Moving Pictures for Servers? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Gaxkor
- Start date
AW: Moving Pictures for Servers?
Hi.
There is no "nice" way to have a centralized database for MovingPictures (or other Plugins). But there are still some ways to go. One way is a "dirty hack" described somewhere in the Wiki so you can have one database for all clients. The easiest way is to relax, lay back and wait until MePo2 is available.
Centralized databases are a main part of MePo2. The third way is to copy the database file and the thumbs from one client to all the others every time you change something in your collection. The way I handle this is different, a bit complicated at first but really time saving afterwards.
My way to organize the MovPic database works with .nfo files generated by "MP Artwork and Info Copier". On my "main" client I have two copies of the MovingPictures database. An empty one to add new movies and the "filled" one for normal use. When I add new Movies first I move the "filled" database aside and replace it with the empty one. Here all normal scrappers (imdb etc) are active. The Movie- Folders are pointed to my "new movies" folder. I import all details, artwork and make my personal modifications. When all movies are listed as I want them, I copy the Informations from the (not so) "emty" database to the movie folders using the Info Copier. If you organize your movies in seperate subfolders (one folder, one movie) this works like a charm. After that I move all new movies to my server. Then I replace the "empty" database with the "filled" one again. This database (and all the databases on the other clients) is configured to use xbmc local scrapper only. The import of new movies is 100% error free and lightning fast. All modifications are reliable and instantly avaliable to all clients. The working database file is a lot smaller than a normal one with online scrappers active and the db access is significantly faster.
The advantages of this way are:
Database- Crash??? who cares! New clean installation of Windows, MePo or so, no problem at all... MovingPictures is instantly reconfigured as I like it. The complete reimport of my 700++ Movie collection is finished in less than 10 minutes. All manual changes I've done are still there. And all clients can be configured different. e.g. The kids can't see the "adult" movies, they have there own view count,... But you only have to add a new movie one time at one place for all clients and all times.
Hi.
There is no "nice" way to have a centralized database for MovingPictures (or other Plugins). But there are still some ways to go. One way is a "dirty hack" described somewhere in the Wiki so you can have one database for all clients. The easiest way is to relax, lay back and wait until MePo2 is available.
Centralized databases are a main part of MePo2. The third way is to copy the database file and the thumbs from one client to all the others every time you change something in your collection. The way I handle this is different, a bit complicated at first but really time saving afterwards. My way to organize the MovPic database works with .nfo files generated by "MP Artwork and Info Copier". On my "main" client I have two copies of the MovingPictures database. An empty one to add new movies and the "filled" one for normal use. When I add new Movies first I move the "filled" database aside and replace it with the empty one. Here all normal scrappers (imdb etc) are active. The Movie- Folders are pointed to my "new movies" folder. I import all details, artwork and make my personal modifications. When all movies are listed as I want them, I copy the Informations from the (not so) "emty" database to the movie folders using the Info Copier. If you organize your movies in seperate subfolders (one folder, one movie) this works like a charm. After that I move all new movies to my server. Then I replace the "empty" database with the "filled" one again. This database (and all the databases on the other clients) is configured to use xbmc local scrapper only. The import of new movies is 100% error free and lightning fast. All modifications are reliable and instantly avaliable to all clients. The working database file is a lot smaller than a normal one with online scrappers active and the db access is significantly faster.
The advantages of this way are:
Database- Crash??? who cares! New clean installation of Windows, MePo or so, no problem at all... MovingPictures is instantly reconfigured as I like it. The complete reimport of my 700++ Movie collection is finished in less than 10 minutes. All manual changes I've done are still there. And all clients can be configured different. e.g. The kids can't see the "adult" movies, they have there own view count,... But you only have to add a new movie one time at one place for all clients and all times.
A client/server plugin doesn't require MP2, MP2 will just make it a lot easier to build these plugins.
As it stands at the moment, the plugin would need to do all the database management and being able to remotely connect to it. With MP2, all that is handled by the MP clients and server.
As it stands at the moment, the plugin would need to do all the database management and being able to remotely connect to it. With MP2, all that is handled by the MP clients and server.
Wow... This Sounds Not really good...
Seems waiting for mp2 is the Best Way
Take a look in the Wiki here
This is a hack, but it suits my needs. So, be sure to read the whole wiki page. Especially "NOTE this is a configuration change that is not officially supported by the MediaPortal Team..."
