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[GUIDE] Coming from MediaBrowser...
perpetual98:
Ok, I'm a longtime Windows Media Center & MediaBrowser user and lately I'm working on getting MC to work with my existing files/folders, etc.
I'm going to try to come up with a guide and I will try to edit it as I go along and get feedback from other users.
What I come from is a folder structure similar to this:
G:\Kids Movies\Cars
G:\Kids Movies\Ice Age
G:\Kids Movies\Ice Age 2
H:\DVD Movies\Avatar
H:\DVD Movies\Fight Club
H:\DVD Movies\Hall Pass
I:\Blu-Ray\Braveheart
I:\Blu-Ray\Full Metal Jacket
etc
etc
In each folder is (for DVD at least) the AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS folder, a mymovies.xml file containing the metadata, and a folder.jpg of the DVD cover (typically from themoviedb.org) along with at least one, if not several backdrop.jpg files.
I have MediaBrowser set up so at the main screen it's got categories like "Kid's Movies", "Movies", "Blu-Ray" among some other things. I select "Kid's Movies" and they all show up with the covers. I select the cover and it brings me to a view that shows details about the movie and allows me to play, etc. Easy peasy.
I found in my dabbling with MC that it isn't quite as easy, although I think I've figured it out to some extent.
To import my folders, I do as follows in MC:
Click File > Library > Import (at this point I will do a single import, but you can also set up auto-imports here too)
Import Single Folder > Next
Browser to the folder that you want, select the media type and click Finish. I also unchecked the Ignore Special Files, but I'm not sure if that has any bearing on things.
That should import the selected folder. I will start my example with the Kids Movies folder that I already had.
Here's where things get a little less obvious. I want to use Theater View (I will call it Theater View I suppose to make it easier) exclusively for media selection.
[Added 10/26/11] Navigating to the Video > Files directory in the Explorer-type view on the upper left will show you a breakdown of imported folders. I found my "Kids Movies" folder and selected it which shows all of the files on the right. If you select all of the files (Ctrl-A) and then Alt-Enter, you can then mass-change fields in the lower left box. I changed the Genre to "Kids Movies"
To get a subcategory in Theater View, here's what I did in MC.
Click Tools > Options > Theater View
I selected the Video Category, but it didn't seem to matter where I was in the menu.
Click Add > Library Item and select that if it isn't.
Click Move Down
Click Nest and then Move Up or Move Down to the desired position. Once it's in position, you can rename it. (Kid's Movies in this example)
Then I clicked "Set Rules for Display"
In the dropdown, I selected Filename(path) and changed the middle box to "Contains" and the right box I entered the Folder name (i.e. Kids Movies). You might not even need to change the middle box, but that's what I did.
[Added 10/26/11] In the dropdown, I selected Genre, left or changed (if necessary) the middle box to is and in the right box you can select one (or multiple) Genre(s). Bingo
I repeated those steps for DVD Movies and Blu-Ray Movies and got them positioned where I wanted to.
Once I was in Theater View (Ctrl-4) and I went to Video, my subcategories were there, along with the specific movies that I wanted in those subcategories.
I'm going to work on trying to figure out Cover Art next. Some of it seems to be pulled either from the web or from the folders that I have, but not all of it. Most of the movies seem to have information already (description, cast, etc) although I'm not sure if that's from existing info that I have, or if Carnac or MC is doing something.
I will edit this post as I figure stuff out or as people correct me. :)
JimH:
Thanks for starting this thread.
Some other front ends depend on an organized folder structure. MC doesn't. It has a database and it can organize by the tags.
A simple way to tag your files would be to select a view that shows all video files and search for, for example, Kids. Then select all the resulting files (ctrl-a) and change the genre to Kids. Repeat for other types.
If the files are tagged, it won't matter where they are stored.
We hope to make it easier for people who are moving from other players.
perpetual98:
Yeah, from my cruising through the forums I knew that it's more of a database structure as opposed to folder structure and that people have commented that once you wrap your mind around it, it makes more sense. I'm trying to wrap my mind around it more, and also figured that I could help others with said mind wrapping.
bunglemebaby:
--- Quote ---In the dropdown, I selected Filename(path) and changed the middle box to "Contains" and the right box I entered the Folder name (i.e. Kids Movies). You might not even need to change the middle box, but that's what I did.
--- End quote ---
A year or so ago somebody informed me that view scheme rules that depend on file names or file paths are slower than those that use normal database tags. I noticed a difference on my older system.
I don't know if this still applies today, but if you notice this view scheme being slow to load, it might be worth your time to copy the view scheme, then change it to something like [genre]="Kids Movies" (after tagging your genre as Jim mentioned).
-JB
MrHaugen:
I agree with others, that it's worth to take a look at making some tags to fix this. It might be faster and it much more flexible than relaying on directories. When that is said, I do notice lot's of users with this sort of problems. It's almost the same for everyone. They have their own type of directory structure. Some of this users just wants to split the views in TV Shows, Movies, Images and Music. Others however, like Perpetual here, does have other needs. This needs will not get picked up by Carnac and tagged correctly by filename and directory only.
To enable this users to use the system like they really want to, I believe there is just no way around it. There needs to be a way to set a tag or two on import. For instance to set Media Sub Type to a defined value. Or to define your own custom field and fill in tags like Kids Movies, DVD and Bluray in this field. Watched folders and media imported would get tags automatically. And it would be 100% reliable. There is an endless stream of examples of things that people might want to split their library up by. "Kids Movies, DVD's, TV Shows, Classical Music, POP Music" is just a few of them.
I know you work to get Carnac to work for most users, and I support you in that. It's good to have a basis that works for many. But I'm afraid the idea of controlling library fields data on automatic import never will pass. No matter how hard you work on the automatic Regex thingy.
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