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<blockquote data-quote="bigdude" data-source="post: 191186" data-attributes="member: 57287"><p><strong>Another alternative?</strong></p><p></p><p>I know this thread has not been very active lately, but I wondered if anything has been done in this area. I also wanted to let you know about something I am currently working on relating to changers. (it is a personal hack and may never become a part of myFilms, but let me know if you are interested in looking at it)</p><p></p><p>Look at: <a href="https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/changer_hack_development_questions-t29425.html" target="_blank">https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/changer_hack_development_questions-t29425.html</a></p><p></p><p>Basically this is not the tight integration you were thinking about, but rather a four piece stack to support changers. The first piece is myFilms which takes care of providing a database for offline media and the end user interface. The next piece down the line is ANT which does the metadata lookup and massages it into a format accepted by myFilms. The third piece is a changer program I wrote in Delphi called FreeChange. The fourth element is simply having a connected changer and setting up a sharename for the drive in it.</p><p></p><p>It is admittedly a bit ornate, but it is a start... In the distant future better integration may be possible, but since I am new to MediaPortal I did not want to take on a big project like trying to recreate myFilms and ANT Movie Catalog both of which are already very solid.</p><p></p><p>Currently the process to set up a library with my hack looks like this:</p><p>1.) obtain Freechange and my hacked version of the myFilms DLL.</p><p>2.) Install MyFilms into MP system and install Freechange on changer host system (can be different systems).</p><p>1.) Set up the changer and create a public sharename for its drive.</p><p>2.) Load the media into the changer (slow process).</p><p>3.) Run FreeChange on the changer host and select the correct changer and drive devices.</p><p>4.) Use the Scan media function to identify the media (slow process).</p><p>5.) Since automated media ID is imperfect, edit the results as needed ensuring the title is as accurate as possible.</p><p>6.) Export the resulting data as a CSV file and leave FreeChange running.</p><p>7.) Install and set up ANT Movie Catalog.</p><p>8.) Import the CSV file into a movie catalog. The CSV file has no headers, but the main things to import are the number, the title, and the column before last which should be placed in MediaLabel.</p><p>9.) Do metadata lookup in ANT (slow process).</p><p>10.) Save the AMT catalog as an XML format file (to a network shared location if you want remote access).</p><p>11.) Close MediaPortal...</p><p>12.) Replace mesFilms.dll in the Plugins\Windows folder with the hacked copy.</p><p>13.) Configure myFilms to use the medialabel as the storage path and to use the ANT catalog saved in step 9</p><p>14.) Restart MediaPortal...</p><p></p><p>It is a bunch of steps and takes a serious chunk of time to do, but when everything is done you will have a My Films setup in MediaPortal that can automatically load and play the media you select from the changer host system and from a remote MP box as well. This does not use streaming or anything fancy, but rather hits the DVD files through a network share. As a result it can only handle unencrypted media on the remotes (although something like AnyDVD on the changer host would probably take care of that limitation). </p><p></p><p>Other key limitations are:</p><p>-- Only one station can play a DVD from each changer at a time (the software can support multiple changers but is not tested for that yet)</p><p>-- since the DVD files are read through the network, the bandwidth of the network and the speed and activity level on the host machine will ultimately set the top end limit on this hack (meaning wireless is pretty much impossible).</p><p></p><p>Anyone interested in playing with this should send me a private message... The software is changing daily so I don't have it out there anywhere yet.<img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite4" alt=":mad:" title="Mad :mad:" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":mad:" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="bigdude, post: 191186, member: 57287"] [b]Another alternative?[/b] I know this thread has not been very active lately, but I wondered if anything has been done in this area. I also wanted to let you know about something I am currently working on relating to changers. (it is a personal hack and may never become a part of myFilms, but let me know if you are interested in looking at it) Look at: [url]https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/changer_hack_development_questions-t29425.html[/url] Basically this is not the tight integration you were thinking about, but rather a four piece stack to support changers. The first piece is myFilms which takes care of providing a database for offline media and the end user interface. The next piece down the line is ANT which does the metadata lookup and massages it into a format accepted by myFilms. The third piece is a changer program I wrote in Delphi called FreeChange. The fourth element is simply having a connected changer and setting up a sharename for the drive in it. It is admittedly a bit ornate, but it is a start... In the distant future better integration may be possible, but since I am new to MediaPortal I did not want to take on a big project like trying to recreate myFilms and ANT Movie Catalog both of which are already very solid. Currently the process to set up a library with my hack looks like this: 1.) obtain Freechange and my hacked version of the myFilms DLL. 2.) Install MyFilms into MP system and install Freechange on changer host system (can be different systems). 1.) Set up the changer and create a public sharename for its drive. 2.) Load the media into the changer (slow process). 3.) Run FreeChange on the changer host and select the correct changer and drive devices. 4.) Use the Scan media function to identify the media (slow process). 5.) Since automated media ID is imperfect, edit the results as needed ensuring the title is as accurate as possible. 6.) Export the resulting data as a CSV file and leave FreeChange running. 7.) Install and set up ANT Movie Catalog. 8.) Import the CSV file into a movie catalog. The CSV file has no headers, but the main things to import are the number, the title, and the column before last which should be placed in MediaLabel. 9.) Do metadata lookup in ANT (slow process). 10.) Save the AMT catalog as an XML format file (to a network shared location if you want remote access). 11.) Close MediaPortal... 12.) Replace mesFilms.dll in the Plugins\Windows folder with the hacked copy. 13.) Configure myFilms to use the medialabel as the storage path and to use the ANT catalog saved in step 9 14.) Restart MediaPortal... It is a bunch of steps and takes a serious chunk of time to do, but when everything is done you will have a My Films setup in MediaPortal that can automatically load and play the media you select from the changer host system and from a remote MP box as well. This does not use streaming or anything fancy, but rather hits the DVD files through a network share. As a result it can only handle unencrypted media on the remotes (although something like AnyDVD on the changer host would probably take care of that limitation). Other key limitations are: -- Only one station can play a DVD from each changer at a time (the software can support multiple changers but is not tested for that yet) -- since the DVD files are read through the network, the bandwidth of the network and the speed and activity level on the host machine will ultimately set the top end limit on this hack (meaning wireless is pretty much impossible). Anyone interested in playing with this should send me a private message... The software is changing daily so I don't have it out there anywhere yet.:wtf: [/QUOTE]
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