[Mr Eric]

check if there are any missing part that you can contribute : on top of each title you've got a "pill" icon going from red to green, red = lots of infos missing that you can contribute (each one gives a certain amount of points), green = 100% complete and nothing to do. fastest way to have points is to create a movie from scratch (42 points each), knowing that in MM 1 movie = 1 barcode, so you can have more than one LOTR or Starwars for example, spreaded accross the various versions of those movies each one coming with their own individual barcode.

Cheap and dirty way to rank points (don't tell to anyone else) : find a good bargain like "20 DVDs for 20 bucks !" or ebay, most of the time those DVD are very bad movies that no one ever seen and that are not present in any DB in the world. Create those titles and get the points. DVD offered for free in newspaper are also working, as long as they have a barcode.

before contributing, be sure to read their wiki about contribution. Mods will be looking and validating each contribution done, and if it's not "by the book" they will refuse it and might suspend your account after 3 or 4 warnings...

[Dan201]

ok I may try that. If I spend the points on the version im running on my PC to unlock some features will that also unlock them if I get WHS next year? That uses a different installed I believe.

[Mr Eric]

points are linked to your account, so as long as you use the same account points will be there. Also : features are unlocked when you reach a number of points, meaning that 1000 points will unlock all features that need 1000 points or less (no need to have 500 points for 720p backdrops + 1000 points for 1080p, they will be unlocked together).

you can check the features and points needed on their website. But for dune user backdops are the only one really needed (and may be the disc copy, but I prefer to have a dedicated software for this).

[Dan201]

Ah, I thought each feature needed points! I was thinking to unlock it all would cost around £100!

[graham.myers]

buy weird stuff

we bundle MM with our HTPC and servers so there is no need to contribute, but there are still titles with missing details that you can help complete and you get points for that too. When you add a title and add extra info it'll tell you how many points they're worth if you contribute. I think I have the staggering high value of 68 points but once I get some time there are many more I can get. I dont need them but its still nice to help out

All my Korean and Japanese imports aren't in but it'll take some work to get them

[Dan201]

So your version of MM is fully unlocked? Is that only available to resellers and not the public?

[graham.myers]

Correct. We pay a license fee to Brian for each license we install onto one of our machines. The version we install is fully loaded as though you'd paid the full 2,500 points. We get to appear in the official installers list

[Dan201]

nice. Well in the new year I hope to get a WHS so depending on if I decide to do it myself or not Ill definitly be checking your site out.

[Dan201]

I bought 1000 points and updated my collection but I dont have any background images. Do I need to turn them on somewhere?

On zappiti I could chose between movie covers. Can this be done in MM or is there just one cover for each movie entry?

[Mr Eric]

I think that you need to wait 24h for the daily update of their server...backdrops should then appear automatically, but just to be sure : go to "option", Media Center interface, then lower you will find a "backdrop" sub menu (not sure about the correct english name, it's the one just before "automatic data update" close to the end ) where you can chose the quality for the backdrop. Set it to 1080p here. I'm not sure it's needed, but it doesn't harm to do it.

Covers are fixed as they match the official DVD/BR. there's a way to have posters instead of covers in the index, but I never used it...It's also possible to change the covers by changing the source data, for example if you have LOTR extended with DVD covers (the books), just search for LOTR extended in BD and it will change into this one.

Backdrops can be changed through the webservice. chose a movie, then use Title/change Title online. This will land to a webpage with various backdrops already created by other users (you can add some if you want), put the maximum stars to the one you want and it will become your default background for this movie.

[Dan201]

Ah, I went into the sub menu for backdrops and the reason they wouldn't work was because they now cost $50, or 1250.

Im wondering how to group movies together. For my Die hard films I clicked on part of a boxset and have entered my own die hard quadrilogy cover I got from google. So on the menu on dune it shows that image, but it also does that image for the first die hard film now. I could do with an option to have a box set cover and then a cover per film in that set. Any way around this?

[Mr Eric]

1250pt for 1080p ??? I'm pretty sure that 720p will do the job (unless you have a really huge screen with your VP)


box sets are quite complicated (i created in french versionboth LOTR extended BD and Alien Antholgy BR, so you can believe me...).

