Hi everyone , im not sure where to start , im going to try to explain this as easy as possible ,
i deleted everything off my WD live streamimg media player HD , trying to start fresh and installed goodbye Black Mamba Theme V1.9
im reading the Black Mamba 1.9 User Guide for old Sheets.pdf , im doing exacly what it says , i added the goodbye black mamba bundle in thumbgen , everything esle is default …
I changed/renamed my movie to 247.degrees.fahrenheit.Bluray.mkv i clicked process files/folders with semi automatic , the problem is when i click on
Generate them and go to next , i should have 3 new files but all i have is 247.degrees.fahrenheit.Bluray.jpg
no xml and no sheet’s
in the options of input/output everything is default because im not to sure what they mean…
and im also using latest Thumbgen version.
i’ve uploaded a screenshot of the Imput/Output option if it helps!
Well I see your 3rd and 4th lines (Movieinfo Import/Movieinfo Export) are EMPTY seems to me there should be “$M$N” in BOTH those blank spots. I could be wrong…
I’ll disagre with flhthemi here, assuming you are trying to make the linksheets which this theme uses. Note that there are no XML files produced in this process. You seem to have all your input/output naming correct, mine setup is exactly the same.
If you are not trying to make linksheets and want to use XML files, you probably want to use BM v4 which is not a linksheet theme. (note the name of this thread)
With the setup you have:
1) You should get the thumbnail file (247.degrees.fahrenheit.Bluray.jpg) generated into the same directory as you have the movie. That seems to be working fine.
2) You should get the moviesheet which will also be called 247.degrees.fahrenheit.Bluray.jpg, in the directory above the directory that the movie is located by using the path “$M..$N” in Thumbgen for the “main moviesheet”. For example, if the movie is in D:\movies\247 Degrees Fahrenheit, then the moviesheet should appear in the d:\movies directory. Open up that jpg and it should be the moviesheet you are trying to generate.
3) If it does, you then need to rename the linksheet (moviesheet) to “247.degrees.fahrenheit.Bluray.mkv” and put it in the root of the theme on your WD Player.
If you are not getting the movie sheet in the directory up from the movie, I would check
1) In Thumbgen, I would go to “Options” and then the “General” tab. On the right hand side is the “Generate” check list which tells TG what to make. Make sure that you have “main movie sheet” checked off.
That’s all I can think of at the moment. See if the moviesheet is one directory up and if you have the correct “generate” option chosen, and then let us know what happens.
Note:
If you do not like the directory where the moviesheet is being placed, you can change that in the “main moviesheet” entry and choose a different default location.
Ahh, makes a lot of sense. Sorry, I just have a HUB so am not sure how the SMP works with this theme. Certainly as flhthemi had written about, your input/output naming setup would have to be much different than you have it. The “The Black Mamba Final” bundle will not setup your TG the way you need it to be to make it work with XMLs.
You need to install the bundle that comes with v1.9 called “Black Mamba v1.9 by DeVicious.bundle” and that should set you up correctly. The v1.9 user guide that Dev wrote combined with installing the correct bundle should make it pretty easy for you.
You can use this theme just fine… Just look at my settings, then just manually create the .xml file with the same name as the movie but with .xml, i.e. Avatar.mp4 → Avatar.xml and only put the following in the xml, because the rest is already in the movie sheet… :-) Also, turn OFF the media library in the unit, I found it more efficient and faster this way.
@gatesjunior, try posting links to pictures on external websites. If you post them here they dont show up until approved which could take a while especialy on a weekend
@MRBULL, hopefuly gatesjunior’s info will work for you when the pics show up. Until then…
DeVicious pulled down the older version of this for an array of reasons that I wont go over (several posts in this forum). The first page of this thread does say that this will work with older BM moviesheets, you should be able to create your own movie sheets without having to install the 1.9 bundle.
I am hesitant to even write this as I don’t remember it very well and don’t want to mess you up too bad, but I think you can probably create what you need with a little work using the current templates that you have. You are certainly welcome to give it a try at your own risk
Using the BMFinal template, Keep the options that are there, and change these options in Thumbgen to create what you need. This will create a cover, an XML file and a movie sheet.
Go to “Options” and:
On the “general” tab, check off “Thumbnail”, “movie information” and “main moviesheet”.
On the "input/output naming " tab
Thumbnail = $M$N - jpg
Movieinfo Import = $M$N - .xml - default
Movieinfo Export = $M$N - .xml - default Export using WDTV Live Hub Format
Main Moviesheet = $M$N$E_sheet - .jpg - WDLXTV-Live Generic Dynamic sheet /all modes
That should give you a cover, a movie sheet and an XML file in the same directory as your movie. I just tested it and for the movie file "Prince.of.Persia.1080p.mkv, and in the same directory TG generated:
Prince.of.Persia.1080p.jpg (movie cover)
Prince.of.Persia.1080p.mkv_sheet.jpg (the movie sheet)
Prince.of.Persia.1080p.xml (the XML sheet for the movie)
This would be for movies .TV shows would be done similar though I believe without the thumbnail. Hopefuly someone else here running it on SMP can confirm this will work (as I am using linksheets on the HUB so cannot test it).
