Searching

Searching

Where the data comes from

Every list is the answer to a question put to MediathekViewWeb (mediathekviewweb.de/api/query). It returns the newest matching entries first. MediathekCockpit asks for one page at a time and asks again for the next page when you scroll past the end. The list of broadcaster names for the channel selection comes from the same service (/api/channels).

Nothing is stored between sessions: opening the plugin starts a new query.

Text search

Press BLUE (or open the plugin from the EPG). In the keyboard type a word or phrase and confirm.

• The text is looked up in the topic (the name of the programme or series) and in the title (the name of the episode). A hit in either field counts.
• Results are sorted by broadcast date, newest first.
• An empty search is allowed. It is sent to the service as it is, and the answer is whatever the service returns for an empty query (normally the newest programmes).
• If the text contains a season/episode tag such as (S3/E12), the tag is removed before the search, so that searching for the name of a recording finds the whole series.

When you press BLUE in the list, the keyboard starts with the topic of the selected entry, which is the quickest way to find more episodes of a series.

Channel selection

Press GREEN. A list shows All channels and every broadcaster that the service knows (ARD, ZDF, 3sat, ARTE.DE, KiKA, ARD-alpha, BR, HR, MDR, NDR, ORF, RBB, SR, SRF, SWR, WDR, ...). Choose one to list only its programmes, newest first. If the service cannot be reached, the list delivered with the plugin is shown instead (see Channels and Logos).

Search and channel do not combine. Choosing a channel replaces the text search, and a text search replaces the channel. The last choice wins. To look for a title on one channel, search for the title and look at the channel column.

Show future movies

Show future movies (setting, off by default) asks the service to include entries whose broadcast date is in the future.

Filters

After a page is loaded, some entries are dropped. The filters are settings:

Filter	Setting	Default	Drops entries...
Audio description	Skip 'Audio description'	on	whose title or topic contains "Audiodeskription"
Trailer	Skip 'Trailer'	on	whose title or topic contains "Trailer"
Sign language	Skip 'Sign language'	on	whose title or topic contains "Gebärdensprache"
Short clips	Skip short duration	5 minutes	shorter than the given number of minutes (0 turns it off)

The words are matched exactly as written (capital letter first). They are German because the Mediatheken are.

Because the filters run after the page is loaded, a page of 120 may show fewer entries. The paging still counts the unfiltered results, so no entry is skipped when you scroll on.

How an entry is built

MediathekViewWeb delivers, for every programme, a channel, a topic, a title, a description, a duration, a time stamp, a file size, and up to three video addresses (low, medium and HD quality). MediathekCockpit tidies these up for the list:

• If the title begins with the topic, that part is removed from the title.
• A season/episode tag (Snn/Enn) in the title is moved to the topic, so the list shows Tatort (S12/E4).
• A leading : , | or - is removed from the title.
• The list's main line is the topic (or the title if there is no topic); the grey line below is the title.
• A description that ends in ..... (cut off by the service) is shortened to its last complete sentence.

The tidied main line is also what a download is named after.