Moving Blu rays over from Moving Pictures (2 Viewers)

[Traffik]

Nice! Yeah Ive still got a fair bit to discover yet. Still going through the MePo wiki, theres a lot there, looks really great![DOUBLEPOST=1373125924][/DOUBLEPOST]One thing... Im using the one configuration for 2 PCs. The drive letter of BluRay drive is different on the 2 machines. I could just change the drive letter, but Im wondering if there is a way of telling MyFilms that the drive is different for the second machine??[DOUBLEPOST=1373126159][/DOUBLEPOST]oh actually its got more complicated than that!
The second machine thinks that all my movies are offline.
What I dont get is that in the AMC updater there is a source filed that points to the movies on the first machine locally. However it seems that MyFilms overrides this field?
Im still trying to get my head around how the paths work!

 

[Traffik]

Also, not all the covers copied across from the Catalog/Pictures folder. Some of them are there but others are not so it looks like there are 2 paths for the covers..... confusing!

 

[Dadeo]

One thing... Im using the one configuration for 2 PCs.

Are they networked? i.e. are you trying to use a central database or are you copying the db to your second PC?

I could just change the drive letter, but Im wondering if there is a way of telling MyFilms that the drive is different for the second machine??

I can't think of anything specifically built into MyFilms that you can use to do that because it reads the Source field you select (usually Source) and it contains the drive/full path to your movie file(s). TBH I would change the drive letter - it's probably easier in the end as long as it doesn't screw up other things on your PC.

The second machine thinks that all my movies are offline. What I dont get is that in the AMC updater there is a source filed that points to the movies on the first machine locally. However it seems that MyFilms overrides this field?

Now I am getting confused LOL. Maybe best if you just post the paths? MyFilms does not override the source field data. The location of your movies is usually specified in the database. But I am not clear WHERE you are storing your movies, or if you mean your DVDs/Blu-rays.

Also, not all the covers copied across from the Catalog/Pictures folder. Some of them are there but others are not so it looks like there are 2 paths for the covers..... confusing!

Sounds like similar issue to the above! There aren't really 2 paths for covers but ofc it depends if you are using the same DB and Config for both PCs or not.

Basically you need to decide your preferred setup:

1. Central storage of movie files on 1 pc but accessed from both PCs (sounds to me like this is what you are trying to do?)
2. Central db and artwork - i.e. network setup where your PCs are networked - in which case you need to use network paths (see Network Setup in wiki, and also Guzzi's explanations in the Central DB thread.
3. Total separate PCs

So let's start with that!

 

[Traffik]

1: My machines are networked as there are files on the first machine that are being shared. However, the database is not being shared, the plan was to have a copy of it on the second machine.

2: Yes, changing the drive letter is by far the easiest thing to do in this case.

3: Right, so on the first machine the moves are stored in D:Movies. In the source field on the DB it says this so I guess this is why the second machine isn't seeing them. However, I thought that by specifying the movie paths in the MyFilms setup it would override this, or are these paths just used for importing purposes?

4: When I look in the catalog/pictures folder on the first machine only some of my covers are there, many are missing. However when I run MediaPortal/MyFilms ALL the covers show up? The only thing I think is that each movie folder in the D: drive has the appropriate cover for each movie (these were created when I did the xml export) so I guess maybe MyFilms is seeing them and using them?

I suppose I could just forget my idea of copying across the DB and use the one on the first machine, so the movies AND the DB are all stored and accessed from the first machine. That way the paths would be correct?

 

[Dadeo]

I thought that by specifying the movie paths in the MyFilms setup it would override this, or are these paths just used for importing purposes?

If you mean for Movie Playback (on the General Tab)- then IIRC you are correct - MyFilms will search the paths you enter there to find and play the movie. BUT that is only for playback, it does not solve the problem that not all your movies and covers display. When importing new movies, MyFilms uses the path(s) you select in the Wizard (which is the one that displays under Movies scan path on the Import tab in setup and is synced to AMCUpdater Scan paths). That is the path that is used to populate the field you select for Movie Source (usually Source field). Of course, normally the path(s) for Movies File search (on the General Tab in Setup) is the same.

