Overview

How to lookup movie details from IMDb (or other) websites.

Introduction

Any time you have selected a video in a list or other layout, you can choose to download and access more details about the video, particularly movie files, from IMDb or many other web sources.

You can select, and even set the priorities, of the sites you wish to lookup in Configuration > Videos > Database settings. Many Movie Info Grabbers, are provided by MediaPortal users, so there may be one for your local region, to access data in your native language. You do not have to update MediaPortal to get new grabbers, you can simply update them in Configuration.

Of course, you do not have to lookup each video or movie one by one. If you prefer, you can lookup all your movies and have all the data instantly available. This also enables you to use the database views, such as Titles and Genres. However, if you do lookup a movie using Shares view, it will automatically be added to your video database, and that movie can be viewed in the database views. The data will be saved for your future reference. You don't have to look it up again.

How to Lookup Movie Info

Select a video in the list, or any layout you choose. On a keyboard you can press and lookup will automatically begin. On your remote, press the Info/More button to receive the context menu:

  Tip If you prefer, you can configure a button on your remote to automatically lookup your movies, so you don't have to use the menu.

Then select the IMDB option. It will use the grabber you have selected in Configuration to search for movies matching your filename.

And display a list of possible matches for you to select the one you wish:

Don't worry if your filename does not produce a valid match. You can always select the Manual button and edit or enter the movie title you wish using the Virtual Keyboard:

Viewing Video Info

Once you select a movie and the information is downloaded, it will display on the Video Info screen.

You can do a lot on this screen:

• Play - Plays the video of course
• Plot - Displays the plot information
• Cast - Displays the actors and cast information
• Review - Displays the user review
• Refresh - Will lookup the movie or actor data again, in case more info or covers have been added to IMDb or your movie info source
• Rename - Lets you rename the movie in the database
• Watched - Lets you toggle the watched status of your movie manually
• Trakt - Opens the Trakt plugin
• Image - Allows you to select which cover you wish to display
• Disc - Lets you select the source of the file if you have more than one

You may return to this screen any time you wish by using or the Info/More remote button.

Viewing Cast Info

Selecting the Cast button will show a list of the movie's actors and crew:

Selecting an actor will show the biography:

The percentage next to the cast name shows the progress of the information download. Once it reaches 100% all information and the complete movie list has been downloaded.

Selecting Movies shows the actor's filmography:

If you have other movies in the filmography in your collection, it will be highlighted. You can select one of these to access the video info screen for that movie.