Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lehmden" data-source="post: 1288908" data-attributes="member: 109222">Hi.After a long time there is a new version 1.1.0.11 from Media-Buddy. The download can be found where it is always found (see first post).There are many improvements and fixes. Metadata grabbing is now much more stable and, above all, much faster. Other bugs, some of which have been around for a long time, have also been fixed. There will be support for TVDB, if at all, but only in the fall. TVDB wants to completely redo the API again. It's not worth adapting everything to the new API now (always assuming we get a free API key at all, which should actually work, since Media-Buddy is open source) and then starting all over again in a few months. We will tackle this when the new TVDB API is launched.But that alone would not justify a jump from version 1.0 to version 1.1. There are also completely new functions. On the one hand, Media-Buddy now supports .nfo files in the "new" format for Kodi 19 and higher. In general, Kodi 19 also reads most of the "old" .nfo. But with a few downsides. Since the notation for external ID (i.e. IMDB-ID, TMDB-ID, TVDB-ID) has changed, unfortunately Kodi no longer reads this important data from the "old" .nfo. Media-Buddy now optionally supports both formats, old and new. In general, however, the new format is better because it is more flexible. MediaPortal, Emby and other tools should be switched to the new format as soon as possible, imho. You can now very quickly and easily integrate your own ID systems and/or other online sources, which are then read directly into the database. For example, you can use your own ID ranges for holiday films, which Kodi can evaluate and use, for example, for filtering.Media-Buddy wouldn't be Media-Buddy if there wasn't a function for converting "old" to "new" .nfo.[ATTACH=full]210210[/ATTACH]This allows you to convert existing .nfo files into the new format in one go.To round off the portfolio, Media-Buddy can now also edit the last media types that have not yet been dealt with, namely graphics (photos, etc.). Of course, Media-Buddy does not replace an image editing program such as Photoshop. But a lot of work that often occurs in everyday life can now be done in Media-Buddy and in the usual "Media-Buddy manner". As usual, you will find some "global" settings that (for performance reasons) are only read in when the program starts. Since you rarely have to change anything here, I can "get over it", I think.[ATTACH=full]210211[/ATTACH]Here you can specify the file types to be used. Separated according to "normal" graphic formats and camera-specific RAW formats. Many cameras offer the possibility to take pictures in JPG as well as in RAW. RAW files are actually not usable immediately, but have no losses whatsoever. They represent a direct image of the data read from the sensor. In the digital age, this is what comes closest to a "negative" of classic analog photography. Media-Buddy uses the OpenSource CLI tool ImageMagick for image processing, which can import various camera RAW formats. The most important ones (Canon, Nikon, Sony/Minolta, Olympus and Fuji) are preset. However, you can always add your own format and/or remove formats that are not required. You can enter any file format supported by ImageMagick here. A list of formats can be found here:[URL unfurl="true"]https://imagemagick.org/script/formats.php[/URL]There is an option to move the originals to appropriate subfolders. This increases the overview if you have different edited versions of the same photo after editing. That's why the RAW and the "normal" formats are set and saved separately.You can also have the images automatically rotated according to the orientation stored in the EXIF metadata. That's mostly true anyway. Then this option does nothing. But if an error has crept in, it can be fixed quickly and easily.The third option is a toggle that lets you apply optimization for .jpg and .png files to the originals as well. Personally, I always leave my originals untouched and only work with copies. But if you like, you can do that here. More precise to optimize.And of course you also have a window in which you can actually edit the photos:[ATTACH=full]210212[/ATTACH]Looks pretty familiar, doesn't it? At the top you select, as usual, the folder in which you have the photos to be edited. Now you can resize the photos. Attention is paid to the best possible quality. There would be faster ways to resize the images (most of the time), but this is the best way. Various preset sizes can be selected. Each size with a tick in front of it is then generated during the run. You can select none, one, several or all sizes. Behind the sizes you can select the file type that is to be created. In addition to the most common .jpg format, you can also select others such as .png or the particularly space-saving .webp format. The sizes are preset according to common screens, plus the size 800x600 pixels, which is particularly suitable for internet forums or social media platforms. In addition, you can also choose a size freely. The size must be specified in the widthxheight format. In the example above, it is 1280 pixels wide and 1024 pixels high. Other spellings will not work. The dimensions represent the maximum size in each case. An image retains its aspect ratio and is reduced accordingly so that it fits into the given dimensions. For example, if you have an image with a size of 1280x1024 pixels and select 720p, the image will be reduced to 960x720 pixels so that it can be displayed on an HDReady monitor (TV) without scaling. It is not stretched in width but keeps its proportions.In the middle you can select two particularly good and important filters. "Normalize" optimizes the contrast and brightness of the photo. This almost always works very well. In rare cases, however, this makes the photo worse. That's why it's better not to touch the originals. So you have a second try later. Below that you can turn on the "UnsharpMask" filter. This will make the photo sharper. Of course, you don't actually gain more sharpness (i.e. more detailed information) with this. But the impression of sharpness is (significantly) improved, the photo looks "simply sharper". But too much of it is also not good, because ugly artefacts form at the edges. It is better to use the unsharp mask sparingly. Values of 2 or a maximum of 3 should actually always be enough.And on the right there are two hooks, through which the converted images (if .jpg or .png) are reduced again without any loss. Two tiny CLI tools (jpegoptim.exe and optipng.exe) are used for this, which do nothing else than optimize and reduce the size of a .jpg or .png file. When downloading fanart for movies and series, these tools are applied automatically. You can save up to 20% of space without sacrificing. This means that these tools can also be used on files that already exist locally. If you don't want to make any other changes, set "Optimize originals" in the settings and deselect all filters and resizing options. Then the existing graphics are only shrunk. But you can also reduce the images that have just been converted, all in one go.And now have fun with the new version.</blockquote>

Verification