Documentaries (How to?)
#1
Question 
Evening All,

I've been reading the previous threads about how to create a playlist (smart) for documentries but i'm having no luck at getting it working at all.

I'm running Eden.

I've done as a few threads say and create a smart playlist which points to a file location d:\data\documentries

But then the playlist just shows blank.

Type of playlist i've tried movies and episodes and tv shows and still nothing.

Is there a simple way to just have XBMC list all files in this directory so I can just play the ones I want?

I've checked theTVDB and half the documentaries are not listed on there which I'm guessing is the problem.

If anyone could help it would be appreciated as this is driving me mad.
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#2
humm.. navigation-ally mad, I've seen that somewhere before

Smart playlists work when your documentaries are already scanned into your library. You can laboriously create .nfo for each of your documentaires. Use a skin that will point directly at a folder/file (lTransparency!) outside of the library from a home page submenu, Use filemode (most common) or move on to frodo which has tags and custom video nodes http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Custom_Video_Nodes or best of all research the documentary, and add the show to TVdb so we call all have a description and gfx to the future.

I'm driven too Smile
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#3
Yeah I'm starting to think the only way to do this is via NFO files :'(
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#4
I use two playlist for documentaries, one for full length movies and one for tv. For tv I filter on the genre where it contains "documentary". For the movies I keep them on a drive by themselves so I filter on the path.

It's also easy to set entry point on the home screen menu for both with Aeon-Nox. I configure two of the custom label for each one of the playlist. The only problem that I have is that the default label font is a bit too big and documentary autoscroll. I just rename them Docs and TV-Docs for the time being until I have time to tweak it.

I also use a simple Nfo editor that I made to create a basic information file and copy a poster and backdrop. I'm working on a tv-series Nfo patch for it.
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#5
Can't get anything to work.

If I create NFO files like the below:

<tvshow>
<title>BBC.Egypt.1of6.Search.for.Tutankhamun</title>
<set>BBC Egypt</set>
<year>2008</year>
<tagline>BBC.Egypt.1of6.Search.for.Tutankhamun</tagline>
<genre>documentary</genre>
<plot> Egypt </plot>
</tvshow>

doesn't find it in the smart playlist. even if the smart play list is searching for genre and also location of only docus.

If I try setting the "documentarys" file list as a favorite, adding a new button on the home screen and assigning the documentarys favorite to that button it just shows blank doesn't actually show the file list.

I find it hard to believe it can be this hard to add in TV shows.

custom movies I've found seem to be OK. But I've never been able to get doc's working.
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#6
It's actually laughable that It's quicker for me to copy the files on to my ipad, then use airplay to play the videos on XBMC.

I under stand these documentaries are say 1998/1999

but I never thought it would be this difficult to simply add a new list called documentries and point it at the folder d:\documentrys
The only succesful NFO which works is if I rename it to movie.

But this then chucks it in with my other movies which I don't want.

and I really don't want to have to create a separate play list called movies which then excludes documentaries.

I'm about to give up and just realise that XBMC doesn't do simple things like play custom files, unless anyone else has some pointers.
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#7
(2013-01-04, 05:24)xbmc_user_uk Wrote: Can't get anything to work.

If I create NFO files like the below:

<tvshow>
<title>BBC.Egypt.1of6.Search.for.Tutankhamun</title>
<set>BBC Egypt</set>
<year>2008</year>
<tagline>BBC.Egypt.1of6.Search.for.Tutankhamun</tagline>
<genre>documentary</genre>
<plot> Egypt </plot>
</tvshow>

doesn't find it in the smart playlist. even if the smart play list is searching for genre and also location of only docus.

If I try setting the "documentarys" file list as a favorite, adding a new button on the home screen and assigning the documentarys favorite to that button it just shows blank doesn't actually show the file list.

I find it hard to believe it can be this hard to add in TV shows.

custom movies I've found seem to be OK. But I've never been able to get doc's working.

Like I said it works for me.
But I don't think your Nfo is right. You should read up on the wiki about what format it should be.
There is a Nfo for the TV series and one for the episodes.

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#8
Im having the exact same problem. except I have 3 docos in my folder but they have the genre tag set to documentarys and our in my movies folder not my documentarys folder.
Running Krypton beta3 on ATV4 networked to Win7 PC using SMB shares.
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