Kodi 22 (Piers) and library thumbnails

[mvallevand]

(Not to be confused with NextPVR's nice seek-able thumbnails)

There was a recent API change in Kodi v22 that allows for thumbnail extraction from recordings.  I enabled this as an alternative to downloading and displaying the poster from NextPVR since the poster can get a bit repetitive.  While it sounds like a good idea if you watch this video https://streamable.com/g5qcy3 you will see why I have never really like using thumbnails with my video library  I choose a cartoon series since it is quite easy to see how often it misses the show and then even when it is the cartoon does it really help?  Probably best in countries with no commercials.



Martin

[Bobins]

Martin,

I would agree these thumbnails don't seem to add any real value.
Given commercials and potential pre-padding for a recording they might as well be some random picture as most do not identify the contents of the recording.
I definitely would not be using them.

Ray

[mvallevand]

I hear you, I have never really like file-based thumbnails, but I am trying to work with Kodi Team so that at least they jump past pre-processing time with better chances for a hit In general I feel as PVR ages in Kodi there are too many UI changes like this that add little value for most users making PVR complicated when in should be simple.

Meta art is a personal decision though. I do like the minimal change sub made to UI clients and NextPVR.exe which introduced the poster in UI client recordings since once you are used to that it is faster then reading, but some users didn't even like that and prefer text only so sub had to put the legacy mode back. Many OTT services and online EPG guides now do provide episode level art beyond the poster and with a large TV 4K text only does look boring. NextPVR doesn't have an episode API though but getting them from TheTVDB or TMDB makes better sense.

Martin

[Bobins]

I see a lot of programme recordings where they start with a recap of previous episodes or explanations of what the programme is going to cover before actually getting to a frame that would add value to a thumbnail. Given the random nature of the time between start of the recording and that point, I personally can't think of any logic that would identify content for a meaningfull episode thumbnail.
I also agree... Keep it simple is best for most users especially the non technical.

Ray.

[mvallevand]

Since you said "any" logic, the places where sub gets meta art from tmdb and thetv make valid episode art theoretically possible https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/62974-8-ou.../season/26 Whether they add value or just fill up screen space is another question Many users want eye candy, I want to watch my shows, but text only is too boring.

Martin

[mvallevand]

One advantage for me of this scanning logic is that you don't have to play a file to get the stats.  Sometimes it is nice to know if it SD or HD etc as show at the bottom left.  Before this was only available if you played the file.  I gave the option to still use the NextPVR poster though (top) I like them better than thumbs.

Martin

[Bobins]

My reference to "any logic" was my personal thoughts on scanning a file to create a thumbnail rather than using the internet sites for possible episode content art.

I agree for us more technically minded people, the addition of file info (SD/HD etc) is a bonus as well as helping when things go wrong. (indication of file size / disk space etc).

Your screenshot gets a thumbs-up from me :-)

Ray

[Allan]

From my own experience, I used MythTV as a backend with Kodi as frontend for years. The MythTV addon used screen caps for the episodes, and I don't recall ever seeing an inappropriate screen cap except from, say, a football game that ran into the time slot of the next program. Cosmetically, having discreet images for multiple episodes was nice. Downloaded episode art would have the same benefit, and likely better choices.

The screen caps were likely not random, but selected by an algorithm that made inappropriate screen caps less likely. I can imagine a variety of algorithms that could work - simply timing the screen cap within a time frame a few minutes after a show starts would likely be effective for most shows. Looking for a network badge (or other comskip tests) would likely work as well, provided the CPU overhead was reasonable.

[mvallevand]

When the Team Kodi developer ksooo implemented this I suggested that padding and comskip break point should be factored into the seek time for the thumbnail but was told that was out of scope. Ideally I thought the frame for the resume point made the most sense to make it useful.

My main beef with thumbs is while I might see Sheldon, Spock or Gibbs on the thumbnail. it takes a lot of curation to provide a truly episodic view that don't simply look like random images from a series. The quality images that NextPVR provides look better IMO.

In any case I expect that this optional feature will be available to Piers users soon.

Martin