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iTunes Extras creator?

J

JMEANS

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 9, 2012
172
5
So cool if this were developed! A way to drag and drop all DVD & BLURAY 'extras' into the ATV movie file structure. Thus keeping our media Backups truly complete! Also a way for multiple audio tracks to be tagged and not default to 'stereo' or 'surround' to better help with commentary tracks.

If I understand correctly, the only way to backup bonus stuff and keep it organized with the movie file is if create your movie file as a 'TV SHOW' correct? Any additional info on 'organizing Extras' would be much appreciated. Thx Jim
 
JMEANS said:
So cool if this were developed! A way to drag and drop all DVD & BLURAY 'extras' into the ATV movie file structure. Thus keeping our media Backups truly complete! Also a way for multiple audio tracks to be tagged and not default to 'stereo' or 'surround' to better help with commentary tracks.

If I understand correctly, the only way to backup bonus stuff and keep it organized with the movie file is if create your movie file as a 'TV SHOW' correct? Any additional info on 'organizing Extras' would be much appreciated. Thx Jim
Click to expand...
Well, keep in mind that the new iTunes Extras are hosted in the iCloud. So you cannot recreate that functionality. If you're just looking to import the "extras" from your Blu-rays and Dvds as individual video files, you could do that but there would be no relationship to the original title movie.
 
Yeah, can certainly do that, wasn't taking iCloud into consideration. Oh well, guess it's the TV SHOW or PLAYLIST route to keep them hitched unless if Plex or another program jail braked can thru ATV ?
 
sodapop1 said:
Well, keep in mind that the new iTunes Extras are hosted in the iCloud. So you cannot recreate that functionality. If you're just looking to import the "extras" from your Blu-rays and Dvds as individual video files, you could do that but there would be no relationship to the original title movie.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure I've downloaded copies of iTunes Extras to my local storage.
 
potatis said:
you can name audio tracks with subler, not sure if it shows on atv though...
Click to expand...
Yes you can name them which is fantastic but ATV does not display it and defaults to either STEREO or SURROUND. I think iTunes actually does on the computer which makes the fact ATV can't even more frustrating.
Does anybody know if Plex or other platforms via jailbreak have this capability of grouping files with the movie file? The only way to do it in ATV is via 'Playlist' or 'TV show' which IMO isn't very practical. Thx
 
For the record, here's what FileInfo.com has to say about ITE files:

File Format Description

File bundle created for iTunes, an application used for music shopping, organization, and playback; stores a collection of Web and multimedia files, which can include HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images, audio files, and video files; acts as a self-contained website that can be navigated and played back in iTunes.

ITE files are sometimes included with album tracks or movie files purchased from the iTunes store.

NOTE: iTunes extras files are simply folders that have been named with the ".ite" extension. To view their contents, you can remove the ".ite" extension and open the folder.
Click to expand...

I'd pay particular attention to iTunesMetatdata.plist and manifest.xml.
 
So if it's just an extension thing it may be possible to add said extension to files you want to group with the movie? Not sure what all this means and it's all thru iCloud which I don't use with my ATV. But hoping someone develops something one day, because it would be agreat feature for backup fiends like myself.
 
It's not all through iCloud - I have .ite files in my local iTunes library. As far as I can tell, an ".ite file" is just a directory renamed to have an extension of ".ite", which OS X treats as an archive for iTunes Extras. The organization of the directory is that of a website (default index.html file).

It looks like there's sections in the iTunesMetadata.plist and manifest.xml files that let you use the same XID as the main movie to indicate that the archive should be grouped with a particular title. I may play around with this myself just to see if I can make it work and make it visible to my ATV.

For example, here's the manifest.xml file from my iTunes Extras copy of Les Miserables (2012):

Code: 
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<manifest xmlns="http://apple.com/itunes/media_archive/manifest" version="1.0" media_archive_version="1.0" media_archive_build_number="1">
	<requirements>
		<supported_platforms>
			<platform name="iTunes" minimum_version="9.0"/>
			<platform name="AppleTV" minimum_version="3.0"/>
		</supported_platforms>
	</requirements>
	<library_items>
		<library_item type="video" xid="NBCUniversal:vendor_id:05670_MLNA" name="Les Misérables (2012)"/>
	</library_items>
</manifest>

Note the "xid" and "name" attributes on the third to last line. That will tell iTunes to group this "extras" archive with the movie of the same name and XID.
 
Last edited:
I looked into this several years ago when Apple was attaching extras to music albums.

I was able to create an .ite file, but I never figured out a way to "attach" the files to the main movie via iTunes... (back when the extra files were downloadable).
 
Wow guys, then this could be promising..?
It never hurts to tinker ; ) Thx LordHamsa!
 
Lord Hamsa said:
I'm pretty sure I've downloaded copies of iTunes Extras to my local storage.
Click to expand...

I also have local copies of iTunes extras for several purchased SD movies in my library. They work as expected on my Mac, but are not available on my Apple TV. According to what I read, only HD iTunes extras can be viewed on the Apple TV. Are these stored in the cloud maybe?
 
Boyd01 said:
I also have local copies of iTunes extras for several purchased SD movies in my library. They work as expected on my Mac, but are not available on my Apple TV. According to what I read, only HD iTunes extras can be viewed on the Apple TV. Are these stored in the cloud maybe?
Click to expand...
Correct, the new iTunes Extras are only available in the iCloud and cannot be downloaded. They allow the Apple TV to simulate the menu structure you would see when you play a physical disc where you have access to play either the movie or the extras.

And you're also correct that you cannot play the old style downloadable iTunes Extras on the Apple TV.
 
Starting to sound like the best way to simulate this in the near term is to join the main movie and its features into a single video file, with the features as separate chapters following the main movie.

Use something like mkvtoolnix to join the files, then Handbrake to convert it back to m4a and Identify/Subler/MetaZ to apply the appropriate metadata.
 
Yeah I thought of the joining thing at the end via MKV TOOLS or something as well, just not very convenienant access as would if it was seperate and tagged accordingly like under a TV SHOW method. Less involved as far as file creation too. The playlist function is also more practical. Really hope someone can crack this though, be such a cool option to have in ATV.
 
I have just been ripping the extra features that I want from my DVD's as separate files and classifying them as documentaries. They are not tied to the original movies, but are pretty easy to find.
 
From what I can tell, it's gotten worse. I don't think Apple is offering downloadable extras anymore, you have to stream them even if you have downloaded the movie. And you have to be running a pretty recent version of iTunes for it to work at all. That's what happened with the last movie I bought anyway. :(
 
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