export/import SageTV recordings?

[rnewman]

I need to save space on my recording drive so I copy files
to a backup usb drive. After I backup, I then delete from SageTV Recordings.
BUT
sometime in the future I would like to temporary swap out current SageTV Recordings with backed up tv programs on my usb drive so I can play on SageTV.

Where is the info for SageTV Recordings?
I assume I would have to modify .properties to point to usb drive as recording
drive as well.

Thanks,
Ray

[carlgar]

I don't think you can do what you want to do. However, you should be able to just play the files directly from the USB drive using Media Center->Browse Media Files and then select and play the file you want.

[rnewman]

I have done that already.
Guess I'll see what changes when I delete a tv program.
Thanks,
Ray

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by rnewman

I need to save space on my recording drive so I copy files
to a backup usb drive. After I backup, I then delete from SageTV Recordings.
BUT
sometime in the future I would like to temporary swap out current SageTV Recordings with backed up tv programs on my usb drive so I can play on SageTV.

Where is the info for SageTV Recordings?
I assume I would have to modify .properties to point to usb drive as recording
drive as well.

Thanks,
Ray

Why not just create a Directory on your USB drive. Add it to your imports. Then you can just shutdown SageTV move (do not copy) the recordings over to the USB import directory and SageTV will see them in recordings. When you restart Sage.

[rnewman]

Interesting.
But it might be months before I playback.
Like a whole season of a series.
Ray

[nielm]

My webserver allows export of XML show info for recordings, and later importing of this information, and another of my plugins generates XML files automagically for each recording.

That said, for what you are doing, you do not need to use the webserver you can just move the files to/from you USB disk and do a library refresh...


Recent versions of sage keep information for recorded files in their database forever (even if they are deleted). So provided you keep the same filename (especially the numeric suffix), you can move files out of a recording directory onto offline storage. At next library refresh, Sage will see that they are gone and delete them from it's recordings list.

When you copy them back, at the next library refresh, it will find the files and link them back to the original show information using the numeric suffix in the filename.

You can even add your USB drive as an 'imported videos' directory -- no need to copy them back to a recordings directory -- and Sage will still find them.

IMPORTANT. The timestamp on the file must not be changed -- Sage uses this timestamp to work out the recorded files start/stop times.

Try it with a test recording, and you should see that it works fine. I would still suggest you keep an XML export anyway, as a second backup of the data....

[rnewman]

Thanks,
That is the information I needed.
Ray

[gveres]

Originally Posted by nielm

My webserver allows export of XML show info for recordings, and later importing of this information, and another of my plugins generates XML files automagically for each recording.

Ok, I must blind. I just can't find the option to export an XML file for a given recording. I have visited your wiki site and I see there is a plugin that will generate an xml file for EVERY recording.

I am looking for a way to generate an xml file for a single recording so that I can use it as a basis for importing a different movie file of the same series.

Can that be done from the webserver? I just can't find an option to export xml at all. I see import ....

Thanks
Greg

[gveres]

Ok, I found it. There is an icon with the word XML in it that is placed after the title of the page that has the functionality. You click on the icon and it downloads the xml. I managed to stumble on it by accident.

Greg

[spoonman1227]

Originally Posted by nielm

Recent versions of sage keep information for recorded files in their database forever (even if they are deleted). So provided you keep the same filename (especially the numeric suffix), you can move files out of a recording directory onto offline storage. At next library refresh, Sage will see that they are gone and delete them from it's recordings list.

When you copy them back, at the next library refresh, it will find the files and link them back to the original show information using the numeric suffix in the filename.

You can even add your USB drive as an 'imported videos' directory -- no need to copy them back to a recordings directory -- and Sage will still find them.

IMPORTANT. The timestamp on the file must not be changed -- Sage uses this timestamp to work out the recorded files start/stop times.

Try it with a test recording, and you should see that it works fine. I would still suggest you keep an XML export anyway, as a second backup of the data....

Not to hijack this thread.. but I have having a similar problem with moving recordings around in order to "archive" favorite shows, and I hope someone can help....

Long story short.. I have a WHS setup running SageTV, with my recording directory outside the managed folders of WHS. What I am trying to do is I have an "Archive" folder setup on the managed folders, along with a few ripped DVDs to store my favorite shows. I copy the show to my machine, use VideoReDo to edit out the commercials to save space, then I copy the edited file back to the Archive folder once I have deleted the original from the Recording folder. I have the Archive folder set up as an import directory. Here is the odd part... some times the edited shows will still show up in the recordings, but with the new path to the folder, and sometimes they just disappear completely. I can copy the new, shorter, file back the recording directory, and it will show up. The only weird part that happens here is that it still shows the length of the show as 30 minutes, but it is really only like 20 or so without the commercials. If I forward past the end of edited show, then Sage starts to act goofy.

Now, I see in your post something about the time stamp on the files... would that have anything to do with the files not always showing up??

Any thoughts that might help me out here, or should I just rename the files to something more useful than the original names and not worry about them showing up in the recordings list any more??

Thanks in advance for any help!