Official Kodi Wiki - User contributions [en]

Video file tagging

2021-05-10T10:34:50Z

Crissov: /* Overview and Comparison */ Mp3tag added DIRECTOR support lately, but subtitles still only for ID3 not MP4; <code>©PRD</code> is Product (not Producer)

{{mininav|[[Video library]]||}}
{{incomplete}}
{{notice|This page describes an alternative way of adding movies to the library that is not dependent on file names or online scrapers.}}

<section begin="intro" />Kodi v18 Leia introduces support for embedded video tags using '''*.mkv''' and '''*.mp4''' video files. '''*.avi''' support is available since v18.x. They are similar in principle to the tags saved in audio files. Only limited support for video tags is available at this time.<section end="intro" />

= Benefits of embedded video tags =
There are multiple reasons why one would want to use this feature:
Media may already contain useful metadata (the reverse however is also true - many files contain "junk" metadata, hence why the feature defaults to off).
It gives one more control over the metadata than scrapers do (as scrapers may misclassify media and pull the wrong data).
It does away with the need to have [[NFO files]]. Since metadata travels with the media file, there is no longer a need for potentially thousands of these smaller files and can make directory management even easier.
Using ultra-high resolution [[artwork]]/cover images that looks nicer on newer HD displays. (Pretty pictures!)

== How does it change/differ from the old model? ==
Kodi has two options for metadata import: using an online scraper or using local information, traditionally in the form of .nfo files. Local tag reading is bundled into the "Local Information" arm, as logically, metadata is still local (i.e not network-drawn) information. Thus, one can still use a combination of .nfo files and embedded information if they choose "Local Information" rather than to use a scraper.

It is important to note however that .nfo files will override embedded information. Not all of Kodi's NFO features are supported by embedded metadata yet, so many users may wish to still use the NFO method. (https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=326340)

== Settings ==
{{Kodi}} [[settings]] have the option to enable or disable the reading of video file tags at [[Settings/Media/Videos|Settings > Media Settings > Videos > Use video tags]]. The default setting is ''disabled''.

This page assumes this setting has been ''enabled''.

= Folder & File Structure =
The use of Video File Tags does not absolve you from using the correct Folder and File structure for [[Naming video files/Movies|Movies]], [[Naming video files/TV shows|TV Shows]] and [[Music videos|Music Videos]] as detailed in the previous pages.

= Tagging =
{{no endorsement notice}}

{{note|User-friendly options for adding and editing embedded metadata may be lacking for your given platform. Be prepared for challenges when going down this path.}}

== Windows ==
[http://www.mp3tag.de MP3tag] is a Windows-based metadata editor for many different files and tag types, including MP4 and MKV (despite what it's name may suggest). While somewhat complex, it provides very fine-grained control over [https://help.mp3tag.de/main_tags.html tagging], and is a worthwhile asset in any media management library.

MetaX is a user-friendly tagging solution. However, it is proprietary and paid ($10). It features much the same core features as MP3tag, but adds an online search functionality to grab metadata from providers such as iTunes, Amazon and others, as well as an autotag feature. This can be useful to people with enormous media collections where the time saved manually tagging justifies the price.

== Mac ==

* [https://griff.github.io/metaz/ MetaZ] is a free and open source MP4 metadata lookup and editor for Mac OS.

== Linux ==

* mp4v2

== Cross-platform ==

* exiftool

== A note on iTunes ==
Apple, in their wisdom, have created a subset of MP4 tags that are strictly speaking only meant for use with iTunes. However, most tagging software can read and write these iTunes tags. These tags are also quite useful but some will not work with Kodi. Tags include the ability to store Cast (actors), Screenwriter and Director information, as well as age restriction data such as MPAA ratings.

The important point to note here is that just because your tagging software allows you to add these does not mean they will be used by Kodi.

= Core Tags =

While there are an absolute myriad of tags that one can use, many, if not most of these are unnecessary for video files. Remember that MP4 tags have to have fields for everything - TV shows, movies, music videos, music, audiobooks, and even images! We usually do not want to populate tags related to music (such as Artist) in a movie file. As such here are some of the most critical tags for video (TV show and Movie) files.

== Title ==
Kodi will not import a media file without a valid ''Title'' in the metadata tag. This makes it the most critical tag of all. An exception is made for MKV files which have an <code>IMDBURL</code> or <code>TMDBURL</code> metatag.

Title differs from filename - I may have a file called Blade_Runner_2049_(2017)Withalotofexcessinformation.mp4, But the title value can simply be "Blade Runner 2049". Kodi will then display "Blade Runner 2049".

Beware that many people who distribute video files do not care much for proper metadata within the file even if they are shipping proper NFO or XML files with them. Regardless, their files may still have tags, but with rubbish or spam content. This is the reason why Kodi defaults to not use embedded tags in video files.

== Description ==
This describes the movie/TV Show. A snippet from iTunes' description of Blade Runner 2049 is as follows: "Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos."

Descriptions thus actually describe the character or basic plot of a movie or TV Show. These will be displayed in Kodi when the file is selected.

Best practice at this point seems to be to mirror the Long Description and Short Description, as there does not seem to be any practical distinction between the two.

When using this tag with TV Shows, every episode can be individually described according to the plot of that particular episode.

== Content Type ==
In MP4 there should be four choices: Music, Music Video, Movie and TV Show. The choice does not seem to matter at this point as Kodi can not distinguish files based on this tag, but rather relies on the manual setting when the directory was added. It might be useful to set this properly when tagging however, as a future change to allow Kodi to distinguish these tags may prove invaluable.

== Cover/Picture ==
For some users, the singular greatest benefit to tags is being able to set your own cover image. Don't like the standard cover? Use the Collectors Edition or Digital Download cover.

== TV Show Specific Tags ==
There are three more tags that should be filled in for TV Shows: '''Show''' (<code>tvsh</code>), numeric '''Season''' (<code>tvsn</code>) and '''Episode Number''' (<code>tves</code>) and the unique '''Production Code''' (<code>tven</code>).
At the moment these tags do not seem to be of any practical use in Kodi, but should nevertheless be filled out as this may change.

= Supported Tags =

Kodi relies on FFmpeg libraries to import MP4, MKV and AVI metadata. The [https://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php/FFmpeg_Metadata documentation in the Multimedia.cx wiki] is not always up to date, but is correct in general. For proper details, one needs to inspect the [https://www.ffmpeg.org/doxygen/4.0/movenc_8c_source.html <code>mov_write_****_tag()</code> functions in the FFmpeg source code].

== Overview and Comparison ==

{{notice|Kodi variables shown in parentheses below are not supported at the moment, but if they are in the future, these are the most likely mappings.}}
{| class="wikitable prettytable sortable"
|+ Tag field mapping table
! Kodi !! FFmpeg !! MP4 box / atom !! AVI FourCC !! [https://help.mp3tag.de/main_tags.html Mp3tag] !! mp4tags / mp4v2 CLI !! Description
|-
| || <code>album_artist</code> || <code>aART</code> || || <code>ALBUMARTIST</code> || <code>-R</code>, <code>-albumartist</code> || album artist
|-
| '''''Album''''' || <code>album</code> || <code>©alb</code> || (<code>IPRD</code>) || <code>ALBUM</code> || <code>-A</code>, <code>-album</code> || album title
|-
| || <code title="read">sort_album</code> (<code title="write">album-sort</code>) || <code>soal</code> || || <code>ALBUMSORT</code> || ||
|-
| '''''Artist''''' || <code>artist</code> || <code>©art</code>, <code>©ART</code> || (<code>IART</code>) || <code>ARTIST</code> || <code>-a</code>, <code>-artist</code> || artist information
|-
| || <code title="read">artist</code> (<code title="write">author</code>) || <code>©aut</code> || || || || author information
|-
| || <code title="read">sort_artist</code> (<code title="write">artist-sort</code>) || <code>soar</code> || || <code>ARTISTSORT</code> || ||
|-
| || <code>comment</code> || <code>©cmt</code> (<code title="write-only">©des</code>) || (<code>ICMT</code>) || <code>COMMENT</code> || <code>-c</code>, <code>-comment</code> || general comment
|-
| || <code>compilation</code> || <code>cpil</code> || || <code>COMPILATION</code> || ||
|-
| '''''WritingCredits''''' (split at slashes) || <code>composer</code> || <code>©wrt</code> || || <code>COMPOSER</code> || <code>-w</code>, <code>-writer</code> || composer information
|-
| || <code>copyright</code> || <code>©cpy</code> (<code>cprt</code>) || (<code>ICOP</code>) || <code>COPYRIGHT</code> || <code>-C</code>, <code>-copyright</code> || copyright information
|-
| || <code>creation_time</code> || || || <code>ENCODINGTIME</code> || ||
|-
| '''''Year''''' || <code title="read">date</code> || <code>©day</code> || <code>ICRD</code> || <code>RELEASETIME</code> || ||
|-
| (''Premiered'') || <code title="write">year</code> || <code>©day</code> || || <code>YEAR</code> || <code>-y</code>, <code>-year</code> || release date
|-
| || <code>encoded_by</code> || || (<code>ITCH</code>) || <code>ENCODEDBY</code> || <code>-e</code>, <code>-encodedby</code> || name of the person or company who encoded the file
|-
| || <code>encoder</code> || <code>©too</code> (<code>©swr</code>) || (<code>ISFT</code>) || <code>ENCODERSETTINGS</code> || <code>-E</code>, <code>-tool</code> || software used for encoding
|-
| (''ProductionCode'') || <code>episode_id</code> || <code>tven</code> || || <code>TVEPISODEID</code> || <code>-o</code>, <code>-episodeid</code> || TV episode ID
|-
| || <code>episode_sort</code> || <code>tves</code> || || <code>TVEPISODE</code> || <code>-M</code>, <code>-episode</code> || episode number
|-
| || <code>season_number</code> || <code>tvsn</code> || || <code>TVSEASON</code> || <code>-n</code>, <code>-season</code> || season number
|-
| '''''Genre''''' (split at slashes) || <code>genre</code> || <code>©gen</code>, <code>gnre</code> || (<code>IGNR</code>) || <code>GENRE</code> || <code>-g</code>, <code>-genre</code> / <code>-j</code>, <code>-genreid</code> || genre name / ID
|-
| (''Set'') || <code>grouping</code> || <code>©grp</code> || || <code>CONTENTGROUP</code> || <code>-G</code>, <code>-grouping</code> || grouping name, set
|-
| || <code>hd_video</code> || <code>hdvd</code> || || <code>ITUNESHDVIDEO</code> || <code>-H</code>, <code>-hdvideo</code> || HD flag (0 = SD, 1 = 720p, 2 = 1080p/i Full HD, 3 = 2160p UHD)
|-
| || <code>language</code> || || (<code>ILNG</code>) || <code>LANGUAGE</code> || || main/original spoken/displayed language
|-
| || <code>lyrics</code> || <code>©lyr</code> || || <code>UNSYNCEDLYRICS</code> || <code>-L</code>, <code>-lyrics</code> || unsynchronized lyrics
|-
| || <code>media_type</code> || <code>stik</code> || || <code>ITUNESMEDIATYPE</code> || <code>-i</code>, <code>-type</code> || Media Type (TV Show, Movie, Music, Audiobook ...)
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>network</code> || <code>tvnn</code> || || <code>TVNETWORK</code> || <code>-N</code>, <code>-network</code> || TV network, channel, station
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>publisher</code> || || || <code>PUBLISHER</code> || || publisher
|-
| || <code>producer</code> || <code>©prd</code> || || || || producer
|-
| (''Director'') || <code>performer</code> || <code>©con</code> || || <code>CONDUCTOR</code> || || conductor, performer
|-
| (''Director'') || <code title="read-only">composer</code> || <code>©com</code> || || || || composer
|-
| (''Director'') || <code title="read-only">director</code> || <code>©dir</code> || <code>DIRECTOR</code> || || || director
|-
| (''ShowTitle'') || <code>show</code> || <code>tvsh</code> || || <code>TVSHOW</code> || <code>-S</code>, <code>-show</code> || TV show
|-
| '''''Plot''''' || <code>synopsis</code> || <code>ldes</code> || || <code>PODCASTDESC</code> || <code>-m</code>, <code>-description</code> || short description
|-
| '''''PlotOutline''''', (''Overview'') || <code>description</code> || <code>desc</code> || || <code>DESCRIPTION</code> || <code>-l</code>, <code>-longdesc</code> || long description
|-
| '''''Title''''' || <code>title</code> || <code>©nam</code> || <code>INAM</code> || <code>TITLE</code> || <code>-s</code>, <code>-song</code> || song title, track name
|-
| (''SortTitle'') || <code title="read">sort_name</code> (<code title="write">title-sort</code>) || <code>sonm</code> || || <code>TITLESORT</code> || ||
|-
| (''TagLine'') || <code>subtitle</code> || <code>©st3</code> || || (<code>SUBTITLE</code>) || ||
|-
| '''''Track''''' || <code>track</code> || <code>trkn</code> (<code>©trk</code>) || (<code>IPRT</code>) || <code>TRACK</code> || <code>-t</code>, <code>-track</code> / <code>-T</code>, <code>-tracks</code> || track number / number of tracks
|-
| || <code>disc</code> || <code>disk</code> || || <code>DISCNUMBER</code> || <code>-d</code>, <code>-disk</code> / <code>-D</code>, <code>-disks</code> || disc number / number of discs
|-
| (''Rating'') || <code>rating</code> || <code>rtng</code> || || <code>ITUNESADVISORY</code> || <code>-X</code>, <code>-rating</code> || Rating (0 = none, 1 = clean, 2 = explicit)
|-
| (''Country'') || <code>location</code> || <code>©xyz</code> (<code>loci</code>) || || || || GPS coordinates
|-
| (''Trailer'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''PictureURL'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''Votes'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''UniqueIDs'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''Tags'') || (<code>keywords</code>) || (<code>keyw</code> (<code>©key</code>)) || || || || tags, keywords
|-
| (''OriginalTitle'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''EpisodeGuide'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''Status'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''ShowLink'') || <code>URL</code> || <code>©url</code> || || || ||
|-
| (''NamedSeasons'') || || || || || || array
|-
| || <code>podcast</code> || <code>pcst</code> || || <code>PODCAST</code> || <code>-B</code>, <code>-podcast</code> || podcast flag (0/1)
|-
| || <code>category</code> || <code>catg</code> || || <code>PODCASTCATEGORY</code> || <code>-O</code>, <code>-category</code> || category
|-
| (''UniqueID'') || || <code>cnID</code> || || <code>ITUNESCATALOGID</code> || <code>-I</code>, <code>-contentid</code>? || content ID
|-
| (''UniqueID'') || <code>episode_uid</code> || <code>egid</code> || || <code>PODCASTID</code> || <code>-I</code>, <code>-contentid</code>? || content ID
|}


== MP4 tag options ==

For MP4 tags, Kodi reads ''Title'' <code>©nam</code>, ''Writing Credits'' <code>©wrt</code>, ''Plot'' <code>ldes</code>, ''Plot Outline'' <code>desc</code>, ''Year'' <code>©day</code>, ''Album'' <code>©alb</code>, ''Artist'' <code>©art</code>/<code>©ART</code> and ''Track'' <code>trkn</code>/<code>©trk</code> information if available.


== MKV tag options ==

MKV tagging currently does mostly ignore the Matroska tagging specification to fill library info. Instead, a Kodi standard NFO file can be ''embedded'' into MKV files.

* An attachment named '''kodi-metadata''' will be scanned as an embedded .nfo file
* An attachment named '''kodi-override-metadata''' will be scanned as a url nfo if combined with specifying IMDB/TMDB url. if alone, you get an override nfo

The only textual tags supported in MKV fields as of v18.6 are (case-insensitive) ''Title'' = <code>title</code>, ''Director'' = <code>director</code> (multiple entries may be separated by a forward slash) and ''Year'' = <code>date_released</code>.

== AVI tag options ==

As of v18.6, Kodi only recognizes ''Title'' and ''Year'' variables from AVI tags.<ref name="VideoTagLoaderFFmpeg.cpp">[https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/blob/master/xbmc/video/tags/VideoTagLoaderFFmpeg.cpp Kodi source code of <code>VideoTagLoaderFFmpeg.cpp</code>]</ref>

== FAQ ==

; {{red|I cannot find these video related tags in mp3tag}}
: To get to all the juicy video file related tags in mp3tag, right click on your video file and select "Extended Tags". From here one can see all the tags currently in a file. Add new ones by clicking on the Add button, selecting a Field (what tag to edit) and entering a value. The most critical one in all cases is TITLE, as it seems Kodi will not add a media file if this core tag is missing (and there is no .nfo file).
: This will also allow you to add the cover artwork.
; {{red|What format is this- id3, APE, Generic, MP4, other?}}
: MP4 files use "moov" atoms embedded within the file. These are the same ones used in AAC audio files (such as m4a).
; {{red|IMDBURL/TMDBURL is this one tag or two separate tags?}}
: Two separate ones, only supported within Matroska (MKV) files currently.

= Artwork =
For MKV you can have embedded images. currently limited to:
* 'small_cover.png' or 'small_cover.jpg' for thumb
* 'cover.png' or 'cover.jpg' for poster
* 'fanart.png' or 'fanart.jpg' for fanart

'poster' images can be embedded in MP4 files.

{{top}}

<div style="{{linear-gradient|left|#a1f5e4, #f5f5a1}}">{{next|[[Adding_video_sources|'''Add Source & Scrape''']]}} </div>

{{updated|18}}
[[Category:FAQ]]
[[Category:Index]]
[[Category:How-to]]
[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Manual]]
[[Category:Karellen]]
[[Category:Video library]]
[[Category:General topics]]
[[Category:First time user]]
[[Category:Quick Start Guide]]

Video file tagging

2021-05-10T10:28:54Z

Crissov: remove notice, format paragraph as notice

{{mininav|[[Video library]]||}}
{{incomplete}}
{{notice|This page describes an alternative way of adding movies to the library that is not dependent on file names or online scrapers.}}

<section begin="intro" />Kodi v18 Leia introduces support for embedded video tags using '''*.mkv''' and '''*.mp4''' video files. '''*.avi''' support is available since v18.x. They are similar in principle to the tags saved in audio files. Only limited support for video tags is available at this time.<section end="intro" />

= Benefits of embedded video tags =
There are multiple reasons why one would want to use this feature:
Media may already contain useful metadata (the reverse however is also true - many files contain "junk" metadata, hence why the feature defaults to off).
It gives one more control over the metadata than scrapers do (as scrapers may misclassify media and pull the wrong data).
It does away with the need to have [[NFO files]]. Since metadata travels with the media file, there is no longer a need for potentially thousands of these smaller files and can make directory management even easier.
Using ultra-high resolution [[artwork]]/cover images that looks nicer on newer HD displays. (Pretty pictures!)

== How does it change/differ from the old model? ==
Kodi has two options for metadata import: using an online scraper or using local information, traditionally in the form of .nfo files. Local tag reading is bundled into the "Local Information" arm, as logically, metadata is still local (i.e not network-drawn) information. Thus, one can still use a combination of .nfo files and embedded information if they choose "Local Information" rather than to use a scraper.

It is important to note however that .nfo files will override embedded information. Not all of Kodi's NFO features are supported by embedded metadata yet, so many users may wish to still use the NFO method. (https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=326340)

== Settings ==
{{Kodi}} [[settings]] have the option to enable or disable the reading of video file tags at [[Settings/Media/Videos|Settings > Media Settings > Videos > Use video tags]]. The default setting is ''disabled''.

This page assumes this setting has been ''enabled''.

= Folder & File Structure =
The use of Video File Tags does not absolve you from using the correct Folder and File structure for [[Naming video files/Movies|Movies]], [[Naming video files/TV shows|TV Shows]] and [[Music videos|Music Videos]] as detailed in the previous pages.

= Tagging =
{{no endorsement notice}}

{{note|User-friendly options for adding and editing embedded metadata may be lacking for your given platform. Be prepared for challenges when going down this path.}}

== Windows ==
[http://www.mp3tag.de MP3tag] is a Windows-based metadata editor for many different files and tag types, including MP4 and MKV (despite what it's name may suggest). While somewhat complex, it provides very fine-grained control over [https://help.mp3tag.de/main_tags.html tagging], and is a worthwhile asset in any media management library.

MetaX is a user-friendly tagging solution. However, it is proprietary and paid ($10). It features much the same core features as MP3tag, but adds an online search functionality to grab metadata from providers such as iTunes, Amazon and others, as well as an autotag feature. This can be useful to people with enormous media collections where the time saved manually tagging justifies the price.

== Mac ==

* [https://griff.github.io/metaz/ MetaZ] is a free and open source MP4 metadata lookup and editor for Mac OS.

== Linux ==

* mp4v2

== Cross-platform ==

* exiftool

== A note on iTunes ==
Apple, in their wisdom, have created a subset of MP4 tags that are strictly speaking only meant for use with iTunes. However, most tagging software can read and write these iTunes tags. These tags are also quite useful but some will not work with Kodi. Tags include the ability to store Cast (actors), Screenwriter and Director information, as well as age restriction data such as MPAA ratings.

The important point to note here is that just because your tagging software allows you to add these does not mean they will be used by Kodi.

= Core Tags =

While there are an absolute myriad of tags that one can use, many, if not most of these are unnecessary for video files. Remember that MP4 tags have to have fields for everything - TV shows, movies, music videos, music, audiobooks, and even images! We usually do not want to populate tags related to music (such as Artist) in a movie file. As such here are some of the most critical tags for video (TV show and Movie) files.

== Title ==
Kodi will not import a media file without a valid ''Title'' in the metadata tag. This makes it the most critical tag of all. An exception is made for MKV files which have an <code>IMDBURL</code> or <code>TMDBURL</code> metatag.

Title differs from filename - I may have a file called Blade_Runner_2049_(2017)Withalotofexcessinformation.mp4, But the title value can simply be "Blade Runner 2049". Kodi will then display "Blade Runner 2049".

Beware that many people who distribute video files do not care much for proper metadata within the file even if they are shipping proper NFO or XML files with them. Regardless, their files may still have tags, but with rubbish or spam content. This is the reason why Kodi defaults to not use embedded tags in video files.

== Description ==
This describes the movie/TV Show. A snippet from iTunes' description of Blade Runner 2049 is as follows: "Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos."

Descriptions thus actually describe the character or basic plot of a movie or TV Show. These will be displayed in Kodi when the file is selected.

Best practice at this point seems to be to mirror the Long Description and Short Description, as there does not seem to be any practical distinction between the two.

When using this tag with TV Shows, every episode can be individually described according to the plot of that particular episode.

== Content Type ==
In MP4 there should be four choices: Music, Music Video, Movie and TV Show. The choice does not seem to matter at this point as Kodi can not distinguish files based on this tag, but rather relies on the manual setting when the directory was added. It might be useful to set this properly when tagging however, as a future change to allow Kodi to distinguish these tags may prove invaluable.

== Cover/Picture ==
For some users, the singular greatest benefit to tags is being able to set your own cover image. Don't like the standard cover? Use the Collectors Edition or Digital Download cover.

== TV Show Specific Tags ==
There are three more tags that should be filled in for TV Shows: '''Show''' (<code>tvsh</code>), numeric '''Season''' (<code>tvsn</code>) and '''Episode Number''' (<code>tves</code>) and the unique '''Production Code''' (<code>tven</code>).
At the moment these tags do not seem to be of any practical use in Kodi, but should nevertheless be filled out as this may change.

= Supported Tags =

Kodi relies on FFmpeg libraries to import MP4, MKV and AVI metadata. The [https://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php/FFmpeg_Metadata documentation in the Multimedia.cx wiki] is not always up to date, but is correct in general. For proper details, one needs to inspect the [https://www.ffmpeg.org/doxygen/4.0/movenc_8c_source.html <code>mov_write_****_tag()</code> functions in the FFmpeg source code].

== Overview and Comparison ==

{{notice|Kodi variables shown in parentheses below are not supported at the moment, but if they are in the future, these are the most likely mappings.}}
{| class="wikitable prettytable sortable"
|+ Tag field mapping table
! Kodi !! FFmpeg !! MP4 box / atom !! AVI FourCC !! [https://help.mp3tag.de/main_tags.html Mp3tag] !! mp4tags / mp4v2 CLI !! Description
|-
| || <code>album_artist</code> || <code>aART</code> || || <code>ALBUMARTIST</code> || <code>-R</code>, <code>-albumartist</code> || album artist
|-
| '''''Album''''' || <code>album</code> || <code>©alb</code> || (<code>IPRD</code>) || <code>ALBUM</code> || <code>-A</code>, <code>-album</code> || album title
|-
| || <code title="read">sort_album</code> (<code title="write">album-sort</code>) || <code>soal</code> || || <code>ALBUMSORT</code> || ||
|-
| '''''Artist''''' || <code>artist</code> || <code>©art</code>, <code>©ART</code> || (<code>IART</code>) || <code>ARTIST</code> || <code>-a</code>, <code>-artist</code> || artist information
|-
| || <code title="read">artist</code> (<code title="write">author</code>) || <code>©aut</code> || || || || author information
|-
| || <code title="read">sort_artist</code> (<code title="write">artist-sort</code>) || <code>soar</code> || || <code>ARTISTSORT</code> || ||
|-
| || <code>comment</code> || <code>©cmt</code> (<code title="write-only">©des</code>) || (<code>ICMT</code>) || <code>COMMENT</code> || <code>-c</code>, <code>-comment</code> || general comment
|-
| || <code>compilation</code> || <code>cpil</code> || || <code>COMPILATION</code> || ||
|-
| '''''WritingCredits''''' (split at slashes) || <code>composer</code> || <code>©wrt</code> || || <code>COMPOSER</code> || <code>-w</code>, <code>-writer</code> || composer information
|-
| || <code>copyright</code> || <code>©cpy</code> (<code>cprt</code>) || (<code>ICOP</code>) || <code>COPYRIGHT</code> || <code>-C</code>, <code>-copyright</code> || copyright information
|-
| || <code>creation_time</code> || || || <code>ENCODINGTIME</code> || ||
|-
| '''''Year''''' || <code title="read">date</code> || <code>©day</code> || <code>ICRD</code> || <code>RELEASETIME</code> || ||
|-
| (''Premiered'') || <code title="write">year</code> || <code>©day</code> || || <code>YEAR</code> || <code>-y</code>, <code>-year</code> || release date
|-
| || <code>encoded_by</code> || || (<code>ITCH</code>) || <code>ENCODEDBY</code> || <code>-e</code>, <code>-encodedby</code> || name of the person or company who encoded the file
|-
| || <code>encoder</code> || <code>©too</code> (<code>©swr</code>) || (<code>ISFT</code>) || <code>ENCODERSETTINGS</code> || <code>-E</code>, <code>-tool</code> || software used for encoding
|-
| (''ProductionCode'') || <code>episode_id</code> || <code>tven</code> || || <code>TVEPISODEID</code> || <code>-o</code>, <code>-episodeid</code> || TV episode ID
|-
| || <code>episode_sort</code> || <code>tves</code> || || <code>TVEPISODE</code> || <code>-M</code>, <code>-episode</code> || episode number
|-
| || <code>season_number</code> || <code>tvsn</code> || || <code>TVSEASON</code> || <code>-n</code>, <code>-season</code> || season number
|-
| '''''Genre''''' (split at slashes) || <code>genre</code> || <code>©gen</code>, <code>gnre</code> || (<code>IGNR</code>) || <code>GENRE</code> || <code>-g</code>, <code>-genre</code> / <code>-j</code>, <code>-genreid</code> || genre name / ID
|-
| (''Set'') || <code>grouping</code> || <code>©grp</code> || || <code>CONTENTGROUP</code> || <code>-G</code>, <code>-grouping</code> || grouping name, set
|-
| || <code>hd_video</code> || <code>hdvd</code> || || <code>ITUNESHDVIDEO</code> || <code>-H</code>, <code>-hdvideo</code> || HD flag (0 = SD, 1 = 720p, 2 = 1080p/i Full HD, 3 = 2160p UHD)
|-
| || <code>language</code> || || (<code>ILNG</code>) || <code>LANGUAGE</code> || || main/original spoken/displayed language
|-
| || <code>lyrics</code> || <code>©lyr</code> || || <code>UNSYNCEDLYRICS</code> || <code>-L</code>, <code>-lyrics</code> || unsynchronized lyrics
|-
| || <code>media_type</code> || <code>stik</code> || || <code>ITUNESMEDIATYPE</code> || <code>-i</code>, <code>-type</code> || Media Type (TV Show, Movie, Music, Audiobook ...)
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>network</code> || <code>tvnn</code> || || <code>TVNETWORK</code> || <code>-N</code>, <code>-network</code> || TV network, channel, station
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>publisher</code> || || || <code>PUBLISHER</code> || || publisher
|-
| || <code>producer</code> || <code>©PRD</code>, <code>©prd</code> || || || || producer
|-
| (''Director'') || <code>performer</code> || <code>©con</code> || || <code>CONDUCTOR</code> || || conductor, performer
|-
| (''Director'') || <code title="read-only">composer</code> || <code>©com</code> || || || || composer
|-
| (''Director'') || <code title="read-only">director</code> || <code>©dir</code> || || || || director
|-
| (''ShowTitle'') || <code>show</code> || <code>tvsh</code> || || <code>TVSHOW</code> || <code>-S</code>, <code>-show</code> || TV show
|-
| '''''Plot''''' || <code>synopsis</code> || <code>ldes</code> || || <code>PODCASTDESC</code> || <code>-m</code>, <code>-description</code> || short description
|-
| '''''PlotOutline''''', (''Overview'') || <code>description</code> || <code>desc</code> || || <code>DESCRIPTION</code> || <code>-l</code>, <code>-longdesc</code> || long description
|-
| '''''Title''''' || <code>title</code> || <code>©nam</code> || <code>INAM</code> || <code>TITLE</code> || <code>-s</code>, <code>-song</code> || song title, track name
|-
| (''SortTitle'') || <code title="read">sort_name</code> (<code title="write">title-sort</code>) || <code>sonm</code> || || <code>TITLESORT</code> || ||
|-
| (''TagLine'') || <code>subtitle</code> || <code>©st3</code> || || <code>SUBTITLE</code> || ||
|-
| '''''Track''''' || <code>track</code> || <code>trkn</code> (<code>©trk</code>) || (<code>IPRT</code>) || <code>TRACK</code> || <code>-t</code>, <code>-track</code> / <code>-T</code>, <code>-tracks</code> || track number / number of tracks
|-
| || <code>disc</code> || <code>disk</code> || || <code>DISCNUMBER</code> || <code>-d</code>, <code>-disk</code> / <code>-D</code>, <code>-disks</code> || disc number / number of discs
|-
| (''Rating'') || <code>rating</code> || <code>rtng</code> || || <code>ITUNESADVISORY</code> || <code>-X</code>, <code>-rating</code> || Rating (0 = none, 1 = clean, 2 = explicit)
|-
| (''Country'') || <code>location</code> || <code>©xyz</code> (<code>loci</code>) || || || || GPS coordinates
|-
| (''Trailer'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''PictureURL'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''Votes'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''UniqueIDs'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''Tags'') || (<code>keywords</code>) || (<code>keyw</code> (<code>©key</code>)) || || || || tags, keywords
|-
| (''OriginalTitle'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''EpisodeGuide'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''Status'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''ShowLink'') || <code>URL</code> || <code>©url</code> || || || ||
|-
| (''NamedSeasons'') || || || || || || array
|-
| || <code>podcast</code> || <code>pcst</code> || || <code>PODCAST</code> || <code>-B</code>, <code>-podcast</code> || podcast flag (0/1)
|-
| || <code>category</code> || <code>catg</code> || || <code>PODCASTCATEGORY</code> || <code>-O</code>, <code>-category</code> || category
|-
| (''UniqueID'') || || <code>cnID</code> || || <code>ITUNESCATALOGID</code> || <code>-I</code>, <code>-contentid</code>? || content ID
|-
| (''UniqueID'') || <code>episode_uid</code> || <code>egid</code> || || <code>PODCASTID</code> || <code>-I</code>, <code>-contentid</code>? || content ID
|}


== MP4 tag options ==

For MP4 tags, Kodi reads ''Title'' <code>©nam</code>, ''Writing Credits'' <code>©wrt</code>, ''Plot'' <code>ldes</code>, ''Plot Outline'' <code>desc</code>, ''Year'' <code>©day</code>, ''Album'' <code>©alb</code>, ''Artist'' <code>©art</code>/<code>©ART</code> and ''Track'' <code>trkn</code>/<code>©trk</code> information if available.


== MKV tag options ==

MKV tagging currently does mostly ignore the Matroska tagging specification to fill library info. Instead, a Kodi standard NFO file can be ''embedded'' into MKV files.

* An attachment named '''kodi-metadata''' will be scanned as an embedded .nfo file
* An attachment named '''kodi-override-metadata''' will be scanned as a url nfo if combined with specifying IMDB/TMDB url. if alone, you get an override nfo

The only textual tags supported in MKV fields as of v18.6 are (case-insensitive) ''Title'' = <code>title</code>, ''Director'' = <code>director</code> (multiple entries may be separated by a forward slash) and ''Year'' = <code>date_released</code>.

== AVI tag options ==

As of v18.6, Kodi only recognizes ''Title'' and ''Year'' variables from AVI tags.<ref name="VideoTagLoaderFFmpeg.cpp">[https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/blob/master/xbmc/video/tags/VideoTagLoaderFFmpeg.cpp Kodi source code of <code>VideoTagLoaderFFmpeg.cpp</code>]</ref>

== FAQ ==

; {{red|I cannot find these video related tags in mp3tag}}
: To get to all the juicy video file related tags in mp3tag, right click on your video file and select "Extended Tags". From here one can see all the tags currently in a file. Add new ones by clicking on the Add button, selecting a Field (what tag to edit) and entering a value. The most critical one in all cases is TITLE, as it seems Kodi will not add a media file if this core tag is missing (and there is no .nfo file).
: This will also allow you to add the cover artwork.
; {{red|What format is this- id3, APE, Generic, MP4, other?}}
: MP4 files use "moov" atoms embedded within the file. These are the same ones used in AAC audio files (such as m4a).
; {{red|IMDBURL/TMDBURL is this one tag or two separate tags?}}
: Two separate ones, only supported within Matroska (MKV) files currently.

= Artwork =
For MKV you can have embedded images. currently limited to:
* 'small_cover.png' or 'small_cover.jpg' for thumb
* 'cover.png' or 'cover.jpg' for poster
* 'fanart.png' or 'fanart.jpg' for fanart

'poster' images can be embedded in MP4 files.

{{top}}

<div style="{{linear-gradient|left|#a1f5e4, #f5f5a1}}">{{next|[[Adding_video_sources|'''Add Source & Scrape''']]}} </div>

{{updated|18}}
[[Category:FAQ]]
[[Category:Index]]
[[Category:How-to]]
[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Manual]]
[[Category:Karellen]]
[[Category:Video library]]
[[Category:General topics]]
[[Category:First time user]]
[[Category:Quick Start Guide]]

Video file tagging

2021-03-03T08:40:18Z

Crissov: /* MP4 tag options */ name atoms

{{mininav|[[Video library]]||}}
{{incomplete}}
{{notice|This feature is currently for '''movies only'''. TV shows and music videos are not yet supported.}}
{{notice|This page describes an alternative way of adding movies to the library that is not dependent on file names or online scrapers.}}

<section begin="intro" />Kodi v18 Leia introduces support for embedded video tags using '''*.mkv''' and '''*.mp4''' video files. '''*.avi''' support is available since v18.x. They are similar in principle to the tags saved in audio files. Only limited support for video tags is available at this time.<section end="intro" />

= Benefits of embedded video tags =
There are multiple reasons why one would want to use this feature:
Media may already contain useful metadata (the reverse however is also true - many files contain "junk" metadata, hence why the feature defaults to off).
It gives one more control over the metadata than scrapers do (as scrapers may misclassify media and pull the wrong data).
It does away with the need to have [[NFO files]]. Since metadata travels with the media file, there is no longer a need for potentially thousands of these smaller files and can make directory management even easier.
Using ultra-high resolution [[artwork]]/cover images that looks nicer on newer HD displays. (Pretty pictures!)

== How does it change/differ from the old model? ==
Kodi has two options for metadata import: using an online scraper or using local information, traditionally in the form of .nfo files. Local tag reading is bundled into the "Local Information" arm, as logically, metadata is still local (i.e not network-drawn) information. Thus, one can still use a combination of .nfo files and embedded information if they choose "Local Information" rather than to use a scraper.

It is important to note however that .nfo files will override embedded information. Not all of Kodi's NFO features are supported by embedded metadata yet, so many users may wish to still use the NFO method. (https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=326340)

== Settings ==
{{Kodi}} [[settings]] have the option to enable or disable the reading of video file tags at [[Settings/Media/Videos|Settings > Media Settings > Videos > Use video tags]]. The default setting is ''disabled''.

This page assumes this setting has been ''enabled''.

= Folder & File Structure =
The use of Video File Tags does not absolve you from using the correct Folder and File structure for [[Naming video files/Movies|Movies]], [[Naming video files/TV shows|TV Shows]] and [[Music videos|Music Videos]] as detailed in the previous pages.

= Tagging =
{{no endorsement notice}}

{{note|User-friendly options for adding and editing embedded metadata may be lacking for your given platform. Be prepared for challenges when going down this path.}}

== Windows ==
[http://www.mp3tag.de MP3tag] is a Windows-based metadata editor for many different files and tag types, including MP4 and MKV (despite what it's name may suggest). While somewhat complex, it provides very fine-grained control over [https://help.mp3tag.de/main_tags.html tagging], and is a worthwhile asset in any media management library.

MetaX is a user-friendly tagging solution. However, it is proprietary and paid ($10). It features much the same core features as MP3tag, but adds an online search functionality to grab metadata from providers such as iTunes, Amazon and others, as well as an autotag feature. This can be useful to people with enormous media collections where the time saved manually tagging justifies the price.

== Mac ==

* [https://griff.github.io/metaz/ MetaZ] is a free and open source MP4 metadata lookup and editor for Mac OS.

== Linux ==

* mp4v2

== Cross-platform ==

* exiftool

== A note on iTunes ==
Apple, in their wisdom, have created a subset of MP4 tags that are strictly speaking only meant for use with iTunes. However, most tagging software can read and write these iTunes tags. These tags are also quite useful but some will not work with Kodi. Tags include the ability to store Cast (actors), Screenwriter and Director information, as well as age restriction data such as MPAA ratings.

The important point to note here is that just because your tagging software allows you to add these does not mean they will be used by Kodi.

= Core Tags =

While there are an absolute myriad of tags that one can use, many, if not most of these are unnecessary for video files. Remember that MP4 tags have to have fields for everything - TV shows, movies, music videos, music, audiobooks, and even images! We usually do not want to populate tags related to music (such as Artist) in a movie file. As such here are some of the most critical tags for video (TV show and Movie) files.

== Title ==
Kodi will not import a media file without a valid ''Title'' in the metadata tag. This makes it the most critical tag of all. An exception is made for MKV files which have an <code>IMDBURL</code> or <code>TMDBURL</code> metatag.

Title differs from filename - I may have a file called Blade_Runner_2049_(2017)Withalotofexcessinformation.mp4, But the title value can simply be "Blade Runner 2049". Kodi will then display "Blade Runner 2049".

Beware that many people who distribute video files do not care much for proper metadata within the file even if they are shipping proper NFO or XML files with them. Regardless, their files may still have tags, but with rubbish or spam content. This is the reason why Kodi defaults to not use embedded tags in video files.

== Description ==
This describes the movie/TV Show. A snippet from iTunes' description of Blade Runner 2049 is as follows: "Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos."

Descriptions thus actually describe the character or basic plot of a movie or TV Show. These will be displayed in Kodi when the file is selected.

Best practice at this point seems to be to mirror the Long Description and Short Description, as there does not seem to be any practical distinction between the two.

When using this tag with TV Shows, every episode can be individually described according to the plot of that particular episode.

== Content Type ==
In MP4 there should be four choices: Music, Music Video, Movie and TV Show. The choice does not seem to matter at this point as Kodi can not distinguish files based on this tag, but rather relies on the manual setting when the directory was added. It might be useful to set this properly when tagging however, as a future change to allow Kodi to distinguish these tags may prove invaluable.

== Cover/Picture ==
For some users, the singular greatest benefit to tags is being able to set your own cover image. Don't like the standard cover? Use the Collectors Edition or Digital Download cover.

== TV Show Specific Tags ==
There are three more tags that should be filled in for TV Shows: '''Show''' (<code>tvsh</code>), numeric '''Season''' (<code>tvsn</code>) and '''Episode Number''' (<code>tves</code>) and the unique '''Production Code''' (<code>tven</code>).
At the moment these tags do not seem to be of any practical use in Kodi, but should nevertheless be filled out as this may change.

= Supported Tags =

Kodi relies on FFmpeg libraries to import MP4, MKV and AVI metadata. The [https://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php/FFmpeg_Metadata documentation in the Multimedia.cx wiki] is not always up to date, but is correct in general. For proper details, one needs to inspect the [https://www.ffmpeg.org/doxygen/4.0/movenc_8c_source.html <code>mov_write_****_tag()</code> functions in the FFmpeg source code].

== Overview and Comparison ==

{| class="wikitable prettytable sortable"
|+ Tag field mapping table
! Kodi !! FFmpeg !! MP4 box / atom !! AVI FourCC !! [https://help.mp3tag.de/main_tags.html Mp3tag] !! mp4tags / mp4v2 CLI !! Description
|-
| || <code>album_artist</code> || <code>aART</code> || || <code>ALBUMARTIST</code> || <code>-R</code>, <code>-albumartist</code> || album artist
|-
| '''''Album''''' || <code>album</code> || <code>©alb</code> || (<code>IPRD</code>) || <code>ALBUM</code> || <code>-A</code>, <code>-album</code> || album title
|-
| || <code title="read">sort_album</code> (<code title="write">album-sort</code>) || <code>soal</code> || || <code>ALBUMSORT</code> || ||
|-
| '''''Artist''''' || <code>artist</code> || <code>©art</code>, <code>©ART</code> || (<code>IART</code>) || <code>ARTIST</code> || <code>-a</code>, <code>-artist</code> || artist information
|-
| || <code title="read">artist</code> (<code title="write">author</code>) || <code>©aut</code> || || || || author information
|-
| || <code title="read">sort_artist</code> (<code title="write">artist-sort</code>) || <code>soar</code> || || <code>ARTISTSORT</code> || ||
|-
| || <code>comment</code> || <code>©cmt</code> (<code title="write-only">©des</code>) || (<code>ICMT</code>) || <code>COMMENT</code> || <code>-c</code>, <code>-comment</code> || general comment
|-
| || <code>compilation</code> || <code>cpil</code> || || <code>COMPILATION</code> || ||
|-
| '''''WritingCredits''''' (split at slashes) || <code>composer</code> || <code>©wrt</code> || || <code>COMPOSER</code> || <code>-w</code>, <code>-writer</code> || composer information
|-
| || <code>copyright</code> || <code>©cpy</code> (<code>cprt</code>) || (<code>ICOP</code>) || <code>COPYRIGHT</code> || <code>-C</code>, <code>-copyright</code> || copyright information
|-
| || <code>creation_time</code> || || || <code>ENCODINGTIME</code> || ||
|-
| '''''Year''''' || <code title="read">date</code> || <code>©day</code> || <code>ICRD</code> || <code>RELEASETIME</code> || ||
|-
| (''Premiered'') || <code title="write">year</code> || <code>©day</code> || || <code>YEAR</code> || <code>-y</code>, <code>-year</code> || release date
|-
| || <code>encoded_by</code> || || (<code>ITCH</code>) || <code>ENCODEDBY</code> || <code>-e</code>, <code>-encodedby</code> || name of the person or company who encoded the file
|-
| || <code>encoder</code> || <code>©too</code> (<code>©swr</code>) || (<code>ISFT</code>) || <code>ENCODERSETTINGS</code> || <code>-E</code>, <code>-tool</code> || software used for encoding
|-
| (''ProductionCode'') || <code>episode_id</code> || <code>tven</code> || || <code>TVEPISODEID</code> || <code>-o</code>, <code>-episodeid</code> || TV episode ID
|-
| || <code>episode_sort</code> || <code>tves</code> || || <code>TVEPISODE</code> || <code>-M</code>, <code>-episode</code> || episode number
|-
| || <code>season_number</code> || <code>tvsn</code> || || <code>TVSEASON</code> || <code>-n</code>, <code>-season</code> || season number
|-
| '''''Genre''''' (split at slashes) || <code>genre</code> || <code>©gen</code>, <code>gnre</code> || (<code>IGNR</code>) || <code>GENRE</code> || <code>-g</code>, <code>-genre</code> / <code>-j</code>, <code>-genreid</code> || genre name / ID
|-
| (''Set'') || <code>grouping</code> || <code>©grp</code> || || <code>CONTENTGROUP</code> || <code>-G</code>, <code>-grouping</code> || grouping name, set
|-
| || <code>hd_video</code> || <code>hdvd</code> || || <code>ITUNESHDVIDEO</code> || <code>-H</code>, <code>-hdvideo</code> || HD flag (0 = SD, 1 = 720p, 2 = 1080p/i Full HD, 3 = 2160p UHD)
|-
| || <code>language</code> || || (<code>ILNG</code>) || <code>LANGUAGE</code> || || main/original spoken/displayed language
|-
| || <code>lyrics</code> || <code>©lyr</code> || || <code>UNSYNCEDLYRICS</code> || <code>-L</code>, <code>-lyrics</code> || unsynchronized lyrics
|-
| || <code>media_type</code> || <code>stik</code> || || <code>ITUNESMEDIATYPE</code> || <code>-i</code>, <code>-type</code> || Media Type (TV Show, Movie, Music, Audiobook ...)
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>network</code> || <code>tvnn</code> || || <code>TVNETWORK</code> || <code>-N</code>, <code>-network</code> || TV network, channel, station
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>publisher</code> || || || <code>PUBLISHER</code> || || publisher
|-
| || <code>producer</code> || <code>©PRD</code>, <code>©prd</code> || || || || producer
|-
| (''Director'') || <code>performer</code> || <code>©con</code> || || <code>CONDUCTOR</code> || || conductor, performer
|-
| (''Director'') || <code title="read-only">composer</code> || <code>©com</code> || || || || composer
|-
| (''Director'') || <code title="read-only">director</code> || <code>©dir</code> || || || || director
|-
| (''ShowTitle'') || <code>show</code> || <code>tvsh</code> || || <code>TVSHOW</code> || <code>-S</code>, <code>-show</code> || TV show
|-
| '''''Plot''''' || <code>synopsis</code> || <code>ldes</code> || || <code>PODCASTDESC</code> || <code>-m</code>, <code>-description</code> || short description
|-
| '''''PlotOutline''''', (''Overview'') || <code>description</code> || <code>desc</code> || || <code>DESCRIPTION</code> || <code>-l</code>, <code>-longdesc</code> || long description
|-
| '''''Title''''' || <code>title</code> || <code>©nam</code> || <code>INAM</code> || <code>TITLE</code> || <code>-s</code>, <code>-song</code> || song title, track name
|-
| (''SortTitle'') || <code title="read">sort_name</code> (<code title="write">title-sort</code>) || <code>sonm</code> || || <code>TITLESORT</code> || ||
|-
| (''TagLine'') || <code>subtitle</code> || <code>©st3</code> || || <code>SUBTITLE</code> || ||
|-
| '''''Track''''' || <code>track</code> || <code>trkn</code> (<code>©trk</code>) || (<code>IPRT</code>) || <code>TRACK</code> || <code>-t</code>, <code>-track</code> / <code>-T</code>, <code>-tracks</code> || track number / number of tracks
|-
| || <code>disc</code> || <code>disk</code> || || <code>DISCNUMBER</code> || <code>-d</code>, <code>-disk</code> / <code>-D</code>, <code>-disks</code> || disc number / number of discs
|-
| (''Rating'') || <code>rating</code> || <code>rtng</code> || || <code>ITUNESADVISORY</code> || <code>-X</code>, <code>-rating</code> || Rating (0 = none, 1 = clean, 2 = explicit)
|-
| (''Country'') || <code>location</code> || <code>©xyz</code> (<code>loci</code>) || || || || GPS coordinates
|-
| (''Trailer'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''PictureURL'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''Votes'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''UniqueIDs'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''Tags'') || (<code>keywords</code>) || (<code>keyw</code> (<code>©key</code>)) || || || || tags, keywords
|-
| (''OriginalTitle'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''EpisodeGuide'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''Status'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''ShowLink'') || <code>URL</code> || <code>©url</code> || || || ||
|-
| (''NamedSeasons'') || || || || || || array
|-
| || <code>podcast</code> || <code>pcst</code> || || <code>PODCAST</code> || <code>-B</code>, <code>-podcast</code> || podcast flag (0/1)
|-
| || <code>category</code> || <code>catg</code> || || <code>PODCASTCATEGORY</code> || <code>-O</code>, <code>-category</code> || category
|-
| (''UniqueID'') || || <code>cnID</code> || || <code>ITUNESCATALOGID</code> || <code>-I</code>, <code>-contentid</code>? || content ID
|-
| (''UniqueID'') || <code>episode_uid</code> || <code>egid</code> || || <code>PODCASTID</code> || <code>-I</code>, <code>-contentid</code>? || content ID
|}

Kodi variables in parentheses are not supported at the moment, but if they are in the future, these are the most likely mappings.

