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[LetsGetSilly]

Please let me know if you have a suggested solution. Here’s what’s stopping me from buying:

1) Updating the library

I get a lot of new content on a daily basis with automated usenet downloads. I have auto-import configured to run on the directories where new content is placed.

I have yet to see auto-import pick up anything on its own. The only way I’m able to refresh the library is to quit out of the application, open it back up, run the auto import, and only then will it sometimes update. Frequently I need to destroy the library and then recreate it to see new shows or movies. Is there a way to say “Hey, I don’t care what your database looks like, refresh dammit!”?

2) Updating metadata

It’s often difficult to get the right metadata for a television show or a movie. I know it must be hard to infer from a title which series it is, but that’s not an excuse for allowing a user to input the IMDB or TVDB ID number into a process that will fetch data.

The most recent example is with Netflix’s House of Cards. I have a downloaded version of the series, but it refuses to update the metadata to the 2013 version of the series. I’ve gone in, deleted all of the metadata, forced a rename of the series using Renamer and Media Center Master software to comply with JRiver’s standards, but JRiver Media Center still fails to get the right series. Am I missing something here?

Here’s what I want: right-click, force metadata refresh via IMDB/TVDB ID. Done. Or, use a metadata format compatible with XBMC or something more widely supported than MC 18.

I can deal with this issue, but my family gets confused when they don't see the television episodes that they expect.

3) Random Video Problems

I have been experiencing random black-outs when watching television and movies, which is disheartening. You can see an outline of the issue here:

http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=78022.msg530247

Also, when I leave Media Center on and turn off my television, I often turn back on the TV and find a DirectDraw error. Generally, I can get around this by escaping or backspace, but it terrifies my family. They can’t deal with it.

Many of these issues I can work around, but my family cannot. I need this system to be automated, and it is far from it currently. Please let me know if you have any suggestions. Thanks in advance.

[gazjam]

Way to go.

JRiver's awesome. buy it.

[locust]

1. You have to have the option Run Auto import in background ticked

2. enter House of Cards (2013) as the series, J Rivers scraper works with Thetvdb, so it has to reflect that website..

[JimH]

3.  May be a video driver problem.  HDMI also has problems sometimes.  Try updating your video driver or try a different video card if possible.

[glynor]

1) Updating the library

Auto-Import works properly (and beautifully).  The only "lag" in the system at all is when you are connected to a remote MC Server via a client copy of MC.  The Client won't get new imports immediately when they happen, and must wait for the next normal database sync (which happens periodically on its own, or you can force it if you need to).

But if you are not using a Network client, and your disk isn't super-weird (like accessing a FTP-based file-share or something else super-strange), it will automatically import any new files that appear in a "Watched Folder".

2) Updating metadata

It’s often difficult to get the right metadata for a television show or a movie. I know it must be hard to infer from a title which series it is, but that’s not an excuse for allowing a user to input the IMDB or TVDB ID number into a process that will fetch data.

The most recent example is with Netflix’s House of Cards. I have a downloaded version of the series, but it refuses to update the metadata to the 2013 version of the series. I’ve gone in, deleted all of the metadata, forced a rename of the series using Renamer and Media Center Master software to comply with JRiver’s standards, but JRiver Media Center still fails to get the right series. Am I missing something here?

Yes.  Right click on one of the files in question and do Get TV & Movie Metadata.  If the search doesn't automatically find the proper series, just search in the box and select the proper result.

Then, MC will automatically tag whatever you have the [Series] field set with an associated TVDB Series ID, and from then on, the lookup for that series will be completely automated.

MC also supports extensive Tag On Import rules via the Auto-Import system.  I describe some of these capabilities here:
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=68462.0

The video playback problem is confounding.

[LetsGetSilly]

Thanks for the replies trying to help out. I learned a few things, and I'm still confused by a few things.

1) Regarding my library not updating, I've uploaded my auto-import settings to my IMGUR album (located here: http://imgur.com/a/2TwC9). You'll see my settings at the bottom of the album.

