How to manage wtv files in folders other than RecordedTV?

[mdavej]

I use WMC built in apps for watching recorded TV and other video files. In order to keep recorded TV manageable, I periodically move some wtv files to other folders. I can still play these videos using the Videos app in WMC. However, when I do this, I no longer see titles but filenames. I'd like my wtv files to maintain the titles and descriptions I see in the Recorded TV app, but at the same time keep them out of my Recorded TV folder. I've tried a few add ons that essentially let me filter Recorded TV, but it doesn't really solve my problem of keeping Recorded TV lean as my unfiltered view is too unwieldy. Is there a way to get the Videos app to show the same info Recorded TV shows for wtv files, or is there another app I can use that does show this info?

[3rob3]

Media Browser 3 will show metadata from WTV files. I just have it pointed at my Recorded TV directory though, not sure what happens when they are in separate folders.

[mdavej]

Media Browser 3 will show metadata from WTV files. I just have it pointed at my Recorded TV directory though, not sure what happens when they are in separate folders.

Thanks. I'll give it a shot. Does it put a big burden on the CPU or make WMC unstable? Other addins I've tried usually have issues like that. I don't want to break or slow down a working system.

[Crash2009]

I use WMC built in apps for watching recorded TV and other video files. In order to keep recorded TV manageable, I periodically move some wtv files to other folders. I can still play these videos using the Videos app in WMC. However, when I do this, I no longer see titles but filenames. I'd like my wtv files to maintain the titles and descriptions I see in the Recorded TV app, but at the same time keep them out of my Recorded TV folder. I've tried a few add ons that essentially let me filter Recorded TV, but it doesn't really solve my problem of keeping Recorded TV lean as my unfiltered view is too unwieldy. Is there a way to get the Videos app to show the same info Recorded TV shows for wtv files, or is there another app I can use that does show this info?

Not sure what you mean by "keep recorded TV manageable". If you mean how it looks from within WMC, I think I know what you mean...... If I tell WMC to organize by date recorded, I have to skip through 35 episodes of Pawn Stars to get to Red Widow. If I tell WMC to organize by <title>, WMC groups 35 episodes of Pawn Stars into 1 imaginary folder, that I can skip with a single remote press, which you can see in the picture that I will upload momentarily. RecordedTV001

This next picture is my Win7 File Manager. As you can see, there are no folders in my Recorded TV folder. My Recorded TV folder is pretty easy to get to >>> D:\Recorded TV I started running out of space on my D drive, added another drive named E, created a folder named Recorded TV. Once again, pretty easy to get to >>> E:\Recorded TV, and once again, No folders allowed in my Recorded TV folders. I only told you about the E:\Recorded TV because I wanted to point out something in the RecordedTV001 picture.....You see NHL, then Pawn Stars and Red Widow, According to the picture named Recorded TV002, Red Wings Live shouldn't be there---but it is, that is because I told WMC to look in E:\Recorded TV also.

Music, I do the same as Recorded TV.

Videos, most of mine are mixed up with the pictures from the camera, so I just tell WMC to look for video's mixed in with the pictures.

That's how I do it. I'm sure there are other ways. I like this way because it's so simple. Every once and awhile I'll grab a bunch of old stuff and move it off D: or E: to a different machine. Once again, \\different machine\\Recorded TV\\no folders allowed, and if I want to I'll sometimes tell WMC where the new hiding spot is.

Movies are a whole different can of worms, if you want them to look right in WMC, or, if you just want to clean up the Recorded TV folder. I don't have time to go into that one right now. You could just do a search here at TGB for a simple little program named "move movies", it will grab them for you, remove them out of the Recorded TV folder and into the movie folder, and buy the way "move movies" will create a new folder for each movie, so that WMC or YAMM or who-ever, can go get your album art and make the WMC movie section look pretty. For me, this is the only place I have folders because, as I understand it, each movie must have it's own folder to store the cover art in. You just need to make one folder D:\Movies This is assuming, of course, that you have all ready figured out that you need more than one drive.

[Crash2009]

I just wanted to add a link to my move movies adventure http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/vie ... 184#p39184

It's a pretty long post, you might want to read from the beginning to find links to software.

If all else fails just search for move movies

[adam1991]

I use WMC built in apps for watching recorded TV and other video files. In order to keep recorded TV manageable, I periodically move some wtv files to other folders. I can still play these videos using the Videos app in WMC.

Ummm, can't you also simply play those files from Recorded TV?

You can configure WMC to look in multiple folders for recorded TV.

[mdavej]

Thanks for all the ideas and detailed posts. Lots of good stuff in that thread you linked too, Crash.

I could play them from recorded TV if I pointed to my other folders. But I don't want them to show up in recorded tv at all. Similar to the case in the linked thread where recorded tv movies are getting moved elsewhere.

[adam1991]

Doesn't RecordedTV HD solve the problem, then?

[CyberSimian]

In order to keep recorded TV manageable, I periodically move some wtv files to other folders. I can still play these videos using the Videos app in WMC.

Me too.

However, when I do this, I no longer see titles but filenames. I'd like my wtv files to maintain the titles and descriptions I see in the Recorded TV app, but at the same time keep them out of my Recorded TV folder.

You can see the titles and descriptions, but not by scrolling through the list. You have to use the INFO button on the remote control in order to see the metadata associated with a WTV file. This is why the Ortek remote control is a bad idea -- it completely buggers up makes unusable this aspect of the interface.

When I move DVR-MS files from the "Recorded TV" folder to the folder tree that I created in the "Video" folder, I rename the files so that within each folder they are displayed in the order that I want. For a series, I want the episodes in the order that they were broadcast, so I rename them to this format:

YYYY-MM-DD Program Title (Channel Name, hh.mm.ss)

In principle, you could rename them to include the episode title as part of the filename (but you would probably need to use a PowerShell batch script in order to do this).

