XBMC Q&A and advice

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*******XBMC Q&A and advice*******

Hi everybody,

Seeing as more and more people are using HTPCs with XBMC on it I thought it'd be a good idea to have any questions and anything related into 1 thread. That way it'd be easier to get the answers you need. (Hopefully)


I need some advice, I have loads of shows on my NAS drive, and when I go through Videos - TV Shows it loads them all up perfectly.
But when I go through the TV Shows option on the home screen, it only shows a few of them. Eg. It'll show Simpsons but it will only show a few episodes across the seasons.

The updating isn't working properly, what could be the problem?
 
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Are the files named sensibly? XBMC will not add files to the library if the name doesn't meet a match threshold with the database sites it scrapes info from.

If in doubt I find, for example:

Game of Thrones - S01E02.mkv

works perfectly.
 
files need to be named properly and stored properly. I have two folders added to my library, one for films, one for tv shows.

Films --- > Film Name(year) -----> filmname.mkv (or similar)
For example

Films---->Black Swan(2010)----->blackswan.mkv

This will add properly.
I do the exact same thing for tv shows but I go down a layer for season

Tv Shows---->TV Show Name-----Tv Show Season------show.name.s01.e01

For example

Tv Shows----->The Big Bang Theory ----->Season 1------big.bang.theory.s01.e01.mkv

Hope this helps, the xbmc.org forums and wiki are great also
 
The nested folders are a matter of preference but obviously you want all episodes of a series in the same folder. And films will add ok with just the film name and year in the file name rather than a folder each. But xbmc can handle most layouts as long as all the information it wants is there.
 
Yep everything is labelled the exact same way.


Simpsons-----Season 1------ 1.01 Ep Name
Season 2------ 2.01 Ep Name
 
go into video libary options and make sure 'hide watched items' or something like that isn't checked. But I would try naming them as I said above, not 2.01 Ep Name, just try it with one of your seasons or something.
 
So reading your fist post again, when you go through "videos -> TV Shows" is the file browser set to file mode or library mode? Because if its library mode and everything is there then the problem might be more involved.
 
Two thoughts.

1. I think in setting the media source there are options around "Folder only contains one show" or something and perhaps recurssive options in there?

2. I use Ember Media Manager to rename, tag, get the art for all my media and produce the XBMC info file. I find it easier to do and has consistently better results than the XBMC built in functionality and then when I update my XBMC library it never fails to find everything correctly after Ember has worked its magic.
 
WILD9 said:
So reading your fist post again, when you go through "videos -> TV Shows" is the file browser set to file mode or library mode? Because if its library mode and everything is there then the problem might be more involved.
Click to expand...

That is the exact issue! I wont be back to test till tonight, but will definitely make sure which one it works on and which it doesn't.

BigT said:
Two thoughts.

1. I think in setting the media source there are options around "Folder only contains one show" or something and perhaps recurssive options in there?

2. I use Ember Media Manager to rename, tag, get the art for all my media and produce the XBMC info file. I find it easier to do and has consistently better results than the XBMC built in functionality and then when I update my XBMC library it never fails to find everything correctly after Ember has worked its magic.
Click to expand...

I will have to look into EMM then, I use a program as well I just can't remember the name off hand.

SparkyG said:
Are they all the same video type i.e all avi or are they a mixture say avi & MPG?
Click to expand...

Yep the exact same
 
Have you told xbmc that they are tv shows on the folders so they come up under tv shows??

PS cant be an official thread, no stars...! ;)
 
paulh said:
Have you told xbmc that they are tv shows on the folders so they come up under tv shows??

PS cant be an official thread, no stars...! ;)
Click to expand...

Yep showing as TV Shows.

Should I format and set it up again?

Oh crap the stars!!!
 
monkeyspank said:
Has anyone got a proper dual boot system with XBMC live and Windows 7, both on the same hard drive? I'd need a selection at boot.
Click to expand...

I boot xbmc from an sd card/USB stick. If I don't want to boot it I just eject the sd card. Works nicely for me because my current machine is also my main laptop which I do occasionally need to use even now I have an iPad. It also allows me to safely mess about with other distributions or svn Installs, all I need to do is use another sd card.
 
It runs perfectly. Boot time is a little slower but if you sleep it like most people then that isn't a concern, the wake time is almost instant.
 
Im currently awaiting an RMA of a SSD and thinking of putting live onto it, but i cant see how you would install skins? as you have to have it saved on your desktop? or can you do it over a network?

Many thanks :)
 
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