Sony PRS-T1 in Calibre - Page 6

azxswq · 10-09-2011, 10:35 AM

Buying Kolenka a drink is not too much to ask at all! Over here it is about $10 a drink, I actively encourage that Kolenka setup a chip-in, paypal account and people can materially appreciate your effort with this spanking new T1.

I don't know what I was thinking, buying a 32GB Micro SD.. (it shows that I am a newbie in this e-ink reader stuff.) so I tried to download tons of Mp3 instead of books. (don't have that many books.. yet.) And haven't figure out the best way to import music yet. Direct copy into MICROSD_Directory, (DCIM dir?), Import via Sony reader included sync software? It is easy with 1 or 2GB, but with 20+GB, the faster and less pain, the better.
Any body has any pointers on this new T1?

I just drag and drop my list (playlists, is there such a thing on T1?) from itunes into a Giant directory and copy the whole directory over to T1. Very crude, but it works...

Edit, a total side note: I would like to donate to Calibre as well, and know how that is done. The question, how is that contribution being passed through to volunteer like Kolenka, or is it? Just curious...

chaley · 10-09-2011, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by azxswq

Edit, a total side note: I would like to donate to Calibre as well, and know how that is done. The question, how is that contribution being passed through to volunteer like Kolenka, or is it? Just curious...

Donations to calibre go to Kovid. If you want to donate specifically to someone, that should be between you and that someone.

I suppose you could ask Kovid to pass (some of) it on, but my suspicion is that a system like that will play havoc with his taxes. I think that he would rather you send the money directly where you want it to go. I know that I would if I were in his shoes.

Kolenka · 10-09-2011, 02:01 PM

The T1's audio support is rather meager. Doesn't seem to support playlists or anything like that, but will scan the entire SD card looking for audio files.

I got a bit bored this morning, so I added support for copying thumbnails. Makes scans on unplugging faster.

As for donations, I'm flattered, but I also look at this as a donation of sorts to Calibre (as well as self-serving). I wouldn't mind a beer or two for my efforts, but anything more than that is better off donated the project to help pay for bandwidth, IMO.

jackie_w · 10-09-2011, 03:34 PM

Hi Kolenka,

My T1 hasn't arrived yet, but I thank you in advance for the work you've done so far. I'm glad you've included the thumbnails option as I like to have mine all the same size.

Please can you tell me whether the Metadata Plugboard option will work with the T1, in the same way as it has worked with the previous Sony models?

Kolenka · 10-09-2011, 03:52 PM

I haven't delved in. I don't use those features and so haven't focused on them. I expect some work may need to be done. The things the patch doesn't have or may not have at this point:

- Doesn't have "Use author sort" option. Because the Sony sorts by the author literally, I can see this being something worth bringing forward.
- Doesn't have an option of scanning the whole card vs just a folder. Because of downloads, I see this option causing problems with downloads going missing for users. It just made sense to leave it disabled for the time being.
- No idea if plugboards work. I assume it's a way to manipulate metadata and file names going out to the device. If it isn't normally in the booklist when sync_booklists is called, then no.

log · 10-09-2011, 04:02 PM

Seriously great work so far Kolenka.

There is something strange with how collections work on the device, don't know if you noticed this, but by default collections are sorted by "added order". This feature actually works on device, but you need to add a book to the collection one at a time.

Interesting thing about this is when I checked my books.db, the collections table has the added_order field null on all these books

Not sure how it's actually working maybe they got lucky and it works just using the default order for they were selected from the database?

Not sure how your driver will work with 'series' calibre metadata, but I'd imagine there might be a bug in Sony's firmware that's not populating this field (and possibly not reading it?) Something I wanted to point out in case you notice any strange behavior -- the collection sort might be driven by insert order, not the actual added_order column in the collections table.

So far you've always been two steps ahead of me so maybe you already are aware of this possible bug in Sony firmware, figured it wouldn't hurt to post it anyway

Kolenka · 10-09-2011, 04:22 PM

Yeah, don't even know if the Sony uses that column yet. Added Order is the same as table order, you are right.

At this point I wanted to mimic the Sony behavior as closely as possible. That means including any weird behaviors the Sony may have. Only once you have a baseline that cooperates in a way that the Sony agrees with can you start experimenting with things like that. Otherwise you don't know if it is a bug in your driver or not, and have no 'good' driver to revert back to when things don't work in your experiments.

Seeing if that column can be used would be interesting. If the Sony reads it, it would be a way to sync the added order on the device with Calibre. Likely very useful for series collections as you say.

