JRiver Media Center Owner's Thread - Page 5

There are three libraries (Audio, Video, and Images). If you want to further separate, say Video, into "sports" and "movies" you would use a Tag. Some of the Tags are built in (like Genres, Name, Date of Movie, Actor, etc.) so you can sort/list by these, or you can use a custom Tag. I think there are like 40 predetermined tags/fields you can use. I haven't done anything with tags yet. So I can't directly answer your question. Maybe post your question on the JRiver forum.

I currently just use the sort (tag) fields "Name, Genre (Action, Comedy, etc), and HD". So if I just want to watch a Blu-ray, I click the HD button at the top of the screen.

It is complicated, but I'd rather have too much to figure out, than a program that is limited in what you can do with it.

CB nailed it. I originally thought J.River to be to complicated but this player "works" with very little effort and all the extras I now see as icing on the cake!.

Although CB's entire post is basically right, unfortunately, it could be unintentionally confusing to new users.

These are actually 3 "Media Types" (not libraries). Meaning that the data (tag) in the Field called "Media Type" will show Audio, Data, Image, Playlist, TV, and Video as possible tags. All your files will fall into one of those Media Types.

A Library is actually the collection of all files, and views, and playlists, and ratings; everything. this library can be "served" to other 'clients' to use locally. it is NOT a real client/server setup, and lacks in some areas, but for most stuff, it's great. You can have several different libraries, each with a separate list of files and views and playlists and ratings and so forth, perhaps called Family, Beverly, Kids, Party, Tagging, etc.

Anyway, this might seem to be a technicality, but JRMC has SO MUCH STUFF going on that if you start using the wrong terms, it gets confusing fast

But, to further answer the original question, I have to admit I don't actually understand what you're asking here, exactly...
but I hope the following answers it anyway

If you have those folders, and tell MC to watch them (or import once), and tell it which Media Types to look for (see above) in each folder, it will populate your library with any files of those types in those locations.

if you have previously 'tagged' those files with some metadata, MC may or may not read that data. there are many ways to get it into MC without manually tagging, but let's use the folders to start. It cannot just magically know that files in the "Sports" folder are actually files where the Field called 'Genre' is "Sports", maybe its 'Series' is "Sports"; the point being *what* is Sports, what does that "tag" apply to? We'll 'fix' this below

Continuing from the recent import of these files, MC will show you the name of the actual file in the field called "Name". If that name is meaningful, great, but if you files are named Lincoln_01, Lincoln_02, etc there's not much to be gained from that. however, if that file is in tree structure \\images\ raveling\\US\\South Dakota\\Black Hills\\Mount Rushmore (or whatever it may be), you can use 'Fill Properties from filename, on any/all files, and the dialog that follows will let you tell it where to put all that folder info. For example...

Directories would be customized to read \\images\\[Genre]\\[Country]\\[State]\\[Places]\\[Description]

Filename would be customized to read [Person]_ (the 02 part adds nothing, so we can stop with the filed seperator '_')

this would then put the folder names into the corresponding fields in the tags that MC keeps for your files. This would not change any names or locations of any files. (that can be done, elsewhere though).

(also, you can use directory and filename above independently too, you don't have to use both if not meaningful)

So all of those fields would have their tags populated by the names of the folders in the tree example above. i.e. field "Places" now = "Black Hills"

MC would then automatically include that file to any smartlists or views where this matched the criteria.

for example, a view scheme showing all images where Places includes "Black Hills" would show all the files in the folder example above; after this process, but not before.

You can also use some other various tools to fill your tags automatically for you, for ripped movies, mp3s, etc. the more metadata you have, the more "stuff" you can do with the data RE sorting, viewing, etc. None of this 'scraping of metadata' is super automated, nor totally accurate yet, but it is improving all the time, and they usually listen to user feedback to guide their development.

I hope that helps answer your question

PS, I'm still learning new stuff all the time after 10 years of pretty dedicated/involved use. Other than being 'tough to get started with', it's pretty amazing.

I am pretty new to MC (started using it in July and bought it last week) and i must admit the first few hours were mostly frustration (due to the lack of a manual ) but once you get a glimpse at how it works it gets a lot easier (MC is for multimedia playback for Lightroom is for photo editing ...).

I really hope that at some point MC will be able to do some auto tagging at import (setting media sub-type using filepath and using the rules that can be created with "fill property from filename") and complete that with scrapping so that manual tagging is not required.

Thanks for the clarification Justin. I'm going to read and reread your post until I understand it. It may take all afternoon. You gotta love the power of this program.
Maybe JRiver should give away the software for free then charge $75 for the manual. He'd probably make more money that way

Can you explain how the "scraping" works with JRiver. When you add a movie, where does the meta-data come from? How do you set this up?

