Separate menu items for separate libraries - possible?
#1
Raw newbie to XBMC question...WAF is very important to my HTPC builds. Right now, believe it or not, I'm still using myHTPC (not Meedio even...it's long ago predecessor). I've had to do things like write my own scrapers in .NET to get movie information, etc but would like to move on to something new. Like XBMC Big Grin

However, there was one feature of myHTPC that I can't seem to replicate and was wondering if it was possible...in myHTPC, I could add buttons (menu items) to the main screen that pointed to different "libraries". For example, I've got multiple mapped drives across my network with DVD rips - each drive has two shares: "DVD" and "Kids DVD". I'd rip stuff like Pixar and Disney movies to the "Kids DVD" share, and stuff like "Watchmen" or "Deadwood" to "DVD".

On the main screen, there's a "DVD" button and a "Kids DVD" button. The "DVD" button shows movies from BOTH mappings for every drive on my network (so I'd see the thumbnails for the Pixar and Disney movies as well as "Watchmen" and "Deadwood"), whereas the "Kids DVD" button only shows the "Kids DVD" shares (only thumbnails for Pixar and Disney).

Any way to do that with XBMC? And yes, I've looked into "Smart Playlists", but that won't work; my wife really likes the top level single button push to the list of movies she wants to see. That lets out things like:

1) Log in as a different user

2) Smart playlists which appear to require you to set up filter criteria off some combination of attributes the movie has - and I guarantee we won't be able to find that magic combination that decides what movies we put into the "Kids DVD" library and which we don't. And you have to "drill down" before you can select your smart playlists - too many button clicks.

What would be perfect would be something similar to what GMail does with "labels". I'd rip a DVD, then assign a "Kid friendly" label to it (or not). Then I'd have two buttons/menu items on the main screen - one that shows movies regardless of label, and another that only shows movies with the "Kid friendly" label on it. We've sort of got that now with the decrepit old myHTPC, but it's cumbersome because "labeling" like that involves actually storing the rip in different shares.

Anyway, is any of this possible with XBMC? Admittedly I've only spent an hour or two searching through the forum and wiki on it - most people are more concerned with accessing libraries across multiple PCs (which is something else we do) or configuring smart playlists (which seems REEEEALY close to what I want, but not quite - if I could set up my own cargo field/tag and then filter on that, it seems like that would work, but it would suck if I had to do it on each and every PC on my network instead of storing it centrally in a database; I've got over 400 movies in my library and going through labeling all of them 4 different times for 4 different PCs isn't a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon...)

--KS
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#2
It is possible with smart playlists. You would create one based on paths to where the 'Kids DVD' are located. Then you would have to choose a skin that allows custom home items (Alaska, Aeon, Neon, Night, Transparency etc.) or mod Confluence to your liking.
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#3
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=61779
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#4
sho Wrote:http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=61779

I may be misreading that thread, but:
  • It looks like it would require me to make custom NFO files for each of my movies (and I don't relish doing that for over 400+ of them)...
  • And it looks like I'd have to switch between profiles rather than have a different "remote-able" button on the main menu for each sub-library...wife likes seeing "All Movies" and "Kids Movies" buttons on the main menu
live4ever's solution looks closer to what I'm looking for - Smart Playlists appear to be what I want, but my beef was that you didn't have a top-level menu item for each, and he suggests a different skin allows you to have custom home items; I was trying to make it work through the default Confluence skin...
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#5
I think live4ever's response might have been more in line with what I'm looking for; I looked at sho's thread link, and that looks like I'd have to manually create .NFO records for each and every one of my movies (400+ across multiple network shares), and then switch profiles so that the Videos link takes me to one or the other... live4ever indicated non-default skins actually allow you to add custom home items (buttons), which would do the trick for me, and the Smart Playlist would automatically include the videos based on the path...I'll have to give it a shot.

Thanks for both ideas.
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#6
There's a mod for Confluence that allows you to add playlists/favourites to the home menu just in case you wanted to use that

Personally I think a separate profile for kids works best using it with the logon screen then they can have their own skin views etc
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#7
Confluence Mod:
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=76529
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#8
HTPC Junkie Wrote:I may be misreading that thread, but:
  • [1]It looks like it would require me to make custom NFO files for each of my movies (and I don't relish doing that for over 400+ of them)...
    [2]And it looks like I'd have to switch between profiles rather than have a different "remote-able" button on the main menu for each sub-library...wife likes seeing "All Movies" and "Kids Movies" buttons on the main menu
live4ever's solution looks closer to what I'm looking for - Smart Playlists appear to be what I want, but my beef was that you didn't have a top-level menu item for each, and he suggests a different skin allows you to have custom home items; I was trying to make it work through the default Confluence skin...

Wrong,
1. The example provided in the how-to is for un-scrapable media (home movies), scrapable media would act just as normally.
2. With a simple skin mod it could very well happen (outlined in the how-to).
Always read the XBMC online-manual, FAQ and search the forum before posting.
Do not e-mail XBMC-Team members directly asking for support. Read/follow the forum rules.
For troubleshooting and bug reporting please make sure you read this first.
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Separate menu items for separate libraries - possible?0