ebr 14910 Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 There are a couple of important changes in the new release of MBC that has just been put up in Beta: 1) It now supports logging in with MB Connect. This brings MBC in line with the overall platform for connecting and allows you to connect to different servers easily - even remote ones. It is important to realize, however, that some parts of MBC may not perform well enough for use over a wide-area network connection. For instance, large actor indexes or large music libraries may simply not work well due to the underlying framework of how MBC retrieves data. Several performance improvements and reductions in server interactions were implemented in conjunction with this implementation that should allow normal operation over the internet possible with a reasonable bandwidth connection (say 10Mb on each end). These improvements should also make local operation faster as well. 2) The configurator has been in a slow phase out and this release marks another step in that process as it was necessary for the MB Connect feature. The configurator now only can be used for Extender, ISO and External player configuration. All other configuration is handled inside MBC. Important note for GameBrowser users: The GameBrowser Classic plug-in still requires configuration and this configuration was never re-implemented inside of MBC. So, to configure this plug-in you must now manually edit the xml file. Instructions for doing so can be found here. 3) This version of MBC also aligns the overall library presentation (the items you will see on the EHS or first screen) with the web client. You now will see the very same items in MBC that you see there and can control their order with the standard methods of doing so in the web client preferences. If you absolutely must keep the old style of folder-based browsing only in MBC, you can do so by enabling the "Legacy Folder Browsing" mode in the config page. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moviefan 184 Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Thanks for the update ebr. I also greatly appreciate you including the legacy folder browsing option to allow me to continue doing so in the way I am used to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianW 1052 Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 "Legacy Folder Browsing" - FTW ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke 37057 Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 We will need all hands on deck to answer the inevitable questions about #3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pritch33 5 Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Thanks for the update ebr. I also greatly appreciate you including the legacy folder browsing option to allow me to continue doing so in the way I am used to +1 Appreciate all the work you guys do, but sorry but not liking the change. I like my set up the way it was. appreciate having a choice guys. Ray 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianW 1052 Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 (edited) In "My Preferences" in the WebUI if you uncheck all of the views under "Automatically group content from the following folders into views such as Movies, Music and TV" you can leave "Legacy Folder Browsing" un-checked and you'll get basically the same experience. You can then use the "View Order" section of "My Preferences" to alter the order on the EHS instead of using the old manual "Sort Order" field in the metadata manager. Edited February 5, 2015 by AdrianW 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techywarrior 688 Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Since the configurator is still around, can't you leave in an exception for Game Browser? I'm guessing that no update is going to be made for GB to be able to configure itself inside MBC so maybe an even better idea is if someone could create a program that lets you configure GB (sort of how it works in the configurator in the past). Ebr, since it's in the configurator already any chance it would be easy to whip up a simple standalone version as the GB configurator? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14910 Posted February 4, 2015 Author Share Posted February 4, 2015 I didn't rip this out just as a point of principle . The changes that were necessary in order to support the other new features (mostly connect) meant that the configurator could no longer load plug-ins. This had always been planned and the only affected item right now is GB-Classic. I held off on releasing this new beta for quite a while due to this one issue but cannot wait any longer. I simply cannot sign up for building the configuration interface right now and no one else has stepped up to do it either. Shaefurr, however, did graciously create the topics for GB in the wiki and create the manual editing page as a stop gap (even though he doesn't even use MBC). It isn't ideal but it also shouldn't bee too hard to manually edit that xml file as a one-time setup. We will eventually have a better approach but I just haven't been able to come up with one yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techywarrior 688 Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 If I knew .NET I'd probably try. On the other hand, if anyone wants to take the lead on a GB Configurator I can probably assist coding. I just don't want to be the lead on a project in a language I am not that familiar with. (the coding would turn out bad ) Ebr, do you think it would be worth it to start from the code of the prior configurator and strip out all the MBC stuff or start from scratch? I remember there being a bunch of pre-determined settings in the GB config (systems, emulators, default emulator run strings, etc.) so maybe at least getting that info from the old code would be a good start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14910 Posted February 4, 2015 Author Share Posted February 4, 2015 None of that is in the configurator. The plug-in itself has the entire configuration interface and it is publicly available now here. All the configurator did was call a method in the plug-in to present the interface. If someone can take that configuration interface and extract it to a stand-alone program (wpf or forms, I don't know which it is) that would be great. Or, better yet, re-build the configuration to work as a config panel in MBC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginjaninja 533 Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 for the first time in a long while...mbc is now able to browse music library without timeout... (havent tested every version over last month....but for a long while...music was not useable for me in mbc) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14910 Posted February 4, 2015 Author Share Posted February 4, 2015 for the first time in a long while...mbc is now able to browse music library without timeout... (havent tested every version over last month....but for a long while...music was not useable for me in mbc) Glad it is working better for you. I spent a lot of time in this cycle optimizing and reducing network traffic as much as I could. I also made some improvements in some underlying areas that could affect this indirectly. I think one of the issues that would cause the very slow performance in libraries like music was the "scroll to first unwatched" feature that is inherit in most MBC views. I disabled this for music libraries and I think that may have been at the root of many of these problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wizbowes 3 Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Will the legacy browsing continue to be supported? I really don't like the new interface - it may match the web interface but there's a reason I use MBC rather than the web interface. I'm slightly concerned that calling it legacy means that's the first step to dropping support altogether..