Is MePo right for me (1 Viewer)

[saitoh183]

Hi everyone,

I have always been on the fence about switching over to MePo because all the information and customization was a bit overwhelming. But with MePo 2 arriving and my wife wants me to setup something that isnt complex for her to use, i would like to move away from XBMC (even if its a great piece of software). I looked at MB3 but its missing alot of features that my current setup uses. I know that lots of my questions might be answered if i really dig in the forum but due to my time being limited (baby just wont have it ) i will post what im looking for and hope MePo can provide for my needs. I live in Montreal Canada, just so you know and this will be a long post so please bare with me .

First off my current setup:

Hardware:

• 2 HTPC systems (1 with Hauppauge Colossus + TV recordings) (W7 x64)
• Media server (contains all my Media...tv shows and movies) (WHS2011)
• Application server running MySQL,NZBdrone,XBMC, Playon (Mainly for netflix content) (W2012 R2)

Software:

• XBMC on both machines with App server running a MySQL to share content
• WMCserver app + WMC XBMC plugin to do TV recording

XBMC setup:

• 2 XBMC profile (1 for wife and 1 for me) so we can each have our own watched status
• Trakt sync (This is possible)
• Smartplaylist + Tags to divide media up on main menu (Kids - Movies -TV shows (couple) - TV Shows all - Anime)
• PlayOn source added via Upnp (also have a script that create a files that can allow me to add netflix content to library)
• Plugins: Tou.tv, Canada on Demand, illico TV, Youtube

Media setup:

• ...\Videos\TV\<Series name>\SeasonX\<series_name> - SXXxEXX - <eps_name>.ext
• ...\Videos\Anime\<Series name>\<series_name> - EXX -<eps_name>.ext (I use absolute numbers..renaming done via Anidb script)
• ...\Videos\Movies\<Movie name> (Year)\<movie_name> (year).ext (Some folders also contain <movie_name> (year) - trailer.ext )
• ...\Videos\UFC\<Movie name> (Year)\<movie_name> (year).ext
• ...\Videos\Kids\<Movie name> (Year)\<movie_name> (year).ext (No tv shows in this folder)

What i need from MePo: (Even if i found an answer on forums or by searching...can you guys confirm)

Setup:

• Given my setup how should install? TVserver and client on HTPC that has Colossus and point to my MYSQL on my App server? Or Tvserver and client on my HTPC and MePo configuration on App if that makes sense?
• How do clients share the same DB? I think i saw some sort of plugin must be used to accomplish this?(After some searching i think this would only be possible for movies using MyFilms. TV shows can only be shared by doing some sort of sync of the MP-TVSeires db)
• What do you need to manage TVshows, Movies, Anime? (i saw MP-TVSeries..i think...My Films or Moving pictures for movies and MyAnime3 for Anime?)(MyFilms would be my only choice for movies since it supports multiuser. TVSeries is the only option)
• In relation to the question above, I saw under MePo configuration, Videos - Folders and there is a scan and a DB. This doesnt seems to be the same area MP-TVSeries uses. Is it a one or the other type of deal? (After find a post that explains a bit more , it seems to be a either or type of choice)
• MyAnime supports Anidb. Do i need to change my folder structure in order to scrape my Anime into MePo?
• Can i use my XBMC Metadata and artwork in its current state to import my library into MePo. If not can i convert my nfo and artwork files ? (i think i saw this info but couldnt find it and didnt see how it could be dont in MePo configuration window)
• Is there auto-scraping as content is added? Or do i have to setup some script to do scanning process?
• Can you set different scraper for certain content? For example in XBMC, my UFC PPV content is scraped via TMDB and stored with all my other movies but my movies are scraped with Universal Movie scraper.
• Is my Colossus card a straight forward setup or there is alot of hassle? (i have read a few threads but nothing really confirms if there is a issue anymore or not.)
• I use a Harmony 700 remote with a IR receiver (USB from this remote ), any types on setup or should i just map the keyboard key ?
• Is there support for UPnP (Playon). I searched but only seem to come up with really old threads.

Media Content:

• Can i divide my Anime and TVshows so they dont show up all under TV? (like in XBMC if no smart playlist is used) I think MyAnime 3 can help?
• Can i make a sort of list of Tv Shows that we watch as a couple (dont want to have to scroll 200 shows all the time)
• Can we have separate profiles in order to be able to have our own watched status? (I think MyFilms can do this but how about for TVshows?) In XBMC, my wife profile does have anime source and i setup a playlist of only the shows she watches and a sub-menu with all the TV shows.

Plugins:

• Trakt..Can it be used for multiple users tracking (Again My Films i think support this but what about TV shows?)
• Netflix plugin working?
• Can i get Tou.tv plugin? (i think i saw a plugin that contains multiple stream that included Tou.tv. but neglect to see if people said it actually worked)
• illico TV (Videotron). i doubt there is a plugin for this so what i might have to do is keep XBMC on the side for when i want to watch it. Does MePo have some sort of application launcher that would allow me to call up XBMC? I know its not ideal but this plugin is really important since there are alot of shows we watch on it

To get everything i need , which Extension will be needed?..what i think so far:

• MyFilms
• MP-TVSeries
• MyAnime
• Moving Pictures
• Schedule Direct for EPG(I already have an account)... If its buggy, can i use xmltv?

