# Plex/Nine Database
**URL:** https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-nine-database/3453
**Category:** Dev/API Corner
**Tags:** other-dev
**Created:** [January 20, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-nine-database/3453 "2010-01-20T16:15:40Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 8
### Author:  [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2010, 12:35am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-nine-database/3453/141 "2010-04-01T00:35:46Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Let's be honest here, the Plex devs are in a no win situation with regards to a release for .9
>
> Yes it's frustrating not knowing when we're going to see it, but if I was Elan the negativity here would just encourage me to be LESS forthcoming, code in secret and then release to an unsuspecting public and blow us all away.
>
> If you were paying for Plex, and Elan et al relied on it for income to live on then it would be an entirely different story. But it isn't and they don't, they're giving up their free time to code Plex for themselves and us and as such, really, owe us nothing.
>
> Now leave them alone so they can stop having to answer "When are we getting it?" posts and get cracking on coding it! ;)
Listen, I really don't mean to be negative (where in my comments do you find negativity?)! I'm just pointing out that there seems to be a growing unrest and that some users are fearing that .9 will never see the light of day. Elan even had to reassure us that Plex/Nine is not Duke Nukem...! I just stated that my patience is intact but that doesn't conflict with my opinion that a gross estimate for the release of the first .9 release would be relevant and valuable in quelling the unrest...
Also, I just stated above that I fully appreciate that this being done as a hobby by a few dedicated developers, who a free to ignore these comments. However, since the relevance of Plex in my opinion is inversely proportional to the number of people indifferent towards it, the devs have an inherent interest to take all questions serious (as they are in fact doing) - especially those questions that in a constructive manner displays entusiasm...!
Lastly, to repeat: The major problem IMO is that Plex .8 still has bugs in need of a fix...
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### Author:  [@elan](https://forums.plex.tv/u/elan)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2010, 12:41am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-nine-database/3453/142 "2010-04-01T00:41:14Z")
I _really_ love how civil everyone is on this forum. It makes me smile. We can disagree, but we do so politely and eloquently.
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### Author:  [@Advocate](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Advocate)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2010, 12:45am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-nine-database/3453/143 "2010-04-01T00:45:18Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Listen, I really don't mean to be negative (where in my comments do you find negativity?)! I'm just pointing out that there seems to be a growing unrest and that some users are fearing that .9 will never see the light of day. Elan even had to reassure us that Plex/Nine is not Duke Nukem...! I just stated that my patience is intact but that doesn't conflict with my opinion that a gross estimate for the release of the first .9 release would be relevant and valuable in quelling the unrest...
>
> Also, I just stated above that I fully appreciate that this being done as a hobby by a few dedicated developers, who a free to ignore these comments. However, since the relevance of Plex in my opinion is inversely proportional to the number of people indifferent towards it, the devs have an inherent interest to take all questions serious (as they are in fact doing) - especially those questions that in a constructive manner displays entusiasm...!
>
> Lastly, to repeat: The major problem IMO is that Plex .8 still has bugs in need of a fix...
Sorry Hafnium I wasn't trying to say that "you specifically" were being overtly negative, but negativity does seem to be creeping in on the forums lately.
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### Author:  [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2010, 12:49am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-nine-database/3453/144 "2010-04-01T00:49:15Z")
> [@](#):
>
> We're making awesome progress. As soon as we have something worth sharing we will, promise.
>
>
>
> I'll have to look more into the MP4 subtitles one, it'll probably get lumped for now into an MP4 metadata agent.
>
> As for the scraping of local fanart, you're right, I did promise that. How about this: In order to make this right, when I finish up the local fanart support for Plex/Nine (on the list, probably an hour's work or so), I will personally give you a link for a Plex/Nine build so that you can test it on your local fanart? For clarification, it's not at the top of the list :)
>
> To help me out, why don't you list the naming format in which your local fanart is in.
Alright, I'll stop bugging you with the time frame...
I think there are more, but this is the most recent thread on MP4 subs, I could find:
http://forums.plexapp.com/index.php?/topic/12751-mov-subtitles/
Fanart: Great, thanks. I'll be happy to help out testing this (and any other functionality).
