Demopad Graphics

[Andy]

Its nice to see an update to the website and the software. I spent a long time using iRule and finally took the plunge and brought Demopad after a lengthy read on the AV Forums and some recommendations from other new Demopad users.
As a DIY user with lots of AV equipment and many friends who want the option to control their own AV equipment and impliment Home Automation as well, the one area all the software currently available today seems to lack is in the GUI graphics.
Demopad is great software but like iRule and Command Fusion it has really poor Starter Graphics.
As Im not a Graphic Designer and not currently liking any third party templates the one thing I would like to see is Demopad offering their Pro Installer Graphics to DIY users, either for a small cost or as a free offering to registered users.
The software control is important but its also important to have good GUI Graphics for the iPad and iPhone. And now more users are buying the iPad 3 high quality Graphics are a must otherwise the software looks like something thrown together using low res Graphics readily available on the internet.
Tell me if Im wrong but I would think other DIY users like myself would support this line of thinking.
What do you think?

Andy

[Idealhomes]

Yes, yes and yes I could do with a mint GUI without spending hours trolling the www looking for images to turn into buttons or pages.

We could also start a thread and combine all our resources by adding buttons we have used or pages to download, or copy, to be able to use in our projects.....just a thought

[Andy]

Yes that sounds like a great idea, most of the Graphics I have are from iRule or free ones available on the Net or the few free ones that Blackman Signature Designs and Custom Code Crafters have for download. They are very limited though and although I do like their templates they don't fit in with what I want to achieve, I want Graphics not templates as I want to create my own GUI.
Perhaps Demopad could put some input into my suggestion about their Graphics they sell to their Pro Installers. This would be a good place to start as they could use our template designs to showcase their software.

Andy

[Andy]

Do Demopad monitor this Forum.
Perhaps Demopad could put some input into my suggestion about their Graphics they sell to their Pro Installers. This would be a good place to start as they could use our template designs to showcase their software.

Andy

[DemoPad]

Yes we monitor this forum...improved graphics built in to the software is something we are looking at...hope to have an announcement soon...

[porscheman]

I too would like the graphics.To me that is the most time consuming factor.Besides the convinience the biggest selling point is the wow factors.Compared to the Pros a large number of users are DIY guys who want graphics their w ay but either do not have the skill/funds or time.

[chjones]

I have been trying the various remote apps since I got my first Ipad that day it launched and just started looking at demopad and want to echo the comments in this thread. As a long-time user of Prontos, but not a graphics wiz, the only reason I have loved all my Pronto is the ability to use the custom graphics of others more artistically inclined than I who were willing to share. I see in this thread that Demopad apparently offers better graphics to their installers. I suggest

(1) that Demopad needs to include great graphics with the purchase in order to get more users onboard. Those of us who are inclined to DIY are not likely to pay for an installer regardless and the ones who would pay the high fees are not likely to go the DIY route anyway. Also, if Demopad were to buy/license some of the better graphics out there and then sell them to end uses direct, they could give the creator the lion's share to maintain/improve the set. Selling as "official" graphics for a NOMINAL price, Demopad gets stunning graphics out to the end users, who tell their friends who the buy the app and the graphics, and the creator of the graphics essentially sells many, many more copies at a greatly reduced price than selling a few licenses to a handful of installers. The economies of scale create a situation where Depopad has a better product and sells more copies to DYI people, the installers still sell to the people who have more money than time, the creators of the graphics make more money for their work, and us DYIers get access to better graphics. Everyone is happier.

and

(2) as users, we should set up a repository for shared work. Remotecentral.com would seem to be a good choice for that. It is a well traveled site and the exposure of the product there would attract even more attention/activity. I would imagine that Daniel Tonks woudl be happy to add some pages for this emerging area of remotes. I plan to send him an email, making such a suggestion.

Just my $.02 worth (and 500 words or so).

chj

[Andy]

Yes I fully agree, my user interface is at a standstill as I can find any good graphics and a template is going to cost hundreds, and even then I would only use a few of the images in the template.
Its a shame because I wanted to move away from iRule and my logitec harmony remote and felt Demopad had lots of potential for the DIY user but it seems they are looking at the Pro installer as a more serious customer. The lack of good graphics was the main problem with iRule but they have even put out some more graphics recently.
I asked 6 of my friends who use iPads and harmony remotes and they said they would pay for the iTach and the software but not without a decent GUI like they show on the Demopad website.

