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[thijazi]

I have my media library stored on a NAS device
I am running 2 Windows 7 PCs on the network, one is an HTPC media center machine hooked up to my home-theater and the other one is a Windows 7 desktop PC located in my office.

I want to find a way to have both machines running local library files (accessing the media of the NAS) and have it setup in a way so that if I modify the TAGs on one PC, I could then see the changes in the tags on the other PC. I never run both at the same time, and I cannot use the HTPC as a Library Server for my office PC.

Scenario:
1- Running JRiver off the HTPC in my living room
2- I modify the rating of one track, give it a rating of 5 for example
3- I close JRiver on the HTPC (I can see the "done saving tag change" prompt before I close.)
4- I browse the NAS and check the properties of the track file I just modified the ratings for and validate that in it's properties the rating is set to 5
5- Startup the office Windows PC
6- Run JRiver on the office PC
7- I check the track which I modified while using JRiver on the HTPC, and I find that the rating is not there.


How can I best set this up so that I have the media files on one NAS location and run both JRiver instances on two separate PCs and have them synced up?

Thanks,
Tareq

[JimH]

Have you considered using Library Server?  Start at Media Network on the wiki.

[thijazi]

I did, but if I do so then both PCs have to be running whenever I wish to listen to music from the office (provided the HTPC in the living room acts as the Library Server). That is what I am trying to avoid.

[RussellS]

So basically what you are saying is that you want library server functionality without running a library server. I can't really see how you could achieve this.

The only slight possibility I can see is if you create a new library on the NAS device on one of the PC's and then tell the other PC to use the same library files. However I can see many pitfalls with this approach and would be very surprised if it worked successfully.

The only other way would be to edit the tags as you require on one PC and then export the library from that PC and import it onto the other PC. However you would have to do this whenever you edit the tags. You could possibly have a script set up to back up the library daily on the office PC and store the backup on the NAS device and then on the other PC have a script that runs automatically on boot to import those library files. You would have to make sure that you only edit the tags on the office PC though.

None of these options though would replicate full library server functionality and at best will be a clunky workaround.

[glynor]

You could conceivably move the Library files themselves (MC's database, not the media which is already there, obviously) to the NAS, and then operate directly on those with each copy of MC.  However, this could cause substantial performance problems, and is probably not recommended.

However, it is possible.  Whichever copy of MC opens first will get read/write access to the Library.  Any subsequent copies opened will get read-only access (any changes made of any kind will be lost when the copy is closed, including tags and play counts).

This is how I used to do it way back in the bad old days before we had a decent Library Server system.

But... Again, running with your Library on a network volume is NOT recommended.  You WILL see performance issues with MC in this setup (hangs, slow view loads, etc).

In the future, there may be a version of MC for Linux that could be run directly on your NAS, but we're not there yet.  If you really want this, you'd be better served by getting a small headless PC to act as the Library Server, or just give up on your plan to always be able to shut one machine down.  One option, and what I've done at home, is that my "office PC" (my main machine in my "man cave" downstairs in the basement) is my Server AND my NAS.  So, it never shuts down, but I only need to keep that one box up all the time.

[Bccc1]

I have the Library on a NAS (Zyxel NSA325). The Share is configured with read-only for everyone except my main PC. It works great on the main PC, which is connected via 1000BASE-T Ethernet. On the notebooks which are connected via WiFi (n-draft) there are some hangs and the application startup is painfully slow.
I can live with that, but a Library Server is definitly the better option.
As glynor said, a MC Server Version for the NAS would be great.

[thijazi]

Interesting stuff.... Before I read these replies I went ahead and from the HTPC created library using a share on the NAS as the destination path. I then went to the PC, fired up JRiver and loaded the same library, it worked fine. I then tested the editing of metadata and it worked fine, when I edited something on the PC, and then used the JRiver on the HTPC the changes were there and vice-versa, so far so good.

I have my main listening setup in the living room, this is where I have the HTPC connected to my DAC, preamp and amp, the main speakers are there and I spend my quality music time there in the living room. I have the JRiver setup on the HTPC in Library Server mode and I use tablets and smartphones to navigate and control the content and playback.

When I work from home, I am at the office, and I always have music on from a desktop PC music system, I don't often edit stuff there, but I do occasionally listen to a track, figure out I really like it and flag it as a 5 rating, what I wanted is to ensure that this rating is visible when I later on use JRiver on the HTPC... I never use the Desktop PC at the office as a Library Server because I am sitting right in front of it, keyboard and mouse are enough, no remote control apps needed.

So far I can't really say that I came across any pitfall with this setup, nothing froze, and the refresh of the views is slightly slower but not glaringly slow, the startup of the JRiver app on both the HTPC and desktop PC is fine, didn't feel it to be too slow.... I wonder if there are any structural pitfalls to be aware off, things like corruption of library data, or such..

Got to hand it to JRiver, it is one heck of a versatile piece of software, incredible! I only wish someone would create a full fledged Windows 8 touch app for it

Cheers,
Tareq

[maxxsid]

Hi glynor,
I have a feeling you can help me...
I have a multi-MC setup at home - it works but a bit clumsy.
Setup:
1. Server PC - runs MC server from a local library. This PC also stores all media.
I connect to this MC server with Gizmo, DLNA and with PC's running MC clients.
2. Desk PC - runs MC from a local library. I do all tagging/editing here.
3. HTPC - runs MC from a local library. Lightly used - on weekends mostly.

