N00b help with Videos

[meat]

Hello
I searched the forum to no avail. I have movies and TV recordings in MPG form that I have imported using the videos database template.

In Windows a video frame is displayed as the thumbnail, can Xlobby do the same? At the moment each video in the database are just white boxes.

[dalanik]

Nope, this is not possible in XLobby, unless you do it manually for each file - that is, create a screenshot with the same name as the mpg video, i.e.

my_video.mpg
my_video.jpg

if you have a lot of files, it could be real pain. I do this manually for my home videos, the moment I download them to PC, I view them with CrystalPlayer and create images... it captures in bmp, then I convert them via IrfanView to jpg and move them together with videos to HTPC.

If you find any other (better) way, I'd be interested as well

D.

[P3rv3rt B3ar]

Ive been for sometime thinking that somebody should create automatic utility for this. Besides snapshot, it could also fetch some video related things (framerate, aspect ratio, resolution, codec... etc) and put them into Xlobby database which it would create. Just dreaming out loud

[dalanik]

Ive been for sometime thinking that somebody should create automatic utility for this. Besides snapshot, it could also fetch some video related things (framerate, aspect ratio, resolution, codec... etc) and put them into Xlobby database which it would create. Just dreaming out loud

You can do framerate/res/codec etc if you use Ant Movie Catalogue. The concept is that you update all your movies/videos in AMC, and XAnt plugin automatically transfers all data to XLobby. Works fine for me.

[P3rv3rt B3ar]

So, AMC automaticly fetches that data from video files?

[dgemily]

So, AMC automaticly fetches that data from video files?

nope, but xscan will do it for you
xscan will be updated in few time...

[dalanik]

So, AMC automaticly fetches that data from video files?

Not entirely automatically - you have to click a button and select the (avi/mpg) file.... then it gets the info... that's how I import all info on my movies, ie. DVD number, plot, filename, actors, director, etc. There is a template in XAnt plugin in which you specify which fields to export, looks like this:

- <item>
<parameter>$$ITEM_MEDIA</parameter>
<coverart>$$ITEM_PICTUREFILENAME</coverart>
<display>$$ITEM_ORIGINALTITLE</display>
<offline>$$ITEM_SOURCE</offline>
- <information>
<name>$$ITEM_ORIGINALTITLE</name>
<title>$$ITEM_ORIGINALTITLE</title>
<sorttitle>$$ITEM_ORIGINALTITLE</sorttitle>
<director>$$ITEM_DIRECTOR</director>
<runtime>$$ITEM_LENGTH</runtime>
<plot>$$ITEM_DESCRIPTION</plot>
<actors>$$ITEM_ACTORS</actors>
<year>$$ITEM_YEAR</year>
<genre>$$ITEM_CATEGORY</genre>
<rating>$$ITEM_RATING/10</rating>
<off>$$ITEM_SOURCE</off>
<medianr>$$ITEM_URL</medianr>
</information>
</item>

for the fields that interest you, there is audio format, audio bitrate, video format, video bitrate, framerate, resolution, filesize...

I just checked and it works with MPG (I use it for AVI)

It can also download coverart from the internet (via scripts) and it exports pictures for XLobby to use.

+many other usefull things

[dalanik]

So, AMC automaticly fetches that data from video files?

nope, but xscan will do it for you
xscan will be updated in few time...

I think we'd need someone to explain XScan to us a bit in English

Does it somehow integrate with Ant, and/or Xant plugin? If it reads info from avi/mpeg files, how does one get description/cover/actors/ etc. (all the things I now get from AMC/XAnt)?

D.

[dgemily]

I think we'd need someone to explain XScan to us a bit in English

or maybe you need to learn french again nope I'm joking
M51 (the author) are doing a big update of xscan, but is not ready yet, and he should build an english help too
so wait and see....
maybe this can show you a bit :



sorry there are some french words, but you should be able to understand

[P3rv3rt B3ar]

Thanx guys... ill check those out... i been using DVD profiler and had quick look at AMC once... but i didnt see any value adding features with that very superficial check... so i just kept using DVD profiler. Have to re-evaluate programs inlight of this new information now.

All my movies are on DVD format and i was only hoping kind of minimal app to do musicvideo database for XLobby... cause my own little (still in midle of development) program called "VeeJay" (function should be obvious from name) needs this information to handle videos right way.

But now i became really interested about AMC again.... goooshh i hope u guys were less french

[kasje]

hi,

bsplayer pro can make screenshots or thumbs of a running movie..just press p while the movie is playing.

greetz