Overview

Using Eax Movie Catalog (version 2.x or 3.x) with My Films - setup, field mapping, and special considerations.

Introduction

Eax Movie Catalog is one of the highest rated movie organizers for all your movies, documentaries and TV series on all kinds of media (CD, DVD and Blu-Ray), video file (DivX, MPEG, etc.) or any other format you add to the program.  It is similar to Ant Movie Catalog, with equally extensive and easy to use grabber scripts, but supports many more fields and features.

Setup Options

Eax 2.5

Export your catalog to an XML file *in the same folder as your Eax catalog  *because picture paths are stored in the XML using a sub-folder of the folder where you save the xml.

Eax 3.0

Save your Eax catalog in XML format. Then there is no need to export it*,* whenever you save the XML database, the changes will automatically appear in My Films.

Note: If you wish to export to XML instead of using XML format, save your Eax catalog in .mc3 format. There is currently a bug in Eax 3 when exporting from the XML database file - the label field (used for movie number) is not supported.

MyFilms

Use the Setup Wizard:

• Catalog type - Eax (2.5 or 3.0)
• Catalog XML - select the XML file you use in Eax 3.0 or exported from Eax 2.5 (see above)

The wizard presets most settings for you, however you should verify them, especially the paths set for displaying images in Artwork Setup.

Supported Features

Actor Images are supported from the NamePictures sub-folder where your Eax catalog is stored. If you use a custom folder for your catalog, you must change the Persons Images path in My Films setup > Artwork Tab to the default NamePictures folder for Eax.

Fanart images, saved in the Eax Thumbnails folder are supported, but since they are not stored in a separate sub-folder for each movie, My Films can only display the first fanart image.  However, you can download fanart in My Films - new fanart images will be added to sub-folders of the Eax Thumbnails folder by movie title.

Field Mapping

Fields are listed by the field name in the xml, sorted by the My Films/AMC xml. Items in red are not currently exported or mapped and thus not displayed in My Films.  However, all My Films fields, except Borrower and Tagline, are supported by Eax. See below for a list of Fields in Eax not mapped or displayed in My Films.

Extended Fields

In addition to the internal supported fields, My Films supports extended fields for:

• Writer - preset as a Custom Display Item when you use the Setup Wizard and can be used to create a custom view 
• Certification (MPAA) - can be displayed as a Custom Display Item or mapped to either the Description or Comments field on the External Catalogs Setup tab
• Tagline - can be displayed as a Custom Display Item or mapped to either the Description or Comments field on the External Catalogs Setup tab
• Tags - can be displayed as a Custom Display Item, and/or used to create a custom view similar to Categories (Genres)

For further details how to display these fields see Customizing Display; and Custom Views.to learn how to create a view based on these fields.

My Films also generates several fields when you open the plugin in MediaPortal:

• IndexedTitle
• DateAdded
• RecentlyAdded
• AgeAdded
• Persons

These fields are supported for any catalog and can be used within My Films to create views, or as custom display items. However, the data is not saved when you exit My Films, and cannot be viewed/used in your movie catalog app,

Notes for Eax catalogs

• Tagline is not supported in Eax Movie Catalog.
• As of My Films version 6.0.0, Studio is supported as an "extended field" and can be used as a User  Display Item (on Main or Details window as of v 6.0.0 in most skins).

Eax fields not supported by My Films

The following fields exist in Eax, and are exported to the xml file, but are not mapped or displayed in My Films:

• AlsoKnownAs
• ReleaseDate
• PlotTranslated
• OriginalMusic
• Cinematography
• Votes
• PersonelRating
• ModifiedDate
• ReleaseGroup
• ReleaseType
• User2Seen
• User3Seen
• User4Seen
• User5Seen
• Dub
• Covers (i.e. Front/Back)
• Source
• UserLookup1
• UserLookup2
• UserText1
• UserText2
• SoundTracks
• Links
• Disc DiscName
• VideoRunningtime
• AudioSamplerate
• AudioChannels

Related

• Supported Catalogs