KODI - ZDMC - MATRIX 19.5 - NEXUS 20 - 21

Again, it's not really a case of anybody "locking" anything down, it's just that Kodi is not coded for the Realtek SOC and the Realtek SOC is not produced with Kodi in mind. Neither side has explicitly locked anything down.

 

Thanks Gelto,

Definitely not there just yet.. LOL...

Venting a little, but how can a scraper still not detect "2001 A Space Odyssey" even after there is a NFO script, a HUGE information base, and images etc in th year 2022 .... when a open source YAMJ did so without any help, no NFO nothing, in 2010 ??? Its insane.. LOL... anyhoo, that is where I am at.

1. Clock.Alarm thing is driving me nuts.. using the Enbury ( Matrix ) skin BTW, sort of has everything I need, including custom widgets that I setup for recently added, which I use on a daily basis. Also the Mcbluna, UI App, is also crashing out the device with “Detected problems with API compatibility(visit g.co/dev/appcompat for more info)” ... just maddening.., while trying to get the system to meet my 2010 PCH-200 level of operation.

2. Scraping, is going better with TMM and the NFO's, although hard to get a fix on that due to instability, issues as above while trying to do a update.

3. Going to try out this Aeon Nox Silver SKin if I can find it... is it available directly from "get more" within ZDMC ?? Will look after this 5th try at an Source Update.

Got to say, this stuff has not made leaps and bounds since 2008, just more complicated, and even more unstable..

Anyhoo I will plow on... lucky it is a long weekend Heheheh..

Cheers,

 

When you are looking at scraping speed make sure you are comparing the same versions of Kodi with same features enabled. Earlier versions of HT were lightning fast compared to Kodi with a lot of errors, unrecognized movies and total mess in TV shows. Now it’s getting better and a lot slower including media info. Similar to Kodi where my old Zidoo X9S with Kodi 16 was scraping faster than the latest Z9X with Kodi 19. Any options like extracting chapter screenshots, multiple ratings etc will slow it down even further.

 

Howdy 3DBuff,

Running 19.4 ZDMC, on a Z9X, not really concerned with the time it takes to do a first time Scrape... just need it to be accurate... no chapter screenshots etc, just need a Poster and the Asset to be detected... which is not happening anywhere near as well as my old PCH and YAMJ.. and thats after giving it explicit directions to do so through TMM NFO's... it maybe be late, and I am a little frustrated, but it makes no sense to me when tech like this takes, what I can see, a HUGE step backward...

Anyhoo I plow on, to try and find a happy place again.. LOL... just wish PCH was still around and made a 4K, and upto date audio device before they bit the dust !!

Cheers,

 

Hey Jasper,

I understand your frustration, mate... Strange things seem to happen at your side... If you have a directory named "2001 A Space Odyssey (1968)" with the actual movie file "2001 A Space Odyssey (1968).mkv" inside (without any .nfo file), scraping should be no problem at all.

1. I use the Matrix standard Embuary skin on another client and there is no trace of alarm clock there. In which log do you see the entries, in files/.kodi/temp/kodi.log? What is the exact log message? The only thing I can find is an older addon called alarm clock (see https://kodi.wiki/index.php?title=Add-on:XBMC_Alarm_clock). Maybe try uninstalling the Mcbluna app (I don't use that one) first and see if that's the culprit.

2. Mainly you shouldn't need .nfo files at all for scraping to get good results, a directory with the tmdb oder imdb movie name plus (year) and the movie file inside that directory should suffice.

3. Yes, it's in the official kodi repository meaning you can easily install it via "get more...".

Good luck! It will all work out in the end

 

Thanks Bud...

After a long long night... ( Lucky its ANZAC Day Tomorrow LOL ) I am starting to get on top of it.. the clock error is still "ticking" away in the background ( please ignore the bad analogy LOL ) using the Aeon Nox Silvo Skin, but it is not crashing out ZDMC... anyhoo, maybe another fresh install of ZDMC is in my future ..LOL...

The scraping thing just straight out annoys me LOL... between the mess NFO's, and images make of my neat 42TB of assets, and the fact is is still way off is just plain stoopid. Hehehe.. anyhoo I plow on in good faith.

Yes, happy with the Simpe AEON Nox Skin.. will play some more tomorrow.. Oops I mean today LOL...

Thanks for all your help Bloke...

 

Sure thing, mate, happy to help

 

I have just installed the current version and am trying to install the Aeon Tajo skin. The installation went smoothly, but I can't get the skin to start. Does it work for you? It starts for a short time and then ends by itself. What am I doing wrong?

 

I went through the same hassle, you need stop ZMDC, then activate the skin in the config file, I think it was guisettings.xml.

BUT: I advise against it. While the Tajo skin looks good, it's awfully slow, and you have to go through the same tedious procedure when changing back to another skin. Better go with Aeon Nox Silvo, mate.

 

Howdy Guys...

