[vbat99]

As I wrote in the other thread for the older version, is there a way for MC3 to create a "extrafanart" folder and save multiple or all 1920x1080 fanart to it? This folder is used by some XBMC skins for displaying random fanart.

Hi Arlene468

Current Media Companion does have the functionality for up to four extra fanart (ExtraThumbs) if each movie is in their own folder.
See Media Companion Documentation: Extrathumbs

I hope this helps.

[evoactivity]

OK, I have a little bit more information about my problem and I'm starting to think this might be a XBMC problem. I removed all information MC scraped (nfo and tbn etc) and let XBMC scrape everything itself. Everything was fine and new episodes got scraped automatically. Then I removed the source, let MC rescrape everything, and readded the source to XBMC. XBMC uses all the information and metadata that MC scraped.
I added a new episode to my Series folder without MC scraping information about it. XBMC doesn't show the new episode after updating the library or scanning for new content. Then I let MC scrape the episode. XBMC still does not see the episode after updating the library, but it does after scanning the specific show for new content.
What do you think? A XBMC problem or a MC bug? I'd like to use MC, because I need to syncronize the thumbnails between multiple instances of XBMC and having a central folder on my Home Server is slowing the library down too much. Thank you.

I've been suffering from this exact issue since I started using Media Companion, I've also been looking for anyone else having the same issue to see if it was something I had done or a problem with MC/XBMC. Essentially using MC has made it so I'm now managing my library in a more manual way than before, the opposite of what I wanted lol.

[HueyHq]

OK, I have a little bit more information about my problem and I'm starting to think this might be a XBMC problem. I removed all information MC scraped (nfo and tbn etc) and let XBMC scrape everything itself. Everything was fine and new episodes got scraped automatically. Then I removed the source, let MC rescrape everything, and readded the source to XBMC. XBMC uses all the information and metadata that MC scraped.
I added a new episode to my Series folder without MC scraping information about it. XBMC doesn't show the new episode after updating the library or scanning for new content. Then I let MC scrape the episode. XBMC still does not see the episode after updating the library, but it does after scanning the specific show for new content.
What do you think? A XBMC problem or a MC bug? I'd like to use MC, because I need to syncronize the thumbnails between multiple instances of XBMC and having a central folder on my Home Server is slowing the library down too much. Thank you.

I've been suffering from this exact issue since I started using Media Companion, I've also been looking for anyone else having the same issue to see if it was something I had done or a problem with MC/XBMC. Essentially using MC has made it so I'm now managing my library in a more manual way than before, the opposite of what I wanted lol.

Hey guys, just given this a quick thought, and I reckon if MC has produced the .nfo, .tbn, etc, files, then it has done its job correctly. Because XBMC creates and maintains a database derived from the external files, I suspect that XBMC is at fault here because of the disconnect between DB and files. I think if XBMC scrapes an episode, it won't bother looking for external files. Personally, I ensure all media is scraped in MC before XBMC is allowed to reboot (and scan for new content), or initiated manually.
Much help? Probably not!

[evoactivity]

I was using TV Rename before MC and that created all the required files, and XBMC could still update the library normally, this issue has only came up since the switch the MC. In another thread it was suggest the problem arose because MC was using the wrong episode guide tag in the .nfo. The latest MC release has fixed the tags issue and supposedly I need to rescrape my shows to update the tag, then remove and re add the shows to XMBC so it will then update them correctly. I haven't had the time to do this yet, but I'll report back once I have given it a shot.

[creagrox]

Hello.

what a wonderful thing xbmc is! Just installed it, so surprised why i didnt use it before,

However, while organizing with media companion(which i think is most feature rich), its taking eons to even get a movie scraped.

to give you an idea, scraped 28 movies in three hours(yeah, definitely not a typo)

how come? (using 3.504b)

settings are left on default.

EDIT: why is it only scraping fanart, actors, cover? no plots whatsoever

[vbat99]

Try download 3.506b.

