[Spaceman2004]

What would be the best way to add an "Exercise" menu item to the Home menu? I'd like for it to act like the Movie section does, with DVD covers etc. I've read a few things for quick fixes so that wives stop bugging their husbands. But from what I've read, none of them look clean in the end. I know I'm not the only one who's looking for an Exercise section now a days. Plus, I want to stick with the hybrid theme, basically because my wife and I have got used to where everything is in it.

I know for some this might be very easy to do, but I don't want to screw anything up.

I fully understand that I'll most likely have to throw in folder covers and .nfo myself, but I'd like to have a clean looking finish to the visual affect that the Movie section has.

Thanks for any help!

[Mudislander]

It would be a great help if your exercise videos are commercial & have info on IMDB or similar, because then XBMC will be able to get all the related data. However you can always create your own .nfo files. Use something like notepad++ to see how they work. I feel to get the best experience you've got to get them into the XBMC library.

My preference ATM is custom nodes because then they'll be listed along with years, genre etc. Screenie shows my node for "South African Movies"

To do this you need to find the instalation library directory of XBMC eg on windows 7 it's "C:\Program Files (x86)\XBMC\system\library"
Then copy the 2 folders "video" & "video_flat" accross to your userdata library directory eg Win7 "C:\Users\Some Name\AppData\Roaming\XBMC\userdata\library"

Now you can start creating your nodes, Wiki page is Here

Lots of different ways of sorting out which movies show up where, but I'd suggest editing the .nfo file of all your exercise videos and setting the genre tag to something unique to all of them eg:

Code:

<genre>Exercise</genre>

Then as per wiki do two nodes one for your new exercise node & two to exclude from titles. Use playlist rules - Easy way is use the XBMC GUI to make a smartplaylist for genre "Exercise" then open the file in your playlist directory with notepad++ to see how it's done.

Once you get that working add a menu option using Video Node as per screenie & That should be it

[Spaceman2004]

Thanks for the help! I'll try and see if I can muddle my way through all that.

[Mudislander]

My post is a bit broad, shout out if you're stuck

[Spaceman2004]

I'm having a few problems.

Here is my custom_exercise_dvds.xml file.... Also, I have removed one exercise dvd from the library and allowed it to be updated again. I've done this every time as I've tweaked and hoped.

Code:

<node order="10" type="filter">
<label>(Custom) Exercise DVDs</label>
<path>videodb://1/3</path>
<content>movies</content>
<match>all</match>
<icon>DefaultExercise.png</icon>
<limit>20</limit>
<rule field="path" operator="contains">//SERVER-PC/Exercise/</rule>
</node>

Problem #1

For some reason, the Exercise DVDs are showing up under my new custom node, and under main movies.

I've edited the title.xml files under both movies and tvshows folders to include....

Code:

<rule field="path" operator="doesnotcontain">//SERVER-PC/Exercise/</rule>

The custom node does pick up the Exercise folder on my server, and shows DVD covers.

Problem #2

When I press back I see a submenu. I have to press back again to go back to the main menu. I'd like for only one press like when one is in movies.

Problem #3

The hide watched switch, is the same switch for Exercise and Movies. If I turn it off in Exercise, it's also turned off in Movies.

[Mudislander]

So Problem #1 The new node is working, but the edit to "titles.xml" is not so your Exercise videos are showing up in the Movie Titles (Library Mode) ?

Maybe try slim down the "doesnotcontain" rule to just "/Exercise/"

While we're here have you got a "DefaultExercise.png" in the media folder ?
Also your "<path>videodb://1/3</path>" is pointing to "Years" I don't know how much difference it makes but library paths are here

Problem#2 is my fault & should be fixed in the next update, which will be as soon as the devs have got time to review the code, but you'll have to re-enter the menu setting. Or if you want to try shutdown XBMC and edit your guisettings.xml. Search for "skin.hybrid.HomeItem.?.Path" where ? = the number of your menu item 1 to 10. Just before the last bracket add in ",return" so it looks like - ",return)</setting>"

Problem#3 Sorry we'll have to live with that one - turn off watched is universal

[Spaceman2004]

Problem #1

Cutting it down doesn't seem to work.

Yeap, I've got a .png file

I'd like for the dvds to be sorted by year. should I have it pointed to something else?

Problem #2

Thanks, that's fixed now

Problem #3

Is there a reason why Movies and TV Shows are seen as different? Because I can have the switch turned off in TV Shows but turned on in Movies, or visa-versa.

The problem is you see, I'd like Movies and TV Shows to be hidden when they've been viewed. But of course, exercise DVDs get used again and again, so there's no need to be hidden away.

I of course don't know how low level into the programming of XBMC one would have to go to add on yet another menu option of Exercise to have all the separate functions like TV shows and Movies do. I remember back on the XBOX that it used to be just videos, then a few skins came out that start using TV shows and Movies. I can't remember though if it was a XBMC thing or a skin thing.

Sadly if this really can't be done, then I'm kinda wasting my time anyways. I know it's rather selfish, but scrolling through all the watched movies or episodes can take quite a while. On the flip side, if I have to keep 'unwatching' exercise rips after my wife has used one, that would drive me mad too. It would be simpler just to load the dvd rip she wants through the file manager for her. Which is what I've been doing for a few months anyways.

[Mudislander]

I tried asking the question once about what difference the path or node number or folder/filter makes but no one came back with an answer, just out of interest does changing your path to movies make a difference to what shows

Re the "Hide Watched" they're still Movies even if they're showing under different nodes therefore it's universal, you can check by going into the different section genre,years etc.

It may be worthwhile to experiment by using the Video(Folder) option in the add menu choices as those don't have to be in the library

[Mudislander]

On thinking about your problem, you have a node for your wife & her excercise videos, what about your own node for unwatched movies ? You could always keep the title node unedited as a submenu to get access to all movies or not even have it on the menu.

[Spaceman2004]

Sadly that still makes everything very murky. I need to able to have a new whole menu section, that can have it's own controls over watched and unwatched. Plus I'd like the DVD cases. I'd tried the video( folder) thing in the first place, but sadly it looks ugly. A DVD cover in a square box.

I understand what you say about things being universal. But as I say, years ago, Videos split into TV and Movies. I guess I'm going to have to hunt down how that happened.

It's going to be a while before I can put some effort into this again.

Thank you again for your help though!