best way to integrate HSTouch and my DVD collection

[completelyhis]

Here's what I have:

• My DVD collection is archived on my SATA Raid drive in folder structure (Folder=name of DVD, subfolder=Video_VTS), and shared over the network.
• I use MyMovies3 to manage the collection, which can export xml data.
• Tablet PCs connected to TVs. Each tablet has:
  • VLC player, which can be controled via command line and access the Video_vts folder and output DVD to the TV
  • HSTouch

I looked at DVDProfiler, but I'm unclear if/how it would be able to either import the data from MyMovies or "scan" the drive. If it is able to, my assumption would be that DVDProfiler would be best, because I know there are scripts available to integrate that w/HS.

What I'd like to do would be to have a HSTouch page that allows me to "browse" and "search" the dvd collection (ie. search and browse alphabetically, genre, actor, rating, title, etc). Then when the DVD is selected I can have the option via script control of VLC to watch it on the TV or the tablet main display.

is that making sense? any ideas?

Thanks,

Ian

[completelyhis]

well, seeing 31 views and no responses, i'll assume my question was not effectively stated.

I'll break it up into two parts. The first one is controlling VLC. I'm not too worried about that. I'm pretty sure I can create some actions that will fire off a command line to control VLC as a result of a button press.

the other part would be getting the dvd collection info into HST. This would include the image (which I would like to function as the button) and the collection data. The important thing here is for it to be dynamic, so that as my collection changes the HSTouch page would change without me having to do a whole bunch of extra work.

any thoughts?

[nightwalker]

I was one of the lurkers to your problem, you stated it just fine, but didn't' really have an answer for you. I do use DVDProfiler along with BLMovies to show it on the HST screen. I really only use it to allow guests to peruse the collection to make a selection. The video playback is handled by my PVR as opposed to HomeSeer, unfortunately. I can't say I ever looked to see if BLMovies allows the triggering of a script or not, it may be worth a question over there.

[johnnybwis]

I suppose you want to stay away from the DVD Collection web pages? Weren't you looking at that with some work Drozewood had done with it?

[completelyhis]

Marty - you said you use it for people to make a "selection." Is that a manual selection, as in, "oh, I love that movie. that's the one i want to watch...i'll get up and go put it in!" or is it a HS selection?

How do you get the info from BLMovies to HSTouch? does it update automatically in HSTouch if there's a change to DVDProfiler?

From what you know of Profilers, would I be able to somehow get the xml data from MyMovies to it?

I suppose you want to stay away from the DVD Collection web pages? Weren't you looking at that with some work Drozewood had done with it?

John,

Yes i was, but i never got a reply back from Dan regarding it, and after reading through it again it didn't seem like it used VLC or HSTouch, so I thought I'd bark up a different tree. are you using it? what are your thoguhts?

[markus.bergvoll]

Here's what I have:

• My DVD collection is archived on my SATA Raid drive in folder structure (Folder=name of DVD, subfolder=Video_VTS), and shared over the network.
• I use MyMovies3 to manage the collection, which can export xml data.
• Tablet PCs connected to TVs. Each tablet has:
  • VLC player, which can be controled via command line and access the Video_vts folder and output DVD to the TV
  • HSTouch

I looked at DVDProfiler, but I'm unclear if/how it would be able to either import the data from MyMovies or "scan" the drive. If it is able to, my assumption would be that DVDProfiler would be best, because I know there are scripts available to integrate that w/HS.

What I'd like to do would be to have a HSTouch page that allows me to "browse" and "search" the dvd collection (ie. search and browse alphabetically, genre, actor, rating, title, etc). Then when the DVD is selected I can have the option via script control of VLC to watch it on the TV or the tablet main display.

is that making sense? any ideas?

Thanks,

Ian

I can not help you. but i just want to say i want the same.
I'v said it a lot of times before, but i have to say it again. XBMC have an api that i think the right person can do almost whatever with. Im thinking, browsing your multimedia collection on your HStouch screen.
My problem is that I'm talking about this a lot, but i am not i a position to do anything about it. I know about the api. but thats where my knowledge ends.

However, i would probably pay a couple of hundred usd to the the maker of the plugin that let me browse and control my multimedia from HStouch and let me play it on XBMC. Since XBMC is free and have full vdpau suport, you can have multiple video zones for virtually nothing...