== MP4 tag options ==

For MP4 tags, Kodi reads ''Title'' <code>©nam</code>, ''Writing Credits'' <code>©wrt</code>, ''Plot'' <code>ldes</code>, ''Plot Outline'' <code>desc</code>, ''Year'' <code>©day</code>, ''Album'' <code>©alb</code>, ''Artist'' <code>©art</code>/<code>©ART</code> and ''Track'' <code>trkn</code>/<code>©trk</code> information if available.


== MKV tag options ==

MKV tagging currently does mostly ignore the Matroska tagging specification to fill library info. Instead, a Kodi standard NFO file can be ''embedded'' into MKV files.

* An attachment named '''kodi-metadata''' will be scanned as an embedded .nfo file
* An attachment named '''kodi-override-metadata''' will be scanned as a url nfo if combined with specifying IMDB/TMDB url. if alone, you get an override nfo

The only textual tags supported in MKV fields as of v18.6 are (case-insensitive) ''Title'' = <code>title</code>, ''Director'' = <code>director</code> (multiple entries may be separated by a forward slash) and ''Year'' = <code>date_released</code>.

== AVI tag options ==

As of v18.6, Kodi only recognizes ''Title'' and ''Year'' variables from AVI tags.<ref name="VideoTagLoaderFFmpeg.cpp">[https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/blob/master/xbmc/video/tags/VideoTagLoaderFFmpeg.cpp Kodi source code of <code>VideoTagLoaderFFmpeg.cpp</code>]</ref>

== FAQ ==

; {{red|I cannot find these video related tags in mp3tag}}
: To get to all the juicy video file related tags in mp3tag, right click on your video file and select "Extended Tags". From here one can see all the tags currently in a file. Add new ones by clicking on the Add button, selecting a Field (what tag to edit) and entering a value. The most critical one in all cases is TITLE, as it seems Kodi will not add a media file if this core tag is missing (and there is no .nfo file).
: This will also allow you to add the cover artwork.
; {{red|What format is this- id3, APE, Generic, MP4, other?}}
: MP4 files use "moov" atoms embedded within the file. These are the same ones used in AAC audio files (such as m4a).
; {{red|IMDBURL/TMDBURL is this one tag or two separate tags?}}
: Two separate ones, only supported within Matroska (MKV) files currently.

= Artwork =
For MKV you can have embedded images. currently limited to:
* 'small_cover.png' or 'small_cover.jpg' for thumb
* 'cover.png' or 'cover.jpg' for poster
* 'fanart.png' or 'fanart.jpg' for fanart

'poster' images can be embedded in MP4 files.

{{top}}

<div style="{{linear-gradient|left|#a1f5e4, #f5f5a1}}">{{next|[[Adding_video_sources|'''Add Source & Scrape''']]}} </div>

{{updated|18}}
[[Category:FAQ]]
[[Category:Index]]
[[Category:How-to]]
[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Manual]]
[[Category:Karellen]]
[[Category:Video library]]
[[Category:General topics]]
[[Category:First time user]]
[[Category:Quick Start Guide]]

Video file tagging

2021-03-03T08:28:58Z

Crissov: /* Supported Tags */ reorganize subsections

{{mininav|[[Video library]]||}}
{{incomplete}}
{{notice|This feature is currently for '''movies only'''. TV shows and music videos are not yet supported.}}
{{notice|This page describes an alternative way of adding movies to the library that is not dependent on file names or online scrapers.}}

<section begin="intro" />Kodi v18 Leia introduces support for embedded video tags using '''*.mkv''' and '''*.mp4''' video files. '''*.avi''' support is available since v18.x. They are similar in principle to the tags saved in audio files. Only limited support for video tags is available at this time.<section end="intro" />

= Benefits of embedded video tags =
There are multiple reasons why one would want to use this feature:
Media may already contain useful metadata (the reverse however is also true - many files contain "junk" metadata, hence why the feature defaults to off).
It gives one more control over the metadata than scrapers do (as scrapers may misclassify media and pull the wrong data).
It does away with the need to have [[NFO files]]. Since metadata travels with the media file, there is no longer a need for potentially thousands of these smaller files and can make directory management even easier.
Using ultra-high resolution [[artwork]]/cover images that looks nicer on newer HD displays. (Pretty pictures!)

== How does it change/differ from the old model? ==
Kodi has two options for metadata import: using an online scraper or using local information, traditionally in the form of .nfo files. Local tag reading is bundled into the "Local Information" arm, as logically, metadata is still local (i.e not network-drawn) information. Thus, one can still use a combination of .nfo files and embedded information if they choose "Local Information" rather than to use a scraper.

It is important to note however that .nfo files will override embedded information. Not all of Kodi's NFO features are supported by embedded metadata yet, so many users may wish to still use the NFO method. (https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=326340)

== Settings ==
{{Kodi}} [[settings]] have the option to enable or disable the reading of video file tags at [[Settings/Media/Videos|Settings > Media Settings > Videos > Use video tags]]. The default setting is ''disabled''.

This page assumes this setting has been ''enabled''.

= Folder & File Structure =
The use of Video File Tags does not absolve you from using the correct Folder and File structure for [[Naming video files/Movies|Movies]], [[Naming video files/TV shows|TV Shows]] and [[Music videos|Music Videos]] as detailed in the previous pages.

= Tagging =
{{no endorsement notice}}

{{note|User-friendly options for adding and editing embedded metadata may be lacking for your given platform. Be prepared for challenges when going down this path.}}

== Windows ==
[http://www.mp3tag.de MP3tag] is a Windows-based metadata editor for many different files and tag types, including MP4 and MKV (despite what it's name may suggest). While somewhat complex, it provides very fine-grained control over [https://help.mp3tag.de/main_tags.html tagging], and is a worthwhile asset in any media management library.

MetaX is a user-friendly tagging solution. However, it is proprietary and paid ($10). It features much the same core features as MP3tag, but adds an online search functionality to grab metadata from providers such as iTunes, Amazon and others, as well as an autotag feature. This can be useful to people with enormous media collections where the time saved manually tagging justifies the price.

== Mac ==

* [https://griff.github.io/metaz/ MetaZ] is a free and open source MP4 metadata lookup and editor for Mac OS.

== Linux ==

* mp4v2

== Cross-platform ==

* exiftool

== A note on iTunes ==
Apple, in their wisdom, have created a subset of MP4 tags that are strictly speaking only meant for use with iTunes. However, most tagging software can read and write these iTunes tags. These tags are also quite useful but some will not work with Kodi. Tags include the ability to store Cast (actors), Screenwriter and Director information, as well as age restriction data such as MPAA ratings.

The important point to note here is that just because your tagging software allows you to add these does not mean they will be used by Kodi.

= Core Tags =

While there are an absolute myriad of tags that one can use, many, if not most of these are unnecessary for video files. Remember that MP4 tags have to have fields for everything - TV shows, movies, music videos, music, audiobooks, and even images! We usually do not want to populate tags related to music (such as Artist) in a movie file. As such here are some of the most critical tags for video (TV show and Movie) files.

== Title ==
Kodi will not import a media file without a valid ''Title'' in the metadata tag. This makes it the most critical tag of all. An exception is made for MKV files which have an <code>IMDBURL</code> or <code>TMDBURL</code> metatag.

Title differs from filename - I may have a file called Blade_Runner_2049_(2017)Withalotofexcessinformation.mp4, But the title value can simply be "Blade Runner 2049". Kodi will then display "Blade Runner 2049".

Beware that many people who distribute video files do not care much for proper metadata within the file even if they are shipping proper NFO or XML files with them. Regardless, their files may still have tags, but with rubbish or spam content. This is the reason why Kodi defaults to not use embedded tags in video files.

== Description ==
This describes the movie/TV Show. A snippet from iTunes' description of Blade Runner 2049 is as follows: "Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos."

Descriptions thus actually describe the character or basic plot of a movie or TV Show. These will be displayed in Kodi when the file is selected.

Best practice at this point seems to be to mirror the Long Description and Short Description, as there does not seem to be any practical distinction between the two.

When using this tag with TV Shows, every episode can be individually described according to the plot of that particular episode.

== Content Type ==
In MP4 there should be four choices: Music, Music Video, Movie and TV Show. The choice does not seem to matter at this point as Kodi can not distinguish files based on this tag, but rather relies on the manual setting when the directory was added. It might be useful to set this properly when tagging however, as a future change to allow Kodi to distinguish these tags may prove invaluable.

== Cover/Picture ==
For some users, the singular greatest benefit to tags is being able to set your own cover image. Don't like the standard cover? Use the Collectors Edition or Digital Download cover.

== TV Show Specific Tags ==
There are three more tags that should be filled in for TV Shows: '''Show''' (<code>tvsh</code>), numeric '''Season''' (<code>tvsn</code>) and '''Episode Number''' (<code>tves</code>) and the unique '''Production Code''' (<code>tven</code>).
At the moment these tags do not seem to be of any practical use in Kodi, but should nevertheless be filled out as this may change.

= Supported Tags =

Kodi relies on FFmpeg libraries to import MP4, MKV and AVI metadata. The [https://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php/FFmpeg_Metadata documentation in the Multimedia.cx wiki] is not always up to date, but is correct in general. For proper details, one needs to inspect the [https://www.ffmpeg.org/doxygen/4.0/movenc_8c_source.html <code>mov_write_****_tag()</code> functions in the FFmpeg source code].

== Overview and Comparison ==

{| class="wikitable prettytable sortable"
|+ Tag field mapping table
! Kodi !! FFmpeg !! MP4 box / atom !! AVI FourCC !! [https://help.mp3tag.de/main_tags.html Mp3tag] !! mp4tags / mp4v2 CLI !! Description
|-
| || <code>album_artist</code> || <code>aART</code> || || <code>ALBUMARTIST</code> || <code>-R</code>, <code>-albumartist</code> || album artist
|-
| '''''Album''''' || <code>album</code> || <code>©alb</code> || (<code>IPRD</code>) || <code>ALBUM</code> || <code>-A</code>, <code>-album</code> || album title
|-
| || <code title="read">sort_album</code> (<code title="write">album-sort</code>) || <code>soal</code> || || <code>ALBUMSORT</code> || ||
|-
| '''''Artist''''' || <code>artist</code> || <code>©art</code>, <code>©ART</code> || (<code>IART</code>) || <code>ARTIST</code> || <code>-a</code>, <code>-artist</code> || artist information
|-
| || <code title="read">artist</code> (<code title="write">author</code>) || <code>©aut</code> || || || || author information
|-
| || <code title="read">sort_artist</code> (<code title="write">artist-sort</code>) || <code>soar</code> || || <code>ARTISTSORT</code> || ||
|-
| || <code>comment</code> || <code>©cmt</code> (<code title="write-only">©des</code>) || (<code>ICMT</code>) || <code>COMMENT</code> || <code>-c</code>, <code>-comment</code> || general comment
|-
| || <code>compilation</code> || <code>cpil</code> || || <code>COMPILATION</code> || ||
|-
| '''''WritingCredits''''' (split at slashes) || <code>composer</code> || <code>©wrt</code> || || <code>COMPOSER</code> || <code>-w</code>, <code>-writer</code> || composer information
|-
| || <code>copyright</code> || <code>©cpy</code> (<code>cprt</code>) || (<code>ICOP</code>) || <code>COPYRIGHT</code> || <code>-C</code>, <code>-copyright</code> || copyright information
|-
| || <code>creation_time</code> || || || <code>ENCODINGTIME</code> || ||
|-
| '''''Year''''' || <code title="read">date</code> || <code>©day</code> || <code>ICRD</code> || <code>RELEASETIME</code> || ||
|-
| (''Premiered'') || <code title="write">year</code> || <code>©day</code> || || <code>YEAR</code> || <code>-y</code>, <code>-year</code> || release date
|-
| || <code>encoded_by</code> || || (<code>ITCH</code>) || <code>ENCODEDBY</code> || <code>-e</code>, <code>-encodedby</code> || name of the person or company who encoded the file
|-
| || <code>encoder</code> || <code>©too</code> (<code>©swr</code>) || (<code>ISFT</code>) || <code>ENCODERSETTINGS</code> || <code>-E</code>, <code>-tool</code> || software used for encoding
|-
| (''ProductionCode'') || <code>episode_id</code> || <code>tven</code> || || <code>TVEPISODEID</code> || <code>-o</code>, <code>-episodeid</code> || TV episode ID
|-
| || <code>episode_sort</code> || <code>tves</code> || || <code>TVEPISODE</code> || <code>-M</code>, <code>-episode</code> || episode number
|-
| || <code>season_number</code> || <code>tvsn</code> || || <code>TVSEASON</code> || <code>-n</code>, <code>-season</code> || season number
|-
| '''''Genre''''' (split at slashes) || <code>genre</code> || <code>©gen</code>, <code>gnre</code> || (<code>IGNR</code>) || <code>GENRE</code> || <code>-g</code>, <code>-genre</code> / <code>-j</code>, <code>-genreid</code> || genre name / ID
|-
| (''Set'') || <code>grouping</code> || <code>©grp</code> || || <code>CONTENTGROUP</code> || <code>-G</code>, <code>-grouping</code> || grouping name, set
|-
| || <code>hd_video</code> || <code>hdvd</code> || || <code>ITUNESHDVIDEO</code> || <code>-H</code>, <code>-hdvideo</code> || HD flag (0 = SD, 1 = 720p, 2 = 1080p/i Full HD, 3 = 2160p UHD)
|-
| || <code>language</code> || || (<code>ILNG</code>) || <code>LANGUAGE</code> || || main/original spoken/displayed language
|-
| || <code>lyrics</code> || <code>©lyr</code> || || <code>UNSYNCEDLYRICS</code> || <code>-L</code>, <code>-lyrics</code> || unsynchronized lyrics
|-
| || <code>media_type</code> || <code>stik</code> || || <code>ITUNESMEDIATYPE</code> || <code>-i</code>, <code>-type</code> || Media Type (TV Show, Movie, Music, Audiobook ...)
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>network</code> || <code>tvnn</code> || || <code>TVNETWORK</code> || <code>-N</code>, <code>-network</code> || TV network, channel, station
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>publisher</code> || || || <code>PUBLISHER</code> || || publisher
|-
| || <code>producer</code> || <code>©PRD</code>, <code>©prd</code> || || || || producer
|-
| (''Director'') || <code>performer</code> || <code>©con</code> || || <code>CONDUCTOR</code> || || conductor, performer
|-
| (''Director'') || <code title="read-only">composer</code> || <code>©com</code> || || || || composer
|-
| (''Director'') || <code title="read-only">director</code> || <code>©dir</code> || || || || director
|-
| (''ShowTitle'') || <code>show</code> || <code>tvsh</code> || || <code>TVSHOW</code> || <code>-S</code>, <code>-show</code> || TV show
|-
| '''''Plot''''' || <code>synopsis</code> || <code>ldes</code> || || <code>PODCASTDESC</code> || <code>-m</code>, <code>-description</code> || short description
|-
| '''''PlotOutline''''', (''Overview'') || <code>description</code> || <code>desc</code> || || <code>DESCRIPTION</code> || <code>-l</code>, <code>-longdesc</code> || long description
|-
| '''''Title''''' || <code>title</code> || <code>©nam</code> || <code>INAM</code> || <code>TITLE</code> || <code>-s</code>, <code>-song</code> || song title, track name
|-
| (''SortTitle'') || <code title="read">sort_name</code> (<code title="write">title-sort</code>) || <code>sonm</code> || || <code>TITLESORT</code> || ||
|-
| (''TagLine'') || <code>subtitle</code> || <code>©st3</code> || || <code>SUBTITLE</code> || ||
|-
| '''''Track''''' || <code>track</code> || <code>trkn</code> (<code>©trk</code>) || (<code>IPRT</code>) || <code>TRACK</code> || <code>-t</code>, <code>-track</code> / <code>-T</code>, <code>-tracks</code> || track number / number of tracks
|-
| || <code>disc</code> || <code>disk</code> || || <code>DISCNUMBER</code> || <code>-d</code>, <code>-disk</code> / <code>-D</code>, <code>-disks</code> || disc number / number of discs
|-
| (''Rating'') || <code>rating</code> || <code>rtng</code> || || <code>ITUNESADVISORY</code> || <code>-X</code>, <code>-rating</code> || Rating (0 = none, 1 = clean, 2 = explicit)
|-
| (''Country'') || <code>location</code> || <code>©xyz</code> (<code>loci</code>) || || || || GPS coordinates
|-
| (''Trailer'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''PictureURL'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''Votes'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''UniqueIDs'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''Tags'') || (<code>keywords</code>) || (<code>keyw</code> (<code>©key</code>)) || || || || tags, keywords
|-
| (''OriginalTitle'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''EpisodeGuide'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''Status'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''ShowLink'') || <code>URL</code> || <code>©url</code> || || || ||
|-
| (''NamedSeasons'') || || || || || || array
|-
| || <code>podcast</code> || <code>pcst</code> || || <code>PODCAST</code> || <code>-B</code>, <code>-podcast</code> || podcast flag (0/1)
|-
| || <code>category</code> || <code>catg</code> || || <code>PODCASTCATEGORY</code> || <code>-O</code>, <code>-category</code> || category
|-
| (''UniqueID'') || || <code>cnID</code> || || <code>ITUNESCATALOGID</code> || <code>-I</code>, <code>-contentid</code>? || content ID
|-
| (''UniqueID'') || <code>episode_uid</code> || <code>egid</code> || || <code>PODCASTID</code> || <code>-I</code>, <code>-contentid</code>? || content ID
|}

Kodi variables in parentheses are not supported at the moment, but if they are in the future, these are the most likely mappings.

== MP4 tag options ==

For MP4 tags, Kodi reads Title, Writing Credits, Plot, Plot Outline, Year, Album, Artist and Track information if available.


== MKV tag options ==

MKV tagging currently does mostly ignore the Matroska tagging specification to fill library info. Instead, a Kodi standard NFO file can be ''embedded'' into MKV files.

* An attachment named '''kodi-metadata''' will be scanned as an embedded .nfo file
* An attachment named '''kodi-override-metadata''' will be scanned as a url nfo if combined with specifying IMDB/TMDB url. if alone, you get an override nfo

The only textual tags supported in MKV fields as of v18.6 are (case-insensitive) ''Title'' = <code>title</code>, ''Director'' = <code>director</code> (multiple entries may be separated by a forward slash) and ''Year'' = <code>date_released</code>.

== AVI tag options ==

As of v18.6, Kodi only recognizes ''Title'' and ''Year'' variables from AVI tags.<ref name="VideoTagLoaderFFmpeg.cpp">[https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/blob/master/xbmc/video/tags/VideoTagLoaderFFmpeg.cpp Kodi source code of <code>VideoTagLoaderFFmpeg.cpp</code>]</ref>

== FAQ ==

; {{red|I cannot find these video related tags in mp3tag}}
: To get to all the juicy video file related tags in mp3tag, right click on your video file and select "Extended Tags". From here one can see all the tags currently in a file. Add new ones by clicking on the Add button, selecting a Field (what tag to edit) and entering a value. The most critical one in all cases is TITLE, as it seems Kodi will not add a media file if this core tag is missing (and there is no .nfo file).
: This will also allow you to add the cover artwork.
; {{red|What format is this- id3, APE, Generic, MP4, other?}}
: MP4 files use "moov" atoms embedded within the file. These are the same ones used in AAC audio files (such as m4a).
; {{red|IMDBURL/TMDBURL is this one tag or two separate tags?}}
: Two separate ones, only supported within Matroska (MKV) files currently.

= Artwork =
For MKV you can have embedded images. currently limited to:
* 'small_cover.png' or 'small_cover.jpg' for thumb
* 'cover.png' or 'cover.jpg' for poster
* 'fanart.png' or 'fanart.jpg' for fanart

'poster' images can be embedded in MP4 files.

{{top}}

<div style="{{linear-gradient|left|#a1f5e4, #f5f5a1}}">{{next|[[Adding_video_sources|'''Add Source & Scrape''']]}} </div>

{{updated|18}}
[[Category:FAQ]]
[[Category:Index]]
[[Category:How-to]]
[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Manual]]
[[Category:Karellen]]
[[Category:Video library]]
[[Category:General topics]]
[[Category:First time user]]
[[Category:Quick Start Guide]]

Video file tagging

2021-02-17T09:46:00Z

Crissov: /* AVI tag options */ <ref name="VideoTagLoaderFFmpeg.cpp">

{{mininav|[[Video library]]||}}
{{incomplete}}
{{notice|This feature is currently for '''movies only'''. TV shows and music videos are not yet supported.}}
{{notice|This page describes an alternative way of adding movies to the library that is not dependent on file names or online scrapers.}}

<section begin="intro" />Kodi v18 Leia introduces support for embedded video tags using '''*.mkv''' and '''*.mp4''' video files. '''*.avi''' support is available since v18.x. They are similar in principle to the tags saved in audio files. Only limited support for video tags is available at this time.<section end="intro" />

= Benefits of embedded video tags =
There are multiple reasons why one would want to use this feature:
Media may already contain useful metadata (the reverse however is also true - many files contain "junk" metadata, hence why the feature defaults to off).
It gives one more control over the metadata than scrapers do (as scrapers may misclassify media and pull the wrong data).
It does away with the need to have [[NFO files]]. Since metadata travels with the media file, there is no longer a need for potentially thousands of these smaller files and can make directory management even easier.
Using ultra-high resolution [[artwork]]/cover images that looks nicer on newer HD displays. (Pretty pictures!)

== How does it change/differ from the old model? ==
Kodi has two options for metadata import: using an online scraper or using local information, traditionally in the form of .nfo files. Local tag reading is bundled into the "Local Information" arm, as logically, metadata is still local (i.e not network-drawn) information. Thus, one can still use a combination of .nfo files and embedded information if they choose "Local Information" rather than to use a scraper.

It is important to note however that .nfo files will override embedded information. Not all of Kodi's NFO features are supported by embedded metadata yet, so many users may wish to still use the NFO method. (https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=326340)

== Settings ==
{{Kodi}} [[settings]] have the option to enable or disable the reading of video file tags at [[Settings/Media/Videos|Settings > Media Settings > Videos > Use video tags]]. The default setting is ''disabled''.

This page assumes this setting has been ''enabled''.

= Folder & File Structure =
The use of Video File Tags does not absolve you from using the correct Folder and File structure for [[Naming video files/Movies|Movies]], [[Naming video files/TV shows|TV Shows]] and [[Music videos|Music Videos]] as detailed in the previous pages.

= Tagging =
{{no endorsement notice}}

{{note|User-friendly options for adding and editing embedded metadata may be lacking for your given platform. Be prepared for challenges when going down this path.}}

== Windows ==
[http://www.mp3tag.de MP3tag] is a Windows-based metadata editor for many different files and tag types, including MP4 and MKV (despite what it's name may suggest). While somewhat complex, it provides very fine-grained control over [https://help.mp3tag.de/main_tags.html tagging], and is a worthwhile asset in any media management library.

MetaX is a user-friendly tagging solution. However, it is proprietary and paid ($10). It features much the same core features as MP3tag, but adds an online search functionality to grab metadata from providers such as iTunes, Amazon and others, as well as an autotag feature. This can be useful to people with enormous media collections where the time saved manually tagging justifies the price.

== Mac ==

* [https://griff.github.io/metaz/ MetaZ] is a free and open source MP4 metadata lookup and editor for Mac OS.

== Linux ==

* mp4v2

== Cross-platform ==

* exiftool

== A note on iTunes ==
Apple, in their wisdom, have created a subset of MP4 tags that are strictly speaking only meant for use with iTunes. However, most tagging software can read and write these iTunes tags. These tags are also quite useful but some will not work with Kodi. Tags include the ability to store Cast (actors), Screenwriter and Director information, as well as age restriction data such as MPAA ratings.

The important point to note here is that just because your tagging software allows you to add these does not mean they will be used by Kodi.

= Core Tags =

While there are an absolute myriad of tags that one can use, many, if not most of these are unnecessary for video files. Remember that MP4 tags have to have fields for everything - TV shows, movies, music videos, music, audiobooks, and even images! We usually do not want to populate tags related to music (such as Artist) in a movie file. As such here are some of the most critical tags for video (TV show and Movie) files.

== Title ==
Kodi will not import a media file without a valid ''Title'' in the metadata tag. This makes it the most critical tag of all. An exception is made for MKV files which have an <code>IMDBURL</code> or <code>TMDBURL</code> metatag.

Title differs from filename - I may have a file called Blade_Runner_2049_(2017)Withalotofexcessinformation.mp4, But the title value can simply be "Blade Runner 2049". Kodi will then display "Blade Runner 2049".

Beware that many people who distribute video files do not care much for proper metadata within the file even if they are shipping proper NFO or XML files with them. Regardless, their files may still have tags, but with rubbish or spam content. This is the reason why Kodi defaults to not use embedded tags in video files.

== Description ==
This describes the movie/TV Show. A snippet from iTunes' description of Blade Runner 2049 is as follows: "Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos."

Descriptions thus actually describe the character or basic plot of a movie or TV Show. These will be displayed in Kodi when the file is selected.

Best practice at this point seems to be to mirror the Long Description and Short Description, as there does not seem to be any practical distinction between the two.

When using this tag with TV Shows, every episode can be individually described according to the plot of that particular episode.

== Content Type ==
In MP4 there should be four choices: Music, Music Video, Movie and TV Show. The choice does not seem to matter at this point as Kodi can not distinguish files based on this tag, but rather relies on the manual setting when the directory was added. It might be useful to set this properly when tagging however, as a future change to allow Kodi to distinguish these tags may prove invaluable.

== Cover/Picture ==
For some users, the singular greatest benefit to tags is being able to set your own cover image. Don't like the standard cover? Use the Collectors Edition or Digital Download cover.

== TV Show Specific Tags ==
There are three more tags that should be filled in for TV Shows: '''Show''' (<code>tvsh</code>), numeric '''Season''' (<code>tvsn</code>) and '''Episode Number''' (<code>tves</code>) and the unique '''Production Code''' (<code>tven</code>).
At the moment these tags do not seem to be of any practical use in Kodi, but should nevertheless be filled out as this may change.

= Supported Tags =

Kodi relies on FFmpeg libraries to import MP4, MKV and AVI metadata. The [https://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php/FFmpeg_Metadata documentation in the Multimedia.cx wiki] is not always up to date, but is correct in general. For proper details, one needs to inspect the [https://www.ffmpeg.org/doxygen/4.0/movenc_8c_source.html <code>mov_write_****_tag()</code> functions in the FFmpeg source code].

; {{red|are the tags in this table for both mkv and mp4?}}
: Both MP4 and MKV tags are supported, although they use fundamentally different methods of encoding metadata.
; {{red|I cannot find these video related tags in mp3tag}}
: To get to all the juicy video file related tags in mp3tag, right click on your video file and select "Extended Tags". From here one can see all the tags currently in a file. Add new ones by clicking on the Add button, selecting a Field (what tag to edit) and entering a value. The most critical one in all cases is TITLE, as it seems Kodi will not add a media file if this core tag is missing (and there is no .nfo file).
: This will also allow you to add the cover artwork.
; {{red|What format is this- id3, APE, Generic, MP4, other?}}
: MP4 files use "moov" atoms embedded within the file. These are the same ones used in AAC audio files (such as m4a).
; {{red|IMDBURL/TMDBURL is this one tag or two separate tags?}}
: Two separate ones, only supported within Matroska (MKV) files currently.

== MP4 tag options ==

For MP4 tags, Kodi reads Title, Writing Credits, Plot, Plot Outline, Year, Album, Artist and Track information if available.

{| class="wikitable prettytable sortable"
|+ Tag field mapping table
! Kodi !! FFmpeg !! MP4 box / atom !! AVI FourCC !! [https://help.mp3tag.de/main_tags.html Mp3tag] !! mp4tags / mp4v2 CLI !! Description
|-
| || <code>album_artist</code> || <code>aART</code> || || <code>ALBUMARTIST</code> || <code>-R</code>, <code>-albumartist</code> || album artist
|-
| '''''Album''''' || <code>album</code> || <code>©alb</code> || (<code>IPRD</code>) || <code>ALBUM</code> || <code>-A</code>, <code>-album</code> || album title
|-
| || <code title="read">sort_album</code> (<code title="write">album-sort</code>) || <code>soal</code> || || <code>ALBUMSORT</code> || ||
|-
| '''''Artist''''' || <code>artist</code> || <code>©art</code>, <code>©ART</code> || (<code>IART</code>) || <code>ARTIST</code> || <code>-a</code>, <code>-artist</code> || artist information
|-
| || <code title="read">artist</code> (<code title="write">author</code>) || <code>©aut</code> || || || || author information
|-
| || <code title="read">sort_artist</code> (<code title="write">artist-sort</code>) || <code>soar</code> || || <code>ARTISTSORT</code> || ||
|-
| || <code>comment</code> || <code>©cmt</code> (<code title="write-only">©des</code>) || (<code>ICMT</code>) || <code>COMMENT</code> || <code>-c</code>, <code>-comment</code> || general comment
|-
| || <code>compilation</code> || <code>cpil</code> || || <code>COMPILATION</code> || ||
|-
| '''''WritingCredits''''' (split at slashes) || <code>composer</code> || <code>©wrt</code> || || <code>COMPOSER</code> || <code>-w</code>, <code>-writer</code> || composer information
|-
| || <code>copyright</code> || <code>©cpy</code> (<code>cprt</code>) || (<code>ICOP</code>) || <code>COPYRIGHT</code> || <code>-C</code>, <code>-copyright</code> || copyright information
|-
| || <code>creation_time</code> || || || <code>ENCODINGTIME</code> || ||
|-
| '''''Year''''' || <code title="read">date</code> || <code>©day</code> || <code>ICRD</code> || <code>RELEASETIME</code> || ||
|-
| (''Premiered'') || <code title="write">year</code> || <code>©day</code> || || <code>YEAR</code> || <code>-y</code>, <code>-year</code> || release date
|-
| || <code>encoded_by</code> || || (<code>ITCH</code>) || <code>ENCODEDBY</code> || <code>-e</code>, <code>-encodedby</code> || name of the person or company who encoded the file
|-
| || <code>encoder</code> || <code>©too</code> (<code>©swr</code>) || (<code>ISFT</code>) || <code>ENCODERSETTINGS</code> || <code>-E</code>, <code>-tool</code> || software used for encoding
|-
| (''ProductionCode'') || <code>episode_id</code> || <code>tven</code> || || <code>TVEPISODEID</code> || <code>-o</code>, <code>-episodeid</code> || TV episode ID
|-
| || <code>episode_sort</code> || <code>tves</code> || || <code>TVEPISODE</code> || <code>-M</code>, <code>-episode</code> || episode number
|-
| || <code>season_number</code> || <code>tvsn</code> || || <code>TVSEASON</code> || <code>-n</code>, <code>-season</code> || season number
|-
| '''''Genre''''' (split at slashes) || <code>genre</code> || <code>©gen</code>, <code>gnre</code> || (<code>IGNR</code>) || <code>GENRE</code> || <code>-g</code>, <code>-genre</code> / <code>-j</code>, <code>-genreid</code> || genre name / ID
|-
| (''Set'') || <code>grouping</code> || <code>©grp</code> || || <code>CONTENTGROUP</code> || <code>-G</code>, <code>-grouping</code> || grouping name, set
|-
| || <code>hd_video</code> || <code>hdvd</code> || || <code>ITUNESHDVIDEO</code> || <code>-H</code>, <code>-hdvideo</code> || HD flag (0 = SD, 1 = 720p, 2 = 1080p/i Full HD, 3 = 2160p UHD)
|-
| || <code>language</code> || || (<code>ILNG</code>) || <code>LANGUAGE</code> || || main/original spoken/displayed language
|-
| || <code>lyrics</code> || <code>©lyr</code> || || <code>UNSYNCEDLYRICS</code> || <code>-L</code>, <code>-lyrics</code> || unsynchronized lyrics
|-
| || <code>media_type</code> || <code>stik</code> || || <code>ITUNESMEDIATYPE</code> || <code>-i</code>, <code>-type</code> || Media Type (TV Show, Movie, Music, Audiobook ...)
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>network</code> || <code>tvnn</code> || || <code>TVNETWORK</code> || <code>-N</code>, <code>-network</code> || TV network, channel, station
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>publisher</code> || || || <code>PUBLISHER</code> || || publisher
|-
| || <code>producer</code> || <code>©PRD</code>, <code>©prd</code> || || || || producer
|-
| (''Director'') || <code>performer</code> || <code>©con</code> || || <code>CONDUCTOR</code> || || conductor, performer
|-
| (''Director'') || <code title="read-only">composer</code> || <code>©com</code> || || || || composer
|-
| (''Director'') || <code title="read-only">director</code> || <code>©dir</code> || || || || director
|-
| (''ShowTitle'') || <code>show</code> || <code>tvsh</code> || || <code>TVSHOW</code> || <code>-S</code>, <code>-show</code> || TV show
|-
| '''''Plot''''' || <code>synopsis</code> || <code>ldes</code> || || <code>PODCASTDESC</code> || <code>-m</code>, <code>-description</code> || short description
|-
| '''''PlotOutline''''', (''Overview'') || <code>description</code> || <code>desc</code> || || <code>DESCRIPTION</code> || <code>-l</code>, <code>-longdesc</code> || long description
|-
| '''''Title''''' || <code>title</code> || <code>©nam</code> || <code>INAM</code> || <code>TITLE</code> || <code>-s</code>, <code>-song</code> || song title, track name
|-
| (''SortTitle'') || <code title="read">sort_name</code> (<code title="write">title-sort</code>) || <code>sonm</code> || || <code>TITLESORT</code> || ||
|-
| (''TagLine'') || <code>subtitle</code> || <code>©st3</code> || || <code>SUBTITLE</code> || ||
|-
| '''''Track''''' || <code>track</code> || <code>trkn</code> (<code>©trk</code>) || (<code>IPRT</code>) || <code>TRACK</code> || <code>-t</code>, <code>-track</code> / <code>-T</code>, <code>-tracks</code> || track number / number of tracks
|-
| || <code>disc</code> || <code>disk</code> || || <code>DISCNUMBER</code> || <code>-d</code>, <code>-disk</code> / <code>-D</code>, <code>-disks</code> || disc number / number of discs
|-
| (''Rating'') || <code>rating</code> || <code>rtng</code> || || <code>ITUNESADVISORY</code> || <code>-X</code>, <code>-rating</code> || Rating (0 = none, 1 = clean, 2 = explicit)
|-
| (''Country'') || <code>location</code> || <code>©xyz</code> (<code>loci</code>) || || || || GPS coordinates
|-
| (''Trailer'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''PictureURL'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''Votes'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''UniqueIDs'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''Tags'') || (<code>keywords</code>) || (<code>keyw</code> (<code>©key</code>)) || || || || tags, keywords
|-
| (''OriginalTitle'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''EpisodeGuide'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''Status'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''ShowLink'') || <code>URL</code> || <code>©url</code> || || || ||
|-
| (''NamedSeasons'') || || || || || || array
|-
| || <code>podcast</code> || <code>pcst</code> || || <code>PODCAST</code> || <code>-B</code>, <code>-podcast</code> || podcast flag (0/1)
|-
| || <code>category</code> || <code>catg</code> || || <code>PODCASTCATEGORY</code> || <code>-O</code>, <code>-category</code> || category
|-
| (''UniqueID'') || || <code>cnID</code> || || <code>ITUNESCATALOGID</code> || <code>-I</code>, <code>-contentid</code>? || content ID
|-
| (''UniqueID'') || <code>episode_uid</code> || <code>egid</code> || || <code>PODCASTID</code> || <code>-I</code>, <code>-contentid</code>? || content ID
|}

Kodi variables in parentheses are not supported at the moment, but if they are in the future, these are the most likely mappings.

== MKV tag options ==

MKV tagging currently does mostly ignore the Matroska tagging specification to fill library info. Instead, a Kodi standard NFO file can be ''embedded'' into MKV files.

* An attachment named '''kodi-metadata''' will be scanned as an embedded .nfo file
* An attachment named '''kodi-override-metadata''' will be scanned as a url nfo if combined with specifying IMDB/TMDB url. if alone, you get an override nfo

The only textual tags supported in MKV fields as of v18.6 are (case-insensitive) ''Title'' = <code>title</code>, ''Director'' = <code>director</code> (multiple entries may be separated by a forward slash) and ''Year'' = <code>date_released</code>.

== AVI tag options ==

As of v18.6, Kodi only recognizes ''Title'' and ''Year'' variables from AVI tags.<ref name="VideoTagLoaderFFmpeg.cpp">[https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/blob/master/xbmc/video/tags/VideoTagLoaderFFmpeg.cpp Kodi source code of <code>VideoTagLoaderFFmpeg.cpp</code>]</ref>

= Artwork =
For MKV you can have embedded images. currently limited to:
* 'small_cover.png' or 'small_cover.jpg' for thumb
* 'cover.png' or 'cover.jpg' for poster
* 'fanart.png' or 'fanart.jpg' for fanart

'poster' images can be embedded in MP4 files.

{{top}}

<div style="{{linear-gradient|left|#a1f5e4, #f5f5a1}}">{{next|[[Adding_video_sources|'''Add Source & Scrape''']]}} </div>

{{updated|18}}
[[Category:FAQ]]
[[Category:Index]]
[[Category:How-to]]
[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Manual]]
[[Category:Karellen]]
[[Category:Video library]]
[[Category:General topics]]
[[Category:First time user]]
[[Category:Quick Start Guide]]

Video file tagging

2021-02-17T09:11:22Z

Crissov: /* TV Show Specific Tags */ <code>

{{mininav|[[Video library]]||}}
{{incomplete}}
{{notice|This feature is currently for '''movies only'''. TV shows and music videos are not yet supported.}}
{{notice|This page describes an alternative way of adding movies to the library that is not dependent on file names or online scrapers.}}

<section begin="intro" />Kodi v18 Leia introduces support for embedded video tags using '''*.mkv''' and '''*.mp4''' video files. '''*.avi''' support is available since v18.x. They are similar in principle to the tags saved in audio files. Only limited support for video tags is available at this time.<section end="intro" />

= Benefits of embedded video tags =
There are multiple reasons why one would want to use this feature:
Media may already contain useful metadata (the reverse however is also true - many files contain "junk" metadata, hence why the feature defaults to off).
It gives one more control over the metadata than scrapers do (as scrapers may misclassify media and pull the wrong data).
It does away with the need to have [[NFO files]]. Since metadata travels with the media file, there is no longer a need for potentially thousands of these smaller files and can make directory management even easier.
Using ultra-high resolution [[artwork]]/cover images that looks nicer on newer HD displays. (Pretty pictures!)

== How does it change/differ from the old model? ==
Kodi has two options for metadata import: using an online scraper or using local information, traditionally in the form of .nfo files. Local tag reading is bundled into the "Local Information" arm, as logically, metadata is still local (i.e not network-drawn) information. Thus, one can still use a combination of .nfo files and embedded information if they choose "Local Information" rather than to use a scraper.

It is important to note however that .nfo files will override embedded information. Not all of Kodi's NFO features are supported by embedded metadata yet, so many users may wish to still use the NFO method. (https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=326340)

== Settings ==
{{Kodi}} [[settings]] have the option to enable or disable the reading of video file tags at [[Settings/Media/Videos|Settings > Media Settings > Videos > Use video tags]]. The default setting is ''disabled''.

This page assumes this setting has been ''enabled''.

= Folder & File Structure =
The use of Video File Tags does not absolve you from using the correct Folder and File structure for [[Naming video files/Movies|Movies]], [[Naming video files/TV shows|TV Shows]] and [[Music videos|Music Videos]] as detailed in the previous pages.

= Tagging =
{{no endorsement notice}}

{{note|User-friendly options for adding and editing embedded metadata may be lacking for your given platform. Be prepared for challenges when going down this path.}}

== Windows ==
[http://www.mp3tag.de MP3tag] is a Windows-based metadata editor for many different files and tag types, including MP4 and MKV (despite what it's name may suggest). While somewhat complex, it provides very fine-grained control over [https://help.mp3tag.de/main_tags.html tagging], and is a worthwhile asset in any media management library.

MetaX is a user-friendly tagging solution. However, it is proprietary and paid ($10). It features much the same core features as MP3tag, but adds an online search functionality to grab metadata from providers such as iTunes, Amazon and others, as well as an autotag feature. This can be useful to people with enormous media collections where the time saved manually tagging justifies the price.

== Mac ==

* [https://griff.github.io/metaz/ MetaZ] is a free and open source MP4 metadata lookup and editor for Mac OS.

== Linux ==

* mp4v2

== Cross-platform ==

* exiftool

== A note on iTunes ==
Apple, in their wisdom, have created a subset of MP4 tags that are strictly speaking only meant for use with iTunes. However, most tagging software can read and write these iTunes tags. These tags are also quite useful but some will not work with Kodi. Tags include the ability to store Cast (actors), Screenwriter and Director information, as well as age restriction data such as MPAA ratings.

The important point to note here is that just because your tagging software allows you to add these does not mean they will be used by Kodi.

= Core Tags =

While there are an absolute myriad of tags that one can use, many, if not most of these are unnecessary for video files. Remember that MP4 tags have to have fields for everything - TV shows, movies, music videos, music, audiobooks, and even images! We usually do not want to populate tags related to music (such as Artist) in a movie file. As such here are some of the most critical tags for video (TV show and Movie) files.

== Title ==
Kodi will not import a media file without a valid ''Title'' in the metadata tag. This makes it the most critical tag of all. An exception is made for MKV files which have an <code>IMDBURL</code> or <code>TMDBURL</code> metatag.

Title differs from filename - I may have a file called Blade_Runner_2049_(2017)Withalotofexcessinformation.mp4, But the title value can simply be "Blade Runner 2049". Kodi will then display "Blade Runner 2049".

Beware that many people who distribute video files do not care much for proper metadata within the file even if they are shipping proper NFO or XML files with them. Regardless, their files may still have tags, but with rubbish or spam content. This is the reason why Kodi defaults to not use embedded tags in video files.

== Description ==
This describes the movie/TV Show. A snippet from iTunes' description of Blade Runner 2049 is as follows: "Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos."

Descriptions thus actually describe the character or basic plot of a movie or TV Show. These will be displayed in Kodi when the file is selected.

Best practice at this point seems to be to mirror the Long Description and Short Description, as there does not seem to be any practical distinction between the two.

When using this tag with TV Shows, every episode can be individually described according to the plot of that particular episode.

== Content Type ==
In MP4 there should be four choices: Music, Music Video, Movie and TV Show. The choice does not seem to matter at this point as Kodi can not distinguish files based on this tag, but rather relies on the manual setting when the directory was added. It might be useful to set this properly when tagging however, as a future change to allow Kodi to distinguish these tags may prove invaluable.

== Cover/Picture ==
For some users, the singular greatest benefit to tags is being able to set your own cover image. Don't like the standard cover? Use the Collectors Edition or Digital Download cover.

== TV Show Specific Tags ==
There are three more tags that should be filled in for TV Shows: '''Show''' (<code>tvsh</code>), numeric '''Season''' (<code>tvsn</code>) and '''Episode Number''' (<code>tves</code>) and the unique '''Production Code''' (<code>tven</code>).
At the moment these tags do not seem to be of any practical use in Kodi, but should nevertheless be filled out as this may change.

= Supported Tags =

Kodi relies on FFmpeg libraries to import MP4, MKV and AVI metadata. The [https://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php/FFmpeg_Metadata documentation in the Multimedia.cx wiki] is not always up to date, but is correct in general. For proper details, one needs to inspect the [https://www.ffmpeg.org/doxygen/4.0/movenc_8c_source.html <code>mov_write_****_tag()</code> functions in the FFmpeg source code].

; {{red|are the tags in this table for both mkv and mp4?}}
: Both MP4 and MKV tags are supported, although they use fundamentally different methods of encoding metadata.
; {{red|I cannot find these video related tags in mp3tag}}
: To get to all the juicy video file related tags in mp3tag, right click on your video file and select "Extended Tags". From here one can see all the tags currently in a file. Add new ones by clicking on the Add button, selecting a Field (what tag to edit) and entering a value. The most critical one in all cases is TITLE, as it seems Kodi will not add a media file if this core tag is missing (and there is no .nfo file).
: This will also allow you to add the cover artwork.
; {{red|What format is this- id3, APE, Generic, MP4, other?}}
: MP4 files use "moov" atoms embedded within the file. These are the same ones used in AAC audio files (such as m4a).
; {{red|IMDBURL/TMDBURL is this one tag or two separate tags?}}
: Two separate ones, only supported within Matroska (MKV) files currently.

