I've read several threads but no one of them addresses this issue specifically.  This question applies to Vista MCE, but I'd also be interested in any variations that apply to 2005 MCE (I have one unit I haven't upgraded yet).

I know that putting DVDXML files in the root directory of a ripped DVD (perhaps with a folder.jpg file) will put cover data in a different XML file and store this in DVDInfoCache.  The DVDXML files simply contain a disc ID, whereas the created XML files in DVDInfoCache contain detailed tagging information.  What I don't understand is the exact interaction between the two.  I'd like some answers before I attempt some tweaking and cleanup:

1) Can one simply delete all the XML files in DVDInfoCache without fear of problems?  Would that folder then be repopulated by calling upon the DVDXML files, assuming Automatic Downloads is checked?

2) There is much discussion of editing the XML files in DVDInfoCache to add in missing information.  But once you do this, does that act somehow stop the normal refreshing of the data from the DVDXML files?  If yes, does deleting the XML file cause a return to the normal refreshing process?  If no, what else is needed to stop an XML file from being refreshed by the DVDXML file?

I'm asking these questions because, as I'm sure many can attest to, some DVDs pull data from the services well, and some don't.  I'm happy to let the well-behaved DVDs automatically refresh, but I'd like to lock down the bad ones and hand-edit them.

One final comment: as good as some add-ins may be, I'm trying to figure out how to do as much of this natively as possible.  Just trying to keep the system stable!  So I'm not interested at this point with "use MyMovies", etc.  Thanks in advance for your help!

trb456

trb456:

2) There is much discussion of editing the XML files in DVDInfoCache to add in missing information.  But once you do this, does that act somehow stop the normal refreshing of the data from the DVDXML files?  If yes, does deleting the XML file cause a return to the normal refreshing process?  If no, what else is needed to stop an XML file from being refreshed by the DVDXML file?

I'm not sure about refreshing, however I can tell you that I edit the DVD XML files in the DVDInfoCache folder all the time and my edits are never overwritten by a refresh.  When a new DVD is added I know that VMC hits the net to retrieve any available info based on the disc ID and creates the XML file the first time, but it doesn't seem to me that it continually updates the XML... at least I haven't noticed that it does.  I know that it retrieves the cover art from the net each time its accessed because VMC does not cache covers and instead has the net URL coded in the XML.

FirstSalvo:

trb456:

2) There is much discussion of editing the XML files in DVDInfoCache to add in missing information.  But once you do this, does that act somehow stop the normal refreshing of the data from the DVDXML files?  If yes, does deleting the XML file cause a return to the normal refreshing process?  If no, what else is needed to stop an XML file from being refreshed by the DVDXML file?

I'm not sure about refreshing, however I can tell you that I edit the DVD XML files in the DVDInfoCache folder all the time and my edits are never overwritten by a refresh.  When a new DVD is added I know that VMC hits the net to retrieve any available info based on the disc ID and creates the XML file the first time, but it doesn't seem to me that it continually updates the XML... at least I haven't noticed that it does.  I know that it retrieves the cover art from the net each time its accessed because VMC does not cache covers and instead has the net URL coded in the XML.

Thanks very much for the quick reply, and this is very helpful.  It disentangles two things that did not seem clear in other posts: the cover art is refreshed, but not the other tags.  Also, my understanding is that cover art links can be changed to point to folder.jpg in those cases where the Internet pulled cover is not satisfactory.  I guess the remaining question is whether or not the XML get recreated automatically if deleted: if yes, I assume this will be done as if the DVD were newly added.

This would seem to confirm that if I have DVDs ripped to a common NAS, then I could copy XML files from one DVDInfoCache to all of them (I have 3 MCEs) for a consistent view.  Thanks again!

trb456

trb456:

Also, my understanding is that cover art links can be changed to point to folder.jpg in those cases where the Internet pulled cover is not satisfactory.

Yes they can.  The image URL in the XML can be on your local machine if you want.  I've done this on several discs when I didn't like the automatically retrieved cover art.

trb456:

I guess the remaining question is whether or not the XML get recreated automatically if deleted: if yes, I assume this will be done as if the DVD were newly added.

Yes the XML gets recreated when deleted.  If I delete an XML file from the DVDInfoCache folder it gets recreated when I open VMC and enter the DVD Library section.

***One word of caution though before you start editing your XML files.  Back them up!  If you edit an XML file and make a mistake (i.e. bracket in the wrong place, enter an unrecognized tag, etc) then VMC will overwrite your XML with its originally retrieve form.  I've had this happen a lot when pasting in movie synopsis... there tends to be special characters in this kind of text that XML has issues with.

Check out the dvd library manager thread.  That program works really good.  Allows you to do mods in one place and down load info. 

as said above, use dvd library manager, i use that in conjuction with vista's symbolic links to keep in sync all my dvd and mp3 info.

The way dvdid.xml works is that, i beleive, vista looks for a xxxx.dvdid.xml file in the folder of the movie.  if you open the xml file you'll see that it contains a tag with DiscID or something, it can be anything you want, but lets assume the DiscID is 123456-789012.
Now that discid corresponds to the xml files found in DvdCacheInfo...if you look in there, you should see a xml file by the name of 123456-789012.xml, this is where all the information about the movie is stored, the runtime, actors, director, synopsis etc.
DVD Library Manager makes managing all this VERY easy.

