Thumbnails - any configuration?
- Thread starter jxp
- Start date
Black Hole
May contain traces of nut
The thumbnail generator seems to be having problems with a file containing crops. Is this because the .nts is then out of sync with the .ts? Is the correct work-flow to set the thumbnail before doing any cropping?
Black Hole
May contain traces of nut
What happened is that I cropped out the advert breaks (not something I bother to do very often, but this is intended for passing on), then in the result decided that a frame going into the advert break would be a good thumbnail. When the thumbnail generator produced its sample frames, only 1 and 5 had anything in them, 2 3 and 4 were just grey - and I wondered if they were somehow inside the removed section. I tried a few variations before and after, but its knickers were in a right twist.
I haven't done any cropping and I've found that about 5% - 10% of recordings won't set a thumbnail in this way.
I think it's something to do with timestamps.
If I use different options for ffmpeg I can generate thumbnails for these files but that involves decoding every frame from the start to the thumbnail.
This takes approx real-time for SD broadcasts (so setting a thumbnail at 5mins in takes about 5 minutes) and much longer for HD broadcasts.
I think it's something to do with timestamps.
If I use different options for ffmpeg I can generate thumbnails for these files but that involves decoding every frame from the start to the thumbnail.
This takes approx real-time for SD broadcasts (so setting a thumbnail at 5mins in takes about 5 minutes) and much longer for HD broadcasts.
The below script is what I am now using to auto-generate thumbnails.
I have had this running as a cron job (every 30 minutes) for a few days and it seems to work really well.
I find it quite satisfying to have the thumbnails reflect the actual recording rather than an advert/trailer/previous programme.
A few notes;
1. It ignores in-use, audio and encrypted files
2. It flags a thumbnail as processed by changing the 4th byte from FF to FE (not sure if WebIF thumbnail function flags the files in any way)
3. It falls back to a slower method for SD files if there is a problem (set slowForSD to "0" to disable this)
4. The only issue I have with it that it doesn't seem to read the next file name properly after an ffmpeg operation (something to do with buffers?). However the next time it runs it will be fine (as it does not re-process any files)
5. The ffmpeg logging output can be massive (I think just for the slow mode) so I would suggest not appending to a log file if using this.
I have had this running as a cron job (every 30 minutes) for a few days and it seems to work really well.
I find it quite satisfying to have the thumbnails reflect the actual recording rather than an advert/trailer/previous programme.
A few notes;
1. It ignores in-use, audio and encrypted files
2. It flags a thumbnail as processed by changing the 4th byte from FF to FE (not sure if WebIF thumbnail function flags the files in any way)
3. It falls back to a slower method for SD files if there is a problem (set slowForSD to "0" to disable this)
4. The only issue I have with it that it doesn't seem to read the next file name properly after an ffmpeg operation (something to do with buffers?). However the next time it runs it will be fine (as it does not re-process any files)
5. The ffmpeg logging output can be massive (I think just for the slow mode) so I would suggest not appending to a log file if using this.