I think that covers all my questions...Thanks in advance for all your help

Also MePo1 or MePo2 would better suit my needs?

 

[mm1352000]

Hello and welcome

That is a looong post - I couldn't possibly hope to answer all of it, but I'll try to tackle some of the TV related aspects.

Given my setup how should install? TVserver and client on HTPC that has Colossus and point to my MYSQL on my App server? Or Tvserver and client on my HTPC and MePo configuration on App if that makes sense?

TV Server has to be on the HTPC with the Colossus. It can use a remote MySQL database (ie. the database on the app server) if you want... or you could have MySQL for TV Server on the HTPC. Really up to you.
MediaPortal 1 uses SQLite and doesn't natively support shared databases. There is a plugin called MP Sync that effectively shares databases by shuffling files.
MediaPortal 2 does use a shared database.
Effectively unless you're using MP2, TV Server is the only component that could use the MySQL database on your app server.

How do clients share the same DB? I think i saw some sort of plugin must be used to accomplish this?(After some searching i think this would only be possible for movies using MyFilms. TV shows can only be shared by doing some sort of sync of the MP-TVSeires db)

Yeah, as above. MediaPortal 1 would require MP Sync. MP 2 does it out of the box... but is still in "alpha".

What do you need to manage TVshows, Movies, Anime? (i saw MP-TVSeries..i think...My Films or Moving pictures for movies and MyAnime3 for Anime?)(MyFilms would be my only choice for movies since it supports multiuser. TVSeries is the only option)

I think you're pretty much on the money. MP-TVSeries for TV shows; My Films or MovingPictures or My Videos (built in) for movies; MyAnime for anime.

Is my Colossus card a straight forward setup or there is alot of hassle? (i have read a few threads but nothing really confirms if there is a issue anymore or not.)

Depends how you want to use it. If you're configuring it simply to receive input from an external video source (presumably a set top box of some kind) then it is pretty trivial; if you want the works - ie. MP contains a full EPG and controls the external set top box - then that is more complex. Depends on the way you intend to control the STB.

Schedule Direct for EPG(I already have an account)... If its buggy, can i use xmltv?

Yes, you can use SD with the SD plugin:
https://www.team-mediaportal.com/extensions/television/schedulesdirect-guide-importer

...or if you have an XMLTV source (eg. from mc2xml) then that will be fine with the built-in XMLTV plugin:
http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/1_...tion/TV-Server_Configuration/13_Plugins/XmlTv

If setting up your Colossus to do "the works" then the SD plugin can assist to pull in your initial lineup... then switch to the XMLTV plugin for EPG if you want.

mm

 

[saitoh183]

Well thanks for the insight. Is Mepo2 worth going to even in alpha? Right now I'm looking to see if there is any way to get some sort of dual profile for watch status. Maybe using 2 db.. Like maybe 1 person uses My vidéo and the other uses tvseries?

 

[mm1352000]

Yes, I think MP 2 is worth a shot. You can install and test both MP1 and MP2 in parallel. I don't think MP2 will help with the dual profile thing though, and be aware that MP1 plugins don't work with MP2... though the goal has been to build in functionality from MP1 plugins like Moving Pictures.

 

[saitoh183]

But if we use mptvseries for one watch status, can't I use my video for the other person? Also can we use XBMC nfo file in mptvseries?

 

[saitoh183]

I finally went iwth MP as my frontend with the Mediabrowser 3 plugin so that i could use Mediabrowser 3 Server as my backend. This allows me to get separate profiles/watched status and a shared library. MP sync would have been ok if there wasnt a chance of people using both HTPCs at the same time and im also looking for low maintenance solutions. For Live TV MP is king in my book. As for the rest, once MP2 becomes more viable (beta or release + more plugins) im pretty sure i will switch over to full time MP2 unless Mediabrowser 3 Theater (standalone client) comes out of alpha first

 

[CypherMK]

For watched status you can use the trakt plugin. If you set this up correctly it will sync the wathed status between every computer. It can even sync between xbmc and Mediaportal.

 

[morpheus_xx]

For watched status you can use the trakt plugin. If you set this up correctly it will sync the wathed status between every computer. It can even sync between xbmc and Mediaportal.

There is also a Trakt plugin in development: it already allows scrobbling and synchronizing to Trakt. In near future also the backward synch of "seen" flag will be implemented (depends on MediaLibrary rework).

 

[CypherMK]

There is also a Trakt plugin in development: it already allows scrobbling and synchronizing to Trakt. In near future also the backward synch of "seen" flag will be implemented (depends on MediaLibrary rework).

You mean for mediaportal 2?

 

[saitoh183]

For watched status you can use the trakt plugin. If you set this up correctly it will sync the wathed status between every computer. It can even sync between xbmc and Mediaportal.

I already use trakt