[mythtv-users] What is being worked on for 0.26?

[Michael T. Dean]

On 05/31/2012 10:27 AM, Tom Lichti wrote:
> No, you don't get it, I was not happy with that solution. We hate the
> interface to Videos,

FWIW, I felt the exact same way--until I was taught how to properly 
configure Video Library (which I had been doing wrong--primarily because 
the proper configuration, today, is different from the default 
configuration of the past).  Now, I have an appreciation for what Video 
Library brings

Specifically, you want to go into each of the 3 "views" available in 
Video Library (Gallery, Browse, and List) and "Show Directory Structure" 
(meaning the MENU should offer, "Hide Directory Structure," to allow you 
to change the setting) and enable "Browse Library (recommended)" 
(meaning the MENU should say, "Browse Filesystem (slow)," to allow you 
to change the setting).  Then, once you've configured all 3 views 
appropriately, choose the one whose interface looks best to you/works 
best for you.

(Note that in 0.24 and below, these settings were "Enable/Disable Flat 
view" and "File Browse Mode"--where you wanted both disabled.)

A friend of mine who uses MythTV had a similar change of heart when I 
helped him reconfigure Video Library when he wanted to organize his 
kids' videos (which he has to keep so the kids can watch them hundreds 
of times, each :)--some of which were recorded, some from DVD rips, 
etc.  Once we set up Video Library properly, the interface was /much/ 
easier for the kids than it would have been if everything were in Watch 
Recordings.  And in Video Library, he can set a default filter on each 
frontend, so the kids' frontend opens right up to their videos.

>   so I have hacked a system that makes Videos show
> up in the Recordings screen, as it's more intuitive to use, and better
> organized for our usage, and works well enough, with the occasional
> manual tweaking required.

And, now that I've configured Video Library properly, I feel it's /much/ 
more intuitive to use and better organized--especially for large 
collections of video.

The difference is that in Watch Recordings, I get a single recording 
group for each recording, and I can show a list of titles, recording 
groups, categories and/or filter by recording group or category--but 
changing view requires MENU (once or twice, as required)|Change Group 
Filter, then selecting a filter.  In Video Library, I can create folders 
to organize my videos however I like, and can browse between folders as 
simply as hitting left/right--but I /still/ have the ability to apply 
filters based on everything from category to genre to year to user 
rating to watched status to date the video was added to the library...  
Also, in Video Library, all my videos can be given useful file 
names--such that even if I lose the MythTV database, I know what each 
video is (and Video Library can pull the metadata automatically).  There 
are other benefits, too, but these are the main ones.

IMHO, anyone who archives any recordings--as opposed to simply watching 
and deleting the recordings--should consider moving those recordings to 
Video Library.  Watch Recordings is great for "ephemeral" recordings 
that appear/disappear, but Video Library is great for "permanent" 
storage of (even large numbers of) videos you actually want to keep.

Anyway, the point of this post is that those who have written off Video 
Library should take a new look at today's Video Library (when properly 
configured).  It's not your grandfather's Video Library...  ;)

Mike