Yes, I am running it with the SMP and my settings work. Yours obviously work as well, but I believe your method will also put ALL of the movie info in the xml, which is not necessary, only the movie sheet entry. I will also try to keep in mind the image issue as well. Thank you…
You know what though, given more thought, I like your setting better for the xml file. It doesn’t cause any more added time and it preps all of the movies for other templates and such… Also doesn’t require any manual editing of files, etc…
@gatesjunior: Cool, anyway you get it working the SMP is great. The XML setup I wrote above is from what I recall of a previous verision (maybe 1.5?) so not sure what you need in the XML file for the current version of the theme. I agree that the more data you have in the XML could possibly help you out later, though I rely on TGMD files for that and have helped me enormously when updating to a new theme version.
IMHO the BM is awesome and have been running it (and updating) since Dev’s first release. As soon as it came out I knew it was the theme for me. It’s a shame that the restrictions on size for the SMP prevent using linksheets though, as they really make it a lot faster. I have an old LivePlus in the bedroom that I was comtemplating replacing with an SMP, but after the ability to use linksheets came around but required enough space on the WD itself, I quashed that idea and will go with another HUB. The 30mb limit for themes is a killer. I like to have a look at all the themes the awesome and generous programers around here develop, so my theme directory on my HUB is 757mbs. My Goodbye Black Mamaba directory is close to 450mbs because of all the link sheets.
Enough rambling though. Glad you SMPers have found a way to get this running on your devices. It’s a great looking theme and I have the utmost respect for DeVicious and her coding and graphics skills. I am constantly amazed that people are willing to do so much work and let us have it for no cost. An amazing community.
@MRBULL : Hope you are finding your way now, with enough info to get up an running. Let us know how it is going.
Well, upgraded from the SMP to a Live Hub. Spent two and a half days renaming, deleting and Thumbgen’ing all my media files and I’m there. Everything works great; even managed to create season folder backdrops (as well as series folder backdrops) after modifying the Genre Folder bundle a bit.
A huge thank you to Dev for all her hard work and to all those who have contributed to this forum, I will admit I had to refer back to it a couple of times to finally finish everything. Also thanks to Thumbgen and his ‘package’ modification without whom none of this would have been possible, looking forward to version 2.
Funny, but I actually think age is an advantage using this device. The younger folks are used to things “just working” for them, while working with these themes requires a decent understanding of winows/linnux, some DOS command line stuff etc. I am not sure I would have all this setup the way I do if I didnt have 20 years on Windows and another ten prior to that on the command line. Due to that I know how to get around issues, get stuff mapped etc.
For example, I have some younger folks at my office who don’t understand what a file extension is, because the default on windows 7 is not to show them. Just click and the correct app comes up. How would you rename your linksheet jpgs to your movie extension if you didn’t even know what that was or how to get your PC to show it to you?
Perhaps it is us who have the advantage…
Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter. -Satchel Paige
Funny, but I actually think age is an advantage using this device. The younger folks are used to things “just working” for them, while working with these themes requires a decent understanding of winows/linnux, some DOS command line stuff etc. I am not sure I would have all this setup the way I do if I didnt have 20 years on Windows and another ten prior to that on the command line. Due to that I know how to get around issues, get stuff mapped etc.
For example, I have some younger folks at my office who don’t understand what a file extension is, because the default on windows 7 is not to show them. Just click and the correct app comes up. How would you rename your linksheet jpgs to your movie extension if you didn’t even know what that was or how to get your PC to show it to you?
Perhaps it is us who have the advantage…
Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter. -Satchel Paige
-P
WHAT !!! they don’t know what a file extension is??
they should be slapped
ok, I’m relatively young 32
built my 5 yr old a linux pc to surf the web watch videos, etc
from spare parts
my 5 yr old knows to click the file ending with .mkv and not the file ending in .jpg for watching movies
In TG, under “Options” go to the “General” tab, click off the “Main/Extra moviesheet metada”. Under “Input/Output Naming” tab, in the area for Main/Extra moviesheet metada" put “$M$N$E” and it should make you a file with the movie name and a .tgmd extension. Save the .tgmd files and when you want to upgrade or use another theme, you can have TG just read the files and generate the new backdrops without doing any of the manual work.
@KAD79
I agree with you but I dont work at a tech company so people just use computers for work, if they dont need to know it, the dont. As above, file extensions are turned off be default, so people dont know what kind of file they are clicking on, could be a program file, could be a rar/zip, they have no idea. You have to know a bit about the OS to do this stuff. It wasn’t that long ago when everyone new what a batch file was vs and exe etc. MS ans Apple are trying to make thing so easy that no one learns how to actualy use the product. Ask a random person to remove a file from the startup entry in their registry and look at their expression…
Ill make sure to slap a few people for you when I get to the office tomorrow. :smileyvery-happy:, and I love that your kid already know this stuff. Brilliant on you my friend.
WHAT !!! they don’t know what a file extension is??
they should be slapped
haha you would think that but in windows file extensions for common files like images or videos are disabled by default so many people don’t even know there is such a thing
also… many here are old enough to be my Dad… first one who asks “who’s your daddy” will get a stink eye
I have a question for DeVicious about the sign to indicate if a movie or episode has been seen…
Is it possible to add some code in xml to add this functionnality ? A simple sign on the cover will be the best. But it’s also possible to manage 2 covers like :
Battlestar.Galactica.S01e01.jpg
Battlestar.Galactica.S01e01_seen.jpg
Your theme is perfect but it’s the only functionnality missing.
