Requirements capture for Video Library

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by roxy99

So tagging within the file format avi, mp4 or whatever is not an option

I've seen I think one app, that supports metadata in AVI files, and it was my understanding that it did so through non-standard means. AFAIK, there no "ID3" equivalent for video files.

Once read anything is searchable. You can even have a bridging application to bring into whatever database format you want. Say an Jet database, SQL or Zope.

That was my point though, .my files can't be searched (efficiently) directly, you have to have some sort of database layer in between to do it.

An .my file is a simple text file that can be parsed by having software search the keywords. I was very impressed at how fast my Python application grabs the data from all my .my file

OK, but Sage already has a built-in, database, with pretty robust filtering and searching capabilities. I'm trying to see what an external database gains you.

Personally, I think a .my to .properties converter app/script would be of more value to the community.

(BTW- who called them .my files? Its a very confusing extension.)

.my files were originally created as metadata handlers for myHTPC (thus the ".my" extension. Being a simple format it was one of the early ones adapted for reading by SageTV extensions.

Thats sort of what I meant but the Sage database structure and its inards are completely foreign to me. And I know nothing about Java.

No problem.

Its a standalone Multimedia organizer and player. I guess I'm reinventing the wheel. Its an educational project mainly for fun for me. A great way to learn Python and experiment with GUI tools.

OK, but, after working with Python for work, I wouldn't want to use it for a media app

Sounds like a good project though. One thing I can say is, once you learn one language, it's much easier to learn others.

More and more people are talking about the video library. However, you're probably right that there is a silient majority who view the PVR as the core. The hardcore video collectors are more vocal and present on the forums.

Well given how robust, feature-rich, and stable the SageTV PVR core is, I'm guessing there aren't many out there looking for more in that area. Hence the noise looking for more stuff in other areas.

Was that on your want list or is that ability already implemented?

I guess technically the whole thing is a want list. Some of it is possible today with SageMC and some is even possible with the stock SageTV STV.

[roxy99]

Originally Posted by stanger89

I've seen I think one app, that supports metadata in AVI files, and it was my understanding that it did so through non-standard means. AFAIK, there no "ID3" equivalent for video files.

That was my point though, .my files can't be searched (efficiently) directly, you have to have some sort of database layer in between to do it.

Yeah but on the other hand when you think about it you don't really 'need' a central repository of video info. As you said, Sage is afterall a dedicated media database already. So I guess I agree that we need some way to make a 'super' .properties file- one that Sage can utilize out of the box - and yet one that can be extended easily by the community. Eg- add a new information tag here and there, add some picture gif's, and so on.

Originally Posted by stanger89

OK, but, after working with Python for work, I wouldn't want to use it for a media app

Well it doen't really have a media player plugin per se but what its great for is rapid deployment. Python is easier to learn than Java and arguably can do the same things Java can do.

Originally Posted by stanger89

Well given how robust, feature-rich, and stable the SageTV PVR core is, I'm guessing there aren't many out there looking for more in that area. Hence the noise looking for more stuff in other areas.

True enough.

Bottom line Stranger89 is if there is any thing I can help you (with Python) then I'd be happy to participate. You must also realize that Python can communicate with Java and vice-versa thru Jython. I haven't explored that yet though.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by roxy99

Bottom line Stranger89 is if there is any thing I can help you (with Python) then I'd be happy to participate. You must also realize that Python can communicate with Java and vice-versa thru Jython. I haven't explored that yet though.

Like I said, if you're looking for something, a .my to .properties converter would probably do the most good today, that would allow those with current .my setups to take advantage of Sage's new built-in metadata importing right away.

[roxy99]

Originally Posted by stanger89

Like I said, if you're looking for something, a .my to .properties converter would probably do the most good today, that would allow those with current .my setups to take advantage of Sage's new built-in metadata importing right away.

Can you paste up a sample .properties file to get me started? I know Opus posted the valid tag names but I need the exact syntax down to the punctuation rules and line break markers.

I know about this thread http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/show...413#post211413
but an actual .properties file will be usefull since I don't have Sage 6 I don't have access to one.

[stanger89]

They're just normal properties files, like the sage/sageclient.properties files (it's a standard java feature).

I don't have any either.

[Halstead]

Originally Posted by stanger89

Like I said, if you're looking for something, a .my to .properties converter would probably do the most good today, that would allow those with current .my setups to take advantage of Sage's new built-in metadata importing right away.

I just want to add a 'hell yeah' to this- if we could get all of out key .my file metadata into the sage DB, I think that offers a tremendous amount of flexibility.