Video management: Difference between revisions

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{{VideoLibraryCreate}}
{{mininav|[[Video library]]}}
{{mininav|[[Video library]]}}
<section begin="intro" />To use your video files with "metadata" like summaries, cast info, DVD covers, thumbnails, and more, you need to '''[[Adding videos to the library|add those video files]]''' to the [[video library]].<section end="intro" />
__toc__


See '''[[Adding videos to the library]]''' for just the basic topics on adding videos.
= Introduction =
<section begin="intro" />Now that you have your library setup and have become confident with using {{kodi}}, you can start experimenting with modifying your library so it better suits your preferences.


== Preparing files ==
This page will guide you to other wiki pages that are commonly used to modify the library.<section end="intro" />
To use your video files with "metadata" like summaries, cast info, DVD covers, thumbnails, and more, you need to add those video files to the video library.


<section begin="prep" />There are a couple of important parts to getting things imported into your {{Kodi}} library. First, the metadata for the video file should exist someplace (the metadata are things like the title of the show, the plot description, the season and episode number if the video file happens to be an episode of a TV series, the actors, the director, cover art and episode art, etc.) The second part is naming the video files so the file gets matched up with the metadata available online.


{{Kodi}} uses plugins called scrapers to pull information from a video file and coordinate it with a source of metadata available someplace on the internet. For a TV show the scraper basically looks for the show name, season number, and episode number. The default scrapers look at TheTVDB.com (for TV shows) and TheMovieDB.org (for Movies).
= Common =


If some video file is not scraping properly, the first step is to go to the website of the scraper you are using on that source and see if the video is already listed there. If you can't find an entry on one of those two sites for the video you're interested in, you can hunt for different scrapers which search other websites for metadata (and go through the same process of making sure your show is listed there, then naming the video files to match). Alternatively, you can create new entries on those sites with some basic information about your show, and then let the scrapers do their work. This is nice, because it means that other people will benefit from your work, and may contribute additional information about the show over time.  
{{Index two column
Adding info to a site like TheTVDB.org is easy, but make sure you read the site rules before you start adding.
| image 1 = Video.png
| link name 1 = Artwork
| link 1 = Artwork
| image 2 = Video.png
| link name 2 = Bookmarks
| link 2 = Bookmarks_and_chapters
| description 2 = Video Bookmarks allow you to create Save points within movies and episodes in order to easily return to them at a later date. Episode Bookmarks allow mapping of the start of an Episode to the library entry. Useful when there is more than one episode in the video file. eg ISO files, or other full disk rips.
| image 3 = Video.png
| link name 3 = Concerts
| link 3 = Music_concerts
| image 4 = Video.png
| link name 4 = Custom Home Items
| link 4 = Custom_home_items
| image 5 = Video.png
| link name 5 = Edit Decision Lists
| link 5 = Edit_decision_list
| image 6 = Video.png
| link name 6 = Extras- For Movie & TV Shows
| link 6 = Add-on:Extras
| description 6 = An add-on that allows you to store all the Extra content that comes with your DVD or Bluray disk to make it accessible within {{kodi}}.
| image 7 = Video.png
| link name 7 = Filters- Advanced
| link 7 = Advanced_library_filtering
| image 8 = Video.png
| link name 8 =
| link 8 =
| image 9 = Video.png
| link name 9 = Media Stub Files
| link 9 = Media_stubs
| image 10 = Video.png
| link name 10 = NFO Files
| link 10 = NFO_files
| image 11 = Video.png
| link name 11 = Parental Controls
| link 11 = Parental_controls
| description 11 = Links to pages that allow you to restrict access to content.
| image 12 = Video.png
| link name 12 = Playlists
| link 12 = Playlists
| description 12 = Kodi supports both basic playlists and smart playlists. A basic playlist is a normal text file that lists one or more media files (Audio or Video), and plays them in succession. Smart Playlists are essentially a set of rules to limit the results from the databases.
| image 13 = Video.png
| link name 13 = Profiles
| link 13 = Profiles
| image 14 = Video.png
| link name 14 = Stream Files
| link 14 = Internet_video_and_audio_streams
| image 15 = Video.png
| link name 15 = Trailers
| link 15 = Trailers
| image 16 = Video.png
| link name 16 = Universes - Movie / Cinematic
| link 16 = HOW-TO:Movie_universe
| image 17 = Video.png
| link name 17 = Video Cache
| link 17 = HOW-TO:Modify_the_video_cache
| image 18 = Video.png
| link name 18 = Video Library Tags
| link 18 = Video_library_tags
| image 19 = Video.png
| link name 19 = Video Nodes
| link 19 = Video_nodes
| image 20 = Video.png
| link name 20 = Watched & Resume Points
| link 20 = HOW-TO:Modify_automatic_watch_and_resume_points
| image 21 = Video.png
| link name 21 = Web Browser Interface
| link 21 = Web_interface
}}