So here's the easiest way: create the main boxet (if you don't find it in the DB, create it from scratch) + each individual title inside the boxset, then on the main boxset click the "boxset" box and add each individual title to the boxset. In CM you will have the boxset displayed with the titles just under. On the dune you will have the boxset in the main movie wall, clicking on it will send you to the individual titles covers, then cliking on the title will bring you to the title backdrop.

BTW : any change you do on any movie, changes that are not according to MM rules, please don't send an update to the webservice. First you could be banned, second it's messing with other users (like me) that like to have the real thing displayed and not an home made cover (even if more beautifull than the original one).

[Dan201]

I found the Die Hard box set I wanted to add and clicked 'add to owned- for keeps' but I can't find it in my list. I must be missing something.

[Mr Eric]

before clicking on "for keeps" you need to click the "online" or "offline" button to add the movie to the list

(i know, it's stupid, but I often forgot about it too...)

[Dan201]

Ah, I knew it would be something small. What is the difference in the 2? I don't want to edit anything online.

I have changed a few local titles, mainly so films dont start with 'The' and instead use the 2nd word. This won't change anything online will it?

[Mr Eric]

offline = real disc (MM also manages physical collection)
online = files

If you want to change the sorting title (with or without "the") you need to use the "personnal sorting title" that you will find in the "personnal data" menu (icon under the "categories" icon close to the save button). FYI, this personnal title sorting option is only active on the ipad app, not on the dune (dune index is sorted based on your folders' names).

When I say "don't update the webservice" that mean that you shoudln't use one of the 3 icons close to the Add Title one (send cover/send data/send cover & data to the webservice). those are reserved to send correction/additions to the webservice that will be shared to all users. As long as you don't use it, you're free to do whatever you want. Use it only if your changes are legitimate and following the contribution rules.

[Dan201]

Christ Ive got a headache. Note to self; don't set up a new Harmony remote on the same day as a new media library.

I got the die hard boxset to work but I think ive done it wrong. When I clicked on online it asked me to locate a file, as there is no file for a virtual boxset I chose offline. This worked but there is an extra entry in the boxset on my dune. It looks like the front cover is in the boxset so I have films 1, 2 & 4 (missing 3 atm) and then the extra cover. There are only 3 films in CM so Im not sure what that file is pointing to.

My head hurts. The world (or just me) is crying for some software that doesn't require me to bug other people to use. Im not new to computers, im a geek! my family would have absolutely no chance in setting any of this up.

[Mr Eric]

you're already in the "advanced training course" after 3 days ! It took me 4/5 months to understand correctly the informations you have in this 3 pages topic

If i understand correctly, on the dune, once you entered into the boxset you have 4 covers : 1.2.4 + one similar to the boxset. Unfortunately this is normal : boxset also have a backdrop, so the unknown cover you have here is in fact the boxset backdrop with it's own description (should be something like "this boxset contains DH 1.2.3.4 in a beautifull pack, blablabla...whatever some wrote here"). I didn't find any way to get rid of it. So inside the boxset you will always have all individual titles + boxset (again).

If you think that boxset is too complicated (don't you ?), there're 2 other possible ways of doing something similar, but you won't have the cover for the boxset itself or won't have the individual covers, you will need to chose one or the other.

Would you like to know more ?

[Dan201]

Haha. Quote from starship troopers?

My point is a program shouldnt take 3 days or 3 months to get to know. But your help has made it managable, thank you.

What r the other options? In zappiti i just made a group and got my own cover from google. Im happy to have that again.

[Mr Eric]

use "personnal category", create a "Die Hard" category and add each individual movie to this category. An icon "die Hard" will appear in the category menu on dune with the movie covers inside (one for each movie). But you won't have the boxset cover...

[Dan201]

A couple more questions if I may.

The movie wall shows a glass type effect over the movie covers. Can I turn this off? It looks a bit washed out on my projector.

If I set up auto folder monitoring will is update my dune with any films ive added to my NAS, or will I have to add them to CM before it updates?

Thanks once again.

[DrGekko]

Originally Posted by Mr Eric

here's the how-to :


zip here : Template 5.zip

1. dowload the .zip that you want. unzip it, it will contain a .xml as well as some .png files


Win7 user go to :
"C:\ProgramData\My Movies\FileStorage\User Customization\Meta Data\Dune Templates"

Sorry dude, couldn't get to stage 2 - can't find "C:\ProgramData\My Movies\FileStorage\User Customization\Meta Data\Dune Templates"

How do you search for it?

