How to create Kodi and NextPVR guides with colour

[Bernard0105]

This is the artwork your xmltv provided for that show

I agree Sub : this is not a great artwork !

I suggest anyway to separate the issues, that may help to progress :
- NextPVR Service could transparently provide the xmltv "src=<image link>" information on its API, for usage by the mediacenter Client (Kodi, Jellyfin, your own webApp and desktopApp, ... )
- It would be responsibility of the Client software to adapt with the heterogeneous format of the image (size/ resolution) that may be retrieved from the link, and to adapt to the current window & skin used by the mediacenter client. In that way you are free  to use the image link (or not) in your own client applications, at your convenience
- If the xmltv source has low quality content for the image link, the user may try to find another xmltv source, or to request a better quality from its provider (or to subscribe to SD)

In my opinion, Artwork are mainly important for Film and Series. Another option that could be provided, would be to grab the artwork from TMDB / IMDB, during the EPG browsing and also after completion of a record. That action could be triggered by NPVR service from the DVB genre type code=16 (for the MOVIE / DRAMA category, taking also benefits from the genre mapping process), and if a NPVR settings available to the user had enabled it.
Could it be possible ?
This Artwork grab option could be used as a UX improvement, with both the OTA EPG source and for the XMLTV source.

[mvallevand]

Good news I did some testing with v5 and can confirm that this feature can still work in v5.

The prime issue is the loading of the URL into the md5 field from icon "src" seems not to be working. In the worst cast if sub can't fix this it could be scripted.

The second issue is I did have to turn off all the other art source that often deliver bad art to use this trusted art. Alternatively I suspect it will work if none of the other sources deliver art.

Martin

[sub]

Good news I did some testing with v5 and can confirm that this feature can still work in v5.

The prime issue is the loading of the URL into the md5 field from icon "src" seems not to be working.  In the worst cast if sub can't fix this it could be scripted.

I don't intend to do that. I don't want a hack, especially one based around the xmltv epg source, which represents a small percentage of users. Of those xmltv sources, very few have artwork urls.

I will provide an api to request episode artwork. In the case of the show being from xmltv, and it has the artwork available, it'll most likely return you that image from the url. It may also be looked up from other EPG sources, or from an artwork provider, or even based on a screenshot from the video file.

[mvallevand]

I do agree that v4 re-using the md5 field was a bit of a hack, but I thought it was cool the logic was still there and working so well.

Many of the XMLTV source file here in North America (Silicon Dust, zap2it, zap2epg, locast) do use icon src on episode to get program art since the xmltv spec doesn't define episode art, probably because they are all TMS based. I think many IPTV EPG source files support this too.

I don't really like or want episode art myself. My random episode art was always poor.

Martin

[Bernard0105]

I will provide an api to request episode artwork. In the case of the show being from xmltv, and it has the artwork available, it'll most likely return you that image from the url. It may also be looked up from other EPG sources, or from an artwork provider, or even based on a screenshot from the video file.

This looks to be a very fair improvement, if it will work also for the program artwork as well.

I am volunteer for beta testing, when it can be ready !