If I am bored again tonight, or reach a good stopping point in my current book, I might take a look at that and the "use author sort" option. Both seem simple enough to do in a short period of time and validate that they work.

jackie_w · 10-09-2011, 04:31 PM

Re: metadata plugboard. I don't know exactly HOW it works (chaley is the expert) but it is a way of using Calibre's template language to manipulate fields like author, author_sort, title, title_sort, for instance to replace the simple title field with series-index-title in the Sony database thereby changing the display in the Sony book list. It can also be used as another way to replace author with author_sort.

Robert22 · 10-09-2011, 04:42 PM

I too want to thank you Kolenka for your work! Can't wait to get the driver. A couple of questions:

1. Does your driver support collections on the microSD card?

2. Do you think it is possible to combine collections from both the SD card and internal memory (so that for instance you could have one collection "SciFi" that spans both)? I don't plan on ever removing my card and I noticed in the DB that there are fields for both the book path and the thumbnail path, but I'm not sure if a record in the internal memory DB can point to an item on the SD card. Or do you think that when the Reader does the scanning that it would clobber any records that are not on the current drive (whether internal or on the card)?

Thanks again!

Robert22 · 10-09-2011, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kolenka

If I am bored again tonight, or reach a good stopping point in my current book, I might take a look at that and the "use author sort" option. Both seem simple enough to do in a short period of time and validate that they work.

Is it possible when a list is displayed by author that books by that author are sorted by title_sort?

Kolenka · 10-09-2011, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robert22

1. Does your driver support collections on the microSD card?

Yes. It'd be silly if it didn't.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robert22

2. Do you think it is possible to combine collections from both the SD card and internal memory? I don't plan on ever removing my card and I noticed in the DB that there are fields for both the book path and the thumbnail path, but I'm not sure if a record in the internal memory DB can point to an item on the SD card. <snip>

No. Each DB uses a relative path from the root of storage (be in internal memory or the SD card). There is no way to specify a path on the other storage area.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robert22

Is it possible when a list is displayed by author that books by that author are sorted by title_sort?

I'm not sure what you are asking. Sorting is done by the Sony software. It handles all the sorting. The DB doesn't support any title or author sort fields, either, like the earlier models. What you see is what gets sorted.

Kolenka · 10-09-2011, 07:44 PM

On another note: The Sony firmware does some interesting stuff on disconnect.

- It will seemingly read the added_order column from collections. That's good news, so I've added it to the driver. The order will be the order Calibre has the books. This behavior should be similar to the 505 driver.

- If you attempt to put any title/author information into the DB that doesn't match the ePub... the firmware will happily 'correct' it for you. Yikes. This means things like "use author sort" won't do much good unless they edit the ePub directly.

Plugboards are now working as well though. Because of the previous issue though, it is creating interesting behavior. If the plugboard says: "Do x", but the ePub itself says "Do y", then the reader will spend time every unplug undoing what the plugboard says until you re-send all your files to the device so the ePub and plugboard match.

This means that the only useful plugboards for the T1 are ones that affect all formats, really. Unless you like the T1 sitting and spinning every unplug.

jackie_w · 10-09-2011, 07:59 PM

@Kolenka,

I'm not sure I understood all the above but thanks for looking

I guess I should wait till mine arrives and I can actually try it before asking any more questions.

Kolenka · 10-09-2011, 08:04 PM

The deal is this:

Plugboards work.
The Sony will detect mismatches between the DB and ePub.
When a mismatch occurs, the Sony updates the DB with the ePub's metadata.

This puts interesting limitations on plugboards and "use author sort" that worked fine with previous models:

1) It won't work with DRM'd books, as the metadata in the ePub will always win.
2) The T1 will actually spend more time reloading data when it detects one of these mismatches, for no real benefit.

Kinda disappointing, really.

EDIT: I think I've pretty much reached the end of what I can do with this driver at this point. It's about as close on feature parity with the 505 driver as it is going to get with the current Sony firmware from my perspective. Should serve as a good starting point for users.

jackie_w · 10-09-2011, 08:12 PM

Do I have this right?
If you use a plugboard to change author and title then send a non-DRM epub to the T1, the T1 will correctly reflect the plugboard.

If you subsequently change author and/or title in Calibre for the same non-DRM epub, the only way to change it on the T1 is to resend it.

If it's a DRM epub - you're out of luck.

