For usage of my skin you will need the
following software items:
1. Intervocative’s DVD-Profiler 2.3x and greater
This skin was developed and tested with version 2.3.x. I have no idea if this
runs on earlier versions and therefore cannot give any support if used on them.
Some features supported by this skin like COLORNAMES and automatic setting of
it's language will only be supported by the new version of the DVD-Profiler
(2.4.x)
2. Internet Explorer 6.0
As the DVD-Profiler depends on the installation of the Internet Explorer, I
assume this being installed in the actual version (>= 6.0).
3. Java Virtual Machine
A Java Virtual Machine (Microsoft or Sun) is not absolutely required, but
highly recommended. Some features, such as the Download feature, the Statistics
and the management operations do however need Java to be functional.
Typically the MS VM comes installed by default with Internet Explorer. However,
as of February 4, 2003 Microsoft has removed Java from XP SP1a. This only effects
XP users who did not have the Microsoft Java VM previously installed.
There are still indirect ways to get the VM from Microsoft (e.g. it is
contained in the Service Pack 5 for Developer Studio 6.0):
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/downloads/updates/sp/vs6/sp5/default.aspx
but it is no longer supported by Microsoft.
You can however use Sun's VM available at:
http://java.sun.com/j2se/downloads.html
4. DVD Player software
A DVD player software must only be installed if you want to start and view your
DVDs inside of the DVD-Profiler. If you want, you may want to get the Freeware
Player VLC at http://www.videolan.org/vlc/.
Extract the
contents of the file "mithirandir_v_153.zip" into a temporary
directory, this should give you the files "mithirandir_v_153.dps",
"mithirandirDownload_v_153.dps" and
"mithirandirs_skin_master.zip" (along with some ReadMe files).
Copy the files
"mithirandir_v_153.dps" and "mithirandirDownload_v_153.dps"
to your "<DVD-Profiler>\skins" directory (<DVD-Profiler>
refers to the installation directory of DVD Profiler).
Extract the
file "mithirandirs_skin_master.zip" inside of the Archive
"mithirandir_v_153.zip" into the DVD Profiler directory, preserving
the included directory structure. This should put
the file
"settings.js" in the "<DVD-Profiler>\skins"
directory
various *.class files in the
"<DVD-Profiler>\java" directory
various subdirectories in the
"<DVD-Profiler>\images" directory
various text files in the
"<DVD-Profiler>data\infos" directory
To install the
java classes, copy or move them to the "classes" directory of your
virtual machine:
For the Microsoft VM this is
the directory "<Windows>\Java\Classes\" (<Windows>
refers to the Windows installation directory of, e.g. "C:\Windows"
or "C:\WinNT").
For the Sun VM this is the
directory "<Program Files>\Java\j2re1_x.y_z" or "<Program
Files>\Java\jre1_x.y_z" (depending on the version of the VM). If
the subdirectory \classes does not exist it has to be created.
Notes:
1. When using Sun's VM you must take a closer look at Part V: Troubleshooting .2 (Java Classes Error) in order to
create/adjust the necessary policies for the java classes!
2. The required files for the display of Awards must be downloaded
separately and placed into the directory "<DVD-Profiler>\data\infos",
replacing the existing dummy files.
3. Before starting the skin in DVD Profiler, make sure to verify that
ALL settings in "Settings.js" match the situation of your
setup! You will definitely encounter problems if not done correctly! With each
new version of this skin and each new feature added, there may be some new
adjustments necessary in the settings file.
The official
download sources of this skin and it's extended files are the following:
http://www.geocities.com/ya_shin/
http://www.dougweb.org/dvdpro/
http://www.mithirandir.de/dvd-profiler/skins/mithirandir_v_153.zip
The skin "Mithirandir's skin"
in it's current version 1.53 has the following features and limitations.
You can set the language of the skin to
the values "English", "Deutsch", "Nederlands",
"Français" and "Português". If other languages are wanted
(like Spanish oder Italian for example), you would have to provide me with the
translations of the strings used inside the skin.
You can use the Notes field to store
additional info about the DVD like an alternative title, the original title for
foreign films, the IMDB tag or when the DVD was last watched. For that, the
relevant information must be enclosed by special tags, these must begin with
<TAGNAME> and end with </TAGNAME>, for example <AKA>...</AKA>
for the alternative title. The tags are not case sensitive.
Illustration
2: Tags
Currently, the following tags are
supported by the skin:
Displays text from the Notes field that
is enclosed in <ORI> </ORI> as Original Title in the
title section of the skin. For example <ORI>Lola rennt</ORI>
would show the original title for the film "Run Lola Run" (see
below).
