[asjafjell]

Hello!

I just started to use XBMC with Ubuntu, because I am tired of all the tinkering in windows and Mediaportal. Whoow, it starts fast now.

I connect to my series folder via ftp, and it works flawlessly. One thing i can't find out, is how to get a Tv-series layout like in MediaPortal. I have ordering of my Tv-series on the server, like:

Show name -> Season -> Episodes

If one episode lies outside a season folder, it does not matter. It looks bad when browsing folders on my computer, men in MediaPortal this does not show. It lies under the right season, with great artwork etc. No problems.

In XBMC it seems that it is very strict on file naming and the underlying structure of the folders. Is there a plugin that works like TvSeriesPlugin in Mediaportal? The work of renaming all episodes and keeping the folders is tedious work. I guess this exists, but I'm a little bit stuck here.

Thanks in advance.

[ppic]

just use library mode, not file mod...

scrape your files with tvdb scraper, then browse your library.

[asjafjell]

just use library mode, not file mod...

scrape your files with tvdb scraper, then browse your library.

Thanks for answering. Where in settings do I apply this?

[ppic]

just read the faq and the wiki

[TRIROG]

Reviving this old thread, but i have a similar situation.
A disclamer:
I'm not opening this thread to start a flame war KODI vs Mediaportal. I stepped over to KODI for many other features it offers and i'm not sorry.

Son now that is out of the way...
I'm migrating form the Mediaportal and the TV Series plugin had the ability to scrape all the series regardless of the fact if the files were primarily sorted in forders by Show name - they can all be in the same folder and the scraping works without a hitch. That is very user friendly since you can have a single folder for all the TV Shows you watch and don't need to wory about sorting. I therefore wonder what is the reason that something like that couldn't be implemented in Kodi?

Is there perhaps a plugin for KODI that could take care of monitoring the TV Shows source folder and take care of the sorting according to KODI liking? I would like toavoid using additional software for this purpose.

I also noticed that scanning for a single new episode takes ages, since the library update proces seemingly goes over all the movies and tv shows sources.

[Karellen]

Hello TRIROG

Kodi reads the Show name from the TV Show folder. If you mix different TV shows into the same folder, then they won't be discovered. Simply, that is the way it is. Funny that two other new members have asked the same question over the last couple of days. I don't understand how anybody can see this simple requirement as such an issue for them.

I also noticed that scanning for a single new episode takes ages, since the library update proces seemingly goes over all the movies and tv shows sources.

Most likely because you are running an Update Library for the whole library. If you want to scan for one episode, navigate to the episode in Video>Files, then call up the Context Menu and select Scan To Library. It will scan that episode only to the library.

[TRIROG]

Thanks for the quick reply.
I understand the approach and have already started to reorganize the folders.
*my disclaimer still stands*
I mean no disrespect, but my experience with TV Shows was fully automated. All the shows resided in the same *khm*download*khm* folder and tv series plugin was ableto identify and add them to library without any action on my part. I could simply request an update of library and it was matter of secconds - actually since it was watching the folders, the new shows were usually added in seconds after being copied to tv shows folder.
I could say it was user firendly experience - WAF factor was also very high.

Moving to KODI  - i understand that in 2011 the naming conventions were nonexistetn, but i think today filenaming conventions fot tv shows are pretty much a standard, so demanding a folder for every tv show seems redundant (to that point - the WIKI contains demands for season and episode labeling (e.g.S01E01) so i fail to see why show maning should be excluded).  i'm not saying that folder structure should be dropped, but it would be nice to add support for tvshows not in the tvshow_name folder. results might be unexpected.
I must say that the need to use additional programs is very unappealing - is there perhaps a plugin for kodi that would sort that out, because i have no keyboard or mouse connected to my HTPC so third party programs are unusable.

To the subject of scaning for a single episode - can't that be done via tvShows interface for the TVShow in question?
If i know there is a new Mr.Robot episode - why not simply start a scan from the TVshow screen with Mr.Robot show selected?

[DarrenHill]

For the last point to to the folder for the show in file view (having added the new episode to it) and from the context menu (right click or long press on the folder) select scan for new content. It will scan only the folder and any sub folders from it.

The other part would depend on the scraper used and the database that it references. For TV shows we use thetvdb.com and their structure by default, but there are other options available in the official repo.

[Karellen]

No disrespect taken.

As DarrenHill has pointed out, there are other ways to scan to Library. Just keep in mind that a lot of functions work throughout the hierarchy, not just at the global level. If you ever wonder "why can't I do this from here", the chances are that you can, you just need to familiarise yourself with the menus available at that point.

[TRIROG]

Could you point me in the direction to help me automate the entire process? How do you do it? Which tools do you utilize? Are there any plugins to do this?

Thanks!

[TRIROG]

just in case anyone else stumbles across this thread:

This solution requires the use of advancedsettings.xml file but has finally enabled me to have all the TV Shows in a single folder. TBH the scan can miss some shows especially if there are meny different versions with the same name (e.g. The grand tour a 1997 show and 2016 show) but hey, as far as i'm concerned, this solution beats the hell out of having to run bunch pof different software, just to be able to import into Kodi.

Hello after some debugging I found way to scan TV Shows all placed in one folder.
With this there is no need to move each show to separate folders:

Code:

<advancedsettings>
<video>
<cleanstrings>
<regexp>[ _\\,\\.\\(\\)\\[\\]\\-](ac3|dts|custom|dc|remastered|divx|divx5|dsr|dsrip|dutch|dvd|dvd5|dvd9|dvdrip|dvdscr|dvdscreener|screener|dvdivx|cam|fragment|fs|hdtv|hdrip|hdtvrip|internal|limited|multisubs|ntsc|ogg|ogm|pal|pdtv|proper|repack|rerip|retail|r3|r5|bd5|se|svcd|swedish|german|read.nfo|nfofix|unrated|extended|ws|telesync|ts|telecine|tc|brrip|bdrip|480p|480i|576p|576i|720p|720i|1080p|1080i|3d|hrhd|hrhdtv|hddvd|bluray|x264|h264|xvid|xvidvd|xxx|www.www|cd[1-9]|\\[.*\\])([ _\\,\\.\\(\\)\\[\\]\\-]|$)</regexp>
<regexp>[ _.]?[Ss][0-9]+[ _.x]?[Ee][0-9]+.*</regexp>
<regexp>(\[.*\])</regexp>
</cleanstrings>
</video>
</advancedsettings>

I added this second regex, first and last are copied from Kodi source code.
This second one removes season and episode numbers from name while sending request to info provider.