Will post my comments by wiki page below. Thin line between what bears direct relevance to this thread, and some related views and comments. Starting with Artwork page, below that some linked pages that I went through. WHere I believe something would be a reasonable feature request, I posted it in
blue.
Artwork
Quote:1.2.3 Media Managers
There is a range of software that can create nfo files and download artwork and save them to the correct location and correct naming. ... Kodi can then read this file and scrape it into the library the next time an Update Library is performed.
Will Kodi scrape (new) fanart once a movie has already been scraped earlier?
It would be a great feature if Kodi picks up new artwork if it is still missing after an initial movie addition.
Quote:2.2.2 Delete textures13.db
One sure way to repair any caching problems is to delete the textures13.db database. You will need to perform the following for a clean start with respect to Artwork
Delete texturesxx.db located in the \userdata\database\ folder.
Delete the Thumbnails directory located at \userdata\Thumbnails\ which stores all the cached images,
Be aware that this should be a last resort procedure. Deleting this database file will remove all cache entries and links, requiring your artwork be re-scraped.
Not entirely clear how this works. Will Kodi recreate - rescrape artwork if this db is deleted, but the videos db is still present? or do we need to recreate the entire library? Also relates to my point above re 1.2.3.
Movie Artwork
Quote:1.1 Fanart
...
Required file properties:
Note: The resolution may be increased but ensure the aspect ratio is maintained
Is the aspect ratio mandatory? or is this an advised ratio?
Quote:Naming and Saving conventions for your own manually sourced artwork:
This was my key point in this thread, I guess. This is confusing as Kodi will not look for this name upon import.
Feature: I think it would make a lot of sense if Kodi (also) looks for the same files it would create itself on export. This same point would hold up for any other files it exports in this way, but does not import.
Quote:2.3 Clearlogo
Quote:Required file properties:
Note: The resolution may be increased but ensure the aspect ratio is maintained
File Type Aspect Ratio Resolution- recommended
*.png 1:0.388 800x310
This is a really weird ratio.. Why this? why not pi:e?
Quote:3.4 Movieset Fanart
Quote:As of v17, Kodi does not automatically recognise and scrape the Movieset Fanart. It needs to be manually selected.
Why? Seemed like a nice feature.
How to Use Scrapers
Quote:1 Setting content for subfolders
You can also "set content" for subfolders, even if the parent folder has content set that is using a different setting. For example, you can have a folder for your TV shows, and in that folder have a folder for "Star Trek" that contains the different Star Trek TV shows. If you do this normally then Kodi will think that "Star Trek" is one single show, but if you set content on that specific folder, then it will scan everything in correctly.
Avoid adding a subfolder as a separate source, as Kodi will might make duplicates if there are two sources that lead to the same files.
The red text reads a bit clumsy. What exactly is meant here?
Quote:2 Movie content options
Quote:Movies are in separate folders that match the movie title
If you keep each of your movies in its own folder with the movie name in it
Example: /Movies/Big Buck Bunny/Big Buck Bunny.mkv
If you keep all your movies in one big folder then leave this option unchecked.
What does Kodi do differently between having this box checked / unchecked? The clarification under this option is almost literally the option label itself and hence does not add so much value. please elaborate.
Quote:Scan recursively
Scans sub folders for movies as well as the main folder. Great for if your movies are categorized into sub folders (e.g. genres, a-z), etc.
Example: /Movies/Action/Big Buck Bunny.mkv
What would I want to set this option so that Kodi does NOT scan recursively? I think nothing goes wrong if Kodi alwas does that, and the option would thus be pointless.
Unfeature request: I move to remove this option :-)
Quote:2.1 Movie scraper settings
Quote:Enable fanart
Download Fanart or not.
Feature: it would be nice if kodi could (maybe through another option, if you think that should be the case) add fanart to the existing library entry, if this is later added to the library. After all, it does work in a similar fashion on a 'higher' level when new movies are added and a rescan is done.
Quote:Prefer trailer from HD-Trailers.net
Alternative trailer download.
Inconsistent with screen shot. this option isnt there.
Quote:Preferred language
Language to use for summaries and other metadata.
Feature: Maybe have preferred AND fall back language if the preferred isnt there.
Quote:3 TV show content options
Quote:Folder contains a single TV Show
This option is intended for adding one TV show at a time.
What exactly does Kodi do differently when this is checked. Why is this option there? doesnt make a lot of sense.
Quote:5 Local NFO only options
Quote:After the videos and NFO files are scanned into the library, the NFO file is no longer used and only serves as a backup. If you make changes to the NFO file you will need to refresh that library entry for the changes to be loaded into Kodi.
At which level is the switch local vs remote done? If i do not have a local NFO, will kodi still look for local fanart? Or will it try and fetch EVERYTHING remotely if only the NFO is not found locally?
Quote:9 Refreshing the library
Quote:Note: Kodi only scans each video once for information. The next time you update it will only add new videos, but won't download new art/summaries/etc for existing videos. To refresh the information for existing videos:
I guess this answers maybe a question I posted above regarding this. this gives raise to a
feature request: Could there be a less cumbersome way of scraping new fanart into an existing movie entry? For one thing, the proposed method by source/folder causes the watched status to be lost and I find that nuisance. Individual refresh is a LOT of work if you would first add fan art for tens of movies.
I am spending a lot of time finding fanart etc for rather rare art house movies I like to watch. Of course, one could / should upload this to TMBD etc, but that still doesnt fix my local lib being incomplete. Also, some of the art i find or perhaps create I may not want to upload to TMDB.
Import - Export Library
Quote:1.1 Export to Separate Files
Quote:Choosing Yes will save a copy of the cached artwork into the Movie, TV Show, TV Show Episode and Music Video directory alongside the video file and the nfo file.
This would be a good place to explain naming convention used for export.
Quote:1.2 Export to Single File
Quote:Note: Some users may find the single file export problematic in Frodo and higher, due to an issue with artwork. The export process changes the artwork location URL to the folder location of the export, which causes an issue if you need to refresh the image. To fix, you will need to manually source the image in the Information page of the Movie/TV show
This seems like a weird way of doing it. Why does it work like this? why not export the remote fanart links if those are in the library?
Quote:1.3 Import
Quote:If you exported your library using the Export to Separate Files option, then you must use the normal scraping process to re-import the data.
So this is what caused this whole thread to be started. I just cant get to peace with the fact that Kodi exports like <filename>-fanart.jpg, but refuses to take this file upon import (regardless of perhaps ALSO looking for a plain fanart.jpg). If both are there, just make a choice which one gets priority. But at least be consistent with export names vs import (read: scrape) names. PLEASE.
Feature request: make Kodi (also) look for any filename it would use when exporting, upon a scrape run.
Quote:If you exported your library using the Export to Single File option, you will need to use this method to import the data as follows
Quote:Once complete, your library should be functional again
NO. You are not. Because all the fanart that one collected over time and added to the library through a painstaking process, is LOST. If Kodi can create an extra directory upon export to place all the movie art (relative to the main export directory), it can not be such a difficult task to have Kodi look in that same directory to pick up the movie art.
Feature request: please make Kodi import all artwork it exported in this way.
In general, I believe Kodi is not consistent in how it treats exports vs imports (scraping can be seen as a special type of import which could/should be consistent) and this should be changed.