== MP4 tag options ==

For MP4 tags, Kodi reads Title, Writing Credits, Plot, Plot Outline, Year, Album, Artist and Track information if available.

{| class="wikitable prettytable sortable"
|+ Tag field mapping table
! Kodi !! FFmpeg !! MP4 box / atom !! AVI FourCC !! [https://help.mp3tag.de/main_tags.html Mp3tag] !! mp4tags / mp4v2 CLI !! Description
|-
| || <code>album_artist</code> || <code>aART</code> || || <code>ALBUMARTIST</code> || <code>-R</code>, <code>-albumartist</code> || album artist
|-
| '''''Album''''' || <code>album</code> || <code>©alb</code> || (<code>IPRD</code>) || <code>ALBUM</code> || <code>-A</code>, <code>-album</code> || album title
|-
| || <code title="read">sort_album</code> (<code title="write">album-sort</code>) || <code>soal</code> || || <code>ALBUMSORT</code> || ||
|-
| '''''Artist''''' || <code>artist</code> || <code>©art</code>, <code>©ART</code> || (<code>IART</code>) || <code>ARTIST</code> || <code>-a</code>, <code>-artist</code> || artist information
|-
| || <code title="read">artist</code> (<code title="write">author</code>) || <code>©aut</code> || || || || author information
|-
| || <code title="read">sort_artist</code> (<code title="write">artist-sort</code>) || <code>soar</code> || || <code>ARTISTSORT</code> || ||
|-
| || <code>comment</code> || <code>©cmt</code> (<code title="write-only">©des</code>) || (<code>ICMT</code>) || <code>COMMENT</code> || <code>-c</code>, <code>-comment</code> || general comment
|-
| || <code>compilation</code> || <code>cpil</code> || || <code>COMPILATION</code> || ||
|-
| '''''WritingCredits''''' (split at slashes) || <code>composer</code> || <code>©wrt</code> || || <code>COMPOSER</code> || <code>-w</code>, <code>-writer</code> || composer information
|-
| || <code>copyright</code> || <code>©cpy</code> (<code>cprt</code>) || (<code>ICOP</code>) || <code>COPYRIGHT</code> || <code>-C</code>, <code>-copyright</code> || copyright information
|-
| || <code>creation_time</code> || || || <code>ENCODINGTIME</code> || ||
|-
| '''''Year''''' || <code title="read">date</code> || <code>©day</code> || <code>ICRD</code> || <code>RELEASETIME</code> || ||
|-
| (''Premiered'') || <code title="write">year</code> || <code>©day</code> || || <code>YEAR</code> || <code>-y</code>, <code>-year</code> || release date
|-
| || <code>encoded_by</code> || || (<code>ITCH</code>) || <code>ENCODEDBY</code> || <code>-e</code>, <code>-encodedby</code> || name of the person or company who encoded the file
|-
| || <code>encoder</code> || <code>©too</code> (<code>©swr</code>) || (<code>ISFT</code>) || <code>ENCODERSETTINGS</code> || <code>-E</code>, <code>-tool</code> || software used for encoding
|-
| (''ProductionCode'') || <code>episode_id</code> || <code>tven</code> || || <code>TVEPISODEID</code> || <code>-o</code>, <code>-episodeid</code> || TV episode ID
|-
| || <code>episode_sort</code> || <code>tves</code> || || <code>TVEPISODE</code> || <code>-M</code>, <code>-episode</code> || episode number
|-
| || <code>season_number</code> || <code>tvsn</code> || || <code>TVSEASON</code> || <code>-n</code>, <code>-season</code> || season number
|-
| '''''Genre''''' (split at slashes) || <code>genre</code> || <code>©gen</code>, <code>gnre</code> || (<code>IGNR</code>) || <code>GENRE</code> || <code>-g</code>, <code>-genre</code> / <code>-j</code>, <code>-genreid</code> || genre name / ID
|-
| (''Set'') || <code>grouping</code> || <code>©grp</code> || || <code>CONTENTGROUP</code> || <code>-G</code>, <code>-grouping</code> || grouping name, set
|-
| || <code>hd_video</code> || <code>hdvd</code> || || <code>ITUNESHDVIDEO</code> || <code>-H</code>, <code>-hdvideo</code> || HD flag (0 = SD, 1 = 720p, 2 = 1080p/i Full HD, 3 = 2160p UHD)
|-
| || <code>language</code> || || (<code>ILNG</code>) || <code>LANGUAGE</code> || || main/original spoken/displayed language
|-
| || <code>lyrics</code> || <code>©lyr</code> || || <code>UNSYNCEDLYRICS</code> || <code>-L</code>, <code>-lyrics</code> || unsynchronized lyrics
|-
| || <code>media_type</code> || <code>stik</code> || || <code>ITUNESMEDIATYPE</code> || <code>-i</code>, <code>-type</code> || Media Type (TV Show, Movie, Music, Audiobook ...)
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>network</code> || <code>tvnn</code> || || <code>TVNETWORK</code> || <code>-N</code>, <code>-network</code> || TV network, channel, station
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>publisher</code> || || || <code>PUBLISHER</code> || || publisher
|-
| || <code>producer</code> || <code>©PRD</code>, <code>©prd</code> || || || || producer
|-
| (''Director'') || <code>performer</code> || <code>©con</code> || || <code>CONDUCTOR</code> || || conductor, performer
|-
| (''Director'') || <code title="read-only">composer</code> || <code>©com</code> || || || || composer
|-
| (''Director'') || <code title="read-only">director</code> || <code>©dir</code> || || || || director
|-
| (''ShowTitle'') || <code>show</code> || <code>tvsh</code> || || <code>TVSHOW</code> || <code>-S</code>, <code>-show</code> || TV show
|-
| '''''Plot''''' || <code>synopsis</code> || <code>ldes</code> || || <code>PODCASTDESC</code> || <code>-m</code>, <code>-description</code> || short description
|-
| '''''PlotOutline''''', (''Overview'') || <code>description</code> || <code>desc</code> || || <code>DESCRIPTION</code> || <code>-l</code>, <code>-longdesc</code> || long description
|-
| '''''Title''''' || <code>title</code> || <code>©nam</code> || <code>INAM</code> || <code>TITLE</code> || <code>-s</code>, <code>-song</code> || song title, track name
|-
| (''SortTitle'') || <code title="read">sort_name</code> (<code title="write">title-sort</code>) || <code>sonm</code> || || <code>TITLESORT</code> || ||
|-
| (''TagLine'') || <code>subtitle</code> || <code>©st3</code> || || <code>SUBTITLE</code> || ||
|-
| '''''Track''''' || <code>track</code> || <code>trkn</code> (<code>©trk</code>) || (<code>IPRT</code>) || <code>TRACK</code> || <code>-t</code>, <code>-track</code> / <code>-T</code>, <code>-tracks</code> || track number / number of tracks
|-
| || <code>disc</code> || <code>disk</code> || || <code>DISCNUMBER</code> || <code>-d</code>, <code>-disk</code> / <code>-D</code>, <code>-disks</code> || disc number / number of discs
|-
| (''Rating'') || <code>rating</code> || <code>rtng</code> || || <code>ITUNESADVISORY</code> || <code>-X</code>, <code>-rating</code> || Rating (0 = none, 1 = clean, 2 = explicit)
|-
| (''Country'') || <code>location</code> || <code>©xyz</code> (<code>loci</code>) || || || || GPS coordinates
|-
| (''Trailer'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''PictureURL'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''Votes'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''UniqueIDs'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''Tags'') || (<code>keywords</code>) || (<code>keyw</code> (<code>©key</code>)) || || || || tags, keywords
|-
| (''OriginalTitle'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''EpisodeGuide'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''Status'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''ShowLink'') || <code>URL</code> || <code>©url</code> || || || ||
|-
| (''NamedSeasons'') || || || || || || array
|-
| || <code>podcast</code> || <code>pcst</code> || || <code>PODCAST</code> || <code>-B</code>, <code>-podcast</code> || podcast flag (0/1)
|-
| || <code>category</code> || <code>catg</code> || || <code>PODCASTCATEGORY</code> || <code>-O</code>, <code>-category</code> || category
|-
| (''UniqueID'') || || <code>cnID</code> || || <code>ITUNESCATALOGID</code> || <code>-I</code>, <code>-contentid</code>? || content ID
|-
| (''UniqueID'') || <code>episode_uid</code> || <code>egid</code> || || <code>PODCASTID</code> || <code>-I</code>, <code>-contentid</code>? || content ID
|}

Kodi variables in parentheses are not supported at the moment, but if they are in the future, these are the most likely mappings.

== MKV tag options ==

MKV tagging currently does mostly ignore the Matroska tagging specification to fill library info. Instead, a Kodi standard NFO file can be ''embedded'' into MKV files.

* An attachment named '''kodi-metadata''' will be scanned as an embedded .nfo file
* An attachment named '''kodi-override-metadata''' will be scanned as a url nfo if combined with specifying IMDB/TMDB url. if alone, you get an override nfo

The only textual tags supported in MKV fields as of v18.6 are (case-insensitive) ''Title'' = <code>title</code>, ''Director'' = <code>director</code> (multiple entries may be separated by a forward slash) and ''Year'' = <code>date_released</code>.

== AVI tag options ==

As of v18.6, Kodi only recognizes ''Title'' and ''Year'' variables from AVI tags.

= Artwork =
For MKV you can have embedded images. currently limited to:
* 'small_cover.png' or 'small_cover.jpg' for thumb
* 'cover.png' or 'cover.jpg' for poster
* 'fanart.png' or 'fanart.jpg' for fanart

'poster' images can be embedded in MP4 files.

{{top}}

<div style="{{linear-gradient|left|#a1f5e4, #f5f5a1}}">{{next|[[Adding_video_sources|'''Add Source & Scrape''']]}} </div>

{{updated|18}}
[[Category:FAQ]]
[[Category:Index]]
[[Category:How-to]]
[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Manual]]
[[Category:Karellen]]
[[Category:Video library]]
[[Category:General topics]]
[[Category:First time user]]
[[Category:Quick Start Guide]]

Video file tagging

2021-02-17T08:25:11Z

Crissov: /* MP4 tag options */ remove empty codes

{{mininav|[[Video library]]||}}
{{incomplete}}
{{notice|This feature is currently for '''movies only'''. TV shows and music videos are not yet supported.}}
{{notice|This page describes an alternative way of adding movies to the library that is not dependent on file names or online scrapers.}}

<section begin="intro" />Kodi v18 Leia introduces support for embedded video tags using '''*.mkv''' and '''*.mp4''' video files. '''*.avi''' support is available since v18.x. They are similar in principle to the tags saved in audio files. Only limited support for video tags is available at this time.<section end="intro" />

= Benefits of embedded video tags =
There are multiple reasons why one would want to use this feature:
Media may already contain useful metadata (the reverse however is also true - many files contain "junk" metadata, hence why the feature defaults to off).
It gives one more control over the metadata than scrapers do (as scrapers may misclassify media and pull the wrong data).
It does away with the need to have [[NFO files]]. Since metadata travels with the media file, there is no longer a need for potentially thousands of these smaller files and can make directory management even easier.
Using ultra-high resolution [[artwork]]/cover images that looks nicer on newer HD displays. (Pretty pictures!)

== How does it change/differ from the old model? ==
Kodi has two options for metadata import: using an online scraper or using local information, traditionally in the form of .nfo files. Local tag reading is bundled into the "Local Information" arm, as logically, metadata is still local (i.e not network-drawn) information. Thus, one can still use a combination of .nfo files and embedded information if they choose "Local Information" rather than to use a scraper.

It is important to note however that .nfo files will override embedded information. Not all of Kodi's NFO features are supported by embedded metadata yet, so many users may wish to still use the NFO method. (https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=326340)

== Settings ==
{{Kodi}} [[settings]] have the option to enable or disable the reading of video file tags at [[Settings/Media/Videos|Settings > Media Settings > Videos > Use video tags]]. The default setting is ''disabled''.

This page assumes this setting has been ''enabled''.

= Folder & File Structure =
The use of Video File Tags does not absolve you from using the correct Folder and File structure for [[Naming video files/Movies|Movies]], [[Naming video files/TV shows|TV Shows]] and [[Music videos|Music Videos]] as detailed in the previous pages.

= Tagging =
{{no endorsement notice}}

{{note|User-friendly options for adding and editing embedded metadata may be lacking for your given platform. Be prepared for challenges when going down this path.}}

== Windows ==
[http://www.mp3tag.de MP3tag] is a Windows-based metadata editor for many different files and tag types, including MP4 and MKV (despite what it's name may suggest). While somewhat complex, it provides very fine-grained control over [https://help.mp3tag.de/main_tags.html tagging], and is a worthwhile asset in any media management library.

MetaX is a user-friendly tagging solution. However, it is proprietary and paid ($10). It features much the same core features as MP3tag, but adds an online search functionality to grab metadata from providers such as iTunes, Amazon and others, as well as an autotag feature. This can be useful to people with enormous media collections where the time saved manually tagging justifies the price.

== Mac ==

* [https://griff.github.io/metaz/ MetaZ] is a free and open source MP4 metadata lookup and editor for Mac OS.

== Linux ==

* mp4v2

== Cross-platform ==

* exiftool

== A note on iTunes ==
Apple, in their wisdom, have created a subset of MP4 tags that are strictly speaking only meant for use with iTunes. However, most tagging software can read and write these iTunes tags. These tags are also quite useful but some will not work with Kodi. Tags include the ability to store Cast (actors), Screenwriter and Director information, as well as age restriction data such as MPAA ratings.

The important point to note here is that just because your tagging software allows you to add these does not mean they will be used by Kodi.

= Core Tags =

While there are an absolute myriad of tags that one can use, many, if not most of these are unnecessary for video files. Remember that MP4 tags have to have fields for everything - TV shows, movies, music videos, music, audiobooks, and even images! We usually do not want to populate tags related to music (such as Artist) in a movie file. As such here are some of the most critical tags for video (TV show and Movie) files.

== Title ==
Kodi will not import a media file without a valid ''Title'' in the metadata tag. This makes it the most critical tag of all. An exception is made for MKV files which have an <code>IMDBURL</code> or <code>TMDBURL</code> metatag.

Title differs from filename - I may have a file called Blade_Runner_2049_(2017)Withalotofexcessinformation.mp4, But the title value can simply be "Blade Runner 2049". Kodi will then display "Blade Runner 2049".

Beware that many people who distribute video files do not care much for proper metadata within the file even if they are shipping proper NFO or XML files with them. Regardless, their files may still have tags, but with rubbish or spam content. This is the reason why Kodi defaults to not use embedded tags in video files.

== Description ==
This describes the movie/TV Show. A snippet from iTunes' description of Blade Runner 2049 is as follows: "Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos."

Descriptions thus actually describe the character or basic plot of a movie or TV Show. These will be displayed in Kodi when the file is selected.

Best practice at this point seems to be to mirror the Long Description and Short Description, as there does not seem to be any practical distinction between the two.

When using this tag with TV Shows, every episode can be individually described according to the plot of that particular episode.

== Content Type ==
In MP4 there should be four choices: Music, Music Video, Movie and TV Show. The choice does not seem to matter at this point as Kodi can not distinguish files based on this tag, but rather relies on the manual setting when the directory was added. It might be useful to set this properly when tagging however, as a future change to allow Kodi to distinguish these tags may prove invaluable.

== Cover/Picture ==
For some users, the singular greatest benefit to tags is being able to set your own cover image. Don't like the standard cover? Use the Collectors Edition or Digital Download cover.

== TV Show Specific Tags ==
There are three more tags that should be filled in for TV Shows: '''Show''' (tvsh), numeric '''Season''' (tvsn) and '''Episode Number''' (tves) and the unique '''Production Code''' (tven).
At the moment these tags do not seem to be of any practical use in Kodi, but should nevertheless be filled out as this may change.

= Supported Tags =

Kodi relies on FFmpeg libraries to import MP4, MKV and AVI metadata. The [https://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php/FFmpeg_Metadata documentation in the Multimedia.cx wiki] is not always up to date, but is correct in general. For proper details, one needs to inspect the [https://www.ffmpeg.org/doxygen/4.0/movenc_8c_source.html <code>mov_write_****_tag()</code> functions in the FFmpeg source code].

; {{red|are the tags in this table for both mkv and mp4?}}
: Both MP4 and MKV tags are supported, although they use fundamentally different methods of encoding metadata.
; {{red|I cannot find these video related tags in mp3tag}}
: To get to all the juicy video file related tags in mp3tag, right click on your video file and select "Extended Tags". From here one can see all the tags currently in a file. Add new ones by clicking on the Add button, selecting a Field (what tag to edit) and entering a value. The most critical one in all cases is TITLE, as it seems Kodi will not add a media file if this core tag is missing (and there is no .nfo file).
: This will also allow you to add the cover artwork.
; {{red|What format is this- id3, APE, Generic, MP4, other?}}
: MP4 files use "moov" atoms embedded within the file. These are the same ones used in AAC audio files (such as m4a).
; {{red|IMDBURL/TMDBURL is this one tag or two separate tags?}}
: Two separate ones, only supported within Matroska (MKV) files currently.

== MP4 tag options ==

For MP4 tags, Kodi reads Title, Writing Credits, Plot, Plot Outline, Year, Album, Artist and Track information if available.

{| class="wikitable prettytable sortable"
|+ Tag field mapping table
! Kodi !! FFmpeg !! MP4 box / atom !! AVI FourCC !! [https://help.mp3tag.de/main_tags.html Mp3tag] !! mp4tags / mp4v2 CLI !! Description
|-
| || <code>album_artist</code> || <code>aART</code> || || <code>ALBUMARTIST</code> || <code>-R</code>, <code>-albumartist</code> || album artist
|-
| '''''Album''''' || <code>album</code> || <code>©alb</code> || (<code>IPRD</code>) || <code>ALBUM</code> || <code>-A</code>, <code>-album</code> || album title
|-
| || <code title="read">sort_album</code> (<code title="write">album-sort</code>) || <code>soal</code> || || <code>ALBUMSORT</code> || ||
|-
| '''''Artist''''' || <code>artist</code> || <code>©art</code>, <code>©ART</code> || (<code>IART</code>) || <code>ARTIST</code> || <code>-a</code>, <code>-artist</code> || artist information
|-
| || <code title="read">artist</code> (<code title="write">author</code>) || <code>©aut</code> || || || || author information
|-
| || <code title="read">sort_artist</code> (<code title="write">artist-sort</code>) || <code>soar</code> || || <code>ARTISTSORT</code> || ||
|-
| || <code>comment</code> || <code>©cmt</code> (<code title="write-only">©des</code>) || (<code>ICMT</code>) || <code>COMMENT</code> || <code>-c</code>, <code>-comment</code> || general comment
|-
| || <code>compilation</code> || <code>cpil</code> || || <code>COMPILATION</code> || ||
|-
| '''''WritingCredits''''' (split at slashes) || <code>composer</code> || <code>©wrt</code> || || <code>COMPOSER</code> || <code>-w</code>, <code>-writer</code> || composer information
|-
| || <code>copyright</code> || <code>©cpy</code> (<code>cprt</code>) || (<code>ICOP</code>) || <code>COPYRIGHT</code> || <code>-C</code>, <code>-copyright</code> || copyright information
|-
| || <code>creation_time</code> || || || <code>ENCODINGTIME</code> || ||
|-
| '''''Year''''' || <code title="read">date</code> || <code>©day</code> || <code>ICRD</code> || <code>RELEASETIME</code> || ||
|-
| (''Premiered'') || <code title="write">year</code> || <code>©day</code> || || <code>YEAR</code> || <code>-y</code>, <code>-year</code> || release date
|-
| || <code>encoded_by</code> || || (<code>ITCH</code>) || <code>ENCODEDBY</code> || <code>-e</code>, <code>-encodedby</code> || name of the person or company who encoded the file
|-
| || <code>encoder</code> || <code>©too</code> (<code>©swr</code>) || (<code>ISFT</code>) || <code>ENCODERSETTINGS</code> || <code>-E</code>, <code>-tool</code> || software used for encoding
|-
| (''ProductionCode'') || <code>episode_id</code> || <code>tven</code> || || <code>TVEPISODEID</code> || <code>-o</code>, <code>-episodeid</code> || TV episode ID
|-
| || <code>episode_sort</code> || <code>tves</code> || || <code>TVEPISODE</code> || <code>-M</code>, <code>-episode</code> || episode number
|-
| || <code>season_number</code> || <code>tvsn</code> || || <code>TVSEASON</code> || <code>-n</code>, <code>-season</code> || season number
|-
| '''''Genre''''' (split at slashes) || <code>genre</code> || <code>©gen</code>, <code>gnre</code> || (<code>IGNR</code>) || <code>GENRE</code> || <code>-g</code>, <code>-genre</code> / <code>-j</code>, <code>-genreid</code> || genre name / ID
|-
| (''Set'') || <code>grouping</code> || <code>©grp</code> || || <code>CONTENTGROUP</code> || <code>-G</code>, <code>-grouping</code> || grouping name, set
|-
| || <code>hd_video</code> || <code>hdvd</code> || || <code>ITUNESHDVIDEO</code> || <code>-H</code>, <code>-hdvideo</code> || HD flag (0 = SD, 1 = 720p, 2 = 1080p/i Full HD, 3 = 2160p UHD)
|-
| || <code>language</code> || || (<code>ILNG</code>) || <code>LANGUAGE</code> || || main/original spoken/displayed language
|-
| || <code>lyrics</code> || <code>©lyr</code> || || <code>UNSYNCEDLYRICS</code> || <code>-L</code>, <code>-lyrics</code> || unsynchronized lyrics
|-
| || <code>media_type</code> || <code>stik</code> || || <code>ITUNESMEDIATYPE</code> || <code>-i</code>, <code>-type</code> || Media Type (TV Show, Movie, Music, Audiobook ...)
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>network</code> || <code>tvnn</code> || || <code>TVNETWORK</code> || <code>-N</code>, <code>-network</code> || TV network, channel, station
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>publisher</code> || || || <code>PUBLISHER</code> || || publisher
|-
| || <code>producer</code> || <code>©PRD</code>, <code>©prd</code> || || || || producer
|-
| (''Director'') || <code>performer</code> || <code>©con</code> || || <code>CONDUCTOR</code> || || conductor, performer
|-
| (''Director'') || <code title="read-only">composer</code> || <code>©com</code> || || || || composer
|-
| (''Director'') || <code title="read-only">director</code> || <code>©dir</code> || || || || director
|-
| (''ShowTitle'') || <code>show</code> || <code>tvsh</code> || || <code>TVSHOW</code> || <code>-S</code>, <code>-show</code> || TV show
|-
| '''''Plot''''' || <code>synopsis</code> || <code>ldes</code> || || <code>PODCASTDESC</code> || <code>-m</code>, <code>-description</code> || short description
|-
| '''''PlotOutline''''', (''Overview'') || <code>description</code> || <code>desc</code> || || <code>DESCRIPTION</code> || <code>-l</code>, <code>-longdesc</code> || long description
|-
| '''''Title''''' || <code>title</code> || <code>©nam</code> || <code>INAM</code> || <code>TITLE</code> || <code>-s</code>, <code>-song</code> || song title, track name
|-
| (''SortTitle'') || <code title="read">sort_name</code> (<code title="write">title-sort</code>) || <code>sonm</code> || || <code>TITLESORT</code> || ||
|-
| (''TagLine'') || <code>subtitle</code> || <code>©st3</code> || || <code>SUBTITLE</code> || ||
|-
| '''''Track''''' || <code>track</code> || <code>trkn</code> (<code>©trk</code>) || (<code>IPRT</code>) || <code>TRACK</code> || <code>-t</code>, <code>-track</code> / <code>-T</code>, <code>-tracks</code> || track number / number of tracks
|-
| || <code>disc</code> || <code>disk</code> || || <code>DISCNUMBER</code> || <code>-d</code>, <code>-disk</code> / <code>-D</code>, <code>-disks</code> || disc number / number of discs
|-
| (''Rating'') || <code>rating</code> || <code>rtng</code> || || <code>ITUNESADVISORY</code> || <code>-X</code>, <code>-rating</code> || Rating (0 = none, 1 = clean, 2 = explicit)
|-
| (''Country'') || <code>location</code> || <code>©xyz</code> (<code>loci</code>) || || || || GPS coordinates
|-
| (''Trailer'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''PictureURL'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''Votes'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''UniqueIDs'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''Tags'') || (<code>keywords</code>) || (<code>keyw</code> (<code>©key</code>)) || || || || tags, keywords
|-
| (''OriginalTitle'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''EpisodeGuide'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''Status'') || || || || || ||
|-
| (''ShowLink'') || <code>URL</code> || <code>©url</code> || || || ||
|-
| (''NamedSeasons'') || || || || || || array
|-
| || <code>podcast</code> || <code>pcst</code> || || <code>PODCAST</code> || <code>-B</code>, <code>-podcast</code> || podcast flag (0/1)
|-
| || <code>category</code> || <code>catg</code> || || <code>PODCASTCATEGORY</code> || <code>-O</code>, <code>-category</code> || category
|-
| (''UniqueID'') || || <code>cnID</code> || || <code>ITUNESCATALOGID</code> || <code>-I</code>, <code>-contentid</code>? || content ID
|-
| (''UniqueID'') || <code>episode_uid</code> || <code>egid</code> || || <code>PODCASTID</code> || <code>-I</code>, <code>-contentid</code>? || content ID
|}

Kodi variables in parentheses are not supported at the moment, but if they are in the future, these are the most likely mappings.

== MKV tag options ==

MKV tagging currently does mostly ignore the Matroska tagging specification to fill library info. Instead, a Kodi standard NFO file can be ''embedded'' into MKV files.

* An attachment named '''kodi-metadata''' will be scanned as an embedded .nfo file
* An attachment named '''kodi-override-metadata''' will be scanned as a url nfo if combined with specifying IMDB/TMDB url. if alone, you get an override nfo

The only textual tags supported in MKV fields as of v18.6 are (case-insensitive) ''Title'' = <code>title</code>, ''Director'' = <code>director</code> (multiple entries may be separated by a forward slash) and ''Year'' = <code>date_released</code>.

== AVI tag options ==

As of v18.6, Kodi only recognizes ''Title'' and ''Year'' variables from AVI tags.

= Artwork =
For MKV you can have embedded images. currently limited to:
* 'small_cover.png' or 'small_cover.jpg' for thumb
* 'cover.png' or 'cover.jpg' for poster
* 'fanart.png' or 'fanart.jpg' for fanart

'poster' images can be embedded in MP4 files.

{{top}}

<div style="{{linear-gradient|left|#a1f5e4, #f5f5a1}}">{{next|[[Adding_video_sources|'''Add Source & Scrape''']]}} </div>

{{updated|18}}
[[Category:FAQ]]
[[Category:Index]]
[[Category:How-to]]
[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Manual]]
[[Category:Karellen]]
[[Category:Video library]]
[[Category:General topics]]
[[Category:First time user]]
[[Category:Quick Start Guide]]

Video file tagging

2021-02-13T10:01:22Z

Crissov: /* Title */ default

{{mininav|[[Video library]]||}}
{{incomplete}}
{{notice|This feature is currently for '''movies only'''. TV shows and music videos are not yet supported.}}
{{notice|This page describes an alternative way of adding movies to the library that is not dependent on file names or online scrapers.}}

<section begin="intro" />Kodi v18 Leia introduces support for embedded video tags using '''*.mkv''' and '''*.mp4''' video files. '''*.avi''' support is available since v18.x. They are similar in principle to the tags saved in audio files. Only limited support for video tags is available at this time.<section end="intro" />

= Benefits of embedded video tags =
There are multiple reasons why one would want to use this feature:
Media may already contain useful metadata (the reverse however is also true - many files contain "junk" metadata, hence why the feature defaults to off).
It gives one more control over the metadata than scrapers do (as scrapers may misclassify media and pull the wrong data).
It does away with the need to have [[NFO files]]. Since metadata travels with the media file, there is no longer a need for potentially thousands of these smaller files and can make directory management even easier.
Using ultra-high resolution [[artwork]]/cover images that looks nicer on newer HD displays. (Pretty pictures!)

== How does it change/differ from the old model? ==
Kodi has two options for metadata import: using an online scraper or using local information, traditionally in the form of .nfo files. Local tag reading is bundled into the "Local Information" arm, as logically, metadata is still local (i.e not network-drawn) information. Thus, one can still use a combination of .nfo files and embedded information if they choose "Local Information" rather than to use a scraper.

It is important to note however that .nfo files will override embedded information. Not all of Kodi's NFO features are supported by embedded metadata yet, so many users may wish to still use the NFO method. (https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=326340)

== Settings ==
{{Kodi}} [[settings]] have the option to enable or disable the reading of video file tags at [[Settings/Media/Videos|Settings > Media Settings > Videos > Use video tags]]. The default setting is ''disabled''.

This page assumes this setting has been ''enabled''.

= Folder & File Structure =
The use of Video File Tags does not absolve you from using the correct Folder and File structure for [[Naming video files/Movies|Movies]], [[Naming video files/TV shows|TV Shows]] and [[Music videos|Music Videos]] as detailed in the previous pages.

= Tagging =
{{no endorsement notice}}

{{note|User-friendly options for adding and editing embedded metadata may be lacking for your given platform. Be prepared for challenges when going down this path.}}

== Windows ==
[http://www.mp3tag.de MP3tag] is a Windows-based metadata editor for many different files and tag types, including MP4 and MKV (despite what it's name may suggest). While somewhat complex, it provides very fine-grained control over [https://help.mp3tag.de/main_tags.html tagging], and is a worthwhile asset in any media management library.

MetaX is a user-friendly tagging solution. However, it is proprietary and paid ($10). It features much the same core features as MP3tag, but adds an online search functionality to grab metadata from providers such as iTunes, Amazon and others, as well as an autotag feature. This can be useful to people with enormous media collections where the time saved manually tagging justifies the price.

== Mac ==

* [https://griff.github.io/metaz/ MetaZ] is a free and open source MP4 metadata lookup and editor for Mac OS.

== Linux ==

* mp4v2

== Cross-platform ==

* exiftool

== A note on iTunes ==
Apple, in their wisdom, have created a subset of MP4 tags that are strictly speaking only meant for use with iTunes. However, most tagging software can read and write these iTunes tags. These tags are also quite useful but some will not work with Kodi. Tags include the ability to store Cast (actors), Screenwriter and Director information, as well as age restriction data such as MPAA ratings.

The important point to note here is that just because your tagging software allows you to add these does not mean they will be used by Kodi.

= Core Tags =

While there are an absolute myriad of tags that one can use, many, if not most of these are unnecessary for video files. Remember that MP4 tags have to have fields for everything - TV shows, movies, music videos, music, audiobooks, and even images! We usually do not want to populate tags related to music (such as Artist) in a movie file. As such here are some of the most critical tags for video (TV show and Movie) files.

== Title ==
Kodi will not import a media file without a valid ''Title'' in the metadata tag. This makes it the most critical tag of all. An exception is made for MKV files which have an <code>IMDBURL</code> or <code>TMDBURL</code> metatag.

Title differs from filename - I may have a file called Blade_Runner_2049_(2017)Withalotofexcessinformation.mp4, But the title value can simply be "Blade Runner 2049". Kodi will then display "Blade Runner 2049".

Beware that many people who distribute video files do not care much for proper metadata within the file even if they are shipping proper NFO or XML files with them. Regardless, their files may still have tags, but with rubbish or spam content. This is the reason why Kodi defaults to not use embedded tags in video files.

== Description ==
This describes the movie/TV Show. A snippet from iTunes' description of Blade Runner 2049 is as follows: "Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos."

Descriptions thus actually describe the character or basic plot of a movie or TV Show. These will be displayed in Kodi when the file is selected.

Best practice at this point seems to be to mirror the Long Description and Short Description, as there does not seem to be any practical distinction between the two.

When using this tag with TV Shows, every episode can be individually described according to the plot of that particular episode.

== Content Type ==
In MP4 there should be four choices: Music, Music Video, Movie and TV Show. The choice does not seem to matter at this point as Kodi can not distinguish files based on this tag, but rather relies on the manual setting when the directory was added. It might be useful to set this properly when tagging however, as a future change to allow Kodi to distinguish these tags may prove invaluable.

== Cover/Picture ==
For some users, the singular greatest benefit to tags is being able to set your own cover image. Don't like the standard cover? Use the Collectors Edition or Digital Download cover.

== TV Show Specific Tags ==
There are three more tags that should be filled in for TV Shows: '''Show''' (tvsh), numeric '''Season''' (tvsn) and '''Episode Number''' (tves) and the unique '''Production Code''' (tven).
At the moment these tags do not seem to be of any practical use in Kodi, but should nevertheless be filled out as this may change.

= Supported Tags =

Kodi relies on FFmpeg libraries to import MP4, MKV and AVI metadata. The [https://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php/FFmpeg_Metadata documentation in the Multimedia.cx wiki] is not always up to date, but is correct in general. For proper details, one needs to inspect the [https://www.ffmpeg.org/doxygen/4.0/movenc_8c_source.html <code>mov_write_****_tag()</code> functions in the FFmpeg source code].

; {{red|are the tags in this table for both mkv and mp4?}}
: Both MP4 and MKV tags are supported, although they use fundamentally different methods of encoding metadata.
; {{red|I cannot find these video related tags in mp3tag}}
: To get to all the juicy video file related tags in mp3tag, right click on your video file and select "Extended Tags". From here one can see all the tags currently in a file. Add new ones by clicking on the Add button, selecting a Field (what tag to edit) and entering a value. The most critical one in all cases is TITLE, as it seems Kodi will not add a media file if this core tag is missing (and there is no .nfo file).
: This will also allow you to add the cover artwork.
; {{red|What format is this- id3, APE, Generic, MP4, other?}}
: MP4 files use "moov" atoms embedded within the file. These are the same ones used in AAC audio files (such as m4a).
; {{red|IMDBURL/TMDBURL is this one tag or two separate tags?}}
: Two separate ones, only supported within Matroska (MKV) files currently.

== MP4 tag options ==

For MP4 tags, Kodi reads Title, Writing Credits, Plot, Plot Outline, Year, Album, Artist and Track information if available.

{| class="wikitable prettytable"
|+ Tag field mapping table
! Kodi !! FFmpeg !! MP4 box / atom !! AVI FourCC !! [https://help.mp3tag.de/main_tags.html Mp3tag] !! mp4tags / mp4v2 CLI !! Description
|-
| || <code>album_artist</code> || <code>aART</code> || || <code>ALBUMARTIST</code> || <code>-R</code>, <code>-albumartist</code> || album artist
|-
| '''''Album''''' || <code>album</code> || <code>©alb</code> || (<code>IPRD</code>) || <code>ALBUM</code> || <code>-A</code>, <code>-album</code> || album title
|-
| || <code title="read">sort_album</code> (<code title="write">album-sort</code>) || <code>soal</code> || || <code>ALBUMSORT</code> || ||
|-
| '''''Artist''''' || <code>artist</code> || <code>©art</code>, <code>©ART</code> || (<code>IART</code>) || <code>ARTIST</code> || <code>-a</code>, <code>-artist</code> || artist information
|-
| || <code title="read">artist</code> (<code title="write">author</code>) || <code>©aut</code> || || || || author information
|-
| || <code title="read">sort_artist</code> (<code title="write">artist-sort</code>) || <code>soar</code> || || <code>ARTISTSORT</code> || ||
|-
| || <code>comment</code> || <code>©cmt</code> (<code title="write-only">©des</code>) || (<code>ICMT</code>) || <code>COMMENT</code> || <code>-c</code>, <code>-comment</code> || general comment
|-
| || <code>compilation</code> || <code>cpil</code> || || <code>COMPILATION</code> || ||
|-
| '''''WritingCredits''''' (split at slashes) || <code>composer</code> || <code>©wrt</code> || || <code>COMPOSER</code> || <code>-w</code>, <code>-writer</code> || composer information
|-
| || <code>copyright</code> || <code>©cpy</code> (<code>cprt</code>) || (<code>ICOP</code>) || <code>COPYRIGHT</code> || <code>-C</code>, <code>-copyright</code> || copyright information
|-
| || <code>creation_time</code> || || || <code>ENCODINGTIME</code> || ||
|-
| '''''Year''''' || <code title="read">date</code> || <code>©day</code> || <code>ICRD</code> || <code>RELEASETIME</code> || ||
|-
| (''Premiered'') || <code title="write">year</code> || <code>©day</code> || || <code>YEAR</code> || <code>-y</code>, <code>-year</code> || release date
|-
| || <code>encoded_by</code> || || (<code>ITCH</code>) || <code>ENCODEDBY</code> || <code>-e</code>, <code>-encodedby</code> || name of the person or company who encoded the file
|-
| || <code>encoder</code> || <code>©too</code> (<code>©swr</code>) || (<code>ISFT</code>) || <code>ENCODERSETTINGS</code> || <code>-E</code>, <code>-tool</code> || software used for encoding
|-
| (''ProductionCode'') || <code>episode_id</code> || <code>tven</code> || || <code>TVEPISODEID</code> || <code>-o</code>, <code>-episodeid</code> || TV episode ID
|-
| || <code>episode_sort</code> || <code>tves</code> || || <code>TVEPISODE</code> || <code>-M</code>, <code>-episode</code> || episode number
|-
| || <code>season_number</code> || <code>tvsn</code> || || <code>TVSEASON</code> || <code>-n</code>, <code>-season</code> || season number
|-
| '''''Genre''''' (split at slashes) || <code>genre</code> || <code>©gen</code>, <code>gnre</code> || (<code>IGNR</code>) || <code>GENRE</code> || <code>-g</code>, <code>-genre</code> / <code>-j</code>, <code>-genreid</code> || genre name / ID
|-
| (''Set'') || <code>grouping</code> || <code>©grp</code> || || <code>CONTENTGROUP</code> || <code>-G</code>, <code>-grouping</code> || grouping name, set
|-
| || <code>hd_video</code> || <code>hdvd</code> || || <code>ITUNESHDVIDEO</code> || <code>-H</code>, <code>-hdvideo</code> || HD flag (0 = SD, 1 = 720p, 2 = 1080p/i Full HD, 3 = 2160p UHD)
|-
| || <code>language</code> || || (<code>ILNG</code>) || <code>LANGUAGE</code> || || main/original spoken/displayed language
|-
| || <code>lyrics</code> || <code>©lyr</code> || || <code>UNSYNCEDLYRICS</code> || <code>-L</code>, <code>-lyrics</code> || unsynchronized lyrics
|-
| || <code>media_type</code> || <code>stik</code> || || <code>ITUNESMEDIATYPE</code> || <code>-i</code>, <code>-type</code> || Media Type (TV Show, Movie, Music, Audiobook ...)
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>network</code> || <code>tvnn</code> || || <code>TVNETWORK</code> || <code>-N</code>, <code>-network</code> || TV network, channel, station
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>publisher</code> || || || <code>PUBLISHER</code> || || publisher
|-
| || <code>producer</code> || <code>©PRD</code>, <code>©prd</code> || || || || producer
|-
| (''Director'') || <code>performer</code> || <code>©con</code> || || <code>CONDUCTOR</code> || || conductor, performer
|-
| (''Director'') || <code title="read-only">composer</code> || <code>©com</code> || || || || composer
|-
| (''Director'') || <code title="read-only">director</code> || <code>©dir</code> || || || || director
|-
| (''ShowTitle'') || <code>show</code> || <code>tvsh</code> || || <code>TVSHOW</code> || <code>-S</code>, <code>-show</code> || TV show
|-
| '''''Plot''''' || <code>synopsis</code> || <code>ldes</code> || || <code>PODCASTDESC</code> || <code>-m</code>, <code>-description</code> || short description
|-
| '''''PlotOutline''''', (''Overview'') || <code>description</code> || <code>desc</code> || || <code>DESCRIPTION</code> || <code>-l</code>, <code>-longdesc</code> || long description
|-
| '''''Title''''' || <code>title</code> || <code>©nam</code> || <code>INAM</code> || <code>TITLE</code> || <code>-s</code>, <code>-song</code> || song title, track name
|-
| (''SortTitle'') || <code title="read">sort_name</code> (<code title="write">title-sort</code>) || <code>sonm</code> || || <code>TITLESORT</code> || ||
|-
| (''TagLine'') || <code>subtitle</code> || <code>©st3</code> || (<code></code>) || <code>SUBTITLE</code> || <code>-</code>, <code>-</code> ||
|-
| '''''Track''''' || <code>track</code> || <code>trkn</code> (<code>©trk</code>) || (<code>IPRT</code>) || <code>TRACK</code> || <code>-t</code>, <code>-track</code> / <code>-T</code>, <code>-tracks</code> || track number / number of tracks
|-
| || <code>disc</code> || <code>disk</code> || || <code>DISCNUMBER</code> || <code>-d</code>, <code>-disk</code> / <code>-D</code>, <code>-disks</code> || disc number / number of discs
|-
| (''Rating'') || <code>rating</code> || <code>rtng</code> || || <code>ITUNESADVISORY</code> || <code>-X</code>, <code>-rating</code> || Rating (0 = none, 1 = clean, 2 = explicit)
|-
| (''Country'') || <code>location</code> || <code>©xyz</code> (<code>loci</code>) || || || || GPS coordinates
|-
| (''Trailer'') || <code></code> || <code></code> || (<code></code>) || <code></code> || <code>-</code>, <code>-</code> ||
|-
| (''PictureURL'') || <code></code> || <code></code> || (<code></code>) || <code></code> || <code>-</code>, <code>-</code> ||
|-
| (''Votes'') || <code></code> || <code></code> || (<code></code>) || <code></code> || <code>-</code>, <code>-</code> ||
|-
| (''UniqueIDs'') || <code></code> || <code></code> || (<code></code>) || <code></code> || <code>-</code>, <code>-</code> ||
|-
| (''Tags'') || (<code>keywords</code>) || (<code>keyw</code> (<code>©key</code>)) || (<code></code>) || <code></code> || <code>-</code>, <code>-</code> || tags, keywords
|-
| (''OriginalTitle'') || <code></code> || <code></code> || || <code></code> || ||
|-
| (''EpisodeGuide'') || <code></code> || <code></code> || || <code></code> || ||
|-
| (''Status'') || <code></code> || <code></code> || || <code></code> || ||
|-
| (''ShowLink'') || <code>URL</code> || <code>©url</code> || || <code></code> || ||
|-
| (''NamedSeasons'') || <code></code> || <code></code> || || <code></code> || || array
|-
| || <code>podcast</code> || <code>pcst</code> || || <code>PODCAST</code> || <code>-B</code>, <code>-podcast</code> || podcast flag (0/1)
|-
| || <code>category</code> || <code>catg</code> || || <code>PODCASTCATEGORY</code> || <code>-O</code>, <code>-category</code> || category
|-
| (''UniqueID'') || || <code>cnID</code> || || <code>ITUNESCATALOGID</code> || <code>-I</code>, <code>-contentid</code>? || content ID
|-
| (''UniqueID'') || <code>episode_uid</code> || <code>egid</code> || || <code>PODCASTID</code> || <code>-I</code>, <code>-contentid</code>? || content ID
|}

Kodi variables in parentheses are not supported at the moment, but if they are in the future, these are the most likely mappings.

== MKV tag options ==

MKV tagging currently does mostly ignore the Matroska tagging specification to fill library info. Instead, a Kodi standard NFO file can be ''embedded'' into MKV files.

* An attachment named '''kodi-metadata''' will be scanned as an embedded .nfo file
* An attachment named '''kodi-override-metadata''' will be scanned as a url nfo if combined with specifying IMDB/TMDB url. if alone, you get an override nfo

The only textual tags supported in MKV fields as of v18.6 are (case-insensitive) ''Title'' = <code>title</code>, ''Director'' = <code>director</code> (multiple entries may be separated by a forward slash) and ''Year'' = <code>date_released</code>.

== AVI tag options ==

As of v18.6, Kodi only recognizes ''Title'' and ''Year'' variables from AVI tags.

= Artwork =
For MKV you can have embedded images. currently limited to:
* 'small_cover.png' or 'small_cover.jpg' for thumb
* 'cover.png' or 'cover.jpg' for poster
* 'fanart.png' or 'fanart.jpg' for fanart

'poster' images can be embedded in MP4 files.

{{top}}

<div style="{{linear-gradient|left|#a1f5e4, #f5f5a1}}">{{next|[[Adding_video_sources|'''Add Source & Scrape''']]}} </div>

{{updated|18}}
[[Category:FAQ]]
[[Category:Index]]
[[Category:How-to]]
[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Manual]]
[[Category:Karellen]]
[[Category:Video library]]
[[Category:General topics]]
[[Category:First time user]]
[[Category:Quick Start Guide]]

Video file tagging

2020-05-07T08:59:01Z

Crissov: /* Supported Tags */ include more hypothetical rows that had only been mentioned in an invisible comment before

{{mininav|[[Video library]]||}}
{{incomplete}}
{{notice|This feature is currently for '''movies only'''. TV shows and music videos are not yet supported.}}
{{notice|This page describes an alternative way of adding movies to the library that is not dependent on file names or online scrapers.}}

<section begin="intro" />Kodi v18 Leia introduces support for embedded video tags using '''*.mkv''' and '''*.mp4''' video files. '''*.avi''' support is available since v18.x. They are similar in principle to the tags saved in audio files. Only limited support for video tags is available at this time.<section end="intro" />

= Benefits of embedded video tags =
There are multiple reasons why one would want to use this feature:
Media may already contain useful metadata (the reverse however is also true - many files contain "junk" metadata, hence why the feature defaults to off).
It gives one more control over the metadata than scrapers do (as scrapers may misclassify media and pull the wrong data).
It does away with the need to have [[.nfo file]]s. Since metadata travels with the media file, there is no longer a need for potentially thousands of these smaller files and can make directory management even easier.
Using ultra-high resolution [[artwork]]/cover images that looks nicer on newer HD displays. (Pretty pictures!)

== How does it change/differ from the old model? ==
Kodi has two options for metadata import: using an online scraper or using local information, traditionally in the form of .nfo files. Local tag reading is bundled into the "Local Information" arm, as logically, metadata is still local (i.e not network-drawn) information. Thus, one can still use a combination of .nfo files and embedded information if they choose "Local Information" rather than to use a scraper.

It is important to note however that .nfo files will override embedded information. Not all of Kodi's NFO features are supported by embedded metadata yet, so many users may wish to still use the NFO method. (https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=326340)

== Settings ==
{{Kodi}} [[settings]] have the option to enable or disable the reading of video file tags at [[Settings/Media/Videos|Settings > Media Settings > Videos > Use video tags]]. The default setting is ''disabled''.

This page assumes this setting has been ''enabled''.

= Folder & File Structure =
The use of Video File Tags does not absolve you from using the correct Folder and File structure for [[Naming video files/Movies|Movies]], [[Naming video files/TV shows|TV Shows]] and [[Music videos|Music Videos]] as detailed in the previous pages.