10-09-2011, 10:35 AM	#76
azxswq Connoisseur Posts: 52 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: NYC Device: PRS-T1 Black, T2 Black	Buying Kolenka a drink is not too much to ask at all! Over here it is about $10 a drink, I actively encourage that Kolenka setup a chip-in, paypal account and people can materially appreciate your effort with this spanking new T1. I don't know what I was thinking, buying a 32GB Micro SD.. (it shows that I am a newbie in this e-ink reader stuff.) so I tried to download tons of Mp3 instead of books. (don't have that many books.. yet.) And haven't figure out the best way to import music yet. Direct copy into MICROSD_Directory, (DCIM dir?), Import via Sony reader included sync software? It is easy with 1 or 2GB, but with 20+GB, the faster and less pain, the better. Any body has any pointers on this new T1? I just drag and drop my list (playlists, is there such a thing on T1?) from itunes into a Giant directory and copy the whole directory over to T1. Very crude, but it works... Edit, a total side note: I would like to donate to Calibre as well, and know how that is done. The question, how is that contribution being passed through to volunteer like Kolenka, or is it? Just curious... Last edited by azxswq; 10-09-2011 at 10:42 AM. Reason: Question for Calibre donations.

10-09-2011, 07:44 PM	#87
Kolenka <Insert Wit Here> Posts: 1,017 Karma: 1275899 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Puget Sound Device: Kindle Oasis, Kobo Forma	On another note: The Sony firmware does some interesting stuff on disconnect. - It will seemingly read the added_order column from collections. That's good news, so I've added it to the driver. The order will be the order Calibre has the books. This behavior should be similar to the 505 driver. - If you attempt to put any title/author information into the DB that doesn't match the ePub... the firmware will happily 'correct' it for you. Yikes. This means things like "use author sort" won't do much good unless they edit the ePub directly. Plugboards are now working as well though. Because of the previous issue though, it is creating interesting behavior. If the plugboard says: "Do x", but the ePub itself says "Do y", then the reader will spend time every unplug undoing what the plugboard says until you re-send all your files to the device so the ePub and plugboard match. This means that the only useful plugboards for the T1 are ones that affect all formats, really. Unless you like the T1 sitting and spinning every unplug. Last edited by Kolenka; 10-09-2011 at 07:46 PM.

10-09-2011, 08:04 PM	#89
Kolenka <Insert Wit Here> Posts: 1,017 Karma: 1275899 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Puget Sound Device: Kindle Oasis, Kobo Forma	The deal is this: Plugboards work. The Sony will detect mismatches between the DB and ePub. When a mismatch occurs, the Sony updates the DB with the ePub's metadata. This puts interesting limitations on plugboards and "use author sort" that worked fine with previous models: 1) It won't work with DRM'd books, as the metadata in the ePub will always win. 2) The T1 will actually spend more time reloading data when it detects one of these mismatches, for no real benefit. Kinda disappointing, really. EDIT: I think I've pretty much reached the end of what I can do with this driver at this point. It's about as close on feature parity with the 505 driver as it is going to get with the current Sony firmware from my perspective. Should serve as a good starting point for users. Last edited by Kolenka; 10-09-2011 at 08:11 PM.

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10-09-2011, 02:01 PM	#78
Kolenka <Insert Wit Here> Posts: 1,017 Karma: 1275899 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Puget Sound Device: Kindle Oasis, Kobo Forma	The T1's audio support is rather meager. Doesn't seem to support playlists or anything like that, but will scan the entire SD card looking for audio files. I got a bit bored this morning, so I added support for copying thumbnails. Makes scans on unplugging faster. As for donations, I'm flattered, but I also look at this as a donation of sorts to Calibre (as well as self-serving). I wouldn't mind a beer or two for my efforts, but anything more than that is better off donated the project to help pay for bandwidth, IMO.

10-09-2011, 03:34 PM	#79
jackie_w Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,212 Karma: 16534894 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: UK Device: Kobo: KA1, ClaraHD, Forma, Libra2, Clara2E. PocketBook: TouchHD3	Hi Kolenka, My T1 hasn't arrived yet, but I thank you in advance for the work you've done so far. I'm glad you've included the thumbnails option as I like to have mine all the same size. Please can you tell me whether the Metadata Plugboard option will work with the T1, in the same way as it has worked with the previous Sony models?

