I'd like to know if anyone has used XBMC at a party where ad-hoc users can put 1+ music numbers in the queue and optionally skip music numbers.
I have tried working a bit with XBMC but I completely failed creating a playlist I think. I had to right-click to get a context menu (had to google for that) and use the "Add to queue" option, but sometimes that option wasn't available. Even when I added music to the queue, the queue was never used. I have no idea where the music ended up. XBMC kept playing from the folder where I started the first number.
Is there a "party" addon for XBMC that makes this kind of playlist possible or should I look elsewhere? The reason I started with XBMC was first that I had it installed already (never used context menu in it before) and because the music is on a DLNA server...
Right now, playlist integration or usability of XBMC seems extremely cumbersome. I had hoped for an option somewhere to make left click on a playable item to be automatically queued and possibly an easy, obvious access to see the current playlist.
If XBMC isn't suitable for this, can anyone suggest something that is (that has DLNA support). :-P
Turn partymode on (assuming you have music in the XBMC library - UPnP doesn't count here), and/or turn the default select action to QUEUE (Settings->Music).
That should at least improve things a little.
Thanks.
I didn't find party mode, although I did see it mentioned somewhere but as it shouldn't work with UPnP, it wouldn't be useful to me anyway.
I tried the Queue on selection option, but it also doesn't work with UPnP it seems. When I select a new music number, it interrupts the already playing one and starts playing the new one anyway.
Is there a reason why UPnP doesn't work properly? I figured that since XBMC could read from all these sources, the rest of XBMC would work with these sources...
party mode is fed by a smart playlist, and a smart playlist is basically a database query. so shit needs to be in our database.
UPNP is gay.. just map the share then import the contents of the share into your library, providing everything scrapes properly you should then be able to select party mode and queue tracks upon selection as mentioned above.
Ardalista Wrote:UPNP is gay.. just map the share then import the contents of the share into your library, providing everything scrapes properly you should then be able to select party mode and queue tracks upon selection as mentioned above.
Well, UPnP may be gay (I asume you mean that negatively) but using the Serviio UPnP/DLNA server, I get more than just file sharing. Serviio will attempt to find out extra information about the shared files, like involved artists, genre, title, and for video files also producers, actors, directors and so. Quite brilliant really.
I miss the good ol days of having to debug MFM HDD's etc.. Why couldn't people just learn what they were doing rather than having to have everything handed to them on a plate?
galmok Wrote:Well, UPnP may be gay (I asume you mean that negatively) but using the Serviio UPnP/DLNA server, I get more than just file sharing. Serviio will attempt to find out extra information about the shared files, like involved artists, genre, title, and for video files also producers, actors, directors and so. Quite brilliant really.
So basically, you are using XBMC with UPnP because Serviio scrapes meta data about all files on it, which is EXACTLY what XBMC does itself......... You should really look into what XBMC does before using it.
galmok Wrote:Is there a reason why UPnP doesn't work properly? I figured that since XBMC could read from all these sources, the rest of XBMC would work with these sources...
When you scrape media into the database XBMC stores info about your film/music along with the location of the media file. For example the location might be C:\Films\Whatever.mp4.
The problem is that uPnP servers generate a location (strictly a URL) on the fly every time you query them, and this URL can change every time you query the uPnP server. That means XBMC cannot store media from uPnP sources in the database. Therefore anything that relies on data from the database, like party mode, cannot work with uPnP sources.
It's cool that Serviio provides extra info about the media, but as opm881 says, XBMC does this as well. Typically you'd have the media on some shared storage like a NAS box, and you'd use XBMC to scan the media into the library. XBMC will store loads of info and artwork about every file and will display this just like Serviio.
JR
I had no idea that XBMC could do the same as Serviio in that regard. I have tried adding a local music source, but how do I gain access to Artist, Title, Genre, etc. categories? Simply adding a source is not enough as this just gives me folder access.
I have Serviio running due to my TV and Bluray player that are both DLNA enabled. Therefore I was already at home with how the structure was there and I had the same structure in XBMC. I just lacked the playlist/queue function which apparently cannot be done, at least not with XBMC.
Info: Quick reply doesn't work? Claims I have to reload page before allowing me to post yet a page reload didn't help...
scan to library. context menu, then use the music library..
galmok Wrote:I had no idea that XBMC could do the same as Serviio in that regard. I have tried adding a local music source, but how do I gain access to Artist, Title, Genre, etc. categories? Simply adding a source is not enough as this just gives me folder access.
When you're looking at the list of mp3s press the left arrow and a window will pop out from the left. Enable the library and press left again to return to the list, which should now be showing library style info.
If the library option is disabled that means you haven't scanned the mp3s to the library. Highlight the source, press C on on the context menu choose "can item to library".
Note that the scanning will use the mp3 tags, so you need to make sure these are all present and correct.
JR
Hey if you're looking for a useful way to use XBMC in a party, you could try a web interface addon, in my opinion AWX is the best one. From there, you can use whatever computer you have at your house, even a laptop, and manage the ongoing music from there. From AWX it's quite easy to manage the playlist and queue songs, and has a very user friendly interface. You can find it via the addon manager. You must use the Dharma version, otherwise the addon will not work.
Here is the addon thread.
This is what I'm gonna do when I build my HTPC (this week or the next). Hope it helps!