= Tagging =
{{no endorsement notice}}

{{note|User-friendly options for adding and editing embedded metadata may be lacking for your given platform. Be prepared for challenges when going down this path.}}

== Windows ==
[http://www.mp3tag.de MP3tag] is a Windows-based metadata editor for many different files and tag types, including MP4 and MKV (despite what it's name may suggest). While somewhat complex, it provides very fine-grained control over [https://help.mp3tag.de/main_tags.html tagging], and is a worthwhile asset in any media management library.

MetaX is a user-friendly tagging solution. However, it is proprietary and paid ($10). It features much the same core features as MP3tag, but adds an online search functionality to grab metadata from providers such as iTunes, Amazon and others, as well as an autotag feature. This can be useful to people with enormous media collections where the time saved manually tagging justifies the price.

== Mac ==

* [https://griff.github.io/metaz/ MetaZ] is a free and open source MP4 metadata lookup and editor for Mac OS.

== Linux ==

* mp4v2

== Cross-platform ==

* exiftool

== A note on iTunes ==
Apple, in their wisdom, have created a subset of MP4 tags that are strictly speaking only meant for use with iTunes. However, most tagging software can read and write these iTunes tags. These tags are also quite useful but some will not work with Kodi. Tags include the ability to store Cast (actors), Screenwriter and Director information, as well as age restriction data such as MPAA ratings.

The important point to note here is that just because your tagging software allows you to add these does not mean they will be used by Kodi.

= Core Tags =

While there are an absolute myriad of tags that one can use, many, if not most of these are unnecessary for video files. Remember that MP4 tags have to have fields for everything - TV shows, movies, music videos, music, audiobooks, and even images! We usually do not want to populate tags related to music (such as Artist) in a movie file. As such here are some of the most critical tags for video (TV show and Movie) files.

== Title ==
Kodi will not import a media file without a valid ''Title'' in the metadata tag. This makes it the most critical tag of all. An exception is made for MKV files which have an <code>IMDBURL</code> or <code>TMDBURL</code> metatag.

Title differs from filename - I may have a file called Blade_Runner_2049_(2017)Withalotofexcessinformation.mp4, But the title value can simply be "Blade Runner 2049". Kodi will then display "Blade Runner 2049".

Beware that many people who distribute video files do not care much for proper metadata within the file even if they are shipping proper NFO or XML files with them. Regardless, their files may still have tags, but with rubbish or spam content.

== Description ==
This describes the movie/TV Show. A snippet from iTunes' description of Blade Runner 2049 is as follows: "Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos."

Descriptions thus actually describe the character or basic plot of a movie or TV Show. These will be displayed in Kodi when the file is selected.

Best practice at this point seems to be to mirror the Long Description and Short Description, as there does not seem to be any practical distinction between the two.

When using this tag with TV Shows, every episode can be individually described according to the plot of that particular episode.

== Content Type ==
In MP4 there should be four choices: Music, Music Video, Movie and TV Show. The choice does not seem to matter at this point as Kodi can not distinguish files based on this tag, but rather relies on the manual setting when the directory was added. It might be useful to set this properly when tagging however, as a future change to allow Kodi to distinguish these tags may prove invaluable.

== Cover/Picture ==
For some users, the singular greatest benefit to tags is being able to set your own cover image. Don't like the standard cover? Use the Collectors Edition or Digital Download cover.

== TV Show Specific Tags ==
There are three more tags that should be filled in for TV Shows: '''Show''' (tvsh), numeric '''Season''' (tvsn) and '''Episode Number''' (tves) and the unique '''Production Code''' (tven).
At the moment these tags do not seem to be of any practical use in Kodi, but should nevertheless be filled out as this may change.

= Supported Tags =

Kodi relies on FFmpeg libraries to import MP4, MKV and AVI metadata. The [https://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php/FFmpeg_Metadata documentation in the Multimedia.cx wiki] is not always up to date, but is correct in general. For proper details, one needs to inspect the [https://www.ffmpeg.org/doxygen/4.0/movenc_8c_source.html <code>mov_write_****_tag()</code> functions in the FFmpeg source code].

; {{red|are the tags in this table for both mkv and mp4?}}
: Both MP4 and MKV tags are supported, although they use fundamentally different methods of encoding metadata.
; {{red|I cannot find these video related tags in mp3tag}}
: To get to all the juicy video file related tags in mp3tag, right click on your video file and select "Extended Tags". From here one can see all the tags currently in a file. Add new ones by clicking on the Add button, selecting a Field (what tag to edit) and entering a value. The most critical one in all cases is TITLE, as it seems Kodi will not add a media file if this core tag is missing (and there is no .nfo file).
: This will also allow you to add the cover artwork.
; {{red|What format is this- id3, APE, Generic, MP4, other?}}
: MP4 files use "moov" atoms embedded within the file. These are the same ones used in AAC audio files (such as m4a).
; {{red|IMDBURL/TMDBURL is this one tag or two separate tags?}}
: Two separate ones, only supported within Matroska (MKV) files currently.

== MP4 tag options ==

For MP4 tags, Kodi reads Title, Writing Credits, Plot, Plot Outline, Year, Album, Artist and Track information if available.

{| class="wikitable prettytable"
|+ Tag field mapping table
! Kodi !! FFmpeg !! MP4 box / atom !! AVI FourCC !! [https://help.mp3tag.de/main_tags.html Mp3tag] !! mp4tags / mp4v2 CLI !! Description
|-
| || <code>album_artist</code> || <code>aART</code> || || <code>ALBUMARTIST</code> || <code>-R</code>, <code>-albumartist</code> || album artist
|-
| '''''Album''''' || <code>album</code> || <code>©alb</code> || (<code>IPRD</code>) || <code>ALBUM</code> || <code>-A</code>, <code>-album</code> || album title
|-
| || <code title="read">sort_album</code> (<code title="write">album-sort</code>) || <code>soal</code> || || <code>ALBUMSORT</code> || ||
|-
| '''''Artist''''' || <code>artist</code> || <code>©art</code>, <code>©ART</code> || (<code>IART</code>) || <code>ARTIST</code> || <code>-a</code>, <code>-artist</code> || artist information
|-
| || <code title="read">artist</code> (<code title="write">author</code>) || <code>©aut</code> || || || || author information
|-
| || <code title="read">sort_artist</code> (<code title="write">artist-sort</code>) || <code>soar</code> || || <code>ARTISTSORT</code> || ||
|-
| || <code>comment</code> || <code>©cmt</code> (<code title="write-only">©des</code>) || (<code>ICMT</code>) || <code>COMMENT</code> || <code>-c</code>, <code>-comment</code> || general comment
|-
| || <code>compilation</code> || <code>cpil</code> || || <code>COMPILATION</code> || ||
|-
| '''''WritingCredits''''' (split at slashes) || <code>composer</code> || <code>©wrt</code> || || <code>COMPOSER</code> || <code>-w</code>, <code>-writer</code> || composer information
|-
| || <code>copyright</code> || <code>©cpy</code> (<code>cprt</code>) || (<code>ICOP</code>) || <code>COPYRIGHT</code> || <code>-C</code>, <code>-copyright</code> || copyright information
|-
| || <code>creation_time</code> || || || <code>ENCODINGTIME</code> || ||
|-
| '''''Year''''' || <code title="read">date</code> || <code>©day</code> || <code>ICRD</code> || <code>RELEASETIME</code> || ||
|-
| (''Premiered'') || <code title="write">year</code> || <code>©day</code> || || <code>YEAR</code> || <code>-y</code>, <code>-year</code> || release date
|-
| || <code>encoded_by</code> || || (<code>ITCH</code>) || <code>ENCODEDBY</code> || <code>-e</code>, <code>-encodedby</code> || name of the person or company who encoded the file
|-
| || <code>encoder</code> || <code>©too</code> (<code>©swr</code>) || (<code>ISFT</code>) || <code>ENCODERSETTINGS</code> || <code>-E</code>, <code>-tool</code> || software used for encoding
|-
| (''ProductionCode'') || <code>episode_id</code> || <code>tven</code> || || <code>TVEPISODEID</code> || <code>-o</code>, <code>-episodeid</code> || TV episode ID
|-
| || <code>episode_sort</code> || <code>tves</code> || || <code>TVEPISODE</code> || <code>-M</code>, <code>-episode</code> || episode number
|-
| || <code>season_number</code> || <code>tvsn</code> || || <code>TVSEASON</code> || <code>-n</code>, <code>-season</code> || season number
|-
| '''''Genre''''' (split at slashes) || <code>genre</code> || <code>©gen</code>, <code>gnre</code> || (<code>IGNR</code>) || <code>GENRE</code> || <code>-g</code>, <code>-genre</code> / <code>-j</code>, <code>-genreid</code> || genre name / ID
|-
| (''Set'') || <code>grouping</code> || <code>©grp</code> || || <code>CONTENTGROUP</code> || <code>-G</code>, <code>-grouping</code> || grouping name, set
|-
| || <code>hd_video</code> || <code>hdvd</code> || || <code>ITUNESHDVIDEO</code> || <code>-H</code>, <code>-hdvideo</code> || HD flag (0 = SD, 1 = 720p, 2 = 1080p/i Full HD, 3 = 2160p UHD)
|-
| || <code>language</code> || || (<code>ILNG</code>) || <code>LANGUAGE</code> || || main/original spoken/displayed language
|-
| || <code>lyrics</code> || <code>©lyr</code> || || <code>UNSYNCEDLYRICS</code> || <code>-L</code>, <code>-lyrics</code> || unsynchronized lyrics
|-
| || <code>media_type</code> || <code>stik</code> || || <code>ITUNESMEDIATYPE</code> || <code>-i</code>, <code>-type</code> || Media Type (TV Show, Movie, Music, Audiobook ...)
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>network</code> || <code>tvnn</code> || || <code>TVNETWORK</code> || <code>-N</code>, <code>-network</code> || TV network, channel, station
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>publisher</code> || || || <code>PUBLISHER</code> || || publisher
|-
| || <code>producer</code> || <code>©PRD</code>, <code>©prd</code> || || || || producer
|-
| (''Director'') || <code>performer</code> || <code>©con</code> || || <code>CONDUCTOR</code> || || conductor, performer
|-
| (''Director'') || <code title="read-only">composer</code> || <code>©com</code> || || || || composer
|-
| (''Director'') || <code title="read-only">director</code> || <code>©dir</code> || || || || director
|-
| (''ShowTitle'') || <code>show</code> || <code>tvsh</code> || || <code>TVSHOW</code> || <code>-S</code>, <code>-show</code> || TV show
|-
| '''''Plot''''' || <code>synopsis</code> || <code>ldes</code> || || <code>PODCASTDESC</code> || <code>-m</code>, <code>-description</code> || short description
|-
| '''''PlotOutline''''', (''Overview'') || <code>description</code> || <code>desc</code> || || <code>DESCRIPTION</code> || <code>-l</code>, <code>-longdesc</code> || long description
|-
| '''''Title''''' || <code>title</code> || <code>©nam</code> || <code>INAM</code> || <code>TITLE</code> || <code>-s</code>, <code>-song</code> || song title, track name
|-
| (''SortTitle'') || <code title="read">sort_name</code> (<code title="write">title-sort</code>) || <code>sonm</code> || || <code>TITLESORT</code> || ||
|-
| (''TagLine'') || <code>subtitle</code> || <code>©st3</code> || (<code></code>) || <code>SUBTITLE</code> || <code>-</code>, <code>-</code> ||
|-
| '''''Track''''' || <code>track</code> || <code>trkn</code> (<code>©trk</code>) || (<code>IPRT</code>) || <code>TRACK</code> || <code>-t</code>, <code>-track</code> / <code>-T</code>, <code>-tracks</code> || track number / number of tracks
|-
| || <code>disc</code> || <code>disk</code> || || <code>DISCNUMBER</code> || <code>-d</code>, <code>-disk</code> / <code>-D</code>, <code>-disks</code> || disc number / number of discs
|-
| (''Rating'') || <code>rating</code> || <code>rtng</code> || || <code>ITUNESADVISORY</code> || <code>-X</code>, <code>-rating</code> || Rating (0 = none, 1 = clean, 2 = explicit)
|-
| (''Country'') || <code>location</code> || <code>©xyz</code> (<code>loci</code>) || || || || GPS coordinates
|-
| (''Trailer'') || <code></code> || <code></code> || (<code></code>) || <code></code> || <code>-</code>, <code>-</code> ||
|-
| (''PictureURL'') || <code></code> || <code></code> || (<code></code>) || <code></code> || <code>-</code>, <code>-</code> ||
|-
| (''Votes'') || <code></code> || <code></code> || (<code></code>) || <code></code> || <code>-</code>, <code>-</code> ||
|-
| (''UniqueIDs'') || <code></code> || <code></code> || (<code></code>) || <code></code> || <code>-</code>, <code>-</code> ||
|-
| (''Tags'') || (<code>keywords</code>) || (<code>keyw</code> (<code>©key</code>)) || (<code></code>) || <code></code> || <code>-</code>, <code>-</code> || tags, keywords
|-
| (''OriginalTitle'') || <code></code> || <code></code> || || <code></code> || ||
|-
| (''EpisodeGuide'') || <code></code> || <code></code> || || <code></code> || ||
|-
| (''Status'') || <code></code> || <code></code> || || <code></code> || ||
|-
| (''ShowLink'') || <code>URL</code> || <code>©url</code> || || <code></code> || ||
|-
| (''NamedSeasons'') || <code></code> || <code></code> || || <code></code> || || array
|-
| || <code>podcast</code> || <code>pcst</code> || || <code>PODCAST</code> || <code>-B</code>, <code>-podcast</code> || podcast flag (0/1)
|-
| || <code>category</code> || <code>catg</code> || || <code>PODCASTCATEGORY</code> || <code>-O</code>, <code>-category</code> || category
|-
| (''UniqueID'') || || <code>cnID</code> || || <code>ITUNESCATALOGID</code> || <code>-I</code>, <code>-contentid</code>? || content ID
|-
| (''UniqueID'') || <code>episode_uid</code> || <code>egid</code> || || <code>PODCASTID</code> || <code>-I</code>, <code>-contentid</code>? || content ID
|}

Kodi variables in parentheses are not supported at the moment, but if they are in the future, these are the most likely mappings.

== MKV tag options ==

MKV tagging currently does mostly ignore the Matroska tagging specification to fill library info. Instead, a Kodi standard NFO file can be ''embedded'' into MKV files.

* An attachment named '''kodi-metadata''' will be scanned as an embedded .nfo file
* An attachment named '''kodi-override-metadata''' will be scanned as a url nfo if combined with specifying IMDB/TMDB url. if alone, you get an override nfo

The only textual tags supported in MKV fields as of v18.6 are (case-insensitive) ''Title'' = <code>title</code>, ''Director'' = <code>director</code> (multiple entries may be separated by a forward slash) and ''Year'' = <code>date_released</code>.

== AVI tag options ==

As of v18.6, Kodi only recognizes ''Title'' and ''Year'' variables from AVI tags.

= Artwork =
For MKV you can have embedded images. currently limited to:
* 'small_cover.png' or 'small_cover.jpg' for thumb
* 'cover.png' or 'cover.jpg' for poster
* 'fanart.png' or 'fanart.jpg' for fanart

'poster' images can be embedded in MP4 files.

{{top}}

<div style="{{linear-gradient|left|#a1f5e4, #f5f5a1}}">{{next|[[Adding_video_sources|'''Add Source & Scrape''']]}} </div>

{{updated|18}}
[[Category:FAQ]]
[[Category:Index]]
[[Category:How-to]]
[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Manual]]
[[Category:Karellen]]
[[Category:Video library]]
[[Category:General topics]]
[[Category:First time user]]
[[Category:Quick Start Guide]]

Video file tagging

2020-05-06T12:38:49Z

Crissov: /* Tag field mapping table */

{{mininav|[[Video library]]||}}
{{incomplete}}
{{notice|This feature is currently for '''movies only'''. TV shows and music videos are not yet supported.}}
{{notice|This page describes an alternative way of adding movies to the library that is not dependent on file names or online scrapers.}}
{{VideoLibraryCreate}}

<section begin="intro" />Kodi v18 Leia introduces support for embedded video tags using '''*.mkv''' and '''*.mp4''' video files. '''*.avi''' support is available since v18.x. They are similar in principle to the tags saved in audio files. Only limited support for video tags is available at this time.<section end="intro" />

= Benefits of embedded video tags =
There are multiple reasons why one would want to use this feature:
Media may already contain useful metadata (the reverse however is also true - many files contain "junk" metadata, hence why the feature defaults to off).
It gives one more control over the metadata than scrapers do (as scrapers may misclassify media and pull the wrong data).
It does away with the need to have [[.nfo file]]s. Since metadata travels with the media file, there is no longer a need for potentially thousands of these smaller files and can make directory management even easier.
Using ultra-high resolution [[artwork]]/cover images that looks nicer on newer HD displays. (Pretty pictures!)

== How does it change/differ from the old model? ==
Kodi has two options for metadata import: using an online scraper or using local information, traditionally in the form of .nfo files. Local tag reading is bundled into the "Local Information" arm, as logically, metadata is still local (i.e not network-drawn) information. Thus, one can still use a combination of .nfo files and embedded information if they choose "Local Information" rather than to use a scraper.

It is important to note however that .nfo files will override embedded information. Not all of Kodi's NFO features are supported by embedded metadata yet, so many users may wish to still use the NFO method. (https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=326340)

== Settings ==
{{Kodi}} [[settings]] have the option to enable or disable the reading of video file tags at [[Settings/Media/Videos|Settings > Media Settings > Videos > Use video tags]]. The default setting is ''disabled''.

This page assumes this setting has been ''enabled''.

= Folder & File Structure =
The use of Video File Tags does not absolve you from using the correct Folder and File structure for [[Naming video files/Movies|Movies]], [[Naming video files/TV shows|TV Shows]] and [[Music videos|Music Videos]] as detailed in the previous pages.

= Tagging =
{{no endorsement notice}}

{{note|User-friendly options for adding and editing embedded metadata may be lacking for your given platform. Be prepared for challenges when going down this path.}}

== Windows ==
[http://www.mp3tag.de MP3tag] is a Windows-based metadata editor for many different files and tag types, including MP4 and MKV (despite what it's name may suggest). While somewhat complex, it provides very fine-grained control over [https://help.mp3tag.de/main_tags.html tagging], and is a worthwhile asset in any media management library.

MetaX is a user-friendly tagging solution. However, it is proprietary and paid ($10). It features much the same core features as MP3tag, but adds an online search functionality to grab metadata from providers such as iTunes, Amazon and others, as well as an autotag feature. This can be useful to people with enormous media collections where the time saved manually tagging justifies the price.

== Mac ==

* [https://griff.github.io/metaz/ MetaZ] is a free and open source MP4 metadata lookup and editor for Mac OS.

== Linux ==

* mp4v2

== Cross-platform ==

* exiftool

== A note on iTunes ==
Apple, in their wisdom, have created a subset of MP4 tags that are strictly speaking only meant for use with iTunes. However, most tagging software can read and write these iTunes tags. These tags are also quite useful but some will not work with Kodi. Tags include the ability to store Cast (actors), Screenwriter and Director information, as well as age restriction data such as MPAA ratings.

The important point to note here is that just because your tagging software allows you to add these does not mean they will be used by Kodi.

= Core Tags =

While there are an absolute myriad of tags that one can use, many, if not most of these are unnecessary for video files. Remember that MP4 tags have to have fields for everything - TV shows, movies, music videos, music, audiobooks, and even images! We usually do not want to populate tags related to music (such as Artist) in a movie file. As such here are some of the most critical tags for video (TV show and Movie) files.

== Title ==
Kodi will not import a media file without a valid ''Title'' in the metadata tag. This makes it the most critical tag of all. An exception is made for MKV files which have an <code>IMDBURL</code> or <code>TMDBURL</code> metatag.

Title differs from filename - I may have a file called Blade_Runner_2049_(2017)Withalotofexcessinformation.mp4, But the title value can simply be "Blade Runner 2049". Kodi will then display "Blade Runner 2049".

Beware that many people who distribute video files do not care much for proper metadata within the file even if they are shipping proper NFO or XML files with them. Regardless, their files may still have tags, but with rubbish or spam content.

== Description ==
This describes the movie/TV Show. A snippet from iTunes' description of Blade Runner 2049 is as follows: "Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos."

Descriptions thus actually describe the character or basic plot of a movie or TV Show. These will be displayed in Kodi when the file is selected.

Best practice at this point seems to be to mirror the Long Description and Short Description, as there does not seem to be any practical distinction between the two.

When using this tag with TV Shows, every episode can be individually described according to the plot of that particular episode.

== Content Type ==
In MP4 there should be four choices: Music, Music Video, Movie and TV Show. The choice does not seem to matter at this point as Kodi can not distinguish files based on this tag, but rather relies on the manual setting when the directory was added. It might be useful to set this properly when tagging however, as a future change to allow Kodi to distinguish these tags may prove invaluable.

== Cover/Picture ==
For some users, the singular greatest benefit to tags is being able to set your own cover image. Don't like the standard cover? Use the Collectors Edition or Digital Download cover.

== TV Show Specific Tags ==
There are three more tags that should be filled in for TV Shows: '''Show''' (tvsh), numeric '''Season''' (tvsn) and '''Episode Number''' (tves) and the unique '''Production Code''' (tven).
At the moment these tags do not seem to be of any practical use in Kodi, but should nevertheless be filled out as this may change.

= Supported Tags =

Kodi relies on FFmpeg libraries to import MP4, MKV and AVI metadata. The [https://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php/FFmpeg_Metadata documentation in the Multimedia.cx wiki] is not always up to date, but is correct in general. For proper details, one needs to inspect the [https://www.ffmpeg.org/doxygen/4.0/movenc_8c_source.html <code>mov_write_****_tag()</code> functions in the FFmpeg source code].

; {{red|are the tags in this table for both mkv and mp4?}}
: Both MP4 and MKV tags are supported, although they use fundamentally different methods of encoding metadata.
; {{red|I cannot find these video related tags in mp3tag}}
: To get to all the juicy video file related tags in mp3tag, right click on your video file and select "Extended Tags". From here one can see all the tags currently in a file. Add new ones by clicking on the Add button, selecting a Field (what tag to edit) and entering a value. The most critical one in all cases is TITLE, as it seems Kodi will not add a media file if this core tag is missing (and there is no .nfo file).
: This will also allow you to add the cover artwork.
; {{red|What format is this- id3, APE, Generic, MP4, other?}}
: MP4 files use "moov" atoms embedded within the file. These are the same ones used in AAC audio files (such as m4a).
; {{red|IMDBURL/TMDBURL is this one tag or two separate tags?}}
: Two separate ones, only supported within Matroska (MKV) files currently.

== Tag field mapping table ==

{| class="wikitable prettytable"
! Kodi !! FFmpeg !! MP4 box/atom !! AVI FourCC !! Mp3tag !! mp4tags/mp4v2 CLI !! Description
|-
| || <code title="write">album-sort</code>, <code title="read">sort_album</code> || <code>soal</code> || || <code>ALBUMSORT</code> || ||
|-
| || <code>album_artist</code> || <code>aART</code> || || <code>ALBUMARTIST</code> || <code>-R</code>, <code>-albumartist</code> || album artist
|-
| ''Album'' || <code>album</code> || <code>©alb</code> || (<code>IPRD</code>) || <code>ALBUM</code> || <code>-A</code>, <code>-album</code> || album title
|-
| || <code title="write">artist-sort</code>, <code title="read">sort_artist</code> || <code>soar</code> || || <code>ARTISTSORT</code> || ||
|-
| ''Artist'' || <code>artist</code> || <code>©art</code>, <code>©ART</code> || (<code>IART</code>) || <code>ARTIST</code> || <code>-a</code>, <code>-artist</code> || artist information
|-
| || <code title="write">author</code>, <code title="read">artist</code> || <code>©aut</code> || || || || author information
|-
| || <code>comment</code> || <code>©cmt</code> (<code title="write-only">©des</code>) || (<code>ICMT</code>) || <code>COMMENT</code> || <code>-c</code>, <code>-comment</code> || general comment
|-
| || <code>compilation</code> || <code>cpil</code> || || <code>COMPILATION</code> || ||
|-
| ''WritingCredits'' (split at slashes) || <code>composer</code> || <code>©wrt</code> || || <code>COMPOSER</code> || <code>-w</code>, <code>-writer</code> || composer information
|-
| || <code>copyright</code> || <code>©cpy</code> (<code>cprt</code>) || (<code>ICOP</code>) || <code>COPYRIGHT</code> || <code>-C</code>, <code>-copyright</code> || copyright information
|-
| || <code>creation_time</code> || || || <code>ENCODINGTIME</code> || ||
|-
| ''Year'' || <code title="read">date</code> || <code>©day</code> || <code>ICRD</code> || <code>RELEASETIME</code> || ||
|-
| (''Premiered'') || <code title="write">year</code> || <code>©day</code> || || <code>YEAR</code> || <code>-y</code>, <code>-year</code> || release date
|-
| ''PlotOutline'', (''Overview'') || <code>description</code> || <code>desc</code> || || <code>DESCRIPTION</code> || <code>-l</code>, <code>-longdesc</code> || long description
|-
| || <code>disc</code> || <code>disk</code> || || <code>DISCNUMBER</code> || <code>-d</code>, <code>-disk</code> / <code>-D</code>, <code>-disks</code> || disc number / number of discs
|-
| || <code>encoded_by</code> || || (<code>ITCH</code>) || <code>ENCODEDBY</code> || <code>-e</code>, <code>-encodedby</code> || name of the person or company who encoded the file
|-
| || <code>encoder</code> || <code>©too</code> (<code>©swr</code>) || (<code>ISFT</code>) || <code>ENCODERSETTINGS</code> || <code>-E</code>, <code>-tool</code> || software used for encoding
|-
| (''ProductionCode'') || <code>episode_id</code> || <code>tven</code> || || <code>TVEPISODEID</code> || <code>-o</code>, <code>-episodeid</code> || TV episode ID
|-
| || <code>episode_sort</code> || <code>tves</code> || || <code>TVEPISODE</code> || <code>-M</code>, <code>-episode</code> || episode number
|-
| ''Genre'' (split at slashes) || <code>genre</code> || <code>©gen</code>, <code>gnre</code> || (<code>IGNR</code>) || <code>GENRE</code> || <code>-g</code>, <code>-genre</code> / <code>-j</code>, <code>-genreid</code> || genre name / ID
|-
| (''Set'') || <code>grouping</code> || <code>©grp</code> || || <code>CONTENTGROUP</code> || <code>-G</code>, <code>-grouping</code> || grouping name
|-
| || <code>hd_video</code> || <code>hdvd</code> || || <code>ITUNESHDVIDEO</code> || <code>-H</code>, <code>-hdvideo</code> || HD flag (1/0)
|-
| || <code>language</code> || || (<code>ILNG</code>) || <code>LANGUAGE</code> || ||
|-
| || <code>lyrics</code> || <code>©lyr</code> || || <code>UNSYNCEDLYRICS</code> || <code>-L</code>, <code>-lyrics</code> || unsynchronized lyrics
|-
| || <code>media_type</code> || <code>stik</code> || || <code>ITUNESMEDIATYPE</code> || <code>-i</code>, <code>-type</code> || Media Type (TV Show, Movie, Music, Audiobook ...)
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>network</code> || <code>tvnn</code> || || <code>TVNETWORK</code> || <code>-N</code>, <code>-network</code> || TV network
|-
| (''Director'') || <code>performer</code> || <code>©con</code> || || <code>CONDUCTOR</code> || ||
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>publisher</code> || || || <code>PUBLISHER</code> || ||
|-
| || <code>season_number</code> || <code>tvsn</code> || || <code>TVSEASON</code> || <code>-n</code>, <code>-season</code> || season number
|-
| (''ShowTitle'') || <code>show</code> || <code>tvsh</code> || || <code>TVSHOW</code> || <code>-S</code>, <code>-show</code> || TV show
|-
| ''Plot'' || <code>synopsis</code> || <code>ldes</code> || || <code>PODCASTDESC</code> || <code>-m</code>, <code>-description</code> || short description
|-
| (''SortTitle'') || <code title="write">title-sort</code>, <code title="read">sort_name</code> || <code>sonm</code> || || <code>TITLESORT</code> || ||
|-
| ''Title'' || <code>title</code> || <code>©nam</code> || <code>INAM</code> || <code>TITLE</code> || <code>-s</code>, <code>-song</code> || song title, track name
|-
| ''Track'' || <code>track</code> || <code>trkn</code> || (<code>IPRT</code>) || <code>TRACK</code> || <code>-t</code>, <code>-track</code> / <code>-T</code>, <code>-tracks</code> || track number / number of tracks
|}

Kodi variables in parentheses are not supported at the moment, but if they are in the future, these are the most likely mappings.

== MKV tag options ==

MKV tagging currently does mostly ignore the Matroska tagging specification to fill library info. Instead, a Kodi standard NFO file can be ''embedded'' into MKV files.

* An attachment named '''kodi-metadata''' will be scanned as an embedded .nfo file
* An attachment named '''kodi-override-metadata''' will be scanned as a url nfo if combined with specifying IMDB/TMDB url. if alone, you get an override nfo

The only textual tags supported in MKV fields as of v18.6 are (case-insensitive) ''Title'' = <code>title</code>, ''Director'' = <code>director</code> (multiple entries may be separated by a forward slash) and ''Year'' = <code>date_released</code>.

== AVI tag options ==

As of v18.6, Kodi only recognizes ''Title'' and ''Year'' variables from AVI tags.

= Artwork =
For MKV you can have embedded images. currently limited to:
* 'small_cover.png' or 'small_cover.jpg' for thumb
* 'cover.png' or 'cover.jpg' for poster
* 'fanart.png' or 'fanart.jpg' for fanart

'poster' images can be embedded in MP4 files.

{{top}}

<div style="{{linear-gradient|left|#a1f5e4, #f5f5a1}}">{{next|[[Adding_video_sources|'''Add Source & Scrape''']]}} </div>

{{updated|18}}
[[Category:FAQ]]
[[Category:Index]]
[[Category:How-to]]
[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Manual]]
[[Category:Karellen]]
[[Category:Video library]]
[[Category:General topics]]
[[Category:First time user]]
[[Category:Quick Start Guide]]

Video file tagging

2020-05-06T10:44:53Z

Crissov: /* Tag field mapping table */ put AVI 4cc tags not yet supported by Kodi into parentheses

{{mininav|[[Video library]]||}}
{{incomplete}}
{{notice|This feature is currently for '''movies only'''. TV shows and music videos are not yet supported.}}
{{notice|This page describes an alternative way of adding movies to the library that is not dependent on file names or online scrapers.}}
{{VideoLibraryCreate}}

<section begin="intro" />Kodi v18 Leia introduces support for embedded video tags using '''*.mkv''' and '''*.mp4''' video files. '''*.avi''' support is available since v18.x. They are similar in principle to the tags saved in audio files. Only limited support for video tags is available at this time.<section end="intro" />

= Benefits of embedded video tags =
There are multiple reasons why one would want to use this feature:
Media may already contain useful metadata (the reverse however is also true - many files contain "junk" metadata, hence why the feature defaults to off).
It gives one more control over the metadata than scrapers do (as scrapers may misclassify media and pull the wrong data).
It does away with the need to have [[.nfo file]]s. Since metadata travels with the media file, there is no longer a need for potentially thousands of these smaller files and can make directory management even easier.
Using ultra-high resolution [[artwork]]/cover images that looks nicer on newer HD displays. (Pretty pictures!)

== How does it change/differ from the old model? ==
Kodi has two options for metadata import: using an online scraper or using local information, traditionally in the form of .nfo files. Local tag reading is bundled into the "Local Information" arm, as logically, metadata is still local (i.e not network-drawn) information. Thus, one can still use a combination of .nfo files and embedded information if they choose "Local Information" rather than to use a scraper.

It is important to note however that .nfo files will override embedded information. Not all of Kodi's NFO features are supported by embedded metadata yet, so many users may wish to still use the NFO method. (https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=326340)

== Settings ==
{{Kodi}} [[settings]] have the option to enable or disable the reading of video file tags at [[Settings/Media/Videos|Settings > Media Settings > Videos > Use video tags]]. The default setting is ''disabled''.

This page assumes this setting has been ''enabled''.

= Folder & File Structure =
The use of Video File Tags does not absolve you from using the correct Folder and File structure for [[Naming video files/Movies|Movies]], [[Naming video files/TV shows|TV Shows]] and [[Music videos|Music Videos]] as detailed in the previous pages.

= Tagging =
{{no endorsement notice}}

{{note|User-friendly options for adding and editing embedded metadata may be lacking for your given platform. Be prepared for challenges when going down this path.}}

== Windows ==
[http://www.mp3tag.de MP3tag] is a Windows-based metadata editor for many different files and tag types, including MP4 and MKV (despite what it's name may suggest). While somewhat complex, it provides very fine-grained control over [https://help.mp3tag.de/main_tags.html tagging], and is a worthwhile asset in any media management library.

MetaX is a user-friendly tagging solution. However, it is proprietary and paid ($10). It features much the same core features as MP3tag, but adds an online search functionality to grab metadata from providers such as iTunes, Amazon and others, as well as an autotag feature. This can be useful to people with enormous media collections where the time saved manually tagging justifies the price.

== Mac ==

* [https://griff.github.io/metaz/ MetaZ] is a free and open source MP4 metadata lookup and editor for Mac OS.

== Linux ==

* mp4v2

== Cross-platform ==

* exiftool

== A note on iTunes ==
Apple, in their wisdom, have created a subset of MP4 tags that are strictly speaking only meant for use with iTunes. However, most tagging software can read and write these iTunes tags. These tags are also quite useful but some will not work with Kodi. Tags include the ability to store Cast (actors), Screenwriter and Director information, as well as age restriction data such as MPAA ratings.

The important point to note here is that just because your tagging software allows you to add these does not mean they will be used by Kodi.

= Core Tags =

While there are an absolute myriad of tags that one can use, many, if not most of these are unnecessary for video files. Remember that MP4 tags have to have fields for everything - TV shows, movies, music videos, music, audiobooks, and even images! We usually do not want to populate tags related to music (such as Artist) in a movie file. As such here are some of the most critical tags for video (TV show and Movie) files.

== Title ==
Kodi will not import a media file without a valid ''Title'' in the metadata tag. This makes it the most critical tag of all. An exception is made for MKV files which have an <code>IMDBURL</code> or <code>TMDBURL</code> metatag.

Title differs from filename - I may have a file called Blade_Runner_2049_(2017)Withalotofexcessinformation.mp4, But the title value can simply be "Blade Runner 2049". Kodi will then display "Blade Runner 2049".

Beware that many people who distribute video files do not care much for proper metadata within the file even if they are shipping proper NFO or XML files with them. Regardless, their files may still have tags, but with rubbish or spam content.

== Description ==
This describes the movie/TV Show. A snippet from iTunes' description of Blade Runner 2049 is as follows: "Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos."

Descriptions thus actually describe the character or basic plot of a movie or TV Show. These will be displayed in Kodi when the file is selected.

Best practice at this point seems to be to mirror the Long Description and Short Description, as there does not seem to be any practical distinction between the two.

When using this tag with TV Shows, every episode can be individually described according to the plot of that particular episode.

== Content Type ==
In MP4 there should be four choices: Music, Music Video, Movie and TV Show. The choice does not seem to matter at this point as Kodi can not distinguish files based on this tag, but rather relies on the manual setting when the directory was added. It might be useful to set this properly when tagging however, as a future change to allow Kodi to distinguish these tags may prove invaluable.

== Cover/Picture ==
For some users, the singular greatest benefit to tags is being able to set your own cover image. Don't like the standard cover? Use the Collectors Edition or Digital Download cover.

== TV Show Specific Tags ==
There are three more tags that should be filled in for TV Shows: '''Show''' (tvsh), numeric '''Season''' (tvsn) and '''Episode Number''' (tves) and the unique '''Production Code''' (tven).
At the moment these tags do not seem to be of any practical use in Kodi, but should nevertheless be filled out as this may change.

= Supported Tags =

Kodi relies on FFmpeg libraries to import MP4, MKV and AVI metadata. The [https://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php/FFmpeg_Metadata documentation in the Multimedia.cx wiki] is not always up to date, but is correct in general. For proper details, one needs to inspect the [https://www.ffmpeg.org/doxygen/4.0/movenc_8c_source.html <code>mov_write_****_tag()</code> functions in the FFmpeg source code].

; {{red|are the tags in this table for both mkv and mp4?}}
: Both MP4 and MKV tags are supported, although they use fundamentally different methods of encoding metadata.
; {{red|I cannot find these video related tags in mp3tag}}
: To get to all the juicy video file related tags in mp3tag, right click on your video file and select "Extended Tags". From here one can see all the tags currently in a file. Add new ones by clicking on the Add button, selecting a Field (what tag to edit) and entering a value. The most critical one in all cases is TITLE, as it seems Kodi will not add a media file if this core tag is missing (and there is no .nfo file).
: This will also allow you to add the cover artwork.
; {{red|What format is this- id3, APE, Generic, MP4, other?}}
: MP4 files use "moov" atoms embedded within the file. These are the same ones used in AAC audio files (such as m4a).
; {{red|IMDBURL/TMDBURL is this one tag or two separate tags?}}
: Two separate ones, only supported within Matroska (MKV) files currently.

== Tag field mapping table ==

{| class="wikitable prettytable"
! Kodi !! FFmpeg !! MP4 box/atom !! AVI FourCC !! Mp3tag !! mp4tags/mp4v2 CLI !! Description
|-
| || <code>album-sort</code>, <code>sort_album</code> || <code>soal</code> || || <code>ALBUMSORT</code> || ||
|-
| || <code>album_artist</code> || <code>aART</code> || || <code>ALBUMARTIST</code> || <code>-R</code>, <code>-albumartist</code> || album artist
|-
| ''Album'' || <code>album</code> || <code>©alb</code> || (<code>IPRD</code>) || <code>ALBUM</code> || <code>-A</code>, <code>-album</code> || album title
|-
| || <code>artist-sort</code> || <code>soar</code> || || <code>ARTISTSORT</code> || ||
|-
| ''Artist'' || <code>artist</code>, <code>author</code> || <code>©art</code>, <code>©ART</code> || (<code>IART</code>) || <code>ARTIST</code> || <code>-a</code>, <code>-artist</code> || artist information
|-
| || <code>comment</code> || <code>©cmt</code> || (<code>ICMT</code>) || <code>COMMENT</code> || <code>-c</code>, <code>-comment</code> || general comment
|-
| || <code>compilation</code> || <code>cpil</code> || || <code>COMPILATION</code> || ||
|-
| ''WritingCredits'' (split at slashes) || <code>composer</code> || <code>©wrt</code> || || <code>COMPOSER</code> || <code>-w</code>, <code>-writer</code> || composer information
|-
| || <code>copyright</code> || <code>©cpy</code>, <code>cprt</code> || (<code>ICOP</code>) || <code>COPYRIGHT</code> || <code>-C</code>, <code>-copyright</code> || copyright information
|-
| || <code>creation_time</code> || || || <code>ENCODINGTIME</code> || ||
|-
| ''Year'' || <code>date</code> || || <code>ICRD</code> || <code>RELEASETIME</code> || ||
|-
| (''Premiered'') || <code>year</code> || <code>©day</code> || || <code>YEAR</code> || <code>-y</code>, <code>-year</code> || release date
|-
| ''PlotOutline'', (''Overview'') || <code>description</code> || <code>desc</code> || || <code>DESCRIPTION</code> || <code>-l</code>, <code>-longdesc</code> || long description
|-
| || <code>disc</code> || <code>disk</code> || || <code>DISCNUMBER</code> || <code>-d</code>, <code>-disk</code> / <code>-D</code>, <code>-disks</code> || disk number / number of discs
|-
| || <code>encoded_by</code> || <code>©too</code> || (<code>ITCH</code>) || <code>ENCODEDBY</code> || <code>-e</code>, <code>-encodedby</code> || name of the person or company who encoded the file
|-
| || <code>encoder</code> || || (<code>ISFT</code>) || <code>ENCODERSETTINGS</code> || <code>-E</code>, <code>-tool</code> || software used for encoding
|-
| (''ProductionCode'') || <code>episode_id</code> || <code>tven</code> || || <code>TVEPISODEID</code> || <code>-o</code>, <code>-episodeid</code> || TV episode ID
|-
| || <code>episode_sort</code> || <code>tves</code> || || <code>TVEPISODE</code> || <code>-M</code>, <code>-episode</code> || episode number
|-
| ''Genre'' (split at slashes) || <code>genre</code> || <code>©gen</code>, <code>gnre</code> || (<code>IGNR</code>) || <code>GENRE</code> || <code>-g</code>, <code>-genre</code> / <code>-j</code>, <code>-genreid</code> || genre name / ID
|-
| (''Set'') || <code>grouping</code> || <code>©grp</code> || || <code>CONTENTGROUP</code> || <code>-G</code>, <code>-grouping</code> || grouping name
|-
| || <code>hd_video</code> || <code>hdvd</code> || || <code>ITUNESHDVIDEO</code> || <code>-H</code>, <code>-hdvideo</code> || HD flag (1/0)
|-
| || <code>language</code> || || (<code>ILNG</code>) || <code>LANGUAGE</code> || ||
|-
| || <code>lyrics</code> || <code>©lyr</code> || || <code>UNSYNCEDLYRICS</code> || <code>-L</code>, <code>-lyrics</code> || unsynchronized lyrics
|-
| || <code>media_type</code> || <code>stik</code> || || <code>ITUNESMEDIATYPE</code> || <code>-i</code>, <code>-type</code> || Media Type (TV Show, Movie, Music, Audiobook ...)
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>network</code> || <code>tvnn</code> || || <code>TVNETWORK</code> || <code>-N</code>, <code>-network</code> || TV network
|-
| (''Director'') || <code>performer</code> || <code>©con</code> || || <code>CONDUCTOR</code> || ||
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>publisher</code> || || || <code>PUBLISHER</code> || ||
|-
| || <code>season_number</code> || <code>tvsn</code> || || <code>TVSEASON</code> || <code>-n</code>, <code>-season</code> || season number
|-
| (''ShowTitle'') || <code>show</code> || <code>tvsh</code> || || <code>TVSHOW</code> || <code>-S</code>, <code>-show</code> || TV show
|-
| ''Plot'' || <code>synopsis</code> || <code>ldes</code> || || <code>PODCASTDESC</code> || <code>-m</code>, <code>-description</code> || short description
|-
| (''SortTitle'') || <code>title-sort</code> || <code>sonm</code> || || <code>TITLESORT</code> || ||
|-
| ''Title'' || <code>title</code> || <code>©nam</code> || <code>INAM</code> || <code>TITLE</code> || <code>-s</code>, <code>-song</code> || song title, track name
|-
| ''Track'' || <code>track</code> || <code>trkn</code> || (<code>IPRT</code>) || <code>TRACK</code> || <code>-t</code>, <code>-track</code> / <code>-T</code>, <code>-tracks</code> || track number / number of tracks
|}

Kodi variables in parentheses are not supported at the moment, but if they are in the future, these are the most likely mappings.

== MKV tag options ==

MKV tagging currently does mostly ignore the Matroska tagging specification to fill library info. Instead, a Kodi standard NFO file can be ''embedded'' into MKV files.

* An attachment named '''kodi-metadata''' will be scanned as an embedded .nfo file
* An attachment named '''kodi-override-metadata''' will be scanned as a url nfo if combined with specifying IMDB/TMDB url. if alone, you get an override nfo

The only textual tags supported in MKV fields as of v18.6 are (case-insensitive) ''Title'' = <code>title</code>, ''Director'' = <code>director</code> (multiple entries may be separated by a forward slash) and ''Year'' = <code>date_released</code>.

== AVI tag options ==

As of v18.6, Kodi only recognizes ''Title'' and ''Year'' variables from AVI tags.

= Artwork =
For MKV you can have embedded images. currently limited to:
* 'small_cover.png' or 'small_cover.jpg' for thumb
* 'cover.png' or 'cover.jpg' for poster
* 'fanart.png' or 'fanart.jpg' for fanart

'poster' images can be embedded in MP4 files.

{{top}}

<div style="{{linear-gradient|left|#a1f5e4, #f5f5a1}}">{{next|[[Adding_video_sources|'''Add Source & Scrape''']]}} </div>

{{updated|18}}
[[Category:FAQ]]
[[Category:Index]]
[[Category:How-to]]
[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Manual]]
[[Category:Karellen]]
[[Category:Video library]]
[[Category:General topics]]
[[Category:First time user]]
[[Category:Quick Start Guide]]

Video file tagging

2020-05-06T10:42:07Z

Crissov: /* Tag field mapping table */ say what parentheses mean

{{mininav|[[Video library]]||}}
{{incomplete}}
{{notice|This feature is currently for '''movies only'''. TV shows and music videos are not yet supported.}}
{{notice|This page describes an alternative way of adding movies to the library that is not dependent on file names or online scrapers.}}
{{VideoLibraryCreate}}

<section begin="intro" />Kodi v18 Leia introduces support for embedded video tags using '''*.mkv''' and '''*.mp4''' video files. '''*.avi''' support is available since v18.x. They are similar in principle to the tags saved in audio files. Only limited support for video tags is available at this time.<section end="intro" />

= Benefits of embedded video tags =
There are multiple reasons why one would want to use this feature:
Media may already contain useful metadata (the reverse however is also true - many files contain "junk" metadata, hence why the feature defaults to off).
It gives one more control over the metadata than scrapers do (as scrapers may misclassify media and pull the wrong data).
It does away with the need to have [[.nfo file]]s. Since metadata travels with the media file, there is no longer a need for potentially thousands of these smaller files and can make directory management even easier.
Using ultra-high resolution [[artwork]]/cover images that looks nicer on newer HD displays. (Pretty pictures!)

== How does it change/differ from the old model? ==
Kodi has two options for metadata import: using an online scraper or using local information, traditionally in the form of .nfo files. Local tag reading is bundled into the "Local Information" arm, as logically, metadata is still local (i.e not network-drawn) information. Thus, one can still use a combination of .nfo files and embedded information if they choose "Local Information" rather than to use a scraper.

It is important to note however that .nfo files will override embedded information. Not all of Kodi's NFO features are supported by embedded metadata yet, so many users may wish to still use the NFO method. (https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=326340)

== Settings ==
{{Kodi}} [[settings]] have the option to enable or disable the reading of video file tags at [[Settings/Media/Videos|Settings > Media Settings > Videos > Use video tags]]. The default setting is ''disabled''.

This page assumes this setting has been ''enabled''.

= Folder & File Structure =
The use of Video File Tags does not absolve you from using the correct Folder and File structure for [[Naming video files/Movies|Movies]], [[Naming video files/TV shows|TV Shows]] and [[Music videos|Music Videos]] as detailed in the previous pages.

