Movie TV Shows Database

[JohnnyJazz]

As explained before I've a computer connected to my TV. On this computer there is a rather large collection of movies, TV shows and pictures. I'm looking for a software with a nice, user friendly interface if possible, to organize everything. A while ago I found something that looks like what I need, I thought I bookmarked the site but can't find it anymore.

Does anyone has suggestion about a software that can match our needs ?

[SoiBiker]

http://xbmc.org/

[JohnnyJazz]

http://xbmc.org/

Thanks.

[thaimite]

http://xbmc.org/

No need to look any further XBMC is free and does all you could want and much more.

Downside is there is a bit of a learning curve and it is worth spending the time to ensure your movies TV-series etc are correctly named so that it can download all the information, but you will be very happy with the end result.

many skins to choose from too if you do not like the default presentation

[JohnnyJazz]

http://xbmc.org/

No need to look any further XBMC is free and does all you could want and much more.

Downside is there is a bit of a learning curve and it is worth spending the time to ensure your movies TV-series etc are correctly named so that it can download all the information, but you will be very happy with the end result.

many skins to choose from too if you do not like the default presentation

I already downloaded the software and start playing with it, it seems exactly what I need. You say it can download all the information, does it mean it can be linked to IMDB ? How to do it ?

[thaimite]

http://xbmc.org/

No need to look any further XBMC is free and does all you could want and much more.

Downside is there is a bit of a learning curve and it is worth spending the time to ensure your movies TV-series etc are correctly named so that it can download all the information, but you will be very happy with the end result.

many skins to choose from too if you do not like the default presentation

I already downloaded the software and start playing with it, it seems exactly what I need. You say it can download all the information, does it mean it can be linked to IMDB ? How to do it ?

Yes you can set up the scraper to get information from IMDB and / or various other sources if you have foreign movies. It will also obtain all the information about TV series and episode details from thetvdb.com

The key to success is the correct naming and layout of your files see (http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Naming_video_files/TV_shows)

For a basic setup I prefer to have a folder called Movies and inside that, a folder for each named as per the IMDB title for the movie (The year is important in ensuring the correct version is found)

For TV shows I have a folder called TV_Series and inside I have one folder for each TV show I keep and then I like sub folders for each season but this is not required.

If you need more information let me know and I will try to help later but am busy at the moment on other things

Good luck

You should be using the latest version 3.1 (Gotham)

[JohnnyJazz]

^ That's the version I've downloaded.

Thanks for your help, it's more clear now. That's the organization I've on my hard disk, it should be ok. Thanks again.

[thaimite]

OK.good luck

My.only complaint with XBMC I'd sometimes you know there is a menu option.you need to change but cannot find it.

It I'd not helped by different Skins using a different menu irganisation

sent from my Internet aware non fruity mobile device

[Chicog]

Plex Media Server is another good free alternative.

[utr]

Does this program work with multiple hard drives?

if you have a separate hard drive for movies and for tv series, and also more than one hard drive for movies?

thanks

[thaimite]

Does this program work with multiple hard drives? if you have a separate hard drive for movies and for tv series, and also more than one hard drive for movies? thanks

YES

I have a 2TGB NAS that sotres my movies, a 1TB drive that stores my TV shows and another 1TB drive that stores documentaries.

By default Documentaries are treated as TV series and thus are mixed together but by the use of special play lists I now have a custom top level menus for each. You can also create your won subcatagories such as Children Shows, Thai moves and even porn although I am sure none of you guys have any of that.

I would recommend that if you have a large collection once you have everything scanned in and it is the way you like it you export the data to the individual movie folders thus if you need to rescan for any reason the program does not need to do a fresh look-up on the Internet and probably make the same mistakes as it did first time

It will also work with you music and music video collection.

If you have an Android or that other fruity phone / tab there is the ability to stream your files to your device by means of an app that can also act as a remote control.

The app I use for streaming is not free but also not expensive.

Edit

Multiple drives for movies are not a problem but if using USB drives some care is needed when scanning as if the drive is not connected it will take a long time trying to find the missing movies, and if doing a clean operation it will delete them from the database. Clean is not a standard operation and you will be warned beofre doing it.

Edited June 12, 2014 by thaimite

[thaimite]

Plex Media Server is another good free alternative.

