Media Center Master
current version: 1.16
(previously called "Pete's MediaBrowser Info Fetcher")

Media Center Master is a meta data content fetcher for MediaBrowser, an extension to Windows Media Center for Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Unsatisfied with the issues I had with existing scripts/fetchers, I wrote my own. This application fetches movie and TV meta data in the standard format that the MediaBrowser extension uses. It hybrids a collective data from several sources, including Internet Movie Database, The Open Movie Database, The Open TV Database, etc. and boasts many features that are easy to use and considerably effective.

[scroll past the images for a list of major features]








Robust movie title detection
Using a combination of client-side and server-side logic at multiple servers and multiple passes, there is typically a higher rate of accuracy and detection on the more obscure movie titles out there. Where I previously had to manually adjust movie titles and data in metadata files before, I rarely have to now.

Posters and backdrops
Supported as usual -- if a title match couldn't be found at themoviedb.org, a backdrop will not be downloaded but it will download the poster from imdb.com, when possible.

Forced ID's and titles
I added two nonstandard XML tags to the metadata, for the IMDB ID# and another called ForcedTitle. They can be used to override detection. Say, for example, you've looked up the ID for a movie that isn't being detected properly: you can insert the ID into the appropriate place, save, and the scraper won't search -- it'll just load that ID directly.

The ForcedTitle tag I added for movies that have alternate language titles. For example, you can override The Never Ending Story to show the US/English title rather than the German title, etc.

Cast and crew thumbnails
MediaBrowser supports thumbnails for actors and crew (directors/producers/etc.), so I thought a fetcher should as well without fancy configuration. This works right out of the box!

Easy custom sorting in MediaBrowser using SortTitle
I like scrolling through a list of my movies in alphabetical order, but I also like sequels to group and sort correctly, following the first in the series. This causes a problem when you have titles that do not show up in the correct alphabetical order, like the Harry Potter series or The Exorcist movies. To solve this, I added an optional setting that adjusts the SortTitle tag to the name of the folder on your hard drive rather than the title of the movie. That way, the movies will sort the same as they appear alphabetically in Windows Explorer.

Automatic folder renaming
When turned on, this will automatically rename each folder according to the detected title and year of the movie. This is not recommended to use with the custom sorting feature for obvious reasons.

Better summary descriptions
Sometimes IMDB has a better summary/synopsis than The Open Movie Database does. Sometimes it's the other way around. I added an option to my application that will automatically pick the larger of the two choices, if the option is turned on.

IMDB ratings
While other parsers I saw were grabbing ratings from themoviedb.org, I chose to grab ratings from imdb.com. With substantially more votes over a more diverse crowd, I felt it was a more accurate gauge of the popularity and success of a movie.

Genre preference
I also included an option that lets you choose from themoviedb.org's genre list or from imdb.com's. I like IMDB's better, but this is surely open to preference and I left that choice up to the user.

Time/bandwidth savings
To maximize speed (and save a little bandwidth in the meanwhile), existing posters and backdrops are not re-downloaded and the dual-pass mode is skipped when ID's are already supplied in an existing meta file. If you just want to refresh your existing metadata with more recent data (cast/crew, summaries, IMDB rating, etc.), it's much faster than a full re-parse.

Automatic updates, automatic error reporting
For obvious reasons, though both can be disabled as desired.

Scan folders NEW v1.01:
Automatic scan folders added.

Adult titles NEW v1.02:
Adult titles are automatically handled. There are two fetchers provided and more can be written since Media Center Master features full plugin support (source code for templates/examples found in the plugin developer's section of the forums).

Smooth, easy-to-use interface NEW v1.04:
With a full redesign, Pete's MediaBrowser Info Fetcher is now known as Media Center Master.

Television/T.V. titles NEW v1.06:
TV shows are now a member of the meta data-fetching party! Data is being fetched from thetvdb.com.

Full Confirmation NEW v1.06 and 1.07:
It's up to you if you want Media Center Master to ask you to confirm your movie or TV selections when it's fetching data. The automated mode without confirmation can detect with a very high accuracy -- higher than any other fetcher out there (let me know if I'm wrong). But if you want 100% accuracy, you can flick on an option and viola: full confirmation is at your fingertips.

Media Organizer NEW v1.07:
A full-blown organizer that lets you rename (and auto-rename) individual files, folders, and meta data as you see fit, including an easy-to-use interface for editing the meta data itself.

Trailers NEW v1.08:
Media Center Master can download movie trailers for you (must use the Vanilla theme from within MediaBrowser). It uses three different sources to find the best available theatrical trailer!

Torrent Downloader NEW v1.08:
Want a solution that can auto-download new TV or movie releases? How about auto-detect downloads and rename/move them to the correct folder and fetch meta data for them in a fully-automated process? Yep, Media Center Master can do that for you, too!

Add Your Own Fetchers! NEW v1.11:
With a little programming background, you can download the source code template to start developing your own meta data fetchers using our fetcher plugin system.

Poster, Backdrop, Fan Art, and Banner Selection NEW v1.12:
With just a right-click, you will get a thumbnail gallery of posters, backdrops, and other fan art that MediaBrowser uses when displaying your media. Just click the one you like the most -- all built right into Media Center Master.

Support For Default Movies Library NEW v1.15:
Media Center Master now supports the dvdid.xml meta data format, which allows you to use the default Movies library in Media Center without MediaBrowser (though we still prefer it for its vast features).

Subtitle Downloader NEW v1.16:
Optionally, Media Center Master can download subtitles for your favorite movies during fetching -- it even includes a tool to scan all of your movie titles and add missing subtitles so you don't have to do it yourself!

Multiple T.V. Episodes NEW v1.16:
You have a T.V. show on DVD? Or how about a download of a season premiere where they have two episodes in the same video file? Not a problem for Media Center Master, which can easily detect the multi-episode format and fetch metadata for all of its episodes.