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Media Types & metadata services


grimbouk

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grimbouk

Hi,

 

maybe I've missed an announcement, or maybe it's because I'm on the beta stream, but what happened to Media Types?

 

When I add a media folder to the Library, I get the option to select a media type from the list:-

  • Movies
  • Music
  • TV Shows
  • Books
  • Games
  • Home Videos
  • Music Videos
  • Photos
  • Mixed Movies & TV

but when I look at the Metadata/Services tab, I see the list of media types as:-

  • Movies
  • Collections
  • Series
  • Seasons
  • Episodes
  • Games
  • Game Systems
  • Music artists
  • Music albums
  • Music videos
  • Songs
  • Home Videos
  • Books
  • People

How do I know which of the metadata/services entries apply to the media type set on a library?!

 

Specifically, how would I add a metadata plugin for a library of media type "Mixed Movies & TV"?

 

Also, whilst I'm asking, is there an official way to add a new media type library/metadata service through a plugin?

 

thanks

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Cheesegeezer

Hi,

 

maybe I've missed an announcement, or maybe it's because I'm on the beta stream, but what happened to Media Types?

 

When I add a media folder to the Library, I get the option to select a media type from the list:-

 

  • Movies
  • Music
  • TV Shows
  • Books
  • Games
  • Home Videos
  • Music Videos
  • Photos
  • Mixed Movies & TV
but when I look at the Metadata/Services tab, I see the list of media types as:-

  • Movies
  • Collections
  • Series
  • Seasons
  • Episodes
  • Games
  • Game Systems
  • Music artists
  • Music albums
  • Music videos
  • Songs
  • Home Videos
  • Books
  • People
How do I know which of the metadata/services entries apply to the media type set on a library?!

 

Specifically, how would I add a metadata plugin for a library of media type "Mixed Movies & TV"?

 

Also, whilst I'm asking, is there an official way to add a new media type library/metadata service through a plugin?

 

thanks

Not quite sure what you are getting at, but if you look at your first list for media types, that is basically how the content in that collection is categorized. The second list for metadata allows you specify how the data is collected and what is to be included when metadata for that Category sub item is fetched.

 

Example

 

Media folder - TV Shows is sub categorized in metadata fetching into

series

Season

Episode

 

This allows you to set the metadata fetching criteria for each tier of the TV shows sub folders. Same with music, you have music artists, music albums and songs.

 

Hope that makes sense

 

As for adding a new category, the answer is no, but what are you wanting to add?

 

Oh and all fetchers are internal for metadata there is no requirement to add in scrapers etc.

Edited by Cheesegeezer
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As Cheese stated, the first list is a set of overall categories and helps us determine the type of media we are to encounter in that particular location.  The second list is the list of actual individual types that exist in the system and they will be the detailed items that exist in the first categories.

 

As for adding new types while it is technically possible, it isn't advised because none of the clients will know about the new type so they may not be able to react to it properly.  If you have a suggestion for a new type of media to be supported we can see about how to do that if it makes sense.

 

If you tell us exactly what you are trying to build, we can probably point you in the right direction.

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grimbouk

thanks for the replies,

 

I don't have any issue with the first list, I know they need to be hard coded for clients. :)

 

My issue is more with how the metadata types get applied to the first list. Most of them are obvious, such as TV Shows. But where it gets a bit vague for me is for media types such as "Mixed Movies & TV", does that mean it uses all the Movies AND TV Show metadata services? Will it scan People?!

 

Maybe I'm thinking about this too hard ;-)

 

I guess the issue for me is that I might want different metadata services for a media type, say "Comics" and "Books". I could add both metadata services to the Books media type, but then I run the risk of the first metadata service in the list matching my data when I actually want it to match the other metadata service first for one of the Libraries.

 

It almost seems to me that I want to setup metadata scanners per "Library" rather than per "Library Media Type"

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Cheesegeezer

thanks for the replies,

 

I don't have any issue with the first list, I know they need to be hard coded for clients. :)

 

My issue is more with how the metadata types get applied to the first list. Most of them are obvious, such as TV Shows. But where it gets a bit vague for me is for media types such as "Mixed Movies & TV", does that mean it uses all the Movies AND TV Show metadata services? Will it scan People?!

 

Maybe I'm thinking about this too hard ;-)

 

I guess the issue for me is that I might want different metadata services for a media type, say "Comics" and "Books". I could add both metadata services to the Books media type, but then I run the risk of the first metadata service in the list matching my data when I actually want it to match the other metadata service first for one of the Libraries.

 

It almost seems to me that I want to setup metadata scanners per "Library" rather than per "Library Media Type"

Dont you worry fella, the code behind the metadata fetching is pretty clever and a lot of work has gone in to make it almost fail safe. If there is ambiguity you will generally end up with nothing so you have to force a search manually and/or enter the corresponding site id, for example tt123456 for imdbid.

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You are thinking about it too hard.  Forget about the first list.  Those are categories not media types and only exist so that we can better identify content in the file system.  Those categories are involved in item resolution as opposed to metadata fetching.

 

If you want to build a metadata fetcher, the only types you will deal with are the second list (actual types within the program).  When you build a metadata provider, you specify the particular actual type it works for.

 

If you want to introduce new types, then you should propose exactly what those types are and let Luke and I figure out if it makes sense to fold them into the core (their definitions, not necessarily the metadata fetching).  Because, if the core doesn't know about the types then that means the API won't either which then means none of the clients do and they can only be handled generically.  Depending on exactly what they are, that may be okay but it will limit the functionality available.

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