[Download] PC Prevue meets Hollywood 2000: a what-if modification
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 12:55 am
A few weeks ago, I had this interesting thought in the Prevue Discord server while talk was made about what might've happened had ESQ still been in service (keep in mind the degrading batteries of most Amiga computers at the time).
It might've taken on a similar appearance to the i-Guide, said one member. But the reality is, the look that ESQ had since 1993 would've stayed the same since development of the Amiga software had long ceased. PC Prevue, on the other hand? Around this time, it was being used for international markets (including Mexico and Canada, the latter as Prevue Junior). This software, which ran on Windows, was essentially a prototype of what Hollywood would later become, with listings color-coded depending on the type of program. It might've also been positioned as a low-cost alternative to Hollywood in the U.S. had PC Prevue still been used there (albeit on a small number of cable systems).
Which brought me to this idea: "What if PC Prevue was made to look as much like the 2000 version of Hollywood as possible?" So I got to work. Since PC Prevue's grid was rendered with GDI (and not separate asset images, unlike Hollywood), actually changing the grid itself was out of the question. I could, however, change the colors and fonts on the grid. Which is what I did. I replaced Arial with a combination of Zurich Condensed (for the clock and the channel IDs) and TVG Humanist (for the rest). There were also the PIE backgrounds from the 2000 Hollywood assets 7-Zip file that I had, so I modified them a tad so they can work in PC Prevue. After lots of adjusting with the 3D bevels and the font colors, I came up with this end result that, to be honest, went over very well with the Discord server when I shared the pictures.
But it's not just for me. I also want people to try it out for themselves, so I created a 7-Zip file of the disk image that I used for this mod.
The link is right here for those who want to try it: https://mega.nz/file/HUwQEJSL#rPBy7Svn7 ... bBzScoZf34
It might've taken on a similar appearance to the i-Guide, said one member. But the reality is, the look that ESQ had since 1993 would've stayed the same since development of the Amiga software had long ceased. PC Prevue, on the other hand? Around this time, it was being used for international markets (including Mexico and Canada, the latter as Prevue Junior). This software, which ran on Windows, was essentially a prototype of what Hollywood would later become, with listings color-coded depending on the type of program. It might've also been positioned as a low-cost alternative to Hollywood in the U.S. had PC Prevue still been used there (albeit on a small number of cable systems).
Which brought me to this idea: "What if PC Prevue was made to look as much like the 2000 version of Hollywood as possible?" So I got to work. Since PC Prevue's grid was rendered with GDI (and not separate asset images, unlike Hollywood), actually changing the grid itself was out of the question. I could, however, change the colors and fonts on the grid. Which is what I did. I replaced Arial with a combination of Zurich Condensed (for the clock and the channel IDs) and TVG Humanist (for the rest). There were also the PIE backgrounds from the 2000 Hollywood assets 7-Zip file that I had, so I modified them a tad so they can work in PC Prevue. After lots of adjusting with the 3D bevels and the font colors, I came up with this end result that, to be honest, went over very well with the Discord server when I shared the pictures.
- PCPrevue_meets_HWood2K-05.png (39.28 KiB) Viewed 1136 times
- PCPrevue_meets_HWood2K-06.png (104.06 KiB) Viewed 1136 times
- PCPrevue_meets_HWood2K-07.png (96.05 KiB) Viewed 1136 times
The link is right here for those who want to try it: https://mega.nz/file/HUwQEJSL#rPBy7Svn7 ... bBzScoZf34