Potential to make many people happy... "My Movies" for SageTV?

[vvulture]

Hi all..
I hope i have put this thread in the correct location.
My appologies if i got it wrong again..

Anyway, i have just been over at the " My Movies " forum HERE .
Brian, the author of My Movies for MCE, has this to say about SageTv and My Movies :

However, if anyone else would like to build a SaveTV interface on top of the My Movies database, the Collection Management program and the WebService, I am open to creating some kind of API for this.

Main requirement, and why I would do this is to gain users to the Collection Management part and the quality of the WebService, so this is off cause the requirement, that collection management (besides adding titles and deleting them) should be done via. this program.

Regards,

Brian

Anyone interested in taking on this challenge ?
It would be a huge benefit to all SageTv users as it would solve all problems with our DVD/Media/Mpeg/AVI etc.. collections.
I for one would be prepared to pay for this software if it were developed.


thank you .

[mikesm]

I used my movies in MCE and miss it. I would pay to have it incorporated into SageMC. Esp. now that DVDporfiler seems to be doing down the tubes...

Thanks,
mike

[vvulture]

Originally Posted by mikesm

I used my movies in MCE and miss it. I would pay to have it incorporated into SageMC. Esp. now that DVDporfiler seems to be doing down the tubes...

Thanks,
mike

I hear you Mike..

[mattdcknsn]

I have never used "My Movies" before but it looks interesting. I am not sure what benefits it would bring over to Sage, I think SageMC does most from what I saw on the website. Have you tried the IMDB import plugin? What advantages does "My Movies" give you?

also, I dont use Windows Media Center, just plain old XP so I guess I'm SOL anyway.

[PGPfan]

vvulture,

Thanks for taking the initiative on this! Frankly, I don't see how anyone won't benefit from this. DVD Profiler has been nice (thanks to Stanger89) but isn't nearly as good as MM.

I think that we should try to convince Brian Binnerup (MM dev) to go ahead and create the API he mentioned regardless of anyone officially commiting to developement right now. All it took was Sage to release Studio and in a short time, dev's were busy making goodies - same for a MM API.

FWIW, I'd also put forth some cash (to Brian, and any dev for Sage (you listening Stanger?? ).

-PGPfan

[derelicte1]

this would be fantastic! it would greatly ease the transition from mce to sage. My movies is the main reason we still use mce for our system.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by mikesm

I used my movies in MCE and miss it. I would pay to have it incorporated into SageMC. Esp. now that DVDporfiler seems to be doing down the tubes...

Yeah, it's really a shame. DVD Profiler isn't/wasn't perfect, but it was one of the best options out there.

If DVD Profiler is truely dead, and it's certainly beginning to look like it (last I look it appeared the "community" moved to Invelos, but no Invelos is MIA, and the IVS database wasn't being kept up well), then I'd definitely be interested in another data source.

IMDB is nice, but it's not ideal since it tracks movies not releases, and we (as consumers) purchase releases. The distinction being the cover art and features of the DVD, vs just the movie info.

Originally Posted by PGPfan

vvulture,

Thanks for taking the initiative on this! Frankly, I don't see how anyone won't benefit from this. DVD Profiler has been nice (thanks to Stanger89) but isn't nearly as good as MM.

Thanks for the thanks

One thing I want to make very clear is that there's really two parts to the whole media management thing:

1) The data source
2) The GUI/interface

As others have noted, assuming for the moment that DVD Profiler is alive and well, I don't see a whole lot of immediate benefit to incorporating the MyMovies database (unless it's better which it could be).

What really makes MyMovies stand out is the interface. It's management/display features, and this is really (nearly) entirely separate from the database itself.

To get something truely "MyMovies-esque" in Sage would probably require a lot of Studio work.

Of course to a degree that depends on the features of a theoretical MM API.

I think that we should try to convince Brian Binnerup (MM dev) to go ahead and create the API he mentioned regardless of anyone officially commiting to developement right now. All it took was Sage to release Studio and in a short time, dev's were busy making goodies - same for a MM API.

Sounds like a reasonable plan. If I might make a suggestion, a COM interface would probably not be the ideal way for the API to work, COM in Java is tricky.

