Introduction to Media Scraping
Zoom Player can scan your media library and automatically download cover images (posters, backdrops, etc...) and meta-data (storyline, rating, actors, etc...) from on-line databases such as TheMovieDB.org and others.


Names and Folders
Zoom Player can automatically identify each media file or folder by filtering out superflous text in the name (such as BluRay, 1080p, DTS, DVD, x264 and other "scene" tags), but due to how files or folders can be mis-labeled or in cases where duplicate titles are identified in the online database, Zoom Player may return a wrong result or even no result at all.

There are methods you can use to advise Zoom Player about the actual title and avoid misidentifications.

For example, if the media is named "Godzilla.mkv", the online database may return any of the godzilla movies released throughout the years. However, if the media is named "Godzilla 2014.mkv", Zoom Player will know to look for a "Godzilla" movie released in 2014.


Specifying an IMDb title
To directly specify an IMDb title, include an ".NFO" text file containing a link to the title's IMDb address. For example, if the media file is named "Godzilla.mkv", create a text file named "Godzilla.nfo" (not "Godzilla.nfo.txt") containing the "https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0831387" Godzilla 2014 link.


Preventing a folder from being scraped
To prevent a folder from being scraped, create a "zplayer_nomedia.txt" text file within the folder (you can use any text editor for this). Please note that placing the file does not affect media within the folder from being scraped, only the folder itself will not be scraped when viewed from the outside.


Adding text to the file name without affecting scraping
At times you may want to include additional information in the file name without the extra information breaking the scraping operation. To include additional information, add the "^" character before the extra information, for example:
"My Lovely.mkv" can be changed to "My Lovely^Best Picture 2035.mkv" without affecting scraping.


Movies : JukeBox configuration

1. Create a new video movie category and specify one or more folders (all folders appear merged as one folder in the media library).
2. Press the "Configure Category" button.
3. For pre-existing categories, verify the following settings are enabled:
   • JukeBox mode
     
   • Thumbnail view
     
   • Crop thumbnails
     
   • Draw thumbnails with a metadata derived title
     
   • Create folder thumbnails from first media file within the folder
     
   • Set the 'Scrape content mode' to 'movies'.
4. Use the layout calculator to specify a layout using the Movie Poster preset and the number of columns per row you would like to display.
5. Enable the desired metadata scraper plug-ins (e.g. TheMovieDB).

Movies : JukeBox mode folder structure
For JukeBox mode to work, a media library category's root folder must be comprised only of folders (no files). Each folder should be named after the movie title and optionally include a release year (to prevent mis-identification of movies with the same title), for example "Godzilla 2014".


TV : Configuration

1. Create a new video TV category and specify one or more folders (all folders appear merged as one folder in the media library).
2. Press the "Configure Category" button.
3. For pre-existing categories, verify the following settings are enabled:
   • JukeBox mode
     
   • Thumbnail view
     
   • Crop thumbnails
     
   • Draw thumbnails with a metadata derived title
     
   • Create folder thumbnails from first media file within the folder
     
   • Set the 'Scrape content mode' to 'TV'.
4. Use the layout calculator to specify a layout using the Movie Poster or Widescreen presets and the number of columns per row you would like to display.
5. Enable the desired metadata scraper plug-ins (e.g. TheMovieDB).

TV : JukeBox mode folder structure
Zoom Player itself and the metadata scrapers try to be smart and automatically detect various Season/Episode naming schemes, but to ensure proper identification, use the following folder structure:
[TV Show Name]\Season [Season Number]\Media

example:
Game of Thrones\Season 01\Game.of.Thrones.S01E01.mkv




Music : Configuration

1. Create a new Audio category and specify one or more folders (all folders appear merged as one folder in the media library).
2. Press the "Configure Category" button.
3. For pre-existing categories, verify the following settings are enabled:
   • Draw thumbnails with a metadata derived title
     
   • Create folder thumbnails from first media file within the folder
     
   • Set the 'Scrape content mode' to 'Music'.
4. Enable the desired metadata scraper plug-ins (e.g. TheAudioDB).

Music : Folder structure
To ensure proper identification, use the following folder structure:
[Arist Name] - [Album Name]


Manual Override

1. The Media Library's Scraped Artwork entries are found in the "C:\ProgramData\Zoom Player\MediaCache" folder (one sub-folder folder for each scraped entry by file name).
2. You can Overwrite/Replace the "backdrop_src.jpg" and "poster_src.jpg" files placed for the corresponding entry.
3. Movie and TV Show "poster_src.jpg" files must have a 1:1.5 aspect ratio (e.g. 667x1000), backdrops have a 16:9 aspect ratio (e.g. 1920x1080).
4. The "folder.jpg" image is automatically generated based on your display resolution.
   It is recreated from the source images "????_src.jpg" when you resize the GUI (if the image is visible within the GUI).