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[)p(]

Did any of you guys test the new coverart functionality and ignore fields of 1.0.5?

Oops I did not see there was a new version...i'll try it later today

peter

[raldo]

1.0.6
-----
o Fixed by removing plugin skinning: Critical parts of the plugin are not visible in the ThunderStorm or Blue Steel skins.
o Fixed: An empty MC field leads to an exception

1.0.5
-----
o Cover art Functionality. "Emulates" the setup of the tools/options dialog in MC -- There is no API accessible in plugins for this).
o New Ignore field: Selected fields items will not be updated

[)p(]

1. Ignore option works for me.

2. Coverart > filepath\folder.jpg did not work. I'll try it again tomorrow.

peter

[raldo]

2. Coverart > filepath\folder.jpg did not work. I'll try it again tomorrow.

Which value in the filename tag do you see?

[)p(]

Which value in the filename tag do you see?

In mc? filename field = J:\Film HD Gezien\Requiem for a Dream\Requiem for a Dream 1080p.mkv

peter

[raldo]

oops, should have been, "what's the value of [Image File]", sorry...

[rick.ca]

o Cover art Functionality

Fabulous! I've always kept a poster beside my video files, and used PVD to maintain this. MC, of course, has no difficulty finding and using these. So I hadn't even thought of this as being necessary. But now the plugin takes care of this automatically—particularly useful now that I have PVD automatically grabbing screenshots and using one as a poster for episodes. Now I automatically get a unique poster for each new episode!

Well, not quite automatically—I still have to run the plugin. It would very cool if it could recognize new files and do an update automatically. Don't tell me—plugins don't have access to Auto Import functionality.

New Ignore field: Selected fields items will not be updated

It works. I'm sure there are reasons to not update a field that I'm unable to think of right now, but I do see this as a convenient way to maintain alternate expressions for one field. I suppose I should just try it, but what happens if there two expressions active for one field (i.e., I forget to set one to "ignore")?

Fixed by removing plugin skinning: Critical parts of the plugin are not visible in the ThunderStorm or Blue Steel skins.

It looks so pretty in my ThunderStorm skin!

Known Issues 1.0.6:
o Plugin doesn't handle DVDs (.ifo, .vob, etc.)

Has anyone tried my suggestion of putting them in a playlist? (I'd try it myself, but I don't do DVD's.)

Raldo, keep up the good work! This is really starting to look like an awesome solution.

[raldo]

Any ideas how to get this working with ripped dvd's? With mc you cant just point pvd to the .ifo file in the VIDEO_TS folder because mc creates its unique filename in the filename field (ie .dvd;1) Actually I would prefer if I could just use .ifo with mc, but I have not seen an option in mc to do just that.

peter

Does PVD know how to import dvd (ts, ifo, vob)? I've tried but PVD seems to ignore the folder...

[darichman]

PvdImport v1.0.6
Personal Video Database v0.9.9.6

Works well with the new version of PVD - just ran a batch of 100 files
The new ignore field is working for me, both in Test mode and "Send to >" mode. Rick, I guess this is also useful in testing (eg I might wish to test the plugin on my main library of files, but don't wish all my fields to be overwritten )
Plugin displays correctly in all stock MC skins

Issues:
Assign coverart isn't working for me - Does the name of the image file have to match that of the video file? I store my coverart in the same folder as the video file, and set the plugin to "InTheSameFolderAsTheFile". There is only one video file and one image file per folder. The name of the image file does not always match the name of the video file (this might be the problem?). One example is

• Video:  F:\Film\A Beautiful Mind\A.Beautiful.Mind.2001.DVDRip.x264.AC3.mkv
• Image:  F:\Film\A Beautiful Mind\A Beautiful Mind.jpeg

Special Characters not supported? This fails to update:

• Video:  F:\Film\Amélie\Amelie.2001.DVDRip.x264 - LamB.mkv

The columns are too narrow to see the column header, so the user might not know what the checkboxes are for...

The plugin is still updating MC fields in test mode

Suggestions:
Would you consider giving the user the option to specify whether or not they wish to overwrite existing values in MC fields?
A progress bar and status report at the end might be nice somewhere down the track The plugin does not seem to update files in any particular order (at least as far as the user can tell by watching the fields get populated in a file list view within MC)

Has anyone tried my suggestion of putting them in a playlist? (I'd try it myself, but I don't do DVD's.)