[MarkE19]

Try 'C:\Program Files\...' and if you have 64bit version it could also be in 'C:\Program Files (x86)\...'

Mark.

[Mr Eric]

Originally Posted by DrGekko

Sorry dude, couldn't get to stage 2 - can't find "C:\ProgramData\My Movies\FileStorage\User Customization\Meta Data\Dune Templates"

How do you search for it?

it's certainly because it's a hidden folder. Just go to win7 config panel, then "appearence & personalization" (sorry again, not sure of the exact english name...), "folders options", second tab (display ?) and select "display files, folders & hidden drives". You will be then able to see this folder.

Same thing for xp users.

Sorry if I forget to tell you this as a first step

[Mr Eric]

Originally Posted by Dan201

A couple more questions if I may.

The movie wall shows a glass type effect over the movie covers. Can I turn this off? It looks a bit washed out on my projector.

If I set up auto folder monitoring will is update my dune with any films ive added to my NAS, or will I have to add them to CM before it updates?

Thanks once again.

1. Should be possible. will try to find the line to remove from the template for you.

2. yes, that's the idea : just add your files to your nas and the process will work in the background. You should have seen different search mode values for this (from strict to confirmation). Try all of them to see which one is the best for you. Strict is OK if your folder's name perfectly matches the movie name. I would recomend confirmation as a starting point (if any doubt, MM will offer you a choice window to pick the correct movie), then try lose and strict at the end.

[Dan201]

I think Ive set up the folder monitoring correctly. It found a new title I added and asked me if id like to add it now or later, I clicked now and it found the DVD version of the movie rather than the Bluray. There wasn't an option to chose from a list at that point so I added it without data and changed the source manually. Can I set the program to only add bluray titles? All my movies in CM are bluray.

Thanks

[Dan201]

hhmm, its added 2 copies of every movie now. I guess its because I added the movies first, then turned folder monitoring on and its adding them all again.

[DrGekko]

Originally Posted by Mr Eric

here's the how-to :


zip here : Template 5.zip

1. dowload the .zip that you want. unzip it, it will contain a .xml as well as some .png files

2.
XP user need to go to
"C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\My Movies\FileStorage\User Customization\Meta Data\Dune Templates"

Win7 user go to :
"C:\ProgramData\My Movies\FileStorage\User Customization\Meta Data\Dune Templates"

3. in "..\Dune Templates", create a new folder with exact same name as the .xml file in the zip (for "Template 5.xml" create a "Template 5" folder, with same capital "T"). If you want to install more than one template, you will need to create a new folder for each one.

4. copy/paste in this new folder everything you will find in the "..\Dune Templates\My Movies Default" folder

5. copy/paste in new folder the .png files corresponding and that you found in the .zip (.png in "Template 5.zip" in "Template 5" folder, say OK for overwriting files)

6 copy paste the .xml file in "..\Dune Templates" (next to "My Movies Default.xml")

7. go to CM/Options/metadata/dune config and voilà, you will find in the "template" the new templates you just installed along with the My Movie Default. Select the one you want and run a full update of your index to recreate the backdrops (you should erase the old one before doing so...)

Still struggling....

I managed 1-6 above but no idea how to do 7... what's "CM???" - no idea where you find "dune config".

I managed to set up another template folder, named "Template 5" - it appears on my network on the Dune but when I select it, it simply displays a list of the folders and files, no GUI interface like the default My Movies.

[MarkE19]

Originally Posted by Mr Eric

And FYI zapitti will be soon limited to the french market (or at least the dune bought in France), so you should start thinking for a replacement or you will be stuck forever with this version with no more update...

Well HDLand have just announced the release of the iPad app for Zappiti. This app requires the latest version of Zappiti which will be released on Tuesday.

So if HDLand are selling an iPad app for Zappiti I think they would have riots if they then stopped 90% of Zappiti users from being able to get the update required to use the app.
The announcement was made by Christophe Cherel the head developer for Zappiti over at MPC Club so it should be reliable info.

Mark.

[Mr Eric]

Originally Posted by Dan201

hhmm, its added 2 copies of every movie now. I guess its because I added the movies first, then turned folder monitoring on and its adding them all again.

check here : Folder monitoring adding duplicate titles (duplicate, duplicates)