I currently use the MyMovies software to collect and organize my movie data and it adds it to the folder with the movie rip. JRiver uses that data just fine - but for everyone else, how is it done?

Also MYMovies has a nice meta-data selection/interface. It would be great if JRiver could do something similar. Here's a snap shot of MyMovies. I think it is easier for new users to get up and running with a selection box like this:

hehe, sorry, i didn't mean for it to be a complicated explanation; but it is a powerful software. RE: charging for the manual - great idea actually

As far as scraping the metadata, I think there may be some plug-ins that do more or better than the built-in system they use.

Currently, they allow you to select a file, r-click, then "Lookup movie info from wikipedia..." It will search wiki for the exact name you have on the file.

So, if the name field is "Planet Earth", it will search wiki for that and will display the results, with the 'best match' showing first. It will show a description and cover art, but would import all the info it has, like actors, gross sales, director, etc, all filling the proper fields in MC for you.

however, if you name you files like I do, "Planet Earth" is actually the series name and "Deep Ocean" is the 'name' of the file. In this case, it still finds the planet earth data, but not always in these kinds of situations.

this is why i said it wasn't "super automated, nor totally accurate yet, but it is improving all the time".

Like I said, I think plug-ins can do more, but I haven't messed with that yet, since I'm just tagging my videos as I rip/record them, so this method is okay for me for now.

Matt just announced this in response about an api key for themoviedb...


I assume this will make the above somewhat better; or more inclusive maybe.

Anyway, if you have more questions, fire away

Added to yesterday's Beta build... metadata look-up from TMDB - so much better than Wiki!

fitbrit,

Thanks for starting the thread over at jriver's support forum. I saw your post and I added to the thread. The responsiveness from the administrator has been excellent. I know you're tracking the thread over there but I thought I'd point it out to others in here to see for themselves.

http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=65822.0

Yeah, Matt is the lead developer there, and when he decides something needs to get done, it usually happens fast. Trick is getting him to decide *your* cool idea is also *his* cool idea i.e. he benefits from it too

fitbrit did all the leg work.

I added some detail when Matt asked for it (re: subtitle shifting).

While jriver is working out their own scraping, I have found the following worked very quickly for me.

1. Download and install MyMovies Collection management for free here: http://www.mymovies.dk/download.aspx

2. Import movie folders into MyMovies for the program to build your collection.
This was free and will store metadata and cover images in your movie folders

3. Back In J. River
Select all of your "Movies" and right click>Cover Art>Quick Find In File / Cover Art Directory.

This will use all the cover art that was tagged by My Movies

As I mentioned earlier, I use MyMovies too. If you have this program it makes getting the movie info/ meta-data into JRiver very easy. I just rip a movie to a folder with same name as movie, then MyMovies downlaods all the meta-data and cover art and stores it in the same folder with the movie. I have JRiver set to monitor these folders. When I add a movie, JRiver pulls the data automatically. I don't even do the step 3 you listed. All the coverart imports into JRiver along with the movie data. There is a setting in JRiver (under File Location>Cover Art) to tell it the cover art is in the "same folder" as the video/movie.

Don't mention it, and thanks for posting the thread at Interact here. The rate at which J. River improves and adds tot he software is probably my favourite thing about it. Add to that the helpful nature of the other users.
I hope we see some great subtitle features for you next week.

Nice work helping out over here, Justin! I must say that configuring views is something I'm still a newb at.

With no intention to bad-mouth, this MC is really for a science student seeking to have fun on a rainy Sunday afternoon...

Feel free to call me dumb or whatever... while setup in terms of running the installer and setting up folders to watch...etc etc... is a no brainer, customization is far from simple.

The JRMC did find my media collection okay, but everything was so completely mixed up I just didn't know where to start looking...

Cover art and movie backdrop images which are kept in the same folder as the movie were all mixed up with family photos... wonderful...

I have all media stored on NAS with four drives and structured as follows:
\\\\NAS_C_share\\movies\\Blu-ray
\\\\NAS_C_share\\movies\\MKV
\\\\NAS_C_share\\movies\\DVD
\\\\NAS_C_share\\photos\\year\\month
\\\\NAS_C_share\\audio\\artist
This structure is replicated across the four drives in the NAS...

For example, my Alice in wonderland BR ISO is in the folder \\\\NAS_D_share\\movies\\Blu-ray\\Alice in Wonderland.
This folder contains the iso file and all movie metadata, etc...etc...
Just like most others using media browser or mymovies do.

In theater mode all movies showed on a flat page, which I think is not too bad as the program still needs to be told what to do, but that is where the challenge begins...
In my opinion, there has to be a much simpler way of telling the program that I want three folders named Blu-Ray, MKV and DVD to show up under movies and I want you to fetch and place metadata accordingly...

What do I do to let the JRMC know that ISO files containing 3D movies should be opened in TMT5?