Andy

[chjones]

I am working on a template that is based on my Pronto 9600 layout. It will be set up to control 3 video sources, Tivo, PS3, and WD Live. I am using a Yamaha receiver but have not gotten to it yet. I have been scaling graphics that originally came from remotecentral.com. At this point, nothing actually does anything b/c I dont have the Itac IP/Ir device yet and I only have the Yamaha IP codes so far, although I think I found the TIVO codes as well. The learning curve has been quite steep but I am getting pretty comfortable with the software now and what I have so far I think looks good, although I am left brain so my creativity is quite lacking. At this point, I have 16 hours in learning the software and getting to where I am, but it has been fun. My wife is happy b/c I am not bothering her while she watches the Olympics. I plan to u/l my template when I get the layout done, without any device commands embedded, hopefully before the end of the weekend, in hopes that others will do the same.

I want to try to get a soft k/b in my template. Does anyone have a good looking set of keyboard buttons that I could "borrow?"

chj

[Idealhomes]

I want to try to get a soft k/b in my template. Does anyone have a good looking set of keyboard buttons that I could "borrow?"

chj

If you search Google images, find yourself a nice looking keyboard, cut out each button, reconfigure all the buttons onto a subpage and you have a full keyboard that you like and is fully functioning. I know it is alot to do and sure is time-consuming but worth it in the end as you have what you want for your customized project

[chjones]

I want to try to get a soft k/b in my template. Does anyone have a good looking set of keyboard buttons that I could "borrow?"

chj

If you search Google images, find yourself a nice looking keyboard, cut out each button, reconfigure all the buttons onto a subpage and you have a full keyboard that you like and is fully functioning. I know it is alot to do and sure is time-consuming but worth it in the end as you have what you want for your customized project

Anyone have a bored 12-year-old who wants to do this? School does not start back for a couple weeks.

Eventually, I suppose that is what I will do. However, after a few more tweaks to the graphics, I am moving on to IP control. Wish me luck, I may never see the light of day again.

[d_hero]

ive had Demopad for a few weeks now, working through designing something to replicate my harmony remote in terms of function, so using activites etc, which seems to be working out quite well. Im designing everything from scratch, it's mainly based around a brushed metal theme with brushed metal backgrounds and brushed metal buttons (mainly). It's very square edged and some transparency is included (i've tried to emulate the style of the new Windows 8 borders as I quite like the squared off corners as opposed to rounded corners)

It looks fairly good, in my eyes nothing i design is ever perfect so i see all the flaws but its ok. I've put a lot of work into designing the buttons and everything so far and im only 2 or 3 pages in so far, but I may consider sharing some elements in the future. Ill try and get a screenshot up soon if possible. It's very early stages though.

Just an addition to say that demopad support have been amazing, every question answered almost immediately and even late at night. The learning curve is steep but its really powerful when you get your head around it

[trevorst]

ive had Demopad for a few weeks now, working through designing something to replicate my harmony remote in terms of function, so using activites etc, which seems to be working out quite well. Im designing everything from scratch, it's mainly based around a brushed metal theme with brushed metal backgrounds and brushed metal buttons (mainly). It's very square edged and some transparency is included (i've tried to emulate the style of the new Windows 8 borders as I quite like the squared off corners as opposed to rounded corners)

It looks fairly good, in my eyes nothing i design is ever perfect so i see all the flaws but its ok. I've put a lot of work into designing the buttons and everything so far and im only 2 or 3 pages in so far, but I may consider sharing some elements in the future. Ill try and get a screenshot up soon if possible. It's very early stages though.

Just an addition to say that demopad support have been amazing, every question answered almost immediately and even late at night. The learning curve is steep but its really powerful when you get your head around it

Looking forward to seeing your design.
I have just started on redesign of my iPad remote so will post some shots soon also.

[DemoPad]

MAJOR GRAPHICS UPDATE:

OK - in response to requests for professional, affordable graphics on this forum, and elsewhere - we have implemented the following as of today:

You can now download, at no cost, DemoPad graphics sets from our online store. Two sets are currently available, in both standard and retina resolutions. Unzip the downloaded file into your images folder, where you installed the software - typically c:\program files\demopad software ltd\demopad designer\images. You can then use the images as normal in the software. These image files can only be used in DemoPad Designer software, and will not work in any other software.

There are new 'choose image with preview' options in the software to help you navigate through the images, as they won't preview in windows, but they show up in the software image object window like any other image file.

If you choose to use any of these images in your project, when you load the project to the DemoControlHD app, you will be asked to make a one-off in app purchase on your device to unlock the graphics files - otherwise you will see a red cross in place of the image. Once you have bought the in app purchase, you can continue to use as many of the images as you wish.

The in app purchase costs USD $29.99 / UK £20.99

Enjoy!

[Andy]

This is great news and a very fair price, Im downloading them now.
Its nice that Demopad are obviously listening to their customers requirements unlike many of their competitors.

Andy