= Tagging =
{{no endorsement notice}}

{{note|User-friendly options for adding and editing embedded metadata may be lacking for your given platform. Be prepared for challenges when going down this path.}}

== Windows ==
[http://www.mp3tag.de MP3tag] is a Windows-based metadata editor for many different files and tag types, including MP4 and MKV (despite what it's name may suggest). While somewhat complex, it provides very fine-grained control over [https://help.mp3tag.de/main_tags.html tagging], and is a worthwhile asset in any media management library.

MetaX is a user-friendly tagging solution. However, it is proprietary and paid ($10). It features much the same core features as MP3tag, but adds an online search functionality to grab metadata from providers such as iTunes, Amazon and others, as well as an autotag feature. This can be useful to people with enormous media collections where the time saved manually tagging justifies the price.

== Mac ==

* [https://griff.github.io/metaz/ MetaZ] is a free and open source MP4 metadata lookup and editor for Mac OS.

== Linux ==

* mp4v2

== Cross-platform ==

* exiftool

== A note on iTunes ==
Apple, in their wisdom, have created a subset of MP4 tags that are strictly speaking only meant for use with iTunes. However, most tagging software can read and write these iTunes tags. These tags are also quite useful but some will not work with Kodi. Tags include the ability to store Cast (actors), Screenwriter and Director information, as well as age restriction data such as MPAA ratings.

The important point to note here is that just because your tagging software allows you to add these does not mean they will be used by Kodi.

= Core Tags =

While there are an absolute myriad of tags that one can use, many, if not most of these are unnecessary for video files. Remember that MP4 tags have to have fields for everything - TV shows, movies, music videos, music, audiobooks, and even images! We usually do not want to populate tags related to music (such as Artist) in a movie file. As such here are some of the most critical tags for video (TV show and Movie) files.

== Title ==
Kodi will not import a media file without a valid ''Title'' in the metadata tag. This makes it the most critical tag of all. An exception is made for MKV files which have an <code>IMDBURL</code> or <code>TMDBURL</code> metatag.

Title differs from filename - I may have a file called Blade_Runner_2049_(2017)Withalotofexcessinformation.mp4, But the title value can simply be "Blade Runner 2049". Kodi will then display "Blade Runner 2049".

Beware that many people who distribute video files do not care much for proper metadata within the file even if they are shipping proper NFO or XML files with them. Regardless, their files may still have tags, but with rubbish or spam content.

== Description ==
This describes the movie/TV Show. A snippet from iTunes' description of Blade Runner 2049 is as follows: "Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos."

Descriptions thus actually describe the character or basic plot of a movie or TV Show. These will be displayed in Kodi when the file is selected.

Best practice at this point seems to be to mirror the Long Description and Short Description, as there does not seem to be any practical distinction between the two.

When using this tag with TV Shows, every episode can be individually described according to the plot of that particular episode.

== Content Type ==
In MP4 there should be four choices: Music, Music Video, Movie and TV Show. The choice does not seem to matter at this point as Kodi can not distinguish files based on this tag, but rather relies on the manual setting when the directory was added. It might be useful to set this properly when tagging however, as a future change to allow Kodi to distinguish these tags may prove invaluable.

== Cover/Picture ==
For some users, the singular greatest benefit to tags is being able to set your own cover image. Don't like the standard cover? Use the Collectors Edition or Digital Download cover.

== TV Show Specific Tags ==
There are three more tags that should be filled in for TV Shows: '''Show''' (tvsh), numeric '''Season''' (tvsn) and '''Episode Number''' (tves) and the unique '''Production Code''' (tven).
At the moment these tags do not seem to be of any practical use in Kodi, but should nevertheless be filled out as this may change.

= Supported Tags =

Kodi relies on FFmpeg libraries to import MP4, MKV and AVI metadata. The [https://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php/FFmpeg_Metadata documentation in the Multimedia.cx wiki] is not always up to date, but is correct in general. For proper details, one needs to inspect the [https://www.ffmpeg.org/doxygen/4.0/movenc_8c_source.html <code>mov_write_****_tag()</code> functions in the FFmpeg source code].

; {{red|are the tags in this table for both mkv and mp4?}}
: Both MP4 and MKV tags are supported, although they use fundamentally different methods of encoding metadata.
; {{red|I cannot find these video related tags in mp3tag}}
: To get to all the juicy video file related tags in mp3tag, right click on your video file and select "Extended Tags". From here one can see all the tags currently in a file. Add new ones by clicking on the Add button, selecting a Field (what tag to edit) and entering a value. The most critical one in all cases is TITLE, as it seems Kodi will not add a media file if this core tag is missing (and there is no .nfo file).
: This will also allow you to add the cover artwork.
; {{red|What format is this- id3, APE, Generic, MP4, other?}}
: MP4 files use "moov" atoms embedded within the file. These are the same ones used in AAC audio files (such as m4a).
; {{red|IMDBURL/TMDBURL is this one tag or two separate tags?}}
: Two separate ones, only supported within Matroska (MKV) files currently.

== Tag field mapping table ==

{| class="wikitable prettytable"
! Kodi !! FFmpeg !! MP4 box/atom !! AVI FourCC !! Mp3tag !! mp4tags/mp4v2 CLI !! Description
|-
| || <code>album-sort</code>, <code>sort_album</code> || <code>soal</code> || || <code>ALBUMSORT</code> || ||
|-
| || <code>album_artist</code> || <code>aART</code> || || <code>ALBUMARTIST</code> || <code>-R</code>, <code>-albumartist</code> || album artist
|-
| ''Album'' || <code>album</code> || <code>©alb</code> || <code>IPRD</code> || <code>ALBUM</code> || <code>-A</code>, <code>-album</code> || album title
|-
| || <code>artist-sort</code> || <code>soar</code> || || <code>ARTISTSORT</code> || ||
|-
| ''Artist'' || <code>artist</code>, <code>author</code> || <code>©art</code>, <code>©ART</code> || <code>IART</code> || <code>ARTIST</code> || <code>-a</code>, <code>-artist</code> || artist information
|-
| || <code>comment</code> || <code>©cmt</code> || <code>ICMT</code> || <code>COMMENT</code> || <code>-c</code>, <code>-comment</code> || general comment
|-
| || <code>compilation</code> || <code>cpil</code> || || <code>COMPILATION</code> || ||
|-
| ''WritingCredits'' (split at slashes) || <code>composer</code> || <code>©wrt</code> || || <code>COMPOSER</code> || <code>-w</code>, <code>-writer</code> || composer information
|-
| || <code>copyright</code> || <code>©cpy</code>, <code>cprt</code> || <code>ICOP</code> || <code>COPYRIGHT</code> || <code>-C</code>, <code>-copyright</code> || copyright information
|-
| || <code>creation_time</code> || || || <code>ENCODINGTIME</code> || ||
|-
| ''Year'' || <code>date</code> || || <code>ICRD</code> || <code>RELEASETIME</code> || ||
|-
| (''Premiered'') || <code>year</code> || <code>©day</code> || || <code>YEAR</code> || <code>-y</code>, <code>-year</code> || release date
|-
| ''PlotOutline'', (''Overview'') || <code>description</code> || <code>desc</code> || || <code>DESCRIPTION</code> || <code>-l</code>, <code>-longdesc</code> || long description
|-
| || <code>disc</code> || <code>disk</code> || || <code>DISCNUMBER</code> || <code>-d</code>, <code>-disk</code> / <code>-D</code>, <code>-disks</code> || disk number / number of discs
|-
| || <code>encoded_by</code> || <code>©too</code> || <code>ITCH</code> || <code>ENCODEDBY</code> || <code>-e</code>, <code>-encodedby</code> || name of the person or company who encoded the file
|-
| || <code>encoder</code> || || <code>ISFT</code> || <code>ENCODERSETTINGS</code> || <code>-E</code>, <code>-tool</code> || software used for encoding
|-
| (''ProductionCode'') || <code>episode_id</code> || <code>tven</code> || || <code>TVEPISODEID</code> || <code>-o</code>, <code>-episodeid</code> || TV episode ID
|-
| || <code>episode_sort</code> || <code>tves</code> || || <code>TVEPISODE</code> || <code>-M</code>, <code>-episode</code> || episode number
|-
| ''Genre'' (split at slashes) || <code>genre</code> || <code>©gen</code>, <code>gnre</code> || <code>IGNR</code> || <code>GENRE</code> || <code>-g</code>, <code>-genre</code> / <code>-j</code>, <code>-genreid</code> || genre name / ID
|-
| (''Set'') || <code>grouping</code> || <code>©grp</code> || || <code>CONTENTGROUP</code> || <code>-G</code>, <code>-grouping</code> || grouping name
|-
| || <code>hd_video</code> || <code>hdvd</code> || || <code>ITUNESHDVIDEO</code> || <code>-H</code>, <code>-hdvideo</code> || HD flag (1/0)
|-
| || <code>language</code> || || <code>ILNG</code> || <code>LANGUAGE</code> || ||
|-
| || <code>lyrics</code> || <code>©lyr</code> || || <code>UNSYNCEDLYRICS</code> || <code>-L</code>, <code>-lyrics</code> || unsynchronized lyrics
|-
| || <code>media_type</code> || <code>stik</code> || || <code>ITUNESMEDIATYPE</code> || <code>-i</code>, <code>-type</code> || Media Type (TV Show, Movie, Music, Audiobook ...)
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>network</code> || <code>tvnn</code> || || <code>TVNETWORK</code> || <code>-N</code>, <code>-network</code> || TV network
|-
| (''Director'') || <code>performer</code> || <code>©con</code> || || <code>CONDUCTOR</code> || ||
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>publisher</code> || || || <code>PUBLISHER</code> || ||
|-
| || <code>season_number</code> || <code>tvsn</code> || || <code>TVSEASON</code> || <code>-n</code>, <code>-season</code> || season number
|-
| (''ShowTitle'') || <code>show</code> || <code>tvsh</code> || || <code>TVSHOW</code> || <code>-S</code>, <code>-show</code> || TV show
|-
| ''Plot'' || <code>synopsis</code> || <code>ldes</code> || || <code>PODCASTDESC</code> || <code>-m</code>, <code>-description</code> || short description
|-
| (''SortTitle'') || <code>title-sort</code> || <code>sonm</code> || || <code>TITLESORT</code> || ||
|-
| ''Title'' || <code>title</code> || <code>©nam</code> || <code>INAM</code> || <code>TITLE</code> || <code>-s</code>, <code>-song</code> || song title, track name
|-
| ''Track'' || <code>track</code> || <code>trkn</code> || <code>IPRT</code> || <code>TRACK</code> || <code>-t</code>, <code>-track</code> / <code>-T</code>, <code>-tracks</code> || track number / number of tracks
|}

Kodi variables in parentheses are not supported at the moment, but if they are in the future, these are the most likely mappings.

== MKV tag options ==

MKV tagging currently does mostly ignore the Matroska tagging specification to fill library info. Instead, a Kodi standard NFO file can be ''embedded'' into MKV files.

* An attachment named '''kodi-metadata''' will be scanned as an embedded .nfo file
* An attachment named '''kodi-override-metadata''' will be scanned as a url nfo if combined with specifying IMDB/TMDB url. if alone, you get an override nfo

The only textual tags supported in MKV fields as of v18.6 are (case-insensitive) ''Title'' = <code>title</code>, ''Director'' = <code>director</code> (multiple entries may be separated by a forward slash) and ''Year'' = <code>date_released</code>.

== AVI tag options ==

As of v18.6, Kodi only recognizes ''Title'' and ''Year'' variables from AVI tags.

= Artwork =
For MKV you can have embedded images. currently limited to:
* 'small_cover.png' or 'small_cover.jpg' for thumb
* 'cover.png' or 'cover.jpg' for poster
* 'fanart.png' or 'fanart.jpg' for fanart

'poster' images can be embedded in MP4 files.

{{top}}

<div style="{{linear-gradient|left|#a1f5e4, #f5f5a1}}">{{next|[[Adding_video_sources|'''Add Source & Scrape''']]}} </div>

{{updated|18}}
[[Category:FAQ]]
[[Category:Index]]
[[Category:How-to]]
[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Manual]]
[[Category:Karellen]]
[[Category:Video library]]
[[Category:General topics]]
[[Category:First time user]]
[[Category:Quick Start Guide]]

Video file tagging

2020-05-06T10:41:00Z

Crissov: /* Tag field mapping table */ was missing ''Title'' entry, the most important of all

{{mininav|[[Video library]]||}}
{{incomplete}}
{{notice|This feature is currently for '''movies only'''. TV shows and music videos are not yet supported.}}
{{notice|This page describes an alternative way of adding movies to the library that is not dependent on file names or online scrapers.}}
{{VideoLibraryCreate}}

<section begin="intro" />Kodi v18 Leia introduces support for embedded video tags using '''*.mkv''' and '''*.mp4''' video files. '''*.avi''' support is available since v18.x. They are similar in principle to the tags saved in audio files. Only limited support for video tags is available at this time.<section end="intro" />

= Benefits of embedded video tags =
There are multiple reasons why one would want to use this feature:
Media may already contain useful metadata (the reverse however is also true - many files contain "junk" metadata, hence why the feature defaults to off).
It gives one more control over the metadata than scrapers do (as scrapers may misclassify media and pull the wrong data).
It does away with the need to have [[.nfo file]]s. Since metadata travels with the media file, there is no longer a need for potentially thousands of these smaller files and can make directory management even easier.
Using ultra-high resolution [[artwork]]/cover images that looks nicer on newer HD displays. (Pretty pictures!)

== How does it change/differ from the old model? ==
Kodi has two options for metadata import: using an online scraper or using local information, traditionally in the form of .nfo files. Local tag reading is bundled into the "Local Information" arm, as logically, metadata is still local (i.e not network-drawn) information. Thus, one can still use a combination of .nfo files and embedded information if they choose "Local Information" rather than to use a scraper.

It is important to note however that .nfo files will override embedded information. Not all of Kodi's NFO features are supported by embedded metadata yet, so many users may wish to still use the NFO method. (https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=326340)

== Settings ==
{{Kodi}} [[settings]] have the option to enable or disable the reading of video file tags at [[Settings/Media/Videos|Settings > Media Settings > Videos > Use video tags]]. The default setting is ''disabled''.

This page assumes this setting has been ''enabled''.

= Folder & File Structure =
The use of Video File Tags does not absolve you from using the correct Folder and File structure for [[Naming video files/Movies|Movies]], [[Naming video files/TV shows|TV Shows]] and [[Music videos|Music Videos]] as detailed in the previous pages.

= Tagging =
{{no endorsement notice}}

{{note|User-friendly options for adding and editing embedded metadata may be lacking for your given platform. Be prepared for challenges when going down this path.}}

== Windows ==
[http://www.mp3tag.de MP3tag] is a Windows-based metadata editor for many different files and tag types, including MP4 and MKV (despite what it's name may suggest). While somewhat complex, it provides very fine-grained control over [https://help.mp3tag.de/main_tags.html tagging], and is a worthwhile asset in any media management library.

MetaX is a user-friendly tagging solution. However, it is proprietary and paid ($10). It features much the same core features as MP3tag, but adds an online search functionality to grab metadata from providers such as iTunes, Amazon and others, as well as an autotag feature. This can be useful to people with enormous media collections where the time saved manually tagging justifies the price.

== Mac ==

* [https://griff.github.io/metaz/ MetaZ] is a free and open source MP4 metadata lookup and editor for Mac OS.

== Linux ==

* mp4v2

== Cross-platform ==

* exiftool

== A note on iTunes ==
Apple, in their wisdom, have created a subset of MP4 tags that are strictly speaking only meant for use with iTunes. However, most tagging software can read and write these iTunes tags. These tags are also quite useful but some will not work with Kodi. Tags include the ability to store Cast (actors), Screenwriter and Director information, as well as age restriction data such as MPAA ratings.

The important point to note here is that just because your tagging software allows you to add these does not mean they will be used by Kodi.

= Core Tags =

While there are an absolute myriad of tags that one can use, many, if not most of these are unnecessary for video files. Remember that MP4 tags have to have fields for everything - TV shows, movies, music videos, music, audiobooks, and even images! We usually do not want to populate tags related to music (such as Artist) in a movie file. As such here are some of the most critical tags for video (TV show and Movie) files.

== Title ==
Kodi will not import a media file without a valid ''Title'' in the metadata tag. This makes it the most critical tag of all. An exception is made for MKV files which have an <code>IMDBURL</code> or <code>TMDBURL</code> metatag.

Title differs from filename - I may have a file called Blade_Runner_2049_(2017)Withalotofexcessinformation.mp4, But the title value can simply be "Blade Runner 2049". Kodi will then display "Blade Runner 2049".

Beware that many people who distribute video files do not care much for proper metadata within the file even if they are shipping proper NFO or XML files with them. Regardless, their files may still have tags, but with rubbish or spam content.

== Description ==
This describes the movie/TV Show. A snippet from iTunes' description of Blade Runner 2049 is as follows: "Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos."

Descriptions thus actually describe the character or basic plot of a movie or TV Show. These will be displayed in Kodi when the file is selected.

Best practice at this point seems to be to mirror the Long Description and Short Description, as there does not seem to be any practical distinction between the two.

When using this tag with TV Shows, every episode can be individually described according to the plot of that particular episode.

== Content Type ==
In MP4 there should be four choices: Music, Music Video, Movie and TV Show. The choice does not seem to matter at this point as Kodi can not distinguish files based on this tag, but rather relies on the manual setting when the directory was added. It might be useful to set this properly when tagging however, as a future change to allow Kodi to distinguish these tags may prove invaluable.

== Cover/Picture ==
For some users, the singular greatest benefit to tags is being able to set your own cover image. Don't like the standard cover? Use the Collectors Edition or Digital Download cover.

== TV Show Specific Tags ==
There are three more tags that should be filled in for TV Shows: '''Show''' (tvsh), numeric '''Season''' (tvsn) and '''Episode Number''' (tves) and the unique '''Production Code''' (tven).
At the moment these tags do not seem to be of any practical use in Kodi, but should nevertheless be filled out as this may change.

= Supported Tags =

Kodi relies on FFmpeg libraries to import MP4, MKV and AVI metadata. The [https://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php/FFmpeg_Metadata documentation in the Multimedia.cx wiki] is not always up to date, but is correct in general. For proper details, one needs to inspect the [https://www.ffmpeg.org/doxygen/4.0/movenc_8c_source.html <code>mov_write_****_tag()</code> functions in the FFmpeg source code].

; {{red|are the tags in this table for both mkv and mp4?}}
: Both MP4 and MKV tags are supported, although they use fundamentally different methods of encoding metadata.
; {{red|I cannot find these video related tags in mp3tag}}
: To get to all the juicy video file related tags in mp3tag, right click on your video file and select "Extended Tags". From here one can see all the tags currently in a file. Add new ones by clicking on the Add button, selecting a Field (what tag to edit) and entering a value. The most critical one in all cases is TITLE, as it seems Kodi will not add a media file if this core tag is missing (and there is no .nfo file).
: This will also allow you to add the cover artwork.
; {{red|What format is this- id3, APE, Generic, MP4, other?}}
: MP4 files use "moov" atoms embedded within the file. These are the same ones used in AAC audio files (such as m4a).
; {{red|IMDBURL/TMDBURL is this one tag or two separate tags?}}
: Two separate ones, only supported within Matroska (MKV) files currently.

== Tag field mapping table ==

{| class="wikitable prettytable"
! Kodi !! FFmpeg !! MP4 box/atom !! AVI FourCC !! Mp3tag !! mp4tags/mp4v2 CLI !! Description
|-
| || <code>album-sort</code>, <code>sort_album</code> || <code>soal</code> || || <code>ALBUMSORT</code> || ||
|-
| || <code>album_artist</code> || <code>aART</code> || || <code>ALBUMARTIST</code> || <code>-R</code>, <code>-albumartist</code> || album artist
|-
| ''Album'' || <code>album</code> || <code>©alb</code> || <code>IPRD</code> || <code>ALBUM</code> || <code>-A</code>, <code>-album</code> || album title
|-
| || <code>artist-sort</code> || <code>soar</code> || || <code>ARTISTSORT</code> || ||
|-
| ''Artist'' || <code>artist</code>, <code>author</code> || <code>©art</code>, <code>©ART</code> || <code>IART</code> || <code>ARTIST</code> || <code>-a</code>, <code>-artist</code> || artist information
|-
| || <code>comment</code> || <code>©cmt</code> || <code>ICMT</code> || <code>COMMENT</code> || <code>-c</code>, <code>-comment</code> || general comment
|-
| || <code>compilation</code> || <code>cpil</code> || || <code>COMPILATION</code> || ||
|-
| ''WritingCredits'' (split at slashes) || <code>composer</code> || <code>©wrt</code> || || <code>COMPOSER</code> || <code>-w</code>, <code>-writer</code> || composer information
|-
| || <code>copyright</code> || <code>©cpy</code>, <code>cprt</code> || <code>ICOP</code> || <code>COPYRIGHT</code> || <code>-C</code>, <code>-copyright</code> || copyright information
|-
| || <code>creation_time</code> || || || <code>ENCODINGTIME</code> || ||
|-
| ''Year'' || <code>date</code> || || <code>ICRD</code> || <code>RELEASETIME</code> || ||
|-
| (''Premiered'') || <code>year</code> || <code>©day</code> || || <code>YEAR</code> || <code>-y</code>, <code>-year</code> || release date
|-
| ''PlotOutline'', (''Overview'') || <code>description</code> || <code>desc</code> || || <code>DESCRIPTION</code> || <code>-l</code>, <code>-longdesc</code> || long description
|-
| || <code>disc</code> || <code>disk</code> || || <code>DISCNUMBER</code> || <code>-d</code>, <code>-disk</code> / <code>-D</code>, <code>-disks</code> || disk number / number of discs
|-
| || <code>encoded_by</code> || <code>©too</code> || <code>ITCH</code> || <code>ENCODEDBY</code> || <code>-e</code>, <code>-encodedby</code> || name of the person or company who encoded the file
|-
| || <code>encoder</code> || || <code>ISFT</code> || <code>ENCODERSETTINGS</code> || <code>-E</code>, <code>-tool</code> || software used for encoding
|-
| (''ProductionCode'') || <code>episode_id</code> || <code>tven</code> || || <code>TVEPISODEID</code> || <code>-o</code>, <code>-episodeid</code> || TV episode ID
|-
| || <code>episode_sort</code> || <code>tves</code> || || <code>TVEPISODE</code> || <code>-M</code>, <code>-episode</code> || episode number
|-
| ''Genre'' (split at slashes) || <code>genre</code> || <code>©gen</code>, <code>gnre</code> || <code>IGNR</code> || <code>GENRE</code> || <code>-g</code>, <code>-genre</code> / <code>-j</code>, <code>-genreid</code> || genre name / ID
|-
| (''Set'') || <code>grouping</code> || <code>©grp</code> || || <code>CONTENTGROUP</code> || <code>-G</code>, <code>-grouping</code> || grouping name
|-
| || <code>hd_video</code> || <code>hdvd</code> || || <code>ITUNESHDVIDEO</code> || <code>-H</code>, <code>-hdvideo</code> || HD flag (1/0)
|-
| || <code>language</code> || || <code>ILNG</code> || <code>LANGUAGE</code> || ||
|-
| || <code>lyrics</code> || <code>©lyr</code> || || <code>UNSYNCEDLYRICS</code> || <code>-L</code>, <code>-lyrics</code> || unsynchronized lyrics
|-
| || <code>media_type</code> || <code>stik</code> || || <code>ITUNESMEDIATYPE</code> || <code>-i</code>, <code>-type</code> || Media Type (TV Show, Movie, Music, Audiobook ...)
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>network</code> || <code>tvnn</code> || || <code>TVNETWORK</code> || <code>-N</code>, <code>-network</code> || TV network
|-
| (''Director'') || <code>performer</code> || <code>©con</code> || || <code>CONDUCTOR</code> || ||
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>publisher</code> || || || <code>PUBLISHER</code> || ||
|-
| || <code>season_number</code> || <code>tvsn</code> || || <code>TVSEASON</code> || <code>-n</code>, <code>-season</code> || season number
|-
| (''ShowTitle'') || <code>show</code> || <code>tvsh</code> || || <code>TVSHOW</code> || <code>-S</code>, <code>-show</code> || TV show
|-
| ''Plot'' || <code>synopsis</code> || <code>ldes</code> || || <code>PODCASTDESC</code> || <code>-m</code>, <code>-description</code> || short description
|-
| (''SortTitle'') || <code>title-sort</code> || <code>sonm</code> || || <code>TITLESORT</code> || ||
|-
| ''Title'' || <code>title</code> || <code>©nam</code> || <code>INAM</code> || <code>TITLE</code> || <code>-s</code>, <code>-song</code> || song title, track name
|-
| ''Track'' || <code>track</code> || <code>trkn</code> || <code>IPRT</code> || <code>TRACK</code> || <code>-t</code>, <code>-track</code> / <code>-T</code>, <code>-tracks</code> || track number / number of tracks
|}


== MKV tag options ==

MKV tagging currently does mostly ignore the Matroska tagging specification to fill library info. Instead, a Kodi standard NFO file can be ''embedded'' into MKV files.

* An attachment named '''kodi-metadata''' will be scanned as an embedded .nfo file
* An attachment named '''kodi-override-metadata''' will be scanned as a url nfo if combined with specifying IMDB/TMDB url. if alone, you get an override nfo

The only textual tags supported in MKV fields as of v18.6 are (case-insensitive) ''Title'' = <code>title</code>, ''Director'' = <code>director</code> (multiple entries may be separated by a forward slash) and ''Year'' = <code>date_released</code>.

== AVI tag options ==

As of v18.6, Kodi only recognizes ''Title'' and ''Year'' variables from AVI tags.

= Artwork =
For MKV you can have embedded images. currently limited to:
* 'small_cover.png' or 'small_cover.jpg' for thumb
* 'cover.png' or 'cover.jpg' for poster
* 'fanart.png' or 'fanart.jpg' for fanart

'poster' images can be embedded in MP4 files.

{{top}}

<div style="{{linear-gradient|left|#a1f5e4, #f5f5a1}}">{{next|[[Adding_video_sources|'''Add Source & Scrape''']]}} </div>

{{updated|18}}
[[Category:FAQ]]
[[Category:Index]]
[[Category:How-to]]
[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Manual]]
[[Category:Karellen]]
[[Category:Video library]]
[[Category:General topics]]
[[Category:First time user]]
[[Category:Quick Start Guide]]

Video file tagging

2020-05-06T10:39:02Z

Crissov: /* Folder & File Structure */

{{mininav|[[Video library]]||}}
{{incomplete}}
{{notice|This feature is currently for '''movies only'''. TV shows and music videos are not yet supported.}}
{{notice|This page describes an alternative way of adding movies to the library that is not dependent on file names or online scrapers.}}
{{VideoLibraryCreate}}

<section begin="intro" />Kodi v18 Leia introduces support for embedded video tags using '''*.mkv''' and '''*.mp4''' video files. '''*.avi''' support is available since v18.x. They are similar in principle to the tags saved in audio files. Only limited support for video tags is available at this time.<section end="intro" />

= Benefits of embedded video tags =
There are multiple reasons why one would want to use this feature:
Media may already contain useful metadata (the reverse however is also true - many files contain "junk" metadata, hence why the feature defaults to off).
It gives one more control over the metadata than scrapers do (as scrapers may misclassify media and pull the wrong data).
It does away with the need to have [[.nfo file]]s. Since metadata travels with the media file, there is no longer a need for potentially thousands of these smaller files and can make directory management even easier.
Using ultra-high resolution [[artwork]]/cover images that looks nicer on newer HD displays. (Pretty pictures!)

== How does it change/differ from the old model? ==
Kodi has two options for metadata import: using an online scraper or using local information, traditionally in the form of .nfo files. Local tag reading is bundled into the "Local Information" arm, as logically, metadata is still local (i.e not network-drawn) information. Thus, one can still use a combination of .nfo files and embedded information if they choose "Local Information" rather than to use a scraper.

It is important to note however that .nfo files will override embedded information. Not all of Kodi's NFO features are supported by embedded metadata yet, so many users may wish to still use the NFO method. (https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=326340)

== Settings ==
{{Kodi}} [[settings]] have the option to enable or disable the reading of video file tags at [[Settings/Media/Videos|Settings > Media Settings > Videos > Use video tags]]. The default setting is ''disabled''.

This page assumes this setting has been ''enabled''.

= Folder & File Structure =
The use of Video File Tags does not absolve you from using the correct Folder and File structure for [[Naming video files/Movies|Movies]], [[Naming video files/TV shows|TV Shows]] and [[Music videos|Music Videos]] as detailed in the previous pages.

= Tagging =
{{no endorsement notice}}

{{note|User-friendly options for adding and editing embedded metadata may be lacking for your given platform. Be prepared for challenges when going down this path.}}

== Windows ==
[http://www.mp3tag.de MP3tag] is a Windows-based metadata editor for many different files and tag types, including MP4 and MKV (despite what it's name may suggest). While somewhat complex, it provides very fine-grained control over [https://help.mp3tag.de/main_tags.html tagging], and is a worthwhile asset in any media management library.

MetaX is a user-friendly tagging solution. However, it is proprietary and paid ($10). It features much the same core features as MP3tag, but adds an online search functionality to grab metadata from providers such as iTunes, Amazon and others, as well as an autotag feature. This can be useful to people with enormous media collections where the time saved manually tagging justifies the price.

== Mac ==

* [https://griff.github.io/metaz/ MetaZ] is a free and open source MP4 metadata lookup and editor for Mac OS.

== Linux ==

* mp4v2

== Cross-platform ==

* exiftool

== A note on iTunes ==
Apple, in their wisdom, have created a subset of MP4 tags that are strictly speaking only meant for use with iTunes. However, most tagging software can read and write these iTunes tags. These tags are also quite useful but some will not work with Kodi. Tags include the ability to store Cast (actors), Screenwriter and Director information, as well as age restriction data such as MPAA ratings.

The important point to note here is that just because your tagging software allows you to add these does not mean they will be used by Kodi.

= Core Tags =

While there are an absolute myriad of tags that one can use, many, if not most of these are unnecessary for video files. Remember that MP4 tags have to have fields for everything - TV shows, movies, music videos, music, audiobooks, and even images! We usually do not want to populate tags related to music (such as Artist) in a movie file. As such here are some of the most critical tags for video (TV show and Movie) files.

== Title ==
Kodi will not import a media file without a valid ''Title'' in the metadata tag. This makes it the most critical tag of all. An exception is made for MKV files which have an <code>IMDBURL</code> or <code>TMDBURL</code> metatag.

Title differs from filename - I may have a file called Blade_Runner_2049_(2017)Withalotofexcessinformation.mp4, But the title value can simply be "Blade Runner 2049". Kodi will then display "Blade Runner 2049".

Beware that many people who distribute video files do not care much for proper metadata within the file even if they are shipping proper NFO or XML files with them. Regardless, their files may still have tags, but with rubbish or spam content.

== Description ==
This describes the movie/TV Show. A snippet from iTunes' description of Blade Runner 2049 is as follows: "Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos."

Descriptions thus actually describe the character or basic plot of a movie or TV Show. These will be displayed in Kodi when the file is selected.

Best practice at this point seems to be to mirror the Long Description and Short Description, as there does not seem to be any practical distinction between the two.

When using this tag with TV Shows, every episode can be individually described according to the plot of that particular episode.

== Content Type ==
In MP4 there should be four choices: Music, Music Video, Movie and TV Show. The choice does not seem to matter at this point as Kodi can not distinguish files based on this tag, but rather relies on the manual setting when the directory was added. It might be useful to set this properly when tagging however, as a future change to allow Kodi to distinguish these tags may prove invaluable.

== Cover/Picture ==
For some users, the singular greatest benefit to tags is being able to set your own cover image. Don't like the standard cover? Use the Collectors Edition or Digital Download cover.

== TV Show Specific Tags ==
There are three more tags that should be filled in for TV Shows: '''Show''' (tvsh), numeric '''Season''' (tvsn) and '''Episode Number''' (tves) and the unique '''Production Code''' (tven).
At the moment these tags do not seem to be of any practical use in Kodi, but should nevertheless be filled out as this may change.

= Supported Tags =

Kodi relies on FFmpeg libraries to import MP4, MKV and AVI metadata. The [https://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php/FFmpeg_Metadata documentation in the Multimedia.cx wiki] is not always up to date, but is correct in general. For proper details, one needs to inspect the [https://www.ffmpeg.org/doxygen/4.0/movenc_8c_source.html <code>mov_write_****_tag()</code> functions in the FFmpeg source code].

; {{red|are the tags in this table for both mkv and mp4?}}
: Both MP4 and MKV tags are supported, although they use fundamentally different methods of encoding metadata.
; {{red|I cannot find these video related tags in mp3tag}}
: To get to all the juicy video file related tags in mp3tag, right click on your video file and select "Extended Tags". From here one can see all the tags currently in a file. Add new ones by clicking on the Add button, selecting a Field (what tag to edit) and entering a value. The most critical one in all cases is TITLE, as it seems Kodi will not add a media file if this core tag is missing (and there is no .nfo file).
: This will also allow you to add the cover artwork.
; {{red|What format is this- id3, APE, Generic, MP4, other?}}
: MP4 files use "moov" atoms embedded within the file. These are the same ones used in AAC audio files (such as m4a).
; {{red|IMDBURL/TMDBURL is this one tag or two separate tags?}}
: Two separate ones, only supported within Matroska (MKV) files currently.

== Tag field mapping table ==

{| class="wikitable prettytable"
! Kodi !! FFmpeg !! MP4 box/atom !! AVI FourCC !! Mp3tag !! mp4tags/mp4v2 CLI !! Description
|-
| || <code>album-sort</code>, <code>sort_album</code> || <code>soal</code> || || <code>ALBUMSORT</code> || ||
|-
| || <code>album_artist</code> || <code>aART</code> || || <code>ALBUMARTIST</code> || <code>-R</code>, <code>-albumartist</code> || album artist
|-
| ''Album'' || <code>album</code> || <code>©alb</code> || <code>IPRD</code> || <code>ALBUM</code> || <code>-A</code>, <code>-album</code> || album title
|-
| || <code>artist-sort</code> || <code>soar</code> || || <code>ARTISTSORT</code> || ||
|-
| ''Artist'' || <code>artist</code>, <code>author</code> || <code>©art</code>, <code>©ART</code> || <code>IART</code> || <code>ARTIST</code> || <code>-a</code>, <code>-artist</code> || artist information
|-
| || <code>comment</code> || <code>©cmt</code> || <code>ICMT</code> || <code>COMMENT</code> || <code>-c</code>, <code>-comment</code> || general comment
|-
| || <code>compilation</code> || <code>cpil</code> || || <code>COMPILATION</code> || ||
|-
| ''WritingCredits'' (split at slashes) || <code>composer</code> || <code>©wrt</code> || || <code>COMPOSER</code> || <code>-w</code>, <code>-writer</code> || composer information
|-
| || <code>copyright</code> || <code>©cpy</code>, <code>cprt</code> || <code>ICOP</code> || <code>COPYRIGHT</code> || <code>-C</code>, <code>-copyright</code> || copyright information
|-
| || <code>creation_time</code> || || || <code>ENCODINGTIME</code> || ||
|-
| ''Year'' || <code>date</code> || || <code>ICRD</code> || <code>RELEASETIME</code> || ||
|-
| (''Premiered'') || <code>year</code> || <code>©day</code> || || <code>YEAR</code> || <code>-y</code>, <code>-year</code> || release date
|-
| ''PlotOutline'', (''Overview'') || <code>description</code> || <code>desc</code> || || <code>DESCRIPTION</code> || <code>-l</code>, <code>-longdesc</code> || long description
|-
| || <code>disc</code> || <code>disk</code> || || <code>DISCNUMBER</code> || <code>-d</code>, <code>-disk</code> / <code>-D</code>, <code>-disks</code> || disk number / number of discs
|-
| || <code>encoded_by</code> || <code>©too</code> || <code>ITCH</code> || <code>ENCODEDBY</code> || <code>-e</code>, <code>-encodedby</code> || name of the person or company who encoded the file
|-
| || <code>encoder</code> || || <code>ISFT</code> || <code>ENCODERSETTINGS</code> || <code>-E</code>, <code>-tool</code> || software used for encoding
|-
| (''ProductionCode'') || <code>episode_id</code> || <code>tven</code> || || <code>TVEPISODEID</code> || <code>-o</code>, <code>-episodeid</code> || TV episode ID
|-
| || <code>episode_sort</code> || <code>tves</code> || || <code>TVEPISODE</code> || <code>-M</code>, <code>-episode</code> || episode number
|-
| ''Genre'' (split at slashes) || <code>genre</code> || <code>©gen</code>, <code>gnre</code> || <code>IGNR</code> || <code>GENRE</code> || <code>-g</code>, <code>-genre</code> / <code>-j</code>, <code>-genreid</code> || genre name / ID
|-
| (''Set'') || <code>grouping</code> || <code>©grp</code> || || <code>CONTENTGROUP</code> || <code>-G</code>, <code>-grouping</code> || grouping name
|-
| || <code>hd_video</code> || <code>hdvd</code> || || <code>ITUNESHDVIDEO</code> || <code>-H</code>, <code>-hdvideo</code> || HD flag (1/0)
|-
| || <code>language</code> || || <code>ILNG</code> || <code>LANGUAGE</code> || ||
|-
| || <code>lyrics</code> || <code>©lyr</code> || || <code>UNSYNCEDLYRICS</code> || <code>-L</code>, <code>-lyrics</code> || unsynchronized lyrics
|-
| || <code>media_type</code> || <code>stik</code> || || <code>ITUNESMEDIATYPE</code> || <code>-i</code>, <code>-type</code> || Media Type (TV Show, Movie, Music, Audiobook ...)
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>network</code> || <code>tvnn</code> || || <code>TVNETWORK</code> || <code>-N</code>, <code>-network</code> || TV network
|-
| (''Director'') || <code>performer</code> || <code>©con</code> || || <code>CONDUCTOR</code> || ||
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>publisher</code> || || || <code>PUBLISHER</code> || ||
|-
| || <code>season_number</code> || <code>tvsn</code> || || <code>TVSEASON</code> || <code>-n</code>, <code>-season</code> || season number
|-
| (''ShowTitle'') || <code>show</code> || <code>tvsh</code> || || <code>TVSHOW</code> || <code>-S</code>, <code>-show</code> || TV show
|-
| ''Plot'' || <code>synopsis</code> || <code>ldes</code> || || <code>PODCASTDESC</code> || <code>-m</code>, <code>-description</code> || short description
|-
| (''SortTitle'') || <code>title-sort</code> || <code>sonm</code> || || <code>TITLESORT</code> || ||
|-
| || <code>title</code> || <code>©nam</code> || <code>INAM</code> || <code>TITLE</code> || <code>-s</code>, <code>-song</code> || song title, track name
|-
| ''Track'' || <code>track</code> || <code>trkn</code> || <code>IPRT</code> || <code>TRACK</code> || <code>-t</code>, <code>-track</code> / <code>-T</code>, <code>-tracks</code> || track number / number of tracks
|}


== MKV tag options ==

MKV tagging currently does mostly ignore the Matroska tagging specification to fill library info. Instead, a Kodi standard NFO file can be ''embedded'' into MKV files.

* An attachment named '''kodi-metadata''' will be scanned as an embedded .nfo file
* An attachment named '''kodi-override-metadata''' will be scanned as a url nfo if combined with specifying IMDB/TMDB url. if alone, you get an override nfo

The only textual tags supported in MKV fields as of v18.6 are (case-insensitive) ''Title'' = <code>title</code>, ''Director'' = <code>director</code> (multiple entries may be separated by a forward slash) and ''Year'' = <code>date_released</code>.

== AVI tag options ==

As of v18.6, Kodi only recognizes ''Title'' and ''Year'' variables from AVI tags.

= Artwork =
For MKV you can have embedded images. currently limited to:
* 'small_cover.png' or 'small_cover.jpg' for thumb
* 'cover.png' or 'cover.jpg' for poster
* 'fanart.png' or 'fanart.jpg' for fanart

'poster' images can be embedded in MP4 files.

{{top}}

<div style="{{linear-gradient|left|#a1f5e4, #f5f5a1}}">{{next|[[Adding_video_sources|'''Add Source & Scrape''']]}} </div>

{{updated|18}}
[[Category:FAQ]]
[[Category:Index]]
[[Category:How-to]]
[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Manual]]
[[Category:Karellen]]
[[Category:Video library]]
[[Category:General topics]]
[[Category:First time user]]
[[Category:Quick Start Guide]]

Video file tagging

2020-05-06T10:37:55Z

Crissov: I checked Kodi and FFmpeg source code to better document this; new comprehensive table!

{{mininav|[[Video library]]||}}
{{incomplete}}
{{notice|This feature is currently for '''movies only'''. TV shows and music videos are not yet supported.}}
{{notice|This page describes an alternative way of adding movies to the library that is not dependent on file names or online scrapers.}}
{{VideoLibraryCreate}}

<section begin="intro" />Kodi v18 Leia introduces support for embedded video tags using '''*.mkv''' and '''*.mp4''' video files. '''*.avi''' support is available since v18.x. They are similar in principle to the tags saved in audio files. Only limited support for video tags is available at this time.<section end="intro" />

= Benefits of embedded video tags =
There are multiple reasons why one would want to use this feature:
Media may already contain useful metadata (the reverse however is also true - many files contain "junk" metadata, hence why the feature defaults to off).
It gives one more control over the metadata than scrapers do (as scrapers may misclassify media and pull the wrong data).
It does away with the need to have [[.nfo file]]s. Since metadata travels with the media file, there is no longer a need for potentially thousands of these smaller files and can make directory management even easier.
Using ultra-high resolution [[artwork]]/cover images that looks nicer on newer HD displays. (Pretty pictures!)

== How does it change/differ from the old model? ==
Kodi has two options for metadata import: using an online scraper or using local information, traditionally in the form of .nfo files. Local tag reading is bundled into the "Local Information" arm, as logically, metadata is still local (i.e not network-drawn) information. Thus, one can still use a combination of .nfo files and embedded information if they choose "Local Information" rather than to use a scraper.

It is important to note however that .nfo files will override embedded information. Not all of Kodi's NFO features are supported by embedded metadata yet, so many users may wish to still use the NFO method. (https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=326340)

== Settings ==
{{Kodi}} [[settings]] have the option to enable or disable the reading of video file tags at [[Settings/Media/Videos|Settings > Media Settings > Videos > Use video tags]]. The default setting is ''disabled''.

This page assumes this setting has been ''enabled''.

= Folder & File Structure =
The use of Video File Tags does not absolve you from using the correct Folder and File structure for [[Naming video files/Movies|Movies]], [[Naming video files/TV Shows|TV Shows]] and [[Music videos|Music Videos]] as detailed in the previous pages.

= Tagging =
{{no endorsement notice}}

{{note|User-friendly options for adding and editing embedded metadata may be lacking for your given platform. Be prepared for challenges when going down this path.}}

== Windows ==
[http://www.mp3tag.de MP3tag] is a Windows-based metadata editor for many different files and tag types, including MP4 and MKV (despite what it's name may suggest). While somewhat complex, it provides very fine-grained control over [https://help.mp3tag.de/main_tags.html tagging], and is a worthwhile asset in any media management library.

MetaX is a user-friendly tagging solution. However, it is proprietary and paid ($10). It features much the same core features as MP3tag, but adds an online search functionality to grab metadata from providers such as iTunes, Amazon and others, as well as an autotag feature. This can be useful to people with enormous media collections where the time saved manually tagging justifies the price.

== Mac ==

* [https://griff.github.io/metaz/ MetaZ] is a free and open source MP4 metadata lookup and editor for Mac OS.

== Linux ==

* mp4v2

== Cross-platform ==

* exiftool

== A note on iTunes ==
Apple, in their wisdom, have created a subset of MP4 tags that are strictly speaking only meant for use with iTunes. However, most tagging software can read and write these iTunes tags. These tags are also quite useful but some will not work with Kodi. Tags include the ability to store Cast (actors), Screenwriter and Director information, as well as age restriction data such as MPAA ratings.

The important point to note here is that just because your tagging software allows you to add these does not mean they will be used by Kodi.

= Core Tags =

While there are an absolute myriad of tags that one can use, many, if not most of these are unnecessary for video files. Remember that MP4 tags have to have fields for everything - TV shows, movies, music videos, music, audiobooks, and even images! We usually do not want to populate tags related to music (such as Artist) in a movie file. As such here are some of the most critical tags for video (TV show and Movie) files.

== Title ==
Kodi will not import a media file without a valid ''Title'' in the metadata tag. This makes it the most critical tag of all. An exception is made for MKV files which have an <code>IMDBURL</code> or <code>TMDBURL</code> metatag.

Title differs from filename - I may have a file called Blade_Runner_2049_(2017)Withalotofexcessinformation.mp4, But the title value can simply be "Blade Runner 2049". Kodi will then display "Blade Runner 2049".

Beware that many people who distribute video files do not care much for proper metadata within the file even if they are shipping proper NFO or XML files with them. Regardless, their files may still have tags, but with rubbish or spam content.

== Description ==
This describes the movie/TV Show. A snippet from iTunes' description of Blade Runner 2049 is as follows: "Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos."

Descriptions thus actually describe the character or basic plot of a movie or TV Show. These will be displayed in Kodi when the file is selected.

Best practice at this point seems to be to mirror the Long Description and Short Description, as there does not seem to be any practical distinction between the two.

When using this tag with TV Shows, every episode can be individually described according to the plot of that particular episode.

== Content Type ==
In MP4 there should be four choices: Music, Music Video, Movie and TV Show. The choice does not seem to matter at this point as Kodi can not distinguish files based on this tag, but rather relies on the manual setting when the directory was added. It might be useful to set this properly when tagging however, as a future change to allow Kodi to distinguish these tags may prove invaluable.

== Cover/Picture ==
For some users, the singular greatest benefit to tags is being able to set your own cover image. Don't like the standard cover? Use the Collectors Edition or Digital Download cover.

== TV Show Specific Tags ==
There are three more tags that should be filled in for TV Shows: '''Show''' (tvsh), numeric '''Season''' (tvsn) and '''Episode Number''' (tves) and the unique '''Production Code''' (tven).
At the moment these tags do not seem to be of any practical use in Kodi, but should nevertheless be filled out as this may change.

= Supported Tags =

Kodi relies on FFmpeg libraries to import MP4, MKV and AVI metadata. The [https://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php/FFmpeg_Metadata documentation in the Multimedia.cx wiki] is not always up to date, but is correct in general. For proper details, one needs to inspect the [https://www.ffmpeg.org/doxygen/4.0/movenc_8c_source.html <code>mov_write_****_tag()</code> functions in the FFmpeg source code].

