[Powerhouse]

Just an update, I tried this on an existing XBMC that was upgraded from Frodo 12, 12.1, 12.2, 12.3 and finally Gotham 13.1. I also tried this on a freshly loaded Win 8.1 system, with Gotham 13.1 installed. Neither seems to pick up the Playcount flag.

[Ned Scott]

Can you get us a debug log (wiki) of when you do a refresh?

[Powerhouse]

Another update.

Just to make sure I didn't have something screwed up, I created a new advancedsettings.xml file, as my original had a lot of extra stuff in it (turns out this is my essential settings)...

<advancedsettings>
<audio>
<streamsilence>1</streamsilence>
</audio>
<musiclibrary>
<itemseparator>; </itemseparator>
</musiclibrary>
<videolibrary>
<importwatchedstate>true</importwatchedstate>
</videolibrary>
</advancedsettings>

With this change, I was able to force update the Movie (Press 'i' on the remote, then select 'Reload', and 'No' to update from the Internet (so again it uses local NFO files), and this updated the Watched Status. Guess something was wrong with my old advancedsettings.xml file.

So now, I was reading about how to do a Reload of my whole Library (http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Upd...ing_videos), and there isn't an easy way (like Cleaning the Library or Updating the Library). I did find a very old post (http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=138709), which kinda gave me the clues to make this happen.

So for example, if you go to Movies, and Files, and Edit the Source of your Movies (right click and Edit Source). Now since you already added the Source of your Movies, just click OK, and on the Next screen, where it lists Folder Contains (it should say Movies), change this to None and click OK. This will essentially wipe out your Movies Library from XBMC. Once complete (I have over 2600 movies, and this took about 10 minutes), You need to go back into Movies, Files, Edit the Source of your Movies, and click OK, and on the Next screen, where it lists Folder Contains (and it now says None), you change it back to Movies, and click OK (this took me about 30 minutes). Now when you look at your Movies, all the ones that have NFO files with the <playcount>1</playcount> in them will be show as having been Watched.

I also did this with TV Shows, and it works the same (but takes a hellofa lot longer, as I have over 500 TV Series with like 40k episodes - think hours for this part).

So when I watch a TV Show, and it has the green checkmark as being watched in XBMC, how do I tell XBMC to save this to the NFO file for the TV Show? Will exporting my Library to separate files accomplish this? Does it work for both Movies and TV series?

[Ned Scott]

Yeah, re-exporting will update NFO files with the watched status.

[wrxtasy]

Watched status is bloody confusing for new users and even experienced ones
Not enough detail given anywhere, especially on the Wiki.

Questions:
1. If using a Kodi UPnP server, does the playcount get bumped when a Kodi UPnP client watches a movie ?
2. Does this playcount get saved on the Kodi UPnP server ?
3. If I want my shared Media metadata updated for playcount bumps, do I have to now Export video library ?
4. What is the point then of an add-on like Watchedlist ?

Thanks in advance.

[harlequin80]

I haven't read anything about mysql being a target for removal. Over recent versions the support for it has become easier to implement so they are putting more work into it.

I am currently sharing watched status across 4 xbmcbuntu front ends and 3 android devices via mysql. System is simple to setup, bullet proof and easy to back up.

[Ned Scott]

Watched status is bloody confusing for new users and even experienced ones
Not enough detail given anywhere, especially on the Wiki.

Questions:
1. If using a Kodi UPnP server, does the playcount get bumped when a Kodi UPnP client watches a movie ?
2. Does this playcount get saved on the Kodi UPnP server ?
3. If I want my shared Media metadata updated for playcount bumps, do I have to now Export video library ?
4. What is the point then of an add-on like Watchedlist ?

Thanks in advance.

Indeed. It's one of those things that I'm not even sure where to put it on the wiki, but I know it needs to be documented.

1. Yes, it should
2. Yes, as that is where the database is stored
3. Yes, you would need to re-export NFO files to update the watched/resume status and playcount
4. *shrug* Sometimes it's easier and faster to deal with that than have to deal with several NFO files for every video file. I also imagine some such add-ons makes it easier to sync watched status with other devices based on title, without having to use a service that publishes this info online.

[Ned Scott]

I haven't read anything about mysql being a target for removal. Over recent versions the support for it has become easier to implement so they are putting more work into it.

I am currently sharing watched status across 4 xbmcbuntu front ends and 3 android devices via mysql. System is simple to setup, bullet proof and easy to back up.

It will eventually be removed, but only when something is ready to replace it, which is currently being worked on.

[wrxtasy]

Questions:

3. If I want my shared Media metadata updated for playcount bumps, do I have to now Export video library ?

3. Yes, you would need to re-export NFO files to update the watched/resume status and playcount

Thanks for providing some clarity Ned.

Further question, when exporting the Video Library is all Metadata including posters, artwork etc exported or is it just the .NFO file ?
(I scrape Externally and have Video shares set to Local information only, before a XBMC Library Refresh)

It would be very handy if an Option was available to just export .NFO files. Maybe I'm missing something ?

[Ned Scott]

Kodi will ask if you want to export images when you actually go to export. (With or without the image files, Kodi always will export the URL it originally got the artwork from in the NFO file, so it's not strictly needed to export). By saying "no" on images, you will only re-export NFO files.

[harlequin80]

It will eventually be removed, but only when something is ready to replace it, which is currently being worked on.

Terrified now. I'm sure there is a reason, but I love the mysql setup and the ability for me to access it via non xbmc things is brilliant. I have maintained watch status for over half a decade now...

[Milhouse]

It would be very handy if an Option was available to just export .NFO files. Maybe I'm missing something ?

If all you want is the watched status you can back it up to a simple text file using JSON, and then restore this file using JSON, either to the same client (eg. after a new library scan) or to a different client if you are trying to keep watched statuses in sync without using a shared database.

Code:

texturecache.py watched movies backup movies.dat
texturecache.py watched movies restore movies.dat

If you've got several clients you can run the script on a central machine (scheduled to run daily or however often you require, using something like cron), and point it at different clients to backup from/restore to.

[Ned Scott]

It will eventually be removed, but only when something is ready to replace it, which is currently being worked on.

Terrified now. I'm sure there is a reason, but I love the mysql setup and the ability for me to access it via non xbmc things is brilliant. I have maintained watch status for over half a decade now...

A lot of people on Team Kodi use MySQL as well, so there's no need to fear. It will only be removed once something else is ready and stable. Even then, there will likely be a transitional period where both types of library sharing work. No one is actually in a rush to remove MySQL, per say. We just want to have a better option :)