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Author Topic: Several HTPCs -- Best Policies?  (Read 1075 times)

benn600

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Several HTPCs -- Best Policies?
« on: January 06, 2008, 12:31:57 pm »

We already have 3 HTPCs around the house and may end up with more because with our DVDs on the server, they are really handy.  How do other HTPC users handle the database/files/etc?  I'm only interested in those setups with multiple HTPCs.

Currently I use the server database opened in read-only mode.  What are my other options?  I use the server's database because then I can manage just one library.  I can't use local libraries with auto import because auto import doesn't work with DVDs because 1: it tends to overwrite tags on each scan 2: imported discs are named "VIDEO_TS" 3: I have to fill properties from filename.

But using this method also means I have to manually restart MC...although I can (and probably will soon) set it up to close and start MC at 4 AM so it would update the library used.

My main reason for asking is that I like how MC stores where the user stopped the last movie.  However, I want to know if there is a way to get this saved on the server so someone could start a movie on one HTPC, stop it, and then start the same movie on another HTPC and automatically resume where left off.  That would be unbelievably useful!
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Robo983

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Re: Several HTPCs -- Best Policies?
« Reply #1 on: January 06, 2008, 10:17:23 pm »

I am mostly a hack when it comes to my video set ups for consistencies. I have 2 HTPCs that run Meedio as the "Front End" and I use it to play DVDs. The problem you mentioned about the name being Video-TS was a problem for too. I had it set up and assume you could do the same in MC to auto retag from file name at a specified time. I keep local copies of all my Media on all of the HTPCs for backup reasons. Meedio allows you to create custom menu items that you can point to folders. Since the name of my folders is always the name of the movie I quit using tags and launch the Video-TS file. This also works good for XBMC that can't share video tags from MC or Meedio.

I like the tagging features of MC and am new to it and have not tried out it's ability to play DVDs. It would seem to me that if you were using the library server feature your problems would be solved exept for resuming from the same point independent of which HTPC. Meedio has a resume.dat file that could be sync'd between HTPCs so all the HTPCs would be using the same bookmarks.

If all of your files are on one server and MC stores a local copy of it's equivalent resume.dat could you sync that file as can be done with meedio? Sorry if I missed the point of your questions but I am interested in much of the same things and how to accomplish with MC.
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benn600

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Re: Several HTPCs -- Best Policies?
« Reply #2 on: January 06, 2008, 10:58:20 pm »

If MC was more user centric, when a user started a movie it could ask who you are?  Is Ben playing the movie?  Then my spot in the movie could be tracked around the house on all the HTPCs!  AMAZING.
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