What do you mean by putting them in a playlist, Rick? You can successfully import data using an MPL file exported from PVD - Is this what you mean?

This plugin has come a long way very quickly... it's at the point where it's already quite usable

[darichman]

Does PVD know how to import dvd (ts, ifo, vob)? I've tried but PVD seems to ignore the folder...

I only have 2 DVDs in my MC library - I copy from MC into an excel spreadsheet and import them into MC that way. At least this way both MC and PVD refer to the DVD movie in the same way.

[)p(]

Does PVD know how to import dvd (ts, ifo, vob)? I've tried but PVD seems to ignore the folder...

I point PVD to the .ifo file. If you could match it with the pseudo filename in mc then we could make the match.

peter

[)p(]

oops, should have been, "what's the value of [Image File]", sorry...

ok, it says [image File] = Folder.jpg but there is no Folder.jpg in the filepath.

peter

[rick.ca]

What do you mean by putting them in a playlist, Rick?

I was suggesting a straw to grasp at for getting around the "DVD;1" problem. I've since realized I actually do have a few of these (not previously imported to MC) that I could experiment with. The playlist idea is clearly a dead end, but I did discover some weird and wonderful things. This is what I did:

1. Imported DVD rips to MC. Noted the magical DVD;1 extension, but File Type was still IFO. So...

2. Changed extension in MC (which changes actual extension in file system) to IFO. (To be clear, the complete filename in each case is VIDEO_TS.IFO. I don't understand these things, but I guess the IFO file contains information about the VOB files in the directory.) Selected Play in PVD, and each played fine in MC—the associated media player. They also, of course, played fine when played directly in MC. So far so good, so...

3. Ran PvdImport. The meta information is not updated. What? Perhaps the smart-ass MC won't recognize them as valid video files. So...

4. Changed the extensions (in both PVD and MC) to LOG. (Relax—that's the extension I set up for my dummy files. To my MC, they're text files which included in the video view. The effect would be the same if I changed them both to AVI.) You guessed it—now PvdImport works fine.

5. Changed the extensions back to IFO. Now here's the weird part...

6. Changed some information in PVD, and tried importing again. PvdImport now works fine on the IFO files (not new ones, just the ones I did the above to).

So the plugin will handle DVD files, but the workaround is not practical for anyone who has significant numbers of them. Also, there must be a reason why the DVD;1 scheme is used—I have no idea what adverse consequences there might be in not complying with it.

I only have 2 DVDs in my MC library - I copy from MC into an excel spreadsheet and import them into MC that way. At least this way both MC and PVD refer to the DVD movie in the same way.

Okay, now I understand what you're doing. This is another way to circumvent MC application of the DVD;1 "extension" to the files! Still an awkward workaround, and too late if the files have already been imported. If we could just reduce the solution to simply changing the file extension...

[raldo]

I point PVD to the .ifo file. If you could match it with the pseudo filename in mc then we could make the match.

What does "I point PVD to the .ifo file" mean? can you import single files? I haven' found that feature yet.

And, yes, The way PvdImport works *now* is that [File Name] must have an exact match with one of the filenames listed between pipe symbols "|" in PVD.

But as I wrote above, PVD does't import my .ifo (or whatever) files.

[)p(]

Also, there must be a reason why the DVD;1 scheme is used—I have no idea what adverse consequences there might be in not complying with it.

My guess is that they wanted to present a dvd as one entity, because for "normal" users the correct .ifo file might not be so obvious. I can see no other reason for not using the .ifo directly, no other app I am aware of creates this kind of dummy extension to refer to a dvd.

peter

[)p(]

ted between pipe symbols "|" in PVD.

But as I wrote above, PVD does't import my .ifo (or whatever) files.

It does for me:

movies > new movie master > File select the ifo file > go
At the end it might ask for files to include...flag video_ts.ifo

You will end up with something like this for file path in pvd:
J:\Film DVD Gezien\Bringing up Baby\VIDEO_TS\VIDEO_TS.IFO

peter

[raldo]

You will end up with something like this for file path in pvd:

Thanks, that's just what I needed. I'll see what I can do wrt. special handling of DVDs...

[)p(]

Actually when I use set in the plugin settings to point to the ifo file and then use test it will show the correct sqlresults. The only problem it does not match with mc's filename. Maybe you could try to make it so that if the file has an ifo extension then try a match with mc's ,dvd;1 extension.

peter

[raldo]

Actually when I use set in the plugin settings to point to the ifo file and then use test it will show the correct sqlresults. The only problem it does not match with mc's filename. Maybe you could try to make it so that if the file has an ifo extension then try a match with mc's ,dvd;1 extension.