FWIW, I'd also put forth some cash (to Brian, and any dev for Sage (you listening Stanger?? ).

Listenning yes, but I'll just state this up front, my Sage "work" is a past time, a hobby, I won't be accepting money for it because I don't want those strings attached to me

Originally Posted by mattdcknsn

I have never used "My Movies" before but it looks interesting. I am not sure what benefits it would bring over to Sage, I think SageMC does most from what I saw on the website. Have you tried the IMDB import plugin? What advantages does "My Movies" give you?

I'm kind of curious too, maybe I'll just have to break down and reinstall my Vista RC and install MM and see what it's all about.

Oh, FYI, some info on the DVD Profiler "situation":
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...dvd+profiler+3

[JUC]

This looks great. I checked out the screenshots and think many here would enjoy it. One question though--i noticed an option for Trialers for your movies. Is this something that can be done currently with DVDprofiler?

[Halstead]

This would be terrific, and I'd much rather have MM than the DVD Profiler integration in SageMC.

[lobosrul]

This looks pretty slick. But, I rip/encode TV Show DVD's by episode, plus I move episodes over to "My Videos" when the season is over. Does this support individual episodes? Thats the one thing really lacking from the IMDB plugin. Plus IMDB is sometimes lacking on TV show episode info.

[vvulture]

Ok.
Thanks for the support guys.

Basically, not only does My Movies support DVD's, but you can also use it with AVI's, mpg's and so on, which means you can have a collection of mixed media types. That alone is a great feature.

Secondly, with My Movies, you actually specify where each and every file is stored. No need to have folders with specific names.. just point MM to the folder and off you go.

Next, is the ability for MM to cater for Series/Box sets which is a must these days. And yes, you can use it to catalog your recorded TV shows/series.

And last but not least, i have been in touch with Brian. This is what he had to say ( ignore spelling mistakes.. he's from Denmark ) :

Hi Claude,

SaveTV won't be a priority of mine, mainly because:

- The user base is very small compared to the userbase of Media Center, especially now when there is a Media Center in almost every Vista PC.
- My Movies lacks many things in it's Media Center implementation, and I don't even have time enough for this. I have a day time job 3 days a week and work on the project on two and in spare time.

This isen't about some users purchasing licenses - if I were to get time to support other platforms, there are several others to support too - Beyond Media, Media Portal, SageTV and a lot of others. To get time to do just one more would mean I had to quit my daytime job, and the user base even for paying SaveTV users won't help much out there, as we are talking more than $50.000 a year.

Sorry, but you won't see interfaces for other platforms done by me.

I am still, however open to letting others write end-user interfaces based on the My Movies Collection Management program, the webservice and the database.

Regards,

Brian

Anyway, i hope that someone will be convinced sometime soon to make our dreams come true..
In the meantime, go grab a copy of My Movies and check it out for yourself.

Cheers

[PGPfan]

The real question is what exactly Brian is referring to when he said "I am still, however open to letting others write end-user interfaces based on the My Movies Collection Management program, the webservice and the database." Is this stuff documented anywhere? Is the documentation he alludes to the same thing as what he mentioned was an API?

I don't have any problem with him NOT doing an interface for us (the separation of 'front-end' from 'back-end'), as Stanger mentioned considering they ARE two different entities. However, the database sounds so tantalizing in terms of it's capabilities that it's hard to ignore.

I guess the ball is back in Brian's court, can he provide any more details of the "Collection Management Program, the webservice, and the database" and how to communicate with it?

-PGPfan

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by vvulture

Secondly, with My Movies, you actually specify where each and every file is stored. No need to have folders with specific names.. just point MM to the folder and off you go.

That's very much a double edged sword (as is using folder/file names). It's nice for people just starting out, that they don't have to worry about where they put things, but like for me, I've got over 300 DVDs on my server, it would be a pain (to say the least) to enter the path of each and every DVD on my server....

Next, is the ability for MM to cater for Series/Box sets which is a must these days. And yes, you can use it to catalog your recorded TV shows/series.

This sounds great, one of the things that had been lacking in DVD Profiler.

And last but not least, i have been in touch with Brian. This is what he had to say ( ignore spelling mistakes.. he's from Denmark ) :

His response seems reasonable, I can completely see where he's coming from.

