Why cant Movieinfo 1.0 and TV Info 1.0 have builtin automatic downloading of fanart?

[mkanet]

I asked this a couple of times in the Movie Info and TV Info threads, but nobody seemed to have an answer. I hope I'm not asking a stupid question. But, I'm not sure I understand the motivation of some people who spend significant time (time a lot of people dont have) to manually download and maintain background pictures of every single movie and TV series continuously. Why cant this process be automatic based on the name of the movie or the name you save the media file... and just check/scrape from a couple of popular fanart website? This certainly can be done with TV series... similar to how SageMC has builtin IMDB pictures or Movietimes addon downloads posters and wallpapers for a new movie.

[jaminben]

Originally Posted by mkanet

I asked this a couple of times in the Movie Info and TV Info threads, but nobody seemed to have an answer. I hope I'm not asking a stupid question. But, I'm not sure I understand the motivation of some people who spend significant time (time a lot of people dont have) to manually download and maintain background pictures of every single movie and TV series continuously. Why cant this process be automatic based on the name of the movie or the name you save the media file... and just check/scrape from a couple of popular fanart website? This certainly can be done with TV series... similar to how SageMC has builtin IMDB pictures or Movietimes addon downloads posters and wallpapers for a new movie.

Yep, that would certainly be a sweet move. I guess it would take a lot of work for someone to create such a thing and thus thats why we dont have it. I was hoping that one of the scrapers available in the customization thread would be intergrated into Sage but again it would take some considerable time to do and maintain if the website supplying these images changed in any way. My current setup is more or less automatic at the moment using whats currently available and a few other programs so its not all that bad. It still would be nice to have an all in one solution though.

[bcjenkins]

umm.. Doesn't Stuckless' add on do this for you? http://code.google.com/p/customsaget...MetadataPlugin

B

[jaminben]

Originally Posted by bcjenkins

umm.. Doesn't Stuckless' add on do this for you? http://code.google.com/p/customsaget...MetadataPlugin

B

Heh, didn't notice that one, I'll check it out

Thanks

[mkanet]

So, its possible to integrate this into Movieinfo and TV info to "set and forget"? If so, that would attract a lot of new sageTV users who dont have that kind of time to maintain fanart downloads and manual association of files.

Originally Posted by bcjenkins

umm.. Doesn't Stuckless' add on do this for you? http://code.google.com/p/customsaget...MetadataPlugin

B

[stuckless]

The current metadata plugin doesn't use any GUI, it simply hooks itself into Sage's Metadata system, and when a new video is added to the library the plugin will automatically fetch the metadata (plot, thumbnail, backdrops, etc) from imdb, themoviedb, dvdprofiler or tvdb based on the filename. It nothing is found, then the file is skipped. Given how it works.... there isn't a need to directly integrate it with a particular view, etc, since it runs automatically in the background.

[mkanet]

The whole point of "integration" would be to have complete automation (even during install) and already include configuration parameters specific for MovieInfo/TV Info (even if its an external command line app); such as how its done in all the other sageTV plugins that scrape from http... Movietimes (via MTSA.exe also commandline), Slimplayer, and the imdb addon.

Originally Posted by stuckless

The current metadata plugin doesn't use any GUI, it
simply hooks itself into Sage's Metadata system, and when a new video is added to the library the plugin will automatically fetch the metadata (plot, thumbnail, backdrops, etc) from imdb, themoviedb, dvdprofiler or tvdb based on the filename. It nothing is found, then the file is skipped. Given how it works.... there isn't a need to directly integrate it with a particular view, etc, since it runs automatically in the background.

[stuckless]

maybe i don't understand.. but i would say that the bmt plugin (not the command line tool) is as integrated to sagetv as it could possible be.... it runs when sage starts.... it listens for new files, and it updates metedata.... and it does it without needing to a part of another plugin, so it works for both the default stv and sagemc..... but i think that perhaps i'm just missing your original point.

[mkanet]

Yeah, maybe I'm missing your point or visa versa. So, what youre saying is if you install BMT (without the need of any configuration, other than specifying a temp folder to cache pictures)... other plugins such as Movieinfo 1.0 and TV Info 1.0 will magically start to use data that was automatically downloaded with no additional configuration or manual association of picture to respective TV show/movie?

Bottom line, just installing BMT and TV Info very quickly without any configuration will result in backgrounds and other artwork to show for each TV episode; and not needing any other further fussing around?

Originally Posted by stuckless

maybe i don't understand.. but i would say that the bmt plugin (not the command line tool) is as integrated to sagetv as it could possible be.... it runs when sage starts.... it listens for new files, and it updates metedata.... and it does it without needing to a part of another plugin, so it works for both the default stv and sagemc..... but i think that perhaps i'm just missing your original point.

[evilpenguin]

I've also been working on improvements to MediaScraper to make it easier to run on demand from the STV.