Yes, something in that direction.

[rick.ca]

Yes, something in that direction.

I knew you'd see the light if we came up with an ugly enough workaround. 

What does "I point PVD to the .ifo file" mean? can you import single files? I haven' found that feature yet.

Just to clarify... the path can be entered "manually" in the field, which is most commonly how this would be done. But the file scanner could also be configured to pick out the VIDEO_TS.IFO file, and only that IFO file. I point this out because I don't think the default configuration of the scanner does this. My DVD rips originally had all the IFO and VOB files in the path. That seemed to work okay, but it would prevent the plugin from matching the files.

Anyway, hopefully it's safe to say...

1. The PVD file scanner can be configured to use VIDEO_TS.IFO as the file path.

2. This will work fine for playing the video.

3. The Plugin can be modified to match PVD's IFO's to MC's DVD;1's.

[raldo]

3. The Plugin can be modified to match PVD's IFO's to MC's DVD;1's.

Exactly.

[raldo]

1.0.7
-----
o Fixed: Plugin doesn't handle DVDs (.ifo, .vob, etc.)
o Fixed: folder.jpg for cover art doesn't work properly.
o Fixed: If a movie filename and or path contains a special character like ' or " (umlaut) then the data will not be imported from pvd.

I haven't been able to test DVD handling properly since PVD is acting up on me (I cannot import new files). But the fix in this release handles the notorious .dvd;1 (mc) vs. .ifo (PVD). So if your file is called .ifo in PVD, it should work (?).

Please test for special characters. There are a lot of levels in the plugin where this can go wrong, so I'd apprerciate feedback!

[raldo]

Issues:
Assign coverart isn't working for me - Does the name of the image file have to match that of the video file? I store my coverart in the same folder as the video file, and set the plugin to "InTheSameFolderAsTheFile". There is only one video file and one image file per folder. The name of the image file does not always match the name of the video file (this might be the problem?). One example is

• Video:  F:\Film\A Beautiful Mind\A.Beautiful.Mind.2001.DVDRip.x264.AC3.mkv
• Image:  F:\Film\A Beautiful Mind\A Beautiful Mind.jpeg

How is it not working? I believe that there is no "rule" in MC on how this relation ship should work for this coverart selection. Currently, I generate the jpg name with the [name] tag of the file. Are you saying MC doesn't display cover art? Is the [image file] tag correct?

The columns are too narrow to see the column header, so the user might not know what the checkboxes are for...

Yes, I still haven't figured out how to fix the tooltip for each column. It's a space saving issue...

The plugin is still updating MC fields in test mode

Well, updating the fields is currently part of the test. Maybe some tick box to deselect update?

Suggestions:

Could you do me a favor and start a new suggestions thread?

[)p(]

1.0.7
-----
o Fixed: Plugin doesn't handle DVDs (.ifo, .vob, etc.)
o Fixed: folder.jpg for cover art doesn't work properly.
o Fixed: If a movie filename and or path contains a special character like ' or " (umlaut) then the data will not be imported from pvd.

I haven't been able to test DVD handling properly since PVD is acting up on me (I cannot import new files). But the fix in this release handles the notorious .dvd;1 (mc) vs. .ifo (PVD). So if your file is called .ifo in PVD, it should work (?).

Please test for special characters. There are a lot of levels in the plugin where this can go wrong, so I'd apprerciate feedback!

1. Dvd import. I just tried a batch of 50 and 100% success!

2. Special characters. Reimported the movies that failed before...all ok now!

3. Folder.jpg also worked!

Big thanks for your hard work!

peter

[raldo]

1. Dvd import. I just tried a batch of 50 and 100% success!

2. Special characters. Reimported the movies that failed before...all ok now!

3. Folder.jpg also worked!

Big thanks for your hard work!

peter

You're welcome. Thanks for testing!

[rick.ca]

There are a lot of levels in the plugin where this can go wrong, so I'd appreciate feedback!

It seems fine to me. Amélie and Léon are happy now.

I haven't been able to test DVD handling properly...

You should still be able to enter the file path in PVD manually—in order to test. That might also help to isolate the problem. For example, if you were to do that and then Re-read video file information, what happens? Maybe the problem has something to do with scanning with MediaInfo, or maybe something unrelated to scanning.

