Personal Video Database

I'm cleaning out my drive... ( that time of the year)

Thought you might like to take a look at one of the Interface/ Movie Templates I had come up with for PVD when I was using it.

I came up with 4 styles/color schemes - the one in the screenshot I named Electric Blue v2.

I didn't finish it but - thought as stated some might like to take a gander at it
- get some ideas for ones you may be putting together etc etc.

here it is with a few Movies loaded...



The green shaded in the list side is for seen movies
- light green the clicked on movie tab

yes the actually VU meters work as shown for ratings.
I wasn't thrilled with my icon selection but what the heck...
the rest of the template is pretty basic  - self explanitory.

enjoy
chase

PS: Here's a direct link to the  larger image size.

later

seperate post as requested..

As stated it doesn't Alphabatize correctly.

(btw - you might want to check your server - you have an issue there)

aaah - I see...

Haven't tried the merge button yet - but it does have me curious as to what it does for sure.

It's in the preferences..

Quote

There after it would create a duplicate Movie title with no file location for every title I searched.

It's not clear what you mean by this. Are you adding movie records and running a plugin to get data, or are you scanning the HDD for movies? I suppose it was...

Its creating a duplicate title when attempting to import data from the web.
My rescan of the drive later on - was due to the titles being deleted after optimizing the db. and checking off - delete duplicates. it deleted both copies - not just the dupe.

By the nature of the issues, it seems your continuing to ignore the advice already given concerning the configuration of the scanner and either modifying the regex to suit your filenames or vice versa. Also, the file scanner doesn't add or change anything—it reports a list of suggested changes. Some of the suggestions can be changed so they work, others can't. If you understand your regex, you can usually figure out why it's making an unusable suggestion.

Rick - sorry - I know we have been talking about my creating a tutorial db however - the db I'm refering to in this and the last couple threads are not tutorials - these are movies - regular everyday movies - dvd's. I thought if i see how it works with regular movies it may help with my tutorials - so I scanned my movie files.

Anyhow - my referance is to importing from the web.
This worked pretty well fine yesterday... I changed virtually no settings - only to keep the posters in a seperate file.
It downloaded - fine yesterday with yesterdays update till it froze up.

I re-installed because it was scanning incorrectly and adding incorrect data and file paths.
Something it had already scanned correctly.

Once i re-installed with out updating - it scanned fine again
Again these are just movies. vobs. one folder - one movie. one title. Only a couple have more than one disc.

The only thing changed  - was I updated PVD.
yesterday - and it got info from the web fine till it froze and froze again - the statis bar at the bottome showed it froze for 5 minutes - my connection times out at that so - it wasn't doing anything. it couldn't it wasn't connected to anything after 5 minutes.

I re-installed and updated again today - this time it updated even more than yesterday.
Today it ...
...see above.

I shouldn't have to mess with RegEx to do a scan  - especially movies. That as mentioned - "is what it is designed for"
Its also - from what i see in there designed to scan any type media file/format.

I don't know about RegEx - so I can't talk about it intellegently. But I have noticed that if it scans correctly 5 times. and on the 6 time with no changes except to change the file name to be like those it scanned correctly and it now doesn't scan correctly - then its RegEx that is not consistant.

I have gone through my files and I am extremely good at desifering patterns and labeling / organizing.
RegEx for what ever reason "sees" the pattern - but only for so long.

And I can speak from experience on this - I have relabeled over 200 files - at least ten times each over the past two weeks.
It sees them fine - recognizes the pattern.
Once i see it does - I label all the rest that way - and it doesn't see the pattern anymore.

anyhow... as far as this thread is concerned - your saying in less than 48hrs - touching nothing. I broke this app?
I only updated. and it got worse -or had worse problems each 24hr time span.

It said there was a new beta right over the download - I thought it was refering to this one. this is v0.9.9.21

I'm just trying to use it... it's just not consitant from what i see thus far.
Great app other wise.

edit: I'm not trying to be a pain in the kester by asking so many questions or reporting issues. I try to help when I can - an have helped many a software in the past. I do not know RegEx.

Trust me on this - I have much better things to do than mess with a software such as this - I have 5 other softwares I'm trying to learn. i get nothing from helping developers fix issues or by reporting issues. If I had the source file or knew RegEx - I fix it or redesign the thing to work consistantly myself. It acts like beta. Downloading an app that states it can do something - no one thinks they have to learn programing to run it. It either works or it doesn't work. I'm trying to help when i can. I've spent alot more time on this than i should. I can't wish it to work.

I'm not going to pull my hair out over it. But i did ask - How to set up or how to name files so this thing can see them correctly and others have as well.