Illustration 3: <AKA> and <ORI > tags
Displays text from Notes field that is
enclosed in <AKA> </AKA> as Alternative Title in the
title section of the skin. For example <AKA>The Gates of Hell</AKA>
would show the alternative title for the film "City of the Living Dead".
Displays text from Notes field that is
enclosed in <COUNTRY> </COUNTRY> as production
country for the current title in the title section of the skin. For example <COUNTRY>USA</COUNTRY>.
Illustration
4: <COUNTRY> tag
Displays text from Notes field that is
enclosed in <TAGLINE> </TAGLINE> as tag line, for
example <TAGLINE>In space, no one can hear you scream.</TAGLINE>
would show the tagline for the film "Alien" under the title in the
header of the skin.
Illustration
5: <TAGLINE> tag
Displays text from Notes field that is
enclosed in <WATCHED> </WATCHED> as date when the DVD
was watched in the "Pers. Infos" tab. For example <WATCHED>2005-03-18</WATCHED>.
Since DVD Profiler 2.4 the "Last Watched" date is also shown here.
Displays text from Notes field that is
enclosed in <STORAGE> </STORAGE> as storage place for
the current DVD in the "Pers. Infos" tab. For example: <STORAGE>Living
Room</STORAGE>
Beginning with version 1.53 of this skin,
you can also define the path to the DVD itself if it has been copied to the
hard drive, for example
<storage>M:\Movies\Disney\LITTLEMERMAID\VIDEO_TS\VIDEO_TS.VOB</storage>
for the complete
DVD structure or
<storage>M:\Movies\FantasticFour.mpg</storage>
for the movie
as a single file. The skin is even able to play the movie, for that you will
need the installation and definition of an external DVD player program inside
of the skins settings (see Part
IV: Customization for options).
Displays text from Notes field that is
enclosed in <COMMENTS> </COMMENTS> as comment for the
current DVD in the "Pers. Infos" tab. For example <COMMENTS>2-DVD</COMMENTS>
or <COMMENT>Made for TV</COMMENT>
Illustration
6: <WATCHED>,
<STORAGE>, and <COMMENTS> tags
Displays text from Notes field that is
enclosed in <STUDIOS> </STUDIOS> as additional
studios for the current DVD. For example <STUDIOS>Marvel
Entertainment, BMG Video<STUDIOS>. This allow the user to display
more than the three studios allowed within DVD Profiler; given the amount of
companies involved in making movies, this is occasionally necessary.
<GENRES>:
Displays text from Notes field that is
enclosed in <GENRES> </GENRES> as additional genres
for the current DVD. For example <GENRES>Mystery, Crime</GENRES>.
This allows the user to assign more than three genres per DVD or use additional
Genres, not defined in DVD Profiler.
Displays text from Notes field that is
enclosed in <RUNTIME> </RUNTIME> as runtime of the
DVD in an extended format. For example: <RUNTIME > 1:37:14 </RUNTIME>.
This allow the user to display a more precise runtime than supported by DVD
Profiler. This may be interesting for horror films and the related Cut/Uncut
situation. The supported formats are: "hh:mm:ss" as well as
"mmm:ss", e.g. "01:37:14“ or „97:14“.
Illustration
7: <RUNTIME> tag
Declares
the text enclosed by <URL>
and </URL > as a direct Web-Link to the official Website of the
arbitrary movie, for example
<URL> http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/underworldevolution/
</ URL >.
Illustration
8: <URL tag>
Displays text from Notes field that is
enclosed in <CUSTOM> and </CUSTOM> as user defined
description for the current DVD. The <CUSTOM> tag supports HTML code,
such as the integration of images or background images, playing of music or
sounds, setting of back- or foreground colors as well as many other HTML tags.
Some HTML code will, however, not be displayed properly, as the HTML parser
used by the skin does not support .all available HTML tags. The contents of the
<CUSTOM> Tag is shown on a special tab page, which name can be adjusted
with the variable “CustomTabName”
inside of the settings file.
<IMDB>:
Uses text from Notes field that is
enclosed in <IMDB> </IMDB> as a direct IMDb link in
the "Pers. Infos" tab.
For example <IMDB>tt0130827</IMDB>
would provide the direct link for the film "Run Lola Run" in the IMDb
(see Part IV: Customization for options).