Comments on top message instructions

2. Should be updated to refer and link to PVD 0.9.9.6.

3.1. Reference to connection problems should be removed.

4.1. Add a note that Test will update the test record in the database (surely no one will object as long as they know).

4.2 Add reference to the known issue regarding selecting too many files for update—for those who won't make it to the next message before attempting a mass update.

Could you do me a favor and start a new suggestions thread?

That's a good idea, but it would be helpful to have an idea what you think should make into the first release version (1.1?) versus a later update (1.2?). For example...

1. Multi-threading (or whatever) to deal with the "too many files" issue.

2. Data conversion features (e.g., converting dates and ratings so they can be put in MC standard fields).

3. I don't think it's a big deal—and I guess this is the sort of thing the plugin doesn't have access to—but some sort of link between the "McFields" and the MC add/edit field dialog.

Personally, I think the first is one most important to resolve—if by only in some way preventing too many files being selected until a permanent resolution is implemented. Then would be a good time to get more users involved, and see what "bells & whistles" they are most interested in. Perhaps you should post a request for feature suggestions at the same time you post the release (i.e., "Please report problems here, feature requests to...").

[darichman]

I did some performance testing

100 files ~ 30s
200 files ~ 90s
300 files ~ lots and lots of PvdImportContextMenu.exe errors!!

It appears I can do 200 files at a time consistently (2Gb ram)

How is it not working? I believe that there is no "rule" in MC on how this relation ship should work for this coverart selection. Currently, I generate the jpg name with the [name] tag of the file. Are you saying MC doesn't display cover art? Is the [image file] tag correct?

I totally missed the point here! I thought the plugin was meant to be updating coverart FROM an image already in the folder specified (eg. Folder.jpeg), but now I realise you've gone one step further and are actually pulling the coverart from PVD. Sorry, I'm a bit obtuse sometimes haha.

o Fixed: Plugin doesn't handle DVDs (.ifo, .vob, etc.)

This is working really well if PVD points to the *.ifo file

An observation, however - if PVD refers to a *.ifo file and MC refers to a *.dvd;1 extension, the plugin works flawlessly.
BUT If both PVD and MC point to *.dvd;1 the plugin fails.

I kept my PVD database pointing to *dvd;1 as this way MPL export worked okay - I guess that's no longer required though, so I may as well swap them over to *.ifo.

o Fixed: If a movie filename and or path contains a special character like ' or " (umlaut) then the data will not be imported from pvd.

I had a few of these - all good now

Could you do me a favor and start a new suggestions thread?

Sure thing, will read over this thread and start one soon.

2. Data conversion features (e.g., converting dates and ratings so they can be put in MC standard fields).

This would be nice. How does PVD store date data?
MC system is detailed here: http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=50750.0
and here: http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=49173.0

You're probably close to a release build now - I agree with Rick, in that the main limiting factor at the moment is the need to run small batches. I guess you can either roll the processes out sequentially as each one finishes, or alternatively contain the lookups in batches of 50 or so at a time (ie execute the first 50, wait til they're finished and then execute the second 50 etc etc.)

Loving the plugin so far, Raldo. Your hours of hard work will save us many more

[rick.ca]

100 files ~ 30s

On my machine (512 Mb RAM) 100 files takes about 15 minutes. I probably shouldn't be wasting my time on anything other than shopping for a new machine, but it might be of some use to ponder why this is so. The number and complexity of the queries has some impact, but not much. Similarly, disabling my virus scanner and other processes. Any suggestions of other things I should try? PVD is rather sluggish, so I'm not expecting a miracle, but 10 seconds per file is so slow there must be something else going on.

This would be nice. How does PVD store date data?

Strings—at least that's the form of the query result. The format is MM/DD/YYYY 12:00 AM, so it doesn't sort properly in MC. Furthermore, even if they where available in a compatible decimal form, MC doesn't offer a date-type field. The parallel situation is the same with PVD—dates imported or created with a script have to go into a string field because there is no date-type for custom fields. Even if there were a SQL function for converting the data (I couldn't find one) so it could be stored in a standard data field, this wouldn't be a complete solution. I'm not sure what MC might otherwise do to it's date fields. For example, if the Date modified field used to store the equivalent from PVD, will MC overwrite that when it detects the a different time stamp on the media file? Regardless, it would be nice to be able to import custom dates (doing whatever conversion is necessary), but maybe it's not feasible.