Hope this helps you bit
the method in the above wiki link is what i use, works fine. been using it this way for months without problems. just bear in mind that with this method, if your server or network goes down (so clients cannot access the database), MP will not run on any of the client systems.
I too consider this the biggest drawback of MP. My simple approach to this is the following:
I find the appropriate cover image manually, crop and scale it as I want and put it as 'folder.jpg' in the movie folder. I set Moving Pictures to use folder.jpg and find only one cover, this way it is always the one I saved. There is manual work involved, but it is done quickly and always right.
Then on my development client I check if Moving Pictures makes the right match, if not I change the title of the movie directory to make sure it does make the right match automatically. This may f.i. take adding the release year.
From here all other clients will automatically add the correct movie with the right cover and fan art without manual intervention.
Then I sit back, relax, watch a movie and wait for MP2
VdR
I find the appropriate cover image manually, crop and scale it as I want and put it as 'folder.jpg' in the movie folder. I set Moving Pictures to use folder.jpg and find only one cover, this way it is always the one I saved. There is manual work involved, but it is done quickly and always right.
Then on my development client I check if Moving Pictures makes the right match, if not I change the title of the movie directory to make sure it does make the right match automatically. This may f.i. take adding the release year.
From here all other clients will automatically add the correct movie with the right cover and fan art without manual intervention.
Then I sit back, relax, watch a movie and wait for MP2
VdR
same here ... simpel and perfect way without changing MovPic on all three clients all the time ...
A simple WebApp which does this (show the missing movie, search the database for the right name and year) is all we need I think ... rename the movie withhin an explorer that's the only thing we have to do then.
cu
- December 28, 2006
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Re: Re : Moving Pictures for Servers?
In the wiki says: "If you try this, ensure only one client is active at a time." This seems to me a risky business, isn't it? Also waiting for MePo2 seems a loooooong time as iti is scheduled by the end of 2016 (this is what has been written in the roadmap pages, but maybe it is a developers joke ;-)).
I fully agree with most people that believe that some key plugins like Moving Pictures should move to a "client - server" architecture. I don't know how difficult could be to:
1.- Re-create the Moving Pictures db3 database schema inside the TVServer database (with its own sepparate schema)
2.- Move all the plugin staff from MePo client to the TV Server so it becomes a sever plugin
3.- To use Moving pictures on the MePo client there are two options:
3.1. being the simple a sync server to client (may an approach like https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/mediaportal-plugins-47/tool-syncmp-84344/ could be enough to start, but a two way sync has teh benefit of being able to dlete or update data from any client). The advantage of this approach is falt tolerance to network issues, the dissadvantage is that requires a sync
3.2. Point the clients to use the server db (for me this is the best appoach), and also I believe is the simplest to implement. Pretty similar to the hack described in the wiki, byut with teh advantage of using an advance db on the server side that may prevent client conflicts, for instance, blocking a row when a client is updating it or deleting it based on client id
What do you think guys? does it make sense?
Cheers
In the wiki says: "If you try this, ensure only one client is active at a time." This seems to me a risky business, isn't it? Also waiting for MePo2 seems a loooooong time as iti is scheduled by the end of 2016 (this is what has been written in the roadmap pages, but maybe it is a developers joke ;-)).
I fully agree with most people that believe that some key plugins like Moving Pictures should move to a "client - server" architecture. I don't know how difficult could be to:
1.- Re-create the Moving Pictures db3 database schema inside the TVServer database (with its own sepparate schema)
2.- Move all the plugin staff from MePo client to the TV Server so it becomes a sever plugin
3.- To use Moving pictures on the MePo client there are two options:
3.1. being the simple a sync server to client (may an approach like https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/mediaportal-plugins-47/tool-syncmp-84344/ could be enough to start, but a two way sync has teh benefit of being able to dlete or update data from any client). The advantage of this approach is falt tolerance to network issues, the dissadvantage is that requires a sync
3.2. Point the clients to use the server db (for me this is the best appoach), and also I believe is the simplest to implement. Pretty similar to the hack described in the wiki, byut with teh advantage of using an advance db on the server side that may prevent client conflicts, for instance, blocking a row when a client is updating it or deleting it based on client id
What do you think guys? does it make sense?
Cheers