The format of the link can be adjusted in
the settings by means of the variable IMDB_Title (see also: Part IV: Customization), wherein <TITLE> will
be replaced by the Title of the selected profile, <YEAR> will be replaced
by the production year of the selected profile and <LINK> will be
replaced by the actual link
For example, the format
"<TITLE> (<YEAR>) [<LINK>] will result in the display as
shown in Illustration 8:
Illustration 9:
<IMDB>, <RATING> and <VOTES> Tags
Displays text from Notes field that is
enclosed in <RATING> </RATING> as IMDb rating of the
current DVD in the "Pers. Infos" tab. For example
<RATING>8.2/10</RATING>.
Displays text from Notes field that is
enclosed in <VOTES> </VOTES> as number of IMDB votes
for the current DVD in the "Pers. Infos" tab. For example <VOTES>7.351</VOTES>.
<QUOTES>:
Displays text from the Notes field that
is enclosed in <QUOTES> </QUOTES> as quotes
collection for the current DVD in the Add. Infos tab.
Illustration
10: <QUOTES>-tag
Displays
text from the Notes field that is enclosed in <TRIVIA> </TRIVIA>
as trivia collection for the current DVD in the Add. Infos tab.
Illustration
11: <TRIVIA>-Tag
Displays
text from the Notes field that is enclosed in <GOOFS> </GOOFS>
as collection of Goofs for the current DVD in the Add. Infos tab.
Illustration
12: <GOOFS> tag
Displays
text from the Notes field that that is enclosed in <REVIEWS> </REVIEWS>
as collection of reviews for the current DVD in the Add. Infos tab.
Illustration
13: <REVIEWS> tag
Displays text from Notes field that is
enclosed in <DETAILS> and </DETAILS> as detailed
description for the current DVD, for example TV episode guides (EPGs) or track
listings for music DVDs, as these often exceed the capabilities of the Overview
field.
The <DETAILS> tag supports HTML
code, such as the integration of images or background images, playing of music
or sounds, setting of back- or foreground colors as well as many other HTML
tags. Some HTML code will, however, not be displayed properly, as the HTML
parser used by the skin does not support .all available HTML tags.
This feature was mainly implemented to
support the EPG project of user addicted2dvd. Take a look at "http://dvd.snowhopers.com/epg/"!
Illustration 14: <DETAILS> Tag (EPG)
Illustration
15:Entering the <DETAILS> tag
for EPGs
Notes:
1. To use EPG's, download the definitions located at the URL given
above. Copy existing pictures to the path you defined in the settings file
("MyDetailsPath", see also Part IV:
Customization) and insert the HTML text of the EPG into the Notes field.
Afterwards, enclose it by <DETAILS> and </DETAILS>.
2. Optionally you can remove the paths of the pictures inside of the
HTML code, as this is replaced by the path defined by the variable "MyDetailsPath"
from the settings. However, if you do this, the images will not be displayed
when the Notes field is viewed with other skins.
3. Music files (Midi/MP3) which are possibly included in the EPG could
collide with the support of audio files inside the gallery. So it would be best
do disable one of them.
4. Alternatively to entering it into the Notes field, beginning with
the version 1.52 the content of the <DETAILS> tag can also be read from
an external file. In order to do this, the filename of the EPG must be entered
into the "Titles.txt" file. For example, the
entry "German/24 – Season 1- Mithirandir.html" would read the
content of the file
"<MyInfosPath>/Details/German/24 – Season 1 – Mithirandir.html"
5. Alternatively to entering it into the Notes field, beginning with
the version 1.52 the content of the <QUOTES>,
<TRIVIA>,<GOOFS> and <REVIEWS> tags can also be read from an
external file. These files must be placed in the folder(s)
<MyInfosPath>/<Tag> (e.g. <MyInfosPath>/Quotes) and their
name must have the structure <title>_<year>.<tag>.html,
with <title> being the local or original title of the DVD (characters
that cannot be used for filenames will be replaced by "_"). For
example for the film "Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope":you would
use:
<MyInfosPath>/Quotes/Star
Wars_ Episode IV_ A New Hope_1977.qotes.html
<MyInfosPath>/Goofs/Star
Wars_1977.goofs.html
Headshots are small images /typically
showing the head only) of actors/actresses or crew members. To use this feature
you must create a directory called "headshots" in the image
directory of the DVD profiler directory (this would usually be "<DVD
Profiler>\IMAGES\headshots") and place your pictures in there. This
path must also be adjusted in the variable "MyHeadshotsPath" in the
settings file to allow access (see also: Part IV:
Customization).