What I'm doing now is importing the date strings to custom fields, and then using an expression column to reformat them as YYYY-MM-DD so they sort properly.

And then there's my custom composite rating field...

Code: [Select]

=If(IsEqual(Math(4-IsEmpty([Rating.IMDb],1)-IsEmpty([Rating.Other],1)-IsEmpty([Rating.User],1)-IsEmpty([Rating.AllMovie],1)),0),0, Math(Math(If(IsEmpty([Rating.IMDb]),0,Field(Rating.IMDb)) + If(IsEmpty([Rating.Other]),0,Field(Rating.Other)) + If(IsEmpty([Rating.User]),0,Field(Rating.User)*2) + If(IsEmpty([Rating.AllMovie]),0,Field(Rating.AllMovie))) // Math(5-IsEmpty([Rating.IMDb],1)-IsEmpty([Rating.Other],1)-IsEmpty([Rating.User],1)*2-IsEmpty([Rating.AllMovie],1))*.5+.5))

[darichman]

Rick... how on Earth do you keep any tenure on your sanity when you have to wait that long each time! Your patience has earned you my undying respect

As far as dates go, there may not be any way of creating new date fields, but we could probably put our heads together and get release date from PVD into the standard [Date] field in MC.
MC stores date internally as  number of days since December 31, 1899 (time is stored in fractions of days). This system is used in Excel and some other MS programs.

If we could parse the date string from PVD into days, months & years it might be possible to calculate date in MC's internal date format. Is it worth the effort though? We can get year across easily - does having the month and day really make that much difference? hmmm....

Rick, your super composite rating field scares me. Just a little bit.

[rick.ca]

does having the month and day really make that much difference?

No. For the release date, I'm happy with just the year. But there's date acquired, updated (i.e., meta data downloaded), viewed, modified (i.e., PVD record changed). If it's not possible to create a custom date field, I don't think there's any choice but to use strings. It would be nice to be able to put it in the YYYY-MM-DD format, however—to eliminate the need for expressions.

Rick, your super composite rating field scares me. Just a little bit.

I have to do something while waiting for imports to finish. Besides, it anyone asks, "Why does that get four stars?" I have a geeky answer for them.

[raldo]

No. For the release date, I'm happy with just the year. But there's date acquired, updated (i.e., meta data downloaded), viewed, modified (i.e., PVD record changed). If it's not possible to create a custom date field, I don't think there's any choice but to use strings. It would be nice to be able to put it in the YYYY-MM-DD format, however—to eliminate the need for expressions.

I have to do something while waiting for imports to finish. Besides, it anyone asks, "Why does that get four stars?" I have a geeky answer for them.

You can use SQL to format your dates or manipulate the output from sql in various ways. Combine Format() with a stored procedure, and you can do practically anything you want with time, for example. I'm sure that you could produce an MC style date where the number of seconds (and fractions) are output from SQL.

 

[rick.ca]

I'm sure that you could produce an MC style date where the number of seconds (and fractions) are output from SQL.

Could you provide an illustration, for example, for saving PVD moddate to MC Date? Without documentation, I haven't a clue how to create a stored procedure or even how to use format() (which might be useful for a variety of things).

I still don't see much point in this if the only date field available to us in MC is Date. Am I missing something?

[raldo]

[...] Without documentation, I haven't a clue how to create a stored procedure or even how to use format() (which might be useful for a variety of things).

Try googling; Firebird documentation is located online. "Firebird Format time date select".

I still don't see much point in this if the only date field available to us in MC is Date. Am I missing something?

True, I just wanted to point out that there are methods in SQL which can format the output.

[darichman]

Code: [Select]

Select PEOPLE."name" || '\' || CAREER."role"
From PEOPLE Inner join CAREER on (CAREER."pid" = PEOPLE."pid")
Where CAREER."ctype" = 0 And CAREER."mid" = @id
This one gives you nested panes with actors and roles! So you can expand an actor within a pane in MC and see the different roles they've played underneath

Code: [Select]

Select CUSTOM_VALUES_LONGSTR."value"
From MOVIES
Inner join CUSTOM_VALUES_LONGSTR on MOVIES."mid" = CUSTOM_VALUES_LONGSTR."mid"
Inner join CUSTOM_FIELDS_MOVIES on CUSTOM_FIELDS_MOVIES."cmfid" =  CUSTOM_VALUES_LONGSTR."cmfid"
Where MOVIES."mid"=@id and CUSTOM_FIELDS_MOVIES."dispname" = 'Review'
Thanks for that one Rick.