If none of that works, you can create .nfo files for each video by hand so that {{Kodi}} will bypass the normal looking online for information about your show. This is the least attractive option, though. It's a lot of work, and it doesn't benefit anyone else the way creating entries on the metadata sites does.<section end="prep" />


=== Naming files ===
{{main|Naming video files}}
{{#lst:Naming video files|intro}}


* [[Naming video files/Movies]]
= TV Show Specific =
* [[Naming video files/TV shows]]
The following options are specific to TV Shows
* [[Naming video files/Music videos]]


=== NFO files ===
{{Index three column
{{Main|NFO files}}
| image 1 = Video.png
{{#lst:NFO files|intro}}
| link name 1 = Linking Movies to TV Shows
| link 1 = Linking_movies_to_TV_shows
| description 1 = A feature that allows you to list a movie in both your Movies and TV Shows listing. eg. You have the TV Show ''Firefly'', and the movie ''Serenity'' in the respective library. Linking the movie will display the movie entry in the TV Show listing.
| image 2 = Video.png
| link name 2 = Season Rename
| link 2 = Season_rename
| image 3 = Video.png
| link name 3 = Season Settings
| link 3 = Settings/Media/Videos#Library
| description 3 = The Settings page that will describe how to adjust the way Seasons are listed in your TV Shows. These are global settings and cannot be adjusted per individual TV Show.
}}


== Media sources ==
{{Main|Media sources}}
{{#lst:Media sources|intro}}


=== Adding video sources ===
{{main|Adding video sources}}
{{#lst:Adding video sources|intro}}


== Media stubs ==
= Movie Specific =
{{Main|Media stubs}}
See '''Common Features''' above.
{{#lst:Media stubs|intro}}
{{-}}


== Internet streams ==
{{Index two column
{{Main|Internet streams}}
| image 1 = Video.png
{{#lst:Internet streams|intro}}
| link name 1 = Movie Sets
| link 1 = Movie_sets
| image 2 = Video.png
| link name 2 = Movie Set- Settings
| link 2 = Settings/Media/Videos#Show_movie_sets
| description 2 = Modify the behaviour of Movie Sets in the main title listing. Does not affect the dedicated Movie Set node.
}}


== Setting content and scanning ==
{{main|Set content and scan}}
{{#lst:Set content and scan|intro}}


=== Incorrect and missing videos ===
{{Main|Incorrect and missing videos}}
{{#lst:Incorrect and missing videos|intro}}


=== Custom video entries ===
{{Main|Custom video entries}}
{{#lst:Custom video entries|intro}}


=== Updating or removing videos ===
{{top}}
{{Main|Updating or removing videos}}
{{#lst:Updating or removing videos|intro}}