Anyway, i hope that someone will be convinced sometime soon to make our dreams come true..
In the meantime, go grab a copy of My Movies and check it out for yourself.

Cheers

Well seeing that DVD Profiler seems to be awaiting life support, I'm gonna play with MM a bit and see how it works.


One thing I'd like to know, and would be good to know in general, is if Brian has any problem with someone taking "inspiration" (read copying) MM for another platform.

And if you can get any info on the "My Movies Collection Management program, the webservice and the database" that would be of great interest.

[vvulture]

Originally Posted by stanger89

That's very much a double edged sword (as is using folder/file names). It's nice for people just starting out, that they don't have to worry about where they put things, but like for me, I've got over 300 DVDs on my server, it would be a pain (to say the least) to enter the path of each and every DVD on my server....



This sounds great, one of the things that had been lacking in DVD Profiler.



His response seems reasonable, I can completely see where he's coming from.



Well seeing that DVD Profiler seems to be awaiting life support, I'm gonna play with MM a bit and see how it works.


One thing I'd like to know, and would be good to know in general, is if Brian has any problem with someone taking "inspiration" (read copying) MM for another platform.

And if you can get any info on the "My Movies Collection Management program, the webservice and the database" that would be of great interest.

Hey Stanger89,
If you want, why not go across to the My Movies forum and introduce yourself to Brian and see what he has to say. No harm in trying :-)
http://www.mymovies.name/forum.aspx

I wish so badly i could help in doing this, but i have no coding skills or knowlegde whatsoever.
Is there a coding crash course i could do ? LOL

cheers

[vvulture]

Another quote from Brian at My Movies forum dated today:

And, if anyone would like to commit to doing an interface for other platforms, I would look at creating an API, however I need a commitment from someone who wan't to do it, because otherwise the time is potentially wasted.

Regards,

Brian

cheers

[stanger89]

I don't really want to commit to anything at the moment (nor give anyone false hope).

FWIW, has anybody compared the data quality of the MyMovies database vs DVD Profiler, or any of the other options?

[vvulture]

Originally Posted by stanger89

I don't really want to commit to anything at the moment (nor give anyone false hope).

Understandable.. :-)

[sticky]

http://www.missingremote.com/index.p...ic=751.new#new

I posted this thread over at MR . Brian responded with a little bit more.

[PGPfan]

I really think - somehow - we should find a way to jump on this. I wonder how much of a commitment Brian is looking for? I mean, I'm plodding my way through Studio, learning how to do stuff but it's slow going for me. I'd be game to commit, but no clue as to FOR SURE how soon, or even if, I could successfully create such a .stvi.

I remember a little while ago the great "neilm" was looking for ideas for .stvi's and looked briefly into a Sage/Pandora interface but since Pandora is US only he couldn't proceed. I wonder if he'd be willing to take this up?

neilm, what do you think?

There certainly seems to be a lot of interest in this, and BrainB (MyMovies dev) seems up to roll the API. Here is a recent snippet from him concerning this (taken from the MissingRemote link above): Take this as an invite for all other projects, not just Media Center or SaveTV, but also Beyond Media, Media Portal or anything else - if anyone sees a potential in building a front-end on top of My Movies' back-end, meaning it's Collection Management program, WebService and database structure, I am very open to creating an API for this.

My Movies lives by it's user base, and it's quality depends a lot on the quality of the meta-data on the WebService, and if other projects use of My Movies back-end can help gaining users and improving the meta-data on the WebService, this is much welcomed.

I really believe this has potential to be an EXTREMELY VALUABLE addition to SageTV. We've got to get this going somehow...

-PGPfan

[stanger89]

FWIW, getting the data has never really been the hard part. And especially considering that Sage now supports metadata files natively it should be quite easy to solve the data issue. Seems like there are a lot of tallented coders out there who could tackle a <insert catalog program> to movie.properties file generator.

The hard part is designing the GUI.

If we really want this to happen I think we need to define, ahead of time, exactly what we want such a plugin/STVi to do. Which features are important, which aren't. What would be wanted, what not, etc.

I took a swag at that a while ago, but it never gained any traction:
http://forums.sage.tv/forums/showthr...t=requirements