Yes Plex is another good choice. I found this comparison on the net

Both XBMC and Plex offer great unique features and similar ones, which should come as no surprise if you know the history of these two home theater PC (HTPC) platforms. XBMC is open-source software, and Plex is mostly-open source software based on XBMC (though its mobile apps are closed). Although Plex didn't differentiate itself much in the beginning, it has grown into a feature-rich, powerful, and still easy-to-use platform that most anyone could set up with ease. XBMC, on the other hand, tends to trade ease of use for a high amount of customization. To sum up the main difference, Plex is easy but limited and XBMC is hard but almost infinitely customizable.

source of the quote is here

Edited June 12, 2014 by thaimite

[Chicog]

Plex Media Server is another good free alternative.

Yes Plex is another good choice. I found this comparison on the net

Both XBMC and Plex offer great unique features and similar ones, which should come as no surprise if you know the history of these two home theater PC (HTPC) platforms. XBMC is open-source software, and Plex is mostly-open source software based on XBMC (though its mobile apps are closed). Although Plex didn't differentiate itself much in the beginning, it has grown into a feature-rich, powerful, and still easy-to-use platform that most anyone could set up with ease. XBMC, on the other hand, tends to trade ease of use for a high amount of customization. To sum up the main difference, Plex is easy but limited and XBMC is hard but almost infinitely customizable.

source of the quote is here

I've got both, I think that's fair comment.

[JohnnyJazz]

I have a 2TGB NAS that sotres my movies, a 1TB drive that stores my TV shows and another 1TB drive that stores documentaries.

By default Documentaries are treated as TV series and thus are mixed together but by the use of special play lists I now have a custom top level menus for each. You can also create your won subcatagories such as Children Shows, Thai moves and even porn although I am sure none of you guys have any of that.

I would recommend that if you have a large collection once you have everything scanned in and it is the way you like it you export the data to the individual movie folders thus if you need to rescan for any reason the program does not need to do a fresh look-up on the Internet and probably make the same mistakes as it did first time

It will also work with you music and music video collection.

If you have an Android or that other fruity phone / tab there is the ability to stream your files to your device by means of an app that can also act as a remote control.

The app I use for streaming is not free but also not expensive.

Edit

Multiple drives for movies are not a problem but if using USB drives some care is needed when scanning as if the drive is not connected it will take a long time trying to find the missing movies, and if doing a clean operation it will delete them from the database. Clean is not a standard operation and you will be warned beofre doing it.

I guess you have a computer dedicated to your TV. Do you mind sharing with us the configuration of this computer, especially your choice of processor, graphic card, RAM size ... ?

[thaimite]

I have a 2TGB NAS that sotres my movies, a 1TB drive that stores my TV shows and another 1TB drive that stores documentaries.

By default Documentaries are treated as TV series and thus are mixed together but by the use of special play lists I now have a custom top level menus for each. You can also create your won subcatagories such as Children Shows, Thai moves and even porn although I am sure none of you guys have any of that.

I would recommend that if you have a large collection once you have everything scanned in and it is the way you like it you export the data to the individual movie folders thus if you need to rescan for any reason the program does not need to do a fresh look-up on the Internet and probably make the same mistakes as it did first time

It will also work with you music and music video collection.

If you have an Android or that other fruity phone / tab there is the ability to stream your files to your device by means of an app that can also act as a remote control.

The app I use for streaming is not free but also not expensive.

Edit

Multiple drives for movies are not a problem but if using USB drives some care is needed when scanning as if the drive is not connected it will take a long time trying to find the missing movies, and if doing a clean operation it will delete them from the database. Clean is not a standard operation and you will be warned beofre doing it.

I guess you have a computer dedicated to your TV. Do you mind sharing with us the configuration of this computer, especially your choice of processor, graphic card, RAM size ... ?

Im happy to share but I do not have a PC dedicated to my TV. I have a decent monitor and sound system on my PC in my office and also stream movies to my Galaxy tab. My wife tends to hog the TV with her Thai soaps. so I just pick up my tab, put on my headphones and go in to my own world. My main entertainment is documentaries which she would never watch nor understand. My main priority is to be able to stream my entertainment to wherever I am in my house / garden so I can sit outside with a cool beer and watch listen to my favourite show

For the record I run Ubuntu 14.04 on a core I7 Asrock Z77 motherboard with 16Gb RAM. My PC has 6 hard disk 4 of which which are backed up using snapraid with a 5th parity disk. The last disk is an 128GB SSD which I boot in to.

