User Fanart (7 Viewers)

[szsori]

I'm replying on the XBMC forums regarding bandwidth. Inker can do what he wants with the plugin, but we'll be hosting fan art for whoever wants to make use of it.

I'm curious why spuck's site would have more bandwidth available than us anyway.

BTW... papas solution is dead-on. It's not the full solution, but it's one I'm using since we already generate thumbs for banners anyway.

 

[Inker]

Scott, maybe you should work with spuck to get the images from his site over to thetvdb.com in an automated fashion. you really only need to look at the filename, this way many series would have a good start (just leave those with hard-coded overlay out). He has tons of bandwidth so it should be really quick to transfer them all over to your end.

There are already over 800 files with most seem to be 1360x768 in lossless png format. Maybe you could even import the rating to get things started.

And obviously download of fanart will be supported in the future, just don't expect it for the next release.

 

[jocke]

I'm curious why spuck's site would have more bandwidth available than us anyway.

What does spuck's bw has to do with it? Fanart would be more used now that you're guys over @ thetvdb implement it into the site, so it's pure logic the bw would be way higher.

 

[spuck]

We got almost 1000 fan art images now for a little above 300 different shows.
Of course I'd be happy to help filter the images so they can be added to the tvdb.

jocke: Kind of stopped development on the new site, don't see the point when it's gonna be on the tvdb anyway.
Made some minor improvements to the current site though, check it out.

 

[keith2045]

Can i request some fan art? I would like to see maybe some of the following

Home Improvement
Looney Tunes
Gilligans Island

I have more, but i might request them later

Thanks

 

[szsori]

My main issue with many of the images on spuck's site is that they have the gradient mask built into them. Most software won't require that and it really limits the skin's flexibility. I'm considering tagging each image with a "contentposition" flag that can be set to left, right, center, or null that would indicate where the interesting part of the image is located. So the large majority of spuck's site images would be tagged with "left". I think that makes sense.

Also, does it make sense to include series logos on fan art, or should they be left as basic as possible? IMHO, in many cases the logo will make the fan art clash with the information in the foreground. Clutter is bad. Any comments on this? I know much of the current fan art has logos on it, but I'm looking for comments on the best solution possible.

Next... spuck's images are all lossless PNG's. While I understand the reasoning behind this, compressed JPG's are MUCH smaller while artifacts remain minimal if the compression ratio is low. I ran some tests with a sample image and found that 1920x1080 image sizes are manageable as long as there is some JPG compression.

Take a look at my tests. The first number is the resolution, while the second is the compression.
Index of /testfanart

While there is minimal artifacting on some of the 60% images, it's barely noticeable on the others, especially since these are really background art. Comments on which level of compression seems best and what max filesize I should set for fan art is appreciated.

jocke: The comment about spuck's bandwidth is a response to Clean's comment. I was trying to figure out what he was talking about.

 

[Clean]

My main issue with many of the images on spuck's site is that they have the gradient mask built into them. Most software won't require that and it really limits the skin's flexibility. I'm considering tagging each image with a "contentposition" flag that can be set to left, right, center, or null that would indicate where the interesting part of the image is located. So the large majority of spuck's site images would be tagged with "left". I think that makes sense..

From what I know of MP skins, most of them use the overlay to display series information. Only a couple of skins do not that I know of (Xface and M.chrome). This is why so many of the fan arts have that overlay, they were functional if not a bit of a pain to do right.

Also, does it make sense to include series logos on fan art, or should they be left as basic as possible? IMHO, in many cases the logo will make the fan art clash with the information in the foreground. Clutter is bad. Any comments on this? I know much of the current fan art has logos on it, but I'm looking for comments on the best solution possible.

Logos are fine. Can't see how they harm anything when done right. If they are done wrong then people just won't DL the fan art.

Next... spuck's images are all lossless PNG's. While I understand the reasoning behind this, compressed JPG's are MUCH smaller while artifacts remain minimal if the compression ratio is low. I ran some tests with a sample image and found that 1920x1080 image sizes are manageable as long as there is some JPG compression.

Take a look at my tests. The first number is the resolution, while the second is the compression.
Index of /testfanart

First, I think whether a fan art has a logo or not should be up to the users and creators. It is an aesthetic issue and a personal choice. I personally like them when they are done right.

As for the test images, they would not work on any MP skin that I know of. The image stretches across the entire screen. These are not wallpapers, these are displayed in living rooms, not on desks.

While there is minimal artifacting on some of the 60% images, it's barely noticeable on the others, especially since these are really background art. Comments on which level of compression seems best and what max filesize I should set for fan art is appreciated.

Again, not really background art like wallpapers (see attached). VM1 = Bad, VM2 = Good. The VM1 image was sized to fit the screen like a wallpaper while VM2 was sized to fit a skin.

That said, I think trying to control too many parameters will just get overly restrictive. Set a max file size in bytes, not width/height and let the users/creators sort out the rest. Not everyone that uses MP or XBMC are using a widescreen TV, some are using 4x3. As for what the max file size should be, PM spuck and find out what kind of bandwidth he is using. Most of those files are 2Meg and under. That should give you an idea of what to expect. You should be able to decide how you want to adjust the file sizes based on that.

@jocke: The comment about spuck's bandwidth is a response to Clean's comment. I was trying to figure out what he was talking about.

I had read the XBMC forum and it did not sound like anyone had settled on whether these would be DLed automatically like season/episode images are. That is very different from spuck's site which allows a user to DL the images they want rather then all for a particular series.

 

[szsori]

Logos are fine. Can't see how they harm anything when done right. If they are done wrong then people just won't DL the fan art.

Good enough for me.

As for the test images, they would not work on any MP skin that I know of. The image stretches across the entire screen. These are not wallpapers, these are displayed in living rooms, not on desks.

This is incorrect when you talk about non-MP skins, though. Take the Aeon skin for XBMC for example. Because of the way the skin is designed, having all of the content left-aligned would look silly. Remember... I'm supporting about 10x more users than just MP.

That said, I think trying to control too many parameters will just get overly restrictive. Set a max file size in bytes, not width/height and let the users/creators sort out the rest. Not everyone that uses MP or XBMC are using a widescreen TV, some are using 4x3.

Correct, but I need to restrict the resolution or else we'll end up with every file size imaginable. The banners on my site are all restricted to exact dimensions, otherwise they wouldn't work. It'll be an absolute mess if I don't lock down the resolution. I'm aiming for the widescreen resolutions because that's the way everything is headed, and people with 4:3 screens can just select art that will work fine for them.

 

[szsori]

My decisions, all in one spot so I don't have to keep responding on multiple forums.
Online TV Database :: View topic - Fan Art

 

[Clean]

Can i request some fan art? I would like to see maybe some of the following

Home Improvement
Looney Tunes
Gilligans Island

I have more, but i might request them later

Thanks

I'm in the process of hunting some decent images. Which skin are you using?

Thanks.