10-09-2011, 03:52 PM	#80
Kolenka <Insert Wit Here> Posts: 1,017 Karma: 1275899 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Puget Sound Device: Kindle Oasis, Kobo Forma	I haven't delved in. I don't use those features and so haven't focused on them. I expect some work may need to be done. The things the patch doesn't have or may not have at this point: - Doesn't have "Use author sort" option. Because the Sony sorts by the author literally, I can see this being something worth bringing forward. - Doesn't have an option of scanning the whole card vs just a folder. Because of downloads, I see this option causing problems with downloads going missing for users. It just made sense to leave it disabled for the time being. - No idea if plugboards work. I assume it's a way to manipulate metadata and file names going out to the device. If it isn't normally in the booklist when sync_booklists is called, then no.

10-09-2011, 04:02 PM	#81
log ... Posts: 226 Karma: 514506 Join Date: Sep 2011 Device: Sony PRS-T1	Seriously great work so far Kolenka. There is something strange with how collections work on the device, don't know if you noticed this, but by default collections are sorted by "added order". This feature actually works on device, but you need to add a book to the collection one at a time. Interesting thing about this is when I checked my books.db, the collections table has the added_order field null on all these books Not sure how it's actually working maybe they got lucky and it works just using the default order for they were selected from the database? Not sure how your driver will work with 'series' calibre metadata, but I'd imagine there might be a bug in Sony's firmware that's not populating this field (and possibly not reading it?) Something I wanted to point out in case you notice any strange behavior -- the collection sort might be driven by insert order, not the actual added_order column in the collections table. So far you've always been two steps ahead of me so maybe you already are aware of this possible bug in Sony firmware, figured it wouldn't hurt to post it anyway

10-09-2011, 04:22 PM	#82
Kolenka <Insert Wit Here> Posts: 1,017 Karma: 1275899 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Puget Sound Device: Kindle Oasis, Kobo Forma	Yeah, don't even know if the Sony uses that column yet. Added Order is the same as table order, you are right. At this point I wanted to mimic the Sony behavior as closely as possible. That means including any weird behaviors the Sony may have. Only once you have a baseline that cooperates in a way that the Sony agrees with can you start experimenting with things like that. Otherwise you don't know if it is a bug in your driver or not, and have no 'good' driver to revert back to when things don't work in your experiments. Seeing if that column can be used would be interesting. If the Sony reads it, it would be a way to sync the added order on the device with Calibre. Likely very useful for series collections as you say. If I am bored again tonight, or reach a good stopping point in my current book, I might take a look at that and the "use author sort" option. Both seem simple enough to do in a short period of time and validate that they work.

10-09-2011, 04:31 PM	#83
jackie_w Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,212 Karma: 16534894 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: UK Device: Kobo: KA1, ClaraHD, Forma, Libra2, Clara2E. PocketBook: TouchHD3	Re: metadata plugboard. I don't know exactly HOW it works (chaley is the expert) but it is a way of using Calibre's template language to manipulate fields like author, author_sort, title, title_sort, for instance to replace the simple title field with series-index-title in the Sony database thereby changing the display in the Sony book list. It can also be used as another way to replace author with author_sort.

10-09-2011, 04:42 PM	#84
Robert22 Zealot Posts: 108 Karma: 17102 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: San Diego, CA Device: PRS-505 600 300 350 T1 T2 Kindle PW1 PW2 KV Clara 2E Libra 2 Leaf 2	I too want to thank you Kolenka for your work! Can't wait to get the driver. A couple of questions: 1. Does your driver support collections on the microSD card? 2. Do you think it is possible to combine collections from both the SD card and internal memory (so that for instance you could have one collection "SciFi" that spans both)? I don't plan on ever removing my card and I noticed in the DB that there are fields for both the book path and the thumbnail path, but I'm not sure if a record in the internal memory DB can point to an item on the SD card. Or do you think that when the Reader does the scanning that it would clobber any records that are not on the current drive (whether internal or on the card)? Thanks again!

10-09-2011, 07:59 PM	#88
jackie_w Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,212 Karma: 16534894 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: UK Device: Kobo: KA1, ClaraHD, Forma, Libra2, Clara2E. PocketBook: TouchHD3	@Kolenka, I'm not sure I understood all the above but thanks for looking I guess I should wait till mine arrives and I can actually try it before asking any more questions.

10-09-2011, 08:12 PM	#90
jackie_w Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,212 Karma: 16534894 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: UK Device: Kobo: KA1, ClaraHD, Forma, Libra2, Clara2E. PocketBook: TouchHD3	Do I have this right? If you use a plugboard to change author and title then send a non-DRM epub to the T1, the T1 will correctly reflect the plugboard. If you subsequently change author and/or title in Calibre for the same non-DRM epub, the only way to change it on the T1 is to resend it. If it's a DRM epub - you're out of luck.

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