Not sure what no plots, could be imdb issue

[HueyHq]

Hello.
what a wonderful thing xbmc is! Just installed it, so surprised why i didnt use it before,
However, while organizing with media companion(which i think is most feature rich), its taking eons to even get a movie scraped.
to give you an idea, scraped 28 movies in three hours(yeah, definitely not a typo)
how come? (using 3.504b)
settings are left on default.
EDIT: why is it only scraping fanart, actors, cover? no plots whatsoever

That certainly does not sound right at all. Could you please PM me your config.xml file from the Settings folder. My scraping is very slow because I have very poor broadband where I live, but even my MC isn't that slow!

[metajames]

+1 for this feature

Is there a way for MC to append the filenames of ALL movies in your collection to include the source, so that xbmc can display the propper dvd/bluray/divix/3D bluray cases in the library.

Basically I need to rename, for example ' topgun.mkv ' to ' topgun bluray.mkv ' or to ' topgun dvd.mkv ' (whichever video source the file uses)

I have since began renaming my new movies but having a problem getting existing movies renamed easily. Trying to take advantage of certin skins being able to recognize the video source without having to manually rename 1000+ of them.

Thanks..
Great program BTW!

Hi James,

A while ago somebody asked for something like this.
I've implemented the ability to add this to the NFO file as the <videosource> tag, which I believed, at the time, was used by XBMC. Turns out this was not the case, and I may have been looking at some very old documentation.

My point is, you can tell MC what the source is, but it doesn't really do anything with it!
So you can add the source from a drop-down box for each movie in the main screen, or en masse by using the table view. The drop-down list is also customisable in advanced preferences, I think, from memory.

There is also a rename function but I'm fairly sure that it only triggers while scraping.

So what I think is the proposal, is to be able to add the source 'tag' to the rename template, and then allow the user to execute that. Does this sound about right? I don't know about what XBMC does as I don't use those features. Also bear in mind that all files will be renamed as per the template provided.
There are probably some other small idiosyncrasies to deal with as well! Let me know what you think.
Cheers,
Huey

[EDIT: the rename tags currently allowed are movie title, year, IMDbID, premiere date, rating, and runtime - are there any others you would like to see other than the source?]

[t0rm3nt]

Been using media companion for a few weeks now and think its superb.
However sometimes after a TV episode is downloaded then scraped using the command line utility it does not save a screenshot for the episode.
Now it would appear that the problem is that thetvdb.com hadn't uploaded a screenshot by the time I processed the episode.
I thought that if I used the option in media companion to create a screenshot instead it would solve the issue but that does not seem to be working?
Does that feature not work with the command line utility or perhaps do additional commands need to be given?

[HueyHq]

Is there a way for MC to append the filenames of ALL movies in your collection to include the source, so that xbmc can display the propper dvd/bluray/divix/3D bluray cases in the library.
Basically I need to rename, for example ' topgun.mkv ' to ' topgun bluray.mkv ' or to ' topgun dvd.mkv ' (whichever video source the file uses)
I have since began renaming my new movies but having a problem getting existing movies renamed easily. Trying to take advantage of certin skins being able to recognize the video source without having to manually rename 1000+ of them.
Thanks..
Great program BTW!

Hi James,
I quickly had a hack at this so that the source is now available as a token in the renaming function, but this only happens at scraping time, and at that point, MC won't know what the source is. The next step is to perhaps get MC to pick up the source from the original filename; the difficulty being what should it try to recognise (a "TS" source would cause problems).
I would also need to add a rename function much like a batch operation.

[Kelemvor]

Howdy,

I'm brand new to XBMC and stumbled on this program. How does Media Companion work with XBMC and what benefits does it have over just letting XBMC update its own library from wherever it gets its data?

Is there a tutorial on how to use the two programs together so XBMC gets its data from Media Companion?

[TH3 M0L3]

Howdy,

How does Media Companion work with XBMC and what benefits does it have over just letting XBMC update its own library from wherever it gets its data?

Hi Kelemvor

I use XBMC and MC together extensively.

