Frequently Asked Questions

What is a moviesheet?

• A moviesheet is a JPG image generated by inserting screenshots and movie data into a template, to be displayed before opening a movie file.

 
Why would you want to use a moviesheet?

• So in my case, instead of using disc based media (DVD's, etc) I keep all of my purchased movies on a hard drive bank, called a Network Attached Storage [NAS] drive. I then use a player [WDTV Live Plus with the B-Rad's WDLXTV firmware loaded on it] to browse and then play the movie files from my NAS on to my TV. Usually, when you are selecting a movie file, it would look something like this. Let's be honest - this is way boring. So, with the proper amount of configuration, instead of displaying the box and the movie name - it shows all the information you could possibly want to know about the movie.  A few examples of moviesheets are available at the end of this blog post.

How do I use those nifty Video and Audio quality badges that I see in your screenshots, in my movie sheets?
In Thumbgen's "Comments:" field, you may add any of the following (on its own line) to produce the quality rating for video - Shown in a 5 star scale.  Any of the following are valid input to create a video quality badge.

• p 3/5
• P 3/5
• Picture 3/5
• picture 30/100
• p 3.4/8
• p 3.75/10.8

Using the same naming conventions, you can do the same thing for the "Audio" quality badge.  Eventually, I have plans to Automate this, so that the template will get the badge for you automatically when you load the template, if you desire.


The background of the template doesn't match the background of my player.  How can I fix this? 
You have two options:

• Change your player to match the templates - Because all players are different in the configuring the background, I will leave you to research how to do this for your specific player.  What you will need however, is the image file that is used for the background of the templates.  You can find this at \\Templates\Common\RedVelvet.jpg.
• Change the templates to match your player - First off, you will need to get a copy of the 1280x720 image that your player uses.  The easiest way to go about changing the template background from here would be to rename your image "RedVelvet.jpg" and then copy it into the \\Thumbgen\Common\ directory.  Alternatively, you can copy your background image into the Common directory.  Then, go through the 3 "template.xml", and find the Template -> ImageDrawTemplate -> Elements -> ImageElement, with the name of "Background".  Change the "Source Path" value of this node to "%PATH%\..\Common\[YOUR PICTURE NAME].jpg"

I really like your templates and I would like to stay current with your updates.  How can I keep in touch?

• Feel free to add me on Facebook.  I post updates and other information and give alerts when I put new builds out.  Find me at my Facebook Profile.  Also, you may check back at the main page of this blog to see whats new.

 How can I help improve the quality of these sheets?

• I am definitely open to new suggestions for the code.  If you have a good idea that could make my sheets more usable to you, then I would LOVE to hear about it. Please leave a comment here or email me at jhspyhard@hotmail.com, with "SHEET IDEA" as the subject line.
• Bugs?! Where's my fly swatter!?  I've done my best to release the highest quality code possible, but it is of course almost impossible to release completely bullet-proof code.  If you find a bug or something that doesn't seem correct, please let me know so I can correct it. Please leave a comment here or email me at jhspyhard@hotmail.com, with "SHEET BUG" as the subject line. Let me know which sheet you were using when you found the error and you may want to include a ThumbGen metadata file so that I can recreate your problem easily.