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Review
Footlights 1.2
Issue: 3.3 (January/February 2005)
Author: Toby Rush
Article Description: No description available.
Article Length (in bytes): 4,021
Starting Page Number: 8
RBD Number: 3303
Resource File(s): None
Related Web Link(s):
http://www.radicalbreeze.com/
Known Limitations: None
Full text of article...
One of Radical Breeze's latest offerings is Footlights, a program designed to provide an iTunes-like interface for digital video files. Functionally, the program is very complete, but there are some quirks that prevent it from meeting its potential.
The interface is familiar to anyone who has used iTunes: the main area of the program's default window consists of the Source list and file list. The source list displays the current playlists maintained by the program, and the contents of the currently selected playlist are displayed in the file list to the right. Above these two areas are playback controls, a volume slider, and a grey area that displays information about the currently playing movie.
Playlists can be added and removed, and files can be added to the current playlist by dragging their icons into the file list area. Movies can be played within the program; double-clicking a file in the file list resizes the file list to make room for the movie to be displayed in the window. The grey area in the top right corner of the Footlights window shows the name of the movie being played, the elapsed and remaining time in the video, and an iTunes-like playback bar that allows you to move to any part of the movie. Buttons are present below the file area to play the movie in full screen mode or to minimize the window to display only the video being played.
For the most part, everything works just as one would expect, and the program covers just about every feature you would want in a simple video organizer/player. Unfortunately, some of the controls are a little "clunky" and, in some cases, do not work properly. The volume slider, beneath the playback control buttons in the upper-left corner, is unlabeled and feels a little oversized. The Source list is presumably named after its corresponding list in iTunes, but since it lists only user-defined playlists, it is a little misleading. (There is also no counterpart to iTunes' "Library," a list of all known video files from which playlist contents are drawn.)
The playback head which appears when a movie is playing is easy to understand and mimics its iTunes counterpart. However, dragging the playback head is not always effective in moving from one place in the movie to another. Moving forward in time is sluggish, and dragging backwards through the movie is sometimes erratic and unpredictable.
The minimized window (which hides the playlists) provides the same playback control, and allows custom resizing (using the standard lower-right resize window control) and proportional resizing (using a popup menu). Resizing is also sluggish, especially using the corner control. Interestingly, a transparency control is also included, allowing the background to show through the playing movie.
For the most part, these interface glitches do not prevent the program from being useful, but difficulty using the playback control may cause some to pass on this utility for daily use. Should these minor problems be fixed in a future version, Footlights will become an indispensable tool for those with large digital video collections.
IN BRIEF Product Footlights 1.2 Manufacturer Radical Breeze Software Price $15 Contact Info http://www.radicalbreeze.com/ Pros Good playlist feature, easy to understand Cons Glitchy interface, some controls are sluggish Rating (1.0-5.0): 3.0
End of article.
Article copyrighted by REALbasic Developer magazine. All rights reserved.
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