How do you get to the system files on the Zidoo.. ??
I have enable SMB server, and can get to the "Share" folder, but not sure how to get the root file structure.
Cheers,

 

Salut,

what do you want to do with the system files? I never needed to do anything there so far. You need to be root to get there, I think there is an APK for that an the Mcbluna site. Plus you should use a real file explorer installed on the Zidoo like X-plore, SolidExplorer and many others.

 

It also depends on how and what you are trying to get. Root is visible from Zidoo using Media Browser as well as Kodi file explorer. Any system file manipulation will require rooting just like @Gelto pointed our. If you are trying to get there from PC to access screenshots or something similar then typing "\\ZidooZ9X" or whatever your Zidoo network name, IP number is in Windows file explorer header (address bar) will show Zidoo accessible drives and internal folders.

 

Thanks Guys,

I am trying to get to the ZDMC files, Zidoo Screensaver files etc.... I can get to \\192.168.0.XX\Share\Storage\Android\data\com.zidoo.zdmc\files, but the directory is empty... so I was guessing the install files must be from the root directory ???

When I started this journey I was looking to replace the ZDMC Splash Image... found it in the APK, but not on the Zidoo file I have access to.

I found the Screensaver files in \\192.168.0.XX\Share\Storage\zddaydream and replaced them, but they did not update ???

I can see the Screenshot Directory and files OK..

Cheers,

 

Hey Jasper,

the Zidoo files in Android/data/com.zidoo.zdmc/files are probably hidden. You can access them via Zidoo's file manager ("Media Center") after you enable show hidden files in its settings. I advise to install a "real" Android file manager like X-plore oder SolidExplorer on the Zidoo via apk (see apkmirror.com) though, it has a built-in text viewer, two panes for copying/comparing and much more.

To change the ZMDC splash image, I believe you would have to change it in the apk and create a new signed apk, so it's a bit of hassle

You're right, the Screensaver image files reside in the zdaydream folder. You need to put personal image files directly into that folder, not in any subfolders. I have several hundred files there which work for the screensaver. I'm only missing a randomize setting, but it appears to be on the to do list

 

Hello,

Everything is working for me now. I have now tried out many skins and have ended up with the two skins Aeon Nox: Silvo and Arctic: Zephyr - Reloaded. Of these two, I like the Arctic even better than the Aeon because it has a transparent main menu and is also a little more minimalist in many other ways. Simply very beautiful. Still, a few questions:

1.
You mentioned an addon here that can make kodi a bit faster for locally saved covers. Where can I find that?

2.
Is there a possibility or an addon with which you can set different standard selection actions for films and series? I would like to have the same behaviour as HT with the wall, i.e. when I click on a film in the poster wall, the information screen should open. With series, on the other hand, it should start immediately.

3.
Is there a way to have local trailers play automatically in the info window like in HT?

Thank you.

 

Thanks Gelto,

Yes the files in these directories are prefixed with a "." and hidden... although the main ZDMC install must be located from root directory.
I did think of changing the APK and reloading, but did want to reinstall ZDMC after I now have it working well..
Somehow "rooting" my new Z9X did not feel right LOL... but will look further into it.

The screensaver files are odd, I added mine, renamed the same as the existing ones and backed up the old ones to a directory.. but still shows original pics.
Anyhoo, will try a few other things...

Finally happy with the Zidoo and ZDMC, HT4 just does not do it for me, I am actually using ZDMC to watch stuff now, almost turned off the PCH's for the last time... WooHoo... although I still cannot help myself tinkering with Ziddo just yet... LOL...

Thanks for your help..

Cheers,

 

Quick question about Arctic skin if you have it loaded and running. Can the skin show unobstructed artwork backdrop image similar to Aeon Nox: Silvo when you push down arrow key twice on movie page? I like this feature. I had it in my old Black Glass Nova skin and it is in Aeon Nox skin. I'm missing this feature in HT and I've been requesting it for years. Some of the artwork is really nice but you can't see the whole thing when sections of it are covered by movie poster and other info.

 

I'm not sure what you mean but I have it set up so that on the home page is completely empty except for the individual categories. The individual categories are represented with me in the form of a transparent bar, of which one sees only the individual designations as writing. Looks very nice. Here is a picture from the internet how my bar looks like, but without the clock, the weather and the widget above. I have hidden that, because the weather is also displayed within the categories on the top screen and I don't need the clock. For me the upper area is empty, because the background changes randomly analogous to the fanarts of the movies in the respective category.

I think that the Artic Skin looks better than the Aeon, because it is really limited to the essentials and does not have such bold borders as the Aeon...

 

You don't need to rename the files. Like you I moved the existing files to a subfolder for backup, then put my own .jpg files in /zdaydream and the screensaver shows them. Maybe try a cold reboot, if you haven't already; can't remember if I needed to do that.

That's great to hear, good work, matey I'm also using ZMDC exclusively after a check of HT4's looks, menus and functionality...and isn't tinkering what we all like to do most ?

 

@Black-Angel28, take a look at this video from Black Glass Nova screen. You can slide out movie info exposing unobstructed backdrop artwork. Very similar in Aeon Nox from what I remember using down key will show full unobstructed artwork. Can Arctic skin show full screen artwork only without movie info overlaid? This simple function is not possible in HT