Expand TVSeries to a sister plugin? My Films? (2 Viewers)

[HappyTalk]

To Inker & Mirk have u read this :-

https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/demo_ant_file_pics_myfilms-t21243.html?t=21243&highlight=ANT

This is a HowTo that has very easy steps to follow + a demo ant.db so you don't even need to install Ant to see it in action. Don't bother to read the post, no need to install Ant, just download the attached zipfile and read the readme.html file within it. Shouldn't take more than 5 mins, at least then you can see the plugin in action. If you like it download Ant, and open up the demo database, drag and drop some of your own files (1 at a time alas!) and go from there.

Admittedly ANT is a database program so is overkill for the casual user who just wants to play their latest downloads they'll just then delete but with the added feature I describe above it could easily cater for both. Add metadata if you want, or don't if you don't want...

 

[G.B. Wolf]

In my eyes the two plugins have two really different approaches and therefore the two camps won't agree anytime with the other. The ANT-system maybe really powerfull, but's it not ergonomical. I use the myFilms plugin on my own, but only to get my DVD collection managed with DVDProfiler into MP. I'd never use it for normal movie files. Just to much work. I could write me a script what can do the work... yeah... nice... but why should I do it? It can scrape 50 sites for data? Nice... but why use 50 if one page with well handled data would be enough? I can tweak it to the last bit... nice... but I only want to have some basic movie information and a nice cover. The system behind the MP-TV Series plugin would be the best solution for many people who have the same needs as me.

Having a real powerfull engine is not everytime the best solution.

 

[scythelt]

The dude who says he's a programmer and finds it too complex must have used it for all of 1 minute, it is simplicity itself.

I used it for about 10min - after spending about an hr downloading all the required ANT tools to support it, built a demo xml database and hey presto, I get a bug that won't even let me import the demo xml. Checkout my bug report in the myfilms forum. If it can't even import a demo xml file then heaven help anybody else. I still haven't got the damn thing working.

I haven't used MyTvSeries

Well that says everything really doesn't it. How can you be 100% sure it doesn't have the capability of doing what MyFilms does, but simpler if you haven't used it????

To the doubters, try actually spending 4+ hours playing with Ant+MyFilms and reading up on how to use the Ant Scripts

Why should anybody need to read for 4+ hours (!!!) about scripts to create a database about your movies? MyTVSeries does it all for you, automatically, by introspecting the files information all by itself - no external tool required.

I would encourage you to take your own advice, and checkout what the MyTVSeries plugin is capable of doing, so simply and easily before suggesting that the MyFilms approach is the best.

 

[scythelt]

Then it says I need to give it "Ant Item for Storage File Info" to launch movies from MP. Huh, what?

That right there, pretty much sums it up for me. I pretty much did the same thing as Inker, looking at the configuration screen and went HUH? I even read the wiki entry and guide and still was clear as mud.

The usability and learning curve leaves a lot to be desired, especially when migrating from a user experience as friendly as the mytvseries approach.

That's the drive behind branching the tvseries code and implementing it for movies. It's just so much simpler for a task that does not have to be complex to provide flexibility.

Flexibility and simplicity are not mutually exclusive.

It kinda reminds me of Linux ;-)

Amen to that.

 

[odin318]

I would like a sister plugin. Why can't it just be separate from MyFilms?

 

[dwoodzz]

Then it says I need to give it "Ant Item for Storage File Info" to launch movies from MP. Huh, what?

That right there, pretty much sums it up for me. I pretty much did the same thing as Inker, looking at the configuration screen and went HUH? I even read the wiki entry and guide and still was clear as mud.

The usability and learning curve leaves a lot to be desired, especially when migrating from a user experience as friendly as the mytvseries approach.

That's the drive behind branching the tvseries code and implementing it for movies. It's just so much simpler for a task that does not have to be complex to provide flexibility.

Flexibility and simplicity are not mutually exclusive.

It kinda reminds me of Linux ;-)

Amen to that.

Exactly my thoughts as well...I say bring on a sister plugin of My tvseries

 

[HappyTalk]

Then it says I need to give it "Ant Item for Storage File Info" to launch movies from MP. Huh, what?

That right there, pretty much sums it up for me. I pretty much did the same thing as Inker, looking at the configuration screen and went HUH? I even read the wiki entry and guide and still was clear as mud.

I posted you a link to a demo db + howto that would take 5 mins to test out, doesn't require you to download ant but have you actually tried it? Ant is very easy to use, no harder than any other windows program, certainly easier than getting mediaportal itself set up, not sure why you're having problems, though that shouldn't put others off.

You might get problems with MyFilms as it keeps getting updated and isn't very well tested (the mediaportal way!), if you look at this post https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/position_memory_broken-t25287.html I have compiled against svn, the last version when I modified the source at which point it was thoroughly tested and all worked properly.

