TheTVDB.com Tagger Plugin for BTVShowInfo

[tmar89]

Overview
I developed a plugin for BTVShowInfo which parses the filename for the series name, season number and episode number and then searches for the show metadata on TheTVDB.com. It will pull the metadata and populate the episode title, description and date for use in the BTV Library. Currently it supports the following example formats:

Series.S01E01~.ext
Series.S2E12~.ext
Series.SSxEE~.ext
Series.SxEE~.ext
Series.SSEE~.ext
Series.SEE~.ext

It also supports _ and a space for the spacer instead of .
It is not case sensitive so this would work too:
series_s01e14_blah.avi

If the file format is not supported, the application will ask you to enter the series, season number and episode number manually.

Also supported is the ability to search for metadata for a BTV Recorded Show using the original air date as the search parameter.

Installation
Extract the DLL file and copy to the Plugins directory of BTVShowInfo.

Usage
Highlight the row(s) that you want to search metadata for and then click the Plugins menu and select "Import show metadata from TheTVDB.com".

History
Version 1.1
-Supports pulling show info for BTV recorded shows using the original air date

Version 1.0
-Initial release

Report all bugs, comments and questions here.

[geoffstewart]

very cool... been thinking about a tool like this for a while.

This is great for the shows you miss with BTV for some reason. I will definitely use this.

Had you considered using the engine and API hooks to thetvdb.com to go the other way? I mean, given a show recorded with BTV, get the season and episode information. This type of tool would let you integrate shows recorded with BTV into MediaPortal's MyTVSeries plugin (which is really slick, by the way). With something like that I would post process each recording and change the filename to include the season and episode using a batch file.

Thanks.

Geoff

[tmar89]

Originally Posted by geoffstewart

Had you considered using the engine and API hooks to thetvdb.com to go the other way? I mean, given a show recorded with BTV, get the season and episode information. This type of tool would let you integrate shows recorded with BTV into MediaPortal's MyTVSeries plugin (which is really slick, by the way). With something like that I would post process each recording and change the filename to include the season and episode using a batch file.

I never thought of that because I'm planning on sticking with BTV for my TV shows. I've looked into XBMC, Meedio and MP and while I agree that some have really slick interfaces with banner art and fan art, I just planning on staying with BTV (and BM for DVDLibrary and my XM Radio plugin). But to get to the point, it is possible to match the original air dates to get the season and episode info to generate a filename. But that's probably a topic for another post.

[cfaslave]

Cool.

So is this mostly for non-BTV recorded content or does it add metadata that you don't already get with BTV-recorded shows also?

[tmar89]

Originally Posted by cfaslave

Cool.

So is this mostly for non-BTV recorded content or does it add metadata that you don't already get with BTV-recorded shows also?

So far this is only for non-BTV recorded content since it is based solely on the file name. It is focused towards the crowds that organize their TV show files in such the manner I discussed in the first post.

I believe that BTV-recorded shows already contains the first aired date, episode title and episode description, so there is no extra metadata that can be pulled from TheTVDB.com which is necessary. This plugin is more focused on taking shows that would be classified as "Unknown" in the BTV Library and correctly organize them with an existing BTV Library, which could include shows that have been recorded with BTV.

[jrandeck]

Is there a way to tell BTV to put the season and episode numbers in the file name?

[tmar89]

Originally Posted by jrandeck

Is there a way to tell BTV to put the season and episode numbers in the file name?

From a BTV recorded show?

[jrandeck]

Yes. It would be handy if there was an easy way to tell BTV to put the "S01E01" in the filename. Maybe there is and I just haven't found it yet...

[anomaly07]

Originally Posted by jrandeck

Yes. It would be handy if there was an easy way to tell BTV to put the "S01E01" in the filename. Maybe there is and I just haven't found it yet...

I am actually working on a project in which you will Showsqueeze what you want to import to XBMC or Boxee, my script is written in PHP (web server not required) and will rename your files according to tvrage.com's episode titles, it's not perfect, but it works most of the time! I have a log for when the thing fails. It will move files from the OLDDIR (a directory in which you have your showsqueezed files) to the NEWDIR (a directory that you may or may not have watched by BeyondTV, but it is watched by XBMC or Boxee) and will rename them as such ShowName\ShowName.S##E## (EpisodeName).ext. If it does not detect an "EpisodeName" it will not rename the file but simply move it to the NEWDIR into a folder called "Movies". So it organizes them in FOLDERS :-D. I'm pretty much done with the project but, I'm about to add in MetaDataExtractor.exe into my project so that the metadata will be transferred from the showsqueezed location (OLDDIR) to the new "moved location" (NEWDIR). When I saw that tvrage.com's feeds for tvshows I new that this would be a trivial project, (just taking some time). I've put a little over 24 hours on the project and once I add in the metadata moving capabilities I will publish the project for all to enjoy!

[anomaly07]

Well I've done a little more work on it. You should probably read this thread on Boxee's forum to get some more insight to what I'm doing. But it's all in the readme as well. Here is a link to my version 1 release of BTVRenamer http://files.bryanprice.info/BTVRenamer.zip. Have fun!

[Bloggator]

Originally Posted by tmar89

Installation
Extract the DLL file and copy to the Plugins directory of BTVShowInfo.

Usage
Highlight the row(s) that you want to search metadata for and then click the Plugins menu and select "Import show metadata from TheTVDB.com".

Thanks for this. I've been waiting for something like this for years.

I think I'm a little thick, though, because I have two problems:

1. I can't find a Plugins directory in BTVShowInfo. I created one and put the dll inside. Is that right?
2. Where do I hightlight the rows and to search? In the Web Admin? I went there and can't find a Plugins menu.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Jeff

[tmar89]

Originally Posted by Bloggator

1. I can't find a Plugins directory in BTVShowInfo. I created one and put the dll inside. Is that right?

There should be a Plugins directory by default when you extract the BTVShowInfo zip file. If not, maybe it will work if you create one.

Originally Posted by Bloggator

2. Where do I hightlight the rows and to search? In the Web Admin? I went there and can't find a Plugins menu.

I'm not sure if you're using the right program. BTVShowInfo is a standalone application you run. It will connect to your BTV server and pull all the shows in the BTV library. You then highlight each row by clicking on the gray tab on the left.

[jrandeck]

Originally Posted by anomaly07

I am actually working on a project in which you will Showsqueeze what you want to import to XBMC or Boxee, my script is written in PHP (web server not required) and will rename your files according to tvrage.com's episode titles, it's not perfect, but it works most of the time!

That sounds sweet! I'll have to check it out when I have a chance.

[Bloggator]

Thanks tmar89!

I've got it working and it's perfect! Thanks for the help.

Jeff

[Randyre]

So far this works great!, this type of thing should have been part of BTV native.

Anyhow, one question I have is, can I set both directories to be the same one, so I don't have to manage so many directories?