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Full Version: xbmc behaves different on different OS's
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Hi
I have 3 installations of xbmc eden. On my W7 HTPC, on my macbook and on my desktop Ubuntu.
I've tried without success to run a mysql media library on a NAS (each OS does something WRONG to the sql database. None works well, but each has a different way of messing things up) and gave up.
Now each system runs its own independent library. The source is the same for the 3 OS's. All my media is in the NAS.
What annoys me (besides not knowing yet how to solve "bad guesses" from the scrappers, or "no guess" at all) is that each OS builds a different library. Some media does not show up on a OS and it shows up correctly on another. Some media is correct on a OS and incorrect on another. It's a mess. The scrapper I use is the same. So, how does this happen?
I think the Ubuntu system has the best library, more complete and less errors (and BTW some errors are pretty ridiculous!!!).

humbfig
Ive never ran a traditional NAS...But I have used my windows box as my network media server and was able to play all of my media from my ubuntu box on my home network using Samba...once I installed samba on ubuntu I was able to mount my shared windows files on it. In xbmc all i needed to do was add the video and music files from my windows box as a source on my ubuntu box and everything worked like normal after that, as if the files were on the machine I was watching it from. I have never tried with Mac, but im sure there is something like samba for mac...Try this...I cant test it since I do not have a Mac but its worth a shot
OS makes no difference. Follow the wiki guide and everything will work. I use four different OSes and they sync together just fine.

library sync (wiki)
(2012-04-11, 11:25)Ned Scott Wrote: [ -> ]OS makes no difference. Follow the wiki guide and everything will work. I use four different OSes and they sync together just fine.

library sync (wiki)

I have not tried to setup a sql library since I installed eden. I had a bad experience with mysql, and I followed a guide. I can give it another try, obviously it would be ideal to have only one library.
That said, OS makes a difference, or something that is different in each OS makes a difference. Like I said, for example, a movie file in the NAS ends up being a totally different movie in each OS. And I use tvdb in all OS's to build the library. Some files in the NAS are recognized in some OS's and don't exist in other OS's using the same scrapper. So, I have a black wall, please don't tell me it's white.....
The simplest (and thus most likely) explanation is that you configured it differently.

Check carefully through how you have each client configured.
(2012-04-11, 23:36)jmarshall Wrote: [ -> ]The simplest (and thus most likely) explanation is that you configured it differently.

Check carefully through how you have each client configured.

Yes, you're right!
The wall was indeed white, not even grey...... Blush

"Movies are in separate folders that match the movie title".
This was the option that made all the difference between the OS's.
And now I understand why it is important to have a folder for each movie. Even when you do have a folder for each movie, without setting this option the scrapper makes a some errors and misses some files.

Next, 2nd attempt at one library in mysql in the NAS.

thanks
Indeed. That is the single most important setting.

Glad you got it sorted Smile
Now for the single shared library. I think it could still be called "xbmc different behaviour on different OS's", although it might be misleading.

Apparently, this time I could manage to set up a working shared library on my NAS. But, only one of the systems (the OS X one) is using the "thumbnails" directory I set up on the NAS. Both the Linux and the Win7 OS's recorded the "thumbnails" directory locally. I'm not sure what went wrong. The advancedsettings.xml was copied to the three systems. The only difference is the "<from>" line in the "<substitute>" section:

macbook: /Users/my_user_name/Library/Application Support/XBMC/userdata/Thumbnails/
Ubuntu: $HOME/.xbmc/userdata/Thumbnails/
W7: Users\my_user_name\AppData\Roaming\XBMC\userdata\Thumbnails\

The "<To>" line is the same in all 3 OS's: smb://user:pass@NAS_ip_address/xbmc_media/Thumbnails/

Now, at first sight, I don't expect this "To" line to work in W7, but the fact is that the "sources.xml" is the same in all 3 OS's, and there the "<path>" line is
"smb://user:pass@NAS_ip_address/Movies/" and it works fine.

Can you tell what might be wrong here?
tx
You should be mapping "special://profile/Thumbnails/Video/"
(2012-04-15, 02:55)jmarshall Wrote: [ -> ]You should be mapping "special://profile/Thumbnails/Video/"

well, I have no idea what that is... but I've noticed it's a very popular path around here...
Anyway, I put that thing in advancedsettings.xml for both windows and linux. I didn't touch the macbook since it's working as expected.
The result is.... it's not working quite as I expected. Both systems still create files under the "Thumbnails". But now they're not recording there all the fanart and posters, they just like to play around with the directory structure. The problem is, if I scan with one system (any), export the library, import it to the other systems, all is fine. But any new addition to the movies collection will have posters and fanart EXCLUSIVELY in the system that scans it first. For the others the library is updated, the systems realize there's new media, but they don't show posters or fanart. "Update" the library yields no result.
Is this "normal" behaviour? I didn't expect this and I certainly don't want it.

BTW, there's an exception. For TV Shows, the posters only show up in the system that performed the scan. But the fanart is present in all 3 systems, without ever doing an "update library".


Ok, I got it now. I don't understand it but it's solved now.
I had to put the "special://profile/Thumbnails/Video/" also in the macbook.
Now, all 3 systems behave the same (my macbook also writes lots of directories in "Thumbnails"), and it doesn't matter which system first scans, posters and fanart are spread around.

tx
See Special protocol (wiki) for more info