Difference between "update library" and "scan for new content"

garyi Wrote:...
1. Videos needs to go, or at least be buried as 'file system' 'explorer' or what ever, it should never be needed in day to day use.
...

Videos dosen't need to go. I think we need more "types" of videos. I have several categories of videos that i don't want in a library. Mostly home videos and small clips form the internet. But I also have quite a few documentaries that are not scrapeable.
I want:
Movies (library)
Tv-shows (library)
Home videos (folder structure)
Clips (folder structure)
Documentaries (folder structure) (some may be scraped, and maybe some library mode)

These should only appear if you have something in the corresponding category.

I'm not sure if my idea is the best but i think you should be able to choose what content is in the folder (same menu as add source). And then xbmc should by default put movies and tv-shows in the library. I'm not sure where it would be good to find this menu. Probably is settings among other places a good idea.

On an other note i can completely agree with that the library is quite hard to grasp. I used xbmc for ages without using the library because i preferred the folder structure i was used to.

One possible solution would be to ask for media sources during installation. One can always add stuff later on but having some media already in the library could help dispell some confusion?

spiff Wrote:wizards are the illicit spawn of satan's grandma and not a solution to anything.

I agree, however I think a 'wizard-like' approach would help new users setup their systems. Something as simple as this:

1. User 'Adds Source'. Clicks OK.
2. Popup window asks if they would like to 'Set Content'.
3. Set Content Window appears. User sets the content, clicks OK.
3. Popup window appears, asking if they would like the newly added directory scanned into the library. (I know there is an option in the Set Content window to scan, but it is easily missed/misunderstood).

There are 3 distinct actions required to add sources into the library. I think a link between the 3 would help new users.

Jaken Wrote:I'm not sure if my idea is the best but i think you should be able to choose what content is in the folder (same menu as add source). And then xbmc should by default put movies and tv-shows in the library. I'm not sure where it would be good to find this menu. Probably is settings among other places a good idea.

If I'm understanding what you are asking, you can defintely do this already; I do this all the time. I have one network share (the source) that I setup under 'Add Source' in the Videos section. This share has many folders, including one for movies, one for TV shows, home movies, media clips, etc.

On the folders I want scanned to the library, I just bring up the context menu on that folder, set the content, and then scan them. This way only the stuff I want in the library is in the library.

Also, @garyi
I'm not an XBMC developer, but one of the reasons I've read (search the forums) for why XBMC doesn't 'cleanonupdate' automatically is that people who lost their network connections (or it didn't get DHCP or something fast enough) were losing their entire library if they had it set to scan on startup + clean. Also, once added to your library, most people don't rename or move their files around (or at least they shouldn't). For the one or two files you may have to move manually removing and re-adding them shouldn't be a problem.

robweber Wrote:If I'm understanding what you are asking, you can defintely do this already; I do this all the time. I have one network share (the source) that I setup under 'Add Source' in the Videos section. This share has many folders, including one for movies, one for TV shows, home movies, media clips, etc.

On the folders I want scanned to the library, I just bring up the context menu on that folder, set the content, and then scan them. This way only the stuff I want in the library is in the library.

Yes i know this. The idea was more like: Several types of videos, some goes to library some don't. Once added a new "category" will appear on homescreen.

What you referred to was my try to explain a menu for this. The explanation was rather unsuccessful.

Jaken Wrote:Yes i know this. The idea was more like: Several types of videos, some goes to library some don't. Once added a new "category" will appear on homescreen.

What you referred to was my try to explain a menu for this. The explanation was rather unsuccessful.

Ok, I think I have it now. Your idea is to be able to setup categories (like Home Movies, or whatever) and then be able to set the content of your directories to those categories. You can also then choose if you want that category to be scraped or not (if it contains movies or TV shows).
Then when you are in your video library on the root screen you will be able to see all of your categories and choose them without having to switch between library and video view.
Does this sound more like what you meant?

If so, it does sound like a neat idea; but if this thread is any indication of how confused people can get about the library scanning processes the addition of new categories and options might just be more confusing.

robweber Wrote:Ok, I think I have it now. Your idea is to be able to setup categories (like Home Movies, or whatever) and then be able to set the content of your directories to those categories. You can also then choose if you want that category to be scraped or not (if it contains movies or TV shows).
Then when you are in your video library on the root screen you will be able to see all of your categories and choose them without having to switch between library and video view.
Does this sound more like what you meant?

If so, it does sound like a neat idea; but if this thread is any indication of how confused people can get about the library scanning processes the addition of new categories and options might just be more confusing.

Yeah you understood my idea. But i think some important types of videos (movies and tv-shows) should be predefined to be scraped and put in library.

I also think you should have a unified menu for adding content to xbmc.

something like:

Select path:
C:\Music\Music Videos\

Select type of files:
Videofiles | Music | images

Select video type:
Movies | TV-Shows | Home videos | Music videos | Create new...

done: Now a "Music Videos" button appear either on Homescreen or in music. Since it is music videos they are scraped by default. (where to place music videos i don't know )

A problem with this approach is that we will have quite many options in home screen.

I like the create your own categories idea, but putting things on the home screen is going to be a very skin dependent thing. Just for example, in Confluence you get Movies, Files, Library, and Plugins off of the video menu. In Rapier you get Videos, and then Movies as a separate item if movies exist in the library. Then there are mods that add sub menu items to jump to specific areas as well. What shows up on the menu or sub-menu is very much up to the skinner, not the system. These are just two examples, but from looking at screen shots for other skins they will also be very different, some don't even have support for a sub-menu system (think PMIII when that was default).

That being said, I could see the different video types going into the root of the Video Library menu. so at the very root in your library you'd see something like

Movies
TV Shows
Home Movies <- add category
Video Clips <- added category
Recently Added
Playlists

From here you could mod your skin to put shortcuts into the home screen if you wanted. This would still allow you to have multiple sources, and directories being scanned into personally specified containers for the library; but still leave the skinner in control of what is on the screen.

robweber Wrote:I like the create your own categories idea, but putting things on the home screen is going to be a very skin dependent thing. Just for example, in Confluence you get Movies, Files, Library, and Plugins off of the video menu. In Rapier you get Videos, and then Movies as a separate item if movies exist in the library. Then there are mods that add sub menu items to jump to specific areas as well. What shows up on the menu or sub-menu is very much up to the skinner, not the system. These are just two examples, but from looking at screen shots for other skins they will also be very different, some don't even have support for a sub-menu system (think PMIII when that was default).

That being said, I could see the different video types going into the root of the Video Library menu. so at the very root in your library you'd see something like

Movies
TV Shows
Home Movies <- add category
Video Clips <- added category
Recently Added
Playlists

From here you could mod your skin to put shortcuts into the home screen if you wanted. This would still allow you to have multiple sources, and directories being scanned into personally specified containers for the library; but still leave the skinner in control of what is on the screen.

Sounds great.

Jaken Wrote:Sounds great.

I took some time to create a simple working concept for what was discussed here. Basically you can add a 'category' to a folder that will then display all the videos in that category within the video library. Right now it doesn't have a lot of options but it is a working prototype.

Here is a link to the thread.

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=64687