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

[Tom Lichti]

On Fri, Jun 8, 2012 at 8:26 AM, Michael T. Dean <mtdean at thirdcontact.com> wrote:
> 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

Thanks Mike, I'll give that a go. I've never really gone back and
played with the Video Library since setting it up originally, at least
6 years ago.

Tom