; {{red|are the tags in this table for both mkv and mp4?}}
: Both MP4 and MKV tags are supported, although they use fundamentally different methods of encoding metadata.
; {{red|I cannot find these video related tags in mp3tag}}
: To get to all the juicy video file related tags in mp3tag, right click on your video file and select "Extended Tags". From here one can see all the tags currently in a file. Add new ones by clicking on the Add button, selecting a Field (what tag to edit) and entering a value. The most critical one in all cases is TITLE, as it seems Kodi will not add a media file if this core tag is missing (and there is no .nfo file).
: This will also allow you to add the cover artwork.
; {{red|What format is this- id3, APE, Generic, MP4, other?}}
: MP4 files use "moov" atoms embedded within the file. These are the same ones used in AAC audio files (such as m4a).
; {{red|IMDBURL/TMDBURL is this one tag or two separate tags?}}
: Two separate ones, only supported within Matroska (MKV) files currently.

== Tag field mapping table ==

{| class="wikitable prettytable"
! Kodi !! FFmpeg !! MP4 box/atom !! AVI FourCC !! Mp3tag !! mp4tags/mp4v2 CLI !! Description
|-
| || <code>album-sort</code>, <code>sort_album</code> || <code>soal</code> || || <code>ALBUMSORT</code> || ||
|-
| || <code>album_artist</code> || <code>aART</code> || || <code>ALBUMARTIST</code> || <code>-R</code>, <code>-albumartist</code> || album artist
|-
| ''Album'' || <code>album</code> || <code>©alb</code> || <code>IPRD</code> || <code>ALBUM</code> || <code>-A</code>, <code>-album</code> || album title
|-
| || <code>artist-sort</code> || <code>soar</code> || || <code>ARTISTSORT</code> || ||
|-
| ''Artist'' || <code>artist</code>, <code>author</code> || <code>©art</code>, <code>©ART</code> || <code>IART</code> || <code>ARTIST</code> || <code>-a</code>, <code>-artist</code> || artist information
|-
| || <code>comment</code> || <code>©cmt</code> || <code>ICMT</code> || <code>COMMENT</code> || <code>-c</code>, <code>-comment</code> || general comment
|-
| || <code>compilation</code> || <code>cpil</code> || || <code>COMPILATION</code> || ||
|-
| ''WritingCredits'' (split at slashes) || <code>composer</code> || <code>©wrt</code> || || <code>COMPOSER</code> || <code>-w</code>, <code>-writer</code> || composer information
|-
| || <code>copyright</code> || <code>©cpy</code>, <code>cprt</code> || <code>ICOP</code> || <code>COPYRIGHT</code> || <code>-C</code>, <code>-copyright</code> || copyright information
|-
| || <code>creation_time</code> || || || <code>ENCODINGTIME</code> || ||
|-
| ''Year'' || <code>date</code> || || <code>ICRD</code> || <code>RELEASETIME</code> || ||
|-
| (''Premiered'') || <code>year</code> || <code>©day</code> || || <code>YEAR</code> || <code>-y</code>, <code>-year</code> || release date
|-
| ''PlotOutline'', (''Overview'') || <code>description</code> || <code>desc</code> || || <code>DESCRIPTION</code> || <code>-l</code>, <code>-longdesc</code> || long description
|-
| || <code>disc</code> || <code>disk</code> || || <code>DISCNUMBER</code> || <code>-d</code>, <code>-disk</code> / <code>-D</code>, <code>-disks</code> || disk number / number of discs
|-
| || <code>encoded_by</code> || <code>©too</code> || <code>ITCH</code> || <code>ENCODEDBY</code> || <code>-e</code>, <code>-encodedby</code> || name of the person or company who encoded the file
|-
| || <code>encoder</code> || || <code>ISFT</code> || <code>ENCODERSETTINGS</code> || <code>-E</code>, <code>-tool</code> || software used for encoding
|-
| (''ProductionCode'') || <code>episode_id</code> || <code>tven</code> || || <code>TVEPISODEID</code> || <code>-o</code>, <code>-episodeid</code> || TV episode ID
|-
| || <code>episode_sort</code> || <code>tves</code> || || <code>TVEPISODE</code> || <code>-M</code>, <code>-episode</code> || episode number
|-
| ''Genre'' (split at slashes) || <code>genre</code> || <code>©gen</code>, <code>gnre</code> || <code>IGNR</code> || <code>GENRE</code> || <code>-g</code>, <code>-genre</code> / <code>-j</code>, <code>-genreid</code> || genre name / ID
|-
| (''Set'') || <code>grouping</code> || <code>©grp</code> || || <code>CONTENTGROUP</code> || <code>-G</code>, <code>-grouping</code> || grouping name
|-
| || <code>hd_video</code> || <code>hdvd</code> || || <code>ITUNESHDVIDEO</code> || <code>-H</code>, <code>-hdvideo</code> || HD flag (1/0)
|-
| || <code>language</code> || || <code>ILNG</code> || <code>LANGUAGE</code> || ||
|-
| || <code>lyrics</code> || <code>©lyr</code> || || <code>UNSYNCEDLYRICS</code> || <code>-L</code>, <code>-lyrics</code> || unsynchronized lyrics
|-
| || <code>media_type</code> || <code>stik</code> || || <code>ITUNESMEDIATYPE</code> || <code>-i</code>, <code>-type</code> || Media Type (TV Show, Movie, Music, Audiobook ...)
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>network</code> || <code>tvnn</code> || || <code>TVNETWORK</code> || <code>-N</code>, <code>-network</code> || TV network
|-
| (''Director'') || <code>performer</code> || <code>©con</code> || || <code>CONDUCTOR</code> || ||
|-
| (''Studio'') || <code>publisher</code> || || || <code>PUBLISHER</code> || ||
|-
| || <code>season_number</code> || <code>tvsn</code> || || <code>TVSEASON</code> || <code>-n</code>, <code>-season</code> || season number
|-
| (''ShowTitle'') || <code>show</code> || <code>tvsh</code> || || <code>TVSHOW</code> || <code>-S</code>, <code>-show</code> || TV show
|-
| ''Plot'' || <code>synopsis</code> || <code>ldes</code> || || <code>PODCASTDESC</code> || <code>-m</code>, <code>-description</code> || short description
|-
| (''SortTitle'') || <code>title-sort</code> || <code>sonm</code> || || <code>TITLESORT</code> || ||
|-
| || <code>title</code> || <code>©nam</code> || <code>INAM</code> || <code>TITLE</code> || <code>-s</code>, <code>-song</code> || song title, track name
|-
| ''Track'' || <code>track</code> || <code>trkn</code> || <code>IPRT</code> || <code>TRACK</code> || <code>-t</code>, <code>-track</code> / <code>-T</code>, <code>-tracks</code> || track number / number of tracks
|}


== MKV tag options ==

MKV tagging currently does mostly ignore the Matroska tagging specification to fill library info. Instead, a Kodi standard NFO file can be ''embedded'' into MKV files.

* An attachment named '''kodi-metadata''' will be scanned as an embedded .nfo file
* An attachment named '''kodi-override-metadata''' will be scanned as a url nfo if combined with specifying IMDB/TMDB url. if alone, you get an override nfo

The only textual tags supported in MKV fields as of v18.6 are (case-insensitive) ''Title'' = <code>title</code>, ''Director'' = <code>director</code> (multiple entries may be separated by a forward slash) and ''Year'' = <code>date_released</code>.

== AVI tag options ==

As of v18.6, Kodi only recognizes ''Title'' and ''Year'' variables from AVI tags.

= Artwork =
For MKV you can have embedded images. currently limited to:
* 'small_cover.png' or 'small_cover.jpg' for thumb
* 'cover.png' or 'cover.jpg' for poster
* 'fanart.png' or 'fanart.jpg' for fanart

'poster' images can be embedded in MP4 files.

{{top}}

<div style="{{linear-gradient|left|#a1f5e4, #f5f5a1}}">{{next|[[Adding_video_sources|'''Add Source & Scrape''']]}} </div>

{{updated|18}}
[[Category:FAQ]]
[[Category:Index]]
[[Category:How-to]]
[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Manual]]
[[Category:Karellen]]
[[Category:Video library]]
[[Category:General topics]]
[[Category:First time user]]
[[Category:Quick Start Guide]]

Advancedsettings.xml

2019-10-29T13:38:43Z

Crissov: /* cleanstrings */ update default

{{TOC right}}{{mininav|[[Settings]]|page=advancedsettings.xml}}
{{bigger|{{note|'''The advancedsettings.xml file does not exist by default. You have to create it first!'''}} }}

<section begin="intro" />The [[advancedsettings.xml]] file, which does not exist by default, can be created by a user in their '''[[userdata folder]]'''.

This file is used for advanced settings and options that do not have GUI controls inside of {{kodi}}. Some settings are experimental or very rarely set, so they can only be used via the advancedsettings.xml file. The file is simply a plain text file and can be edited by various text editors, so long as the name is "advancedsettings.xml". These advanced settings can be used to tweak various things such as episode naming patterns, special network ports, special behaviors, and more.<section end="intro" />

The following page will describe the structure of the advancedsettings.xml file and the various individual settings.

{{note|
# All XML tags must be lowercase. The start and end of the advancedsettings.xml file must have the <advancedsettings> and </advancedsettings> tags.
# Kodi will only read the advancedsettings.xml file when it starts up. If you make changes while it is running then you must restart Kodi.
# For some Windows versions, Kodi has two <code>\userdata\</code> folders. The correct one to put the advancedsettings.xml file in is not the one in Program Files, but in <code>%appdata%\Kodi\userdata\.</code>}}

== Layout ==

The layout of <code>advancedsettings.xml</code> is as follows:

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<advancedsettings version="1.0">
<setting>value</setting>
...
<setting>value</setting>
</advancedsettings>
</syntaxhighlight>

where "setting" gives the name of the setting, and "value" gives its value.

A list of the available "setting" strings and their values is given below.

= List of available settings =
List of available settings that are recognised in the advancedsettings.xml file <ref>https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/blob/master/xbmc/settings/AdvancedSettings.cpp</ref>

Recommended: Use the table of contents or the search function in your browser to locate items.

== Troubleshooting settings ==

=== loglevel ===
{{Anchor|.3Cloglevel.3E}}

<section begin="loglevel" />
Sets the logging level used to log errors and information. The "hide" attribute is optional.

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<loglevel hide="attribute">options</loglevel>
</syntaxhighlight>

{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable"
|-
! style="width:100px;" | Attribute
! style="width:500px;" | Action
|-
! '''true'''
| Hides the "enable debugging" setting in the Settings page. (default)
|-
! '''false'''
| Allows "enable debugging" setting to switch between '''0''' and '''2'''.
|}

{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable"
|-
! style="width:100px;" | Option
! style="width:500px;" | Action
|-
! '''-1'''
| No logging, suppresses all log output
|-
! '''0'''
| Normal logging, only logging errors (default)
|-
! '''1'''
| Debug logging with freemem, fps and cpu usage (no on screen)
|-
! '''2'''
| Same as 1 (with on screen display)
|-
! '''3'''
| Same as 2 + full smb logging (no on screen display)
|}

{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable"
|-
! style="width:100px;" | Example
! style="width:500px;" |
|-
! Example 1:
|<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<advancedsettings>
<loglevel>2</loglevel>
</advancedsettings>
</syntaxhighlight>
|-
! Example 2:
|<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<advancedsettings>
<loglevel hide="true">2</loglevel>
</advancedsettings>
</syntaxhighlight>
|}

'''Note:''' The setting is persistent through shutdown and restarts.<br>
'''Note:''' If debugging is enabled in the GUI, loglevel will be set to '''2'''. This will over-ride the <code>advancedsettings.xml</code> setting. You must disable the GUI Setting before adding the entry to <code>advancedsettings.xml</code>.<br />
<section end="loglevel" />
:''{{see also|Log_file|label 1=Debug Log}}''

=== jsonrpc ===
{{Anchor|.3Cjsonrpc.3E}}
To make it easier for developers using the [[JSON RPC]] API in their (third party) applications to debug during development the json output of Kodi can be prettified by setting '''compactoutput''' to '''false'''. Default json output mode is a compact print which does not contain any unnecessary whitespaces and therefore is difficult to read for humans.
Furthermore using the '''tcpport''' setting it is possible to change the default TCP port used by Kodi for JSON RPC (which is 9090) to any other valid port.

Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<jsonrpc>
<compactoutput>false</compactoutput>
<tcpport>9999</tcpport>
</jsonrpc>
</syntaxhighlight>

== Audio/video playback settings ==

=== skiploopfilter ===
{{anchor|.3Cskiploopfilter.3E}}
The amount of the loop filter to skip on h.264 decoding. This can help the performance of slower machines when decoding h264 content. Values, in decreasing CPU usage (and decreasing quality)
* -16 None
* 0 Skip only empty frames (default)
* 8 Skip non-reference frames
* 16 Skip bi-dir frames
* 32 Skip all non-key frames
* 48 Skip all frames
Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<skiploopfilter>8</skiploopfilter>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== video ===
{{anchor|.3Cvideo.3E}}

The <video> section also includes the following child-tags, which have their own sections:
*[[#cleandatetime]]
*[[#cleanstrings]]
*[[#excludefromscan]]
*[[#excludefromlisting]]
*[[#excludetvshowsfromscan]]

{{note|Some tags that have a "third-level" and are grouped together are highlighted in color.}}

{| class="prettytable"
! Tag !! Description
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<video>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Parent tag that all other child tags need to be placed inside of. Do not use more than one '''<code><video></code>''' tag, but instead place all other child-tags within a single '''<code><video></video></code>''' set.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<subsdelayrange>10</subsdelayrange>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Delay range for subtitles, in seconds.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<maxtempo>2.1</maxtempo>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Allow further increase of playback speed over the default of 1.5<br>
maxtempo must be in the range of 1.5 to 2.1 <br>
Be aware of the limitations of your platform / hardware as not all are capable of the increased maxtempo <ref>https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=10023&pid=2795069#pid2795069</ref>
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<audiodelayrange>10</audiodelayrange>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Delay range for audio/video sync, in seconds.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<usetimeseeking>true</usetimeseeking>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Whether to use time based or percentage based seeking. {{small see also|HOW-TO:Modify time seeking}}
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<timeseekforwardbig>600</timeseekforwardbig>
<timeseekbackwardbig>-600</timeseekbackwardbig>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Time to seek forward in seconds when doing a long seek. Defaults to 600 (10 minutes) and -600 (-10 minutes) respectively. ''{{small|See also: [[HOW-TO:Modify time seeking]] }}''
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<percentseekforward>2</percentseekforward>
<percentseekbackward>-2</percentseekbackward>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Amount to seek forward as a percentage, when doing a short seek. Defaults to 2 (2%) and -2 (2%) respectively. ''{{small|See also: [[HOW-TO:Modify time seeking]] }}''
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<percentseekforwardbig>10</percentseekforwardbig>
<percentseekbackwardbig>-10</percentseekbackwardbig>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Amount to seek forward as a percentage, when doing a long seek. Defaults to 10 (10%) and -10 (10%) respectively. ''{{small|See also: [[HOW-TO:Modify time seeking]] }}''
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<fullscreenonmoviestart>true</fullscreenonmoviestart>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Whether to go to fullscreen or not when starting a movie. Defaults to true.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<defaultplayer>VideoPlayer</defaultplayer>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Set the default video player: VideoPlayer or an external player. See '''[[External players]]''' for more info.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<excludefromscan>
<regexp>[-\._ ](sample|trailer)[-\._ ]</regexp>
</excludefromscan>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Regular expressions that if evaluated to true won't be added to library. It is possible to add multiple <code><regexp></code> tags to match multiple patterns
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<excludefromlisting>
<regexp>[-\._ ](sample|trailer)[-\._ ]</regexp>
</excludefromlisting>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Regular expressions that if evaluated to true won't be displayed in files view.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<playcountminimumpercent>90</playcountminimumpercent>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Minimum percentage that has to be played before it is marked as watched. Set to 101 to never auto-mark items as watched. ''{{small|See also: [[HOW-TO:Modify automatic watch and resume points]] }}''
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<ignoresecondsatstart>180</ignoresecondsatstart>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Number of seconds to ignore at video start after which a resume point is created. ''{{small|See also: [[HOW-TO:Modify automatic watch and resume points]] }}''
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<ignorepercentatend>8</ignorepercentatend>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Percentage of video to ignore at the end. If you stop watching the video here no resume point is created. Set to 101 to never save a resume point. The video is already marked as watched at 90%, see above. ''{{small|See also: [[HOW-TO:Modify automatic watch and resume points]] }}''
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<vdpauscaling>true</vdpauscaling>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Scales with vdpau instead of opengl and turns on its HQ scaler when available, enabling this might slow down rendering and cause framedrops especially on ION systems, this setting requires a vdpau feature set C GPU.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<enablehighqualityhwscalers>true</enablehighqualityhwscalers>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Allow turning on the spline36 and lanczos3 shader (for GL builds).
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<dxvaallowhqscaling>false</dxvaallowhqscaling>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Enables high quality video upscaling for Windows.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<ppffmpegdeinterlacing>linblenddeint</ppffmpegdeinterlacing>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Override the deinterlacing options passed to libpostproc.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<ppffmpegpostprocessing>ha:128:7,va,dr</ppffmpegpostprocessing>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Override the post processing options passed to libpostproc when 'Video post-processing' is activated in GUI Videos-Settings-Playback.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<autoscalemaxfps>30</autoscalemaxfps>
</syntaxhighlight>
| When scaling method is set to auto, bilinear is chosen when the fps is higher than this limit, the default is 30.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<adjustrefreshrate>
</syntaxhighlight>
| style="background:#CADCFB;" | Settings for when "Adjust refreshrate to match video fps" is enabled in the video playback GUI settings.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<override>
<fps>23.976</fps>
<refresh>60.0</refresh>
</override>
</syntaxhighlight>
| style="background:#CADCFB;" | '''Example -''' "Adjust refreshrate to match video fps" will try to select the best refreshrate for the video fps but it doesn't always get it right, for example it might switch to an unsupported refreshrate. You can add overrides here to switch to a certain refreshrate based on video fps. It's possible to add as many overrides as you need. Overrides are processed in order, if the first one doesn't match the fps or no refreshrates match that override, it will try the next one until no overrides are left.

* '''fps''' - if the fps is between 23.966 and 23.986
* '''refresh''' - switch to the first found refreshrate that is between 59.99 and 60.01
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<override>
<fpsmin>29.96</fpsmin>
<fpsmax>30.01</fpsmax>
<refreshmin>59.0</refreshmin>
<refreshmax>61.0</refreshmax>
</override>
</syntaxhighlight>
| style="background:#CADCFB;" | '''Example -'''
* '''fpsmin''' / '''fpsmin''' - You can also specify the fps range yourself.
* '''refreshmin''' / '''refreshmax''' - Same for the refreshrate
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<fallback>
<refresh>50.0</refresh>
</fallback>
</syntaxhighlight>
| style="background:#CADCFB;" | '''Example -''' If none of the overrides match, or none of the refreshrates match any of the fps matching overrides, it will choose a fallback refreshrate. Fallbacks are process in order, if the first fallback doesn't match any refreshrate, it will try the next one until no fallbacks are left.

* '''refresh''' - Switch to the first found refreshrate that is between 49.99 and 50.01.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<fallback>
<refreshmin>49.0</refreshmin>
<refreshmax>51.0</refreshmax>
</fallback>
</syntaxhighlight>
| style="background:#CADCFB;" | '''Example -''' You can also specify the range for the fallback yourself.

If none of the overrides match the video fps, or no refreshrates match any of the fps matching overrides, and no fallbacks are specified or no refreshrates match any fallbacks, it will automatically choose the best refreshrate (same as having no overrides and fallbacks).
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
</adjustrefreshrate>
</syntaxhighlight>
| style="background:#CADCFB;" |
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<checkdxvacompatibility>value</checkdxvacompatibility>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Advanced setting not present: let Kodi autodetect cards that support H.264 profile > L4.1. Set value to false to enable DXVA no matter what. Set value to true if Kodi doesn't autodetect that the graphics card doesn't support > L4.1.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<useocclusionquery>-1</useocclusionquery>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Use an occlusion query when capturing videoframes, -1 means auto detect, 0 means disabled, 1 means enabled, the default is -1.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<fpsdetect>1</fpsdetect>
</syntaxhighlight>
| FPS detection for video playback
* 0 = trust codec fps
* 1 = recalculate from video timestamps with uniform spacing
* 2 = recalculate from video timestamps always
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<latency>
</syntaxhighlight>
| style="background:#F0E68C;"| Start of '''latency''' tags. Display latency (video lag). Latency is given in msecs.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<delay>0</delay>
</syntaxhighlight>
| style="background:#F0E68C;" | Global default display latency.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<refresh></refresh>
</syntaxhighlight>
| style="background:#F0E68C;" | Override latency for given display (not video) refresh rates. When Kodi is in windowed mode, override is ignored. Multiple overrides are allowed.

Syntax of an override entry:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<refresh>
<min>, <max> refresh rate range, OR
<rate> exact refresh rate
<delay> display latency for the given refresh rate
</refresh>
</syntaxhighlight>
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<refresh>
<min>23</min>
<max>24</max>
<delay>125</delay>
</refresh>
</syntaxhighlight>
| style="background:#F0E68C;" | '''Example:''' display has 125 msec latency at 23-24 Hz
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<refresh>
<rate>50</rate>
<delay>50</delay>
</refresh>
</syntaxhighlight>
| style="background:#F0E68C;" | '''Example:''' display has 50 msec latency at 50 (+/-0.01) Hz
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
</latency>
</syntaxhighlight>
| style="background:#F0E68C;" |
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<stereoscopicregex3d>[-. _]3d[-. _]</stereoscopicregex3d>
<stereoscopicregexsbs>[-. _]h?sbs[-. _]</stereoscopicregexsbs>
<stereoscopicregextab>[-. _]h?tab[-. _]</stereoscopicregextab>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Filename triggers for 3D (stereoscopic) mode.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<assfixedworks>false</assfixedworks>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Position behavior of ass subtitiles when setting "subtitle position on screen" set to "fixed". True to show at the fixed position set in video calibration. False to show at the bottom of video (default).
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
</video>
</syntaxhighlight>
|
|}

=== audio ===
{{anchor|.3Caudio.3E}}
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<audio>

<headroom>0</headroom>

<defaultplayer>paplayer</defaultplayer>

<excludefromscan>
<regexp>[-\._ ](podcast)[-\._ ]</regexp>
</excludefromscan>

<excludefromlisting>
<regexp>[-\._ ](podcast)[-\._ ]</regexp>
</excludefromlisting>

<ac3downmixgain>12.0</ac3downmixgain>

<usetimeseeking>true</usetimeseeking>

<timeseekforwardbig>600</timeseekfowardbig>

<timeseekbackwardbig>-600</timeseekbackward>

<playcountminimumpercent>99</playcountminimumpercent>

<applydrc>-1.0</applydrc>

<limiterhold>0.025</limiterhold>

<limiterrelease>0.1</limiterrelease>
</audio>
</syntaxhighlight>

For more information on the configuration of audio under Frodo see [[AudioEngine/HOW-TO: Configure audio]]

=== edl ===
{{anchor|.3Cedl.3E}}
{{main|EDL}}
Commercial break detection not as good you think it could be? Are some commercial breaks in a series of adverts not being skipped? Are some parts being skipped that are clearly not commercials? Does the end of the previous recording still show? The following advanced settings can be used to better identify full commercial break sequences, remove incorrectly flagged commercial breaks, and have playback start at the actual beginning of the recording.

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<edl>

<mergeshortcommbreaks>false</mergeshortcommbreaks>

<maxcommbreaklength>250</maxcommbreaklength>

<mincommbreaklength>90</mincommbreaklength>

<maxcommbreakgap>120</maxcommbreakgap>

<commbreakautowait>0</commbreakautowait>

<commbreakautowind>0</commbreakautowind>
</edl>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== pvr ===
{{anchor|.3Cpvr.3E}}
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<pvr>
<timecorrection>0</timecorrection> 
<infotoggleinterval>3000</infotoggleinterval> 
<channeliconsautoscan>true</channeliconsautoscan> 
<autoscaniconsuserset>false</autoscaniconsuserset> 
<numericchannelswitchtimeout>1000</numericchannelswitchtimeout> 
</pvr>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== epg ===
{{anchor|.3Cpvr.3E}}
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<epg>
<updatecheckinterval>300</updatecheckinterval> 
<updateemptytagsinterval>60</updateemptytagsinterval> 
<cleanupinterval>900</cleanupinterval> 
<activetagcheckinterval>60</activetagcheckinterval> 
<retryinterruptedupdateinterval>60</retryinterruptedupdateinterval> 
<displayupdatepopup>true</displayupdatepopup> 
<displayincrementalupdatepopup>false</displayincrementalupdatepopup> 
</epg>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== forcedswaptime ===
{{anchor|.3Cforcedswaptime.3E}}
Use to force a backbuffer->frontbuffer swap while vsync is enabled. Set to the time (in ms) to allow for the swap (e.g. <forcedswaptime>1</forcedswaptime> is typical).

Default: Off



== Video library settings ==

=== videoextensions ===
{{anchor|.3Cvideoextensions.3E}}<section begin="videoextensions" />
A list of additional file-extensions to allow ('''add''') or exclude ('''remove''') in the My Video windows.

Default extensions for VIDEOS:
<pre>
.m4v .3g2 .3gp .nsv .tp .ts .ty .strm .pls .rm .rmvb .mpd .m3u .m3u8 .ifo .mov .qt .divx .xvid
.bivx .vob .nrg .pva .wmv .asf .asx .ogm .m2v .avi .dat .mpg .mpeg .mp4 .mkv .mk3d .avc .vp3
.svq3 .nuv .viv .dv .fli .flv .001 .wpl .vdr .dvr-ms .xsp .mts .m2t .m2ts .evo .ogv .sdp .avs
.rec .url .pxml .vc1 .h264 .rcv .rss .mpls .webm .bdmv .wtv .trp .f4v
</pre>
Examples:
<pre>
<videoextensions>
<add>.ex1|.ex2</add>
<remove>.ex3|.ex4</remove>
</videoextensions>
</pre>
<section end="videoextensions" />

=== discstubextensions ===
{{main|Media stubs}}

<section begin="discstubextensions" />
The default filename extension for Disc Stubs is:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
.disc
</syntaxhighlight>
Using the following tags, it is possible to <tt><add></tt> additional or <tt><remove></tt> existing disc stub extensions to better suit your requirements.
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<discstubextensions>
<add>.disk|.stub</add>
<remove>.disc</remove>
</discstubextensions>
</syntaxhighlight>
<section end="discstubextensions" />

=== languagecodes ===
{{anchor|.3Clanguagecodes.3E}}
Translation table for subtitle and audio names. Contains entries of the form

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<languagecodes>
<code>
<short>alt</short>
<long>Alternate</long>
</code>
</languagecodes>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== moviestacking ===
{{anchor|.3Cmoviestacking.3E}}<section begin="moviestacking" />
{{main|File stacking}}
This is used by the [[file stacking]] algorithm to combine multi-part files and contains a list of "''[[Regular Expression (RegEx) Tutorial|regular expressions]]''". For stacking videos that are contained in folders, such as VIDEO_TS folders, see '''[[advancedsettings.xml#folderstacking|<folderstacking>]]'''

As of v9.11, video stacking regular expressions '''must''' contain exactly four (4) capture expressions.

Default:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<moviestacking>

<regexp>(.*?)([ _.-]*(?:cd|dvd|p(?:ar)?t|dis[ck])[ _.-]*[0-9]+)(.*?)(\.[^.]+)$</regexp>

<regexp>(.*?)([ _.-]*(?:cd|dvd|p(?:ar)?t|dis[ck])[ _.-]*[a-d])(.*?)(\.[^.]+)$</regexp>

<regexp>(.*?)([ ._-]*[a-d])(.*?)(\.[^.]+)$</regexp>
</moviestacking>
</syntaxhighlight>

If the argument <tt>action="append"</tt> or <tt>append="yes"</tt> is supplied, the default moviestacking regular expressions will remain intact and the user specified ones will be added to the end.

Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<moviestacking action="append">

<regexp>(.*?)([ ._-]*[0-9])(.*?)(\.[^.]+)$</regexp>
</moviestacking>
</syntaxhighlight>

If the argument <tt>action="prepend"</tt> is supplied, the default moviestacking regular expressions will remain intact and the user specified ones will be added to the beginning.

Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<moviestacking action="prepend">
<regexp>(Title)(Volume)(Ignore)(Extension)</regexp>
</moviestacking>
</syntaxhighlight>

If no argument is supplied, or the argument <tt>append="no"</tt> is supplied, the default moviestacking regular expressions are overwritten by the user specified ones.
<section end="moviestacking" />

=== folderstacking ===
{{main|File stacking}}
This is similar to '''[[advancedsettings.xml#moviestacking|<moviestacking>]]''', but is used for videos that are contained in folders that use the folder names to stack, such as VIDEO_TS folders (DVD rips that are not in ISO format).

Default:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<folderstacking>

<regexp>((cd|dvd|dis[ck])[0-9]+)$</regexp>
</folderstacking>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== cleandatetime ===
{{anchor|.3Ccleandatetime.3E}}
Matches a year number in a string using a ''[[Regular Expression (RegEx) Tutorial|Regular Expression]]''

Default expression:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<video>
<cleandatetime>(.*[^ _\,\.\[\]\-])[ _\.\[\]\-]+(19[0-9][0-9]|20[0-9][0-9])([ _\,\.\[\]\-]|[^0-9]$)?</cleandatetime>
</video>
</syntaxhighlight>
:* The string found before will be used as basis string getting cleaned by the cleanstrings expressions.
:* By default date formats like MM:YY are ignored.

=== cleanstrings ===
{{anchor|.3Ccleanstrings.3E}}
Clean unwanted characters from filenames or folders by using a list of ''[[Regular Expression (RegEx) Tutorial|Regular Expressions]]''. Please note that everything right of the match (at the end of the file name) is removed, so if you would have a file named ''Super movie.mp4'' and would add <tt><regexp> </regexp></tt> (only a space), the only thing that would be left is ''Super'', which is probably not what you want.

Default expressions:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<video>
<cleanstrings>
<regexp>[ _\,\.\[\]\-](ac3|dts|custom|dc|remastered|divx|divx5|dsr|dsrip|dutch|dvd|dvd5|dvd9|dvdrip|dvdscr|dvdscreener|screener|dvdivx|cam|fragment|fs|hdtv|hdrip|hdtvrip|internal|limited|multisubs|ntsc|ogg|ogm|pal|pdtv|proper|repack|rerip|retail|r3|r5|bd5|se|svcd|swedish|german|read.nfo|nfofix|unrated|extended|ws|telesync|ts|telecine|tc|brrip|bdrip|480p|480i|576p|576i|720p|720i|1080p|1080i|3d|hrhd|hrhdtv|hddvd|bluray|x264|h264|xvid|xvidvd|xxx|www.www|cd[1-9]|\[.*\])([ _\,\.\[\]\-]|$)</regexp>
<regexp>(\[.*\])</regexp>
</cleanstrings>
</video>
</syntaxhighlight>

:* Arguments <tt>action="append"</tt> or <tt>action="prepend"</tt> will insert user specified expressions after, or before, the defaults above. (Further details in [[Advancedsettings.xml#.3Cmoviestacking.3E|moviestacking]] section)

=== tvshowmatching ===
{{anchor|.3Ctvshowmatching.3E}}
Matches the season and episode numbers in file paths by using a list of ''[[Regular Expression (RegEx) Tutorial|Regular Expressions]]''

Defaults:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<tvshowmatching>
<regexp>s([0-9]+)[ ._x-]*e([0-9]+(?:(?:[a-i]|\\.[1-9])(?![0-9]))?)([^\\\\/]*)$</regexp> 
<regexp>[\._ -]()[Ee][Pp]_?([0-9]+)([^\\/]*)$</regexp> 
<regexp>([0-9]{4})[\.-]([0-9]{2})[\.-]([0-9]{2})</regexp> 
<regexp>([0-9]{2})[\.-]([0-9]{2})[\.-]([0-9]{4})</regexp> 
<regexp>[\\/\._ \[\(-]([0-9]+)x([0-9]+)([^\\/]*)$</regexp> 
<regexp>[\\/\._ -]([0-9]+)([0-9][0-9])([\._ -][^\\/]*)$</regexp> 
<regexp>[\/._ -]p(?:ar)?t[_. -]()([ivx]+)([._ -][^\/]*)$</regexp> 
</tvshowmatching>
</syntaxhighlight>

:* Arguments <tt>action="append"</tt> or <tt>action="prepend"</tt> will insert user specified expressions after, or before, the defaults above. (Further details in [[Advancedsettings.xml#.3Cmoviestacking.3E|moviestacking]] section)
:* Paths are converted to lower case before matching.
:* Examples of matching regexps for certain filenames can be found on the [[TV Shows (Video Library)|TV shows]] page.

:* For multi-episode matching to work, there needs to be a third set of parentheses '()' at the end, this part is fed back into the regexp engine.

:* A [https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=51614 forum thread] has a discussion of pre-made regex lists to match common names. These might improve Kodi's ability to match TV show names in some situations, at the risk of additional false positives.

==== Filenames without Season ====
There are two methods to add episodes without a season in their file path. Both ways will force the season to '1' by default, so that you can use
the 'Use Absolute Ordering (Single Season)' setting from the TheTvDb.com scraper.

; Simple Method ''(XBMC v9.11 onwards and Kodi)''
: Use only one pair of parentheses
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div"><regexp>[/\._ \-]([0-9]+)</regexp></syntaxhighlight>
; Advanced Method ''(XBMC v10.05 onwards and Kodi)''
: Supports multi-episode files without season
: Use an empty pair of parentheses for the season
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div"><regexp>[/\._ \-]()([0-9]+)(-[0-9]+)?</regexp></syntaxhighlight>

; Specifying Default Season ''(XBMC v12.0 onwards and Kodi)''
It is possible to set the default season for specific regular expressions by setting the 'defaultseason' attribute.
: Works with both the simple method and advanced method
: If not used, the season will be set to '1'
: Useful for setting specials to season '0'
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div"><regexp defaultseason="0">[/\._ \-]X()([0-9]+)(-[0-9]+)?</regexp>
<regexp defaultseason="1">[/\._ \-]E()([0-9]+)(-[0-9]+)?</regexp></syntaxhighlight>

=== tvmultipartmatching ===
{{anchor|.3Ctvmultipartmatching.3E}}
Matches a multipart episode number based on a previously identified episode file, using a list of ''[[Regular Expression (RegEx) Tutorial|Regular Expressions]]''.

Default:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<tvmultipartmatching>^[-_ex]+([0-9]+(?:(?:[a-i]|\\.[1-9])(?![0-9]))?)</tvmultipartmatching>
</syntaxhighlight>
:* Text matching is compared case-insensitive.
:* Specifying this option '''replaces''' the default value

=== excludefromscan ===
{{anchor|.3Cexcludefromscan.3E}}
Matches filenames or folders which should be excluded from a library scan (except tvshows) using a list of ''[[Regular Expression (RegEx) Tutorial|Regular Expressions]]''. This can be for both Video or Audio sections of <tt>advancedsettings.xml</tt>.

Defaults:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<video>
<excludefromscan>
<regexp>-trailer</regexp>
<regexp>[!-._ \\/]sample[-._ \\/]</regexp>
</excludefromscan>
</video>
</syntaxhighlight>

:* Arguments <tt>action="append"</tt> or <tt>action="prepend"</tt> will insert user specified expressions after, or before, the defaults above. (Further details in [[Advancedsettings.xml#.3Cmoviestacking.3E|moviestacking]] section)

=== excludefromlisting ===
{{anchor|.3Cexcludefromlisting.3E}}
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<video>
<excludefromlisting> 
<regexp>[-\._ ](sample|trailer)[-\._ ]</regexp>
</excludefromlisting>
</video>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== excludetvshowsfromscan ===
{{anchor|.3Cexcludetvshowsfromscan.3E}}
Matches filenames or folders which should be excluded from a tvshow library scan using a list of ''[[Regular Expression (RegEx) Tutorial|Regular Expressions]]''

Defaults:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<video>
<excludetvshowsfromscan>
<regexp>[!-._ \\/]sample[-._ \\/]</regexp>
</excludetvshowsfromscan>
</video>
</syntaxhighlight>

:* Arguments <tt>action="append"</tt> or <tt>action="prepend"</tt> will insert user specified expressions after, or before, the defaults above. (Further details in [[Advancedsettings.xml#.3Cmoviestacking.3E|moviestacking]] section)

=== trailermatching ===
{{anchor|.3Ctrailermatching.3E}}
Contains "''[[Regular Expression (RegEx) Tutorial|Regular Expression]]''" syntax (commonly referred to as "''[[Regular Expression (RegEx) Tutorial|RegEx]]''" or "''[[Regular Expression (RegEx) Tutorial|RegExp]]''") to match the locally stored trailers to movies in the library.

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<trailermatching>

<regexp>(.*?)(_Trailer)(\.[^.]+)$</regexp>
</trailermatching>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== videolibrary ===
{{anchor|.3Cvideolibrary.3E}}
Options specific to the Video Library

<syntaxhighlight lang="xml" line='line'>
<videolibrary>
<allitemsonbottom>false</allitemsonbottom> 
<cleanonupdate>false</cleanonupdate> 
<usefasthash>true</usefasthash> 
<recentlyaddeditems>35</recentlyaddeditems> 
<itemseparator> / </itemseparator> 
<exportautothumbs>false</exportautothumbs> 
<importwatchedstate>false</importwatchedstate> 
<importresumepoint>false</importresumepoint> 
<dateadded>1</dateadded> 
</videolibrary>
</syntaxhighlight>

==== Extra artwork ====

New for Kodi v18.
Configuration to expand the artwork automatically added by Kodi to media items in the library, either from local files or online scrapers.

The original basic artwork types are still hardcoded so they don't need to be configured here (and can't be removed). "poster" and "fanart" for movies, movie sets, TV shows, seasons, and music videos; "banner" for TV shows and seasons; and "thumb" for episodes.

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<videolibrary>


<tvshowextraart>
<arttype>characterart</arttype>
<arttype>clearart</arttype>
<arttype>clearlogo</arttype>
<arttype>landscape</arttype>
<arttype>keyart</arttype>
</tvshowextraart>

<tvseasonextraart>
<arttype>landscape</arttype>
</tvseasonextraart>

<episodeextraart>
<arttype>fanart</arttype>
</episodeextraart>

<movieextraart>
<arttype>banner</arttype>
<arttype>clearart</arttype>
<arttype>clearlogo</arttype>
<arttype>discart</arttype>
<arttype>landscape</arttype>
<arttype>keyart</arttype>
</movieextraart>

<moviesetextraart>
<arttype>banner</arttype>
<arttype>clearart</arttype>
<arttype>clearlogo</arttype>
<arttype>discart</arttype>
<arttype>landscape</arttype>
<arttype>keyart</arttype>
</moviesetextraart>

<musicvideoextraart>
<arttype>banner</arttype>
<arttype>clearart</arttype>
<arttype>clearlogo</arttype>
<arttype>discart</arttype>
<arttype>landscape</arttype>
</musicvideoextraart>
</videolibrary>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== videoscanner ===
{{anchor|.3Cvideoscanner.3E}}
Options specific to the Video scanner
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<videoscanner>
<ignoreerrors>true</ignoreerrors> 
</videoscanner>
</syntaxhighlight>

== Library artwork ==

{{note|Using <imageres>9999</imageres> and <fanartres>9999</fanartres> will allow caching artwork at original size.}}

=== imageres ===
{{anchor|.3Cimageres.3E}}

<section begin="imageres description" />Specify the maximum resolution that [[Artwork/Cache#Texture optimization| cached artwork]] (other than fanart / 16:9 images) should be resized to in pixels. The width is automatically calculated as being 16/9*height. The image will be resized to fit within this size. e.g. an image that is 2000x500 will be cached at size 1280x320. An image that is 500x800 will be cached at size 450x720 using the default value of 720.<section end="imageres description" />

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<imageres>720</imageres>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== fanartres ===
{{anchor|.3Cfanartres.3E}}

<section begin="fanartres description" />Specify the maximum resolution that [[Artwork/Cache#Texture optimization| cached fanart]] should be resized to in pixels. The width is automatically calculated as being 16/9*height. Only images that are exactly 16x9 and equal to or greater than this resolution will be cached at this size - all other images will be cached using <imageres>. The default value is 1080.<section end="fanartres description" />

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<fanartres>1080</fanartres>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== fanart ===
{{anchor|.3Cfanart.3E}}
A list of additional files to scan when searching for local fanart images. (The defaults are fanart.jpg and fanart.png which can be removed.)
*Used for '''music only'''
*Cannot be used in conjunction with ''[[Advancedsettings.xml#Music_library_extra_artwork|2.6.5.1 Music library extra artwork]]'' to rename extra fanart.

Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<fanart>
<remove>fanart.jpg</remove>
<add>backdrop.jpg</add>
</fanart>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== musicthumbs ===
{{anchor|.3Cmusicthumbs.3E}}
<section begin="musicthumbs" />A list of additional files to try when searching for music thumbnail images. (The default is folder.jpg which can be removed.)

Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<musicthumbs>
<remove>folder.jpg</remove>
<add>thumb.jpg|cover.jpg</add>
</musicthumbs>
</syntaxhighlight><section end="musicthumbs" />

=== imagescalingalgorithm ===
Specify the image scaling algorithm for image resizing when [[Artwork/Cache#Texture optimization| caching artwork]] to the local texture cache.
<br />
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<imagescalingalgorithm>bicubic</imagescalingalgorithm>
</syntaxhighlight>

[https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/blob/1a8753d5cd93890dc6a9f9d4b2ce8848066ea5d0/xbmc/pictures/PictureScalingAlgorithm.cpp#L32-L43 Available image scaling algorithms]

<syntaxhighlight lang=text enclose="div">
fast_bilinear
bilinear
bicubic
experimental
nearest_neighbor
averaging_area
bicublin
gaussian
sinc
lanczos
bicubic_spline
</syntaxhighlight>

== Video and music library settings ==

=== playlistasfolders ===
{{anchor|.3Cplaylistasfolders.3E}}
In the recent releases, playlists are treated as folders. Selecting a playlist no longer plays it, but opens it, as if it were a folder.

Set to false to revert to the previous behaviour. When you select a playlist, its content is added to the list of elements to be played.

:{{note|This setting will not affect smart playlists, they will always show as folders.}}

;Example
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<playlistasfolders>true</playlistasfolders>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== playlistretries ===
{{anchor|.3Cplaylistretries.3E}}
The number of retries attempted if a source is offline. With this control you can alter the number of consecutive failed items before a playlist fails.

Default:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<playlistretries>100</playlistretries>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== playlisttimeout ===
{{anchor|.3Cplaylisttimeout.3E}}
The timeout, in seconds, before item failure.

Default:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<playlisttimeout>20</playlisttimeout>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== sorttokens ===
Allows you to specify additional tokens that will be ignored at the start of lines during sorting.
{{note|Sort tokens are case sensitive.}}
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<sorttokens>
<token>the</token>
</sorttokens>
</syntaxhighlight>

In the above example "the ", "the." and "the_" will be ignored at the start of titles or names when sorting items, in both video and music libraries. A separator can also be specified, for example
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<sorttokens>
<token separators="'">L</token>
</sorttokens>
</syntaxhighlight>
In that case the value L', as in French movie name ''L'argent'', will be ignored and the item listed under "A".

=== musicdatabase/videodatabase ===
{{anchor|.3Cmusicdatabase.3E/.3Cvideodatabase.3E|musicdatabase/videodatabase|database tags music/video/tv/epg/adsp}}
{{main|MySQL}}
<section begin="videodatabase" />
Allows advanced customization of the default database settings for music, video, TV, EPG, and ADSP databases.

:{{note| '''It is HIGHLY recommended that you not attempt to place an sqlite3 database outside of kodi's path. sqlite3 contains no filesystem abstraction, so this will plain break on any non-local (as far as Kodi is concerned) paths. Use this for mysql only.'''}}

'''Parent tags:'''

* '''<videodatabase>'''
* '''<musicdatabase>'''
* '''<tvdatabase>''' - Highly experimental/unstable and no practical benefit for most users. '''Avoid using.'''
* '''<epgdatabase>''' - Highly experimental/unstable and no practical benefit for most users. '''Avoid using.'''
* '''<adspdatabase>''' - Highly experimental/unstable and no practical benefit for most users. '''Avoid using.'''
{{MySQL warning}}

'''Child tags: '''

;<type>
: ''Required'' - Can be either "sqlite3" or "mysql" (default: sqlite3)

;<host>
:''Required'' -
* sqlite3: defines the relative path to the database file (eg. /usr/local/kodi/databases).
* mysql: defines the host of the mysql socket (eg. localhost, 192.168.0.1, etc)

;<port>
: ''Optional'' -
* sqlite3: silently ignored
* mysql: defines the port of the mysql socket (default: 3306)

;<name>
: ''Optional'' -
:by default "MyVideos"+DB number will be used.
* sqlite3: defines the name of the database file to read from, excluding the ".db" extension.
* mysql: defines the name of the database to use

;<user>
: ''Required for MySQL'' -
* sqlite3: silently ignored
* mysql: defines the user with privileged access to the database

;<pass>
: ''Required for MySQL'' -
* sqlite3: silently ignored
* mysql: defines the password for the user with privileged access to the database

;<compression>
: ''Optional'' - Defaults to false. Set to "true" to enable MySQL compression protocol. Performance benefit is going to be largely dependent on the network bandwidth, latency between database and clients and on the size of the result sets. [https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/pull/6484]
: {{Note|Slower clients (such as the RPi and others) won't benefit from it as the zlib de-compression overhead is higher than the actual compression savings}}

;<key>
: ''Optional'' - SSL setting for MySQL [https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/pull/2566]

;<cert>
: ''Optional'' - SSL setting for MySQL [https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/pull/2566]

;<ca>
: ''Optional'' - SSL setting for MySQL [https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/pull/2566]

;<capath>
: ''Optional'' - SSL setting for MySQL [https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/pull/2566]

;<ciphers>
: ''Optional'' - SSL setting for MySQL [https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/pull/2566]

'''Examples:'''

1) Configure a database for MySQL.
:{{note| ''The '''<videodatabase>''', '''<musicdatabase>''', '''<tvdatabase>''', '''<epgdatabase>''', and '''<adspdatabase>''' tags are interchangeable here.''}}
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<videodatabase>
<type>mysql</type>
<host>192.168.0.10</host>
<name>kodi_video</name>
<user>kodi</user>
<pass>kodi</pass>
</videodatabase>
</syntaxhighlight>

2) Configure a database for an sqlite database.
:{{note| ''The '''<videodatabase>''', '''<musicdatabase>''', '''<tvdatabase>''', '''<epgdatabase>''', and '''<adspdatabase>''' tags are interchangeable here.''}}
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<musicdatabase>
<type>sqlite3</type>
<host>/usr/local/share/kodi/databases</host>
</musicdatabase>
</syntaxhighlight>

<section end="videodatabase" />

=== externalplayer ===
{{anchor|.3Cexternalplayer.3E}}
{{see|External players}}

== Music settings ==

=== musicextensions ===
{{anchor|.3Cmusicextensions.3E}}
<section begin="musicextensions" />
Default extensions for MUSIC:
<pre>
.nsv .m4a .flac .aac .strm .pls .rm .rma .mpa .wav .wma .ogg .mp3 .mp2 .m3u .gdm .imf .m15 .sfx
.uni .ac3 .dts .aif .aiff .wpl .ape .mac .mpc .mp+ .mpp .shn .wv .dsp .xsp .xwav .waa .wvs .wam
.gcm .idsp .mpdsp .mss .spt .rsd .sap .cmc .cmr .dmc .mpt .mpd .rmt .tmc .tm8 .tm2 .oga .url
.pxml .tta .rss .wtv .mka .tak .opus .dff .dsf .m4b .cue .zip .rar
</pre>

It is possible to add or remove extensions for Music, using the following XML tags. Useful if you keep, say, FLAC and mp3 versions of music in the same folder. The <remove> tag can be used to remove mp3 from being listed in the library, leaving only the higher quality FLAC being displayed.