So guys, any chance of a quick rundown on where to start with Firebird Maestro with the PVD database? I don't even know how to get it to read the database!
I have a bunch of custom short text fields I'd like to try out with the plugin...

Raldo, is there anything else specific you'd like us to test out?

[raldo]

Code: [Select]

Select PEOPLE."name" || '\' || CAREER."role"
From PEOPLE Inner join CAREER on (CAREER."pid" = PEOPLE."pid")
Where CAREER."ctype" = 0 And CAREER."mid" = @id
This one gives you nested panes with actors and roles! So you can expand an actor within a pane in MC and see the different roles they've played underneath

Code: [Select]

Select CUSTOM_VALUES_LONGSTR."value"
From MOVIES
Inner join CUSTOM_VALUES_LONGSTR on MOVIES."mid" = CUSTOM_VALUES_LONGSTR."mid"
Inner join CUSTOM_FIELDS_MOVIES on CUSTOM_FIELDS_MOVIES."cmfid" =  CUSTOM_VALUES_LONGSTR."cmfid"
Where MOVIES."mid"=@id and CUSTOM_FIELDS_MOVIES."dispname" = 'Review'
Thanks for that one Rick.

So guys, any chance of a quick rundown on where to start with Firebird Maestro with the PVD database? I don't even know how to get it to read the database!
I have a bunch of custom short text fields I'd like to try out with the plugin...

Raldo, is there anything else specific you'd like us to test out?

I'd use some other client/tool than Maestro. My trial ended yesterday, so I'll find some other free tool. I think there was some discussion on this in the PVD forums.

I'll be releasing a new version soon; I'll add some progress indicator there pluss a method to update all fields.

The reason for the latter feature is that I've spent a lot of time trying to get "Send To External" to work better. I'm still using Named Pipes after a tiresome digression into mailslots.

I.e. I'm giving up on mass updates via "Send to", hoping that JRiver will expose parts of the menu  system to plugins...

[)p(]

I.e. I'm giving up on mass updates via "Send to", hoping that JRiver will expose parts of the menu  system to plugins...

I hope so this is a great opportunity! In the future I would love to just say update all my movies info in jrmc from the pvd database...

peter

[darichman]

aTagger (a plugin no longer in circulation) updated music files by downloading information from AMG and directly updating MC fields. While the first part is obviously different in PVDImport, maybe we can learn something from how it updated the files in MC? The plugin allowed the user to specify a playlist (or playing now) and updated any files in that playlist - all the user had to do was execute the plugin from the actual plugin page (progress & status was shown here too). It worked really well... there was no "Send To" component to it at all...

If you could emulated this, all the user would need to do would be to drag all their movie files into a playlist (or even create a smartlist).

[raldo]

aTagger (a plugin no longer in circulation) updated music files by downloading information from AMG and directly updating MC fields. While the first part is obviously different in PVDImport, maybe we can learn something from how it updated the files in MC? The plugin allowed the user to specify a playlist (or playing now) and updated any files in that playlist - all the user had to do was execute the plugin from the actual plugin page (progress & status was shown here too). It worked really well... there was no "Send To" component to it at all...

If you could emulated this, all the user would need to do would be to drag all their movie files into a playlist (or even create a smartlist).

Ok, let me clarify: "Send To" will remain. I'm just saying that I've given up the effort to do it for more than, say, 50 files.

I'm testing a mass import feature, done from the plugin as you're describing in your post. The mass import will be configured via a MC search expression. You can set this expression anyway you like; In my case, I have set it up like this: [Media Type]=[Data],[TV],[Video] , but if you prefer a playlist, you can set it up like this: playlistid==902071051,=491747710

[)p(]

Wow sounds the future is coming much sooner then I expected   


peter

[rick.ca]

This one gives you nested panes with actors and roles!

I was putting Select CAREER."role" || ' (' || PEOPLE."name" || ')' into Roles (as a compliment to Actors). Why didn't I think of this?! So close, yet so far.  

I like this much better—thanks!

I'd use some other client/tool than Maestro. My trial ended yesterday, so I'll find some other free tool. I think there was some discussion on this in the PVD forums.

I use Flyspeed SQL Query (free version). Although I'm not in a position to judge such things, the fact I'm able to use it suggests it's suitable to the purpose.

I'm testing a mass import feature, done from the plugin as you're describing in your post.

