Installing Meedios 0.6.9

See my previous my post for screenshots and a more detail description.

1) Download and install meedios

Multiple installs of meedios can run in parallel if you make sure to set the install directories correctly. As meedios upgrades still not implemented well I would suggest that you change the default install directory to c:\meedios.0.6.9 and accept all the default options.

Then allow the first time configuration wizard to run and set the appropriate paths for Movies and TV shows. I don't use anything else so everything else (Music / Photos) was turned off.

Then don't let MeediOS startup and let the installer finish.



2) Fix some annoyances (aka default settings)

a)  Speed up
Step 3 from the post above but do not turn off control point and External Player

b) External Player
 Setup Extenal play properties in the external player fulltime plugin


c) Turn of weather importing

Head over to the library and disable the hourly import

 
d) Remove New overlay

Follow step 13 in the above post.

e) Change to smaller font
This allows you to have bigger text labels for menu items, ie by default "Bollywood" does not fit.

Follow step 12 in the above post.


3) Manual run of importers

If you let the installer in step one continue it will start up MeediOS and in the background start importing all the files and download the meta data. I tried this but found that a few of my movies were missing posters. I think manually running the importers with the "Google scraper" as a catch all seems to work best.

Movies


So start the configuration program and click on libraries and then select the movies database. (Step 7a from the post above). Then click on the "Import Data" importer and then click click on "Advanced MovieData Settings" and add the google scraper to Posters data type.

Now run all the importers in the correct order


TV Shows (Step 9 from the post above)
Run all the importers in the correct order, all the default setting seem to work fine

4) Kids Menu
Follow step 8 in the above post.

5) Bollywood Menu
 Follow step 5 in the above post.


6) World Movies
 Follow step 6 in the above post.

Installing Meedios from scratch

One of my previous posts describes how to upgrade a version of MeediOS. Lately I've found that a full new install may fix some issues that I was having. This is how I build my system as it keeps the memory & CPU requirements really low. Yours will be different but the following might help.

0) How to store media on the HD

There is multiple ways to store media but I use the following:

Movies --> Drive \ Library \ Movie Name \ filename . ext
eg: D:\Hollywood\Alien\Alien.avi

TV Shows --> Drive \ TV Shows \ TVShow Name \ Season x \ Filename SxEx.avi
eg: D:\TV Shows\Star Trek Next Generation\Season 1\File.S01E01.avi
or   D:\TV Shows\Star Trek Next Generation\Season 1\File.01x01.avi

All my other libraries follow the same convention. There are some videos and assorted stuff that isn't so easily categorised so I use a file browser module as in step 8.

1) Uninstall all existing versions of meedios using control panel -> program and features. Remove all settings and don't bother to keep a backup when asked.

2) Download the latest Meedios image and begin the install and select the following options:
a) Start in full screen
b) Use external player
c) Use evolution theme
d) Use evolution icons
e) Untick navigation sounds (ie don't use Skysounds 1 or 2) and set-up default

3) Run Meedios Configuration




Click Fulltime plugins
Select WPFUI and check if Screen theme, Image theme, Icon Theme are all set to evolution.


 Select Playmee and change the default video player to MPC-HC. In prompt settings, enable, select none.


Click file save

Click Menu Tab and turn off Music, Pictures, Media, Drives, Games menu items and reorder to suite

 

Click file save
Click Tools -> Launch and check if Meedios load with no issues

To speed up the Meedios load time (25sec down to 8sec) turn off unnecessary Fulltime plugins:




4) Setup Backgrounds and custom screens
Copy all your backgrounds to c:\MeediosBackgrounds\

Copy custom screens to C:\MeediOS\resources\screens\Evolution
Right now I only have one custom screen called:  MovieFileBrowser.WPFUI.xaml

5a) Create Bollywood Library
Click Media library tab
Create new library called Bollywood
Click imports
 
Add a regex importer

Set Root Folder
Set Rex Ex
(.*\\)*(?<Name>.*)\\(.*)\\VIDEO_TS\.(?<FileType>ifo|IFO)
(.*\\)*(?<Name>.*)\\(.*)\.(?<FileType>.*)

Set the File masks to include: *.dat,*.avi,*.m4v,*.mkv,*.mp4,*.mpg,*.mpeg,*.mov,*.ts,*.asx,*.wmv,*.iso

Save and Run the new import




Click View and add an "All" view.
Add and entry to this view and in the Mode column set it to images



