Questions about switching over to MP2. (1 Viewer)

[luci5r]

I've been using MediaPortal 1 for about 6 years now. Currently I'm on the latest 1.12 version; unfortunately I'm also starting to have a few issues - some that have stayed unresolved for some time now, but not 'mission critical', however others seem to have cropped up in 1.12 which didn't seem to exist in previous versions.

One way or another, I'm thinking about porting over to MediaPortal 2. My biggest question and most paramount concern is a few of the plugins I use, namely:

MP-TVSeries
Moving-Pictures
mvCentral
SubCentral

I know that OnlineVideos is already included in MP2 and most other things will be handled one way or another (like Fanart Handler, etc). However, I do require the above to work in order to use my Movies & TV Library.

I was browsing things over and I understand that 'Extensions' have been changed in MP2; there is no Extension Manager as such. More importantly, I did not see MP2 compatible versions of the above extensions/plugins.

So what are the good folks using for their TV Shows & Movies "IF" Moving-Pictures & MP-TVSeries are not available or usable with MP2? If they are usable - how and where can I get them?

I'm assuming that my Hauppauge remote control will continue to work; just as it does now with MP1, and I'm also assuming I will continue to have the ability to launch ISO's (disc images) in external player (TMT5) as I do now.

Would really appreciate any advice I can get.

Thanks!

 

[Lehmden]

Hi.

I did not see MP2 compatible versions of the above extensions/plugins.

The structure of MP1 and MP2 is completely different. MP1 plugins are not compatible with MP2 and never will be.

MP-TVSeries
Moving-Pictures
mvCentral
SubCentral

All those are MP1 plugins and for this they (most likely) never will be ported to MP2. Good news is, they are not necessary for MP2.

Due to the modular structure of MP2 you don't need to write a complete plugin with own database handling and GUI elements. It's much more easy to add such features than it was in MP1. The only thing you need to have a MusicVideos section is to write a so called "MetadataExtractor", a module that can read and/or download matching metadata for the specified type of media. Right now we have some for Videos, Movies, Series, Music and Images. Adding MDE for e.G. MusicVideos or Documentary or Anime will be mostly enough to support those in the main program.

Something like MovingPictures and TVSeries already is included in the core MP2 installation. And they are using the MP2 Server database so you only need to add your media once and they are available on all clients instantly. This includes the fanart and the watched flags... Aside this MP2 is supporting multiple episodes in a single file (TVSeries only can support two episodes per file). And there is a full support for local fanart and .nfo files, not only for movies (like in MP1) but also for series too.

A MP2 counterpart for MVCentral is not available today, but it can be added easily. Probably this would have been added already but we're awaiting a huge rework of a basic technology (in testing phase atm) so we try to avoid adding such features now as they most likely need to be done again after the basic rework is finished. We are really short on developers so for this it's not wise to spend time on something that must be done again in some weeks...

Nearly the same is for SubCentral. Also I don't use something like this (I prefer synchronized versions without subtitles) I'm pretty sure this also can be added easily.

there is no Extension Manager as such

This is a work in progress and will be available soon. And it will be included in GUI so you can install or upgrade plugins from inside MP2 client...

I'm assuming that my Hauppauge remote control will continue to work; just as it does now with MP1, and I'm also assuming I will continue to have the ability to launch ISO's (disc images) in external player (TMT5) as I do now.

You definitely can use ISO files but I'm not sure about TMT5. I don't like DVD or BD, no matter if it is a disk or an ISO file. So I don't use them and for this I don't know much about them. Maybe someone else can jump in and tell more about this.

The remote needs to be either MCE compatible or it must be supported by the IRSS... We are working to implement a generic HID support (same as in MP1) right now, but as I only used MCE remote for more than 10 years now I'm not that familiar with the most recent state of development there.

 

[luci5r]

Let me first start off by thanking you for such an elaborate and informative post! This is extremely useful and tackles most of my questions.

The structure of MP1 and MP2 is completely different. MP1 plugins are not compatible with MP2 and never will be.

Understood. This was also my impression at first, I was just confused about how then functionalities that we depended on plugins for in MP1, we would be able to achieve in MP2. Your answer below clarifies.

All those are MP1 plugins and for this they (most likely) never will be ported to MP2. Good news is, they are not necessary for MP2.

Due to the modular structure of MP2 you don't need to write a complete plugin with own database handling and GUI elements. It's much more easy to add such features than it was in MP1. The only thing you need to have a MusicVideos section is to write a so called "MetadataExtractor", a module that can read and/or download matching metadata for the specified type of media. Right now we have some for Videos, Movies, Series, Music and Images. Adding MDE for e.G. MusicVideos or Documentary or Anime will be mostly enough to support those in the main program.

Perfect! The good news is the MusicVideos was never going to be the deal-breaker for me; it has the least priority. If I can get Movies & TV Series off the ground with MP2, I'm more then happy to wait for a MusicVideo "MDE" to come along - or to attempt writing one. It's not an immediate need one way or another - but more so a long term/future requirement.

Something like MovingPictures and TVSeries already is included in the core MP2 installation. And they are using the MP2 Server database so you only need to add your media once and they are available on all clients instantly. This includes the fanart and the watched flags... Aside this MP2 is supporting multiple episodes in a single file (TVSeries only can support two episodes per file). And there is a full support for local fanart and .nfo files, not only for movies (like in MP1) but also for series too.