I've been unable to resolve my speed issue (i.e., the update taking ~10 seconds/record)—by eliminating other processes or changing the server configuration. So I'm looking forward to this as a possible solution. The "Send to" method will still be handy for updating a handful of new items.

[raldo]

1.0.8:
----------
o feature: Mass import, uses MC expressions. See User manual for details.
o feature: Write only empty fields
o Improved: Thread handling when importing many files.
o Feature: Progress bar and current import status text
o Improved: Some changes in database handling (open/close)
o Improved: Internal code structure

There are new fields in the PvdImportConfiguration.xml file, so if you want to see the default installation values, you must remove the old file before you do a reinstall.

This release contains many changes, so please test thoroughly!

*********************
Known Issues 1.0.8:
*********************
o Don't push test button until sql results are ready, the application will hang
o Tooltip for field configuration headers doesn't show properly.
o If you select too many files (in the hundreds) in "Send To...", the PvdImportContextMenu.exe applications may get confused. Select fewer (50, maybe)!
o There should be a cancel button for mass imports.
o Some drawing issues when resizing MC.
o User information (lower window) is not updated properly during import.

[Two Wire]

New user here and need some help.

1. Clicking on "Connect to Server" in PVD opens a dialog box requesting a Password and User name. I tried "sysdba" and "masterkey," but these did not work. (I got these from the Firebird Quick users guide.) Since I cannot get beyond this point, I doubt if I am connected. But, I do get this at the bottom of the Pvdimport plugin:

Failed to find Pvd database file file:
Trying default location: C:\Documents and Settings\Jerry\My Documents\Personal Video Database\movies.pvd
Success...
Plugin Initiated OK

2. Raldo's instructions refer to a "Start File " button. All I see is a "Start" button. Are these the same? Anyway, clicking on this button ask for opening a backup copy from the MC library. I selected a copy to open and had to leave the plugin to select a movie file. I did this, and returned back to the plugin to click on the "Test" button. As far as I could tell, nothing happened. Going back to the selected file, I did not see any additions, or changes, to the tags.

3. Additional information: Because I wanted to use an external player, I have been changing all of the file name extensions from ".DVD;1" to ".ifo"

4. Obviously I am doing something wrong and would like some help.

Thanks

[rick.ca]

1.0.8 feature: Mass import, uses MC expressions. See User manual for details.

The use of an expression to select items is clever. Anyone who thinks this won't accommodate their workflow can be referred to one of the MC expression gurus.

The mass import seems to work okay, although I see no change in the speed. So I suppose that issue has to do with my configuration of the Firebird server or, more likely, just a general lack of resources. At least now I can start a mass update and go to bed...

But there does seem to be a problem. The plugin makes the server behave as if it has a memory leak. It adds about 2,000 K "Private bytes" as each item is processed, and releases none—not as it is running, or after it has finished. The memory allocated is only released after MC is closed—so it seems clear the plugin is at fault. As it happened, the test batch was not big enough for me to see what might have happened if there were no more memory to be allocated.

Improved: Thread handling when importing many files.

I assume this refers to the handling of updates via Send To. I tried that on 100 items (which likely would have caused problems on my system before). Now I observed a flurry of 40 - 50 instances of PvdImportContextMenu.exe which quickly finished. The import then seems to run exactly the same as a mass import—with the plugin showing the progress and the server consuming memory.

This make me wonder why the Send To method is still used. If it didn't exist and I wanted to update a selection of (i.e., highlighted) files, I would right-click, send them to a playlist (say, "PvdImport"), and then specify p="PvdImport" for the import. If I then cleared the playlist, it would be available for a new batch. Could the plugin not be programmed to do, in effect, the same thing? Or is this one of the many things you should be able to do with a plugin, but can't? 

[darichman]

New user here and need some help.

1. Clicking on "Connect to Server" in PVD opens a dialog box requesting a Password and User name. I tried "sysdba" and "masterkey," but these did not work. (I got these from the Firebird Quick users guide.) Since I cannot get beyond this point, I doubt if I am connected. But, I do get this at the bottom of the Pvdimport plugin:

Which version of PVD are you using? Peter had this problem earlier in the thread, but said it went away when he updated to 0.9.9.6.

o feature: Mass import, uses MC expressions. See User manual for details.
o feature: Write only empty fields
o Improved: Thread handling when importing many files.
o Feature: Progress bar and current import status text

Just did an import with 560 files. Took about 4 minutes and had no issues whatsoever. You've really done an amazing job here

I haven't had the resource issues Rick mentioned above, but I don't don't really have a slower machine to test it on either

I like the option to leave fields alone if they already have values.

