[st graveyard]

Hello all,

I've been using XBMC now for 2 months so I don't consider myself a complete NOOB, although this might sound like a NOOB question. But I can't seem to find any info, so please bear with me ;-)

For the picture section and home vid section (home vids is video section without library mode on - file manager view) I was wondering if it is possible to customize this a bit in XBMC.

For example, I have created a link at the home screen called 'Home Videos' which contains all my private home videos. I have a directory structure on my HD like this :

2008
2009
2010
2011

So the year of the videos. In each year I have a folder with a short description of the event that was filmed.
Now since you can not use library mode for personal videos, I use the file manager mode. Problem is, this looks all so dull compared to the movies, albums and tv series section.

I was now wondering if it is in someway possible to add personal thumbnails to the folder icons in your home vid section? I know the actual video files contain a picture of the video, that is nice, but the folders don't.

I've been trying to use the library mode on my homevids, trying to add my own thumb to them, but I get all the info of a certain movie added to my homevid, so that is no solution. (if I use for example lib mode from movies section)

The same with the picture section, although this is somewhat better, as the folders are displayed with 4 tiny foto's of the pictures it contains.

Also, it would be great to be able to add some descriptions to the folders or files, just like in the movie or album section.

Anybody out there who stumbled on the same "problem" and has a solution to this? Or a work around perhaps? Maybe a plugin that I don't know of?

Thanks for your time,
Maarten

[JDizzy]

I believe you can use Library mode if you don't mind having your family videos mixed in with your other movies. Although creating custom filtered lists (smart-lists) and custom buttons you might be able to keep them separated.

Think about using something like Ember Media Manager (or another program) to create your own moviename.nfo file. Add a screen capture for thumbnail (folder.jpg) and another screen capture for background (fanart.jpg).

In the .nfo file you could add the year, description and use a unique Genre like 'FamilyVideo' or something... that way you could use the Genre filter and pull-up only your Family Videos.

You might open an existing .nfo file for another movie with notepad++ and look at the structure of the file and various information there. You could edit it leaving blank what fields you don't need, rename, and save it to your Family video. (each movie in its own folder)

A bit of work, but almost anything is possible using the available tools.

[fional]

I believe you can use Library mode if you don't mind having your family videos mixed in with your other movies. Although creating custom filtered lists (smart-lists) and custom buttons you might be able to keep them separated.

Think about using something like Ember Media Manager (or another program) to create your own moviename.nfo file. Add a screen capture for thumbnail (folder.jpg) and another screen capture for background (fanart.jpg).

In the .nfo file you could add the year, description and use a unique Genre like 'FamilyVideo' or something... that way you could use the Genre filter and pull-up only your Family Videos.

You might open an existing .nfo file for another movie with notepad++ and look at the structure of the file and various information there. You could edit it leaving blank what fields you don't need, rename, and save it to your Family video. (each movie in its own folder)

A bit of work, but almost anything is possible using the available tools.

Great idea Also, using the set manager within Ember may be useful too.

For example, I just had my 23rd birthday and there are loads of small video clips. Rather than having each one be an entry and rather than me having to go and combine them all (can't be bothered right now) - Ember could make it a set. Going to actually play around with this once I get my other 'issues' sorted

[st graveyard]

Thanks for the answers both of you. Seems I will have to learn more the inner workings of XBMC. Too bad there is no easy standard solution.
To start off, where exactly are the NFO files stored?

What exactly is Ember? Fional, I see your are also using AEON NOX, me 2, so we can help eachother out perhaps when we have a good solution.

[fional]

Thanks for the answers both of you. Seems I will have to learn more the inner workings of XBMC. Too bad there is no easy standard solution.
To start off, where exactly are the NFO files stored?

What exactly is Ember? Fional, I see your are also using AEON NOX, me 2, so we can help eachother out perhaps when we have a good solution.

Information on Ember can be found here:
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=90682

It's basically a stand-alone tool that you can use to create the .nfo files.

The .nfo files are stored with the film.

What you can do is something like this:
X:\Home Movies\2000\birthday.avi
X:\Home Movies\2001\holiday.mkv

etc

Add X:\Home Movies\ to Ember's location under the "Movies" tab.
Then in Ember, go to the settings option and add a custom genre "home movies"


Then basically right click on the movie and edit the info accordingly. You can put a description in there, etc. You can also tick the custom genre home movies.

THEN, what I would do, is I'd create sets. You can do that, maybe based on year or event, or all the home movies completely. IT's up to you. Then I'd add those specific films to the home movies set, so that way your movies tab doesn't get so cluttered. Ember has a, in my opinion, nice set manager.

One thing with Ember, when using it with your regular films, I found it's better to scrape a few at a time, rather than the whole set. For me, that improved stability and better results.

Good luck!

[st graveyard]

Thanks for the info. I will play a little with this. I'll keep you all posted.