Code:
targetTime="400"
slowForSD="1"
cd /
cd "media/My Video"
find . -type f -name "*.ts" | while read fileTS
do
file=${fileTS#*/}
fileRoot=${file%.ts}
process="0"
inuse "$file"
if [ $? == "0" ]
then
echo "xx "`date +"%d-%m %H:%M"`" In use $file"
else
if [ -f "$fileRoot.thm" ]
then
checkByte=`hexdump -n1 -s3 -e'"" 1/1 "%02x"' "$fileRoot.thm"`
if [ $checkByte == "ff" ]
then
process="1"
fi
else
process="1"
fi
if [ $process == "1" ]
then
flags=`hmt "$fileRoot.hmt" | grep -o 'Flags: .*$'`
markFile="1"
if [ "${flags/*ODEncrypted*}" == "" ]
then
echo "xx "`date +"%d-%m %H:%M"`" Encrypted $file"
markFile="0"
else
videoID=`hmt "$fileRoot.hmt" | grep -o 'Video PID:.*$'`
videoID=${videoID#Video PID}
audioID=`hmt "$fileRoot.hmt" | grep -o 'Audio PID:.*$'`
audioID=${audioID#Audio PID}
if [ $audioID == $videoID ]
then
echo "xx "`date +"%d-%m %H:%M"`" $file is audio only"
else
ffmpeg -loglevel quiet -ss "$targetTime" -i "$file" -frames 1 -pix_fmt bgra -vf vflip -s 140x78 TempThumb.bmp
if [ ! -f TempThumb.bmp ]
then
echo "xx "`date +"%d-%m %H:%M"`" $file requires slow capture"
if [ "${flags/*SD*}" == "" ] && [ $slowForSD == "1" ]
then
echo "-- "`date +"%d-%m %H:%M"`" Attempting slow capture $file"
ffmpeg -loglevel quiet -i "$file" -ss "$targetTime" -frames 1 -an -pix_fmt bgra -vf vflip -s 140x78 TempThumb.bmp
fi
else
echo "++ "`date +"%d-%m %H:%M"`" Thumbnail created $file"
fi
fi
if [ -f TempThumb.bmp ]
then
dd bs=54 skip=1 if=TempThumb.bmp of="$fileRoot.thm"
rm TempThumb.bmp
fi
if [ -f "$fileRoot.thm" ] && [ $markFile == "1" ]
then
echo -ne \\xFE | dd conv=notrunc bs=1 count=1 seek=3 of="$fileRoot.thm"
fi
fi
else
echo "-- "`date +"%d-%m %H:%M"`" Already processed $file"
fi
fi
doneBlack Hole
May contain traces of nut
Border
Member
How do other DVRs (eg TOPPY) treat thumbnails on recordings. Do they use the first frame. Or could there be some sort of thumbnail flag that the recordings point to a predetermined frame on a recording. If this was so and the hummy is not detecting it.
Do mp4 files have thumbnails like embedded jpg files? On the hummy the mp4 file has no thumbnail just a greyed out icon. MP4 files converted to avi files automatically generate a more appropriate thumbnail-like .jpg file. Curious!
Do mp4 files have thumbnails like embedded jpg files? On the hummy the mp4 file has no thumbnail just a greyed out icon. MP4 files converted to avi files automatically generate a more appropriate thumbnail-like .jpg file. Curious!
Black Hole
May contain traces of nut
I don't understand your point. The thumbnail is in a specific file <recording>.thm which is generated by the Humax from the recording, either when you first play the file or on the first boot after the recording was made. As standard, the Humax just takes the first frame of the recording. The WebIF thumbnail generator simply provides an alternative means to select a frame and generate a .thm file from it, and replace the standard file (if it exists). The Humax doesn't try to create a .thm if one already exists (although there can be a problem if it is in the process of creating one, so measures are taken to circumvent it).
There are no markers or embedded thumbnails, and the Humax only looks for a .thm if the recording is a .ts and (I think) the .hmt exists. It doesn't check for a .mp4. One could, if one so desired, copy in a standard frame as the .thm, creating icons for specific recordings - another function for classifier perhaps.
Black Hole
May contain traces of nut
And it might not. Wherever you choose, it's a lottery.
Border
Member
To be honest I dont know what my point is. From what you say, and I read on threads the 'ts' container contains 4 files and the .thm file is the thumbnail. Other PVRs (e.g. Topfield) dont create thumbnails.
And if you are going to create a thumbnail would it not make sense that the thumbnail would be specific for a program/series just as the prid/crid is.
And if you are going to create a thumbnail would it not make sense that the thumbnail would be specific for a program/series just as the prid/crid is.
MikeSh
Well-Known Member
Yes, in which case the programme maker or broadcaster should generate an icon for it.
Maybe a future Freeview update will include that function so the PVRs can pick it up (but not on Channel 5 - obviously
).
