song, play album, play playlist, toggle setting, etc.)
Selector button double-press-and-hold Return to audio still playing (if still playing)


Suggested control method when playing media:


Up arrow press
Volume up one increment
Up arrow press-and-hold
Volume up progressively with time
Down arrow press
Volume down one increment
Down arrow press-and-hold
Volume down progressively with time
Left arrow press-and-hold
Rewind
Left arrow double-press-and-hold
Fast rewind
Left arrow double-press
Previous song, previous movie
Right arrow press-and-hold
Fast forward
Right arrow double-press-and-hold Fast fast forward
Right arrow double-press
Next song, next movie
Selector button-press
Play/Pause toggle
Selector button press-and-hold Stop play, return to home screen
Selector button double-press
Display media play options (shuffle, loop, etc.)
Selector button double-press-and-hold
Return to menu system (audio still playing)


Global controls:


Up arrow double-press-and-hold
Soft power on (when off)
Any button triple-press
Soft power on (when off)
Down arrow double-press-and-hold
Soft power off
Selector button triple-press Soft power off
Up and down arrow both pressed for 5 seconds
Soft player reset