• You can run it in silent mode so that all it does is return the .properties file via STDOUT. This should make it very easy to use ExecuteProcessReturnOutput() to grab metadata on the fly.
• You can run it with just a ShowTitle to get the series related fanart (Background, Poster, Banner)
• You can run it with just a ShowTitle and Original Air Date to get episode specific metadata that doesn't come down with the EPG like Season #, Episode #, Episode Thumbnail, etc.

Also, Sage is working on an improvement to their metadata engine so that we can specify custom metadata properties and Sage will keep track of those as well. That'll make it possible to keep track of and arrange by things that were previously impossible like Season, Episode, etc.

But I think the most important thing to getting this working is to standardize the central fanart folder. Giving people the ability to store their fanart how they like is nice, but it really holds back further improvement and developments by bogging down the code. STV Devs just have to say, "If your using fanart you need a central fanart folder. Period." and move on.

[stuckless]

Bottom line, just installing BMT and TV Info very quickly without any configuration will result in backgrounds and other artwork to show for each TV episode; and not needing any other further fussing around?

BMT will download metadata and pass that information to Sage, so if TV Info is relying on the Sage apis for acessing the metadata, using the standard locations for fanart, then yes. BMT does download backdrops in the current directory or it can use a configured "centralized" fanart directory. I have no idea how TV Info works, but I would think that it should just work.

The purpsose of tools like BMT and EP's MediaScraper is to ensure that they create the files in a way that Sage and other plugins can consume them, without having to configure too much, if anything. (obviously you have to configure which metadata sources your want to use)

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by mkanet

Yeah, maybe I'm missing your point or visa versa. So, what youre saying is if you install BMT (without the need of any configuration, other than specifying a temp folder to cache pictures)... other plugins such as Movieinfo 1.0 and TV Info 1.0 will magically start to use data that was automatically downloaded with no additional configuration or manual association of picture to respective TV show/movie?

Bottom line, just installing BMT and TV Info very quickly without any configuration will result in backgrounds and other artwork to show for each TV episode; and not needing any other further fussing around?

Yes-Just installing the BMT plugin will automatically fetch the metadata (plot, thumbnail, backdrops, etc) from imdb, themoviedb, dvdprofiler or tvdb based on the filename.

It doesn't matter what other screens or plugins you want to use (TV info, Movie info, fanart for SageMC or Tiki Fanart for the default STV) to take advantage of the metadata, thumbnails, backdrop (fanart), etc that is automatically downloaded by the BMT plugin when you add a movie or TV show.


Gerry

[wayner]

Can't you also do this by having SJQ run MediaScraper on each new media file? Note - I am new to MediaScraper but it seems to me that this will work for movies which is what I need Fanart for. I don't really have an issue with TV shows as I rarely add new shows, many that I do add don't really have Fanart (NHL Hockey, NBA Basketball, PGA Tour Golf, The Wonder Pets, etc.) and when I do I manually get some Fanart.

[mkanet]

So, does BMT dynamically download fanart as soon as you go to hit INFO in TV Info just like the way SageMC pulls imdb pictures? This is what I meant all along by "integration" and the whole point of the thread. This method of on-demand scraping is how its done for the IMDB plugin and also Slimplayer. It doesnt make sense at all to download artwork that I may never see. All I want to see is a nice looking screen when I pull up info on a TV show that I may want to record; or have it set as a favorite.

If BMT can do that, could someone please outlline brief instructions for dummies on how to installl BMT and configure it to work directly with TV shows I might look up; and, also have it set so its future compatible with a fanart cache folder that can be used by other sageTV plugins that may use fanart.

Thanks a million for everyone's help. I'm sure there must be an easy eay to pull up fanart as easy as you would an IMDB actor lookup using sageMC or the IMDB sageTV addon.

Originally Posted by gplasky

Yes-Just installing the BMT plugin will automatically fetch the metadata (plot, thumbnail, backdrops, etc) from imdb, themoviedb, dvdprofiler or tvdb based on the filename.

It doesn't matter what other screens or plugins you want to use (TV info, Movie info, fanart for SageMC or Tiki Fanart for the default STV) to take advantage of the metadata, thumbnails, backdrop (fanart), etc that is automatically downloaded by the BMT plugin when you add a movie or TV show.


Gerry

[onlydarksets]

No, that isn't how it works. BMT pulls the fan art when you import the file, not when you hit the "Info" button. It downloads the fan art locally. So, if the fan art changes in the cloud, it will not change locally unless you manually run BMT.

[mkanet]

Are you talking about TV info 1.0 or Movie Info 1.0? Maybe I dont understand what TV Info does, but I thought it was an enhanced version of detailed information during TV recordings... which seems to make most sense to have automatic dynamic picture downloads and cache them just like how imdb images are scraped in the detailed info. This functionality is what I was actually hoping for, not for imported videos. Most of my videos are my MTV/VH1 HD music videos or Howard Stern On Demand clips... which I dont know if BMT would have information on anyway.

As far imported videos... It seems that for imported videos, you would have to manually select the metadata that comes from BMT and associated with the movie you rip or download.. or does BMT somehow already make a best guess what movie, tv show/episode you just imported based on the file names of the media imported? ie, Heroes-Exposed-1187159-0.mpg, Slumdog Millionaire.m2ts.

