NFO Scanner explained + issues? (1 Viewer)

armandp

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    Because some of you are reporting problems that might be causes by the NFO scanner i've decided to start a topic about how the scanner operates.

    How it works

    The scanner is enabled by default and looks for nfo files residing in the same folder as the movie.
    If you want to change these settings you can find them in the Moving Pictures Configuration -> Advanced Settings tab. As you might have guessed it's actually a textreader that reads through all files with the extension specified in the "File Extensions" setting. It expects the contents of these files to be text-based/human readable (this includes xml based files). During scanning it will stop at the first IMDB id encountered and report that back as the IMDB id for that particular movie. The IMDB id will be provided to the DataProvider/Scraper to enhance the search.

    There are however certain rules that the scanner will play by:

    <ext> = video extension (ex: 'avi')
    <nfo> = nfo extension (default: 'nfo' and 'txt')
    <movie> = the original filename of the movie without the <ext> (possible stack markers like cd1, cd2 etc.. are removed also)

    1. When a folder contains just one movie (this includes multiple files stacked as one movie)
      -> Iterate through all files matching *.<nfo> in the current folder.
    2. When a folder contains more than one movie.
      -> Look for files that match <movie>.<nfo> in the current folder.

    Note: If you NFO file contains the wrong id (or multiple id's and the first id doesn't match the movie) the scanner can cause a false search/match. <insert magician name here> is not part of the moving-pictures dev team so there's really nothing i can do about that scenario ;)

    If you are not sure your NFO files are correct you can disable the scanner and/or disable auto-approval for IMDB id's.
    You should always be able to rescan the movie (even the auto-approved ones) from the importer pane with a custom search.

    Issues

    If you are experiencing weird behaviour and you are certain that the criteria above are met post a reply and we will investigate these issues further.
     

    fluffypony

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    Ok - that makes sense. I'd like to try extend the NFO scanner (well, I suppose I'd like to extend LocalProvider.cs in reality) as I'm running MP from a computer that is disconnected from the Internet. Further, my entire collection is on an external drive, as I often run it off my laptop or off my desktop. What I've taken to doing is this:

    1. Each movie is in its own directory (sometimes stacked, sometimes direct DVD copies in a VIDEO_TS subfolder, but mostly an individual file)
    2. The cover-art for the movie (decent enough res) is the Folder.jpg in each individual folder
    3. The backdrop for the movie is a fanart.jpg in each individual folder
    4. An info.xml file lives in each directory with a very basic XML structure that has the name and all the other text details about the movie (I used sqlite browser to inspect the movie information in the database and copied the stuff straight out of there)

    I'd like to build a local scraper that uses all of the above so that I can rebuild the database wherever I am in a matter of minutes (give or take!) Any pointers? Is LocalProvider.cs the source I should be working with?

    Thanks,
    Ric
     

    RoXoR

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    hey armandp,
    I just want to thank you for this nice feature !!
    it's working perectly :)
     

    armandp

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    • #4
    Your ideas are in fact already on the move sort of speak:

    1. Each movie is in its own directory (sometimes stacked, sometimes direct DVD copies in a VIDEO_TS subfolder, but mostly an individual file)
    2. The cover-art for the movie (decent enough res) is the Folder.jpg in each individual folder
    3. The backdrop for the movie is a fanart.jpg in each individual folder

    The upcoming version already has providers added that can grab this information locally although maybe not entirely in the way you are describing. Take a look at:

    * http://code.google.com/p/moving-pictures/issues/detail?id=87
    * http://code.google.com/p/moving-pictures/issues/detail?id=135
    * http://code.google.com/p/moving-pictures/issues/detail?id=124


    4. An info.xml file lives in each directory with a very basic XML structure that has the name and all the other text details about the movie (I used sqlite browser to inspect the movie information in the database and copied the stuff straight out of there)

    This idea has also been raised and added to the issue list, however we haven't really set it high on the priority list. Help on any of the issues is ofcourse appreciated so if you are up for it go for it ;) Be sure to read our thoughts and comments on the feature first before starting development :)
     

    pgjensen

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    May 1, 2008
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    in my hd-movies folder i have all the movies in that folder, but i keep all the nfos in an NFOs folder. is that supported, or will it ever be?
     

    armandp

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    • #6
    Having the NFO filers together in one folder is currently not supported but doable. I will add your request to the issue list to be considered later.
     

    pato_mld

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    This question is a little bit off topic, but probably doesn't deserve it's own thread. What's the DB field for the filename without the extension? I'm trying to get scraper to pickup my local backdrop in each movie folder but the default option for looking for backdrop images is %imdb_id%.jpg... whereas in each of my folders I have %filename%-fanart.jpg...

    I'm not sure whether %filename% would work and I can't see an option that performs a local refresh, the reload options all point to online sources.
     

    fforde

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    June 7, 2007
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    Unfortunately there is no database field that will give you the filename without the extension. This is something we could add, but it would require a code change to get it to work. Sorry. :( I created an issue for this so we dont forget. It is a good idea and we will get it added for the next major version.
     

    fekker

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    December 4, 2008
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    I posted a topic in the general forum, which lead me here.

    I'm working on Movie Info Plus, a movie manager / thumbnail / icon / fanart /poster /tv show information application.

    It's on sourceforge at https://sourceforge.net/projects/movieinfoplus/

    Currently its output is for xbmc formated .nfo files and other associated content for movies (fanart, icons, posters, etc), with tv shows in development. I've designed it so that i could generate content for multiple applications, depending on what can be used by them.

    Currently <moviename>.nfo is used by xbmc and is xml formated, I'm shooting for movie.nfo as another method of naming movie nfo files as well (this would be the same content with a different filename, works around stacked movie problems, or multiple home movies (like vacation 2008, clip1.avi clip2.avi, thebeach.avi, etc).

    If there's any interest, I can add support for your input format, with all IMDB data, posters, fanart, folder.jpg, etc. I would just need a list of supported input and datatype, or just a xml file example to build the output class for nfo's and what images should have what names.

    Not sure if this would be helpful for scanning, or just redundant, but I'd figured I'd put the info out there and see.
     

    cams

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    I have been using xbmc w\nfo files.. is the format the same when using MP. Can i just load movingpictures and make it scan all my 400+ movies

    fekker - any updates on making your app work with MP..
     

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