 5b) Add Bollywood library to menu
Click Menu tab and Add a new Enhanced Library Browser Module

In the Description Tab
Set Caption to: Bollywood
Set Description to: Planet Bollywood

Set Background image to: c:\MeediosBackgrounds\Bollywood

In the Properties Tab
Turn on Allow opening files
Change "Selecting an item" from Queue to Open
Change Browser screens to MediaMovies
Change Details Screens to  MediaMovies_Details
Change Media Section Name to Bollywood


Save the setting and test Meedios

6a) Create World Library
Click Media library tab
Create new library called World
Click imports

Add  MoviesFileImporter
Set Search Folder Name
Set path's in Movie Folders
Save and Exit Configuration manager and then restart to import (only some times?)



Just like the Bollywood library
Click Views and add an "All" view.
Add and entry to this view and in the Mode column set it to images



6b) Add World library to menu
Click Menu tab and Just like the Bollywood library add a new Enhanced Library Browser Module

In the Description Tab
Set Caption to: World
Set Description to: Movies from around the world

Set Background image to: c:\MeediosBackrounds\World

In the Properties Tab
Turn on Allow opening files
Change Browser screens to MediaMovies
Change Details Screens to  MediaMovies_Details Change "Selecting an item" from Queue to Open
Change Media Section Name to World

Save the setting and test Meedios

7a) Update Hollywood Library
Click Media library -> Movies -> Imports
Select the "Import files by FolderName" import and click the properties tab
Set path's in Movie Folders
Save and Exit Configuration and then restart to import



Then run Import Data. In some cases this does not import the details so update the scrapers by clicking on "Advanced MovieData Settings" and clicking each of the Scrapers buttons and follow the default prompts.




Then run Import Media Info.



7b) Add a Hollywood menu item
Click Menu tab and select Movies menu item
Change the Caption to Hollywood
Change the Description to: Our Favourites

>>Note: This shoudn't be required. Needs further Testing
Set Background image from Media\Movies\Fanart\Movies.jpg  to: c:\MeediosBackrounds\Hollywood

In the Properties Tab
Turn on Allow opening files
Change "Selecting an item" from Queue to Open
Save the setting and test Meedios

8) Add a Kids Menu
Click Menu tab and add new File Browser Module

In the Description Tab
Set Caption to: Kids
Set Description to: Kids Zone

Set Background image to: c:\MeediosBackrounds\Kids

In the Properties Tab
Turn on Allow opening files
Change "Selecting an item" from Queue to Open
Change Browser Screens from MediaFileBrowser to MovieFileBrowser
(Ensure you have copied the custom screen over see earlier step)
Set Root Folders
Change File masks to include  to *.avi etc




Save the setting and test Meedios

9) Update TV Shows Library
Click Media library -> TVShows -> Imports
Select the "Import files" import and click the properties tab

Set Method to Series\Season\Episode
Set folders



Save and Exit Configuration and then restart to import files

Then run "Import Infos" and  "Import Media Info"


10a) Add an Online Viewing Menu
Click Menu tab and add new Group Module
Change Caption to Online
Change Description to View the world online

Click the Properties Tab
Add the back menu item to last


10b) Add File browser module
Change Caption to Study
Change Description to Study PC

Change Icon to C:\MeediosBackgrounds\Icons\computer.png

Click the Properties Tab
Turn on Allow opening files
Change "Selecting an item" from Queue to Open
Set Root Folders to \\10.0.0.3\studye\temp

10c) Add Program Module
Change Caption to Firefox
Change Description to Firefox
Change Icon to C:\MeediosBackgrounds\Icons\firefox.png

Click the Properties Tab
Set the Program to launch to C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe


Repeat this for IE


11a) Change Weather Settings
Click Media library -> Weather -> Imports
Change the city
Change Measurement System
Then run import

11b) Update Weather menu item
Click Menu tab -> Weather

In the Description Tab
>>Note: This shoudn't be required. Needs further Testing 

Set Background image to: c:\MeediosBackrounds\Weather

12) Change screen font size
Start Meedios
Select Settings ->  Theme -> Evolution -> Fonts
Set Font Type to Segoe Condensed
Save Settings and restart Meedios

13) Remove "new" overlay
When you build a new database it by default added the new tag to all items as shown below. I really don't use this option so lets turn it off.



Start Meedios
Select Settings ->  Theme -> Evolution -> Media
Set New color to No Overlay
Save Settings and restart Meedios