How do you organise your films?

fjon · 08-07-2014 9:13am #1

I'm sure there are many of you out there with large libraries of films and TV series. How do you organise them?
I have all mine on an external drive, and the only organisation I do is by changing the file name.
I like how VLC on my iPad organises films - it looks good and it's much easier to search for films visually.
Also, I quite like how iTunes stores films, but it will only accept a small number of formats.

So how does everyone else do it? Should I stick with my current format, or is there a better way?

Boskowski · 08-07-2014 9:18am

External linux based media player with hard disc. Using yamj to index and catalogue into html structure which is then used for on screen navigation and search etc.

brav · 08-07-2014 9:29am

I have them all in a folder on external drive which is managed by Plex. I use other tools like couch potato etc to manage getting films and sickbeard for the TV shows, but Plex does a great job of presenting the movies in an easy to use interface on my Apple TV, HTPC, iPad and on web on laptops etc

fjon · 08-07-2014 11:49am

brav wrote: »

I have them all in a folder on external drive which is managed by Plex. I use other tools like couch potato etc to manage getting films and sickbeard for the TV shows, but Plex does a great job of presenting the movies in an easy to use interface on my Apple TV, HTPC, iPad and on web on laptops etc

I had a look at the website, and it sounds very interesting! I will download it and see how it works. I'm looking for something exactly like this which requires little work once installed.

Elessar · 08-07-2014 2:06pm

Tbh I only save a few films I'll likely watch again sometime on an external 1TB hard drive. Everything else I just delete when viewed, and get them off the net again if I need to. Doesn't take long with a 120mb connection!

shanec1928 · 09-07-2014 6:23am

xbmc

brav · 09-07-2014 8:48am

Ya Plex was an off shoot of XBMC, but personally I prefer the system of having a media server do the transcoding and then the players/clients streaming from the server.
The disadvantage with Plex is if you want to watch media on another device you do need the media server to be running which can do all the transcoding for you so weaker clients like Apple TV 2 etc can stream all the TV Shows and movies. This also means any device can then act as a client even through web browser and stream all of your media.
With XBMC, it is geared more for as the main player and you set it up to have access to your files on each device so the source would have to be networked such as on a NAS, or else an external HDD connected to each machine when you want to watch. Of course you could you Plex as Server and XBMC as player.

Personally I think if you have more than 1 device(such as computer, laptop, media player like Roku, iPhone/iPad) which will be playing your media then Plex is the better option, if just one device then both options are similar.

Deep Thought · 09-07-2014 2:24pm

Elessar wrote: »

Tbh I only save a few films I'll likely watch again sometime on an external 1TB hard drive. Everything else I just delete when viewed, and get them off the net again if I need to. Doesn't take long with a 120mb connection!

same as, used to keep them all, but how often do you really watch movies over and over again

The Big Gig · 14-08-2014 5:33pm

I have them all in iTunes on a Mac mini that's connected to my TV. I import them using iflicks. It gets the meta data and them automatically puts them in to iTunes. I use Apple TsV to view them. I also have air video HD app on Mac mini meaning I can stream all content to iPhones and iPads outside the house, also give access to family and friends.

Simon201 · 14-08-2014 10:27pm

Plex Media Server on the iMac - Mini display port to HDMI to Telly. Digital audio out to the 5.1. Excellent, works a treat and also Rowmote on the iPad.. great!

jester77 · 14-08-2014 10:55pm

Plex media server running on a NAS. Plex is the best thing ever, tried lots of other software over the years but it really is in a league of its own. The server does all the work, and you can get nearly any client to connect to it with little to none configuration. The best bit is the sync, if something I am currently watching gets added to my server during the night, plex media server will convert it into a format suitable for the device I am syncing with (nexus phone) and send it to my phone. So it is automatically there to watch offline while I am on my way to work in the morning without me having to do anything.

Benny Cake · 16-08-2014 8:00am

Apologies for hijacking this thread but my question is (kinda) relevant...

How do I go about watching the TV shows and movies stored on my macbook on my smart TV. I am aware I can connect them via HDMI but the location of the TV doesn't lend itself to this... I have an XBOX 360 which allows me connect an older windows based laptop via the media centre but I don't think its possible to connect the macbook in the same way. I would but the Apple TV device if I thought this would solve my problem.

Any help appreciated...

The Big Gig · 17-08-2014 8:04am

Apple tv will stream your iTunes content from your mac. Also it will mirror your macbook if your macbook meets certain spec.

How do you organise your films?

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