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Kroozbox - PVD to media theatre solution
Nono:
Hello Nostra, Rick, Gang,
Latest version of Kroozbox now supports LG smart TV and Syabas Flash based media player (C-300, Popbox, etc) with corresponding template.
Latest version 2.3 of Kroozbox (February 2013):
Kroozbox media player for NMT
Version 2.0 added title display on status line and 3D+mirror effect on images.
For PVD users versoin 1.8 now have a playlist for movie and series with multiple files (click once to play all).
Versoin 1.7 now includes a Music Jukebox.
For those new to the conversation:
The idea is to make the PVD database available to any Media theater system without any exporting/conversion/rekluging,etc.
I own a Media Tank Popcorn Hour based on Syabas chipset and I needed something that would give me access to PVD ripository from my TV automatically (no copy/export/update.. just turn it on).
I finally decided to write it in Java. I call it Kroozbox.
Basically, this is a SSDP (read "UPNP") device on top of a HTTP server used to stream out information from SQL database (like Firebird.. used in PVD). I have decided to put together a complete open system. Meaning it can work with any/all SQL database providing that a Java JDBC driver exists for it.
The package link above includes everything for PVD (and MySQL driver if someone needs them). You just need to have Java 1.5 and up installed and start it. Just one thing to configure in the database.properties file is the location of your .PVD file (read the README).
There is no hook into PVD application, so they can run independentely. All the syntax for SQL access are within the templates, easily customisable (had to do some reverse engeneering on your database Nostra ;) ).
There are two templates, one for HD (High Definition) TV and one for SD (Standard Definition). Choose the one you want from the config file. Of course, they can all be seen from the internet browser as well (port 8008 by default).(http://<your ip>:8008)
The download file size may seems a little big (6.4M) but I decided to include a small PVD file inside so you can just start the application without any configuration.
It can also be use to publish your PVD content directly online I guess (as I saw another user asking for it) but bare in mind that this is not a very efficient SQL extractor(no connection pool and request caching). So under heavy use (1000+ requests per minutes) it may barf and it is not build with security in mind.
I still need to do some code cleanup and mostly the documentation for configuration and templates building (this is where I think it shines - simple database acess language within the templates).
This should be considered beta release and I really need feedback.
Let me know. Thanks.
Nono
rick.ca:
WOW! Great job. Also, the ease of installation and clear instructions are much appreciated.
I hope you don't mind your post being moved. I think this is a more logical place to look for such "add-ons," and it won't get buried in support requests here.
I can offer a few comments after a brief trial. I don't have a theatre system, so I'm just accessing Kroozbox with my browser (in case that makes any difference to what I'm seeing).
I assume this is a bug... the All - Newest - A - B - C links are producing pages that do not filter-out "invisible" movies. My 700 movie database includes over 100,000 of those, making it a little difficult to find things that way. ;) The genre links work as expected.
You'll need to add more means of filtering. I've seen most of the movies in my database. There's usually 50 or so I haven't seen or am likely to want to see again in the near future (in which case I've turned-off their seen flag). So while I'll want to see all my movies initially, I'd normally need to filter-out the seen ones to make a selection. For me, that's the most necessary one, but I suppose it would be desirable to be able to filter and sort in as many ways possible without cluttering the display or otherwise making the interface too confusing.
Clicking on a media link causes the media to play within the browser. I understand this is not the intended use, but in case anyone is interested in using Kroozbox in a browser, is it possible to change the links to the media is launched in the associated external application?
I'm impressed how it handles series—allowing selection of available seasons, then episodes.
Up/down navigation arrows mean different things to different people. Maybe the page navigation would be clearer with left/right arrows. I think it's more obvious that left means "back" and right means "forward."
I'm really unsure if this behaviour in a browser is relevant, but... I couldn't figure out how to navigate with the keyboard (which, in my mind, I need to establish as something my remote can emulate). Moving through links/covers with tab/shift-tab works fine, but the links aren't highlighted (as with a mouse-hover), so I can't tell where I am. Hmmm. Now that I think about it, it's definitely a browser issue—the same one that's been preventing me from browsing from the couch. :(
What are the prospect for user-modification of the information Kroozbox displays? Can users change things by tinkering with the template files, or is it more involved than that?
Nono:
--- Quote --- A - B - C links are producing pages that do not filter-out "invisible" movies
--- End quote ---
Indeed it does not. I saw the "visible" column in the database but didn't understand what it implies and just didn't include it in the SQL requests. So.. the question.. what does it mean and how can you make a movie invisible? I'll update the template.
--- Quote ---You'll need to add more means of filtering
--- End quote ---
Adding filters is easy (kind of). i'll post an update for the "unseen" filter. Maybe I can add text search functionallity!? Don't forget that this is for TV viewing. At one point it becomes too much for a TV+ remote control interface.
--- Quote ---is it possible to change the links to the media is launched in the associated external application?
--- End quote ---
I guess it could. I though it would already do that... strange... Right now, it is build with the Popcorn Hour in mind so the tag association is declare for it but it shouldn't have any impact on a PC calling the file. I'll play with it and let you know.
--- Quote --- Hmmm. Now that I think about it, it's definitely a browser issue—the same one that's been preventing me from browsing from the couch
--- End quote ---
Noted.. I'll keep my eye open for a solution.
--- Quote ---What are the prospect for user-modification of the information Kroozbox displays?
--- End quote ---
Kroozbox is completely open. I need to put a real documentation together for template building and adjustment.
Example: if you open one of the template html file you will see at the beginning a <!--DBINFO ...--> tag. this is were the database request are configured for the current page and relates to the HTML content tags below. There is a bunch of commands and flags that can be set there but most of the keyword are user configurable and relate to the column that are returned.
For instance, in you desire to have only the "visible" movies when you select the "all" movie link, you could replace the line:
--- Code: ---SELECT "mid","origtitle","title" FROM "MOVIES" WHERE "MOVIES"."epid" IS NULL ORDER BY 2 ASC
--- End code ---
by:
--- Quote ---SELECT "mid","origtitle","title" FROM "MOVIES" WHERE "MOVIES"."epid" IS NULL AND "MOVIES"."visible" = '-1' ORDER BY 2 ASC
--- End quote ---
in A-4.html and A-6.html.
No need to restart Kroozbox after a change - just a refresh of the browser. The templates are cached but it will update automatically if there is a date change on the file.
Thanks.
Nono
nostra:
--- Quote ---Indeed it does not. I saw the "visible" column in the database but didn't understand what it implies and just didn't include it in the SQL requests. So.. the question.. what does it mean and how can you make a movie invisible? I'll update the template.
--- End quote ---
Generaly you need only visible movies ("visible" = -1). Invisible movies are automatically added from filmographies.
Nono:
Understood.
I updated the templates with "visibility" check and added the "unseen" selection.
You can grab them here:
http://rapidshare.com/files/152769799/PVDTemplate.zip
Just overwrite the existing folders (PVDTemplate-HD and PVDTempplate-SD). Also some fix of SQL requests that were not giving appropriate results.
Cheers.
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