I actually use scripts and procedures similar to those you suggested a while back... I have local libraries on all 3 PC's and synchronize them manually (by running scripts) periodically. i.e. add media, do some tagging on PC#2 then copy this local library to the "shared library", copy "shared library" to PC#1 library (need to kill MC for that.. copy, restart),  copy "shared library" to PC#3 library (need to kill MC for that.. copy, restart)... This works but is really annoying since I always forget to run the scripts after I did some tagging/editing.. which results in the server serving the old library and HTPC not updated either.

I hope you got the picture...

My question is - is there a more elegant way to do this novadays? (i.e. changes made on the main "tagging" instance of MC to instantly (or almost instantly) propagate to the other instances of MC).

Thanks much!
--max

You could conceivably move the Library files themselves (MC's database, not the media which is already there, obviously) to the NAS, and then operate directly on those with each copy of MC.  However, this could cause substantial performance problems, and is probably not recommended.

However, it is possible.  Whichever copy of MC opens first will get read/write access to the Library.  Any subsequent copies opened will get read-only access (any changes made of any kind will be lost when the copy is closed, including tags and play counts).

This is how I used to do it way back in the bad old days before we had a decent Library Server system.

But... Again, running with your Library on a network volume is NOT recommended.  You WILL see performance issues with MC in this setup (hangs, slow view loads, etc).

In the future, there may be a version of MC for Linux that could be run directly on your NAS, but we're not there yet.  If you really want this, you'd be better served by getting a small headless PC to act as the Library Server, or just give up on your plan to always be able to shut one machine down.  One option, and what I've done at home, is that my "office PC" (my main machine in my "man cave" downstairs in the basement) is my Server AND my NAS.  So, it never shuts down, but I only need to keep that one box up all the time.

[thijazi]

I just setup a home network using PowerLine adapters (Devolo units, work great) and setup a NAS device that holds all my content, movies, music, etc.... I have an HTPC in my living room connected to my AV setup, the HTPC runs as an MC Server with the library program files created on the NAS and all other machines where I would be editing media content are running the same library, therefore it is all central.... Any machine that just needs to consumer media is configured as an MC Client with authentication to allow it to modify tags (favorite tracks, etc.)

Works fine so far...

Hi glynor,
I have a feeling you can help me...
I have a multi-MC setup at home - it works but a bit clumsy.
Setup:
1. Server PC - runs MC server from a local library. This PC also stores all media.
I connect to this MC server with Gizmo, DLNA and with PC's running MC clients.
2. Desk PC - runs MC from a local library. I do all tagging/editing here.
3. HTPC - runs MC from a local library. Lightly used - on weekends mostly.

I actually use scripts and procedures similar to those you suggested a while back... I have local libraries on all 3 PC's and synchronize them manually (by running scripts) periodically. i.e. add media, do some tagging on PC#2 then copy this local library to the "shared library", copy "shared library" to PC#1 library (need to kill MC for that.. copy, restart),  copy "shared library" to PC#3 library (need to kill MC for that.. copy, restart)... This works but is really annoying since I always forget to run the scripts after I did some tagging/editing.. which results in the server serving the old library and HTPC not updated either.

I hope you got the picture...

My question is - is there a more elegant way to do this novadays? (i.e. changes made on the main "tagging" instance of MC to instantly (or almost instantly) propagate to the other instances of MC).

Thanks much!
--max

[maxxsid]

I do a lot of tagging/editing (mostly photos but music and video as well).
A client connected to library server doesn't handle tagging very well... It's not possible to change the cover art, for example (at least I couldn't last time I tried)

I just setup a home network using PowerLine adapters (Devolo units, work great) and setup a NAS device that holds all my content, movies, music, etc.... I have an HTPC in my living room connected to my AV setup, the HTPC runs as an MC Server with the library program files created on the NAS and all other machines where I would be editing media content are running the same library, therefore it is all central.... Any machine that just needs to consumer media is configured as an MC Client with authentication to allow it to modify tags (favorite tracks, etc.)

Works fine so far...

[dtc]

EDIT : Ignore the comment below. - when I reload the library from the server the views on the client are indeed changed. The issue is that the changes to the view on the server are not synced automatically to the client. You need to reload the library on the client to see the changes.


One thing that is an annoyance with the library server is that  clients still have their own views. If I change a view on the server, I have to make the change on the clients also. I can manually enter the changes, or write the view to a file and import it into the clients. But it would be a lot better if the client got views from the server, rather than maintaining them locally. If there is an automatic way to have the client views stay in sync with the server views I would like to know about it.

[maxxsid]

The solution I came up with is to connect every client to the server via library server. I can then do most of the tagging on a client (within the home network). However, some things have to be done on the server... Such as the cover art.
It's a bit awkward since my server is semi-headless (it has a small 14" monitor but it's located in a hard to access place. And it's small.). I made a VGA-dummy dongle for the server and now I can VNC to the server from my desktop and have a large 1920x1200 window to work in.

--max

I do a lot of tagging/editing (mostly photos but music and video as well).
A client connected to library server doesn't handle tagging very well... It's not possible to change the cover art, for example (at least I couldn't last time I tried)