Some questions about movie set artwork, DB exports, and local scraping

I have a massive media collection that consists of many thousands of movies. There are lots of movie sets in this collection. I have a tendency to meticulously groom the collection, kind of an OCD thing, so that it's as close to perfect as I can get it to the point of sometimes making custom covers because the ones I can find just aren't good enough. I make sure every movie has the right poster fanart and synopsis. Likewise, I do the same for all my movie sets. I export my DB as individual files so if a new XBMC device is added to the network, it will scrape the local NFOs and artwork and everything will be just how I want it.

Is there a way to force XBMC to scrape my meticulously chosen set covers and fanart if a new device is introduced or a device must be reset? If they don't exist already, can tags be introduced in the NFOs that specify set fanart and thumbs?

Here is a picture of my folder structure:



Each movie in the set is stored in its own folder within the folder for the set. Set.jpeg, and set-fanart.jpg are the images I have specifically chosen for that set and are stored in the root of the set folder

Not too sure about how one would go about this if the DB is exported as a single file...but if you export as separate files (so that each video gets its own NFO) You can certainly label the <set>, <sorttitle>, <trailer>, <thumb> and <fanart> locations... in fact you don't have to even specify the thumbnail and fanart locations as long as you export as separate files...then all you need to do for it to be scraped that way for on a new device is scan your original, or a copy of your DB with all the NFOs, thumbnails, and fanarts...I know exporting as separate files makes the DB seem a bit less organized but the function far surpasses the form.

PS, please help the comunity and add any custom made fanarts/thumbnails to themoviedb.org so we can all bennifit from your work

PPS, I do not know of a way to specify set fanart and thumbs...but if you get your DB perfect...you can just copy your userdata (from the pic I think you are using windows) C:\Users\%Username%\AppData\Roaming\XBMC\userdata ...this will not only have the same sets, set fanarts, and set thumbs...but also your skins, skin settings, and add-ons.

The <set> designation is stored with the .nfo and the library, on export to a single file, the set information is stored along with all the other metadata. You can edit this export and re-import it along with your changes.. but when you're dealing with a large library.. editing becomes chore. I suggest you export separate files in each movie folder as recommended by 'digitaltomj' , and then pull them back in with a local refresh.

I know the set tags are in the NFOs. What I need is existing or new tags that force the set thumbnail and fanart I want instead of whatever is chosen by default

Come to think of it, It would be nice to have a synopsis for the set as well. :-)

(2012-06-02 06:56)Phillipsted Wrote:  Come to think of it, It would be nice to have a synopsis for the set as well. :-)

I agree...i think this might be better in the xbmc core request forum now...because I believe these are things XBMC simply does not do yet