Covers and Metadata

Covers and Metadata

Where the information comes from

For a normal Enigma2 recording (.ts) MovieCockpit reads the files that sit next to it:

File	Holds	Used for
Title.eit	The EPG event as received from the broadcaster	Title, short and extended description, exact start time and length of the programme
Title.ts.meta	Enigma2's recording meta data	Service reference, name, description, recording start/stop time; used when there is no EIT
Title.ts.xmeta	MovieCockpit's own additions: when the recording really started and stopped, the margins that were used	Trimming the margins off the length
Title.ts.cuts	Cut list: marks, in/out points, the last watched position	Resume position, progress bar, first mark start
Title.txt	Optional text you wrote	Replaces the extended description
Title.jpg	Cover	The picture shown for the entry

If a recording has neither an EIT nor a meta file, the title is built from the file name (the usual YYYYMMDD HHMM - Channel - Title pattern) and the length is unknown.

Exact event times

An Enigma2 recording normally starts a few minutes early and ends a few minutes late. MovieCockpit combines the EIT (programme start and length) with the real recording start and stop it has stored, and shows the programme start and length, clipped to what was really recorded. If the recording started in the middle of the programme, the start shown is where the recording starts; if it was cut off early, the length is shortened accordingly.

The same start time is what Video start at: event start uses to skip the pre-roll when you play the recording (see Playback).

Tip: if a time or length looks wrong, select the entry and press 5 (Recording Info). It lists the values from the cache, the EIT file, the meta file and the xmeta file side by side. See Troubleshooting.

Recordings split into parts

Recordings that Enigma2 splits into numbered parts (Title_001.ts, Title_002.ts) are listed as separate entries named Title (001), Title (002). They share the cover of the base name.

Other video files

Files that are not recordings (for example .mkv or .mp4) are listed too. Their length comes from ffprobe. If a .meta file exists, its name, description, service and date are used; otherwise the date is the file's creation time. They get a service reference matching their type so that they play.

Folders

A folder's description comes from a text file named after the folder (Series.txt beside the folder Series). The folder date is its modification time. The .. row and the trashcan row have no description.

Covers

What counts as a cover

A cover is a JPEG file with the same base name as the recording:

Movie Title.ts
Movie Title.jpg       <- cover of this recording

A folder cover is a JPEG named after the folder, either next to it or inside it:

Series/                 the folder
Series.jpg              <- cover of the folder (next to it)
Series/Series.jpg       <- also accepted (inside it)

You can place covers by hand. They are read into the cache the next time the entry is loaded or the cache is reloaded (see Cache Database).

Which cover is shown

For an entry MovieCockpit looks for:

1. a cover of the entry itself (for a numbered part, of the base name without the _001),
2. otherwise a cover of the folder it is in,
3. otherwise a built-in "no cover" picture, if Show fallback cover is on (default).

This is why a series folder with one cover gives every episode in it a picture.

Downloading covers

Covers are downloaded by the optional CoverCockpit plugin, not by MovieCockpit itself. When a recording starts and Download cover automatically for recording is on (default), CacheCockpit asks CoverCockpit for a cover for that programme; the picture is saved as <recording>.jpg and the entry is refreshed. Without CoverCockpit, or with the setting off, nothing is downloaded and only covers you place by hand are shown.

Cover source (Settings) chooses where to look:

Source	Meaning
TVSpielfilm (default)	Look only at TVSpielfilm
TVMovie	Look only at TVMovie
HÖRZU	Look only at HÖRZU
TV Für Alle	Look only at TV Für Alle
automatic	Try the sources in CoverCockpit's own priority order until one returns a picture

The channel of a recording is matched to the source's channel list by its service reference (CoverCockpit ships a channel table). Channels that are not in the table get no automatic cover.

Delete a cover that you do not like with Delete cover in the function menu. It removes the JPEG file and the cached picture. For a folder it removes the folder cover.

Movie info and downloads

Where	Plugin	What you get
INFO (short)	built in	Programme information from the cache (EPG info)
INFO (long), or yellow in the EPG info	TMDBCockpit	Information and artwork from The Movie Database. When it changes files for the entry, the entry is reloaded into the cache
blue in the EPG info	MediathekCockpit	Search the German public-service Mediatheken for the title and download it

These buttons are only shown when the corresponding plugin is installed.