I find MC better as it is more flexible, and quicker to scrape.

1. MC stores all the metadata it scrapes in the same location of the media
   
2. XBMC creates a separate library of all metadata
   

The advantage of this is that you have a lower chance of loosing the metadata library. (unless you have a HDD failure)
If XBMC ever crashes and you have to re-install it, then your metadata is safe and you wont have to scrape your whole library again.
If you want to use XBMC to scrape your library then ensure you make regular backups of this database

Is there a tutorial on how to use the two programs together so XBMC gets its data from Media Companion?

I use it as follows:

1. Set MC up to monitor the folders where your movies and TV shows are
   
2. Set XBMC to first look in the folder location for information before searching the web
   
3. Whenever you add shows or movies to your library use MC to scrape the info first.
   
4. Once MC has found and processed the new media you can then tell XBMC to update it's library. It will now use the .nfo scraped by MC instead of searching the web
   

Hope that helps

[Kelemvor]

So my question is, how do I do number 2? Is there a setting in need to seriously or a check box to check or something?

Also will MC monitor sub folders? So of I set it to watch a folder called Tv Shows, and something gets added to a sub folders, will it see that?

Thanks!

[TH3 M0L3]

Hi

Yes, MC does monitor sub folders.

My structure is as follows

MC watches Y:/ TV

Every TV show is in a sub-folder named after the show

eg:
Y:/TV/Lost

so when I add a new episode of "Lost" to the folder MC will scrape the info for it when you ask it

The same is true for my movies. One Parent folder called "movies" and each movie in its own folder.

As for setting XBMC, I can't tell you right now as I don't have access to my setup at the moment because the Mrs is watching something.

Your best bet is to hope someone can answer before me. Or just have a look at the settings menu. It's been ages since I set mine up so can't remember!

---

Actually, thinking about it, XBMC will always check the local folder for information first before attempting to download it from The Internet, so you can ignore number 2 from my list!

[vbat99]

Hi

Yes, MC does monitor sub folders.

My structure is as follows

MC watches Y:/ TV

Every TV show is in a sub-folder named after the show

eg:
Y:/TV/Lost

so when I add a new episode of "Lost" to the folder MC will scrape the info for it when you ask it

The same is true for my movies. One Parent folder called "movies" and each movie in its own folder.

As for setting XBMC, I can't tell you right now as I don't have access to my setup at the moment because the Mrs is watching something.

Your best bet is to hope someone can answer before me. Or just have a look at the settings menu. It's been ages since I set mine up so can't remember!

---

Actually, thinking about it, XBMC will always check the local folder for information first before attempting to download it from The Internet, so you can ignore number 2 from my list!

One questions. How have you got MC to "Watch" a folder?? Are you manually running the scans or a Script/scheduler?

As for Movies in own folders, this is personal preference, and some settings need to be noted in MC.
You can have AVI, MKV, FLV, MP4, even ISO files just under a Root "Movies" folder,ie:

\Movies
\Movies\Titanic.avi
\Movies\Superman.mkv
etc

Or you can have in separate folders


\Movies
\Movies\Titanic\Titanic.avi
\Movies\Superman\Superman.mkv
etc

Advantages of separate folders is addition of ExtraThumbs (Skin dependant) and a function of Media Companion, and groups the nfo, tbn and fanart in the same folder as the movie. (Note: In MC, Movie Preferences, put a tick in All Movies are in Folders (allow ExtraThumbs)

For TV Shows, just as TH3 M0L3 describes
\TV
\TV\Lost
\TV\Lost\Season01
\TV\Lost\Season02
etc

And MC will search all folders/sub-folders for matching video files.

The advantages that MC has for me is I have Three XBMC's in my house. One Dharma machine, One Eden and one Xbox. Having MC scrape the info, means only once is meta-data scraped, by Media Companion.

All three XBMC's pull the info from my storage, fast and easy.

Also, if you don't like the poster with for a movie, you can choose another from inside MC. Poster Tab. And Fanart Tab.

Hope this helps.