Just say how to name the files so it will work if that is a problem. So long as i can keep them in order - and put a title in.
- I'm fine with it. Throw some examples up here for all to see so we can name our files correctly.

Its designed to scan all media types. And even allows you to add more media types.

I know your trying to help - but when i say there is a problem and spend my time to come up here and type all this out.
There is a problem. One I can't fix on my own. or I would.

Like you want to read this type post too.

Here - I'm pouring you a beer...
I'm going to have one myself. As much as I like it - this thing is starting to tic me off - I want to get this db done so i can move on to what i really want to do.
hence after this -  I need a break from it.

If you figure out how to fix it - or how to name the files so there's no issue - please let me know.
Post it.

here's that beer... 
later

Hi -

Just letting you know...

PVD Portable Beta v0.9.9 Installed on USB.

Win XP SP3

It scanned my Movies fine on one comp.
It updated yesterday with 19 updates - and websearched fine - for a little while.
I was doing about 10 to 20 movies at a time using the IMB and A?? for the websearch.

1.5 to 2 hrs in - It froze - completely.
Cntrl/alt/delete to shut it down.

Restart - froze again in a few minutes.
cntrl/alt/delete to shut it down.

There after it would create a duplicate Movie title with no file location for every title I searched.
Optimizing - with remove duplicates for both movies and people - deleted 257 people and around 70 titles over all.
I mean titles that should have been there.

Rescanned the drives for the movies.
And it really started acting funky.
It would scan and all duel dvds it would only add Disc 2
It would change file locations to the incorrect movie title.

examples of both:

If the title was "Legends of the Fall" - it would give a file location for "The Fall"
(which is another movie title) and delete "The Fall title"

"Lord of the Rings" it would change the file location to "The Ring" another movie and delete "The Ring"

Lord of the Rings: Title one - and Lord of the Rings: Title two - it would only see the First Movie title. and give the file location as the second movie.

Same with any other title such as Pirates of the Carribbean: Movie one; Pirates of the Carribbean: Movie Two; It would list Movie ones title and give the file location for movie two.

It was also trying to add in titles that no longer existed.

I tried restoring etc - nothing worked to correct the issue.

So I copied my db and .ini and deleted PVD and the backups off the usb. and did a re-install.
This fixed the scan issue.
*****************************************
Today with the re-install - and db corrected; ready to finish searching the web for the rest of the movie info and posters.

First things first - update.
Todays update was much much more - including templates etc; where as yesterdays was just the 19 plugins.

After the update - and it re-opened
No images - default plugin for search is gone as are most of them.
Though I show twice as many listed in Import drop down.

Un-installed - same way as before.
Re-installed - added the db and image folder and ... just opened it up and nothing. No images - though the plugins are back.
Did a Restore... no images still

Overwrite the pvdconfig.in with the backup copy and...
no images.

I haven't updated it again yet - but have to inorder to use the plug-ins and websearch.

Sorry no bug report from yesterday - it froze and my time was up for my online connection.

none yet for today as it is what it is - I'll check the ini and see if it's point correctly if not I have a back up copy of the old db on another comp and will try to fix it later.

thought you'd be interested in this since it's beta...

chase

See Web search.

Hey thanx rick
- it seems from a quick scan of the thread it is not as easy as one might think for some websites. Deffinitly have to give that a thorough read.

Thanx again

Hi again,

I know I'm asking alot of questions of late but I'm still fresh to PVD and kinda excited at completing my database(s).
it is a great app... the further i get along in setting up my database - the more I wonder how I did without it. It makes life so much easier going through my tutorials...

Okay - on to the question at hand.

I have a couple questions regarding merging the databases now that rick and Nostra let me know there is not a 1000 title limit. Hurray!

All m y db's are created using PVD v0.9.9 beta so you know.

I have one data base for regular movies - DVD's. About 300 or so. created with the protable version and once I get all the info and posters from online - I'd like to copy it to my HD and use it with the regular version. However...

In gathering the posters and info on the USB - I'm going to be putting the images in a seperate folder - so I can optimize them and make them all the same size.
The place that the Portable PVD thinks the images are is going to be different than the one on my HD.
As well - the preferences are different.

So how do i go about merging one to the other with out loosing the data from my prefered set up and preference db?

Second part of this question:

I have two databases - all images optimized and in there seperate folders per database.
Lets call them Database 01 and Database 02.

I want to merge both and keep all that both have - all images - all tags - all custome fields, but i want all the images now to be located in one folder. with out loosing any of the data / data fields and or images
 - How would I merge these two PVD dbs?

Is there anything to watch out for when merging them? settings etc etc?