<musicextensions>
<add>.ex1|.ex2</add>
<remove>.ex3|.ex4</remove>
</musicextensions>

<section end="musicextensions" />

=== cddbaddress ===
{{anchor|.3Ccddbaddress.3E}}
The address of the online CDDb database. You may set this to another freedb mirror if there is a more suitable one.

Default:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div>
<cddbaddress>freedb.freedb.org</cddbaddress>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== songinfoduration ===
{{anchor|.3Csonginfoduration.3E}}
This controls how long the song information will remain onscreen when the song changes during visualisations. The valid range is "1" to "Indefinite (0)", in seconds. This does not include the duration of any transition effects.

Default:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<songinfoduration>10</songinfoduration>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== musicfilenamefilters ===
{{anchor|.3Cmusicfilenamefilters.3E}}
Contains filters to match music information (artist, title etc.) from a tag-less music filename. The first <filter> to match completely is used. Matched items include:

<pre>
%A - Artist
%T - Title
%B - Album
%N - Track number
%S - Part of set (disk number)
%D - Duration
%G - Genre
%Y - Year
%R - Rating
</pre>

Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<musicfilenamefilters>
<filter>%A - %T</filter>
</musicfilenamefilters>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== musiclibrary ===
Options specific to the Music Library
<section begin="MusicLibrary" />
<syntaxhighlight lang="xml" line='line'>
<musiclibrary>
<allitemsonbottom>true</allitemsonbottom> 
<cleanonupdate>false</cleanonupdate> 
<recentlyaddeditems>35</recentlyaddeditems> 
<albumformat>%B - %Y</albumformat> 
<prioritiseapetags>true</prioritiseapetags> 
<itemseparator> / </itemseparator> 
<artistseparators> 
<separator>;</separator>
<separator>:</separator>
<separator>|</separator>
<separator> feat. </separator>
<separator> ft. </separator>
</artistseparators>
<dateadded>1</dateadded> 


<useartistsortname>false</useartistsortname> 
</musiclibrary>
</syntaxhighlight>
{{Note|Changing the <itemseparator> or <artistseparators> will only affect newly added items. A rescan won't change the existing ones. Remove the Source(s) or delete the Music DB and rebuild. This process should be made easier from v18 and up using <promptfulltagscan>}}<section end="MusicLibrary" />

==== Music library extra artwork ====

New for Kodi v18.
Configuration to expand the artwork automatically added by Kodi to media items in the library, either from local files or online scrapers.

The original basic artwork types are still hardcoded so they don't need to be configured here (and can't be removed). "thumb" for artists and albums, and "fanart" for artists.

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<musiclibrary>


<artistextraart>
<arttype>banner</arttype>
<arttype>clearlogo</arttype>
<arttype>clearart</arttype>
<arttype>landscape</arttype>
</artistextraart>

<albumextraart>
<arttype>discart</arttype>
<arttype>spine</arttype>
<arttype>back</arttype>
</albumextraart>
</musiclibrary>
</syntaxhighlight>

== Photos settings ==

=== pictureextensions ===
{{anchor|.3Cpictureextensions.3E}}
A list of additional file-extensions to allow ('''add''') or exclude ('''remove''') in the My Pictures window.

Default extensions for PICTURES:
<pre>
.png .jpg .jpeg .bmp .gif .ico .tif .tiff .tga .pcx .cbz .cbr .rss .webp .jp2 .apng
</pre>

Examples:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<pictureextensions>
<add>.ex1|.ex2</add>
<remove>.ex3|.ex4</remove>
</pictureextensions>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== pictureexcludes ===
{{anchor|.3Cpictureexcludes.3E}}
Matches filenames or folders which should be excluded from being displayed in My Pictures using a list of ''[[Regular Expression (RegEx) Tutorial|Regular Expressions]]''

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<pictureexcludes> 
<regexp>small</regexp>
<regexp>[-\._ ](sample|trailer)[-\._ ]</regexp>
</pictureexcludes>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== slideshow ===
{{anchor|.3Cslideshow.3E}}
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<slideshow>

<panamount>2.5</panamount>

<zoomamount>5.0</zoomamount>



<blackbarcompensation>20</blackbarcompensation>
</slideshow>
</syntaxhighlight>

== Network settings ==

=== samba ===
{{anchor|.3Csamba.3E}}
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<samba>
<doscodepage></doscodepage> 
<clienttimeout>10</clienttimeout> 
<statfiles>true</statfiles> 
</samba>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== hosts ===
{{anchor|.3Cfhosts.3E}}
Static dns entries which take precedence over your dns server.
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<hosts>
<entry name="HOSTNAME">IPADDRESS</entry>
</hosts>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== network ===
{{anchor|.3Cnetwork.3E}}

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<network>
<curlclienttimeout>10</curlclienttimeout> 
<curllowspeedtime>20</curllowspeedtime> 
<curlretries>2</curlretries> 
<httpproxyusername></httpproxyusername> 
<httpproxypassword></httpproxypassword> 
</network>
</syntaxhighlight>

{{Note|In Kodi v17, the three buffer settings are removed from the <code><network></code> tag and now placed under the new <code><cache></code> tag. See '''[[#cache]]''' for full details.}}

=== cache ===
{{see also|HOW-TO:Modify the cache}}
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<cache>
<memorysize>0</memorysize> 
<buffermode>0</buffermode> 
<readfactor>4.0</readfactor> 
</cache>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== airtunesport ===
{{anchor|.3Cairtunesport.3E}}<section begin="airtunesport" />
This overwrites the defalt listening port of the AirTunes server (announced via zeroconf).
<section end="airtunesport" />

=== airplayport ===
{{anchor|.3Cairplayport.3E}}<section begin="airplayport" />
This overwrites the default listening port of the AirPlay server (announced via zeroconf).
<section end="airplayport" />

== File system settings ==

=== packagefoldersize ===
<section begin="packagefoldersize" />
{{anchor|.3Cpackagefoldersize.3E}}
{{xml setting
| tag name = packagefoldersize
| option type = numerical
| option values =
| default values = 200
| platform = all
| XBMC version = 12
| description = The amount (in megabytes) of add-on zip packages saved from previous add-on installs. These packages are mainly used for the [[add-on]] rollback feature. Increasing the size should increase the amount of past versions saved. Defaults to 200 MB.
| example = Example: <syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div"><packagefoldersize>200</packagefoldersize> </syntaxhighlight>
}}
<section end="packagefoldersize" />

=== detectasudf ===
{{anchor|.3Cdetectasudf.3E}}
Set to true if you wish to detect joint ISO9660/UDF disks as UDF.

Default: False

=== pathsubstitution ===
{{anchor|.3Cpathsubstitution.3E}}
{{main|Path substitution}}

{{divbox|red||'''Note:''' Path substition for "sources" and profiles is broken, and will '''NOT''' be fixed.}}

Path substitutions are for use for redirecting file paths. These are processed in order, and are useful for substituting an absolute path on a PC with a path suitable for Kodi to handle.

Default: No path substitutions defined.

Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<pathsubstitution>
<substitute>
<from>G:\dvds\</from>
<to>smb://somecomputer/g-share/dvds/</to> 
</substitute>
</pathsubstitution>
</syntaxhighlight>

== Input control settings ==

=== remotedelay ===
{{anchor|.3Cremotedelay.3E}}
The repeat delay for a LIRC remote control. A delay value between 1 and 20 before a remote button starts repeating on a long keypress (i.e. continuously sending button pushes while it's held down).

Default: 3
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<remotedelay>10</remotedelay>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== controllerdeadzone ===
{{anchor|.3Ccontrollerdeadzone.3E}}
This advanced settings has been removed. See [[HOW-TO:Controller deadzone]].

=== enablemultimediakeys ===
{{anchor|.3Cenablemultimediakeys.3E}}
This setting only has any effect on Windows versions of Kodi, and only applies to builds from 28th May 2011 onwards.
In Windows the multimedia keys generate a WM_APPCOMMAND message in addition the keypress. Kodi processes both keypresses and the WM_APPCOMMAND messages, and the end result would be that the command is executed twice. To avoid this, by default multimedia keypresses are disabled. Although it should rarely be necessary, the enablemultimediakeys setting allows you to enable the multimedia keys.

Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<enablemultimediakeys>true</enablemultimediakeys>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== seeksteps ===
{{Main|Skip steps}}

This setting changes which increments are available in the settings GUI for additive seeking. Note that <code><seeksteps></code> is not used to actually choose which seek steps are enabled.

'''Default:'''
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<seeksteps>7, 15, 30, 60, 180, 300, 600, 900, 1800</seeksteps>
</syntaxhighlight>

{{editor note|the defaults need to be updated for seeksteps.}}

=== touchscreen ===
{{anchor|.3Ctouchscreen.3E}}
This setting allows you to move/align the origin of the touch screen with the origin of the display used. If touch input does not result in a correct movement of the mouse pointer, the behaviour can be corrected with an offset and a stretch/compress factor.

Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<touchscreen>
<x_offset>0</x_offset> 
<y_offset>0</y_offset> 
<x_stretch_factor>1.0</x_stretch_factor> 
<y_stretch_factor>1.0</y_stretch_factor> 
</touchscreen>
</syntaxhighlight>

== Other interface settings ==

=== window ===
{{anchor|.3Cwindow.3E}}
{{note|This is a "hidden" guisettings.xml setting (defined by the mouse moving the window size), but it is mentioned here because it is a particularly useful override when used in advancedsettings.xml}}
This allows you to manually set the default size of Kodi's windowed mode. If you resize the window, it will return to the set size when restarting.

WIDTH and HEIGHT are the values for each dimension, in pixels.

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<window>
<width>WIDTH</width>
<height>HEIGHT</height>
</window>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== restrictcapsmask ===
{{anchor|.3Crestrictcapsmask.3E}}
Windows only. A bitmask to prevent Kodi from using detected texture capabilities of the GPU. This helps work around buggy hardware/drivers.

1: prevent the use of compressed textures (DXT1, DXT3, DXT5)
2: prevent the use of non-power-of-two dimensions for textures
4: prevent the use of compressed textures with non-power-of-two dimensions.

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<restrictcapsmask>0</restrictcapsmask>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== algorithmdirtyregions ===
{{anchor|.3Calgorithmdirtyregions.3E}}
{{see also|HOW-TO:Modify dirty regions}}
<section begin="algorithmdirtyregions" />{{note|Some GPU/hardware configurations will have some minor issues (such as a visual "flicker"). For those situations try mode 2 or use the default (mode 3, which requires no advancedsetting). Almost all ARM-based devices (such as [[Android]]) willl likely have flickering issues.}}

Enable dirty-region processing. Dirty regions are any parts of the screen that have changed since the last frame. By not re-rendering what hasn't changed the GUI can be sped up. Because all GPUs work differently, only Mode 3, combined with nofliptimeout=0, is guaranteed to work for everyone without flickering issues. This mode will reduce CPU/GPU usage, but will not increase GUI speed.

{| class="prettytable"
! value !! result !! description
|-
! 0
| Off
| The entire viewport is always rendered.
|-
! 1
|Union
|All dirty regions are grouped into the smallest possible rectangle. This is typically the fastest mode for slower GPUs due to only making one pass.
|-
! 2
| {{nowrap|Cost reduction}}
| Each dirty region is presented separately, in as many passes as there are regions.
|-
! 3
| {{nowrap|Whole Screen}}
| The entire screen is rendered if there are any dirty regions. This, combined with nofliptimeout is a safe default for drivers that clear buffer contents (manifests as blinking or vibrating images). '''Default'''
|}<section end="algorithmdirtyregions" />

Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<gui>
<algorithmdirtyregions>1</algorithmdirtyregions>
</gui>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== visualizedirtyregions ===
{{anchor|.3Cvisualizedirtyregions.3E}}
{{see also|HOW-TO:Modify dirty regions}}
<section begin="visualizedirtyregions" />Enable dirty-region visualization. Paints a rectangle over marked controls.

* true: on
* false: off '''(Default)'''

{{note|This is only a development mode and isn't of use to normal users.}}
<section end="visualizedirtyregions" />
Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<gui>
<visualizedirtyregions>true</visualizedirtyregions>
</gui>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== smartredraw ===

{{note|This is an experimental feature and you might face issues using it. So please be aware of that.}}

This new feature was introduced in Kodi 18 and if enabled, the GUI process call (and therefore the render call) is only done if anything has changed. The result will be a faster GUI and less load if Kodi plays a video

* true: on
* false: off '''(Default)'''

Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<gui>
<smartredraw>true</smartredraw>
</gui>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== showexitbutton ===
{{anchor|.3Cshowexitbutton.3E}}
Setting to hide the exit button, useful for people running appliance based setups where exit would only confuse/complicate the user. Modifiable via the advancedsettings.xml by setting showexitbutton to false, default is true (show)

Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<showexitbutton>true</showexitbutton>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== fullscreen ===
{{anchor|.3Cfullscreen.3E}}
Starts Kodi in full screen (check resolutions!).

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<fullscreen>false</fullscreen>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== splash ===
{{anchor|.3Csplash.3E}}
Set to false if you wish to disable the startup splash image. Defaults to true.

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<splash>true</splash>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== cputempcommand ===
{{anchor|.3Ccputempcommand.3E}}
Provide a shell command Kodi will use to get CPU temperature. It should print out only "[temp as integer] [scale as one of "CcFf"]".<br />
;<u>For Nvidia and Raspberry Pi</u>
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<cputempcommand>sed -e 's/$[0-9]*$[0-9]\{3\}.*/\1 C/' /sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone0/temp</cputempcommand>
</syntaxhighlight>
or
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<cputempcommand>echo "$(sensors -u | tail -n64 | grep temp1_input | awk '{print $2 }' |awk '{printf("%d\n",$1 + 0.5);}') C"</cputempcommand>
</syntaxhighlight>
;<u>For ATI/AMD</u>
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<cputempcommand>sensors|sed -ne "s/temp1: \+[-+]$[0-9]\+$.*/\1 C/p"</cputempcommand>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== gputempcommand ===
{{anchor|.3Cgputempcommand.3E}}
Provide a shell command Kodi will use to get GPU temperature. It should print out only "[temp as integer] [scale as one of "CcFf"]".<br />
;<u>For Nvidia</u>
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<gputempcommand>echo "$(nvidia-settings -tq gpuCoreTemp) C"</gputempcommand>
</syntaxhighlight>
or
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<gputempcommand>echo "$(nvidia-smi -q -d TEMPERATURE | grep Gpu | cut -c35-36) C"</gputempcommand>
</syntaxhighlight>
;<u>For ATI/AMD</u>
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<gputempcommand>/usr/bin/aticonfig --od-gettemperature | grep Temperature | cut -f 2 -d "-" | cut -f 1 -d "." | sed -e "s, ,," | sed 's/$/ C/'</gputempcommand>
</syntaxhighlight>

;<u>For Raspberry Pi</u>
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<gputempcommand>/opt/vc/bin/vcgencmd measure_temp | sed -e "s/temp=//" -e "s/\..*'/ /"</gputempcommand>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== glrectanglehack ===
{{anchor|.3Cglrectanglehack.3E}}
Problems with ghosting or videos which are only played back in the left upper quarter? The following ATI hack may solve it.
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<glrectanglehack>yes</glrectanglehack>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== alwaysontop ===
{{anchor|.3Calwaysontop.3E}}
Added in XBMC v9.11 (Windows OS only). Keeps Kodi always on top when windowed.
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<alwaysontop>yes</alwaysontop>
</syntaxhighlight>

There is also a fake fullscreen GUI option in Kodi's settings.

== Removed tags ==
{{anchor|Recently removed tags}}
* {{anchor|.3Cthumbsize.3E}}'''<thumbsize>''' - replaced by <[[#imageres|imageres]]> in v12 Frodo
* {{anchor|.3Cfanartheight.3E}}'''<fanartheight>''' - replaced by <[[#fanartres|fanartres]]> in v12 Frodo
* {{anchor|.3Cdvdthumbs.3E}}'''<dvdthumbs>''' - removed in v12 Frodo
* {{anchor|.3Cbusydialogdelayms.3E}}'''<busydialogdelayms>''' - removed in v12 Frodo
* {{anchor|.3Cbginfoloadermaxthreads.3E}}'''<bginfoloadermaxthreads>''' - removed in v13 Gotham
* '''<showepginfoonselect>''' - replaced by a GUI setting in v13 Gotham
* '''<resample>''', '''<forceDirectSound>''', '''<audiophile>''', '''<audiosinkbufferdurationmsec>''', '''<allowtranscode44100>''', and '''<streamsilence>''' - These were various sub-tags for <audio> that were removed in v13 Gotham and either replaced by GUI settings or were no longer needed.
* {{anchor|.3Cenableairtunesdebuglog.3E}}'''<enableairtunesdebuglog>''' - replaced by a GUI option in v14 Helix
* '''<videoDisableHi10pMultithreading>''' - renamed to <disableswmultithreading> in v14 Helix
* '''<hideallitems>''' - For both the <code><videolibrary></code> and <code><musiclibrary></code> sections, this is replaced by a GUI option in v15 Isengard
* '''<SmallStepBackSeconds>''' - In v15 the <code>SmallStepBack</code> [[action ID]] has been replaced by <code>seek(-7)</code> in default keymaps. See '''[[skip steps]]''' for details. When the original <code>SmallStepBack</code> action ID is used it defaults to the first backwards [[skip steps|additive seeking value]].
* '''<timeseekforward>/<timeseekbackward>''' - In v15 these tags are replaced by GUI options via [[skip steps|additive seeking]], which is configured in the GUI. See '''[[skip steps]]''' for details.
* {{anchor|.3Ckaraoke.3E}}'''<karaoke>''' - In v16 all of the karaoke features in Kodi were removed.
* '''<useddsfanart>''' - removed in v17 Krypton.
* '''<cachemembuffersize>''' and '''<readbufferfactor>''' - In v17 '''<cachemembuffersize>''' is renamed to '''<memorysize>''' and <code><readbufferfactor></code> is renamed to <code><readfactor></code>. In addition, all three buffer related settings in <network> are moved out of <network> and into a new <cache> parent tag.
* '''<minvideocachelevel>''', '''<minaudiocachelevel>''', and '''<cacheindvdplayer>''' have been removed in v17.
* '''<useffmpegvda>''' - Tag was only used for development testing. Removed in v17.
* '''<nofliptimeout>''' - Removed in v17
* '''<blackbarcolour>''' - Removed in v17 (maybe?)
* '''<disableswmultithreading>''' - Removed in v17 (maybe?)
* {{anchor|.3Cmeasurerefreshrate.3E}}'''<measurerefreshrate>''' - Removed in v17 or v18?
* {{anchor|.3Cmyth.3E}}'''<myth>''' - Removed sometime between v16 to v18
* {{anchor|.3Ctuxbox.3E}}'''<tuxbox>''' - Removed
* '''<backgroundupdate>''' - Removed
* '''<hideemptyseries>''' - Replaced by a GUI option.
* '''<mymovies>''' and child tag '''<categoriestogenres>''' - Removed
* '''<albumssortbyartistthenyear'''> - Removed
* '''<albumformatright>''' - Removed
* {{anchor|.3Cremoterepeat.3E}}'''<remoterepeat>''' - Removed
* {{anchor|.3Callowd3d9ex.3E}}'''<allowd3d9ex>''' and {{anchor|.3Cforced3d9ex.3E}}'''<forced3d9ex>''' - Removed sometime between v16 to v18
* '''<lingertime>''' - Replaced by a GUI setting in v18
* '''<forcevaapienabled>''' - Removed in v18
* '''<promptfulltagscan>false</promptfulltagscan>''' Removed in v18. Now automatically asked each time a scan is conducted.

== guisettings.xml settings ==
You can also define the settings normally defined in the GUI (and stored in guisettings.xml) in advancedsettings.xml. Most guisettings.xml settings defined in advancedsettings.xml will override the guisettings.xml values, and the settings will be removed completely from the interface.

The easiest way to include a guisettings.xml setting is to first change the setting in the interface to the value that you want, and then open the '''[[userdata]]/guisettings.xml''' file and find the XML entry that corresponds to that setting.

Then just add that entry to the advancedsettings.xml file.

For instance, to set the Font Character Set (found in the appearance setting, in the Look and Feel section), you'd open up guisettings.xml and find:

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<lookandfeel>
<charset>Hebrew (Windows)</charset>
</lookandfeel>
</syntaxhighlight>

Simply take that entry and place it in advancedsettings.xml. The option in Kodi's interface for the character set will then no longer be visible, and Kodi will always use the Hebrew (Windows) character set.

= References =
<references />

{{Updated|17}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:advancedsettings.xml}}

[[Category:Settings]]
[[Category:Manual]]
[[Category:Advanced topics]]

Advancedsettings.xml

2019-10-29T13:34:34Z

Crissov: /* cleandatetime */ update default https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/blob/master/xbmc/settings/AdvancedSettings.cpp#L195

{{TOC right}}{{mininav|[[Settings]]|page=advancedsettings.xml}}
{{bigger|{{note|'''The advancedsettings.xml file does not exist by default. You have to create it first!'''}} }}

<section begin="intro" />The [[advancedsettings.xml]] file, which does not exist by default, can be created by a user in their '''[[userdata folder]]'''.

This file is used for advanced settings and options that do not have GUI controls inside of {{kodi}}. Some settings are experimental or very rarely set, so they can only be used via the advancedsettings.xml file. The file is simply a plain text file and can be edited by various text editors, so long as the name is "advancedsettings.xml". These advanced settings can be used to tweak various things such as episode naming patterns, special network ports, special behaviors, and more.<section end="intro" />

The following page will describe the structure of the advancedsettings.xml file and the various individual settings.

{{note|
# All XML tags must be lowercase. The start and end of the advancedsettings.xml file must have the <advancedsettings> and </advancedsettings> tags.
# Kodi will only read the advancedsettings.xml file when it starts up. If you make changes while it is running then you must restart Kodi.
# For some Windows versions, Kodi has two <code>\userdata\</code> folders. The correct one to put the advancedsettings.xml file in is not the one in Program Files, but in <code>%appdata%\Kodi\userdata\.</code>}}

== Layout ==

The layout of <code>advancedsettings.xml</code> is as follows:

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<advancedsettings version="1.0">
<setting>value</setting>
...
<setting>value</setting>
</advancedsettings>
</syntaxhighlight>

where "setting" gives the name of the setting, and "value" gives its value.

A list of the available "setting" strings and their values is given below.

= List of available settings =
List of available settings that are recognised in the advancedsettings.xml file <ref>https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/blob/master/xbmc/settings/AdvancedSettings.cpp</ref>

Recommended: Use the table of contents or the search function in your browser to locate items.

== Troubleshooting settings ==

=== loglevel ===
{{Anchor|.3Cloglevel.3E}}

<section begin="loglevel" />
Sets the logging level used to log errors and information. The "hide" attribute is optional.

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<loglevel hide="attribute">options</loglevel>
</syntaxhighlight>

{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable"
|-
! style="width:100px;" | Attribute
! style="width:500px;" | Action
|-
! '''true'''
| Hides the "enable debugging" setting in the Settings page. (default)
|-
! '''false'''
| Allows "enable debugging" setting to switch between '''0''' and '''2'''.
|}

{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable"
|-
! style="width:100px;" | Option
! style="width:500px;" | Action
|-
! '''-1'''
| No logging, suppresses all log output
|-
! '''0'''
| Normal logging, only logging errors (default)
|-
! '''1'''
| Debug logging with freemem, fps and cpu usage (no on screen)
|-
! '''2'''
| Same as 1 (with on screen display)
|-
! '''3'''
| Same as 2 + full smb logging (no on screen display)
|}

{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable"
|-
! style="width:100px;" | Example
! style="width:500px;" |
|-
! Example 1:
|<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<advancedsettings>
<loglevel>2</loglevel>
</advancedsettings>
</syntaxhighlight>
|-
! Example 2:
|<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<advancedsettings>
<loglevel hide="true">2</loglevel>
</advancedsettings>
</syntaxhighlight>
|}

'''Note:''' The setting is persistent through shutdown and restarts.<br>
'''Note:''' If debugging is enabled in the GUI, loglevel will be set to '''2'''. This will over-ride the <code>advancedsettings.xml</code> setting. You must disable the GUI Setting before adding the entry to <code>advancedsettings.xml</code>.<br />
<section end="loglevel" />
:''{{see also|Log_file|label 1=Debug Log}}''

=== jsonrpc ===
{{Anchor|.3Cjsonrpc.3E}}
To make it easier for developers using the [[JSON RPC]] API in their (third party) applications to debug during development the json output of Kodi can be prettified by setting '''compactoutput''' to '''false'''. Default json output mode is a compact print which does not contain any unnecessary whitespaces and therefore is difficult to read for humans.
Furthermore using the '''tcpport''' setting it is possible to change the default TCP port used by Kodi for JSON RPC (which is 9090) to any other valid port.

Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<jsonrpc>
<compactoutput>false</compactoutput>
<tcpport>9999</tcpport>
</jsonrpc>
</syntaxhighlight>

== Audio/video playback settings ==

=== skiploopfilter ===
{{anchor|.3Cskiploopfilter.3E}}
The amount of the loop filter to skip on h.264 decoding. This can help the performance of slower machines when decoding h264 content. Values, in decreasing CPU usage (and decreasing quality)
* -16 None
* 0 Skip only empty frames (default)
* 8 Skip non-reference frames
* 16 Skip bi-dir frames
* 32 Skip all non-key frames
* 48 Skip all frames
Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<skiploopfilter>8</skiploopfilter>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== video ===
{{anchor|.3Cvideo.3E}}

The <video> section also includes the following child-tags, which have their own sections:
*[[#cleandatetime]]
*[[#cleanstrings]]
*[[#excludefromscan]]
*[[#excludefromlisting]]
*[[#excludetvshowsfromscan]]

{{note|Some tags that have a "third-level" and are grouped together are highlighted in color.}}

{| class="prettytable"
! Tag !! Description
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<video>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Parent tag that all other child tags need to be placed inside of. Do not use more than one '''<code><video></code>''' tag, but instead place all other child-tags within a single '''<code><video></video></code>''' set.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<subsdelayrange>10</subsdelayrange>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Delay range for subtitles, in seconds.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<maxtempo>2.1</maxtempo>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Allow further increase of playback speed over the default of 1.5<br>
maxtempo must be in the range of 1.5 to 2.1 <br>
Be aware of the limitations of your platform / hardware as not all are capable of the increased maxtempo <ref>https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=10023&pid=2795069#pid2795069</ref>
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<audiodelayrange>10</audiodelayrange>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Delay range for audio/video sync, in seconds.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<usetimeseeking>true</usetimeseeking>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Whether to use time based or percentage based seeking. {{small see also|HOW-TO:Modify time seeking}}
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<timeseekforwardbig>600</timeseekforwardbig>
<timeseekbackwardbig>-600</timeseekbackwardbig>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Time to seek forward in seconds when doing a long seek. Defaults to 600 (10 minutes) and -600 (-10 minutes) respectively. ''{{small|See also: [[HOW-TO:Modify time seeking]] }}''
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<percentseekforward>2</percentseekforward>
<percentseekbackward>-2</percentseekbackward>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Amount to seek forward as a percentage, when doing a short seek. Defaults to 2 (2%) and -2 (2%) respectively. ''{{small|See also: [[HOW-TO:Modify time seeking]] }}''
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<percentseekforwardbig>10</percentseekforwardbig>
<percentseekbackwardbig>-10</percentseekbackwardbig>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Amount to seek forward as a percentage, when doing a long seek. Defaults to 10 (10%) and -10 (10%) respectively. ''{{small|See also: [[HOW-TO:Modify time seeking]] }}''
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<fullscreenonmoviestart>true</fullscreenonmoviestart>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Whether to go to fullscreen or not when starting a movie. Defaults to true.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<defaultplayer>VideoPlayer</defaultplayer>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Set the default video player: VideoPlayer or an external player. See '''[[External players]]''' for more info.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<excludefromscan>
<regexp>[-\._ ](sample|trailer)[-\._ ]</regexp>
</excludefromscan>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Regular expressions that if evaluated to true won't be added to library. It is possible to add multiple <code><regexp></code> tags to match multiple patterns
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<excludefromlisting>
<regexp>[-\._ ](sample|trailer)[-\._ ]</regexp>
</excludefromlisting>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Regular expressions that if evaluated to true won't be displayed in files view.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<playcountminimumpercent>90</playcountminimumpercent>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Minimum percentage that has to be played before it is marked as watched. Set to 101 to never auto-mark items as watched. ''{{small|See also: [[HOW-TO:Modify automatic watch and resume points]] }}''
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<ignoresecondsatstart>180</ignoresecondsatstart>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Number of seconds to ignore at video start after which a resume point is created. ''{{small|See also: [[HOW-TO:Modify automatic watch and resume points]] }}''
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<ignorepercentatend>8</ignorepercentatend>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Percentage of video to ignore at the end. If you stop watching the video here no resume point is created. Set to 101 to never save a resume point. The video is already marked as watched at 90%, see above. ''{{small|See also: [[HOW-TO:Modify automatic watch and resume points]] }}''
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<vdpauscaling>true</vdpauscaling>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Scales with vdpau instead of opengl and turns on its HQ scaler when available, enabling this might slow down rendering and cause framedrops especially on ION systems, this setting requires a vdpau feature set C GPU.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<enablehighqualityhwscalers>true</enablehighqualityhwscalers>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Allow turning on the spline36 and lanczos3 shader (for GL builds).
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<dxvaallowhqscaling>false</dxvaallowhqscaling>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Enables high quality video upscaling for Windows.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<ppffmpegdeinterlacing>linblenddeint</ppffmpegdeinterlacing>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Override the deinterlacing options passed to libpostproc.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<ppffmpegpostprocessing>ha:128:7,va,dr</ppffmpegpostprocessing>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Override the post processing options passed to libpostproc when 'Video post-processing' is activated in GUI Videos-Settings-Playback.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<autoscalemaxfps>30</autoscalemaxfps>
</syntaxhighlight>
| When scaling method is set to auto, bilinear is chosen when the fps is higher than this limit, the default is 30.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<adjustrefreshrate>
</syntaxhighlight>
| style="background:#CADCFB;" | Settings for when "Adjust refreshrate to match video fps" is enabled in the video playback GUI settings.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<override>
<fps>23.976</fps>
<refresh>60.0</refresh>
</override>
</syntaxhighlight>
| style="background:#CADCFB;" | '''Example -''' "Adjust refreshrate to match video fps" will try to select the best refreshrate for the video fps but it doesn't always get it right, for example it might switch to an unsupported refreshrate. You can add overrides here to switch to a certain refreshrate based on video fps. It's possible to add as many overrides as you need. Overrides are processed in order, if the first one doesn't match the fps or no refreshrates match that override, it will try the next one until no overrides are left.

* '''fps''' - if the fps is between 23.966 and 23.986
* '''refresh''' - switch to the first found refreshrate that is between 59.99 and 60.01
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<override>
<fpsmin>29.96</fpsmin>
<fpsmax>30.01</fpsmax>
<refreshmin>59.0</refreshmin>
<refreshmax>61.0</refreshmax>
</override>
</syntaxhighlight>
| style="background:#CADCFB;" | '''Example -'''
* '''fpsmin''' / '''fpsmin''' - You can also specify the fps range yourself.
* '''refreshmin''' / '''refreshmax''' - Same for the refreshrate
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<fallback>
<refresh>50.0</refresh>
</fallback>
</syntaxhighlight>
| style="background:#CADCFB;" | '''Example -''' If none of the overrides match, or none of the refreshrates match any of the fps matching overrides, it will choose a fallback refreshrate. Fallbacks are process in order, if the first fallback doesn't match any refreshrate, it will try the next one until no fallbacks are left.

* '''refresh''' - Switch to the first found refreshrate that is between 49.99 and 50.01.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<fallback>
<refreshmin>49.0</refreshmin>
<refreshmax>51.0</refreshmax>
</fallback>
</syntaxhighlight>
| style="background:#CADCFB;" | '''Example -''' You can also specify the range for the fallback yourself.

If none of the overrides match the video fps, or no refreshrates match any of the fps matching overrides, and no fallbacks are specified or no refreshrates match any fallbacks, it will automatically choose the best refreshrate (same as having no overrides and fallbacks).
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
</adjustrefreshrate>
</syntaxhighlight>
| style="background:#CADCFB;" |
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<checkdxvacompatibility>value</checkdxvacompatibility>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Advanced setting not present: let Kodi autodetect cards that support H.264 profile > L4.1. Set value to false to enable DXVA no matter what. Set value to true if Kodi doesn't autodetect that the graphics card doesn't support > L4.1.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<useocclusionquery>-1</useocclusionquery>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Use an occlusion query when capturing videoframes, -1 means auto detect, 0 means disabled, 1 means enabled, the default is -1.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<fpsdetect>1</fpsdetect>
</syntaxhighlight>
| FPS detection for video playback
* 0 = trust codec fps
* 1 = recalculate from video timestamps with uniform spacing
* 2 = recalculate from video timestamps always
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<latency>
</syntaxhighlight>
| style="background:#F0E68C;"| Start of '''latency''' tags. Display latency (video lag). Latency is given in msecs.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<delay>0</delay>
</syntaxhighlight>
| style="background:#F0E68C;" | Global default display latency.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<refresh></refresh>
</syntaxhighlight>
| style="background:#F0E68C;" | Override latency for given display (not video) refresh rates. When Kodi is in windowed mode, override is ignored. Multiple overrides are allowed.

Syntax of an override entry:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<refresh>
<min>, <max> refresh rate range, OR
<rate> exact refresh rate
<delay> display latency for the given refresh rate
</refresh>
</syntaxhighlight>
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<refresh>
<min>23</min>
<max>24</max>
<delay>125</delay>
</refresh>
</syntaxhighlight>
| style="background:#F0E68C;" | '''Example:''' display has 125 msec latency at 23-24 Hz
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<refresh>
<rate>50</rate>
<delay>50</delay>
</refresh>
</syntaxhighlight>
| style="background:#F0E68C;" | '''Example:''' display has 50 msec latency at 50 (+/-0.01) Hz
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
</latency>
</syntaxhighlight>
| style="background:#F0E68C;" |
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<stereoscopicregex3d>[-. _]3d[-. _]</stereoscopicregex3d>
<stereoscopicregexsbs>[-. _]h?sbs[-. _]</stereoscopicregexsbs>
<stereoscopicregextab>[-. _]h?tab[-. _]</stereoscopicregextab>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Filename triggers for 3D (stereoscopic) mode.
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
<assfixedworks>false</assfixedworks>
</syntaxhighlight>
| Position behavior of ass subtitiles when setting "subtitle position on screen" set to "fixed". True to show at the fixed position set in video calibration. False to show at the bottom of video (default).
|-
|
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml>
</video>
</syntaxhighlight>
|
|}

=== audio ===
{{anchor|.3Caudio.3E}}
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<audio>

<headroom>0</headroom>

<defaultplayer>paplayer</defaultplayer>

<excludefromscan>
<regexp>[-\._ ](podcast)[-\._ ]</regexp>
</excludefromscan>

<excludefromlisting>
<regexp>[-\._ ](podcast)[-\._ ]</regexp>
</excludefromlisting>

<ac3downmixgain>12.0</ac3downmixgain>

<usetimeseeking>true</usetimeseeking>

<timeseekforwardbig>600</timeseekfowardbig>

<timeseekbackwardbig>-600</timeseekbackward>

<playcountminimumpercent>99</playcountminimumpercent>

<applydrc>-1.0</applydrc>

<limiterhold>0.025</limiterhold>

<limiterrelease>0.1</limiterrelease>
</audio>
</syntaxhighlight>

For more information on the configuration of audio under Frodo see [[AudioEngine/HOW-TO: Configure audio]]

=== edl ===
{{anchor|.3Cedl.3E}}
{{main|EDL}}
Commercial break detection not as good you think it could be? Are some commercial breaks in a series of adverts not being skipped? Are some parts being skipped that are clearly not commercials? Does the end of the previous recording still show? The following advanced settings can be used to better identify full commercial break sequences, remove incorrectly flagged commercial breaks, and have playback start at the actual beginning of the recording.

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<edl>

<mergeshortcommbreaks>false</mergeshortcommbreaks>

<maxcommbreaklength>250</maxcommbreaklength>

<mincommbreaklength>90</mincommbreaklength>

<maxcommbreakgap>120</maxcommbreakgap>

<commbreakautowait>0</commbreakautowait>

<commbreakautowind>0</commbreakautowind>
</edl>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== pvr ===
{{anchor|.3Cpvr.3E}}
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<pvr>
<timecorrection>0</timecorrection> 
<infotoggleinterval>3000</infotoggleinterval> 
<channeliconsautoscan>true</channeliconsautoscan> 
<autoscaniconsuserset>false</autoscaniconsuserset> 
<numericchannelswitchtimeout>1000</numericchannelswitchtimeout> 
</pvr>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== epg ===
{{anchor|.3Cpvr.3E}}
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<epg>
<updatecheckinterval>300</updatecheckinterval> 
<updateemptytagsinterval>60</updateemptytagsinterval> 
<cleanupinterval>900</cleanupinterval> 
<activetagcheckinterval>60</activetagcheckinterval> 
<retryinterruptedupdateinterval>60</retryinterruptedupdateinterval> 
<displayupdatepopup>true</displayupdatepopup> 
<displayincrementalupdatepopup>false</displayincrementalupdatepopup> 
</epg>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== forcedswaptime ===
{{anchor|.3Cforcedswaptime.3E}}
Use to force a backbuffer->frontbuffer swap while vsync is enabled. Set to the time (in ms) to allow for the swap (e.g. <forcedswaptime>1</forcedswaptime> is typical).

Default: Off



== Video library settings ==

=== videoextensions ===
{{anchor|.3Cvideoextensions.3E}}<section begin="videoextensions" />
A list of additional file-extensions to allow ('''add''') or exclude ('''remove''') in the My Video windows.

Default extensions for VIDEOS:
<pre>
.m4v .3g2 .3gp .nsv .tp .ts .ty .strm .pls .rm .rmvb .mpd .m3u .m3u8 .ifo .mov .qt .divx .xvid
.bivx .vob .nrg .pva .wmv .asf .asx .ogm .m2v .avi .dat .mpg .mpeg .mp4 .mkv .mk3d .avc .vp3
.svq3 .nuv .viv .dv .fli .flv .001 .wpl .vdr .dvr-ms .xsp .mts .m2t .m2ts .evo .ogv .sdp .avs
.rec .url .pxml .vc1 .h264 .rcv .rss .mpls .webm .bdmv .wtv .trp .f4v
</pre>
Examples:
<pre>
<videoextensions>
<add>.ex1|.ex2</add>
<remove>.ex3|.ex4</remove>
</videoextensions>
</pre>
<section end="videoextensions" />

=== discstubextensions ===
{{main|Media stubs}}

<section begin="discstubextensions" />
The default filename extension for Disc Stubs is:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
.disc
</syntaxhighlight>
Using the following tags, it is possible to <tt><add></tt> additional or <tt><remove></tt> existing disc stub extensions to better suit your requirements.
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<discstubextensions>
<add>.disk|.stub</add>
<remove>.disc</remove>
</discstubextensions>
</syntaxhighlight>
<section end="discstubextensions" />

=== languagecodes ===
{{anchor|.3Clanguagecodes.3E}}
Translation table for subtitle and audio names. Contains entries of the form

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<languagecodes>
<code>
<short>alt</short>
<long>Alternate</long>
</code>
</languagecodes>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== moviestacking ===
{{anchor|.3Cmoviestacking.3E}}<section begin="moviestacking" />
{{main|File stacking}}
This is used by the [[file stacking]] algorithm to combine multi-part files and contains a list of "''[[Regular Expression (RegEx) Tutorial|regular expressions]]''". For stacking videos that are contained in folders, such as VIDEO_TS folders, see '''[[advancedsettings.xml#folderstacking|<folderstacking>]]'''

As of v9.11, video stacking regular expressions '''must''' contain exactly four (4) capture expressions.

Default:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<moviestacking>

<regexp>(.*?)([ _.-]*(?:cd|dvd|p(?:ar)?t|dis[ck])[ _.-]*[0-9]+)(.*?)(\.[^.]+)$</regexp>

<regexp>(.*?)([ _.-]*(?:cd|dvd|p(?:ar)?t|dis[ck])[ _.-]*[a-d])(.*?)(\.[^.]+)$</regexp>

<regexp>(.*?)([ ._-]*[a-d])(.*?)(\.[^.]+)$</regexp>
</moviestacking>
</syntaxhighlight>

If the argument <tt>action="append"</tt> or <tt>append="yes"</tt> is supplied, the default moviestacking regular expressions will remain intact and the user specified ones will be added to the end.

Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<moviestacking action="append">

<regexp>(.*?)([ ._-]*[0-9])(.*?)(\.[^.]+)$</regexp>
</moviestacking>
</syntaxhighlight>

If the argument <tt>action="prepend"</tt> is supplied, the default moviestacking regular expressions will remain intact and the user specified ones will be added to the beginning.

Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<moviestacking action="prepend">
<regexp>(Title)(Volume)(Ignore)(Extension)</regexp>
</moviestacking>
</syntaxhighlight>

If no argument is supplied, or the argument <tt>append="no"</tt> is supplied, the default moviestacking regular expressions are overwritten by the user specified ones.
<section end="moviestacking" />

=== folderstacking ===
{{main|File stacking}}
This is similar to '''[[advancedsettings.xml#moviestacking|<moviestacking>]]''', but is used for videos that are contained in folders that use the folder names to stack, such as VIDEO_TS folders (DVD rips that are not in ISO format).

Default:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<folderstacking>

<regexp>((cd|dvd|dis[ck])[0-9]+)$</regexp>
</folderstacking>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== cleandatetime ===
{{anchor|.3Ccleandatetime.3E}}
Matches a year number in a string using a ''[[Regular Expression (RegEx) Tutorial|Regular Expression]]''

Default expression:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<video>
<cleandatetime>(.*[^ _\,\.\[\]\-])[ _\.\[\]\-]+(19[0-9][0-9]|20[0-9][0-9])([ _\,\.\[\]\-]|[^0-9]$)?</cleandatetime>
</video>
</syntaxhighlight>
:* The string found before will be used as basis string getting cleaned by the cleanstrings expressions.
:* By default date formats like MM:YY are ignored.

=== cleanstrings ===
{{anchor|.3Ccleanstrings.3E}}
Clean unwanted characters from filenames or folders by using a list of ''[[Regular Expression (RegEx) Tutorial|Regular Expressions]]''. Please note that everything right of the match (at the end of the file name) is removed, so if you would have a file named ''Super movie.mp4'' and would add <tt><regexp> </regexp></tt> (only a space), the only thing that would be left is ''Super'', which is probably not what you want.

Default expressions:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<video>
<cleanstrings>
<regexp>[ _\,\.\[\]\-](ac3|dts|custom|dc|divx|divx5|dsr|dsrip|dutch|dvd|dvdrip|dvdscr|dvdscreener|screener|dvdivx|cam|fragment|fs|hdtv|hdrip|hdtvrip|internal|limited|multisubs|ntsc|ogg|ogm|pal|pdtv|proper|repack|rerip|retail|cd[1-9]|r3|r5|bd5|se|svcd|swedish|german|read.nfo|nfofix|unrated|ws|telesync|ts|telecine|tc|brrip|bdrip|480p|480i|576p|576i|720p|720i|1080p|1080i|hrhd|hrhdtv|hddvd|bluray|x264|h264|xvid|xvidvd|xxx|www.www|\[.*\])([ _\,\.\[\]\-]|$)</regexp>
<regexp>(\[.*\])</regexp>
</cleanstrings>
</video>
</syntaxhighlight>

:* Arguments <tt>action="append"</tt> or <tt>action="prepend"</tt> will insert user specified expressions after, or before, the defaults above. (Further details in [[Advancedsettings.xml#.3Cmoviestacking.3E|moviestacking]] section)

=== tvshowmatching ===
{{anchor|.3Ctvshowmatching.3E}}
Matches the season and episode numbers in file paths by using a list of ''[[Regular Expression (RegEx) Tutorial|Regular Expressions]]''

Defaults:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<tvshowmatching>
<regexp>s([0-9]+)[ ._x-]*e([0-9]+(?:(?:[a-i]|\\.[1-9])(?![0-9]))?)([^\\\\/]*)$</regexp> 
<regexp>[\._ -]()[Ee][Pp]_?([0-9]+)([^\\/]*)$</regexp> 
<regexp>([0-9]{4})[\.-]([0-9]{2})[\.-]([0-9]{2})</regexp> 
<regexp>([0-9]{2})[\.-]([0-9]{2})[\.-]([0-9]{4})</regexp> 
<regexp>[\\/\._ \[\(-]([0-9]+)x([0-9]+)([^\\/]*)$</regexp> 
<regexp>[\\/\._ -]([0-9]+)([0-9][0-9])([\._ -][^\\/]*)$</regexp> 
<regexp>[\/._ -]p(?:ar)?t[_. -]()([ivx]+)([._ -][^\/]*)$</regexp> 
</tvshowmatching>
</syntaxhighlight>

:* Arguments <tt>action="append"</tt> or <tt>action="prepend"</tt> will insert user specified expressions after, or before, the defaults above. (Further details in [[Advancedsettings.xml#.3Cmoviestacking.3E|moviestacking]] section)
:* Paths are converted to lower case before matching.
:* Examples of matching regexps for certain filenames can be found on the [[TV Shows (Video Library)|TV shows]] page.

:* For multi-episode matching to work, there needs to be a third set of parentheses '()' at the end, this part is fed back into the regexp engine.

:* A [https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=51614 forum thread] has a discussion of pre-made regex lists to match common names. These might improve Kodi's ability to match TV show names in some situations, at the risk of additional false positives.

==== Filenames without Season ====
There are two methods to add episodes without a season in their file path. Both ways will force the season to '1' by default, so that you can use
the 'Use Absolute Ordering (Single Season)' setting from the TheTvDb.com scraper.