That is fantastic and precisely what I was looking for. It's very interesting you mention multi-episode file support, as this is something I have struggled with in the past - having to resort to "symbolic links" to account for missing episodes. I actually have threads running here regarding this issue.

I didn't realize Movies & TV Series was built-in to MP2. Although off the bat I'm not sure where & how you go about the adding the media, as with anything else, the best way to find out is to install MP2 and start figuring things out therewith. Which brings me to an all important question -- Currently our MediaPortal installation on our primary HTPC is our main media center; is it possible to install MP2 on the same machine, side-by-side, without removing or interfering with the current MP1 installation? I wouldn't want to halt the current MP1 installation while I take my time and figure things out with MP2, as we use MP1 daily. I'd rather not install MP2 on a non-htpc system to do the same either.

A MP2 counterpart for MVCentral is not available today, but it can be added easily. Probably this would have been added already but we're awaiting a huge rework of a basic technology (in testing phase atm) so we try to avoid adding such features now as they most likely need to be done again after the basic rework is finished. We are really short on developers so for this it's not wise to spend time on something that must be done again in some weeks...

Nearly the same is for SubCentral. Also I don't use something like this (I prefer synchronized versions without subtitles) I'm pretty sure this also can be added easily.

Very understandable.

Fortunately, SubCentral, quite like mvCentral, does not require to be Day One operational. For the most part I can grab subs from subscene and manually push them to the correct location. This too can wait and is more of a future requirement.

You definitely can use ISO files but I'm not sure about TMT5. I don't like DVD or BD, no matter if it is a disk or an ISO file. So I don't use them and for this I don't know much about them. Maybe someone else can jump in and tell more about this.

My guess is that the automount feature would most likely NOT have been removed from MP2, so I'm going to take a leap of faith here and assume that it still exists. TMT5 is actually not necessarily a directly MediaPortal issue - it is associated in the system with mounted images.Although Moving-Pictures does provide "use external player" arguments in the settings where TMT5 is defined. This would definitely be critical - however - it's something I can determine during my install & play of MP2. Again, I will be astonished if this feature is non-existent in MP2.

The remote needs to be either MCE compatible or it must be supported by the IRSS... We are working to implement a generic HID support (same as in MP1) right now, but as I only used MCE remote for more than 10 years now I'm not that familiar with the most recent state of development there.

This is one issue that might be a deal-breaker currently (although necessarily for the future). I don't know about the technicality behind the hauppauge remote; whether it's MCE / IRSS compatible or not - right now MediaPortal 1 Configuration simply contains a Hauppauge remote configuration page so I've never had to figure it out, it just worked out of the box.

I like the Hauppauge, it gives me a lot of flexibility with key-mapping (using an irremote.ini file) and works not just with MediaPortal, but with any & all applications Windows-wide. Having said that, I may not want to jump in and replace the remote right away (if indeed it is not supported by MP2), however, if a new remote is all the investment required for a better experience - I will be all for it.

Ultimately it appears I need to install MP2 and go from there; figure a few things out - and perhaps jump back here to post questions when I hit roadblocks. Right now I'd really like to know if MP2 can be installed side by side on the same machine as MP1 without interfering with it? If not then I'll have to resort to a temporary installation on a non-HTPC system for testing & debugging.

Thanks again! Appreciate it.

 

[aspik]

For the most part I can grab subs from subscene and manually push them to the correct location.

Sorry to be the "fun breaker", but if your planning to play videos with external subs, then I have unfortunately bad news... MP2 currently doesn't support external subs

 

[luci5r]

For the most part I can grab subs from subscene and manually push them to the correct location.

Sorry to be the "fun breaker", but if your planning to play videos with external subs, then I have unfortunately bad news... MP2 currently doesn't support external subs

That IS a bummer - it really is. External subs is going to be a deal-breaker for now. It is unquestionably a critical requirement. 60% of my media (Movies & TV Shows) do have internal subs, but 40% don't. It'll constitute an unreliability issue.

I guess that being the case, I will need to wait a bit longer - at least until External Subs are supported.

One good news between my last post & this post was that I did indeed find the answer to my initial question here http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/2_MEDIAPORTAL_2/6_Support/1_FAQ/Installing_on_MediaPortal_1_System

Yes, MediaPortal 1 and MediaPortal 2 are completely segregated software and you won't do your MediaPortal 1 system any harm by installing MediaPortal 2.

According to the FAQ, I can indeed install MP2 next to MP1 without interfering with MP1.

I'll still go ahead & install MP2 so I can start figuring things out. Hopefully external sub support is planned and will come along in the near future.

Thanks!

 

[aspik]

According to the FAQ, I can indeed install MP2 next to MP1 without interfering with MP1.

Yes, you can install MP2 next to MP1 and start to get used to the new things as MP2 is a different approach to the "HTPC experience"

 

[dfraga]

@luci5r, just a note. Unless something has changed with the latest update, you will need to stop the MP1 TV server while using the MP2 server or vice versa. The other option is to use the MP1 server through MPExtended.

 

[luci5r]

@luci5r, just a note. Unless something has changed with the latest update, you will need to stop the MP1 TV server while using the MP2 server or vice versa. The other option is to use the MP1 server through MPExtended.

Fortunately I don't use the "TV Server" service currently; so it shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks for pointing out though; appreciate it.

 

[dfraga]

I guess I didn't think of that... Then you really shouldn't have any issues, good luck!