[mythtv] List all episodes of a series

[Tom Metro]

Dan Wilga wrote:
> I'd really like to be able to see a list of all known episodes of a 
> given program, with indicators of whether or not each one has been:
> 
> - watched and deleted
> - recorded, but not watched
> - scheduled to be recorded
> - not yet broadcast

This sounds like a great idea. I've occasionally found myself 
reconciling episodes in Myth with listings at tv.com or elsewhere.


> Ideally the UI should allow you to:
> - see when  a given episode was originally broadcast, when it was 
> recorded, etc.
> - get more info about it (show the tv.com site?)
> - play it, if currently recorded
> - maybe show a screen shot

All of this sounds like stuff that is already in Myth - or at least 
MythWeb. I assume the new aspect you are suggesting is having some sort 
of a summary screen where you can see all of this info for all the 
episodes of a chosen show.


> - create or modify an existing recording rule

A highly related idea that I've been planning to post a message on is 
adding "seasonal awareness" to the scheduler. This would permit saying 
"record all episodes of show X from season 2, 3, and 4."

The actual implementation may be purely UI sugar, with the real work 
being done by an advanced scheduling rule that includes original air 
date criteria.


> I guess the hardest part is getting a reliable source for the data. 

Whatever you pick, I'd recommend going with something that is wiki-like 
so that the community can contribute and correct the information.

Given that the critical bits of info that you want to be interpreted by 
the computer consists of simple factual information - episode numbers 
and dates - that won't be under copyright restrictions, it may make 
sense to find some web-based service that can host the data in a 
computer friendly format and let the community build up the data. 
Possibilities might include Goggle Base, Dabble DB 
(http://dabbledb.com/), or perhaps Wikispaces, which provides a web 
service for accessing the raw wiki text, and RSS feeds.


> TV.com has a pretty good list, but no XML that I can find...

Might be worth approaching them to see if they'd be interested in 
providing web services. The right kind of integration could be mutually 
beneficial, such as making it easy for MythTV users to rate and review 
episodes with the data going into their database.


> If the series is named "Doctor Who", how do you know if it's "Doctor
> Who (2005)" or the original series from the 60's?

For those using TMS and derived data, there's always the series ID to 
disambiguate.


It seems like MythWeb would be the far easier place to start 
implementing this stuff. I just wish MythWeb wasn't so tightly coupled 
to the back-end release, otherwise I'd be more than willing to 
contribute to a project like this.

  -Tom

-- 
Tom Metro
Venture Logic, Newton, MA, USA
"Enterprise solutions through open source."
Professional Profile: http://tmetro.venturelogic.com/