My filenaming convention: movie.m4v and movie-fanart.jpg (and FWIW movie.tbn and movie.nfo).
Take your time. As I've said, I not the one with a bursting impatience. In the mean time, I'll go to my inlaws (who became "entusiasts" just by seeing me operate Plex) and install Plex 8.5 on their new Mini :-D
Thanks again!
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### Author:  [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2010, 1:03am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-nine-database/3453/145 "2010-04-01T01:03:50Z")
> [@](#):
>
> I \*really\* love how civil everyone is on this forum. It makes me smile. We can disagree, but we do so politely and eloquently.
Right back at you! I'm not too active a poster here on these forums. I read a lot of the posts, though. And I can positively say that I rarely, if ever, encounter devs with an attitude as good as yours. Kudos!
BTW, the civility that you attribute "everyone" on this forum strongly supports my point that you shouldn't fear that people will be bitching if you don't deliver on a estimated release date :-D
> [@](#):
>
> Sorry Hafnium I wasn't trying to say that "you specifically" were being overtly negative, but negativity does seem to be creeping in on the forums lately.
No offence taken. But yeah, that was my sentiment as well, and I still believe that something (another blog post (has been promised, I know) or screenshots, maybe...) should be offered to keep the public entertained...
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### Author:  [@sansnipple](https://forums.plex.tv/u/sansnipple)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2010, 1:52am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-nine-database/3453/146 "2010-04-01T01:52:26Z")
just to clarify, pre-release builds are kept to a _small_ group of testers for a reason. all time spent supporting these known-broken, incomplete, intermediate builds is time taken away from development.
also, “alpha” means still in active feature development, the core foundation is solid, but several user-facing target features are still undergoing implementation. plus it’s still eating puppies and throwing rocks at passing cars. it is coming along at a great pace, and will hopefully be usable soon enough, but release dates just lead to anxiety and disapointment on all sides, better to be wonderfully surprised.
and again this thread is wandering way way off topic and growing long in the tooth, if you look up at the topic and section, it was intended to be for technical discussion of the plex 9 database.
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### Author:  [@RockStar](https://forums.plex.tv/u/RockStar)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-nine-database/3453/147 "2010-04-01T16:51:40Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Plex/Nine is not Duke Nukem
But is it Chinese Democracy? ie. hyped, delayed and eventually insignificant? There are other media center sollutions that also evolve alongside Plex. Plex`s significance will be determined by how it compares to the alternatives. Desentralization of the library has been a big issue. From what I understand Plex Media Server will handle this in plex nine. Im not sure I find that favorable to the approach XBMC has taken using SQL, as SQL is multiplatform and can even be ran of certain NAS boxes, while Plex Media Server will as I understand it, need to be run of a Mac. Running the database on the same machine storing the media has several obvious advantages.
Aside from decentralization of the database, Alexandria brings alot more. Its yet to be determined how the final result compares to whatever the alternative softwares can offer.
As a long time supporter of Plex, it was not an easy decision to move to XBMC, but comparing their current revision to 0.8.5, I cant say I regret it. I do however remeber a time where my windows buddies were stuck with a half assed buggy xbmc and everyone envied me who could run the bad ass mac version dubbed osxbmc back then. For nostalgic reasons, I do hope Plex succeeds in once again becoming the leading media center sollution, and that I once again will return to using it.
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### Author:  [@jam](https://forums.plex.tv/u/jam)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-nine-database/3453/148 "2010-04-01T17:52:22Z")
> [@](#):
>
> But is it Chinese Democracy? ie. hyped, delayed and eventually insignificant? There are other media center sollutions that also evolve alongside Plex. Plex`s significance will be determined by how it compares to the alternatives. Desentralization of the library has been a big issue. From what I understand Plex Media Server will handle this in plex nine. Im not sure I find that favorable to the approach XBMC has taken using SQL, as SQL is multiplatform and can even be ran of certain NAS boxes, while Plex Media Server will as I understand it, need to be run of a Mac. Running the database on the same machine storing the media has several obvious advantages.