Black Hole
May contain traces of nut
Just to clarify, the .ts file is a container for the data streams (video, audio, subtitle, etc) which may themselves be encoded in a variety of formats, and then the .ts container format defines how these streams are packaged up into one file. Similar applies to other container formats (mp4, mkv, etc). The thumbnail is NOT part of this package.
The Humax (specifically) creates a file set, the usual set being .ts, .hmt, .nts, and .thm (there are variations, for example a radio recording does not have a .thm, and a "naked" .ts get another file added if you play it but I don't recall what it's called*). The thumbnail is one of the files in this set (.thm), not part of the .ts container.
* see post 117
prpr
Well-Known Member
.hmi
Ezra Pound
Well-Known Member
It's impossible to predict where the desirable image for the thumbnail will be, hence the Set Thumbnail feature in the Web-IF
I agree that there is no way to predict the "right" thumbnail, but it can be a lot better than the default.
Below is my latest script for auto generating thumbnails based on a given time into the video.
It generally generates a thumbnail that is recognisably for the recorded programme.
Try it and see what you think. I am very pleased with it.
This has several enhancements from the last version:
I was seeing some picture breakup on recordings which I think were caused by the CPU load of ffmpeg operations.
Now I set my Humax to turn on at 06:00 and my script runs at 06:01 and shuts down the Humax when finished
The options are all at the top of the script so they can easily be changed.
targetTime - number of seconds into the recording to capture the image (I have 2 minutes pre-padding so 400 generally works)
hdTargetFallback - if HD thumbnail generation fails, try again with this alternate target time (should be less than the original targetTime)
slowForSD - if SD thumbnail generation fails, set to 1 to use a slow capture that is more accurate (otherwise set to 0)
logActionsOnly - if you want more detailed logging (e.g. file already processed, audio only file etc.) change this to 0
Below is my latest script for auto generating thumbnails based on a given time into the video.
It generally generates a thumbnail that is recognisably for the recorded programme.
Try it and see what you think. I am very pleased with it.
This has several enhancements from the last version:
- Doesn't overwrite web-if generated thumbnails
- Checks for all grey thumbnails and uses the fallback behaviour
- Added lower target time for HD recordings fallback
- Fixed the issues with buffers affecting the list of files to process
- Disabled all logging of ffmpeg
- Defaulted to only logging actions (not status checks etc.)
- Runs any pending auto tasks (e.g. decryption) before creating thumbnails
- Check for a command line argument of STANDBY and use the ir package to shutdown the Humax.
I was seeing some picture breakup on recordings which I think were caused by the CPU load of ffmpeg operations.
Now I set my Humax to turn on at 06:00 and my script runs at 06:01 and shuts down the Humax when finished
The options are all at the top of the script so they can easily be changed.