Despite having "run in the background" checked it doesn't seem to update. Is it because I'm referencing a windows network share? (\\server\content\tv)


2) Metadata appears to be updated from the "files" menu, not the "tv shows" menu, which was very confusing to me. I didn't know there were different right-click context menus based on whether you were looking at a file under the "file" tree versus the "TV Show" tree. It appears that I can only do this one-at-a-time. No batch updating with user defined series? I managed to update House Of Cards to House of Cards (2013) on an individual basis.

3) I still don't know what to do about the random black outs. I'm willing to do something drastic, like reinstall the operating system and have a fresh driver install. I don't know what else to do.

[glynor]

Is it because I'm referencing a windows network share? (\\server\content\tv)

Maybe.

What is \\server\?

If it is a Windows box serving a share (or MacOSX or Linux or anything else normal serving an SMB share) then it is not the cause.  I do this all over the place (a copy of MC at the office is monitoring five or six shares on our corporate LAN right now).  However, if it is a "NAS Box" of some kind that doesn't provide proper filesystem events, then yes, it would happen.

MC does not "scan" the folders in question regularly on a schedule.
It uses the filesystem change events generated by Windows to detect precisely when a new file has been created, and act on just that file.  It does do a few "full scans" (at startup, for example), but I can imagine that it would bork up using an oddball NAS that doesn't serve things quite "right" as Windows expects.

If you have one, what specific model?  Maybe it is some kind of optional feature?  Or depends on something specific (maybe a driver or something)?  Or, maybe there is something broken on MC's end, and then we could get it fixed.

It appears that I can only do this one-at-a-time. No batch updating with user defined series? I managed to update House Of Cards to House of Cards (2013) on an individual basis.

Nope.  Select multiple files.  You can do the same thing, it just doesn't let you "pick" from the dialog then, but just does its automated lookup.

For TV Shows, the following fields must be filled:
[Series], [Season], [Episode] and [Media Sub Type] must be "TV Show".

Then it looks them up, pulls the data, and they refresh.  I've done hundreds and hundreds at a time, when the feature was first added.

[glynor]

And, just to be sure...

You aren't trying to test by importing things that were already imported (but removed) right?  Because...



That might also explain some of your metadata-related confusion/issues as well (because the auto-metadata lookup does not trigger for re-imported files either, nor does carnac or any of that).

If you already imported the files once, MC knows what they are, even if you removed them from the Library, and doesn't "reimport" them from scratch the next time.  It will ignore them completely if that option is checked above.  And if you "force them in" via the manual Import a single folder tool (or drag-drop from Explorer onto MC), it doesn't do the Auto-Import "magic" but just imports them "raw" (by design, so there's a way to do that if you want to).

If you're trying to test it out by removing files and then adding them back to the folder, you have to "double delete" them from MC (to get them off of the Removed Items database list).  If you think it might be this, ask how and I'll dig up a thread (if no one else has by then).

[Scolex]

Just in case you are doing what Glynor referenced here is how you double delete a file so when you run auto import on it's folder the auto tagging will happen.
Create a new smartlist, in the edit window click on the Import/Export button in the lower left corner and enter the following.
[=ismissing([filename])]=1 ~d=r

[opy01]

#3 video blackouts

If you are using HDMI make sure it is a new high speed HDMI cable.  My PS3 had this issue as well as my fathers DVD player.  It was caused by an old HDMI cable from the olden days.  A new update date version of the HDMI cable fixed this.  HDMI 1.4 I believe.  This is due to the maximum transfer ability of the older cables.  If your system outputs too much data the video goes black because it cannot keep up.

If you are using a DVI to HDMI adapter you may have the same issue.  Can you output through RGB or S-Video to test it?

[tcman41]

dude, it all works:

1. auto import has always worked perfect for me, of course if you are importing from server locations make sure the correct permissions are allowed.

2. meta data has always worked for me but than again I only import 8 or so current tv programs and main stream movies that it always finds.

3. I have switched over completely from xbmc to JRiver, windows 8 and xbmc is brain dead when it comes to network drive issues, anyways I have always run hdmi and it has always worked great, that being said I actually think the video rendering engines in JRiver provide are better picture than xbmc did.