Illustration
16: Headshots
The naming convention for the headshot
files is "<name>.gif" or "<name>.jpg",
where <name> consists of all parts of the name exactly as spelled
in the actor listing. So for Mel Brooks it would be "Mel Brooks.gif"
or "Mel Brooks.jpg" and for Brooks, Mel (setting in DVDPro options)
it would be "Brooks, Mel.gif" or "Brooks, Mel.jpg". I
suggest you chose one way and stick with it.
Illustration
17: Options
A special case is if the name of the
actor/actress/crew member only consists of one single word, like "Cher" for example. In contrast to other skins the
headshot may also be named "Cher.jpg" or "Cher.gif" instead
of "Cher .jpg" or "Cher
.gif" (note the space between the name and the extension).
From version 1.51 of this skin it is
possible to display an overview of the available headshots for the currently
selected profile, shown below the credits listing in the "Prod. Infos"
tab. This is activated by means of the variable "ALL_HEADS" in
the settings (see also Part IV: Customization).
Illustration
18: Headshot Overview
4. Gallery:
In order to utilize existing poster and
gallery pictures, the gallery and slide-show feature was added.
Illustration
19: Gallery
For use with DVD Profiler each DVD must
have a corresponding subdirectory named "<UPC>" in the
Gallery base directory ("<DVD-Profiler>\IMAGES\Gallery\")
in order to allow proper identification: "<DVD-Profiler>\IMAGES\Gallery\<UPC>".
where <UPC> equals the UPC/EAN of the DVD within DVD Profiler. For
Example the gallery for the R1 DVD of "2001 - A Space Odyssey" would
be located at "<DVD-Profiler>\IMAGES\Gallery\1256950002".
The gallery base path must also be adjusted in the variable
"MyGalleryPath" inside of the settings file to allow access (see
also: Part IV: Customization).
If gallery images exist, a narrow strip
is displayed at the top between the title area and the main window with
characters denoting the gallery items:
Illustration
20: Gallery access bar
|
„P"
|
Poster
|
(filename begins with „poster")
|
|
„T"
|
Title images (screenshots of film title)
|
(filename begins with „title")
|
|
„S"
|
Screenshots
|
(filename begins with „screenshot")
|
|
„D"
|
Pictures shot on filming location
|
(filename begins with „shooting")
|
|
„M"
|
Menu screenshots
|
(filename begins with „menu")
|
|
„C"
|
Alternate covers
|
(filename begins with „cover")
|
|
„V"
|
Film-Trailer or other video files
|
(recognized by file extension
|
|
„A"
|
Music or other audio files
|
(recognized by file extension)
|
|
„DVD"
|
The complete Movie
|
(recognized by <STORAGE>-Tag)
|
All other items are sequentially
numbered.
Display of these items is triggered by
"mouse-over". If you move the mouse pointer away displaying or
playing the item will be stopped and the normal skin window is shown again.
Illustration
21: Gallery- Image
Clicking on the strip will open a Windows
Explorer window of the gallery subdirectory to help you keeping the gallery
organized.
Supported images types are: *.gif,
*.jpg, *.bmp and *.png.
In addition to the regular display of
images you can see an overview over all images using "<ALL>"
or a slide show using "<SHOW>".
Illustration
22: Gallery- Overview
If any gallery picture exists, the tab
page named "Gallery" on the right side will contain thumbnails of the
gallery pictures; clicking a thumb will display the selected picture.
Typically, title pictures (screenshots of
the onscreen movie title) are just part of the picture gallery (like posters),
but there are some other modes which can be set up in the settings:
Illustration
23: Title image
It is for example possible to have the
title image ("title.jpg" or "title.gif")
displayed by hovering with the mouse pointer over the Title. Alternatively it
is also possible to display the title image only or a combination of the title
image and text. You will find more details about this in the Customization
section (Part IV: Customization).
Video and Audio files are stored in the
gallery directory similar to gallery images. The skin looks for *.mov,
*.avi, *.wmv, *.asf and *.mpg video files as well as *.wma, *.wav,
*.mid and *.mp3 audio files. The skin will only play formats
which have a plug-in installed. You can test it by trying to open the file in
Internet Explorer.
Video files will play at their standard
size. An exception are Quicktime files (*.mov) which will be played at
the standard size 320x200 To override this behavior you can include the
dimensions in the filename. e.g. trailer(320x160).mov, trailer_480.mov
or just (480x200).avi. If dimensions are explicitly given,
TRAILER_FACTOR from the settings will be applied (see also: Part IV: Customization).
