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[GOTR]

I am trying to rebuild my library, since a backup and restore failed after a reinstall of MC14.  The video files were imported without any of the information from the sidecar.xml files (tags).  The files are still there in the directories with the videos and I don't want to go through and edit them all again.

I have tried selecting a few videos and choosing "Library Tools -> Update library from tags, but that doesn't work.

Any ideas what I am doing wrong, because I am sure I am the cause of the difficulties, hehehe. ?


Thanks!

[Bonex]

I have tried selecting a few videos and choosing "Library Tools -> Update library from tags, but that doesn't work.

Any ideas what I am doing wrong, because I am sure I am the cause of the difficulties, hehehe. ?


Thanks!

I don't think you're doing anything wrong. I have the very same problem. If a video file has some tags already embedded, MC reads them from the file and the remaining tags from the sidecar. I reported this problem in the current build thread. I hope they'll fix it in one of the next builds.

[Yaobing]

GOTR:

What type of video are you having trouble with?

The sidecar previously worked, didn't they (before you had to reinstall MC14)?  How are the sidecar files named?

Bonex:

It does not seem that you two are having the same problem.

Can you give me an example of which field is not updated?  It may be true that some fields are directly taken from the file during analysis (such as duration, video size, etc. but we do not generally read a lot of fields from the files).  If you give me some details, I will try to see if I can reproduce the problem.

[Bonex]

One field which is causing me problems is the [Name] field.
My usual workflow is to import and tag music and videos with my work pc, then I rename and move the files into the htpc using the "Rename, Move & Copy Files" window of MC. The two pc's are linked together via network cable. A second copy of MC in the htpc monitors a few directories and auto-imports all new files.

When MC imports an mkv it takes the name of the video from within the file if it has the tag (or from the file name if no tag is found).
When I modify the name, a sidecar file is saved with the new name into the <Field Name="Name"> tag.
Then I move the files into the htpc. After a while, the other MC imports the file. When I check what was imported I find that MC imported again the [name] tag from the file, not from the sidecar. I can try and force it, using the "Update Library (from tags)" command, but it doesn't work. The "Name" field into the sidecar however is still the one modified by me.
If the video doesn't have a title in its tags, MC reads the one from the sidecar.

[GOTR]

Hey!

Yes, the sidecars previously worked.  I had to reinstall and tried to restore my library from a backup, but it failed.  Trying to import the directories previously held in the library results in the file being imported, but not the tags from the sidecars.  I am afraid to mess with it too much, for fear of losing all the info in the sidecars.

[Yaobing]

Hey!

Yes, the sidecars previously worked.  

OK, I think I know what the problem is.  The sidecar files' naming convention has changed (quite sometime ago).

For example, for the file DKA wybacz.mpeg, the sidecar file should be DKA wybacs_mpeg_JRSidecar.xml.  The file extension must be included in the sidecar files to avoid potential conflict when there are video files of the same filename but different file type.

[GOTR]

Hmmm.  There were made using version 14.0.11.  Is there no way to convert them to the proper naming convention?   

[Yaobing]

You can try using DOS commands or a script to mass rename your sidecar files into conforming filenames.  I suck at such things so I can not help you.  Other people may be able to help you on that.

If you have a lot of different video file types in the same folder, it will be difficult to manage because it will be difficult to decide whether to insert _avi_ or _mpg_ into the filenames.

There is however an alternative.  Since your sidecar files were created with build 11 of MC, they are in MyMovies format (your screen shot confirms that).  You can name your sidecar files as MyMovies files, like this:

<orginal filename>.mymovies.xml

Foe example, your current sidecar "DKA wybacs JRSidecar.xml" can be renamed "DKA wybacs.mymovies.xml".

MC will recognize these files.  

Make a backup copy of your files before you start converting and try it one folder at a time.

[Yaobing]

One field which is causing me problems is the [Name] field.

Please try build 88.

[Bonex]

Yessss!! Now it works. 

But I noticed that MC doesn't monitor sidecar files for external changes like it does for music.
Anyway I tried with a few mkv's and the tags are imported from the sidecar as expected.

Thanks