current version: 1.06
(previously called "Pete's MediaBrowser Info Fetcher")
MOVED: Media Center Master is now hosted at www.MediaCenterMaster.com, including downloads, news, support, and troubleshooting forums.
Hello all! Unsatisfied with the issues I had with existing scripts/fetchers, I wrote my own. This application fetches only movie data (for now) in the standard metadata format that the MediaBrowser extension uses. It hybrids a collective data from both themoviedb.org and imdb.com and includes the following options:
Rhobust movie title detection
Using a combination of client-side and server-side logic at multiple servers and multiple passes, there is typically a higher rate of accuracy and detection on the more obscure movie titles out there. Where I previously had to manually adjust movie titles and data in metadata files before, I rarely have to now.
Posters and backdrops
Supported as usual -- if a title match couldn't be found at themoviedb.org, a backdrop will not be downloaded but it will download the poster from imdb.com, when possible.
Forced ID's and titles
I added two nonstandard XML tags to the metadata, for the IMDB ID# and another called ForcedTitle. They can be used to override detection. Say, for example, you've looked up the ID for a movie that isn't being detected properly: you can insert the ID into the appropriate place, save, and the scraper won't search -- it'll just load that ID directly.
The ForcedTitle tag I added for movies that have alternate language titles. For example, you can override The Never Ending Story to show the US/English title rather than the German title, etc.
Cast and crew thumbnails
MediaBrowser supports thumbnails for actors and crew (directors/producers/etc.), so I thought a fetcher should as well. This is currently only available on Windows Vista and Windows 7 because it requires the %ProgramData% environment variable, which is not set on prior versions of Windows.
Easy custom sorting
I like scrolling through a list of my movies in alphabetical order, but I also like sequels to group and sort correctly, following the first in the series. This causes a problem when you have titles that do not show up in the correct alphabetical order, like the Harry Potter series or The Exorcist movies. To solve this, I added an optional setting that adjusts the SortTitle tag to the name of the folder on your hard drive rather than the title of the movie. That way, the movies will sort the same as they appear alphabetically in Windows Explorer.
Automatic folder renaming
When turned on, this will automatically rename each folder according to the detected title and year of the movie. This is not recommended to use with the custom sorting feature for obvious reasons.
Better summary descriptions
Sometimes IMDB has a better summary/synopsis than The Open Movie Database does. Sometimes it's the other way around. I added an option to my application that will automatically pick the larger of the two choices, if the option is turned on.
IMDB ratings
While other parsers I saw were grabbing ratings from themoviedb.org, I chose to grab ratings from imdb.com. With substancially more votes over a more diverse crowd, I felt it was a more accurate gauge of the popularity and success of a movie.
Genre preference
I also included an option that lets you choose from themoviedb.org's genre list or from imdb.com's. I like IMDB's better, but this is surely open to preference and I left that choice up to the user.
Time/bandwidth savings
To maximize speed (and save a little bandwidth in the meanwhile), existing posters and backdrops are not re-downloaded and the dual-pass mode is skipped when ID's are already supplied in an existing meta file. If you just want to refresh your existing metadata with more recent data (cast/crew, summaries, IMDB rating, etc.), it's much faster than a full re-parse.
Automatic updates, automatic error reporting
For obvious reasons, though both can be disabled as desired.
Scan folders NEW v1.01:
Automatic scan folders added.
Adult titles NEW v1.02:
Adult titles are automatically handled. For now, the data provider is adultdvdempire.com.
Smooth, easy-to-use interface NEW v1.04:
With a full redesign, Pete's MediaBrowser Info Fetcher is now known as Media Center Master.
Television/T.V. titles NEW v1.06:
TV shows are now a member of the meta data-fetching party! Data is being fetched from thetvdb.com.
version repository & downloadsScreen shots:
