Custom Plug-in help - RS232 Aspect Ratio Masking System Control

[knight2001]

Brilliant mind needed - need to determine media aspect ratio

Hi!

I have a great idea, but no idea how to code it, or even how to implement it........and hope I have posted it in the correct section (mods please move if not appropriate for General discussion)

I am currently looking into setting up a masking system for my home theatre which has the ability to be controlled either by RS-232 commands or IR from a remote.

This involves a Constant Image Height screen system where an electronically controlled black "mask" comes out horizontally from the left and right of the screen and borders the white screen at the correct aspect ratio to give a nice, crisp black border to the frame and avoids light-spill from the projector (similar to the masking function of curtains at a movie theatre)

Given that plex already analyses video media and shows aspect ratio information when flipping through my movies folder, is it possible to have a plug-in that will output an RS-232 code via a USB port (corresponding to the ones used to control my masking system) that is representative of the aspect ratio of the media being played, (and also have a default for plex menu aspect ratio) to automatically trigger my masking system and have it setup the masking to suit the media when it plays?

Alternatively, can someone point me to an appropriate section of code that plex uses to determine aspect ratio from the media it scans?

Aspect ratios are commonly 4:3, 1.66:1, 1.85:1, 2.35:1, 2.40:1 etc

Would this be better implemented as part of the media server or the client?

Any ideas / discussion / suggestions would be welcomed.

Regards,
Knight.

[knight2001]

Nobody able to offer any help with this???

[knight2001]

bump…

[mikedm139]

There are no currently any sort of hooks available from either PMS or the client that would allow a plugin or other addon or external program to be notified when a movie is started. I think that it’s something the Plex Devs want to add eventually but, until they do, the only option currenlty is to build a custom Log watcher script and grab cues from the Plex and/or PMS log.

I believe that the aspect ratio information is determined by the Plex Media Scanner and stored in the database alongside the other metadata. It should be available via the HTTP XML API.

I haven’t the foggiest idea about outputting RS-232 codes via USB. If you have such a USB sending unit or are looking to get one, I would do some googling to find out what sort of interface options it provides. A HTTP API or python lib would be the ideal option if you actually want to implement it via a Plex addon.