Where are BTV show descriptions saved?

[mikemcd]

How does BTV associate its show description information with a specific MPEG file? I can rename a file and BTV will still find its description, then save a new file with the original file name and BTV won't show the description.

This specifically relates to using VideoRedo to cut out commercials, then saving the cut file back into BTV's folders. I always lose the show description information.

[jacuff]

As far as I can tell...

Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\SnapStream\Beyond TV\RecentRecords.xml

[mikemcd]

Or, it could be in:

Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\SnapStream\Beyond TV\LibraryFolders.xml

But, the real question is how the actual movie file is linked to one of these xml files? It doesn't seem to be linked by the name of the movie file.

[ertman]

A quick work-around is to save the VideoReDo output to a different folder using the same filename, and then when it is done copy that file over the original file in the BTV folder.

I do this all the time and BTV never knows that the file was changed, so the description sticks around.

[mikemcd]

Thanks ertman, I hadn't tried that. I've been putting the cut files in the same directory as the originals, and then renaming the files. But, I still don't understand how this works.

[richt]

The recording information is stored in the MPEG file itself. That is why editing deletes the data.
For a relatively neat solution, check out this link.

[mikemcd]

Thanks richt, I had studied that thread. But, if the description info was stored in the mpeg file, how does that account for the fact that you can copy a VideoRedo file on top of a BTV mpeg file and BTV finds the description info? And, you can rename a BTV mpeg file with no impact on how BTV displays information about that show. It's as if there is some other key that relates an mpeg file to a BTV database.

[richt]

There is XML data and some information in the library database, but the data is also stored in the file itself. If you loose your database or the XML file, the data is lost. The data can be retained in the file by using the metadata extractor tool so that it can then be read again by BTV.

[jsereda]

Any idea if beyond TV can save show information for avi files as well?
richt that program seems to extract the information from the xml file. If this is what it's doing it should be possible to link the xml data to the avi. I hope it works.
We really need an import utility that takes the information from a website like TVTOME.
I wish I knew how to program.

EDit: I guess I should have read the readme in full before posting. All the way at the bottom it says they added support for Divx AVI. Sweet!!! But I have hundreds of shows archived that dont have any information saved for them, damn.

[mikemcd]

If the BTV show information is indeed in the mpeg file, we need to get VideoRedo to copy it into the new files it produces.