[rick.ca]

I haven't had the resource issues Rick mentioned above, but I don't really have a slower machine to test it on either

We could swap machines, if you like.

Can you check a process explorer to see how much memory the Firebird server has used and whether it's released after an update? Maybe that's unique to my system as well, but I doubt it...

[Two Wire]

Thanks Darichiman for the reply.

I am using the latest version, pvd0996. I have tried this on three different computers and in each case after I enter the path to the database, a dialog box pops up requesting a username and password. I don't use any passwords on my personal computers, so this must be a request PVD is generating after firefox is installed. I tried deleting the config.ini file and this did not help.

Clicking cancle on the dialog box will give me an error code of 24. I can then manually open the database from the file menu, but of course, it will not be connected to the server.

This seems to be a problem with PVD, but that is as far as my troubleshooting skills can take me.

I like the looks of this plugin and it seems to have a lot of potential.

[raldo]

This seems to be a problem with PVD, but that is as far as my troubleshooting skills can take me.

Ok, it seems as if you have managed to get PVD up and running in "embedded Firebird mode".

From there, you can still get your DB up and running, just remember to close PVD and then restart MC. The reason for this is that PVD in embedded mode will lock down the PVD database, so that it cannot be accessed via the server.

Then, with a populated DB, PvdImport should be able to import data.

[Two Wire]

Thanks Roldo!  I have the plugin working, but maybe not completly. The "Send To" method is the one I have been expermenting with, and the "Year" and "IMDB Rating" fields are not being populated. They appear, however to be populated in PVD. I'm going to play with this this as it may be a problem on my end.

My main question, however, relates to the use of the "Set" and "Test" buttons.

o Press "set file"

I assume this is the "Set" button, and when I click on it, an "Open" window appears showing my
Movies.PVD database file. When I select the file and click on open, nothing appears to happen.

and select one of your video files that you know exists in the PVD database.

Should a list of the files in my Movies.PVD appear from which I can select the appropiate file? If I go back into Media Center and select a file, and then return to the plugin, won't I lose my selection of the file? That's what seems to happen.

o Press "test" (Warning: pressing "Test will update your library too)

                               

Nothing happens.

o The fields in the "SqlResult" should now be populated by data.

The "SqlResults are shown ony when I use the "Send To" method.


Finally, This is a supurb tool and will save me much time. Thanks for all the hours you have
spent in it's development. First, MC, then PVD, and now PVDIMPORT. How can it get any better

[rick.ca]

I assume this is the "Set" button, and when I click on it, an "Open" window appears showing my
Movies.PVD database file. When I select the file and click on open, nothing appears to happen.

This is just for selecting the video file to be used for the test. All that should happen is the path of the file selected will be recorded in the box beside "Set."

Should a list of the files in my Movies.PVD appear from which I can select the appropiate file?

No, it's a file selection dialog for picking a file on your hard drive—pick one that you know is in your PVD database. Remember, it's the common media file that is the "link" between the two programs.

The "SqlResults are shown ony when I use the "Send To" method.

This suggests you have it configured correctly, but have not specified a valid test file. It may not refresh immediately, but "SqlResults" are shown for the file last processed.

the "Year" and "IMDB Rating" fields are not being populated.

Year needs to go into an integer-type field, which can then be displayed directly (i.e., choose it as a column in a view).

The "X.X" Imdbrating needs to go into a decimal-type field, which will be displayed as "X.XX". To display this as an MC-style star rating, an expression field is required. This screenshot illustrates how this should be set up. First, set data/edit-type to decimal/five stars. Then change it to "Calculated data" and enter the expression. Save, and then reopen the configuration for the new field. For reasons I don't understand, the data/edit-type reverts to the default. Change it back to decimal/five stars, and then reselect "Calculated data." Hopefully, the settings will then "stick."

Finally, This is a supurb tool and will save me much time. Thanks for all the hours you have
spent in it's development. First, MC, then PVD, and now PVDIMPORT. How can it get any better

+1

[Two Wire]

Rick.ca, thanks for taking the time to clear this up for me. In hindsight, I should have figured this out. I just didn't drill down deep enough. Works great!   

I will change the field formats for the "year" and "IMDB" fields as you suggest.