Do I over write one pvdconfig.ini file with the other?

and again is there a help file page on merging PVD databases with various settings I can read up on?

tia for the help
chase

Okay I'll bite... and learn yah something.

PVD is basically by all rights very similiar to a website - it uses css and xml as for it's templates - I think we can agree on this.

It is well known the smaller you can make the weight of a page - the faster it will load. - we can agree on this as well I'm sure.

In the above example you show two images - okay lets take the last one - the heaviest one - the one you like and optimize it.

say at 65% and with an online optimizer as well.

With PS I can optimize it even better with better results and I'mm sure there are some good online sources to do the same.

Attached is the second image - opitmized at 65% as mentioned.

It came in at 119k versus your 200+k original

I saved you over 100k - which will load faster at full rez - the 119k of course.

Now PVD loads from what I've seen, at start-up all templates.

If I lighten the load of all the templates by say - 3 4 5 megs. Saving PVD the load time of those megs...
 it will effectively load faster.

let me give another example - one I just did last night.

I had 166 files loaded with posters in a PVD database.

as it was - with no optimization - it weighed in at in total - 14megs
After optimization - with all the same size images - and pretty damn near the same clarity it weighs in at less than three megs.

So lets say you have 1000 images for a 1000 movies - each weigh say 200k each.
That comes to... what a mear 100 megs of photos - then add your database itself. that's a pretty heavy database.
So now you want to share it - so lets say with data base your at 120megs
Zip it up - say 4 files at 30 megs each or 2 at 60 - what have you. Not unreasonable this day an age.

But now look at my same 1000 movie database - optimized to have all images at 10k
and I'll be generous and say my database is the same 20megs

- My total is a mear 30megs of data including all the images. And i gave up nothing except a small amount of quality.

Most people will look at a preview - skim it. then open the file or aply it - they want to see what it looks like with their data in place.

Do you really go through your data base and look at all the preview images? Or more honestly do your preview images simple serve as a reminder of what the movie or song or album was? And then either play or go - "oh yeah, I remember what that song or movie was" and move on or play it.

Same with the preview of the template. At least for me - I skim through the previews and select the one I want to try.

Even if - you wanted full screen previews - there is no reason for the file sizes.
PNG for a preview image - the weight per image is way to big.

Go to a JPG and optimize it - add a tad of sharpening or clarity and you drop 50% or better off a JPG. Let alone what you save off a PNG.

You currently have templates with not a full screen preview that weigh in at 1meg. A full meg for a preview image... totally un-nessasary.

If you drop the weight of the contents of the app - it will run faster I gaurantee it.

image your 1.75 Terri database only weighing in at 750 megs or less once optimized.
Bet searches would be faster
- load times cut.
Faster all round.

just my two cents but - bet mine runs faster now it's optimized even with a mear 166 titles. Actually
- I know it does. 

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Here's anther optimized Movie Skin

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By 'switch' we mean 'command line switch'. Run the program with a shortcut using '..\viddb.exe -portable' or use the portable.bat file provided.

Discovered that over the weekend actually - and today read your Help page - "
Getting Started" I highly recommend that to anyone reading this. It explains all you were talking about conserning the "switch"

I took a look at that RegEx tester - can't make heads or tails out of it... yet. Ididn't have time to explore RegEx this week-end. To be honest I'm not dying to jump into learning another scripting launguage. But will look at it.

I can certainly see why you stated you were at wits end trying to figure out some of it.
I thought i had it figured out - it scaned all the files correctly - put them in the right episode number which correlated to to the software version number and even added the episode titile!

So I set out and renamed 200 files - and it worked beautifully but noticed I missed naming the second to last file correctly - renamed it correctly and rescaned and ...BAM!
The whole thing fell apart..
It wouldn't scan correctly anymore... no matter what i did... even deleting the database didn't work, so I gave up at that point.

I do have a data base i started with it - I manually put in the episodes and make corrections - good enough for the moment - scanning includes most of them and does put them in some episode headings - faster than doing each by hand for sure.

So I'm still happy with PVD. and will work on learning more about Regulaur Expressions as I go. My interest is in learning the software and expressions I need to use for them - more so than the database, I'm sure you understand.

I did take a look at the templates as well - they are going to be real easy to come up with new ones. I optimized a few I had downloaded from here  - corrected one of them and will post them in a new thread for everyone.

I really want to get my hands on the gui template and change the artwork... make it more modern.
As i did with things like the Stars and tool bar this morning...

You might like the new Rating artwork - I made the stars into a meter - like on a sound board. or amplifier. I'd like to make it better / different still - but i need the gui template for that.

Hey thanx again Rick for all the help.