[OzDrDj]

Hi There Developers,
Would like to request an Additional Media Type, We have Movies, Television and Music Video, but I would like to request another category such as Miscellaneous Media. I would like to add a folder of Trailers, A folder of Commercials, A folder of Bumpers etc, for mixing in with my playlist to get that cinema feel.
They can be added to one of the other categories, but obviously get mixed into the movies tv mtv, which is no good at all. An extra category for miscellaneous media would enable the user to add any manner of separate media to be played back through Kodi without interfering with the other categories. 
I feel that this would be a Welcome addition from other users and a very handy feature.
Thanks for Listening
Oz

[PatK]

Thought I'd jump into this post, as I pretty well have working most of the features mentioned. I have a folder for Youtube clips, Misc stuff, cartoons, shorts, downloads etc.. the real issue is getting the scrapers to recognize the files and for Kodi to include these in your library. As long as the scrapers are handled by 3rd party sources, we can exclude most of this, Kodi does allow for the -trailer extension in the initial scrape. The rest of the stuff I handle with file/path nodes, and throw in art work for most of the videos, Kodi appreciates the posters, thumbnails and backgrounds, even the folders themselves can have artwork, even without art, the files are listed. Do exclude all of the sources from the scrapes (with none).

Node direct file path e.g.
 

Code:

?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
<node type="folder">
    <label>Holding Area</label>
    <icon>Y:\icons\work.png</icon>
    <path>Y:/downloads</path>
</node>

Throw this as an .xml into your userdata/library/video and it should show up as Video nodes (wiki), change the title for Trailers, Tubes, whatever, manipulation with Add-on:Library Node Editor (wiki) is easier.

You might want to investigate Add-on:CinemaVision (wiki) a replacement for Add-on:Cinema Experience (wiki) to see if support is current, your post leans that way.

[emveepee]

The trouble for me for other types is adding support for metadata parsing that is not of the known types.  I feel NFO files are very restrictive in Kodi for generic media.  I would think being able to add home videos would be made easier with an NFO file but it is almost impossible.

[Karellen]

but it is almost impossible.

Why? What difficulty are you experiencing? I've added quite a lot of home movies and documentaries using nfo files, and all works quite well.
I then add a new menu item for direct access, and then exclude those from the main movie listing. This needs a compatible skin.

[emveepee]

My main issue is creating an episodic collection which might for example be one vacation, wedding etc with multiple files.  I tried to use name based episode.xml but that fails even with showtitle.  Then the episode is continually added to the database even with a uniqueid.  Even with a faked tvshows.xml I could not get episodic meta data to show on Estuary.  Requiring tvshow.nfo is a pain too if the showtitle is entered.

The second issue is the odd requirement for a unique ID for files that shouldn't be scraped.

Martin

[Karellen]

I tried to use name based episode.xml but that fails even with showtitle.

Episodes always need the S01E01 numbering. You can't get around that.
Maybe the templates might come in handy... https://kodi.wiki/view/NFO_files/Templates

tvshows.xml

Should be tvshow.xml (singular)

Then the episode is continually added to the database

That sounds like a problem. Would need a Debug Log to see what is going on there.

[OzDrDj]

Hi PatK,
Thanks for you input, although a lot of it is over my head, but I am learning, all be it slowly. I have tried for the last hour to add a "Node" although I'm not sure what that means. It looks like another menu location. However I can't add anything to it.
I have read the Wiki and unfortunately most of it is going over my head. I guess if I keep playing around with it, I will sort something eventually. It seems this sort of thing has been asked for before, I have read a couple of posts like this, and it all seems to come down to nodes.
i added your script, but i guess i did that wrong as nothing happened anywhere i could see. I tried adding nodes through the node editor, and i have another video location but i could do that by adding things before, but they still show up in movies or tv or mtv, mixed in with the other content and I certainly don't want 1000 commercials mixed in with my movies or tv shows or music videos. (Thus why I suggested a totally separate video type).
I made this xml file

?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
<node type="folder">
    <label>Holding Area</label>
    <icon>D:\videos\bumpers\commercials\icons\Commercials.png</icon>
    <path>D:\videos\bumpers\commercials</path>
</node>

and saved it as commercials.xml in userdata\library\video, but what that did, I have no idea. Sorry that I am stupid. 
I tried adding my commercials directory as a Movie, then a TV Show, then as MTV, then when it asks where to get info from, well, theres nowhere to scrape data from for commercials, or bumpers, or whatever, so, it would have to be local nfo, and creating nfos for 1000 commercials is just ridiculous. 

