Synology Thumbnail Generator

A Python script that generates thumbnails for Synology Photo Station, optimized for video formats and files that the NAS doesn't handle well.

🚀 Major Features

⚡ Ultra-Fast Icaros Cache Integration

• Instant thumbnails from Icaros cache (milliseconds vs seconds)
• Alphabetical algorithm discovered and implemented
• 1920x1080 source quality from cache
• Automatic fallback to Windows providers and FFmpeg

🎯 Supported Formats

• Videos: mp4, webm, avi, mkv, mov, wmv, flv, m4v, ts
• Images: psd (Photoshop), blend (Blender)
• Optimized for formats Synology doesn't handle well

🔄 Multi-Tier Processing

1. Icaros Cache (fastest - milliseconds)
2. Windows Thumbnail Providers (fast - seconds)
3. FFmpeg/Direct Processing (slower - reliable fallback)

🎉 Performance Breakthrough

Before: 5-10 seconds per video thumbnail (FFmpeg only)
After: ~50 milliseconds per video thumbnail (Icaros cache)
Speedup: 100-200x faster for cached videos!

📋 Requirements

• Python 3.6+
• PIL/Pillow: pip install Pillow
• FFmpeg (for unsupported formats): https://ffmpeg.org/download.html
• Icaros (optional, for ultra-fast thumbnails): http://carlosdelgado.com/

Optional Dependencies

• psd-tools: For direct PSD processing (pip install psd-tools)
• olefile: For advanced cache integration (pip install olefile)

💻 Usage

python psthumbgen.py --directory "R:\Your\Video\Directory"

The script will:

1. Try Icaros cache first (if available)
2. Fall back to Windows providers
3. Use FFmpeg as final fallback
4. Generate all Synology thumbnail sizes

🔧 Icaros Integration

Automatic Detection

The script automatically detects and uses Icaros cache from:

• C:\Program Files\Icaros\IcarosCache\
• C:\Program Files (x86)\Icaros\IcarosCache\
• %LocalAppData%\Icaros\IcarosCache\
• %AppData%\Icaros\IcarosCache\

Algorithm Discovery

After extensive analysis, we discovered Icaros uses alphabetical sorting for cache mapping:

1. Collect all video files from monitored directories
2. Sort alphabetically (case-insensitive)
3. Map position in sorted list to cache index
4. Extract thumbnail directly from binary cache

📁 Output Structure

For each video file, creates:

video_directory/
├── eaDir_tmp/
│   └── video_file.mp4/
│       ├── SYNOVIDEO_VIDEO_SCREENSHOT.jpg (1280px)
│       ├── SYNOPHOTO_THUMB_XL.jpg (1280px)
│       ├── SYNOPHOTO_THUMB_B.jpg (640px)
│       ├── SYNOPHOTO_THUMB_M.jpg (320px)
│       ├── SYNOPHOTO_THUMB_PREVIEW.jpg (160px)
│       └── SYNOPHOTO_THUMB_S.jpg (120px)

🎯 Use Cases

• Video Libraries: Fast thumbnails for large video collections
• Creative Files: PSD and Blender file previews
• Network Shares: Works with SMB/network drives
• Synology NAS: Perfect for Photo Station integration

🛠️ Technical Details

Icaros Cache Format

• Binary format: .icdb files containing JPEG thumbnails
• Index structure: ICDB signature with embedded JPEGs
• Multiple sizes: Typically 96px, 1280px, 2560px variants
• Alphabetical mapping: Direct position-based extraction

Windows Integration

• Uses Windows thumbnail providers via shell32
• Supports formats with installed codec packs
• Faster than FFmpeg for supported formats
• Automatic format detection and fallback

🔍 Troubleshooting

No Icaros Cache Found

• Install Icaros: http://carlosdelgado.com/
• Configure monitored directories in IcarosConfig
• Rebuild cache for current files

FFmpeg Not Found

• Download from: https://ffmpeg.org/download.html
• Add to system PATH
• Restart command prompt/PowerShell

Slow Performance

• Install Icaros for 100-200x speedup
• Enable hardware acceleration in graphics drivers
• Use SSD storage for cache

📊 Algorithm Research

This project involved extensive reverse engineering of Icaros cache format:

• ✅ Alphabetical sorting algorithm discovered
• ❌ Hash-based approaches (MD5, CRC32, Windows hash) all failed
• 🔬 106 cache entries analyzed and mapped
• 🎯 Verification through manual thumbnail content checking

🤝 Contributing

Contributions welcome! Areas for improvement:

• Additional video format support
• Performance optimizations
• Cache format documentation
• Cross-platform compatibility

📄 License

This project is provided as-is for educational and personal use.

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🎉 Achievement Unlocked: Ultra-Fast Thumbnail Generation!