mmmann 8 Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 Not sure if this is the correct forum(?) I haven't been getting MOVIE.XML files for quite a while. I just noticed this; it looks like the Emby .XML Plugin is broken and I have many months of corrupted (incomplete) metadata. Movie.xml files are VERY important: this is how I differentiate between versions of movies, e.g. Titanic vs. "Titanic (Open Matte)" or Avatar vs. "Avatar (Extended)" vs. "Avatar (BT2020)". I do this by altering the <*title> elements. It is imperative to me that I have complete media & metadata that can be read by multiple products and that can be backed up and restored in its entirety. Current version of XML Plugin: 3.0.6434.24532 Current version of Emby Server: 3.2.27.0 Any help would be appreciated. If I cannot have complete, stand-alone metadata in my directory structures, then I need to ditch Emby's metadata engine and go back to Media Center Master. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke 37094 Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 Hi, why do you think it is not working? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmmann 8 Posted August 17, 2017 Author Share Posted August 17, 2017 Thank you for the response. Problem: when I insert a new movie, no MOVIE.XML file is written. I have perhaps 100 movies at this point that are missing the file. Normal workflow: insert movie into directory and immediately go to Library Maint and click [scan All Movies]. The reason (as an aside): because when I insert a movie, 99% of the time I intend to watch it, immediately, and I don't want to wait for Emby to detect the new media...which takes a while. Thus, my Feature Request of a long time ago to add a Scan All Libraries right-click selection to the Windows task drawer. Perhaps it could be between Browse Library and Configure Emby. In short: Emby, even with the .XML Plug-in, is not reliably (or nor at all?) generating the MOVIE.XML file(s). My custom media maintenance program reports 109 instances of incomplete metadata at the moment. :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke 37094 Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 The plugin only reads xml, it doesn't write xml. This is a legacy format now and the Emby team is no longer actively developing for it. You are encouraged to try the default nfo format. If there is a community member who would like to take some ownership over the plugin, then that could be a way for xml saving support to be added back. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmmann 8 Posted August 17, 2017 Author Share Posted August 17, 2017 There are no *.nfo files in my directory structures. Some movie.xml or *.nfo file must exist in order that I can have control over the metadata and be able to move, save & restore, transform or alter the information re: the media. Or, sometimes, the media has no information available in IMDB or TMDb (etc.) such as fan edits or home videos, and a user needs a file that is available to I<create> metadata. And it I<must> be a file: crucial data cannot be held hostage in some invisible and volatile and endangered database on the C: drive. Emby used to create the movie.xml file, I recall. But now I think Emby is scraping and saving (and hiding) metadata from me. I can't have that, except for peripheral or transient metadata such as actors' portraits or pictures of studios, etc. The main metadata--the data that describes exactly which movie it is and what version it is and its attributes, etc.--must be under my control. If Emby won't write the data to my directory structure, then I need to go back to basics: insert my media and run Media Center Master. Example: I've found the old copy of "Titanic (1997)\movie.xml" and have copied it to my new directory and have vi'd it to alter the <*title> elements to add "(Open Matte)" to the titles. I can now I<find> and play the Open Matte, hi-def version of this movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke 37094 Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 Check your emby library settings and make sure that saving to local metadata is enabled for each library. this will activate nfo saving for future metadata scans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmmann 8 Posted August 17, 2017 Author Share Posted August 17, 2017 Every folder has checked "Save artwork and metadata into media folders." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke 37094 Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 Check library -> metadata and use the dropdown to switch to the movie type. make sure at one point or another you didn't turn off nfo saving. Once you've done that, then go and force refresh a single movie using the 3-dot menu from the detail screen. At that point if you still don't have an nfo file then please attach the information requested in how to report a problem. thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmmann 8 Posted August 17, 2017 Author Share Posted August 17, 2017 Okay, using the Metadata Manager for a particular movie, I can make a *.NFO file appear in the directory. I can't do it 109 times, though. That would be a 2-3 hour (?) search and destroy mission. Missing NFO's needs to happen en masse when the user clicks [scan All Libraries]: Emby needs to discover the missing NFO files (when NFO saving is checked) and should automagically update the directory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy2Play 8296 Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 (edited) Okay, using the Metadata Manager for a particular movie, I can make a *.NFO file appear in the directory. I can't do it 109 times, though. That would be a 2-3 hour (?) search and destroy mission. Missing NFO's needs to happen en masse when the user clicks [scan All Libraries]: Emby needs to discover the missing NFO files (when NFO saving is checked) and should automagically update the directory. Just do a Refresh at Library top level. Edited August 17, 2017 by Happy2Play Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmmann 8 Posted August 17, 2017 Author Share Posted August 17, 2017 Please excuse my previous post; it was obviously unclear / poorly-written. A [scan All Libraries] does not create NFO files when and where they're missing. That's the first thing I'd try, of course: I manually click that button every time I add media (because I want to watch the media immediately and Emby can be slow to do its automatic fetch). [scan All Libraries] does not fill in missing metadata...at least not missing NFO files. I suppose that's a bug, and since I'm the trouble maker, I suppose I should post it. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy2Play 8296 Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 Please excuse my previous post; it was obviously unclear / poorly-written. A [scan All Libraries] does not create NFO files when and where they're missing. That's the first thing I'd try, of course: I manually click that button every time I add media (because I want to watch the media immediately and Emby can be slow to do its automatic fetch). [scan All Libraries] does not fill in missing metadata...at least not missing NFO files. I suppose that's a bug, and since I'm the trouble maker, I suppose I should post it. :-) Well (Scan All Libraries) is not what I suggested. You need to use the Refresh option at library level. Right the library and Refresh Metadata. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordy 284 Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 A quick question on this. I cannot get Emby to create .nfo files for my videos in an "Home Videos & Photos" Libraries, without manual intervention. eg I add a new video to the Library and Emby will add it, extract an image and run chapter image extraction without any further activity on my part. However, it will not create an .nfo file without me running a refresh operation or accessing the "Edit Info" item under the 3 dot menu. I have everything checked in the Library Metadata setting as described by Luke in post #8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke 37094 Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 Please excuse my previous post; it was obviously unclear / poorly-written. A [scan All Libraries] does not create NFO files when and where they're missing. That's the first thing I'd try, of course: I manually click that button every time I add media (because I want to watch the media immediately and Emby can be slow to do its automatic fetch). [scan All Libraries] does not fill in missing metadata...at least not missing NFO files. I suppose that's a bug, and since I'm the trouble maker, I suppose I should post it. :-) Because the scan is only looking for changes, that's why you need to manually tell it you want to rewrite certain things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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