Movie art should in no way be considered as photos and mixed up with content under photo directories...

As far as movie playback is concerned, the MC actually did download LAV, LAVCUVID and madVR and set the filters up automatically, which is quite awesome, but with some drawback...
HD audio did not bitstream while playing MKV, and when I went into the direct show filters menu by right clicking on the movie while it is playing, I saw that LAV audio was there and showed as automatically configured and greyed out. Meaning I couldn't access the filter to see what was automatically configured...

Can I install an older version of madVR without having the JRMC update it automatically?
My TV is calibrated on madVR version .61 with 3DLUT working fine and producing a very excellent image quality, JRMC downloads the current version of madVR which doesn't accept my 3DLUT files and then uses the option to not calibrate the TV, giving an inferior image quality to what I am used to seeing already...

For live TV, the JRMC detected my DVS-S2 card and the DVBlogic virtual tuners in my HTPC. I thought for a moment and tried to see if DVBlogic tuners will work like it does in windows media center but ended up with a crashed system and had to use the task manager to end the application.

All in all, the concept is great and the product is really fantastic, but an advanced novice user like I consider myself to be should have more than just the basics going after four hours of searching / reading...

There should be a consolidated manual like Assassin's (hats up) somewhere which people can follow to have their installations up and running with minimum hassles... even if it has to be a paid one...

Conclusion: It is going to be quite a challenge to give up the ease of use of Windows media center + media browser for JRMC, unless something is done to make JRMC a lot more "novice user" friendly than it currently is...
I will retreat into lurking mode until things appear to be simpler...

You could clear your library (File/Library) and set up auto import options (Tools). Edit each folder you add to specify the filetypes you want.

MC won't search network drives by default.


The filters you install are separate from what MC uses. You can install and use whatever you want with other programs. It won't affect MC's filters.

With no intention to bad-mouth you, it really seems that you've installed a brand new piece of software without even looking at the options section to do even the most rudimentary setup. I'm all for making the software more receptive to those who think the computer should read their minds, because it seems like 80% of those minds are alike anyway. However, you have to put in SOME effort before criticising.

Bitstreaming can be set up with a single click, but why should the program assume that's what you want from the start? It's in Options>Video>Bitstreaming

Your media is arranged by file location, but MC allows you to do it that way and a lot more. The problem is the mind-reading thing again. I agree there should be something more commonly used as a default, but once you put the effort in, you have ultimate flexibility. You have to tell it to show your media by file location, since it makes no assumptions.

As for a specific version of madvr, yes you can do that; choose RO HQ + additional. Under renderer, choose MadVR. The MadVR that appears there is the version registered by you on your system, not the one MC installs.

[EDIT]: If the original message sounded terse, it was merely 'cos it was posted from an iPhone, with an attention-demanding toddler nearby too!

One of the strengths of JRMC is the ability to customize to fit YOUR needs. This flexibility comes at the price of complexity. This is one area that the official 'interact' forum is your best resource. Lots of people on there who have already 'figured it out' who will point you in the right direction or just flat out spell it out for you. It looks 'far from simple' at first, but once you spend some time with it it is pretty easy.


If you had read through this post, you would have realized that JRMC's default views are all TAG based, not folder based. JRMC makes no assumptions about what your images are, it just knows they are images and treats them all the same until you tell it to do otherwise. If you don't feel like tagging (and the built in tools make tagging very easy), you can always build custom views based on folders and paths.

The only way to make JRMC 'simpler' is to just use it for a while. There is a lot in there to learn and like most powerful tools can't be digested in one sitting.

With all due respect... thank you!
I'll stick to my other mind reading programs...
Thanks.

Like I alluded to, MC would gain more acceptance if it were more like those programs to start with, rather than a complete blank slate. People coming from other mind-reading (mind-bending?) software expect a certain default view; MC assumes that new readers expect no assumptions.
At the end of the day, what's important is that we enjoy our HTPCs ... So I hope you do that with whatever you choose.

Got a question about some weird playback issues I am having on J. River on my HTPC.

I have J. River installed on my main power rig and the library points to a couple of different areas for music only. I have the J. River Media Server running 24/7 on my main rig.

I installed J. River on my HTPC and point it to the media library on my main rig. Everything works great, but I run into a snag often times when the client tries to play m4a files. The weird thing is that when I open J. River on my main rig and try to play the same m4a files everything works perfectly. I have installed quicktime and tried to make J. River use the quicktime engine on the HTPC client machine, but there are still times when it will not play some of the m4a files. The client handles FLAC, mp3 and most of the m4a files just fine.

Anyone got any ideas on what might be going on?

My 4-yr. old son who uses my HTPC happened to create over 2,000 playlists! Is there a way I could batch delete them? I'm running MC14.

Does MC16 give you the ability to remove menu items within theater view yet? That would eliminate problems like mine.