>
> Aside from decentralization of the database, Alexandria brings alot more. Its yet to be determined how the final result compares to whatever the alternative softwares can offer.
>
> As a long time supporter of Plex, it was not an easy decision to move to XBMC, but comparing their current revision to 0.8.5, I cant say I regret it. I do however remeber a time where my windows buddies were stuck with a half assed buggy xbmc and everyone envied me who could run the bad ass mac version dubbed osxbmc back then. For nostalgic reasons, I do hope Plex succeeds in once again becoming the leading media center sollution, and that I once again will return to using it.
Nobody is hyping anything. In fact, that's one of the reasons we've deliberately kept quiet about the upcoming features - to avoid things getting over-hyped and resulting in disappointment for users. The things that have been announced so far are the parts that are working reliably and are now fairly solid.
WIth regard to SQL, it's just a query language and database. PMS uses SQL as the back-end for data storage as well. There still needs to be an application that knows what to do with the data. We chose to shift this logic to the server component too, while the XBMC team has chosen to keep it in the client. While you see several obvious advantages to this method, I see far, far more disadvantages.
You are, of course, entitled to whatever opinions you have. However, I (and I'm sure some of the other devs would agree with me) would appreciate it if you stopped announcing these opinions as if they were fact, especially when you have little to no knowledge of what's going on behind the scenes. Sorry if this sounds short, or rude, it's not intended that way - it just becomes a little tiresome having to spend time rebutting false claims in forum posts instead of actually working on the code.
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### Author:  [@Burkan](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Burkan)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2010, 5:53pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-nine-database/3453/149 "2010-04-01T17:53:55Z")
I’ve got a question about the new database and how it will handle some formats.
**Wil Alexandria recognize ripped TV-show DVD’s and/or Blu-rays?**
For example, if I rip Season 1 DVD 1 of Friends then the TV-show section of Plex won’t recognize the video\_ts folder as separate episodes.
Now every episode needs to be ripped so that the Plex database recognizes everything correctly…
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### Author:  [@RockStar](https://forums.plex.tv/u/RockStar)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2010, 7:59pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-nine-database/3453/150 "2010-04-01T19:59:30Z")
> [@](#):
>
> You are, of course, entitled to whatever opinions you have. However, I (and I’m sure some of the other devs would agree with me) would appreciate it if you stopped announcing these opinions as if they were fact, especially when you have little to no knowledge of what’s going on behind the scenes. Sorry if this sounds short, or rude, it’s not intended that way - it just becomes a little tiresome having to spend time rebutting false claims in forum posts instead of actually working on the code.
What opinions do I present as fact? Where are my false claims, and where are you rebutting them? Im sorry if Im misleading anyone, or misinforming users on this forum. It hasnt been my intention. Ill stop lying and spreading my misinformed claims if you enlighten me rather than trying to shut me up with statements like the one above. Your reply as it stands, rude or not, made me no less ignorant.
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### Author:  [@Advocate](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Advocate)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2010, 8:14pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-nine-database/3453/151 "2010-04-01T20:14:23Z")
> [@](#):
>
> ...SQL is multiplatform and can even be ran of certain NAS boxes, while Plex Media Server will as I understand it, need to be run of a Mac....
This has nothing to do with your reply to Jam, rather an observation on the above quote.
You \*do\* remember that Plex is, was, and always will be, Mac only. Right?
Alistair
[EDIT]Also, this isn't the "Battlefront" (it sounds like you know what, and where that is). Contention isn't a necessity in the Plex dev forums. Just a FYI :) [/EDIT]
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### Author:  [@jansink](https://forums.plex.tv/u/jansink)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2010, 7:56am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-nine-database/3453/152 "2010-04-02T07:56:18Z")
> [@](#):
>
> I've got a question about the new database and how it will handle some formats.
>
> \*\*Wil Alexandria recognize ripped TV-show DVD's and/or Blu-rays?\*\*
>
> For example, if I rip Season 1 DVD 1 of Friends then the TV-show section of Plex won't recognize the video\_ts folder as separate episodes.
> Now every episode needs to be ripped so that the Plex database recognizes everything correctly...