; Simple Method ''(XBMC v9.11 onwards and Kodi)''
: Use only one pair of parentheses
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div"><regexp>[/\._ \-]([0-9]+)</regexp></syntaxhighlight>
; Advanced Method ''(XBMC v10.05 onwards and Kodi)''
: Supports multi-episode files without season
: Use an empty pair of parentheses for the season
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div"><regexp>[/\._ \-]()([0-9]+)(-[0-9]+)?</regexp></syntaxhighlight>

; Specifying Default Season ''(XBMC v12.0 onwards and Kodi)''
It is possible to set the default season for specific regular expressions by setting the 'defaultseason' attribute.
: Works with both the simple method and advanced method
: If not used, the season will be set to '1'
: Useful for setting specials to season '0'
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div"><regexp defaultseason="0">[/\._ \-]X()([0-9]+)(-[0-9]+)?</regexp>
<regexp defaultseason="1">[/\._ \-]E()([0-9]+)(-[0-9]+)?</regexp></syntaxhighlight>

=== tvmultipartmatching ===
{{anchor|.3Ctvmultipartmatching.3E}}
Matches a multipart episode number based on a previously identified episode file, using a list of ''[[Regular Expression (RegEx) Tutorial|Regular Expressions]]''.

Default:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<tvmultipartmatching>^[-_ex]+([0-9]+(?:(?:[a-i]|\\.[1-9])(?![0-9]))?)</tvmultipartmatching>
</syntaxhighlight>
:* Text matching is compared case-insensitive.
:* Specifying this option '''replaces''' the default value

=== excludefromscan ===
{{anchor|.3Cexcludefromscan.3E}}
Matches filenames or folders which should be excluded from a library scan (except tvshows) using a list of ''[[Regular Expression (RegEx) Tutorial|Regular Expressions]]''. This can be for both Video or Audio sections of <tt>advancedsettings.xml</tt>.

Defaults:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<video>
<excludefromscan>
<regexp>-trailer</regexp>
<regexp>[!-._ \\/]sample[-._ \\/]</regexp>
</excludefromscan>
</video>
</syntaxhighlight>

:* Arguments <tt>action="append"</tt> or <tt>action="prepend"</tt> will insert user specified expressions after, or before, the defaults above. (Further details in [[Advancedsettings.xml#.3Cmoviestacking.3E|moviestacking]] section)

=== excludefromlisting ===
{{anchor|.3Cexcludefromlisting.3E}}
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<video>
<excludefromlisting> 
<regexp>[-\._ ](sample|trailer)[-\._ ]</regexp>
</excludefromlisting>
</video>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== excludetvshowsfromscan ===
{{anchor|.3Cexcludetvshowsfromscan.3E}}
Matches filenames or folders which should be excluded from a tvshow library scan using a list of ''[[Regular Expression (RegEx) Tutorial|Regular Expressions]]''

Defaults:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<video>
<excludetvshowsfromscan>
<regexp>[!-._ \\/]sample[-._ \\/]</regexp>
</excludetvshowsfromscan>
</video>
</syntaxhighlight>

:* Arguments <tt>action="append"</tt> or <tt>action="prepend"</tt> will insert user specified expressions after, or before, the defaults above. (Further details in [[Advancedsettings.xml#.3Cmoviestacking.3E|moviestacking]] section)

=== trailermatching ===
{{anchor|.3Ctrailermatching.3E}}
Contains "''[[Regular Expression (RegEx) Tutorial|Regular Expression]]''" syntax (commonly referred to as "''[[Regular Expression (RegEx) Tutorial|RegEx]]''" or "''[[Regular Expression (RegEx) Tutorial|RegExp]]''") to match the locally stored trailers to movies in the library.

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<trailermatching>

<regexp>(.*?)(_Trailer)(\.[^.]+)$</regexp>
</trailermatching>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== videolibrary ===
{{anchor|.3Cvideolibrary.3E}}
Options specific to the Video Library

<syntaxhighlight lang="xml" line='line'>
<videolibrary>
<allitemsonbottom>false</allitemsonbottom> 
<cleanonupdate>false</cleanonupdate> 
<usefasthash>true</usefasthash> 
<recentlyaddeditems>35</recentlyaddeditems> 
<itemseparator> / </itemseparator> 
<exportautothumbs>false</exportautothumbs> 
<importwatchedstate>false</importwatchedstate> 
<importresumepoint>false</importresumepoint> 
<dateadded>1</dateadded> 
</videolibrary>
</syntaxhighlight>

==== Extra artwork ====

New for Kodi v18.
Configuration to expand the artwork automatically added by Kodi to media items in the library, either from local files or online scrapers.

The original basic artwork types are still hardcoded so they don't need to be configured here (and can't be removed). "poster" and "fanart" for movies, movie sets, TV shows, seasons, and music videos; "banner" for TV shows and seasons; and "thumb" for episodes.

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<videolibrary>


<tvshowextraart>
<arttype>characterart</arttype>
<arttype>clearart</arttype>
<arttype>clearlogo</arttype>
<arttype>landscape</arttype>
<arttype>keyart</arttype>
</tvshowextraart>

<tvseasonextraart>
<arttype>landscape</arttype>
</tvseasonextraart>

<episodeextraart>
<arttype>fanart</arttype>
</episodeextraart>

<movieextraart>
<arttype>banner</arttype>
<arttype>clearart</arttype>
<arttype>clearlogo</arttype>
<arttype>discart</arttype>
<arttype>landscape</arttype>
<arttype>keyart</arttype>
</movieextraart>

<moviesetextraart>
<arttype>banner</arttype>
<arttype>clearart</arttype>
<arttype>clearlogo</arttype>
<arttype>discart</arttype>
<arttype>landscape</arttype>
<arttype>keyart</arttype>
</moviesetextraart>

<musicvideoextraart>
<arttype>banner</arttype>
<arttype>clearart</arttype>
<arttype>clearlogo</arttype>
<arttype>discart</arttype>
<arttype>landscape</arttype>
</musicvideoextraart>
</videolibrary>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== videoscanner ===
{{anchor|.3Cvideoscanner.3E}}
Options specific to the Video scanner
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<videoscanner>
<ignoreerrors>true</ignoreerrors> 
</videoscanner>
</syntaxhighlight>

== Library artwork ==

{{note|Using <imageres>9999</imageres> and <fanartres>9999</fanartres> will allow caching artwork at original size.}}

=== imageres ===
{{anchor|.3Cimageres.3E}}

<section begin="imageres description" />Specify the maximum resolution that [[Artwork/Cache#Texture optimization| cached artwork]] (other than fanart / 16:9 images) should be resized to in pixels. The width is automatically calculated as being 16/9*height. The image will be resized to fit within this size. e.g. an image that is 2000x500 will be cached at size 1280x320. An image that is 500x800 will be cached at size 450x720 using the default value of 720.<section end="imageres description" />

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<imageres>720</imageres>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== fanartres ===
{{anchor|.3Cfanartres.3E}}

<section begin="fanartres description" />Specify the maximum resolution that [[Artwork/Cache#Texture optimization| cached fanart]] should be resized to in pixels. The width is automatically calculated as being 16/9*height. Only images that are exactly 16x9 and equal to or greater than this resolution will be cached at this size - all other images will be cached using <imageres>. The default value is 1080.<section end="fanartres description" />

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<fanartres>1080</fanartres>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== fanart ===
{{anchor|.3Cfanart.3E}}
A list of additional files to scan when searching for local fanart images. (The defaults are fanart.jpg and fanart.png which can be removed.)
*Used for '''music only'''
*Cannot be used in conjunction with ''[[Advancedsettings.xml#Music_library_extra_artwork|2.6.5.1 Music library extra artwork]]'' to rename extra fanart.

Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<fanart>
<remove>fanart.jpg</remove>
<add>backdrop.jpg</add>
</fanart>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== musicthumbs ===
{{anchor|.3Cmusicthumbs.3E}}
<section begin="musicthumbs" />A list of additional files to try when searching for music thumbnail images. (The default is folder.jpg which can be removed.)

Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<musicthumbs>
<remove>folder.jpg</remove>
<add>thumb.jpg|cover.jpg</add>
</musicthumbs>
</syntaxhighlight><section end="musicthumbs" />

=== imagescalingalgorithm ===
Specify the image scaling algorithm for image resizing when [[Artwork/Cache#Texture optimization| caching artwork]] to the local texture cache.
<br />
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<imagescalingalgorithm>bicubic</imagescalingalgorithm>
</syntaxhighlight>

[https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/blob/1a8753d5cd93890dc6a9f9d4b2ce8848066ea5d0/xbmc/pictures/PictureScalingAlgorithm.cpp#L32-L43 Available image scaling algorithms]

<syntaxhighlight lang=text enclose="div">
fast_bilinear
bilinear
bicubic
experimental
nearest_neighbor
averaging_area
bicublin
gaussian
sinc
lanczos
bicubic_spline
</syntaxhighlight>

== Video and music library settings ==

=== playlistasfolders ===
{{anchor|.3Cplaylistasfolders.3E}}
In the recent releases, playlists are treated as folders. Selecting a playlist no longer plays it, but opens it, as if it were a folder.

Set to false to revert to the previous behaviour. When you select a playlist, its content is added to the list of elements to be played.

:{{note|This setting will not affect smart playlists, they will always show as folders.}}

;Example
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<playlistasfolders>true</playlistasfolders>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== playlistretries ===
{{anchor|.3Cplaylistretries.3E}}
The number of retries attempted if a source is offline. With this control you can alter the number of consecutive failed items before a playlist fails.

Default:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<playlistretries>100</playlistretries>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== playlisttimeout ===
{{anchor|.3Cplaylisttimeout.3E}}
The timeout, in seconds, before item failure.

Default:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<playlisttimeout>20</playlisttimeout>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== sorttokens ===
Allows you to specify additional tokens that will be ignored at the start of lines during sorting.
{{note|Sort tokens are case sensitive.}}
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<sorttokens>
<token>the</token>
</sorttokens>
</syntaxhighlight>

In the above example "the ", "the." and "the_" will be ignored at the start of titles or names when sorting items, in both video and music libraries. A separator can also be specified, for example
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<sorttokens>
<token separators="'">L</token>
</sorttokens>
</syntaxhighlight>
In that case the value L', as in French movie name ''L'argent'', will be ignored and the item listed under "A".

=== musicdatabase/videodatabase ===
{{anchor|.3Cmusicdatabase.3E/.3Cvideodatabase.3E|musicdatabase/videodatabase|database tags music/video/tv/epg/adsp}}
{{main|MySQL}}
<section begin="videodatabase" />
Allows advanced customization of the default database settings for music, video, TV, EPG, and ADSP databases.

:{{note| '''It is HIGHLY recommended that you not attempt to place an sqlite3 database outside of kodi's path. sqlite3 contains no filesystem abstraction, so this will plain break on any non-local (as far as Kodi is concerned) paths. Use this for mysql only.'''}}

'''Parent tags:'''

* '''<videodatabase>'''
* '''<musicdatabase>'''
* '''<tvdatabase>''' - Highly experimental/unstable and no practical benefit for most users. '''Avoid using.'''
* '''<epgdatabase>''' - Highly experimental/unstable and no practical benefit for most users. '''Avoid using.'''
* '''<adspdatabase>''' - Highly experimental/unstable and no practical benefit for most users. '''Avoid using.'''
{{MySQL warning}}

'''Child tags: '''

;<type>
: ''Required'' - Can be either "sqlite3" or "mysql" (default: sqlite3)

;<host>
:''Required'' -
* sqlite3: defines the relative path to the database file (eg. /usr/local/kodi/databases).
* mysql: defines the host of the mysql socket (eg. localhost, 192.168.0.1, etc)

;<port>
: ''Optional'' -
* sqlite3: silently ignored
* mysql: defines the port of the mysql socket (default: 3306)

;<name>
: ''Optional'' -
:by default "MyVideos"+DB number will be used.
* sqlite3: defines the name of the database file to read from, excluding the ".db" extension.
* mysql: defines the name of the database to use

;<user>
: ''Required for MySQL'' -
* sqlite3: silently ignored
* mysql: defines the user with privileged access to the database

;<pass>
: ''Required for MySQL'' -
* sqlite3: silently ignored
* mysql: defines the password for the user with privileged access to the database

;<compression>
: ''Optional'' - Defaults to false. Set to "true" to enable MySQL compression protocol. Performance benefit is going to be largely dependent on the network bandwidth, latency between database and clients and on the size of the result sets. [https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/pull/6484]
: {{Note|Slower clients (such as the RPi and others) won't benefit from it as the zlib de-compression overhead is higher than the actual compression savings}}

;<key>
: ''Optional'' - SSL setting for MySQL [https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/pull/2566]

;<cert>
: ''Optional'' - SSL setting for MySQL [https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/pull/2566]

;<ca>
: ''Optional'' - SSL setting for MySQL [https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/pull/2566]

;<capath>
: ''Optional'' - SSL setting for MySQL [https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/pull/2566]

;<ciphers>
: ''Optional'' - SSL setting for MySQL [https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/pull/2566]

'''Examples:'''

1) Configure a database for MySQL.
:{{note| ''The '''<videodatabase>''', '''<musicdatabase>''', '''<tvdatabase>''', '''<epgdatabase>''', and '''<adspdatabase>''' tags are interchangeable here.''}}
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<videodatabase>
<type>mysql</type>
<host>192.168.0.10</host>
<name>kodi_video</name>
<user>kodi</user>
<pass>kodi</pass>
</videodatabase>
</syntaxhighlight>

2) Configure a database for an sqlite database.
:{{note| ''The '''<videodatabase>''', '''<musicdatabase>''', '''<tvdatabase>''', '''<epgdatabase>''', and '''<adspdatabase>''' tags are interchangeable here.''}}
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<musicdatabase>
<type>sqlite3</type>
<host>/usr/local/share/kodi/databases</host>
</musicdatabase>
</syntaxhighlight>

<section end="videodatabase" />

=== externalplayer ===
{{anchor|.3Cexternalplayer.3E}}
{{see|External players}}

== Music settings ==

=== musicextensions ===
{{anchor|.3Cmusicextensions.3E}}
<section begin="musicextensions" />
Default extensions for MUSIC:
<pre>
.nsv .m4a .flac .aac .strm .pls .rm .rma .mpa .wav .wma .ogg .mp3 .mp2 .m3u .gdm .imf .m15 .sfx
.uni .ac3 .dts .aif .aiff .wpl .ape .mac .mpc .mp+ .mpp .shn .wv .dsp .xsp .xwav .waa .wvs .wam
.gcm .idsp .mpdsp .mss .spt .rsd .sap .cmc .cmr .dmc .mpt .mpd .rmt .tmc .tm8 .tm2 .oga .url
.pxml .tta .rss .wtv .mka .tak .opus .dff .dsf .m4b .cue .zip .rar
</pre>

It is possible to add or remove extensions for Music, using the following XML tags. Useful if you keep, say, FLAC and mp3 versions of music in the same folder. The <remove> tag can be used to remove mp3 from being listed in the library, leaving only the higher quality FLAC being displayed.

<musicextensions>
<add>.ex1|.ex2</add>
<remove>.ex3|.ex4</remove>
</musicextensions>

<section end="musicextensions" />

=== cddbaddress ===
{{anchor|.3Ccddbaddress.3E}}
The address of the online CDDb database. You may set this to another freedb mirror if there is a more suitable one.

Default:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div>
<cddbaddress>freedb.freedb.org</cddbaddress>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== songinfoduration ===
{{anchor|.3Csonginfoduration.3E}}
This controls how long the song information will remain onscreen when the song changes during visualisations. The valid range is "1" to "Indefinite (0)", in seconds. This does not include the duration of any transition effects.

Default:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<songinfoduration>10</songinfoduration>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== musicfilenamefilters ===
{{anchor|.3Cmusicfilenamefilters.3E}}
Contains filters to match music information (artist, title etc.) from a tag-less music filename. The first <filter> to match completely is used. Matched items include:

<pre>
%A - Artist
%T - Title
%B - Album
%N - Track number
%S - Part of set (disk number)
%D - Duration
%G - Genre
%Y - Year
%R - Rating
</pre>

Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<musicfilenamefilters>
<filter>%A - %T</filter>
</musicfilenamefilters>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== musiclibrary ===
Options specific to the Music Library
<section begin="MusicLibrary" />
<syntaxhighlight lang="xml" line='line'>
<musiclibrary>
<allitemsonbottom>true</allitemsonbottom> 
<cleanonupdate>false</cleanonupdate> 
<recentlyaddeditems>35</recentlyaddeditems> 
<albumformat>%B - %Y</albumformat> 
<prioritiseapetags>true</prioritiseapetags> 
<itemseparator> / </itemseparator> 
<artistseparators> 
<separator>;</separator>
<separator>:</separator>
<separator>|</separator>
<separator> feat. </separator>
<separator> ft. </separator>
</artistseparators>
<dateadded>1</dateadded> 


<useartistsortname>false</useartistsortname> 
</musiclibrary>
</syntaxhighlight>
{{Note|Changing the <itemseparator> or <artistseparators> will only affect newly added items. A rescan won't change the existing ones. Remove the Source(s) or delete the Music DB and rebuild. This process should be made easier from v18 and up using <promptfulltagscan>}}<section end="MusicLibrary" />

==== Music library extra artwork ====

New for Kodi v18.
Configuration to expand the artwork automatically added by Kodi to media items in the library, either from local files or online scrapers.

The original basic artwork types are still hardcoded so they don't need to be configured here (and can't be removed). "thumb" for artists and albums, and "fanart" for artists.

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<musiclibrary>


<artistextraart>
<arttype>banner</arttype>
<arttype>clearlogo</arttype>
<arttype>clearart</arttype>
<arttype>landscape</arttype>
</artistextraart>

<albumextraart>
<arttype>discart</arttype>
<arttype>spine</arttype>
<arttype>back</arttype>
</albumextraart>
</musiclibrary>
</syntaxhighlight>

== Photos settings ==

=== pictureextensions ===
{{anchor|.3Cpictureextensions.3E}}
A list of additional file-extensions to allow ('''add''') or exclude ('''remove''') in the My Pictures window.

Default extensions for PICTURES:
<pre>
.png .jpg .jpeg .bmp .gif .ico .tif .tiff .tga .pcx .cbz .cbr .rss .webp .jp2 .apng
</pre>

Examples:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<pictureextensions>
<add>.ex1|.ex2</add>
<remove>.ex3|.ex4</remove>
</pictureextensions>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== pictureexcludes ===
{{anchor|.3Cpictureexcludes.3E}}
Matches filenames or folders which should be excluded from being displayed in My Pictures using a list of ''[[Regular Expression (RegEx) Tutorial|Regular Expressions]]''

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<pictureexcludes> 
<regexp>small</regexp>
<regexp>[-\._ ](sample|trailer)[-\._ ]</regexp>
</pictureexcludes>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== slideshow ===
{{anchor|.3Cslideshow.3E}}
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<slideshow>

<panamount>2.5</panamount>

<zoomamount>5.0</zoomamount>



<blackbarcompensation>20</blackbarcompensation>
</slideshow>
</syntaxhighlight>

== Network settings ==

=== samba ===
{{anchor|.3Csamba.3E}}
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<samba>
<doscodepage></doscodepage> 
<clienttimeout>10</clienttimeout> 
<statfiles>true</statfiles> 
</samba>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== hosts ===
{{anchor|.3Cfhosts.3E}}
Static dns entries which take precedence over your dns server.
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<hosts>
<entry name="HOSTNAME">IPADDRESS</entry>
</hosts>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== network ===
{{anchor|.3Cnetwork.3E}}

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<network>
<curlclienttimeout>10</curlclienttimeout> 
<curllowspeedtime>20</curllowspeedtime> 
<curlretries>2</curlretries> 
<httpproxyusername></httpproxyusername> 
<httpproxypassword></httpproxypassword> 
</network>
</syntaxhighlight>

{{Note|In Kodi v17, the three buffer settings are removed from the <code><network></code> tag and now placed under the new <code><cache></code> tag. See '''[[#cache]]''' for full details.}}

=== cache ===
{{see also|HOW-TO:Modify the cache}}
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<cache>
<memorysize>0</memorysize> 
<buffermode>0</buffermode> 
<readfactor>4.0</readfactor> 
</cache>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== airtunesport ===
{{anchor|.3Cairtunesport.3E}}<section begin="airtunesport" />
This overwrites the defalt listening port of the AirTunes server (announced via zeroconf).
<section end="airtunesport" />

=== airplayport ===
{{anchor|.3Cairplayport.3E}}<section begin="airplayport" />
This overwrites the default listening port of the AirPlay server (announced via zeroconf).
<section end="airplayport" />

== File system settings ==

=== packagefoldersize ===
<section begin="packagefoldersize" />
{{anchor|.3Cpackagefoldersize.3E}}
{{xml setting
| tag name = packagefoldersize
| option type = numerical
| option values =
| default values = 200
| platform = all
| XBMC version = 12
| description = The amount (in megabytes) of add-on zip packages saved from previous add-on installs. These packages are mainly used for the [[add-on]] rollback feature. Increasing the size should increase the amount of past versions saved. Defaults to 200 MB.
| example = Example: <syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div"><packagefoldersize>200</packagefoldersize> </syntaxhighlight>
}}
<section end="packagefoldersize" />

=== detectasudf ===
{{anchor|.3Cdetectasudf.3E}}
Set to true if you wish to detect joint ISO9660/UDF disks as UDF.

Default: False

=== pathsubstitution ===
{{anchor|.3Cpathsubstitution.3E}}
{{main|Path substitution}}

{{divbox|red||'''Note:''' Path substition for "sources" and profiles is broken, and will '''NOT''' be fixed.}}

Path substitutions are for use for redirecting file paths. These are processed in order, and are useful for substituting an absolute path on a PC with a path suitable for Kodi to handle.

Default: No path substitutions defined.

Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<pathsubstitution>
<substitute>
<from>G:\dvds\</from>
<to>smb://somecomputer/g-share/dvds/</to> 
</substitute>
</pathsubstitution>
</syntaxhighlight>

== Input control settings ==

=== remotedelay ===
{{anchor|.3Cremotedelay.3E}}
The repeat delay for a LIRC remote control. A delay value between 1 and 20 before a remote button starts repeating on a long keypress (i.e. continuously sending button pushes while it's held down).

Default: 3
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<remotedelay>10</remotedelay>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== controllerdeadzone ===
{{anchor|.3Ccontrollerdeadzone.3E}}
This advanced settings has been removed. See [[HOW-TO:Controller deadzone]].

=== enablemultimediakeys ===
{{anchor|.3Cenablemultimediakeys.3E}}
This setting only has any effect on Windows versions of Kodi, and only applies to builds from 28th May 2011 onwards.
In Windows the multimedia keys generate a WM_APPCOMMAND message in addition the keypress. Kodi processes both keypresses and the WM_APPCOMMAND messages, and the end result would be that the command is executed twice. To avoid this, by default multimedia keypresses are disabled. Although it should rarely be necessary, the enablemultimediakeys setting allows you to enable the multimedia keys.

Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<enablemultimediakeys>true</enablemultimediakeys>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== seeksteps ===
{{Main|Skip steps}}

This setting changes which increments are available in the settings GUI for additive seeking. Note that <code><seeksteps></code> is not used to actually choose which seek steps are enabled.

'''Default:'''
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<seeksteps>7, 15, 30, 60, 180, 300, 600, 900, 1800</seeksteps>
</syntaxhighlight>

{{editor note|the defaults need to be updated for seeksteps.}}

=== touchscreen ===
{{anchor|.3Ctouchscreen.3E}}
This setting allows you to move/align the origin of the touch screen with the origin of the display used. If touch input does not result in a correct movement of the mouse pointer, the behaviour can be corrected with an offset and a stretch/compress factor.

Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<touchscreen>
<x_offset>0</x_offset> 
<y_offset>0</y_offset> 
<x_stretch_factor>1.0</x_stretch_factor> 
<y_stretch_factor>1.0</y_stretch_factor> 
</touchscreen>
</syntaxhighlight>

== Other interface settings ==

=== window ===
{{anchor|.3Cwindow.3E}}
{{note|This is a "hidden" guisettings.xml setting (defined by the mouse moving the window size), but it is mentioned here because it is a particularly useful override when used in advancedsettings.xml}}
This allows you to manually set the default size of Kodi's windowed mode. If you resize the window, it will return to the set size when restarting.

WIDTH and HEIGHT are the values for each dimension, in pixels.

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<window>
<width>WIDTH</width>
<height>HEIGHT</height>
</window>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== restrictcapsmask ===
{{anchor|.3Crestrictcapsmask.3E}}
Windows only. A bitmask to prevent Kodi from using detected texture capabilities of the GPU. This helps work around buggy hardware/drivers.

1: prevent the use of compressed textures (DXT1, DXT3, DXT5)
2: prevent the use of non-power-of-two dimensions for textures
4: prevent the use of compressed textures with non-power-of-two dimensions.

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<restrictcapsmask>0</restrictcapsmask>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== algorithmdirtyregions ===
{{anchor|.3Calgorithmdirtyregions.3E}}
{{see also|HOW-TO:Modify dirty regions}}
<section begin="algorithmdirtyregions" />{{note|Some GPU/hardware configurations will have some minor issues (such as a visual "flicker"). For those situations try mode 2 or use the default (mode 3, which requires no advancedsetting). Almost all ARM-based devices (such as [[Android]]) willl likely have flickering issues.}}

Enable dirty-region processing. Dirty regions are any parts of the screen that have changed since the last frame. By not re-rendering what hasn't changed the GUI can be sped up. Because all GPUs work differently, only Mode 3, combined with nofliptimeout=0, is guaranteed to work for everyone without flickering issues. This mode will reduce CPU/GPU usage, but will not increase GUI speed.

{| class="prettytable"
! value !! result !! description
|-
! 0
| Off
| The entire viewport is always rendered.
|-
! 1
|Union
|All dirty regions are grouped into the smallest possible rectangle. This is typically the fastest mode for slower GPUs due to only making one pass.
|-
! 2
| {{nowrap|Cost reduction}}
| Each dirty region is presented separately, in as many passes as there are regions.
|-
! 3
| {{nowrap|Whole Screen}}
| The entire screen is rendered if there are any dirty regions. This, combined with nofliptimeout is a safe default for drivers that clear buffer contents (manifests as blinking or vibrating images). '''Default'''
|}<section end="algorithmdirtyregions" />

Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<gui>
<algorithmdirtyregions>1</algorithmdirtyregions>
</gui>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== visualizedirtyregions ===
{{anchor|.3Cvisualizedirtyregions.3E}}
{{see also|HOW-TO:Modify dirty regions}}
<section begin="visualizedirtyregions" />Enable dirty-region visualization. Paints a rectangle over marked controls.

* true: on
* false: off '''(Default)'''

{{note|This is only a development mode and isn't of use to normal users.}}
<section end="visualizedirtyregions" />
Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<gui>
<visualizedirtyregions>true</visualizedirtyregions>
</gui>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== smartredraw ===

{{note|This is an experimental feature and you might face issues using it. So please be aware of that.}}

This new feature was introduced in Kodi 18 and if enabled, the GUI process call (and therefore the render call) is only done if anything has changed. The result will be a faster GUI and less load if Kodi plays a video

* true: on
* false: off '''(Default)'''

Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<gui>
<smartredraw>true</smartredraw>
</gui>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== showexitbutton ===
{{anchor|.3Cshowexitbutton.3E}}
Setting to hide the exit button, useful for people running appliance based setups where exit would only confuse/complicate the user. Modifiable via the advancedsettings.xml by setting showexitbutton to false, default is true (show)

Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<showexitbutton>true</showexitbutton>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== fullscreen ===
{{anchor|.3Cfullscreen.3E}}
Starts Kodi in full screen (check resolutions!).

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<fullscreen>false</fullscreen>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== splash ===
{{anchor|.3Csplash.3E}}
Set to false if you wish to disable the startup splash image. Defaults to true.

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<splash>true</splash>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== cputempcommand ===
{{anchor|.3Ccputempcommand.3E}}
Provide a shell command Kodi will use to get CPU temperature. It should print out only "[temp as integer] [scale as one of "CcFf"]".<br />
;<u>For Nvidia and Raspberry Pi</u>
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<cputempcommand>sed -e 's/$[0-9]*$[0-9]\{3\}.*/\1 C/' /sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone0/temp</cputempcommand>
</syntaxhighlight>
or
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<cputempcommand>echo "$(sensors -u | tail -n64 | grep temp1_input | awk '{print $2 }' |awk '{printf("%d\n",$1 + 0.5);}') C"</cputempcommand>
</syntaxhighlight>
;<u>For ATI/AMD</u>
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<cputempcommand>sensors|sed -ne "s/temp1: \+[-+]$[0-9]\+$.*/\1 C/p"</cputempcommand>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== gputempcommand ===
{{anchor|.3Cgputempcommand.3E}}
Provide a shell command Kodi will use to get GPU temperature. It should print out only "[temp as integer] [scale as one of "CcFf"]".<br />
;<u>For Nvidia</u>
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<gputempcommand>echo "$(nvidia-settings -tq gpuCoreTemp) C"</gputempcommand>
</syntaxhighlight>
or
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<gputempcommand>echo "$(nvidia-smi -q -d TEMPERATURE | grep Gpu | cut -c35-36) C"</gputempcommand>
</syntaxhighlight>
;<u>For ATI/AMD</u>
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<gputempcommand>/usr/bin/aticonfig --od-gettemperature | grep Temperature | cut -f 2 -d "-" | cut -f 1 -d "." | sed -e "s, ,," | sed 's/$/ C/'</gputempcommand>
</syntaxhighlight>

;<u>For Raspberry Pi</u>
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<gputempcommand>/opt/vc/bin/vcgencmd measure_temp | sed -e "s/temp=//" -e "s/\..*'/ /"</gputempcommand>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== glrectanglehack ===
{{anchor|.3Cglrectanglehack.3E}}
Problems with ghosting or videos which are only played back in the left upper quarter? The following ATI hack may solve it.
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<glrectanglehack>yes</glrectanglehack>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== alwaysontop ===
{{anchor|.3Calwaysontop.3E}}
Added in XBMC v9.11 (Windows OS only). Keeps Kodi always on top when windowed.
<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<alwaysontop>yes</alwaysontop>
</syntaxhighlight>

There is also a fake fullscreen GUI option in Kodi's settings.

== Removed tags ==
{{anchor|Recently removed tags}}
* {{anchor|.3Cthumbsize.3E}}'''<thumbsize>''' - replaced by <[[#imageres|imageres]]> in v12 Frodo
* {{anchor|.3Cfanartheight.3E}}'''<fanartheight>''' - replaced by <[[#fanartres|fanartres]]> in v12 Frodo
* {{anchor|.3Cdvdthumbs.3E}}'''<dvdthumbs>''' - removed in v12 Frodo
* {{anchor|.3Cbusydialogdelayms.3E}}'''<busydialogdelayms>''' - removed in v12 Frodo
* {{anchor|.3Cbginfoloadermaxthreads.3E}}'''<bginfoloadermaxthreads>''' - removed in v13 Gotham
* '''<showepginfoonselect>''' - replaced by a GUI setting in v13 Gotham
* '''<resample>''', '''<forceDirectSound>''', '''<audiophile>''', '''<audiosinkbufferdurationmsec>''', '''<allowtranscode44100>''', and '''<streamsilence>''' - These were various sub-tags for <audio> that were removed in v13 Gotham and either replaced by GUI settings or were no longer needed.
* {{anchor|.3Cenableairtunesdebuglog.3E}}'''<enableairtunesdebuglog>''' - replaced by a GUI option in v14 Helix
* '''<videoDisableHi10pMultithreading>''' - renamed to <disableswmultithreading> in v14 Helix
* '''<hideallitems>''' - For both the <code><videolibrary></code> and <code><musiclibrary></code> sections, this is replaced by a GUI option in v15 Isengard
* '''<SmallStepBackSeconds>''' - In v15 the <code>SmallStepBack</code> [[action ID]] has been replaced by <code>seek(-7)</code> in default keymaps. See '''[[skip steps]]''' for details. When the original <code>SmallStepBack</code> action ID is used it defaults to the first backwards [[skip steps|additive seeking value]].
* '''<timeseekforward>/<timeseekbackward>''' - In v15 these tags are replaced by GUI options via [[skip steps|additive seeking]], which is configured in the GUI. See '''[[skip steps]]''' for details.
* {{anchor|.3Ckaraoke.3E}}'''<karaoke>''' - In v16 all of the karaoke features in Kodi were removed.
* '''<useddsfanart>''' - removed in v17 Krypton.
* '''<cachemembuffersize>''' and '''<readbufferfactor>''' - In v17 '''<cachemembuffersize>''' is renamed to '''<memorysize>''' and <code><readbufferfactor></code> is renamed to <code><readfactor></code>. In addition, all three buffer related settings in <network> are moved out of <network> and into a new <cache> parent tag.
* '''<minvideocachelevel>''', '''<minaudiocachelevel>''', and '''<cacheindvdplayer>''' have been removed in v17.
* '''<useffmpegvda>''' - Tag was only used for development testing. Removed in v17.
* '''<nofliptimeout>''' - Removed in v17
* '''<blackbarcolour>''' - Removed in v17 (maybe?)
* '''<disableswmultithreading>''' - Removed in v17 (maybe?)
* {{anchor|.3Cmeasurerefreshrate.3E}}'''<measurerefreshrate>''' - Removed in v17 or v18?
* {{anchor|.3Cmyth.3E}}'''<myth>''' - Removed sometime between v16 to v18
* {{anchor|.3Ctuxbox.3E}}'''<tuxbox>''' - Removed
* '''<backgroundupdate>''' - Removed
* '''<hideemptyseries>''' - Replaced by a GUI option.
* '''<mymovies>''' and child tag '''<categoriestogenres>''' - Removed
* '''<albumssortbyartistthenyear'''> - Removed
* '''<albumformatright>''' - Removed
* {{anchor|.3Cremoterepeat.3E}}'''<remoterepeat>''' - Removed
* {{anchor|.3Callowd3d9ex.3E}}'''<allowd3d9ex>''' and {{anchor|.3Cforced3d9ex.3E}}'''<forced3d9ex>''' - Removed sometime between v16 to v18
* '''<lingertime>''' - Replaced by a GUI setting in v18
* '''<forcevaapienabled>''' - Removed in v18
* '''<promptfulltagscan>false</promptfulltagscan>''' Removed in v18. Now automatically asked each time a scan is conducted.

== guisettings.xml settings ==
You can also define the settings normally defined in the GUI (and stored in guisettings.xml) in advancedsettings.xml. Most guisettings.xml settings defined in advancedsettings.xml will override the guisettings.xml values, and the settings will be removed completely from the interface.

The easiest way to include a guisettings.xml setting is to first change the setting in the interface to the value that you want, and then open the '''[[userdata]]/guisettings.xml''' file and find the XML entry that corresponds to that setting.

Then just add that entry to the advancedsettings.xml file.

For instance, to set the Font Character Set (found in the appearance setting, in the Look and Feel section), you'd open up guisettings.xml and find:

<syntaxhighlight lang=xml enclose="div">
<lookandfeel>
<charset>Hebrew (Windows)</charset>
</lookandfeel>
</syntaxhighlight>

Simply take that entry and place it in advancedsettings.xml. The option in Kodi's interface for the character set will then no longer be visible, and Kodi will always use the Hebrew (Windows) character set.

= References =
<references />

{{Updated|17}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:advancedsettings.xml}}

[[Category:Settings]]
[[Category:Manual]]
[[Category:Advanced topics]]

Video file tagging

2019-07-17T20:50:46Z

Crissov: copyedit, tag field table

{{mininav|[[Video library]]||}}
{{incomplete}}
{{notice|This feature is currently for '''movies only'''. TV shows and music videos are not yet supported.}}
{{notice|This page describes an '''experimental''' and alternative way of adding movies to the library that is not dependent on file names or online scrapers.}}
{{notice|If you have already named and organized your files using Kodi's naming guidelines, then you can safely ignore this page and go to the next step.}}
{{VideoLibraryCreate}}

<section begin="intro" />Kodi v18 Leia introduces support for embedded video tags using '''*.mkv''' and '''*.mp4''' video files. They are similar in principle to the tags saved in audio files. Only limited movie support is available at this time.<section end="intro" />

= Benefits of embedded video tags =
There are multiple reasons why one would want to use this feature:
Media may already contain useful metadata (the reverse however is also true - many files contain "junk" metadata, hence why the feature defaults to off).
It gives one more control over the metadata than scrapers do (as scrapers may misclassify media and pull the wrong data).
It does away with the need to have [[.nfo file]]s. Since metadata travels with the media file, there is no longer a need for potentially thousands of these smaller files and can make directory management even easier.
Using ultra-high resolution [[artwork]]/cover images that looks nicer on newer HD displays. (Pretty pictures!)

== How does it change/differ from the old model? ==
Kodi has two options for metadata import: using an online scraper or using local information, traditionally in the form of .nfo files. Local tag reading is bundled into the "Local Information" arm, as logically, metadata is still local (i.e not network-drawn) information. Thus, one can still use a combination of .nfo files and embedded information if they choose "Local Information" rather than to use a scraper.

It is important to note however that .nfo files will override embedded information. Not all of Kodi's NFO features are supported by embedded metadata yet, so many users may wish to still use the NFO method. (https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=326340)

== Settings ==
{{Kodi}} [[settings]] have the option to enable or disable the reading of video file tags at [[Settings/Media/Videos|Settings > Media Settings > Videos > Use video tags]]. The default setting is ''disabled''.

This page assumes this setting has been ''enabled''.

= Folder & File Structure =
The use of Video File Tags does not absolve you from using the correct Folder and File structure for [[Naming video files/Movies|Movies]], [[Naming video files/TV Shows|TV Shows]] and [[Music videos|Music Videos]] as detailed in the previous pages.

= Tagging =
{{no endorsement notice}}

{{note|User-friendly options for adding and editing embedded metadata may be lacking for your given platform. Be prepared for challenges when going down this path.}}

== Windows ==
[http://www.mp3tag.de MP3tag] is a Windows-based metadata editor for many different files and tag types, including MP4 and MKV (despite what it's name may suggest). While somewhat complex, it provides very fine-grained control over [https://help.mp3tag.de/main_tags.html tagging], and is a worthwhile asset in any media management library.

MetaX is a user-friendly tagging solution. However, it is proprietary and paid ($10). It features much the same core features as MP3tag, but adds an online search functionality to grab metadata from providers such as iTunes, Amazon and others, as well as an autotag feature. This can be useful to people with enormous media collections where the time saved manually tagging justifies the price.

== Mac ==
; MP4 tagging:
* [https://griff.github.io/metaz/ MetaZ] is a free and open source metadata lookup and editor for Mac OS.

== Linux ==

* mp4v2
* exiftool

== A note on iTunes ==
Apple, in their wisdom, have created a subset of MP4 tags that are strictly speaking only meant for use with iTunes. However, most tagging software can read and write these iTunes tags. These tags are also quite useful but will not work with Kodi. Tags include the ability to store Cast (actors), Screenwriter and Director information, as well as age restriction data such as MPAA ratings.

The important point to note here is that just because your tagging software allows you to add these does not mean they will be used. After all, they are unstandardized and were created by Apple solely for use with iTunes and iOS/macOS devices.

= Core Tags =

While there are an absolute myriad of tags that one can use, many, if not most of these are unnecessary for video files. Remember that MP4 tags have to have fields for everything - TV shows, movies, music videos and music! We do not want to populate tags related to music (such as Artist) in a movie file. As such here are some of the most critical tags for video (TV show and Movie) files.

== Title ==
It seems that Kodi will not import a media file without a valid title in the metadata tag. This makes it the most critical tag of all.

Title also differs from Filename - I may have a file called Blade_Runner_2049_(2017)Withalotofexcessinformation.mp4, But the title value can simply be "Blade Runner 2049". Kodi will then display "Blade Runner 2049).

== Description ==
This describes the movie/TV Show. A snippet from iTunes' description of Blade Runner 2049 is as follows: "Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos."

Descriptions thus actually describe the character or basic plot of a movie or TV Show. These will be displayed in Kodi when the file is selected.

Best practice at this point seems to be to mirror the Long Description and Short Description, as there does not seem to be any practical distinction between the two.

When using this tag with TV Shows, every episode can be individually described according to the plot of that particular episode.

== Content Type ==
In MP4 there should be four choices: Music, Music Video, Movie and TV Show. The choice does not seem to matter at this point as Kodi can not distinguish files based on this tag, but rather relies on the manual setting when the directory was added. It might be useful to set this properly when tagging however, as a future change to allow Kodi to distinguish these tags may prove invaluable.

== Cover/Picture ==
For some users, the singular greatest benefit to tags is being able to set your own cover image. Don't like the standard cover? Use the Collectors Edition or Digital Download cover.

== TV Show Specific Tags ==
There are three more tags that should be filled in for TV Shows: '''Show''' (tvsh), numeric '''Season''' (tvsn) and '''Episode Number''' (tves) and the unique '''Production Code''' (tven).
At the moment these tags do not seem to be of any practical use in Kodi, but should nevertheless be filled out as this may change.

= Supported Tags =

; {{red|are the tags in this table for both mkv and mp4?}}
: Both MP4 and MKV tags are supported, although they use fundamentally different methods of encoding metadata.
; {{red|Is it ok to remove the music related tags? Are they separated accurately?}}
: n/a
; {{red|I cannot find these video related tags in mp3tag}}
: To get to all the juicy video file related tags in mp3tag, right click on your video file and select "Extended Tags". From here one can see all the tags currently in a file. Add new ones by clicking on the Add button, selecting a Field (what tag to edit) and entering a value. The most critical one in all cases is TITLE, as it seems Kodi will not add a media file if this core tag is missing (and there is no .nfo file).
: This will also allow you to add the cover artwork.
; {{red|What format is this- id3, APE, Generic, MP4, other?}}
: MP4 files use "moov" atoms embedded within the file. These are the same ones used in AAC audio files (such as m4a).
; {{red|IMDBURL/TMDBURL is this one tag or two separate tags?}}
: n/a

== MP4 tag options ==

The below table shows the ''mp4tags'' (part of mp4v2) command line (CLI) options for all standard MP4 tags. Kodi roughly supports the ones applicable to movies.

{| class="prettytable"
|+ style="background-color:#a1f5e4;" | Video File Tags
|+
!style="background-color:#f5f5a1; text-align:left; width: 10em" colspan=2 | mp4v2 CLI parameter
!style="background-color:#f5f5a1; text-align:left; width: 3em" title="STR = text, NUM = number" | Type
!style="background-color:#f5f5a1; text-align:left;" | MP4 field
!style="background-color:#f5f5a1; text-align:left;" | Description
|-
| -B
| -podcast
| pcst
| NUM
| Set the podcast flag
|-
| -c
| -comment
| ©cmt
| STR
| Set a general comment
|-
| -C
| -copyright
| cprt
| STR
| Set the copyright information
|-
| -e
| -encodedby
| ?
| STR
| Set the name of the person or company who encoded the file
|-
| -E
| -tool
| ?
| STR
| Set the software used for encoding
|-
| -g
| -genre
| gnre / ©gen
| STR
| Set the genre name
|-
| -G
| -grouping
| ©grp
| STR
| Set the grouping name
|-
| -H
| -hdvideo
| hdvd
| NUM
| Set the HD flag (1/0)
|-
| -i
| -type
| stik
| STR
| Set the Media Type (tvshow, movie, music, ...)
|-
| -I
| -contentid
| cnID?
| NUM
| Set the content ID
|-
| -j
| -genreid
| ©gen / gnre?
| NUM
| Set the genre ID
|-
| -l
| -longdesc
| desc?
| STR
| Set the long description
|-
| -m
| -description
| desc?
| STR
| Set the short description
|-
| -M
| -episode
| tves
| NUM
| Set the episode number
|-
| -n
| -season
| tvsn
| NUM
| Set the season number
|-
| -N
| -network
| tvnn
| STR
| Set the TV network
|-
| -o
| -episodeid
| tven
| STR
| Set the TV episode ID
|-
| -O
| -category
| ©grp?
| STR
| Set the category
|-
| -p
| -playlistid
| ?
| NUM
| Set the playlist ID
|-
| -P
| -picture
|
| PTH
| Set the picture as a .png, Cover
|-
| -S
| -show
| tvsh
| STR
| Set the TV show
|-
| -X
| -rating
| rtng
| STR
| Set the Rating (none, clean, explicit)
|-
| -y
| -year
| ©day
| NUM
| Set the release date
|-
! colspan="4" style="background-color:#a1f5e4;" | Music File Tags- TO BE REMOVED FROM LIST? or is it used for Music Videos?
|+
! style="background-color:#f5f5a1; text-align:left; width:050px" | ?
! style="background-color:#f5f5a1; text-align:left; width:100px" | Tag
! style="background-color:#f5f5a1; text-align:left; width:050px" | Type
! style="background-color:#f5f5a1; text-align:left; width:400px" | Description
|-
| -A
| -album
| ©alb
| STR
| Set the album title, use TV Show or Work instead
|-
| -a
| -artist
| ©art
| STR
| Set the artist information
|-
| -b
| -tempo
| tmpo
| NUM
| Set the tempo (beats per minute)
|-
| -d
| -disk
| disk
| NUM
| Set the disk number, use Season instead
|-
| -D
| -disks
| disk
| NUM
| Set the number of disks
|-
| -L
| -lyrics
| ©lyr
| NUM
| Set the lyrics, Subtitles can be embedded, too
|-
| -R
| -albumartist
| aART
| STR
| Set the album artist
|-
| -s
| -song
| ©nam
| STR
| Set the song title
|-
| -t
| -track
| trkn
| NUM
| Set the track number, use Episode Number instead
|-
| -T
| -tracks
| trkn
| NUM
| Set the number of tracks
|-
| -w
| -writer
| ©wrt
| STR
| Set the composer information
|-
| -z
| -artistid
|
| NUM
| Set the artist ID
|-
| -Z
| -composerid
|
| NUM
| Set the composer ID
|}

== MKV tag options ==

MKV tagging currently does not support the Matroska tagging specification to fill library info, rather a Kodi standard NFO file can be ''embedded'' into MKV files.

* An attachment named '''kodi-metadata''' will be scanned as an embedded .nfo file
* An attachment named '''kodi-override-metadata''' will be scanned as a url nfo if combined with specifying IMDB/TMDB url. if alone, you get an override nfo

= Artwork =
For MKV you can have embedded images. currently limited to:
* 'small_cover.png' or 'small_cover.jpg' for thumbnails
* 'cover.png' or 'cover.jpg' for posters
* 'fanart.png' or 'fanart.jpg' for fanart

'poster' images can be embedded in MP4 files.

{{top}}

<div style="{{linear-gradient|left|#a1f5e4, #f5f5a1}}">{{next|[[Adding_video_sources|'''Add Source & Scrape''']]}} </div>

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