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke 37057 Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Will the legacy browsing continue to be supported? I really don't like the new interface - it may match the web interface but there's a reason I use MBC rather than the web interface. I'm slightly concerned that calling it legacy means that's the first step to dropping support altogether..... I think it's important to read this post: http://mediabrowser.tv/community/index.php?/topic/17862-important-notes-about-the-new-beta-251/&do=findComment&comment=174222 Because you can achieve the same thing by configuring your views. It makes sense for MBC to adopt these views because without them there's no consistency between apps. But it's flexible enough such that you can configure it to have the same folder browsing you're used to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wizbowes 3 Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Is that link correct? It appears to point to my post above? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke 37057 Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Yes its correct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianW 1052 Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Is that link correct? It appears to point to my post above? I think he meant this post. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moviefan 184 Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 (edited) I think it's important to read this post: http://mediabrowser.tv/community/index.php?/topic/17862-important-notes-about-the-new-beta-251/&do=findComment&comment=174222 Because you can achieve the same thing by configuring your views. It makes sense for MBC to adopt these views because without them there's no consistency between apps. But it's flexible enough such that you can configure it to have the same folder browsing you're used to. It takes a little bit of tweaking to make it work exactly as it used to with this method but I did finally get it to work. It actually is working pretty well now... for those worried about using a "legacy" format I recommend trying this option out to see if you can get it to work the way you want. EDIT: One thing I don't see how to do once I make this change is how to get a Movies by Genre category back in MBC. Is this possible? Edited February 5, 2015 by moviefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianW 1052 Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 EDIT: One thing I don't see how to do once I make this change is how to get a Movies by Genre category back in MBC. Is this possible? You're right - I hadn't noticed that Movies by Genre was missing from my EHS. Only way I can see to make it work is to check only your movie collections in the "Automatically group content" section and leave everything else unchecked. If you only have one movie collection then your EHS will hardly change. But, entering into your movie collection will now give you four groupings: Movies, Collections, Favourites and Genres (Collections and Favourites will depend on whether you have any defined in your library). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgewill76 14 Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 (edited) Hi Just want to say I love the work everyone has done with MediaBrowser. All my friends and family are jealous when they see the setup I have for watching movies and tv. I just have a quick question in regards to the new setup with MBC. I have followed AdrianW instructions on Post 6 on how to get MBC to appear the same as the legacy option, the only thing I am missing on the EHS is Movies By Genre. I understand that you said if I Automatically Group Content for Movies then it will appear but the only problem with that is that now when I click on Movies I get the options which you mention (Movies, Collections, Favourites and Genres). Problem is I already have Collections on my EHS and I don't use Favourites. Also, for some reason when I choose the option to automatically group content and I go to Genre my poster/icon I assigned for Movies By Genre is no longer being used and also when I go into Genre to see all the different Genres I have none of them have Icons or Backdrops. If I switch back to Legacy mode and got to Movies By Genre via the EHS the icons and backdrops I have assigned for each genre appear. All by Genre posters/icons and backdrops are stored in ImagesByName\Genre so I am not sure why they only appear in legacy mode and not the new mode that has been created. Also, will you be adding Movies By Genre into the web client so that it appears as its own entry or going forward is the only way to view genres the method mentioned in Post 19? Edited February 5, 2015 by georgewill76 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke 37057 Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 we're not specifically going to add movies by genre to the web interface because the movie views already have it. when we add smart playlists later then you'll be able to build that kind of dynamic view for yourself. the reason you're not seeing the movie by genre artwork is because it is a carryover from MB2, and thus it is specific to MBC. Smart playlists will also be able to cover this because you'll be able to assign artwork to the view itself. Now as for the artwork for each individual genre, that should work either way, so perhaps Ebr can offer guidance there...but if the Movies By Genre artwork is a sticking point, then use the legacy option for the time being because smart playlists are not ready yet. Or maybe Ebr can comment on the possibility of sticking Movies By Genre in there if you have the option set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14910 Posted February 5, 2015 Author Share Posted February 5, 2015 I'm very wary of starting to add MBC-manufactured views to the new interface because that will eventually just put us right back where we came from. You'll have an item in there that isn't on the server and then have no way to order it and provide an image for it. Then, once I add that, people will want Music by Genre too and, eventually, we'll just have the old interface back. I'm not sure why you aren't seeing your Genre images. Mine are working here in the new view. How did you define them? Do you see them in the web client? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smitty018210 52 Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 (edited) Not thrilled with what I am seeing so far but I am willing to give it a chance. My question is how do you change images For Up Coming Tv, Next up, Series, ect.? I looked in the web server and didn't see a place for it. Thanks guys keep up the good work. Edited February 5, 2015 by Smitty018210 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14910 Posted February 5, 2015 Author Share Posted February 5, 2015 I made it so that you could use the IBN General directory to provide different images for those items. ImagesByName Folder 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheesegeezer 3086 Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 I'll take a look at GB config shouldnt be too difficult to create a GUI, but we'll see Will you eventually phase out the legacy view, i hope not. But when we talk about legacy view i guess you are referring to all the option in the config for movies by genre, favourites, etc. Just wondering if there will be any major impact to us themers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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