Tubexx 23-10-2009

Short:        multifunction YouTube client
Author:       Paolo Germano
Uploader:     Paolo Germano <pgermano alice it>
Type:         comm/misc
Version:      23-10-2009
Replaces:     comm/misc/Tubexx.lha
Requires:     MUI4, RxMUI, MPlayer .... (see docs)
Architecture: generic


Introduction
------------
Tubexx is an ARexx script that enables the fruition of youtube.com
contents on your MorphOS machine.
Youtube.com is a video storage, where anybody can upload his own
videos and share them with every Internet user in the world.
Its main interface is web based, but video playback is handled via
a Flash applet, thus impossible to enjoy directly with the MorphOS
technologies currently available.
This is where Tubexx comes in handy, enabling you to search, download,
convert and play your favourite videos.


Features
--------
The main Tubexx features are:
- various search modes managed through the YouTube GData API calls
- possibility to receive standard feeds localized for different countries
- possibility to use an URL as a direct reference
- result browser that formats the results nicely and handles frames
  thumbnails
- support of video description, and possibility to use URLs found there
- a preferred video format can be set, including 3GP, FLV (SQ or larger)
  and MP4 (HQ or HD)
- support of video streaming with user definable cache size
- video download and archived video manager
- it is possible to convert videos into standard formats for common DVD
  readers
- it is possible to suggest a video via email
- integrated automatic check and download of program updates
- all functions are accessible via MUI4 GUI


History
-------
23.10.09
========
- Youtube has changed again data layout! Yet another name change for the
  keywords so even today it was necessary to modify Tubexx accordingly.

22.10.09
========
- Works with the new 'watch?v=' page layout.

09.09.09
========
Note:
  Because of my unorthodox handling of localization strings, german and
  french catalog (and others if any) are not to be used for this version
  until an update of them (otherwise some strings may appear in a wrong
  place...). I apologize for the inconvenience.
  =====
- Fixed streaming/downloading recent issue.
- Improved management of configuration data:
  - Optimized MUI gadgets attributes setting when Tubexx opens (faster?).
  - Tubexx no longer rewrites all configuration data on exit, but only
    those actually changed.
  - To speed up the initial configuration, external tools found in the
    system path are automatically placed in their respective fields now.
- Redesigned the configuration panel layout:
  - Users of the e-mail client YAM now have a field where to enter the
    direct path to the executable so they can finally remove the 'YAM:'
    assignment from their user-startup (if present at Tubexx use only).
    The 'Mail' button will remain enabled even when the optional YAM field
    is left empty because, in this case, the e-mail message body may still
    be generated in the clipboard and then be manually pasted into the
    preferred e-mail client.
  - Added countries selector. Now the contents of the standard-feeds are
    reported with relevance to the specified country.
  - Added selector for the favorite video streaming format.
    If the chosen format is sometime not available, Tubexx automatically
    fall back to the standard one but the setting will remain valid for
    the next video you want to watch.
  - Additions made to the MPlayer section:
    - Switch for the MPlayer embedded GUI.
    - The player window size can also be set for the half of the video
      resolution now (useful for HD videos).
    - Added 'never show' for the time counter OSD
    - Doubled from 8 to 16 MB the max value that can be set for caching
      streams and added control over the percentage of cache preload.
      This way we can set a large cache ammount without suffering long
      delays before playback begins.
    - Added 'framedrop' switch.
    - The 'autosync' factor for the automatic compensation of audio/video
      synchronization can now be adjusted.
- Added access to more standard-feeds.
  Tubexx now also receives <Most recent>, <Most popular>, <Most discussed>,
  <Most responded> and <Top favorites> rankings.
- Now a double-click on any list starts to stream/play the titles.
- Completely rewrote the listviews management for the local files.
  There is no more systematical refresh every time a list is brought to the
  foreground; the annoying, involuntary de-activation of the selected titles
  (with consequent preview frame dropping) so far had is now replaced by an
  smart management that operates only when refresh is necessary and that
  also auto re-enable the current selection, when appropriate. (...)
- Fixed the snapshot function that extracts a preview frame from the
  selected local file.
- Fixed down video re-encoding procedure to both AVI and MPEG.
- Fixed an error in calculating the video duration and changed the
  representation string from "hh:mm:ss" to "0h 0m 0s".
- Fixed the function that checks for Tubexx updates.
- ...many other minor tweaks, too many insurmountable obstacles (...) and
  some touch of fluorescent blue paint to get rid of the ordinary gray! ;-D

02.10.08
========
- Fixed connection failure (when checking remote server location).

28.09.08
========
- Fixed the broken FLV link redirection.

29.01.08
========
- Today YouTube has restructured his API feeds: transformation stylesheet
  modified to match the changed namespace order.
- Improved the parsing method applied to the video URLs schemes.

26.01.08
========
- Added UTF-8 (Unicode codepage) support. (Requires rmh.library v23.3+ and
  codesets.library v6.5+)
- Today the URL schemes for FLV files have been modified by YouTube: Tubexx
  now works again!

12.01.08
========
- Very wide rewrite, principally in order to support the new GData API and
  the localization.
- The dedicated web site, in english, has been opened.

26.08.07
========
- First version published, based on the Legacy API and italian interface
  only.