NOTE: Original post edited to update on each issue.
Hi all,
This is my first post on here, having just come from a fairly well sorted (as in organised) HTPC built around WMC. I have just installed MP2 and so far I must say that I am very impressed. I'm not really into tweaking and my main requirement of an HTPC and media front end is that it "just works". For all its shortcomings, WMC did indeed just work (until getting the EPG to work with third party providers became too troublesome). So far despite its apparent complexity, MP2 is also working right out of the box.
So far I have set up the TV service and grabbed all the channels I want. Organising them can come later. I seem to have far more channels than I could convince W<C to tune into, which is great (or will be once I organise them). I even got EPG Collector to talk to MP2 simply by getting it to spit out an XMLTV file, with no other config changes whatsoever - very happy with that.
My ripped CD library was already well organised, tagged and with album art, so the audio media library also worked right out of the box.
Now here's where I start to hit a few issues...
I have a library of ripped DVDs in VIDEO_TS format, all with cover art (folder.jpg) downloaded by YAMM. The folder names all follow the format MOVIE NAME (YEAR)
So far I am assuming that MP2 does not use these JPGs and downloads new artwork when the movie library is imported or updated. Generally it seems to get this part right, but two things are causing me issues:
1) For foreign language films, the artwork, title, and movie data get changed to the native language version, and the movie blurb appears in the native language. For example, the 2006 film "Black Book" lives in a a folder called BLACK BOOK (2006) but appears in the library as "Zwartboek", with the movie description in Dutch.
This is not a bug. Movie details are grabbed in the same language as the DVD language. Possibility to include an option to override this in a future release?
2) I have the 2 disc version of "Das Boot", which lives in separate folders DAS BOOT (1981) DISK 1 and DISK 2 as well as suffering from the above language problem, it only appears once in the library, and when I play it only disk two plays. I cannot see or play disk one.
Not fixed yet. Disc "merging" seems not to be working in this case.
Bug report raised.
Should be fixed for public release of version 2.2
3) "Downfall" was originally identified as completely the wrong film until I renamed the folder to DOWNFALL (2004). Now it does not appear in the library at all, neither as "Downfall" nor its German title: "Der Untergang".
Not fixed yet.
Bug report raised.
Fixed by backing up folder, deleting from media library and then re-importing.
As WMC had no native BluRay support I was already using WinDVD Pro for this. I'm not mad keen on playing Blus within MP2, but it would be nice to add a launcher icon for WinDVD Pro inside MP2 somehow. The WInDVD installer could do this for WMC so any feedback on how to do the same thing would be great.
Not possible, but see this thread.
I also have a small collection of videos ripped from YouTube, home movies, etc. Some video thumbnails would be nice (a'la WMC). Is there a way to generate them in MP2?
Video thumbs did generate a few days later. Not sure what the delay was!
So much for movies...
Images:
My Image library is large and, to be honest, poorly organised. No matter which view I choose I cannot see the images as thumbnails. I have the Windows thumbnail generation turned off for all folders because the thumbs.db files were very slow to update over my network (all my media is on a NAS). Do I need to turn this on again to see image thumbs in MP2?
Image thumbs did generate a few days later, but not for all images. Maybe this takes time? Also there is a strange bug in the "folder view" image browser. See here:
Bug report raised.
Finally my only real "moans" are reserved for two things:
Moan 1: Mouse control.
Controlling MP2 using the mouse seems very hit and miss, and also different from skin to skin. I could control WMC completely using the mouse, especially the scroll wheel. With the BlueVision skin on the TV guide I can scroll the wheel a few times to move down the channels list and nothing happens, but then it jumps several channels at once. Using the scroll wheel to move along a list of DVDs or CDs is even more hit and miss, and I have to keep falling back on the cursor keys. From reading a few threads in here I'm starting to get the impression that MP2 isn't really intended to be mouse controlled, and is more optimised for a remote. I think that's a shame but I can see the logic.
Moan 2: The WMC skin!
Coming from WMC, I was overjoyed to find an WMC skin for MP2 but it seems like a real missed opportunity. Not only is mouse control no better than the other skins (WMC had clickable four way arrows on the EPG, for example), but the floating shuttle controls are completely missing from the DVD player (both ripped films and real discs) even though it is right there in the TV viewer.
Update to fix the missing DVD controls should be available in the next MP2 release. This only seems to effect playing physical discs, ISO images, or ripped discs stored in VIDEO_TS format. Other video files play OK.
Sorry for the long first post! I'm looking forward to getting feedback on any of the above items.
