Powershell & VLC - Watch Something

shows.json

{
	"MOCK" : [
		"F:\\Television\\Test\\*.mkv",
		"F:\\Television\\Test2\\*\\*.mp4"
	],
	"DISCOVERY" : [
		"F:\\Television\\Test3\\*.mkv",
		"F:\\Television\\Test4\\*\\*.mp4"
	],
	"ANIMATED" : [
    "F:\\Television\\Test5\\*.mkv",
		"F:\\Television\\Test6\\*\\*.mp4"
	],
	"CARTOON" : [
		"F:\\Television\\Test7\\*.mkv",
		"F:\\Television\\Test8\\*\\*.mp4"
	]
}

Watch-Something.md

Watch Something!

A quick powershell script to grab shows from specified folders, randomize completely the order, and insert bumpers in between episodes.

Help?

Run Get-Help on the script!

Watch-Something.ps1

<#
.SYNOPSIS
    Creates a playlist for VLC of TV episodes with bumpers automatically inserted between episodes.

.DESCRIPTION
    Creates a playlist of television shows, writes that to a VLC playlist, and then loads it into VLC media player. By default it creates a block playlist, which uses a list of genres to randomly select shows. A marathon playlist can be specified instead, which plays one show sequentially, optionally starting in a specific season and episode. 
#>

param(
    # Specifies that we are running in Marathon mode.
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName = 'Marathon', Mandatory=$true)]
    [switch]$Marathon,

    # Root folder all television shows are in. Needed for Marathon mode.
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName = 'Marathon')]
    [string]$ShowsFolder = "F:\Television",

    # Show folder to marathon through
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName = 'Marathon', Mandatory=$true)]
    [string]$Show,

    # Which season to begin in
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName = 'Marathon')]
    [int]$Season = 1,

    # Which episode to start on
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName = 'Marathon')]
    [int]$Episode = 1,

    # Index file that genre assignments for shows are written in.
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName = 'Block')]
    [string]$ShowIndexFile = "shows.json",

    # Genre names to scour from the index file.
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName = 'Block')]
    [String[]]$Genres = ("MOCK", "DISCOVERY", "ANIMATED", "CARTOON"),

    # How many episodes to watch
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName = 'Block')]
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName = 'Marathon')]
    [int]$NumShows = 20,

    # Skip using bumpers
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName = 'Block')]
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName = 'Marathon')]
    [switch]$NoBumpers,

    # Root folder for bumpers
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName = 'Block')]
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName = 'Marathon')]
    [string]$BumperFolder = "D:\MEGA\Documents\Projects\Streaming\bumpers",

    # Types of bumpers to use
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName = 'Block')]
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName = 'Marathon')]
    [String[]]$Bumpers = ("Animation", "AU", "Fake", "Game", "Goof", "Latenight", "Retro", "When", "Wildlife")
)

$show_list = New-Object Collections.Generic.List[String]

if ($Marathon) {
    $Season = $Season - 1
    $Episode = $Episode - 1

    $seasons = ls (Join-Path -Path $ShowsFolder -ChildPath $Show)
    $seasons = $seasons[$Season..99]

    $show_list = ls $seasons
    $show_list = $show_list[$Episode..($Episode+$NumShows)]
} else {
    $shows = Get-Content $ShowIndexFile | ConvertFrom-Json -AsHashtable
    
    foreach ($genre in $Genres) {
        foreach ($show in $shows[$genre]) {
            ls $show | % { $show_list.add($_) }
        }
    }

    $show_list = ($show_list | Sort-Object {Get-Random})[0..$NumShows]
}

if (!$NoBumpers) {
    $bumps = New-Object Collections.Generic.List[String]
    foreach ($type in $Bumpers) {
        ls $BumperFolder\$type\*.* | % { $bumps.add($_) }
    }   
}

del -Force playlist.vlc

foreach ($show in $show_list) {
    echo $show >> playlist.vlc
    if (!$NoBumpers) { Get-Random -InputObject $bumps >> playlist.vlc }
}

vlc playlist.vlc