Need ideas of how to rebuild database often or other solutions... (1 Viewer)

[nzdreamer55]

Hey everyone,

I have been changing the way I name my TV shows and moving stuff around several drives. Sometimes I have several of the same episodes (maybe a web version, a HDTV version, and a MP recorded version).

Is there a best way to manage the changes that I make when I delete or move stuff around? I do a lot of management from another computer that does not run media portal.

Do need to delete my database each time and rerun the import?
Is there a way to ensure that a series gets matched without me intervening like using imdb numbers with moving pictures?

Thanks for the help
-S

 

[RoChess]

I move shows around a lot external to MediaPortal, a lot of times with MediaPortal running.

MP-TVSeries is very adapt to this and new improvements are being worked on as we speak regarding the problem of multiple files that are the same episode.

For example, currently when you spot 2 files that are the same episode and you delete one of them via GUI from disk+database, you are actually removing the database entry for the other episode as well. The correct way in current system would to always delete from disk only and rely on the MediaInfo to find out which "file" is the one you want to keep.

What will change is that in new release, when multiple files are detected that refer to the same episode, you will not be able to delete from database anymore until you are down to 1 file.

Going back to your original question, the mp-tvseries.log file is your friend, and you can analyze it quick (even from another system). I use concurrent RDP myself, so I can look at log files while MediaPortal is running from a different location even. So I use little batch files that let me know what is going on, for example:

@Echo Off
chcp 1252 > nul
find "progress received: MediaInfo " "C:\ProgramData\Team MediaPortal\MediaPortal\log\MP-TVSeries.log"

This can also be adjusted to run directly off a \\HTPC\ShareName type of setup, but I don't have to worry about that myself due to concurrent RDP. The above script gives me a quick overview of all the new files that got imported.

I also use:

@Echo Off
chcp 1252 > nul
find "g_Player.OnStarted() " "C:\ProgramData\Team MediaPortal\MediaPortal\log\MediaPortal.log"
find "Playback started for: " "C:\ProgramData\Team MediaPortal\MediaPortal\log\MP-TVSeries.log"
find "Playback ended for: " "C:\ProgramData\Team MediaPortal\MediaPortal\log\MP-TVSeries.log"

To find out what was played (wife usually wants me to remember show she watched the night before for example), but Trakt now takes over a lot of this function for me. I've got lot of other scripts, but you get the idea.

Possabilities are endless, just make sure to set MediaPortal log mode verbosity to 'debug', so you have more useful data to examine.

 

[nzdreamer55]

Thanks RoChess,

So your answer was great, but I think that I might of asked the wrong question (or rather asked it poorly). In Moving pictures, I can attach the "tt" number to the file name and folder. This makes sure that if moving pictures needs to rescan my files, it will match the movies more accurately and thus leave no need for me to interact with it.

Is there a way to do this with TV-Series? I also will be D/L and storing art work so that I don't have to burden other servers if I ever need to rescan or rebuild my database. What is the best way to store images with TV-Series? I currently file shows the following way

Drive/TV Shows/Series Name/Series Name Season XX/Series Name.SXXeXX.Title

Is there a place that I should be putting these images and other metadata? Is this metadata stored within the TV-Series database?

I also have windows 7 x64 home premium so RDP isn't possible. Would love to be able to access media portal machine while someone is using it.

Thanks again.

-S

 

[RoChess]

Ok, I'm understanding your request better.

• Use NFO files to allow instant import = http://code.google.com/p/mptvseries/issues/detail?id=272
• Use ZIP files for offline TheTVdB alike import = http://code.google.com/p/mptvseries/issues/detail?id=548

The NFO file kinda covers the TheTVdB ID method that you mean whereas in MovPic you can make tt-ID part of filename and/or NFO and it will skip any search match suggestions.

For right now, the ideal way for MP-TVSeries is to use a pre-lookup method that ensures the file you are importing is going to cause a 100% match (provided TheTVdB doesn't go down/fail/etc). You can use existing tools for this, such as SickBeard. They have a build in TheTVdB lookup method as well, so you will always be ensured that whatever file ends up in your import folder will match perfect without any interaction required. Other tools work as well, FileBot, TheRenamer, etc.

What I did myself before was using a post-processing script that would only "move" mediafiles into the MP-TVSeries folder if they matched my pre-approved list of series that I wanted to get imported. This added a little bit of extra work, but guaranteed in a manual way that each file added would import flawless. So granted this would require a manual TheTVdB lookup and then add any new show to my script. Now I'm a happy SickBeard user and the "manual post-processing" option does it all for me automatic with lookups at TheTVdB, auto-rename into "Series Name - S01E01 - Episode Title.ext" format (this can be adjusted in SickBeard config, but I was lazy and went with defaults), which will get imported into MP-TVSeries perfectly.

As for your artwork question, that goes back to the ZIP file request I put in myself, but that is currently not an option yet.

The concurrent RDP is in use for me on Vista 64-bit Home Premium; I simply did it manually by using the RDP DLLs from the Microsoft update meant for Server 2008 (same kernel) and applied the missing registry keys and voilà there is a functional concurrent RDP for me. You are lucky in that somebody made an easy to use tool now for Win7. A quick google search and I find: http://www.raymond.cc/blog/enable-remote-desktop-connection-in-windows-7-home-premium/ (use at own risk obviously)

 

[nzdreamer55]

Thanks again for the great answers.
I'll look into getting a .nfo file into each series folder. Just getting the hand of Filebot so hopefully that will do the trick when I go though my series.
-S

 

[RoChess]

Thanks again for the great answers.
I'll look into getting a .nfo file into each series folder. Just getting the hand of Filebot so hopefully that will do the trick when I go though my series.
-S

Keep in mind that the issues I posted and talked about are "can you make this happen?" type of tickets.

But FileBot should get you far if SickBeard is not an option.

 

[nzdreamer55]

Thanks RoChess,

Filebot has been a love hate relationship for me. Sometimes it is great and then when I try to do something else with it, I cannot figure out why it does not work. I am not a computer person so I suspect this is one reason.

Is Sickbeard hard to set up? Does it work will with unc paths (I have a ton)? Any pointers to a better solution than filebot is always welcome. I need a solution that is automated from torrent to database with little intervention and if something went wrong, then I need a way to manually override and do it again.
-S