Hello everyone! I've been a myTV user for awhile, and I know that many myTV users have migrated to MediaPortal, since support for myTV has been at somewhat of a standstill for a long time.
So, I'm rather overwhelmed by all of the information here, so I thought I would ask anyone to see if it was worth making the switch.
So first, I'll tell you what I like about myTV, and what I don't like. My television shows are stored on my computer in files (mkv, ogm, avi, etc.), and I like that myTV downloads metadata for each show and episode from thetvdb based on the show's name and the filename. I also like how myTV remembers what I watch and how often I've watched it. I also like how I can watch a random episode from each show as I please.
Now, here are the things I don't like about myTV. While it can automatically guess what episode a file is when there is a SxxExx label in the filename, it cannot do this for absolute numbered episodes. This is incredibly inconvenient when it comes to managing my anime collection. So, for example, lets say I have an episode of Bleach, say, episode 166. The filename is something like [DB]_Bleach_166_[gdj6x21t].avi. In order to get myTV to read it, I have to rename the episode [DB]_Bleach_815_[gdj6x21t].avi, because it has to be read as season 8, episode 15. But, depending on what is in the CRC code, it may get picked up as, say, season 6, episode 21 (because of the 6x21 in the brackets), so to be safe, I have to re-label the episode [DB]_Bleach_815.avi. This is very annoying.
I know that XBMC has support for absolute ordered episodes, but I can't seem to support both SxxExx format AND absoulte #ing format at the same time. I have to choose one or the other. So, I hit a dead end there. If that is something that is a possibility with MediaPortal, I would make the switch right now.
Also, I have a lot of video files that have more than one subtitle/audio stream. myTV does not support a user-friendly way to switch between the two. Support for this comes from another 3rd party plugin called Media Control Plugin, which only works through Windows Media Center. I'm honestly not even sure if MediaPortal is a substitute for Windows Media Center, or a plugin for Windows Media Center, but I'm under the impression it's a substitute. So, if that's the case, if there is a user-friendly way to switch streams with a remote, I'll make the switch today.
I also don't like the organization features myTV provides. I can't make video playlists, I can't tag certain shows, I can only sort by genre, and with a large collection, that's very inconvenient.
I also don't like how I need another plugin for movies. Windows Media Center plugins for movies out there are rather tricky to use, and I don't like the feel of them.
PHEW! that was a mouthful. I'm sorry for being totally clueless here, but switching from my current setup would be very inconvenient, and it wouldn't be worth it to do so for the same or less functionality than I currently have now. So, if anyone can provide any insight for me, I'd reallly appreciate it!
So, I'm rather overwhelmed by all of the information here, so I thought I would ask anyone to see if it was worth making the switch.
So first, I'll tell you what I like about myTV, and what I don't like. My television shows are stored on my computer in files (mkv, ogm, avi, etc.), and I like that myTV downloads metadata for each show and episode from thetvdb based on the show's name and the filename. I also like how myTV remembers what I watch and how often I've watched it. I also like how I can watch a random episode from each show as I please.
Now, here are the things I don't like about myTV. While it can automatically guess what episode a file is when there is a SxxExx label in the filename, it cannot do this for absolute numbered episodes. This is incredibly inconvenient when it comes to managing my anime collection. So, for example, lets say I have an episode of Bleach, say, episode 166. The filename is something like [DB]_Bleach_166_[gdj6x21t].avi. In order to get myTV to read it, I have to rename the episode [DB]_Bleach_815_[gdj6x21t].avi, because it has to be read as season 8, episode 15. But, depending on what is in the CRC code, it may get picked up as, say, season 6, episode 21 (because of the 6x21 in the brackets), so to be safe, I have to re-label the episode [DB]_Bleach_815.avi. This is very annoying.
I know that XBMC has support for absolute ordered episodes, but I can't seem to support both SxxExx format AND absoulte #ing format at the same time. I have to choose one or the other. So, I hit a dead end there. If that is something that is a possibility with MediaPortal, I would make the switch right now.
Also, I have a lot of video files that have more than one subtitle/audio stream. myTV does not support a user-friendly way to switch between the two. Support for this comes from another 3rd party plugin called Media Control Plugin, which only works through Windows Media Center. I'm honestly not even sure if MediaPortal is a substitute for Windows Media Center, or a plugin for Windows Media Center, but I'm under the impression it's a substitute. So, if that's the case, if there is a user-friendly way to switch streams with a remote, I'll make the switch today.
I also don't like the organization features myTV provides. I can't make video playlists, I can't tag certain shows, I can only sort by genre, and with a large collection, that's very inconvenient.
I also don't like how I need another plugin for movies. Windows Media Center plugins for movies out there are rather tricky to use, and I don't like the feel of them.
PHEW! that was a mouthful. I'm sorry for being totally clueless here, but switching from my current setup would be very inconvenient, and it wouldn't be worth it to do so for the same or less functionality than I currently have now. So, if anyone can provide any insight for me, I'd reallly appreciate it!