The latest builds of MC16 will play m4a natively without using QT. MC16.0.149 is available here: http://www.jriver.com/download.html

Make sure you have the same build on both sides.

Yes. You can customize Theater View in MC16. But you may be able to restore a backup. MC makes them automatically. File/Library/Restore.

Could these problem m4a files be ones you purchased through the iTunes store? If so, make sure your both your PCs are "authorised" by the store.

Nope. They are 24-96 m4a files that I ripped from a CD. Foobar handles the files just fine without any issues whatsoever. When I try to play them on J. River I am only hearing static now.

I have tried using Direct Sound, ASIO and WASAPI all with the same result. I am in the process of demoing J. River, but if it continues to act like this I will not be purchasing it.

EDIT: yes, it is the most up to date version also. I have m4a playback set to automatic.

Have you tried MC's DSP options? You can change the output therre.

Alright, a few noob questions wrt JRMC. Would appreciate any help:

1) What if all of my media files are hosted on a mac on my LAN (actually, they're all on a SansDigital 8-bay eSATA tower and an Antec enclosure). They're being shared on a MacBookPro via SMB using Snow Leopard. I have no problems for MediaBrowser/ XBMC. Can JRMC be set up to work in this environment?

2) If I have used media center master to rename and add metadata to each individual file folder, can the cover art, backgrounds, and xml files (which I set up to be compatible w/ XBMC/ Boxee) be easily imported into JRMC? Or would I need to manually edit/ add metadata for every single one of the 1500 movies and 70 complete TV series in my library? So I guess the real question is, is all the metadata scraping and folder/file renaming from media center master completely worthless when it comes to JRMC?

3) Are there any particular difficulties wrt lossless/ proprietary Blu-ray/HDDVD audio formats? For example, for my HDDVD's, I've had to convert my hi-res audio soundtracks to LPCM, whereas my BR archives are all in TrueHD, DTS-MA, and a few LPCM. Will Red October always be able to choose the highest-res format and transmit it appropriately? As of now, I use MPC-H w/ LAV audio, MadVR, reclock, and ffdshow, and I've found a way to play pretty much everything as I wish. Does Red October do all this tweaking automatically?

4) Beyond the customizability wrt subcategorizing and audiophile-level tweaks, what is the advantage of using JRMC? For example, on my Windows HTPC, I'm using WMC w/ a Ceton tuner, Media Browser w/ MPC-HC set up as above (no LAV Cuvid b/c I'm using an AMD 6970). What would JRMC do for me outside the improved music file integration (and I don't mean to minimize this, as I largely have to use foobar at this point for my music files)?

5) I know it has been stated that, like XBMC, RO will not f$%^ w/ my many weeks and months in-the-making filters and other components. So you're saying that, if I give it a trial and then uninstall it a week later, my tenuously wonderful MB/MPC-HC setup will be completely unchanged after it's uninstalled?


I ask these questions as one who's considering jumping in the deep end. I've used XBMC, WMC w/ shark's codecs or LAV, Boxee, MB w/ and w/o MPC-HC, and I use Plex on all my macs. I'll admit it -- Plex has made me incredibly spoiled. And my Windows HTPC experiment has generally alternated between ecstasy and mind-numbing frustration.

Again, thanks in advance. Just wanted to make sure I wouldn't be investing my time needlessly.

I'll try to answer.

1. Yes. If Windows can see the files, MC will be able to.

2. At this time, no XML data from other programs will be read. If the files and directories have been used to organize, you can use MC's Library Tools to fill the database from the filenames. There is some discussion on this here:
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=65731.0

MC can also read xml file from mymovies.

3. Blu-ray will play. Red October does the tweaking for you.

4. MC is the best audio player available. It can organize images and other files. It has a very powerful database. It's quick to find what you want using a search.

5. If you uninstall, your other programs will be unaffected. Red October uses its own filters and keeps them separate from the filters you install.

Jim the link above seems broken.

I have a few questions:

So, I'm using MediaBrowser now, but really want to try MC. Currently my .mkv's are set to play in external player (MPC-HC + ffdshow + madVR). My BD rips are set to use TMT5. This all works great - but with MC's RO player - I want to give it a go.

1) Will RO have issues with my currently installed filters? I would like to do a comparison of each and not uninstall what is working for me now.
2) Will MC read the MyMovies.xml that is created using meta ver 2.16?
3) I have a 'Trailers' folder inside each Video folder that has the theater .mov trailer - can MC make use of these?
4) Does MC have a way to use my ImagesByName directories that included pictures for Actors, great looking MediaInfo icons? See this post

I, like many, would really like jump at using MC for Video + Audio. But, also like many, I have spent years collecting and configuring MediaBrowser to work well. With the addition of a superior Audio and Video player (the clear winner here - thank you!) I just can't see a clear path on how to move - but really want to.

Thanks