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Export to XBMC
deazo:
Hi Nostra Rick and all,
I have now finally built my HTPC and I am copying over HDD all my burned avi's.
Parallel to that I would like to find the best way to use XBMC to view PVD's info in their beautiful interface.
My question you guessed it again is about the transfer process.
I have read all posts about the subject on PVD's forum as well as XBMC one. And I came to a few conclusions. I'd like you to help me find the best one or if you think of others, to advise. Thanks for your help in advance.
Also before I list my "solutions" I'd like to point that I am clueless and useless at coding and scripting so I am not contemplating writing scripts unless someone tells me it's dead simple of course!
1. From what I have read, a nice way would be to have PVD create a .nfo file next to each movie file, in the format accepted by XBMC. At the moment I do not think PVD has this feature, and I am not even sure if it can generate .nfo file. For info, the .nfo file structure for xbmc can be found here: http://xbmc.org/wiki/?title=Import_-_Export_Library#Video_nfo_Files
Can you tell if such a feature is in the pipeline by any chance, and that it is worth waiting for it to appear in a future update? (really I am not asking for this as I know there are a lot of other things to take care of, but I might be in luck?)
2. In the past I was using Extreme Movie Manager to manage my collection and my subscription to that software is still on, so I can use it. In its last updates, it has the ability to generate .nfo files in the XBMC format. So I'm now considering doing PVD --> EMM --> XBMC... Since I am useless at writing XML templates, I am thinking of finding a way to export in an xml file the following info from PVD (the crucial info I really do not want to loose):
- Original title
- Movie file path
- Posters
- Personal Rating
- IMDB URL (for re-scraping with EMM)
- Allmovie URL (for EMM re-scraping)
Is this feasable? What is the best way to generate such an xml file, readable by EMM ? (I guess I should also ask on EMM's forum)
I really do prefer PVD to EMM's overbusy interface with no interlink between plot keywords, but I also really need to use XBMC so this is the only solutions I came up with. I have also been on XBMC forum but can't find the info I need.
I know this might be asking a lot but if you can I would really appreciate some help!
Thanks
nostra:
It is no problem generating such nfo files (actually any text based files) using templates for the export plugin. The files can also be placed near video files automatically.
Just do a search for "export" on this forum and you will get lots of information about creating templates.
deazo:
Thanks for the super fast answer Nostra.
From what you're saying it should not be super hard to create a script that would do what I need.
I'm just worried I am not good enough for the task but I'll give it a go.
Just as a free tip, what should I do to make this script create an .nfo file next to each movie file?
Thanks.
deazo:
Also, I am wondering about posters:
I have chosen the posters to be part of the database and not separated.
When the .nfo file will be generated next to the movie file, is there going to be a kind of "image path" pointing XBMC to the right poster? Considering the poster is "part" of the pvd file, how can it have an image path?
Please do not laugh if this sounds stupid.. :-\.
rick.ca:
--- Quote ---Also before I list my "solutions" I'd like to point that I am clueless and useless at coding and scripting so I am not contemplating writing scripts unless someone tells me it's dead simple of course!
--- End quote ---
I'm pretty much useless at anything resembling "programming" too. And I don't use XBMC, so I'm not going to attempt to give you specific guidance. From my experience, however, I can tell you the best solution is to export everything to NFO so XBMC can import it (I imagine it does so automatically, if the files are present). At a glance, it seems it's documentation outlines exactly what you need. As nostra says, you don't need a script to create the NFO files—just a plain text export template to define the required format. A sample XML template is provided as a starting point. Although the documentation is rather thin, you can find out what you need to know by searching the forum. Although I don't expect you'll find it easy, the process of editing and troubleshooting an export template is "dead simple." Just edit the template and try an export. It either works or it doesn't. It helps if you're good at compulsive trial and error. ;)
Posters can also be exported "beside" the video file. I expect XBMC will find these and build it's thumbnails from them. I'm not sure, but it may just require a few lines in the same template.
If you share your efforts here, you may find there are other XBMC users who will pitch in to help. Considering how "open" XBMC is, I'm surprised someone hasn't done this already. Even if they have, you'll need to know how to revise your template anyway—so you can handle your custom fields and personal preferences.
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