When I look in the catalog/pictures folder on the first machine only some of my covers are there, many are missing. However when I run MediaPortal/MyFilms ALL the covers show up? The only thing I think is that each movie folder in the D: drive has the appropriate cover for each movie (these were created when I did the xml export) so I guess maybe MyFilms is seeing them and using them?

Did you do an import using MyFilms/AMCUpdater at some point? If so, it could have added some covers there - i.e. the path entered for covers on the Artwork Setup tab. It's possible that the XML export file exported your cover locations when it copied them during the XML import. You can check your XML catalog/database file (the one you select as your catalog in Setup) and see what is entered for 'picture=' - that's what MyFilms uses to display your movie cover.

I suppose I could just forget my idea of copying across the DB and use the one on the first machine, so the movies AND the DB are all stored and accessed from the first machine. That way the paths would be correct?

I think you still need to use Network (UNC) paths, but I have never used a network setup, so maybe @Guzzi can confirm that?

There should not be a problem with the way you want to set up MyFilms - i.e. central movie storage with separate databases on each PC. However you can use the same database with separate configs (think of them as profiles) for each PC. That way you only need to import/add movies to one database and they are instantly available with all artwork on both systems. It really just depends if you want all movies accessible on all your PCs or not. IIRC Guzzi told me the images are cached locally so you shouldn't have an issue with performance/display.

 

[Guzzi]

I suppose I could just forget my idea of copying across the DB and use the one on the first machine, so the movies AND the DB are all stored and accessed from the first machine. That way the paths would be correct?

I think you still need to use Network (UNC) paths, but I have never used a network setup, so maybe @Guzzi can confirm that?

You CAN of course use one of the PCs as "central storage location", but yes, path should be used as UNC style, so it can be used in the same manner from all clients.

There should not be a problem with the way you want to set up MyFilms - i.e. central movie storage with separate databases on each PC. However you can use the same database with separate configs (think of them as profiles) for each PC. That way you only need to import/add movies to one database and they are instantly available with all artwork on both systems. It really just depends if you want all movies accessible on all your PCs or not. IIRC Guzzi told me the images are cached locally so you shouldn't have an issue with performance/display.

Yes, there is a local cache, so it is no problem (and it makes sense of course) to setup artwork to a central storage location (which can be on one of the used PCs).
Note: Influenced to your feedback, I am currently working on a setup wizard option, that allows guided standard setup of MyFilms for central network environment (instead only for local install, as now). It won't be in public version before 6.1 (as fe focus on getting 6.0.3 for MP1.4 compatibility), but should be available for private testing soon.

 

[Guzzi]

I thought that by specifying the movie paths in the MyFilms setup it would override this, or are these paths just used for importing purposes?

If you mean for Movie Playback (on the General Tab)- then IIRC you are correct - MyFilms will search the paths you enter there to find and play the movie. BUT that is only for playback, it does not solve the problem that not all your movies and covers display. When importing new movies, MyFilms uses the path(s) you select in the Wizard (which is the one that displays under Movies scan path on the Import tab in setup and is synced to AMCUpdater Scan paths). That is the path that is used to populate the field you select for Movie Source (usually Source field). Of course, normally the path(s) for Movies File search (on the General Tab in Setup) is the same.

Some ppl (mostly users of other external catalogs) only put the name in, use no specific source path and in that case, the search path is used to find the corresponding movie to play. However, this is no recommended setup, as it needs to do searching on each playback and is not very much used lately, just wanted to mention it as it might better explain the purpose of the "search path".

 

[Traffik]

Ok great info guys, thanks!
I have stripped everything back and started over. Now I am trying to use the MyFilms Central Config Setup but I get the error message "Cannot write to local directory, cannot continue!" when I press the sync from server button
I have had a look at the security setting for that folder and read a few bits on the internet and it seems that the ProgramData folder is tricky to work with regarding security settings....

 

[Traffik]

Yeah Im still struggling with this.
Ive read the wikis etc and this should be fairly straight forward, but everytime I try to sync anything, either way, using the central config tool I get messages saying I cannot write to the file in question, which is in the ProgramData folder as you know.
I have UAC turned off on both machines so its not that....

 

[Traffik]

Ok, blasted permissions! haha, Im getting there now