== Grouping media ==
=== File stacking ===
{{Main|File stacking}}
{{#lst:File stacking|intro}}
=== Movie sets ===
{{Main|Movie sets}}
{{#lst:Movie sets|intro}}
=== Video library tags ===
{{Main|Video library tags}}
{{#lst:Video library tags|intro}}
=== How to separate the library (cartoons, documentaries, anime, etc) ===
{{Main|Custom home items}}
{{#lst:Custom home items|intro}}
=== Playlists ===
{{Main|Playlists}}
* {{big|'''[[Basic playlists]] -'''}} {{#lst:Basic playlists|intro}}
* {{big|'''[[Smart playlists]] -'''}} {{#lst:Smart playlists|intro}}
=== Linking movies to TV shows ===
{{#lst:Linking movies to TV shows|movie TV link}}
{{-}}
=== Video nodes ===
{{Main|Video nodes}}
{{#lst:Video nodes|intro}}
{{-}}
== Alternative guides ==
<section begin="Alternative guides" />
* [http://lifehacker.com/5900626/create-a-kickass-seamless-play+everything-media-center-the-complete-guide Lifehacker.com - Create a Kickass, Seamless, Play-Everything Media Center: The Complete Guide]
* [http://tbueter.com/?page_id=324 The Frodo Guide] by Henry Ford
* [http://kordkutters.com/setting-up-your-kodi-movies-and-tv-shows-library/ Beginner Tip: How to add videos to Kodi from a network share] by Nathan Betzen
* [http://www.makeuseof.com/pages/xbmc-full-html Makeuseof.com - How to set up your Kodi Media Center]
* [http://youresuchageek.blogspot.fr/2012/06/xbmc-install-and-config-howto-for-linux.html Kodi Install and Config] HOW-TO for Linux Its for xvba, however apart from drivers the rest is a '''MUST''' read for Linux novices.
=== Video guides ===
{{youtube|UBGKcLu7aGk}}  {{youtube|EkWYxqoOF3c}}  {{youtube|ueqwMbdMVHU}}
<section end="Alternative guides" />
== See also ==
* [[Import-export library]]
* [[Parental controls|Locking video sources / Parental controls]]
* [[Video library settings]]
* [[First time user]]
* [[UPnP]]
{{Helix updated}}


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

Revision as of 21:01, 29 August 2020

Create Video Libraries
1. The Basics
2. Source Folder
3. Movie Setup
4a. TV Show Setup
4b. Seasons Setup
4c. Episodes Setup
5. Music Videos Setup
6. Add Source & Scrape
7. Scraping Problems
Home icon grey.png   ▶ Video library ▶ Video management

Introduction

Now that you have your library setup and have become confident with using Kodi, you can start experimenting with modifying your library so it better suits your preferences.

This page will guide you to other wiki pages that are commonly used to modify the library.


Common

icon Artwork
The use of artwork will transform your mundane media player into a showpiece to be proud of, especially when teamed up with your favourite skin. Kodi will allow you to display Posters, Fanart, Album Covers, Actor and Artist images to name a few. Install the Picture Slideshow add-on, and you will have a constant display of video or music fanart to brighten your entertainment room.
icon Bookmarks
Video Bookmarks allow you to create Save points within movies and episodes in order to easily return to them at a later date. Episode Bookmarks allow mapping of the start of an Episode to the library entry. Useful when there is more than one episode in the video file. eg ISO files, or other full disk rips.
icon Concerts
To use Kodi with its full potential for Music concerts we are going to add these to the video library, this will allow you to use standard scrapers which will download metadata and artwork automatically assuming you have the folders named correctlyThe most important part of this process is having a standard file structure for your music concerts. The recommended way is to have a single folder with all your music concerts in sub folders.
icon Custom Home Items
It is possible to create additional Main Menu items that appear on the default Main Menu. For example, adding Home Movies, Kids Movies, Sports, Documentaries and other menu items. Kodi can already filter and separate library items using a number of methods. Combined with a skin that supports Custom Home Items, the library and main menu can be laid out to meet your requirements.
icon Edit Decision Lists
An edit decision list (EDL) contains information about edits that should be made to the video during playback. Edit decision list information is contained in a separate file to the video that is read by Kodi just before the video is played. Examples of use include can be to skip commercials, cut out content inappropriate for children, or skip over the half hour acid trip in 2001: A Space Odyssey .
icon Extras- For Movie & TV Shows
An add-on that allows you to store all the Extra content that comes with your DVD or Bluray disk to make it accessible within Kodi.
icon Filters- Advanced
Filter is a Music and Video Library feature that allows a user to quickly reduce a list of titles to a smaller list that matches a user specified criteria. For example, filter the main listing of movies to only movies whose genre is Science Fiction.

