Cache Database

Cache Database

The reason the list opens at once is that MovieCockpit does not read your recordings when you open it. It reads a SQLite database that CacheCockpit keeps up to date. This page explains what is in it and when it changes.

Where it is

File	moviecockpit.db
Folder	The Cache directory setting, default /etc/enigma2

If the plugin cannot read the setting, it falls back to the hidden file /etc/enigma2/.moviecockpit.db.

Put the folder on storage that is always present and fast, with room to grow (see Size and speed). The database is closed cleanly when the box shuts down.

What is in it

Two tables:

Table	One row per	Holds
table1	file, folder or link	type, bookmark, full path, path relative to the bookmark, folder, file name, extension, title, programme start time, recording start and stop time, length, short and extended description, service reference, size, cut list (marks and last position), sort mode, host name
table2	cover	the base name of the entry and the picture itself as a binary blob

Both are keyed by path, so an entry exists only once. The database is a cache: everything in it can be rebuilt from your disks. Sort modes are also written to .sort files and watched positions to .cuts files, so a rebuild loses nothing.

What is scanned

Directories, links, and files with one of these extensions:

Group	Extensions
Recordings	.ts .trp
Blu-ray / AVCHD	.m2ts .bdmv
DVD images	.ifo .iso .img
Video	.avi .divx .f4v .flv .m4v .mkv .mov .mp4 .mpeg .mpg .mts .vob .wmv .asf .stream .webm

When it is filled and changed

Event	What happens
First start, no database yet	Once the mounts are known, every mounted bookmark is scanned, one file at a time, so the box stays responsive
A recording starts	The new file is added (after a short wait for it to appear), the real recording start time is written to the .xmeta file, and a cover download is requested
A recording ends	The stop time is written, the entry is refreshed, and the recording is moved into its series folder if one matches
Playback ends	The new watched position is stored and the folder entry is refreshed
File operations	Entries are updated as the move / copy / delete jobs finish
You press Reload cache	All mounted bookmarks are cleared from the cache and scanned again (cached entries of unmounted bookmarks stay)
Cover or TMDB change	The affected entry is reloaded

There is no background watcher. If you copy a file into a bookmark with another tool (FTP, Samba from a PC), it does not show up until you press Reload cache.

Reloading the cache

Use Reload cache (red, level 3, or the function menu) after you:

• added, removed or renamed files outside MovieCockpit,
• restored the box or the database from a backup,
• moved the Cache directory,
• see wrong data that a Recording Info check traces back to a stale cache entry.

A progress screen shows the scan. Browsing is possible during the scan but the list is incomplete until it ends.

To start completely fresh, stop Enigma2, delete moviecockpit.db, and start again. The first-start scan then runs again. Your recordings and cover files are not affected.

Size and speed

A row is small. The covers dominate the size. On a test box with 121 recordings, 8 folders and 83 covers the database is 24 MB, and the covers account for nearly all of it (about 290 KB each). Plan on roughly 0.3 MB per recording that has a cover. Opening the list never touches the disks, which is the point: a sleeping hard disk is not spun up just to browse.