Sync database on multiple machines

(2013-02-12 01:31)winestock Wrote:  

(2013-02-11 23:56)LanceVance Wrote:  I copied the thumbnails fielder across but it doesn't seem to have worked. I'll try the patch substitution next but will this cause issues with future library updates?

You can also edit the userdata/sources.xml and userdata/mediasources.xml files. Change X:\ to smb://. You can use those files the same on Vista and openelec 2.99.

yeah but then the library will need to be rescanned, which the OP is trying to avoid.

(2013-02-12 02:00)nickr Wrote:  

(2013-02-12 01:31)winestock Wrote:  

(2013-02-11 23:56)LanceVance Wrote:  I copied the thumbnails fielder across but it doesn't seem to have worked. I'll try the patch substitution next but will this cause issues with future library updates?

You can also edit the userdata/sources.xml and userdata/mediasources.xml files. Change X:\ to smb://. You can use those files the same on Vista and openelec 2.99.

yeah but then the library will need to be rescanned, which the OP is trying to avoid.

Would it need to be rescanned? Could I change the source, and then copy the MyMusic.db, MyVideos.db etc?

Can anyone confirm if this would work?

Also, does anyone know why copying the Thumbnails folder doesn't sync my artwork?

The db stores the full path to the file, eg:

x:\movies\movie.mkv

so if you change your source so that the path becomes:

smb://movies/movie.mkv

it will break.

BUT you could export your database to individual files, change the source and rescan. The .nfo files generated in the export should be picked up, and don't contain an absolute path.

Alternatively export to one file, use sed or similar to change the paths in the exported xml file, then change the source and import the xml file with the (now) corrected paths.

(2013-02-12 22:39)LanceVance Wrote:  

(2013-02-12 02:00)nickr Wrote:  

(2013-02-12 01:31)winestock Wrote:  You can also edit the userdata/sources.xml and userdata/mediasources.xml files. Change X:\ to smb://. You can use those files the same on Vista and openelec 2.99.

yeah but then the library will need to be rescanned, which the OP is trying to avoid.

Would it need to be rescanned? Could I change the source, and then copy the MyMusic.db, MyVideos.db etc?

Can anyone confirm if this would work?

Also, does anyone know why copying the Thumbnails folder doesn't sync my artwork?

There are three different ways to re-import your media into XBMC:

1. Have XBMC re-scape from scratch all your media files.
2. Use the XBMC export to individual files which will create a .nfo for each movie/music item that exists in each directory. You would then have XBMC do a re-scan of all your media. The disadvantage of this is that you now have extra files created that you did not have before.
3. Use the XBMC export library to a single file. This will create a single .xml file in a directory of your choice. You would then edit the .xml file to replace X:\<medi path> with smb://<media path>. You would then have XBMC re-import the single .xml file. Personally, I like this option because it allows me to make modifications to the .xml file and then re-import without needing to re-scan my entire library or adding extra .nfo files to the media source directories. I also use export to a single file to backup my media libary.
   

In all cases, you still need to select new sources in XBMC that use smb instead of the X drive. You can do this from the XBMC menus and add the new sources for smb and then deleting the sources that use the X drive. Alternately, you can edit the userdata/mediasources.xml and sources.xml to replace X:\<media path> with smb://<media path>.

I know it's annoying to change, but everything would be fixed if you just use SMB:// on your windows machine. If you have 2 separate dbs you're trying to sync, this is better. If you have one mySQL db synced to multiple frontends, this would be better.

Trust these dudes above... DO IT!

Thanks for all the advice. You've all been far more helpful than i expected (especially wine stock!)

What I'm considering is:
Install xbmcbuntu on the machine currently running openelec, install Iomega Storage Manager for linux onto the buntu machine and then it will use the x: y: z: drive letters.

The reason I can't edit the backed up XML files is that one machine uses / in the directory the other uses \ (I assume you guys understand what I mean).

I just can't face setting up my windows xbmc all over again

If I've missed something let me know.