Change logo colors?

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Ken H

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Change logo colors?

#1

Post by Ken H » Fri Mar 20, 2020 6:30 pm

A number of the Schedules Direct logos use black text and can not been seen in the guide. I've changed the WMC color scheme to high contrast white and black and adjusted the video background color. I do not like the white contrast at all and can't seem to find the right combination of other settings to let the black logos be seen.

I'm guessing others have figured this out and I'd like to know what the options are.

Thanks!

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garyan2

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#2

Post by garyan2 » Fri Mar 20, 2020 7:25 pm

A couple weeks back it looks like a lot of the station logos disappeared from Schedules Direct. I let them know, and most of mine have come back, but not all. The ones that are missing are typically the lighter/better contrasting logos for WMC.

My recommendation:
If you don't like your current logo for a station, open the configuration GUI and click the [Collect SD Logos] button. It will gather all the logos SD has for all your stations and deposit them into C:\ProgramData\GaRyan2\epg123\sdlogos folder. Browse that folder to see if a good logo is there.

If you can't find one, download the MCL XL Logos I just zipped up and placed on the website. They can be lower quality, but still quite good for use.

With either the first method or second, take the image you want and rename it to be the call sign of the station (ex. CNNHD.png) and place in the C:\ProgramData\GaRyan2\epg123\logos folder. You won't be able to see the change until after your next update or you manually perform a [Save & Execute].
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

Ken H

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#3

Post by Ken H » Sun Mar 22, 2020 5:37 am

I used all the sources and some from the Internet, then used Paint to invert some of the images, and ended up with what I wanted, mostly. There are still a few I'm working on. I have a few other unrelated questions I'll ask in different topics.

Thanks!

Space

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#4

Post by Space » Sun Mar 22, 2020 12:32 pm

Thanks for the MCL XL Logos zip file! Are these all the logos available from them or just the ones you happened to have on your system?

The wider rectangular logos (as opposed to the more square ones) that are available in this zip are definitely easier to read.

Also, I have some logos from SD that appear almost completely invisible in WMC (and alternatives are not in this zip), I think I need to invert them. Can MS Paint be used for that? I think these logos have transparent areas and I'm not sure Paint supports that (at least not Win7 Paint). I know I can get Gimp, but I also have access to Win10 Paint and if I don't need to download/install something else it would be easier. From my limited research Win10 Paint 3D (a program that comes with Win10 separate from Paint) can handle transparency, but I'm not sure it it will work for this.

EDIT: I was able to do a little more research and it looks like neither version of Paint would be good to use since they are missing transparency support or the color invert function (which I think is what I may need to fix the logos).

I may try https://pixlr.com/x/ as it is a web base editor and seems to have the options I need and does not require download/installation.

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garyan2

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#5

Post by garyan2 » Sun Mar 22, 2020 2:58 pm

I use Paint.net (https://www.getpaint.net). It is really good and handle transparency just fine.

Also, as another source for logos, I use Logopedia (https://logos.fandom.com/wiki/Logopedia)... for any vector graphics, I use the browsers ability to "Save image as" to get a PNG.

EDIT: Forgot to answer questions about the MCL XL logos. I believe this is all of them. I installed MCL XL and went through all the countries and downloaded the logos. I have a file somewhere that contains all the file links to all their logos, but I put it somewhere safe to use later and I now can't find it of course. :roll:
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

Space

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#6

Post by Space » Sun Mar 22, 2020 8:54 pm

Yeah, I've used Paint.net as well as Gimp and others in the past, but right now I am using a laptop from work that is locked down and does not allow installations of any programs, so they are really out of the question unless I use the WMC HTPC that doesn't have a mouse or keyboard (so not very convenient) or the other PC that is also a bit inconvenient for other reasons.

If there is a portable version that does not require installation then I might consider it, but for my limited use (just modifying a few logos) I would just assume use a web based image editor.

I've used Pixlr in the past and they have two current free web-based image editors (one for simpler tasks and one for pro users):
https://pixlr.com/x/
https://pixlr.com/e/

These are actually different from the version I've used in the past which is this one which has an interface that looks more like Gimp/Photoshop, but is Flash-based so is not going to work for much longer (when Flash is completely removed from browsers).

martyHTPC

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#7

Post by martyHTPC » Fri Apr 24, 2020 12:28 am

Could someone please tell me where I can download the MCL XL zipped logos file Gary posted somewhere that contains all the TV logos mentioned in his post in post #2 of this thread. Preferably a direct link and I apologize in advance if it's right in front of my face, and I'm just not seeing it. Thanks.

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#8

Post by Space » Fri Apr 24, 2020 1:11 am

martyHTPC wrote: Fri Apr 24, 2020 12:28 am Could someone please tell me where I can download the MCL XL zipped logos file Gary posted somewhere that contains all the TV logos mentioned in his post in post #2 of this thread. Preferably a direct link and I apologize in advance if it's right in front of my face, and I'm just not seeing it. Thanks.
The second post of this thread has the link. Here it is again.

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