Good question! I'm also hoping that Plex 9 will deal with my collection of TV serie DVD's!
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### Author:  [@elan](https://forums.plex.tv/u/elan)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2010, 10:23pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-nine-database/3453/153 "2010-04-02T22:23:02Z")
The flexibility of Alexandria should make dealing with TV-show DVDs easier. To be honest I don’t own any DVDs at all, so I’m not a good person to render an opinion other than: We’ll be able to easily support the scenarios that make practical sense.
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### Author:  [@stockds](https://forums.plex.tv/u/stockds)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2010, 8:48pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-nine-database/3453/154 "2010-04-03T20:48:33Z")
Ok - time to have a go at bringing this thread back on topic!
Lots of mention in the thread and forum post of video - but I can’t say I have seen anything about music. Can I safely assume support for music libraries outside of iTunes will still be supported?
Personally I don’t care as the household is now a huge fan of Spotify - but i have a friend who does!
Simon
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### Author:  [@elan](https://forums.plex.tv/u/elan)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-nine-database/3453/155 "2010-04-03T20:57:04Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Lots of mention in the thread and forum post of video - but I can't say I have seen anything about music. Can I safely assume support for music libraries outside of iTunes will still be supported?
Yes, absolutely, although at the moment we are focused on TV and Movies and the first alpha might not have full support for Music. The great thing is, all the under the hood stuff supports it, we just need to write scanners and agents and we're set :)
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### Author:  [@Burkan](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Burkan)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-nine-database/3453/156 "2010-04-06T18:28:27Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Yes, absolutely, although at the moment we are focused on TV and Movies and the first alpha might not have full support for Music. The great thing is, all the under the hood stuff supports it, we just need to write scanners and agents and we're set :)
When will we see part 2 of the Introduction to Plex 0.9... Maybe you can make it a weekly or bi-weekly update. This way people know what to expect and they will stop complaining about more info... ;)
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### Author:  [@phunkysai](https://forums.plex.tv/u/phunkysai)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-nine-database/3453/157 "2010-04-07T18:05:12Z")
I think you’re all missing the most obvious question that the devs have failed to answer about Plex 0.9, and I am hopping mad about it:
And that is: Will it blend?
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### Author:  [@Advocate](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Advocate)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-nine-database/3453/158 "2010-04-07T18:44:28Z")
Pop it on an iPad and I’m sure it will 😛
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### Author:  [@elan](https://forums.plex.tv/u/elan)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2010, 8:48pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-nine-database/3453/159 "2010-04-07T20:48:37Z")
> [@](#):
>
> And that is: Will it blend?
:lol:
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### Author:  [@atyrelyoung](https://forums.plex.tv/u/atyrelyoung)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2010, 3:01am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-nine-database/3453/160 "2010-04-17T03:01:24Z")
> [@](#):
>
> The most important thing is making things consistent, we'll be able to deal with lots of different scenarios and people will be able to customize to pick up their own naming conventions.
Sweetness, I'm curious how this is going to be implemented however.
> [@](#):
>
> We're going to be moving away from NFO files, although, as I've said, it should be pretty easy to suck them into the new library. The problem they solve isn't one you should be having with the new Library.
This baffles me a bit. I am not sure how moving away from nfo files is is a good thing. There is yet to be a automated scraper to get my library 100% correct all the time, and fixing it via apple remote is painful at best. This is aside from the nfo's for files that are not commercial scrapeable media. I get that parsing those files is a little expensive, but shouldn't be unreasonable. Is there a technical reason for this that I don't fully understand?
> [@](#):
>
> Alexandria uses a mix of XML and SQL to store its data.
Do you mind expanding on this a little? At first blush I take this to mean there are XML formatted files being accessed off the filesystem along side of something like sqlite. Which brings performance questions to mind, as well as other twisted notions about the drawbacks to having separated dependent data sources.
My biggest concern is speed, at the moment it can take a bit for a big library to scrape, even with locally stored NFO and fanart, and a bit to populate during navigation. Are there going to be some performance gains in this regard?
Great job on this project, I much appreciate all your hard work.
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