fill databases with existing content

[pStar]

hi everyone

is there a an easy way to fill up the mediaportal databases with content already gathered by eg. ant movie catalog (for movies) and id3 tags in mp3s? unfortunately i can't use the F3 button to update informations, cause i have no internet connection on my HTPC. and i think using amc is easier, if you have to gather covers&informations for over 100 dvds.
i already checked out the myDvds plugin. the import seems to be working (i pasted the myDvds xml-template into amc-html export; i don't know if this is right), but the plugin doesn't start from mediaportal. i use mp 0.13final.
i also tested the french "MP movie Info 0.0.2.0a" tool, but i have troubles to come to a result.

regards

patrick

[FlipGer]

Hi,

MP3 tags can be scanned in Setup->My Music->Database. There are tools for ant movie catalogue floating around, but i do not know where to find...

Flip.

[mzemina]

Like pStar I'd like to find a method to allow an alternate method of filling (also editing) the database. Since the developers are using SQLite (version 3) there MUST be solutions that would allow importing of data into the database. Isn't there?

Is there a method to deermine the schema of the DVD database?

Mike

[FlipGer]

Hi,

you can use the SQLLite Browser to look into and edit the databases. This tool can be found in your MP/docs directory. You also can change / add entries for my Movies in Setup->My Movies->Database.

And surely you can try to write your own script to connect to the DB and make automatically imports.

HTH, Flip.

[mzemina]

FlipGer - Is the SQLLite Browser tool meant to show the fields and values? Are there any keys sepcified in any of the databases?

Mike

[FlipGer]

Hi,

yes you can see fields and values with this tool. You can edit / add / delete entries. It is also possible to execute SQL statements. What did you mean with specifiy keys? Unique keys? I did not look for a long time into the databases, so i am not sure about the structure. Just test the SQLLite Browser.

HTH, Flip.

[mzemina]

Originally Posted by FlipGer

Hi,

yes you can see fields and values with this tool. You can edit / add / delete entries. It is also possible to execute SQL statements. What did you mean with specifiy keys? Unique keys? I did not look for a long time into the databases, so i am not sure about the structure. Just test the SQLLite Browser.

HTH, Flip.

OK - fieldnames and values. What about field length? I guess I could check out the browser. I'd be concerned about overfilling some fields, especially the overview.

Yes - I meant Unique keys.

[pStar]

hi everyone
i had some time to test a few things and want to share my experiences. sorry for my bad english, but i hope to find a solution to the movie database problem...
first of all i had a look at the sqlite database browser and checked out the different tables and found that the "movieinfo"table could be the one i was looking for. then i exported a plain text file from my ant movie database (where i gathered imdb and informations and covers), holding all the informations the database needs in the "movieinfo"-table separated with semicolons. then i setup mediaportal to use the folders witch contain my movies (i named them 0001_moviename, 0002_moviename,0003_moviename ... i used the numbers from ant movie catalog). next in sqlite browser i deleted the "movieinfo"-table after writing down the datatypes used in the table ('cause the sqlite browser seems to be unable of importing data into an existing table ). then i imported my textfile into a new table, naming it "movieinfo". the field names an types i changed to the original ones (i prepended the fieldnames from database in my textfile, so i haven't to change the tablefieldnames in sqllite browser by hand). finally i had a table, looking just like the original "movieinfo"-table but filled with nice informations from ant movie catalog. i was happy...till
...i opened mediaportal navigated to a movie and pressed F3.
almost every information i inserted into the database was gone and replaced with "unknown" (i checked it in the sqlite browser).
i'm really not into xml,html,sql and this stuff, so i don't know whats going on. perhaps someone has a few tips for me? i read about a ODBC driver in the forums in conjunction with excel or access, perhaps i try this one time, 'cause handling the database within sqlite browser or mediaportal setup is really tricky.
regards

[ebk71]

What I really don't understand that there was a My DVD plugin which with previous versions of MP was able to import from ANT. There seems no further development going on. I tried but I'm just not a programmer.

And this message is to all developers, we the people who can't program, really appreciate what you are doing, but first finish before showing and have us drooling, and above all, try to maintain a plugin.

I have 3 examples and correct me if I'm wrong:
LCD smartie plugin
Calendar plugin
MY DVD's plugin

Hope I don't kick any legs..... :wink:

[pStar]

hi, like mediaportal very much and i want to help improving it. unfortunaltly i'm also not a coder and what i think may be terribly worng...

...but i think the easiest solution to this whole mediamanagement problems would be, to create a well layed-out database which holds every information about the available media in media portal. not only the movieinfo, but also the filepathUNC, filename, coverpath etc...(everything mediaportal needs)
and to fill this database you could use a) the mediaPortal setup (which fills eg. only paths and filenames after the harddrivescan) - which would be the way for purists or b) let other freeware tools gather your mediainformations (like antmoviecatalog ) and import those informations into the database with sqllite browser or the kind - this would be the way for people like me, who want nice covers, descriptions, castlist and with all the bells and whistles
and the imdb-query in mediaportal would not be necessary. the database management could be done on a seperate office-pc, which is much more sophiticated for these kind of tasks than a htpc.

regards