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

[mdavej]

Doesn't RecordedTV HD solve the problem, then?

RecordedTV HD helps somewhat with organization. But the files still aren't totally hidden in Recorded TV at all times, which is my goal.

You can see the titles and descriptions, but not by scrolling through the list. You have to use the INFO button on the remote control in order to see the metadata associated with a WTV file. This is why the Ortek remote control is a bad idea -- it completely buggers up makes unusable this aspect of the interface.

When I move DVR-MS files from the "Recorded TV" folder to the folder tree that I created in the "Video" folder, I rename the files so that within each folder they are displayed in the order that I want. For a series, I want the episodes in the order that they were broadcast, so I rename them to this format:

YYYY-MM-DD Program Title (Channel Name, hh.mm.ss)

In principle, you could rename them to include the episode title as part of the filename (but you would probably need to use a PowerShell batch script in order to do this).

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

Now I see what you mean with the Ortek. I need to find a good MCE dongle to replace it.

I like the renaming idea. As long as I see the title somehow and the file isn't in Recorded TV, I'm satisfied. I did a little more digging, and WTV Organizer (part of Media Portal) appears to do exactly what I need. I'll try it out this weekend. If it works, then case closed. Thanks again to all.

[mdavej]

Ok, Media Portal and WTV Organizer was a complete disaster. I don't have a PhD or time required to get it working properly. Everything I click results in some missing xml file or some other error, locking up MP tighter than a drum.

I'm going to simplify. First, I'll rename my existing files with my own script. Then I'll make sure future recordings are named properly in the first place by changing the name string in the registry. That should do it.

[Crash2009]

But the files still aren't totally hidden in Recorded TV at all times, which is my goal.

I don't think you can hide things in the recorded tv folder if you tell WMC that they are there. When you setup locations within WMC you need to exclude what you don't want WMC to show. For example.....let's just say you have a folder inside of Recorded TV named <Porno> and Porno contains some adult videos that you don't want the kids watching. When you are setting up locations inside WMC, do not include the folder Porno when you tell WMC where to look. As I recall, the porno folder shows up in Recorded TV-but you cannot see what is inside. If that is still not what you are trying to do, just put the Porno directory somewhere else. c:\porno d:\porno it's pretty simple really, you don't need to install anything.

[mdavej]

Ha, ha. Maybe in my younger days. I'd have to get much more creative to hide anything from my teenagers. Right now I'm only trying to keep the recorded TV list small. Since the files are actual recordings created in recorded TV to begin with, the only way not to show them is to move them. Very similar to your move movies situation.

Moving the files out of recorded TV using a scheduled task is working fine for me. I just can't see the episode titles at a glance after I move them. The renaming thing should accomplish my goal.

[holidayboy]

I just read the last couple of posts - sorry if this has been posted already. (Slaps himself on wrist for such bad behaviour)

This could maybe help with the renaming aspect:

http://wtvmetarenamer.codeplex.com/

[clavoie]

How's come resume only works for files in the Recorded TV directory? I once moved one of my movies.dvr-ms to the Recorded TV directory and resume worked even after I left media center on an extender. Directories and folder.jpeg did not work though.

[mdavej]

I just read the last couple of posts - sorry if this has been posted already. (Slaps himself on wrist for such bad behaviour)

This could maybe help with the renaming aspect:

http://wtvmetarenamer.codeplex.com/

That's exactly what I ended up using, and it worked great. Thanks for the tip.

As far as resume only working in recorded TV, I noticed that too. Don't know the solution, but it doesn't really bother me. Thumbs are working fine for me, but I have installed Icaros and Lav filters, which may have something to do with it.

[CyberSimian]

How's come resume only works for files in the Recorded TV directory? I once moved one of my movies.dvr-ms to the Recorded TV directory and resume worked even after I left media center on an extender. Directories and folder.jpeg did not work though.

I can explain how this works on Vista; Win7 may or may not be the same.

All of the DVR-MS files that reside in the "Recorded TV" folder, and which were recorded using Media Center, have entries in the file "recordings.xml". You can browse this file using something like Microsoft's own "XmlNotepad" (free download). For each file listed in "recordings.xml", there is an XML tag/attribute that remembers the resume point. When you delete the recording, its entry in "recordings.xml" is also deleted.

When you move a recording from the "Recorded TV" folder to the "Videos" folder, MC thinks that the file has been deleted, and so deletes the entry for that file in "recordings.xml". So now there is nowhere for MC to remember the resume point.

If you move the file from "Videos" back to "Recorded TV", there is enough metadata in the file for MC to be able to re-create the entry in "recordings.xml", and hence remember the resume point.

There is one quirk. It is a fairly common practice for people to record an episode of a series, watch that episode a day or two later, and then delete it. If the episode is repeated after the recording has been deleted, MC has enough smarts to know that it should not record it again. How does it do this? Well, it does this by remembering in "recordings.xml" details for programmes recorded even though those files have since been deleted. It is only when the series recording request is itself deleted that MC will delete from "recordings.xml" all of the entries for files that no longer exist in "Recorded TV".

Because the information for deleted episodes of a series is retained in "recordings.xml", it is possible to move episodes from "Recorded TV" to "Videos", and MC will remember the resume points for them, even though it thinks that they have been deleted from "Recorded TV".

So, one way for have resume points for all recordings in the "Videos" folder is:

(1) Record all programmes using MC.
(2) Record all programmes as though they were a series (even one-off programmes). This is possible on Vista, but may not be possible on Win7.
(3) Retain the recording requests until you have deleted the files from "Videos". After several years, you would probably have thousands or tens of thousands of recording requests. I don't know how that would affect performance.

-- from CyberSimian in the UK