Sync Thumbnails/Posters between HTPC's (SOLVED)

Sync Thumbnails/Posters between HTPC's (SOLVED) - Printable Version

+- Kodi Community Forum (https://forum.kodi.tv)
+-- Forum: Support (https://forum.kodi.tv/forumdisplay.php?fid=33)
+--- Forum: General Support (https://forum.kodi.tv/forumdisplay.php?fid=111)
+---- Forum: OS independent / Other (https://forum.kodi.tv/forumdisplay.php?fid=228)
+---- Thread: Sync Thumbnails/Posters between HTPC's (SOLVED) (/showthread.php?tid=127708)

Sync Thumbnails/Posters between HTPC's (SOLVED) - protocol77 - 2012-04-04

hey guys i am running the latest openelec nightly build and have setup the mysql library sync between my two htpc's i installed mysql on my file server which is running simply windows xp pro sp3

i have it setup and sync well however i cannot get it to share thumbnails and posters between the two htpc's

i have followed the guide on the wiki but cannot understand it i am trying to do it from my windows pc's to my openelec boxes which is linux based

can anyone simplify the process to share the thumbs between the two linux htpc's that are connected through my windows xp server where mysql is installed everything else works right except this thumbnail and poster issue

RE: Sync Thumbnails between HTPC's - Ned Scott - 2012-04-05

The wiki guide pretty much spells it out. What part are you having problems with?

RE: Sync Thumbnails between HTPC's - protocol77 - 2012-04-05

i have scanned in my tv shows and movies into one machine and they are showing up on the second machine and when i mark them as watched they duplicate that on the second machine however on the second machine all the movies do not have any posters the only way i have been able to get them to show is to go manually into each one and press "Get Thumb"

i am not sure on the instructions on how to get it to duplicate the posters onto the second machine as well

the two machines are

192.168.1.24 - (main machine which i scanned the movies into and they display the posters

192.168.1.25 - second machine which has no posters displaying on them

how do i write a .xml or whatever to make it send a copy of the posters to the second machine this is what i had previously in the advancedsettings.xml on the main machine

<pathsubstitution>
<substitute>
<from>special://masterprofile/Thumbnails/</from>
<to>smb://192.168.1.25/xbmc/userdata/Thumbnails/</to>
</substitute>
</pathsubstitution>

is there anything i need to change in this to make it work i am running openelec builds so not sure what i should be putting in protocol and if i should be using my ip address or something else

RE: Sync Thumbnails between HTPC's - protocol77 - 2012-04-05

Ok i got it working it took a while but no matter what poster is on what machine it shows up on the other i thought i would post here how i did it for those like me who could not understand the instruction in the wiki very well this is more of a syncing poster for dummies guide Smile

i have not setup the same thing for the tv shows yet but i would assume it applies the same just changing the name of a folder in the code

Before i start i assume that you have some sort of file server setup like me where you stream your videos via samba shares

i am running openelec setups i am not sure if it works the same with different setups though i would assume so as long as you can use a advancedsettings.xml file

First turn on both htpc's

then go into the first one by typing in a windows pc in the explorer window the ip address starting with \\ (so for example mine was \\192.168.1.24)

the go to userdata folder and see if you can see a advancedsettings.xml file in there if you previous setup sync watched and resume options then it should be there if not open a .txt file in note pad and enter the following (changing the host addresses to whatever yours is mine was <host>192.168.1.24</host>

Quote:<advancedsettings>
<videodatabase>
<type>mysql</type>
<host>***.***.***.***</host>
<port>3306</port>
<user>xbmc</user>
<pass>xbmc</pass>
</videodatabase>

<musicdatabase>
<type>mysql</type>
<host>***.***.***.***</host>
<port>3306</port>
<user>xbmc</user>
<pass>xbmc</pass>
</musicdatabase>
</advancedsettings>

then on whatever pc you installed the mysql database open up the command line client that is installed when you install it (usually found in the start menu and programs if on windows pc)

then make sure if you have not already to create two databases one for movie and one for tv shows this is what i used

Quote:create database xbmc_videos;

create database xbmc_tvshows;

then find somewhere on your server where you want to store a master copy of all your posters it needs to be on a shared drive because you have to use a smb:\\ to use it

once you have found one copy from the address bar the full network address of it so for example it should be something like

Quote:\\File_server\hdd_2 (y)\xbmc stuff\Thumbs\movies

you now need to navigate back to the folders on your openelec box by typing the ip address starting with \\ into an explorer window

then go to userdata then right click on the advancesettings.xml file and open in notepad

now this is where i got stuck you need to enter the following (changing obviously the network share to your own that you copied to your clipboard before making sure to include the smb:\\ before it)

Quote:<pathsubstitution>
<substitute>
<from>special://masterprofile/Thumbnails/</from>
<to>smb:\\File_server\hdd_2 (y)\xbmc stuff\Thumbs\movies</to>
</substitute>

after this is done simply save this then copy and paste a copy onto the other machine using the same ip address then userdata method overwriting any existing advancedsettings.xml file in there

after this you need to go to whatever machine you want to use as the main one as the second machine does not need to have shares added it will recieve movies via the database links

so then go to the machine and delete any existing shares for movies (i think you can export the database then copy it to your new master posters folder if you want if you do not want to download all that poster art again i decided to start fresh though so up to you i cannot guarantee it works though as did not do it this way)

then reboot the machine so the new code can take affect

make sure all movies are cleaned from the database then add a share and add all the directories if more than one contains your movies i have several personally on different share drives then name the folder movies (lowercase) and select scraper obiviously then scan in as normal you should see your posters appearing as normal if the machine was unsynced let it scan in a couple of movies and play a couple skip a couple chapters so it enables the resume from option you get like resume from 20:23 then go to your other machine reboot that making sure there is no movie shares on that as well and the library is cleaned once rebooted check your movies folder and see if you see the posters if so it should be working also check the movie you skipped chapters on to see if it is asking your to resume from 20:23 (or whatever) also mark a couple as watched it should let you do it even though usually you cannot mark anything during a scan but seeing as you are not scanning on the second machine it should be fine

then go back out to the first machine and see if you can see those marked movies if so then there ya go it's working

hope this helps

BTW: to get the tv shows working i removed them from the machine they were scanned in on and cleaned the library in the process then re-added them by putting all smb shares for tv shows together in one folder called

Quote:tvshows

and then once they started scanning back in it would re-create the posters for the shows which would then show up on the second machine as they were being added

also note if you are in say tv shows when they are scanning in and you don't see them appearing as you are watching on the second machine go back out to the main menu then back in so it sort of refreshes the page you should see them then