Organize File Structure (1 Viewer)

[jverdeyen]

Hi,

I have a question in which I need other Media Portal users' view and experience.

I have huge library of DivX movies, and a growing library of HD movies.
Most of those DivX movies are in an avi container, and the HD movies in de mkv container.
I speak Dutch, so for each movie I use .srt files to show the subtitles.

The question is:What is the best way to organise my files and directories ?
What kind of structure do you guys (/girls) use for your file management ?

- Do you still use the original name of the file (exampl: Borat[2006]DvDrip[Eng]-aXXo) or do you just name it like the movie itself (exampl: Borat) ?

- Place every movie in a seperate directory ?

- Place subtitle files in seperate directories ?

What is the best way to make MediaPortal recognise your movies ? (imdb, ...)

Show me your file structure, and why you made it like that ...


cheers,

 

[BoelShit]

Hi,

What I do for movie structure is to first separate normal movies (non HD) in a folder and the HD movies in a separate folder. There I create a folder for each movie where I copy the movie and the corresponding .srt files to.
I leave the filenames intact so I still know what release it is etc.

To sum up:

Drive:
--> Movies (folder)
... --> Movie A (folder)
...... --> movie_a.avi (original filename)
...... --> movie_a.srt
... --> Movie B (folder)
...... --> movie_b.avi (original filename)
...... --> movie_b.srt
--> HD Movies (folder)
... --> Movie A (folder)
...... --> movie_a.avi (original filename)
...... --> movie_a.srt
... --> Movie B (folder)
...... --> movie_b.avi (original filename)
...... --> movie_b.srt

If a movie is split into 2 files i add or replace the cd# info with "-cd1, -cd2, etc". This way MediaPortal stacks those files so it shows them as one in the shares view.
Further I try to IMDB lookup all movies I have, creating nice coverart with it on the fly that way (still bug there, see this: https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/creating_folder_jpg_within_mp_movies_imdb-t32584.html)

This is purely how I like it mainly cause its easier to maintain (150+ movies)... But you should always try to find yourself a structure where you feel comfortable with.

 

[JackTramiel]

I have all movies in one folder. Inside i have folders only for "series" like Star Wars, Bond etc.
Each movie has its own name only.

 

[jverdeyen]

My file structure looks the same as BoelShit's. Only the orignal filename bothers me... so I rename them like the IMDB title and add an nfo file with the original filename (as reference for later maybe ... )

Thanks for the -cd1 / -cd2 tip ... is it only in the stacks views ? Is it possible that MP recognise them as 1 movie, so in the title view there is 1 movie wich first plays cd1 and then cd2 ?

 

[BoelShit]

If you set the movie screen to shares/ gedeelde bestanden then if you press play after selecting the movie, MP will give you a dialogbox so you can choose which disc to start. It also automatically continues to play from cd1 to cd2 etc.

In Title view the information on screen is based on the IMDB lookup and the video database you set.
I hardly use that view cause when I tried it, it entered the same information according to the amount of files in the folder. So 2cd's became 2 movies in the Title view. However in Configuration you can manually delete a database entry and add multiple files to one database entry if needed. This is a lot of work so thats mainly why I use folders also, to maintain a nice overview in the Shares/gedeelde bestanden view.

 

[hazmatte]

Can anyone recommend a utility that would help re-organize my videos into sub-directories? Currently I store all video files with associated subtitles & cover art in one main directory, but I'd like to migrate to a one-movie-per-directory structure. Unfortunately, due to the existing number of movies, this would be a royal PITA to do manually. I'd love something like MediaMonkey for video file organizing.

Suggestions?