Kodi Community Forum

I have three questions for members of this forum regarding the movie library.

I am using KODI v 19.1 on Windows 10 and using the Xconfluence skin.

The first question is about the flags for each movie title that show on the movie library page.

I have a number of movies in my collection that have the same title.  For example, I have two movies titled "Criminal".  One is made in 2016 and the other is made in 2004. Often, I am changing from a x264 version to a newer x265 version of the title.

Both movies are loaded into my library in the proper manner for KODI to find them and they play fine. Each movie is in its own folder and follows the correct naming convention for KODI eg: Movies 1\Criminal (2016) x265\Criminal (2016) x265.mkv; and
      Movies 4\Criminal (2004) x265\Criminal (2004) x265.mkv.  

The problem I am experiencing is:  when renaming the movies with the correct year and codec (x265) so I can differentiate between the two movies, it appears I am creating some condition that causes the flags on the movie page of the library screen to disappear.  And I am unable to get the flags back - ever.

I use Media Center Master to collect background, fanart, poster and folder images and to create the .nfo and .xml files that work in KODI.

If the movie name does not need to be adjusted for the correct year or codec, I simply move the files to the collection and KODI adds it to the library.  After scanning to the library is completed, the title appears in the listing and when I move the cursor to the movie title, all the flagged information appears.  Whether the title is x265 or not is irrelevant.  Kodi shows all flags.  

If the movie name needs to be adjusted for the correct year, or I am loading a x265 version, I amend the movie title in the .nfo file and the .xml file to indicate the year and codec (eg. Criminal (2016) x265 and Criminal (2004) x265).  After the title and/or codec is adjusted, I refresh the title using the information page setting and the new, adjusted title appears in the listing, but the flags disappear.

If I rescan the library, instead of refreshing the title, the flags do not reappear.  I have even deleted the files and reloaded the titles in the collection with or without the adjusted .nfo and .xml files, (no year nor codec) but after rescanning the library the flags still do not return.

Is there an additional switch that needs to be set to "force" all the flags?  Is there a memory or buffer that needs to be cleared or deleted before amending the title?  Or, is there a better method to adjust the movie title for the correct year and/or codec that allows the flags to remain?

Can anyone assist in resolving this little quandry?  


My second question is about the order KODI usts when scanning titles to the movie library.

I currently have six drives in my server.  After moving the movie files to the server, I open KODI and use KODI to scan the files and add the new movies to the library using local information.  The new files are scanned and the titles are added to the library. 

Can someone please tell me the order that KODI scans the various drives in the server?  

Is it possible to have KODI only focus on one drive when updating the library instead of scanning all six drives for new titles?


My third question is about the .nfo and .xml files that Media Center Master creates.

Do the files created by MCM take the place of the .nfo and .xml files that are created by KODI when backing up the library?  Or, do I need to take the extra step of backing up my movie library to ensure the correct title information is saved and new .nfo files are created by KODI?  I remember reading something about this topic a while ago but cannot find the information again.

Thanks to those who can assist.

C.

(2022-02-03, 00:13)nitram57 Wrote: [ -> ]Can someone please tell me the order that KODI scans the various drives in the server?  

The order the sources were first added to Kodi.

(2022-02-03, 00:13)nitram57 Wrote: [ -> ]Is it possible to have KODI only focus on one drive when updating the library instead of scanning all six drives for new titles?

Go to Video>Files and on your Source call up the context menu and select "scan for new content"
Or continue to the movie, highlight it and press i on your keyboard.

(2022-02-03, 00:13)nitram57 Wrote: [ -> ]My third question is about the .nfo and .xml files that Media Center Master creates.

What xml file is it creating? Kodi only uses .nfo

(2022-02-03, 00:13)nitram57 Wrote: [ -> ]Do the files created by MCM take the place of the .nfo and .xml files that are created by KODI when backing up the library? 

an nfo file is an nfo file, regardless of what created it.
If you want to preserve changes you make in your library, run an export to Separate Files to overwrite existing and it will replace any existing nfo file with an updated one. We recommend to not export artwork as it is modified.

A couple of things...

Kodi is at version 19.3 at this moment, so perhaps a small update is in order.
Doublecheck using the default/system skin Estuary whether the flag details are still missing.
Try playing one of the movies with missing flags for just a second, stop the movie, and re-check for the flags.
Streaming details for new files are typically set when either the thumbnail of the video is picked up/created, or the video has been played.

(2022-02-03, 00:29)Karellen Wrote: [ -> ]What xml file is it creating? Kodi only uses .nfo

MCM natively creates xml files by default I think, but incliudes the option to automatically convert these to Kodi compatible nfo files, see http://wiki.mediacentermaster.com/index....s_Database

However I'm not sure if the conversion has been kept up to date with the current Kodi nfo format as it's been many years since the MCM Dev @psouza4 has been on this forum so there's been no updates on https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=71696

Thanks to everyone for responding to my questions.  I appreciate the quick responses.

I will take the necessary steps to save the revised .nfo files using the export process as suggested.

As suggested, I did play the movie where the flags disappeared.  No change after I stopped - still no flags.

Also as suggested, I changed the skin to KODI's default skin (Estuary) and no flags show there as well for the movie.

The link to the old Media Center Master information was enlightening.  I now understand that MCM first creates a .xml file and then further creates a .nfo file for use with KODI.  The .xml file in the folder become superfluous when added to my KODI library.  I appreciate being pointed to the link.

The next time I load a new movie to the library, I wll not amend the title field in the .nfo file.  I will instead amend the title using the Manage>Edit Title or Edit Sort Title feature to see if that method will keep the flags.

Thank you all again for your responses.

C.

If you're only using Kodi then it might be best to switch to another media manager if you feel the need to customise the data provided to Kodi.

MCM used to be really popular about 10 years ago which is why I'm aware of it, back then the major beneift was the support of many different playback devices to have common metadata across them all. However I haven't see much mentioed about it for probably the last 5 years, so unsure if it's still actively maintain, if it's not then you should defintely switch to something else.