Originally Posted by onlydarksets

No, that isn't how it works. BMT pulls the fan art when you import the file, not when you hit the "Info" button. It downloads the fan art locally. So, if the fan art changes in the cloud, it will not change locally unless you manually run BMT.

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by mkanet

Are you talking about TV info 1.0 or Movie Info 1.0? Maybe I dont understand what TV Info does, but I thought it was an enhanced version of detailed information during TV recordings... which seems to make most sense to have automatic dynamic picture downloads and cache them just like how imdb images are scraped in the detailed info. This functionality is what I was actually hoping for, not for imported videos. Most of my videos are my MTV/VH1 HD music videos or Howard Stern On Demand clips... which I dont know if BMT would have information on anyway.

As far imported videos... It seems that for imported videos, you would have to manually select the metadata that comes from BMT and associated with the movie you rip or download.. or does BMT somehow already make a best guess what movie, tv show/episode you just imported based on the file names of the media imported? ie, Heroes-Exposed-1187159-0.mpg, Slumdog Millionaire.m2ts.

Both TV Info and Movie Info are alternate screens for presenting those details on screen. jaminben has gone quite far into not only giving alternate detail screens and customization of those screens and also providing support for additional information contained in .my and .properties files that are being downloaded by mediascraper and BMT. Neither one of those scrapers are going to support your music video information because there isn't a central website that stores that information like tvdb, imdb, or moviedb for tv and movie fanart, banners, details, etc. If you do a little reading of the scraper threads most of your questions are answered and you should see that these tools work seperate from any detailed info screens but can take advantage of the information and backdrops they can get and put into the configured places. You need to read up on how fanart works and where it expects to find the files. More discussion is continuing on how to standardize additional information.

Just the first post from BMT explains how it works:

Overview
Batch Metadata Tools (BMT) is a tool (command line) and a Sage plugin that scans a media collection and attempts to automatically search/download metadata for each item.

* Multi-Platform (Windows/Linux/Mac)
* Multple Metadata Sources (imdb, tvdb, themoviedb, dvd profiler, etc)
* Basic TV Support (tvdb)
* Downloads Posters and Backdrops (support for central backdrop folder)
* Scrubs filenames to better search hits
* Optionally Prompts for entries that cannot be located
* Many configuration options


NOTE: Plugin mode runs metadata searches automatically when new files are added to the Sage Library. If metadata cannot be found the the file is skipped.

BMT Supports the Following Metadata Locations

* IMDB (imdb, niel's imdb, xbmc's imdb using imdb.xml scraper file)
* TheMovieDB.org
* DVD Profiler (using DVD Profiler's Xml and images)
* Xbmc Sources Using Xbmc's Scraper Language (imdb.xml and tvdb.xml included)

So it can be set to AUTOMATICALLY add the metadata and fanart for ANYTHING added to the Sage Library if it can get that info from the above sources.

Gerry

[Tiki]

Originally Posted by gplasky

So it can be set to AUTOMATICALLY add the metadata and fanart for ANYTHING added to the Sage Library if it can get that info from the above sources.

Gerry

I think the thing that may be confusing for some is the concept of the "Sage Library". Is the library just the imported videos? Does it include all media files (Sage TV Recordings, Music, Imported Videos, Imported DVD's...)? Does it include everything in the Sage Database (unrecorded airings from the guide....)?

I have not tried this plugin yet myself, but it looks interesting. I am guessing it works on just new media files, so it probably won't be able to grab images for unrecorded shows in the Program guide, but that is just a guess...

[mkanet]

Tiki's thinking is exactly long the lines of my thinking. Library? Does that mean Imported Videos + TV recordings? If I had to guess it would be only Imported Videos.

What threw me off is screenshots (I cant remember where I saw them ...I thought TV info 1.0) that shows TV episodes recorded for each respective favorite showing fanart... implying its for TV recordings, not media imported. In any case, I wanted to know how that happened... and if we can have just a simple TV details enhancement that shows "fanart" as the background in addition to imdb info (all of which gets added immediately when you look at detailed information for a recording; or something you're looking up on the Guide.

Originally Posted by Tiki

I think the thing that may be confusing for some is the concept of the "Sage Library". Is the library just the imported videos? Does it include all media files (Sage TV Recordings, Music, Imported Videos, Imported DVD's...)? Does it include everything in the Sage Database (unrecorded airings from the guide....)?

I have not tried this plugin yet myself, but it looks interesting. I am guessing it works on just new media files, so it probably won't be able to grab images for unrecorded shows in the Program guide, but that is just a guess...

[jaminben]

The way I currently see these imports going is exactly what you, me & others are after. As Gerry said your not going to get data for everything as that data doesn't exist. But for imported media and recorded TV shows then most definitely, even imported TV shows if I'm understanding everything correctly. All done automatically without you lifting a finger, that is except the one's you need to use the remote