Alternatives to Meta Browser for TV metadata?

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brennok

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Nov 30, 2006
Messages
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I have been using Meta Browser for some time and while I like it I am starting to run into more issues due to limit on naming files.

While I would prefer an automatic option for renaming and linking files to the correct metadata, I would even settle for a manual one. The problem is since my files aren't in the format metabrowser uses either they show up in Movies which you can't find the data for since they are tv shows or they don't show up at all.

I currently backup tivo recordings to my PC. The problem is TiVo doesn't have season as a field so I can name my shows with title, episode title and episode number, but I can't use SxxExx without manually renaming every file. Plus there are also files that are just specials like some of the HDnet concerts which Meta Browser treats as a movie.

I can playback my mixed library fine on TiVo. I just can't find a great way to automatically organize them. Any suggestions?
 
Media Center Master might be able to help you out. I only used it for a very brief time, but it seemed highly configurable. The developer, Pete, is extremely active on the forums and seems like a great guy.

http://www.mediacentermaster.com/
 
It looks like that won't work. I guess I need to look into a program to do batch renaming to convert 817 to S08E17.
 
brennok said:
It looks like that won't work. I guess I need to look into a program to do batch renaming to convert 817 to S08E17.
Click to expand...

It's really not that hard. I don't see the point in using a different app then metabrowser when all meta gathering apps work exactly like that, they all need to have their season/episode info in a specific format. No way around that. Just suck it up and rename them so that they're usable.
 
CrimandEvil said:
It's really not that hard. I don't see the point in using a different app then metabrowser when all meta gathering apps work exactly like that, they all need to have their season/episode info in a specific format. No way around that. Just suck it up and rename them so that they're usable.
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I know. It is just that I have 3 Tivos with 1TB drives constantly dumping to the PC and not to mention the 5TBs I already have of saved recordings. I was hoping of some easier way to do it rather than renaming every single show manually.

I was just hoping there was an app that recognized the format so I could avoid the manual renaming or even one that would at least see the files so I could link it to the correct metadata manually.
 
brennok said:
I was just hoping there was an app that recognized the format so I could avoid the manual renaming or even one that would at least see the files so I could link it to the correct metadata manually.
Click to expand...

You might get better advice if you picked a format and stuck with it. In your OP, you said there was no season field available:

brennok said:
I currently backup tivo recordings to my PC. The problem is TiVo doesn't have season as a field so I can name my shows with title, episode title and episode number, but I can't use SxxExx without manually renaming every file. Plus there are also files that are just specials like some of the HDnet concerts which Meta Browser treats as a movie.
Click to expand...

Two posts later, you suddenly had the season included:

brennok said:
It looks like that won't work. I guess I need to look into a program to do batch renaming to convert 817 to S08E17.
Click to expand...

So which is it? If the format is "Lost LAX 01", Media Center Master can handle that but you have to manually move the files into their proper season folder first.

If you are using your 2nd example, "Lost LAX 601", Media Scout can handle files that use the SSEE format.

Media Scout isn't being updated anymore, but I still use it for the initial setup and maintenance of all my media folders. I only use Metabrowser when I need to edit the metadata.

http://www.mediabrowser.tv/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=861
 
The problem it is both. Sometimes there is no info available. Sometimes it has the episode name without the number. Sometimes it has the episode number. It all depends on the guide data provided. It isn't consistent since it relies on what the channel provides.

Apparently it is an issue with the .tivo container as far as MCM goes according to the creator, so I am going to see if stripping the Tivo container fixes the problem for the shows with episode data.

On the other files I will have to use a site like TVrage.com to match up the episode name with the show so I can manually add the season and episode data.
 
In no particular order:

Media Center Master
Ember Media Manager
TV Rename

All have their ups and downs. It will just depend on how you prefer to work with things.
 
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