Is there a way of doing Metadata WITHOUT BMT

[plnewton]

Hi,

I have been running SageTV for about 2 months now coming from MMC it is great but one big problem I have is Meta Data, I have tried using BMT and I find it a total mess, the add on is just all over the place now and I can't seem to get my head around it.

I understand that someone has done this on their time and I have been flamed for criticizing it in the passes but the product is just not for me and I would expect half the people that try and install it now would just give up as I have.

From what I can gather SageTV reads the Meta Data from a .properties file within the folder of each ripped DVD I have on My server??

Basically what I want to do is create a .properties file for each movie I add and I want it to reside in the same folder as the ripped movie so if I want to change I just edit the file.


In MMC I was using something called YAMMM, it was so simple, I just told the location of my movies and it downloaded all the Meta Data and the folder.jpg file, I still use this to do the folder.jpg file as for the Life of me I could not get BMT to do it.


OK, so what I would like to know is the following:
Are there any other alternatives to BMT for SageTV?
Is it possible for me to just have a .properties file for each movie in each folder?
If I follow the Instructions for removing BMT in the reverse order can I get rid of it without having re-install SageTV again?

[gplasky]

If you're looking for metadata just for movies DVD Profiler still works. You can export your DVD Profiler information and import it into SageTV. This works in SageTV MC STV and the Default STV. You would need the Pro2Sage jar file for the default. This doesn't use the .properties file and imports the info into Sage. You just won't get Fanart. (You will get the folder.jpg for DVD covers.)

Gerry

[DMT]

My Movies will automatically create folder.jpg and .properties files. I am using the WHS version.

[plnewton]

I had a look at my movies yesterday but it seems like allot of double work having to enter them all in to another database

I will have a look at DVD Profiler

Thanks!!

[plnewton]

DVD Profiler is a movie collector database also isn't it??

Seems I have to add all of my movies into this as well??

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by plnewton

Seems I have to add all of my movies into this as well??

Unfortunately, scanning a collection and automatically creating the metadata is problematic and complex. But tools like MyMovies and DVD Profiler, while they duplicate the database functionality in SageTV, they do offer nicer management interfaces than BMT, which I think is really what you are after. I also think that MyMovies has a scan feature as well, where it can scan your folders for movies and try to autofetch metadata/fanart, similar to bmt. Some people like the idea of using DVD Profiler or MyMovies because it keeps a copy of their database outside of sagetv, which makes it easier if they want to try out other media software.

If I follow the Instructions for removing BMT in the reverse order can I get rid of it without having re-install SageTV again?

If you remove the automatic plugin from the metadata_parsers in your Sage.properties (if you had it configured), and revert back to the default stv, then bmt should be removed. You can probably leave the various jars in the JARs folder, since some of them will be use by phoenix (displaying fanart). jars are much like .dll files, in that they are not loaded unless they are accessed. So having the bmt jars in your JARs folder won't actually cause it to be loaded, and it won't consume any extra memory, unless you start installing plugins that utilize them.

[plnewton]

Hi,

How do I get rid of the Meta Data that is already there?

I tried removing the .properties files for each title and that did not clear it as SageTV is still showing the Video Detail

[waltraud]

Try doing a full rescan of your media libary. I think it's in 'Advanced Settings'.

[babgvant]

Originally Posted by plnewton

Hi,

How do I get rid of the Meta Data that is already there?

I tried removing the .properties files for each title and that did not clear it as SageTV is still showing the Video Detail

it may be necessary to touch the files as well.

[plnewton]

Sorry, what do you mean by "touch the files"?

[babgvant]

Originally Posted by plnewton

Sorry, what do you mean by "touch the files"?

http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/show...postcount=1274

[plnewton]

Yes, but doing this is using BMT.

I do not what to use BMT, I am going to use My Movies to create the Meta Data.

What I need to know is where Sage stores the Meta Data that is already their so I can clear it and refresh it. I currently have .properties files all over the place and just want to remove all of the Meta Data and start fresh.

If I remove the .properties file for each title it still does not clear what is currently being show in SageTV

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by plnewton

Yes, but doing this is using BMT.

All babgvant is trying to tell you is that in order for SageTV to pick up your metadata changes, then you need to "touch" the files. Another alternative is to fully remove all your imported media locations and then re-add them into sagetv.

I do not what to use BMT, I am going to use My Movies to create the Meta Data.

What I need to know is where Sage stores the Meta Data that is already their so I can clear it and refresh it. I currently have .properties files all over the place and just want to remove all of the Meta Data and start fresh.

If I remove the .properties file for each title it still does not clear what is currently being show in SageTV

Again, if you are going to roll your own solution, then you are going to need to know everything this there is to know about metadata..... how sage stores metadata, how it loads metadata, detects changes, etc. You will have to search the forums and read posts, do some trial and error, just like I did, in order to fully understand how everything works (i wish I could say that I fully understand everything...). Once you do that, you'll be well on your way to understanding what has to be done. The BMT thread is a good starting point since it fully deals with scenarios, etc. Also check out the mediascraper thread, since it's another command line tool... and finally, check the stickies in the customization forums, since Andy has put a post there explaining a little about what the metadata tags are.

good luck