Hi all,
This is my first post on here, having just come from a fairly well sorted (as in organised) HTPC built around WMC. I have just installed MP2 and so far I must say that I am very impressed. I'm not really into tweaking and my main requirement of an HTPC and media front end is that it "just works". For all its shortcomings, WMC did indeed just work (until getting the EPG to work with third party providers became too troublesome). So far despite its apparent complexity, MP2 is also working right out of the box.
So far I have set up the TV service and grabbed all the channels I want. Organising them can come later. I seem to have far more channels than I could convince W<C to tune into, which is great (or will be once I organise them). I even got EPG Collector to talk to MP2 simply by getting it to spit out an XMLTV file, with no other config changes whatsoever - very happy with that.
My ripped CD library was already well organised, tagged and with album art, so the audio media library also worked right out of the box.
Now here's where I start to hit a few issues...
I have a library of ripped DVDs in VIDEO_TS format, all with cover art (folder.jpg) downloaded by YAMM. The folder names all follow the format MOVIE NAME (YEAR)
So far I am assuming that MP2 does not use these JPGs and downloads new artwork when the movie library is imported or updated. Generally it seems to get this part right, but two things are causing me issues:
1) For foreign language films, the artwork, title, and movie data get changed to the native language version, and the movie blurb appears in the native language. For example, the 2006 film "Black Book" lives in a a folder called BLACK BOOK (2006) but appears in the library as "Zwartboek", with the movie description in Dutch.
This is not a bug. Movie details are grabbed in the same language as the DVD language. Possibility to include an option to override this in a future release?
2) I have the 2 disc version of "Das Boot", which lives in separate folders DAS BOOT (1981) DISK 1 and DISK 2 as well as suffering from the above language problem, it only appears once in the library, and when I play it only disk two plays. I cannot see or play disk one.
Not fixed yet. Disc "merging" seems not to be working in this case.
Bug report raised.
Should be fixed for public release of version 2.2
3) "Downfall" was originally identified as completely the wrong film until I renamed the folder to DOWNFALL (2004). Now it does not appear in the library at all, neither as "Downfall" nor its German title: "Der Untergang".
Not fixed yet.
Bug report raised.
Fixed by backing up folder, deleting from media library and then re-importing.
As WMC had no native BluRay support I was already using WinDVD Pro for this. I'm not mad keen on playing Blus within MP2, but it would be nice to add a launcher icon for WinDVD Pro inside MP2 somehow. The WInDVD installer could do this for WMC so any feedback on how to do the same thing would be great.
Not possible, but see this thread.
I also have a small collection of videos ripped from YouTube, home movies, etc. Some video thumbnails would be nice (a'la WMC). Is there a way to generate them in MP2?
Video thumbs did generate a few days later. Not sure what the delay was!
So much for movies...
Images:
My Image library is large and, to be honest, poorly organised. No matter which view I choose I cannot see the images as thumbnails. I have the Windows thumbnail generation turned off for all folders because the thumbs.db files were very slow to update over my network (all my media is on a NAS). Do I need to turn this on again to see image thumbs in MP2?
Image thumbs did generate a few days later, but not for all images. Maybe this takes time? Also there is a strange bug in the "folder view" image browser. See here:
Bug report raised.
Finally my only real "moans" are reserved for two things:
Moan 1: Mouse control.
Controlling MP2 using the mouse seems very hit and miss, and also different from skin to skin. I could control WMC completely using the mouse, especially the scroll wheel. With the BlueVision skin on the TV guide I can scroll the wheel a few times to move down the channels list and nothing happens, but then it jumps several channels at once. Using the scroll wheel to move along a list of DVDs or CDs is even more hit and miss, and I have to keep falling back on the cursor keys. From reading a few threads in here I'm starting to get the impression that MP2 isn't really intended to be mouse controlled, and is more optimised for a remote. I think that's a shame but I can see the logic.
Moan 2: The WMC skin!
Coming from WMC, I was overjoyed to find an WMC skin for MP2 but it seems like a real missed opportunity. Not only is mouse control no better than the other skins (WMC had clickable four way arrows on the EPG, for example), but the floating shuttle controls are completely missing from the DVD player (both ripped films and real discs) even though it is right there in the TV viewer.
Update to fix the missing DVD controls should be available in the next MP2 release. This only seems to effect playing physical discs, ISO images, or ripped discs stored in VIDEO_TS format. Other video files play OK.
Sorry for the long first post! I'm looking forward to getting feedback on any of the above items.
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