My standalone NAS has 4 of 750GB disks in a standard RAID 5 array. It is an old Buffalo terrastation and although it is reliable I would not be recommending it for various reasons.

If you have multiple hard disks which contain data that does not change frequently such as media files Snapraid is ideal as it gives RAID 5 protection for only 1 extra disk and is free software for Linux, Windows and that other fruity thing.

I just update the parity disk on a daily or weekly basis and it only takes a few minutes. Snapraid unlike a normal raid does not require you to format your disk or change the data on them in any way.

Last week one of my 1TB drives failed and I was able to plug in a replacement drive and rebuild the data in about 4 hours.

If I do want to watch movies on the TV with the family I have a popcorn hour which is mapped to my server. It has its own GUI. It also contains Thai movies so the family can watch without my server being turned on. I have a policy that every DVD brought in to the house is backed up on my server before it s played. After 10 years of shouting my family have still not realised that CDs and DVDs are NOT indestructible

[JohnnyJazz]

Quote

To sum up the main difference, Plex is easy but limited and XBMC is hard but almost infinitely customizable.

I installed both yesterday. I don't find XMBC that hard to get running so I think I'll stick with it.

Does XMBC also works with Thai TV series ? It sounds like a stupid question but I was so impress by the way I just give it the path to where I store my files and then it managed everything by itself. I just want to add a few Thai movies and tv series to show my thai friends who are also interested by this project. Does it exist a scraper and a site like IMDB for Thai movies and tv series ?

[IMHO]

Another option is the XIOS Android box, which runs a variant of XBMC they call Tofu: http://global.pivosgroup.com/

The old version box that's currently available is here: http://global.pivosgroup.com/a-home-for-xios-ds/

Edited June 13, 2014 by IMHO

[sammycic]

XBMC Media Center Third Party Addon Pack 13.0 MultiOS

Google this might have what you want.

[mikebell]

Suppose I download some movies but have forgotten the titles, is there a way to search for all videos files so I can put them in a folder?

[Sayonarax]

http://xbmc.org/

No need to look any further XBMC is free and does all you could want and much more.

Downside is there is a bit of a learning curve and it is worth spending the time to ensure your movies TV-series etc are correctly named so that it can download all the information, but you will be very happy with the end result.

many skins to choose from too if you do not like the default presentation

I already downloaded the software and start playing with it, it seems exactly what I need. You say it can download all the information, does it mean it can be linked to IMDB ? How to do it ?

You need to make sure your files are formatted correctly (eg Seinfeld - S06E11 - The Switch)

[gusG]

Thanks guys, I'm also interested in this.

[Sayonarax]

Suppose I download some movies but have forgotten the titles, is there a way to search for all videos files so I can put them in a folder?

Open Explorer> Click Computer tab> Search your whole pc with *.mkv / *.Mp4 / *.avi

[Chicog]

Or here's another Open Source one I've never heard of before

http://www.team-mediaportal.com/

Oooh and some more:

http://www.askvg.com/ultimate-list-of-best-free-alternatives-to-windows-media-center/

Edited June 13, 2014 by Chicog

[mikebell]

Suppose I download some movies but have forgotten the titles, is there a way to search for all videos files so I can put them in a folder?

Open Explorer> Click Computer tab> Search your whole pc with *.mkv / *.Mp4 / *.avi

Amazing! Followed your instructions & found 3 TV series with a combined total of over 50 episodes that I'd forgotten about. Thank you so much.

[Munger]

http://xbmc.org/

Can you download movies, etc. from " XBMC", or is it only for steaming tv ?

[JSixpack]

http://xbmc.org/

No need to look any further XBMC is free and does all you could want and much more.

Downside is there is a bit of a learning curve and it is worth spending the time to ensure your movies TV-series etc are correctly named so that it can download all the information, but you will be very happy with the end result.

many skins to choose from too if you do not like the default presentation

I already downloaded the software and start playing with it, it seems exactly what I need. You say it can download all the information, does it mean it can be linked to IMDB ? How to do it ?

You need to make sure your files are formatted correctly (eg Seinfeld - S06E11 - The Switch)

Great renamer here: http://www.filebot.net/

[joncl]

For movies you may want to look at installing 'couch potato' on your computer and for TV series the 'sickbeard' replacement that runs in XBMC called TVTumbler..