With this being discussed in the Beta forum, I thought it maybe a good idea to see if it's technically possible to add non-disc internet downloaded programs into DVP?

First off I must say is that I am not looking forward to the day that discs are replaced by internet downloads.

But I am not going to ignore the growing impact that internet downloads will have in the future.

So are people in general in favor of adding a non-manual media type for Internet downloaded programs (Profiles)?
And is it at all possible in the first place?

When I happen to buy a movie not in a Keep Case... I still like it to be a part of my collection handled by DVDP. Today I use Manual. I import the movie data from a proper UPC/EAN, and stores it as a manual profile, not beeing able to receive updates, nor contribute.
This way I can still keep track of "Last watched", "Credit counts" etc. ONE place, ie. in DVDP.

A fixed Media Type "Internet Download" as opposed to a custom user media type is only useful if you can share the profile information in the online database, i.e. no manual profile.

That would require some sort of identification of the movie file that identifies the same movie downloaded by two different people as the same movie file (I'm not sure how watermarks, DRM and similar stuff changes a file).

It also opens the possibility that users start to contribute every downloaded file they've ever gotten from a "non-profit distribution site" and that might be a legal risk to Invelos.

Quoting DJ Doena:

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A fixed Media Type "Internet Download" as opposed to a custom user media type is only useful if you can share the profile information in the online database, i.e. no manual profile.

That would require some sort of identification of the movie file that identifies the same movie downloaded by two different people as the same movie file (I'm not sure how watermarks, DRm and similar stuff change a file).

It also opens the possibility that users start to contribute every downloaded file they've ever gotten from a "non-profit distribution site" and that might be a legal risk to Invelos.

Basically my thoughts as well.

Quoting Kulju:

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What would be used as a primary key?

Instead of disc-id you could use md5- or sha1-hash. But watermarks WILL affect those hashes. I'm not sure if DRM will, too. And I don't know if there's something like tags in those files, 'cause they would affect them, too.

I don't get this. There are already three ways to do this within DVDP today, without manual profiles, and one way with a plugin, again without manual profiles. What am I missing?

With DVDP OOB:
- MyLinks: Digital downloads stored as "file://....." entries in the trailers section.
- HTML sections with embedded player referencing media links in notes or elsewhere
- Notes links or embedded player in Notes

With LoadDVD plugin:
- links and filepaths stored in the Location field and/or Notes
- with Pro version, you can also get YouTubube, Netfkix, Hulu, etc. saved in playlists

Any of these can be augmented with a custom collection. I personally use a Netflix collection for movies that I don't own, but subscribe to access via Netflix. They play automatically from LoadDVD. All you have to do is download the profile, and a match is done based on Title, Edition, Release Yr, etc. When watching a series in Netflix, the epsiode menu is managed internal to the Netflix Silverlight player, so there is no need for a complicated scheme within DVDP. With the Watched - Notes feature, I can now make note of which season/epsiode I watched right in the profile. Cool.

I know of one user that is accessing his entire collection of Movie Series (many thousands of files - .avi, .mp4, etc.) using DVDP, existing database profiles and the LoadDVD "Series" feature.

Now, what more would simply adding Media Type give you over all that ?????  By the way, pease don't take this as an affront - I'm truly open to understanding what is needed, because we might be able to limp along with plugin work (not necessarily just mine) until the real thing comes along.

Quoting StaNDarD:

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Quoting mediadogg:

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I don't get this. There are already three ways to do this within DVDP today, without manual profiles, and one way with a plugin, again without manual profiles. What am I missing?

You got it wrong. It's not about integrating the actual video files into a profile, but creating a profile just for the movie which you've downloaded.

Aha, I guess I was way off base.

Does that mean that the downloaded movie is not available in DVD/BD format? I have just been assuming that there would always be that profile to tag onto. Am I wrong there?

BTW, want to have some fun. go to iTunes Link Maker web page.

You can create links like this. to insert into MyLinks or elsewhere. Fun, huh?

Quoting StaNDarD:

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Quoting mediadogg:

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Does that mean that the downloaded movie is not available in DVD/BD format? I have just been assuming that there would always be that profile to tag onto. Am I wrong there?

For now, I don't think there's a single movie distributed only as download. But the database doesn't allow any contribution of downloaded movies. So you have to do this manual and local.
The question is, to integrate full support for such profiles, so the data could be shared. (Of course this would bring up a lot other questions like: what would be the unique id for a downloaded movie?)

OK, I think it is sinking in. To contribute, you have to own the media, check, but you also are required to get certain info from the cover - no cover. And so now I can see the reason for the official MediaType : then you could define an explicit set of rules for making a digital media contribution. I think I'm slowly getting the point.

Even if you pretend to own the DVD, where would you get the metadata from and how would you justify it in your contribution notes? Maybe in the early stages, those with digital only could only submit a starter profile, to be later backed up with the DVD info - but then, what would be the profile ID - by Jove, I think he's got it! The light has finally dawned.