Media Center- Setup Movie Library

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    Media Center- Setup Movie Library

    Media Center- Setup Movie Library

    How to Setup a Media Center Movie Library in Windows 7
    Published by
    Designer Media Ltd


    How to Setup a Media Center Movie Library in Windows 7

       Information
    This tutorial will show how to manage your movie library in Media Center, including poster images & full synopsis information.
       Note
    Windows Media Center is not available in Windows 7 Starter and Windows 7 Home Basic editions.



    The N and KN editions of Windows 7 have all the features that normally come with each individual Windows 7 edition, except for Windows Media Player 12 and related programs, such as Windows Media Center or Windows DVD Maker.

    The N editions of Windows 7 allow you to choose your own media player and software required to manage and play CDs, DVDs, and other digital media files. If you choose to use Windows Media Player 12, downloading it, along with related software, is free.

    Examples: With & without poster information.
    Media Center- Setup Movie Library-7-example-media-center-movies-without-posters-.pngMedia Center- Setup Movie Library-8-example-media-center-movies-posters-.png

    Before you start:
    NOTE: Special thanks to DemonSeed for the file2folder batch file.
    1. Click on the Download button below to download the file2folder.zip file and extract the file2folder.bat file to the drive containing your movie files (e.g. G:\MOVIES). Run the file which will create directories based on the movie file name (e.g. Babylon A.D.avi will have the directory Babylon A.D created) and the movie file moved to the directory. 2. Search for & download a file for the movie you would like as a poster and save it in the movie folder and name it folder.jpg. Do this for each movie.
       Warning
    I would advise at least 2GB of memory as due to the size of the folder.jpg files there is a lot of memory used. You could (like me) resize all folder.jpg files to a width of 300 pixels & maintain aspect ratio.






    Here's How:
    1. Run Media Center and navigate to Movies
    Media Center- Setup Movie Library-1-media-center-start-page-.png
    2. Open movie library, you should notice no movies shown
    Media Center- Setup Movie Library-2-media-center-movie-library-empty-.png
    3. Right-Click within the inner (empty area) and select Manage Library, you will be shown the 'Add folders' wizard. Select 'Add folders to the library' and click next
    Media Center- Setup Movie Library-3-media-center-add-folder-library-.png
    4. Select the location where your drive with the videos is stored, and click on next.
    Media Center- Setup Movie Library-4-media-center-folder-selection-1-.png
    5. Navigate to the folder where your videos are stored (e.g. G:\MOVIES), and click next.
    Media Center- Setup Movie Library-5-media-center-select-folder-.png
    6. On the final screen select 'Yes, use these locations' and click finish
    Media Center- Setup Movie Library-6-media-center-finish-selection-.png

    Now your folder is added, Media Center will show the Video folders (with posters if you downloaded an image file for each movie).

       Note
    If you wish to include metadata you will need to download Yammm. The meta data will download the DVDID.XML file which will allow for Media Center to download full synopsis information for each movie


    Media Center- Setup Movie Library-example-folder-view.png

    Recommended Yammm settings
    Media Center- Setup Movie Library-1-yammm-paths.pngMedia Center- Setup Movie Library-2-yammm-settings.png
    Media Center- Setup Movie Library-3-yammm-metadata.png
       Note
    These setting will automatically rename folders/files, download folder.jpg & DVDID.XML files for Media Center to read from.




    Update

    The Yammm application has been updated to include Image Resizing
    Media Center- Setup Movie Library-yammm-artwork-.png

    This will allow Media Center to use less memory when rendering folder images.

       Tip
    It's recommended that you use a setting of 92 Quality & 300x420 medium size as this will greatly reduce the amount of memory used by 7MC when viewing a large movie library




    Update 2: More Synopsis

    I thought i'd include an example of how the DVDID.XML file works.

    1, Full synopsis information
    Media Center- Setup Movie Library-movie-library-full-synopsis-.png
    2, Similar Movies shown, with posters
    Media Center- Setup Movie Library-movie-library-similar-movies-.png
    3, Click the similar movie to get full details of that movie
    Media Center- Setup Movie Library-movie-library-similar-movies-synopsis-.png
    4, Cast & Crew information
    Media Center- Setup Movie Library-movie-library-cast-crew-.png
    5, Click on a name to see a fimography (film list) relating to that actor/director
    Media Center- Setup Movie Library-movie-library-cast-crew-filmography-.png
    Enjoy



  1. Posts : 6,305
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
       #1

    Update added to last section of the turtorial
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 367
    Windows 7 Home Premium [64-Bit]
       #2

    Killer tutorial man, you get a rep from me :)
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 6,305
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Second update, showing examples of data pulled directly off the net (images might not show, click them to view)
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 603
    7 Ultimate x64
       #4

    Nice tutorial Shark! Thanks for the pointers. I didnt know there was a DVDID.xml that MC could read. Cool Thanks
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 6,305
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Thanks

    Even with the extremely small file sizes of the DVDID.XML files MC still downloads all the info it requires.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 336
    windows 7 X64
       #6

    awesome thanks for this iv been wondering how to do this
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 6,305
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
    Thread Starter
       #7

    Thanks TripOG, you're welcome :)
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 162
    Windows 8 x64
       #8

    Nice tut, +rep to you.
    P.S: Again lol

    EDIT: Lol, it says I gotta spread around rep before giving it to you again. Well I'll give you rep some time later.
    Last edited by The Cool Guy; 06 Jun 2009 at 01:19. Reason: on the post
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 6,305
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
    Thread Starter
       #9

    Thanks The Cool Guy
      My Computer


 
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