Thus, A seperate category, Miscelaneous, that just reads the Title of the video from the directory and puts it in a seperate list, Movies, TV, MTV, Misc. I know what i am trying to say, and do, but Im probably not thinking along the right lines, I don't know, AAARRRGGHHHH, lol.
Thanks for your help anyway, it is much appreciated.
Oz

[OzDrDj]

Additional,

I have Added the folders, Commercials and Bumpers in the Videos Section. So by going into videos I can see, select and play these videos. This would be sufficient personally for my purposes, If I could just add these videos to a Playlist.
However anything I try here just doesn't work. There are options for adding files and folders and paths etc, but none of these will pull the video into the playlist. Is this because they need to be scraped to add to a playlist? If that is the case is it possible to add a generic .nfo to the folder?
...and, I know, Tedious, but I have made a YouTube playlist with some bumpers, i though I might add them to a playlist that way, but most are under 30 seconds and kodi wont look at them? There was something called CinemaVision in the past that would play a short clip, but it has gone.
Thanks Again.
Oz

[emveepee]

Episodes always need the S01E01 numbering. You can't get around that.

Should be tvshow.xml (singular)That sounds like a problem. Would need a Debug Log to see what is going on there.

For TV show episodes that is fair.  My point specific to this thread is that a new simple media type that doesn't require faking both season and episode numbers, creating two xml files per folder, forcing files to be managed to share one tvshow file, and faking useless uniqueid would be useful change for some users. 

Everything is there in the episodetails template to get a nicer display than a filename.

[PatK]

The reason for limited formats, as each requires scrapers (mostly 3rd party) that populate from different web address and return values in select formats. Weird personal stuff doesn't scrape if it's not in any internet database, so weddings, commercials etc.. are not going to be part of the library. Smart Playlists only work on items in the library... which is an internal Kodi database thing.
Kodi does offer video mode which allows you to play any video as a file directly and is the the 3rd format option you are looking for, so either create your own .nfo or deal with this issue in the fashion I suggested.

You can create a .nfo for stuiff that doesn't fit the library... use 'local information scraper' or manually NFO files/Movies (wiki) but for thousands of files it's a bit tedious.

Create a folder called 'commercials' and toss all your videos inside (make sure this source is not nested inside a Kodi scrape), from the Kodi front page use the 'video' function and add a new source called 'commercials' and path it as the source, name it commercials, no media or scraper (don't get fancy with your naming convention). The following node: saved as commercials.xml and placed inside your userdata/library/video will list all of your ads through video mode feature, save as a favourite.  

?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
<node type="folder">
    <label>commercials</label>
    <icon>D:\videos\bumpers\commercials\icons\Commercials.png</icon>
    <path>D:\videos\bumpers\commercials</path>
</node>

The Add-on:Library Node Editor will not make this for you. this is a manual task.
Watch that your editor doesn't add a .txt extension to the .xml (I use the free notepad++)

[OzDrDj]

Hi Pat, and thanks for the reply. So, I did as you said. 
"Create a folder called 'commercials' and toss all your videos inside (make sure this source is not nested inside a Kodi scrape), from the Kodi front page use the 'video' function and add a new source called 'commercials' and path it as the source, name it commercials, no media or scraper (don't get fancy with your naming convention)."
So, Just for info, I have My main drive C: my boot Drive, D: All sorts of Crap as ya do. E: Movies F: TV Shows a total of 38TB in all. But Drive D, holds my miscelaneous crap in D:Videos\Commercials plus D:\Videos\Trailers plus another D:\Videos\Bumpers\, Bumpers Directory holds another 4 types, Bumpers General, Bumpers Mine, Bumpers THX, Bumpers Intermission.
So I Go into Videos, Then Files, Add Videos, Select My Commercials Folder, Now, I have to set content, Its Not Movies, Its Not Music Videos, Its Not TVShows, So I select None, I do this for Trailers and Bumpers also. (I have tried adding as Moves with local content only, and TV shows, with local content only instead of scrapers but this achieves exactly the same thing)
So, now to play them I select Videos, here are my normal selections Moves, TV Shows, Music Videos, Files, Playlists, Video Add-Ons. (Is this where the Node thing, Commercials.xml is supposed to put Commercials, If so then that didnt work.)
Then I select Files, My Commercials and Trailers and Bumpers folders are here, I can select them, which gives me a file list and I can play them from there. But trying to get these things into KODI just doesn't happen, Is this where I need an NFO file, If so is there a generic NFO that can go into this folder for everything, or does there need to be one for each file. 
As I said before, there are several options for adding files or paths to a playlist, but these do nothing also. If I could just get these folders into a playlist all would be well, but it just don't work.