targetTime - number of seconds into the recording to capture the image (I have 2 minutes pre-padding so 400 generally works)
hdTargetFallback - if HD thumbnail generation fails, try again with this alternate target time (should be less than the original targetTime)
slowForSD - if SD thumbnail generation fails, set to 1 to use a slow capture that is more accurate (otherwise set to 0)
logActionsOnly - if you want more detailed logging (e.g. file already processed, audio only file etc.) change this to 0
Code:
targetTime="400"
hdTargetFallback="200"
slowForSD="1"
logActionsOnly="1"
if [ $logActionsOnly == "0" ]
then
echo " "`date +"%d-%m %H:%M"`" Running auto task"
fi
/mod/webif/lib/bin/auto
cd /
cd "media/My Video"
find . -type f -name "*.ts" | while read fileTS
do
file=${fileTS#*/}
fileRoot=${file%.ts}
process="0"
inuse "$file"
if [ $? == "0" ]
then
if [ $logActionsOnly == "0" ]
then
echo "xx "`date +"%d-%m %H:%M"`" In use $file"
fi
else
if [ -f "$fileRoot.thm" ]
then
checkByte=`hexdump -n1 -s3 -e'"" 1/1 "%02x"' "$fileRoot.thm"`
fileSize=$(stat -c '%s' "$fileRoot.thm")
if [ $checkByte == "ff" ] && [ $fileSize == "43680" ]
then
process="1"
fi
else
process="1"
fi
if [ $process == "1" ] && [ -f "$fileRoot.hmt" ]
then
flags=`hmt "$fileRoot.hmt" | grep -o 'Flags: .*$'`
markFile="1"
if [ "${flags/*ODEncrypted*}" == "" ]
then
if [ $logActionsOnly == "0" ]
then
echo "xx "`date +"%d-%m %H:%M"`" Encrypted $file"
fi
markFile="0"
else
videoID=`hmt "$fileRoot.hmt" | grep -o 'Video PID:.*$'`
videoID=${videoID#Video PID}
audioID=`hmt "$fileRoot.hmt" | grep -o 'Audio PID:.*$'`
audioID=${audioID#Audio PID}
if [ $audioID == $videoID ]
then
if [ $logActionsOnly == "0" ]
then
echo "xx "`date +"%d-%m %H:%M"`" $file is audio only"
fi
else
cat /dev/null | ffmpeg -loglevel quiet -ss "$targetTime" -i "$file" -frames 1 -pix_fmt bgra -vf vflip -s 140x78 TempThumb.bmp > /dev/null 2>&1
attemptSlowCapture="0"
if [ ! -f TempThumb.bmp ]
then
attemptSlowCapture="1"
else
picStart=`hexdump -s 54 -n 32 -v -e'"" 1/1 "%02x"' TempThumb.bmp`
if [ $picStart == "818181ff818181ff818181ff818181ff818181ff818181ff818181ff818181ff" ]
then
echo "xx "`date +"%d-%m %H:%M"`" $file thumb looks faulty"
attemptSlowCapture="1"
fi
fi
if [ $attemptSlowCapture == "1" ]
then
echo "xx "`date +"%d-%m %H:%M"`" $file requires slow capture"
if [ "${flags/*SD*}" == "" ] && [ $slowForSD == "1" ]
then
echo "-- "`date +"%d-%m %H:%M"`" Attempting slow capture $file"
cat /dev/null | ffmpeg -loglevel quiet -i "$file" -r 25 -ss "$targetTime" -frames 1 -an -pix_fmt bgra -vf vflip -s 140x78 TempThumb.bmp > /dev/null 2>&1
else
echo "-- "`date +"%d-%m %H:%M"`" Attempting HD fallback thumbnail $file"
cat /dev/null | ffmpeg -loglevel quiet -ss "$hdTargetFallback" -i "$file" -r 25 -frames 1 -an -pix_fmt bgra -vf vflip -s 140x78 TempThumb.bmp > /dev/null 2>&1
fi
else
echo "++ "`date +"%d-%m %H:%M"`" Thumbnail created $file"
fi
fi
if [ -f TempThumb.bmp ]
then
dd bs=54 skip=1 if=TempThumb.bmp of="$fileRoot.thm" > /dev/null 2>&1
rm TempThumb.bmp
fi
if [ -f "$fileRoot.thm" ] && [ $markFile == "1" ]
then
echo -ne \\xFE | dd conv=notrunc bs=1 count=1 seek=3 of="$fileRoot.thm" > /dev/null 2>&1
fi
fi
else
if [ $logActionsOnly == "0" ]
then
if [ -f "$fileRoot.hmt" ]
then
echo "-- "`date +"%d-%m %H:%M"`" Already processed $file"
else
echo "-- "`date +"%d-%m %H:%M"`" No media information for $file"
fi
fi
fi
fi
done
if [ "$1" == "STANDBY" ]
then
if [ $logActionsOnly == "0" ]
then
echo " "`date +"%d-%m %H:%M"`" Shutting down"
fi
ir STANDBY >> /dev/null
fi