Illustration
24: Gallery- Trailer
If a sound file "title.mp3"
or "title.mid" exists in the gallery, the skin will play it
automatically as background music when the profile for the DVD is opened. In
the settings it can be selected if the file is to be played once or looped (see
also: Part IV: Customization).
As a new feature the handling of
background music was substantially modified for version v1.52. An additional
Gallery folder <MyThemesPath> was introduced to store music files. This
serves mainly to handle common music tracks for several DVDs, such as TV
Series, so that the same files do not have to be placed in several different
Gallery folders.
In order to associate the
tracks in the common folder with a DVD/ several DVDs, the filename must adhere
to a certain format: <Title>.<Extension> or <Title>
- <Description>.<Extension>, with <Title> being
the local or original title of the DVD, <Description> being some
kind of description of the music track and <Extension> being the
file extension DVD (characters that cannot be used for filenames will be
replaced by "_"). For example:
"Buffy the Vampire
Slayer.mp3"
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer
– Main Title.wma"
Playback of complete DVDs was integrated into
the skin as a new feature in Version V1.53, either supported as a single file
or as a copy of the complete DVD structure. For playing the contents of the
movie, the skin uses an external DVD player software, which must be downloaded
and installed independently from the skin. A necessary condition for the player
software is, that the player can be started (and configured) via the command
line and that it is able to play DVD structures from hard disk folders. I personally
use and recommend the Freeware player software „VLC“, which can be
downloaded under the URL http://www.videolan.org/vlc/.
After the installation
of your player software, you have to define the path to it’s executable and the
desired options of your favoured player with the variables PlayDVD“ and „PlayDVDOptions“
inside of the skin’s settings (see also: Part IV: Customization),
for example.
var PlayDVD = "C:/Program Files/VideoLAN/VLC/VLC.EXE";
var PlayDVDOptions = "-f";
You can
read about the options supported by your player software inside of the
arbitrary manual, for example the “-f” option advises the player of the VLC
software to start in full screen mode.
The path to the DVD structure of the current
movie itself must be given to the skin by usage of the <Storage>-Tag either directly or with
the external data file „Titles.txt“. Examples for that
would be:
M:\Movies\Disney\LITTLEMERMAID\VIDEO_TS\VIDEO_TS.VOB
for a
complete DVD structure or
M:\Movies\FantasticFour.mpg
for the main movie as a single file, here in MPEG
video format.
Notes:
1.
The
number of the file formats supported for DVD playback only depends from the
external player software and not from the skin itself. The player „VLC“ recommended by me
supports all common video formats like MPEG, DivX, AVI and Quicktime.
2.
Please notice that the external
player software must first be closed before you can continue using
DVD-Profiler.
The skins provides you with some buttons,
providing some fixed defined links to standard sites. Five of them are located
at the bottom of the "Overview" tab page, the last on the
"Pers. Infos" tab page.
Illustration
25: Standard Buttons
Searches for the entry of the current
title in the Internet Movie Database.
"www.imdb.com" for international
resp. "german.imdb.com" for
German users (depending on the language setting of the skin).
Searches the entry of the current title
in the "Online Film Datenbank"
"www.ofdb.de". Especially useful
for the cut/uncut problematics of your DVDs.
Opens the review for the current title on
the server of the German DVD Forum "DVD-Live" "www.dvd-live.de". This is a very nice
German forum with very cool reviews.
Searches for reviews for the current
title on the Google server "www.google.com".
Searches for reviews for the current
title on the MRQE server (Movie Review Query Engine) www.mrqe.com.
As Intervocative’s standard Pricefinder
does not apply to German titles and dealers, this gives you the opportunity to
make a price comparison for the current title, too.
In addition to the above mentioned 6
buttons the five buttons at the end of the Add. Infos tab provide links to the
quotes, trivia, goofs, soundtrack listing and external review sub-pages at
IMDb.
Illustration
26: IMDb Content buttons
In addition to the above you have the
possibility to define the title and the contents for four user defined buttons,
which can also be found on the "Pers. Infos" tab page. Titles
and URLs for these user defined buttons can be adjusted in the settings (see
also: Part IV: Customization)., the skin will
replace the word <TITLE> inside of the URL by the title of the
actual disc, for example "http://www.allocine.fr/recherche/?motcle<TITLE>".
Illustration
27: User defined buttons
With these buttons it is also possible to
called local applications. One could for example start the HTML application
"DVD-Folks" (which can be downloaded at "http://www.dougweb.org/dvdpro/dvdfolks")
by the following URL given in the settings:
"file://C:/Programme/InterVocative Software/DVD
Profiler/skins/DVDFolks0.8.hta"