I have MyFilms working 100% perfect and using ANT scripts I published that do everything I need. I have 1,000's of films, tv series, music videos, spread over loads of dvd's, dvdr's all with covers, full info, for films, tv series, music videos etc. I can organise them using MyFilms folder hierarchy that I implemented and add multiple filenames to 1 entry for movies spread over > 1 files, features totally lacking from other plugs. Why on earth having spent a lot of time organising 1,000's of videos in ANT pefectly, writing scripts, adding code to MyFilms would I decide to go and spend days migrating all this stuff to MyTvSeries on a whim, you seem astounded I havent used it! why would I. That said I've just realised I did try it months ago and didn't rate it. Besides MyFilms gets its info from tv.com & imdb.com far and away the best sites to use.

If you seriously spent 4+ hours and still don't understand it then I don't know what to suggest. No way would a programmer not be able to work it out in 5 mins. Plenty of people are using it fine. I'd never want the organisation implemented into MediaPortal, I use it with a remote control, the idea of organising movies with a 'tv-interface + remote' is simply ludicrous, a TV interface for that kind of thing makes zero sense to me. I could recode the ANT scripts in to c# and try and migrate the ANT functionality directly into MyFilms but I can think of zero benefits. MyFilms is about the only bit if MediaPortal

PS - Just glanced at the other threads on this forums and saw this one https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/expressions_rules_exchange-t21977.html and you criticise Ant for being complex! you're having a laugh

 

[HappyTalk]

In my eyes the two plugins have two really different approaches and therefore the two camps won't agree anytime with the other. The ANT-system maybe really powerfull, but's it not ergonomical. I use the myFilms plugin on my own, but only to get my DVD collection managed with DVDProfiler into MP. I'd never use it for normal movie files. Just to much work. I could write me a script what can do the work... yeah... nice... but why should I do it? It can scrape 50 sites for data? Nice... but why use 50 if one page with well handled data would be enough? I can tweak it to the last bit... nice... but I only want to have some basic movie information and a nice cover. The system behind the MP-TV Series plugin would be the best solution for many people who have the same needs as me.

Having a real powerfull engine is not everytime the best solution.

You don't need to write any scripts they've already been written. I added scripts that totally automate stuff so you can grab all the info for tv shows from tv.com and imdb.com for movies, amazon for covers etc. You don't need to use all 50+ scripts but many of them are for other language sites, have different info etc..

What I still don't get is if people on here are happy with MyTvSeries, what is it from MyFilms that they want that MyTVSeries doesn't do? or is it just my god is better than your god, so popular these days.

I see one of your posts talking about Plugins\Windows\Logos\dolby_logo.png;-;<Episode.AudioChannels>;-;>=;-;6;-;AND;-;;-;=;-;;-;AND;-;;-;=;-;;-;
and you think ant is over complicated? :-==boing==-+Xnumber9+number9=zq seems to make my cd eject 10mins into the film, why is this?

BUT It's all open source so if someone here want's to merge the 2 plugs, then create a new plugin and get coding, go4it. Having seen the regexp type of stuff above, it reinforces in my mind that using ANT that has been been in development for years, ported to linux etc is deffo the best way to go.

 

[fforde]

MyTVSeries is designed for TV Shows, it is not appropriate for movies. Look at a few screenshots and you will understand why. As far as MyFilms, it's just that there is a lot to learn. No one is saying they can't figure it out, it's not that complicated, but it is complicated enough to put off a new user who knows very little about computers and MediaPortal.

That for me though is not the biggest concern. With MyFilms it will not automatically scan and add new films that it finds unless you exit MediaPortal and use ant to rescan. With MyTVSeries if you have new shows in your folder, the plugin automatically finds it, without any user interaction. The show description, screenshots, banners, etc are all downloaded and displayed automatically. You don't have to leave MediaPortal, and you don't have to set up scripts in a seperate program.

I know these things can be stream lined with MyFilms, but it's not trivial to do so. Much of the setup that is required by the user should be done automatically and transparently.

 

[Inker]

Oh god, please please can't we just get along? Some people like the tv plugin, others use my Films, that's perfectly fine.

What ppl want from the tv plugin to do is also work for movies, which is not what it was designed to do, hence this thread.

Oh, and happy talk, your example of complexity is really something you don't ever have to touch. It is for a totally optional feature (logos being displayed) and it can, and is, being setup in a GUI window. No sane users would ever write it like this themselves, they can however copy the string and just hit a button in the configuration and everything is set up. Optionally. And even that, the vast majority will never do that, because there are templates that users can just click to add (including your example), no scripting, no nothing. Your example is just for exchanging them over the forum.

And no, I still haven't tried it. I just have no need for it. Perhaps it is better, perhaps not. Perhaps I just use this plugin because I programmed parts of it. Perhaps other users just use it because they haven't found the myFilms plugin yet. I don't know. What I do know is that mptvseries works for me, and I assume for others. Let them.

Or give concrete examples of where it is better at handling TVSeries, and what we are missing. I still don't know why I would switch (and learn a new tool)? Then we can discuss them. All I gathered so far was that it isn't all that complex, and wether you agree with this or not, is besides the point of this thread, which I think was a request for a movie plugin working in the same way as the mptvseries plugin.

Anyways, please keep it friendly (I'm not saying anybody wasn't).