The ultimate Goal here is to create a playlist that for each of these Items "Bumpers Mine" "Bumpers THX" "Bumpers Intermission" "Bumpers General" "Trailers" "Commercials"
Then I can create another compilation playlist, adding in rough order my playlists, "Bumpers Mine", "Commercial", "Commercial", "Bumpers General", "Short Documentary", "Cartoon", "Bumpers Intermission", "Movie", "MTV"
Then I can either just play this playlist which will play a Cinema type experience, plus I can add it to a TV Channel in Pseudo TV Live, Giving me a 24hour Cinema Channel.
This is the goal. So now I have the videos in the video folder, that I can select, and play, but I can't incorporate them into playlists or anywhere else in kodi.

Cheers
Oz

[PatK]

I can select them, which gives me a file list and I can play them from there

That's an important first step, so indeed you can access these video using Kodi... as you've noted you don't need nodes or playlists for access.

trying to get these things into KODI just doesn't happen, Is this where I need an NFO file

Now we're catching on... yup to put them into the library you need to create with some method the .nfo file as a TV show/episode or Movie.

If I could just get these folders into a playlist all would be well,

Let me make this very clear... playlists and smart playlists only work on the listings in the library (they have to have a .nfo internally). So let's forget about playlists for all these itty bitty files. I have given you a method that all these folders that are not in the library and haven't been scanned and have zero .nfo information can be accessed using manually created nodes. Video nodes (wiki) check this thread https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=257378 (wiki)

The ultimate Goal

Noble, but not with playlists. You don't need playlists for this. From my experience Cinemavision can path individual videos/folders etc. I'm a little unsure of the execution of TV Channels in Pseudo TV Live, I don't use them.

some examples of my set-up, the majority of listings not scanned into the library, but is available inside of Kodi.

https://imgur.com/xSygg4J

https://imgur.com/3Yvut9z

[OzDrDj]

Thanks PATK, I appreciate you persevering with me on this, I know i'ts painful, but I'll get it together and work out how to get this done.
So, nothing will go into a smart playlist unless it has an .nfo file. I think this is where im coming unstuck. I tried you method of creating the commercial.xml file, and to be honest, I can't see and difference or any thing anywhere?
I had a look at cinema vision, but can;t seem to find it anywhere anymore, there is a new one called Cinema Experience, which I am playing with at the moment for a bit of fun, it has a hell of alot of stuff to config and im a bit lost with it, but thats another story. It doesnt address my goal.
So, 2 way come to mind how to get this happening. I have created multiple YouTube Playlists, Commercials, Bumpers, Trailers etc. I can drag them into a tv channel using Pseudo TV Live and creating a playlist on a channel. However really short videos don't show up. I believe kodi wont play videos under 30 seconds. Is there a thing I could change in one of the config files to perhaps just drop this back to about 15 seconds for a trial to see if it works?
Or, new request, A "default.nfo" that could be placed in a folder with all these little clips that could send kodi a bare minimum of nfo info, (thats a nice little thing , nfo info) that could let someone put these files into a smart playlist. 
On another note, love the look of your menus, brilliant. I am using Aeon Nox Silvo, being the most customizable skin I can find, that doesn't crash every 5 minutes. 
Cheers and thanks again,
Oz

[PatK]

creating the commercial.xml file, and to be honest, I can't see and difference or any thing anywhere?

No you wouldn't, it;s just a way of putting those sources on the same page with other links that are in the library. Direct path nodes do not require designation as a video source and offer some of the node functionality.

of alot of stuff to config and im a bit lost with it,

Dedicated people who are aficionados love it.

I believe kodi wont play videos under 30 seconds

Not true, (I just played 22 sec film scratches...) but a feature within Kodi is the ability to pay an entire folder, or queue a bunch (and save the queue) , you might want to explore that with the videos in focus.

A "default.nfo" that could be placed in a folder

I didn't want to mention this, as the scraper was beta 0.0.1, and dropped after Leia. Filename-only Scraper; scrapes the filename by removing the extension and replacing the - and_with spaces. Author: chaosgrdi would require you to find the add-on and make a portable installation of Leia to run it, and I'm unsure if it is even available atm. One of the 3rd party media managers might offer a quicker solution (explore TMM). I prefer simple, and Aeon Nox Silvo in vertical mode is best for my needs.

Oops forgot to mention that to see/mod .nfo files, you need to export your library as separate files, I just presumed you knew that. In that vein, I guess it's possible to take the simplistic .nfo and re-create a batch file to rename and add this .nfo but does seem like a bit over the top.

[emveepee]

You can create a .nfo for stuiff that doesn't fit the library... use 'local information scraper' or manually NFO files/Movies (wiki) but for thousands of files it's a bit tedious.

As I noted I was hoping for a new episodic type that is not a TV series oriented with one NFO file to make it a lot less tedious.  The reality is for video from the camera, the thumbail is not always helpful and the alphabet soup filename the camera makes is no help either.  I think it could help with other requests ie for sporting events too which are not movies or TV series.