[completelyhis]

Well, i was poking around MyMovies, and noticed it has quite a studdly webservice which is as free as the rest of the program. so my collection has a url

http://c.mymovies.dk/Default.aspx?Us...e=&Group=Owned

which i imagine i can integrate into HSTouch somehow, and do some fancy button thingies and see what happens of it.

[johnnybwis]

John,

Yes i was, but i never got a reply back from Dan regarding it, and after reading through it again it didn't seem like it used VLC or HSTouch, so I thought I'd bark up a different tree. are you using it? what are your thoguhts?

I had been (not Dan's version) but have since switched to "SAGE TV standalone" I push a button on my HSTOUCH and the tv/stereo inputs switch over so I can brows and play movies via sage right from the tv screen.... good enough.

[completelyhis]

i tried sage, but it didn't perform well at all for me, so i bagged it. glad it's working for you, and i'll check back in and report how the mymovies/vlc works out.

Ian

[nightwalker]

I'm sorry to say I use it strictly for viewing what's available. As much as I wish it were possible for HS to have control of my A/V library, right now it's just not. My PVR, GBpvr, is still handling all the A/V chores just splendidly. Like someone said somewhere on this board I'd pay big to have control of A/V through HS so I could just have touch screens with HST around the house. Right now I have 4 screens, 1 with HST and 3 with GBpvr.

I use the export function of DVDProfiler to send the data to BLMovies. I can't imagine that the XML exports of DVDProfiler and MyMovies is the same. I do know that DVDProfiler makes it pretty easy to just add by title, that's still only half the puzzle as far as HST goes.

I really wish I could help more but I think we're all in the same boat looking for the same life preserver.

Marty - you said you use it for people to make a "selection." Is that a manual selection, as in, "oh, I love that movie. that's the one i want to watch...i'll get up and go put it in!" or is it a HS selection?

How do you get the info from BLMovies to HSTouch? does it update automatically in HSTouch if there's a change to DVDProfiler?

From what you know of Profilers, would I be able to somehow get the xml data from MyMovies to it?

[completelyhis]

I suppose you want to stay away from the DVD Collection web pages? Weren't you looking at that with some work Drozewood had done with it?

What exactly are the DVD collection web pages? I had thought they were based on DVD Profiler, but maybe I'm wrong?

[tmcgowan]

i tried sage, but it didn't perform well at all for me, so i bagged it. glad it's working for you, and i'll check back in and report how the mymovies/vlc works out.

Ian

I just switched over to SageTV (HD200) unit a few months ago. One thing I noticed right off the bat, was that you need to be using a Switch instead of a dumb router. I was getting a lot of start stops of the unit, until I upgraded my network switch to a 1gps model. Now everything is working great and the family is much happier that they don't have to use the Sony 400 disc changer setup any more. Too much trouble turning that unit on, plus the TV/Audio tuner/amp. Even though it was all set up within HSTouch to do it automatically.

Since the DVD Collection scripts don't work on my CE touch screen, I had to create a drop down list and transfer the disc location number to an event that would rotate the disc changer to the correct movie. I haven't had the time to write a script to send the movie information to the SageTV unit yet, although it does have the ability to do it.

Maybe I'll get around to it this weekend, depending on how many leaves are on the ground!

[completelyhis]

todd,
i have a dumb router, so i bet that's why it wasn't working for me! good to know.

what exactly are the "dvd collection scripts" i hear everyone talking about?

[tmcgowan]

todd,
i have a dumb router, so i bet that's why it wasn't working for me! good to know.

what exactly are the "dvd collection scripts" i hear everyone talking about?

It's a series of scripts that create HTML pages for sorting and launching a DVD movie. It can be found in the downloader and is pretty straight forward to use. You'll need to use DVDProfiler as well in order to download the cover art and information relating to the actors and stuff. You can watch a movie by clicking on the name and then a pop-up occurs which provides a summary of the movie, actors and links to other movies that the actors are in. You can either watch them on you TV by using a DVD juke box setup or the configuration page allow you to view them on your PC if you have them ripped to a hard drive or NAS.

This might be the solution your looking for, but like I mentioned earlier, it doesn't work in CE based devices, since the POP-UP screen uses an activeX command not supported by MS.

Best of luck!

[completelyhis]

when you click "watch" what sort of player does it use? is the player definable?

I may just have to bite the bullet and use DVD Profiler to manage my collection...that script setup looks pretty slick. thanks for the screenshot!