icon Media Stub Files
  • If you have a collection of DVD's and Bluray disks but do not want to rip them to a hard drive, then a Media Stub File allows you to add the collection of disks to the Kodi Video Library.
  • It is a simple text based file that is added to your Source in exactly the same way as any other Movie or TV Show, which is then scanned or scraped into the library.
icon NFO Files
NFO files are used to populate the music and video library using locally stored information. They are helpful if data for your particular title does not exist, such as for home movies and sporting events. A Parsing and Combination NFO file can be used to control the search behaviour of scrapers when problematic and ambiguous titles prevent your preferred title from being scraped.
icon Parental Controls
Links to pages that allow you to restrict access to content.
icon Playlists
Kodi supports both basic playlists and smart playlists. A basic playlist is a normal text file that lists one or more media files (Audio or Video), and plays them in succession. Smart Playlists are essentially a set of rules to limit the results from the databases.
icon Profiles
Profiles allow users to save all of settings as a profile and change them at the touch of a button. It also allows you to grant access to specific folders and network shares based on the profile being used. This is ideal for systems that have multiple users. It works much the same as setting up individual users on your home computer.
icon Stream Files
Various internet video and audio streams can be played back in Kodi as if they were locally stored on your media center by using STRM files. As long as the format and streaming-method (network-protocol) is supported by Kodi, stream can be added. These are basic text files that look like <name>.strm and contain a URL to the internet stream. STRM files can also be added to the video library and can have cover art, summaries, etc.

Some internet sites may have an add-on available that can also access these media streams, rather than having to manually create STRM files. See Add-ons for more information on how to find and install add-ons.

icon Trailers
Trailers can be scanned or scraped into the library along with the movie metadata and artwork. Watch the trailers independently or specialised add-ons can be used to re-create the cinema experience by playing trailers before viewing a movie.
icon Universes - Movie / Cinematic
Through the use of specialised filenaming and a smart playlist, Kodi can build a cinematic universe for any of your favourite movie and tv show franchises. Using this method allows correct canonical sorting, or any sorting required by the user, which cannot be accomplished with any other method. This method has the advantage of creating these universes without affecting movie sets or library listings in the movie or tv show library.
icon Video Cache
This page describes three advancedsettings.xml settings that can be used to maximize the video playback cache. You can use all or just a couple of these settings to see significant improvements in cache performance, should you require it (most users will not require these modifications). This can help with intermittent network issues, buffering, reduce how long the network is tied up, and sometimes improve battery life.
icon Video Library Tags
Video library tags, aka Tags or Keywords, can be used to further sort and organise your library into meaningful lists. Sites such as IMDB and TheMovieDB use Keywords to describe themes, plot details or character types to group and easily locate similar titles. They are generally different to the genre.
icon Video Nodes
Video nodes are defined views that are used to organize your media from the videos menu. Title, Director, Year, Studios, Countries, Genres are examples of Nodes. These Nodes can be customised using an XML file which gives flexibility in how you display your media. Custom nodes will work with any skin, but for ease of use a compatible skin is preferred.
icon Watched & Resume Points
This page describes three advancedsettings.xml settings that can be used to modify when "watched" and "resume" marks are saved. These settings can also be used to prevent automatically saving watched and resume points. A watched point records if a video has been watched or not. A resume point records where in a video file playback has stopped, so it can be resumed later.


TV Show Specific

The following options are specific to TV Shows

icon Linking Movies to TV Shows
A feature that allows you to list a movie in both your Movies and TV Shows listing. eg. You have the TV Show Firefly, and the movie Serenity in the respective library. Linking the movie will display the movie entry in the TV Show listing.
icon Season Rename
The Season Rename feature allows you to change the name of a TV Show Season from the default Season x format to a name of your choosing. This can be used in Anime, or those TV Shows that have special names for Seasons, like Torchwood.
icon Season Settings
The Settings page that will describe how to adjust the way Seasons are listed in your TV Shows. These are global settings and cannot be adjusted per individual TV Show.


Movie Specific

See Common Features above.

icon Movie Sets
A Movie Set is a collection of related films that are part of the same fictional universe. The scraper sites include artwork and metadata for Movie Sets which is scraped by Kodi and creates the Movie Set in your library. Movie sets are versatile and can be easily edited to suit your own needs.
icon Movie Set- Settings
Modify the behaviour of Movie Sets in the main title listing. Does not affect the dedicated Movie Set node.



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