Along with using dvd library manager, i use Symbolic Links in vista (the mklink command from commmand prompt) to point the dvdcacheinfo folder (and the Art Cache folder for my mp3s) to a folder on my Server, so whenever I edit any information in that folder, it automatcially reflects on all my htpcs!
Basiclly, i store the DvdCacheInfo folder somewhere on my server, delete the DvdCacheInfo folder on my local machine...open up Command Prompt, navigate the command promt to where the dvdcacheinfo folder was stored, and type: mklink /d DvdInfoCache \\tower\disk1\DvdInfoCache
A folder will show up that will look like a shortcut, but it's actually a symbolic link which makes vista beleive that the folder is actually located on the local machine and not on the server....to delete/remove the symbolic link, simple delete the folder, it won't affect the folder located on your server. Also, the folder on your server needs to have read/write access for this to function properly.

Now all i do is add a movie to my server, open up dvd library manager, and edit/save the xml data and cover art and it shows up on all my htpcs :D (same with my mp3s, i have it setup the same way w/ the ArtCache folder and editing the UrlToCover art file using an app found here)

hope this helps

fatalcure:

as said above, use dvd library manager, i use that in conjuction with vista's symbolic links to keep in sync all my dvd and mp3 info.

The way dvdid.xml works is that, i beleive, vista looks for a xxxx.dvdid.xml file in the folder of the movie.  if you open the xml file you'll see that it contains a tag with DiscID or something, it can be anything you want, but lets assume the DiscID is 123456-789012.
Now that discid corresponds to the xml files found in DvdCacheInfo...if you look in there, you should see a xml file by the name of 123456-789012.xml, this is where all the information about the movie is stored, the runtime, actors, director, synopsis etc.
DVD Library Manager makes managing all this VERY easy.

Along with using dvd library manager, i use Symbolic Links in vista (the mklink command from commmand prompt) to point the dvdcacheinfo folder (and the Art Cache folder for my mp3s) to a folder on my Server, so whenever I edit any information in that folder, it automatcially reflects on all my htpcs!
Basiclly, i store the DvdCacheInfo folder somewhere on my server, delete the DvdCacheInfo folder on my local machine...open up Command Prompt, navigate the command promt to where the dvdcacheinfo folder was stored, and type: mklink /d DvdInfoCache \\tower\disk1\DvdInfoCache
A folder will show up that will look like a shortcut, but it's actually a symbolic link which makes vista beleive that the folder is actually located on the local machine and not on the server....to delete/remove the symbolic link, simple delete the folder, it won't affect the folder located on your server. Also, the folder on your server needs to have read/write access for this to function properly.

Now all i do is add a movie to my server, open up dvd library manager, and edit/save the xml data and cover art and it shows up on all my htpcs :D (same with my mp3s, i have it setup the same way w/ the ArtCache folder and editing the UrlToCover art file using an app found here)

hope this helps

All of this has been very helpful--thanks!  I tried using DVD Library Manager, but it was hit or miss, despite having installed almost no new software on the MCPC.  For example, I'd edit a title, then get an error that it would not write.  Not always, but enough that I got frustrated.

In any case, the symbolic link idea looks great, and if I get brave enough I'll try it.

One final question: is the XML format the same for MCE 2005?  It looks like it, but I'd like confirmation.  Also, would your symbolic link idea work the same way on 2005?  It looks like it ought to.

Thanks again everyone--this was my first post after much lurking, and you've been very helpful.

trb456

Your error is puzzling, but all I can say is make sure .NET 2.0 or above is installed on your system.  All the program does is create a 2 new XML file based on the movies it finds at the location you specfiy...it creates one in the movie folder called: taranu.dvdid.xml (taranu is the program's author username), and a XXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXX.xml file in the DvdCacheInfo folder.  He uses the current date/time to create a uniqe DiscID for each movie. The program shoulnd't be giving you any errors, try the latest version and see.

I have no idea if the xml format is the same for mce2005, so i can't answer your question for that.
As for symbolic links, this is a Vista only feature and not available on XP.

Just to clarify my understanding:

Quick Question:

Using DVD Libary Manager:

Is all the metadata under ehome/DVDInfoCache lost when i format the hd and reinstall Vista ?
Do you save the files before you reinstall the system ?

Thx,

DanB

fatalcure

as said above, use dvd library manager, i use that in conjuction with vista's symbolic links to keep in sync all my dvd and mp3 info.

The way dvdid.xml works is that, i beleive, vista looks for a xxxx.dvdid.xml file in the folder of the movie.  if you open the xml file you'll see that it contains a tag with DiscID or something, it can be anything you want, but lets assume the DiscID is 123456-789012.
Now that discid corresponds to the xml files found in DvdCacheInfo...if you look in there, you should see a xml file by the name of 123456-789012.xml, this is where all the information about the movie is stored, the runtime, actors, director, synopsis etc.
DVD Library Manager makes managing all this VERY easy.

Along with using dvd library manager, i use Symbolic Links in vista (the mklink command from commmand prompt) to point the dvdcacheinfo folder (and the Art Cache folder for my mp3s) to a folder on my Server, so whenever I edit any information in that folder, it automatcially reflects on all my htpcs!
Basiclly, i store the DvdCacheInfo folder somewhere on my server, delete the DvdCacheInfo folder on my local machine...open up Command Prompt, navigate the command promt to where the dvdcacheinfo folder was stored, and type: mklink /d DvdInfoCache \\tower\disk1\DvdInfoCache
A folder will show up that will look like a shortcut, but it's actually a symbolic link which makes vista beleive that the folder is actually located on the local machine and not on the server....to delete/remove the symbolic link, simple delete the folder, it won't affect the folder located on your server. Also, the folder on your server needs to have read/write access for this to function properly.

Now all i do is add a movie to my server, open up dvd library manager, and edit/save the xml data and cover art and it shows up on all my htpcs :D (same with my mp3s, i have it setup the same way w/ the ArtCache folder and editing the UrlToCover art file using an app found here)

hope this helps

fatalcure, thanks for this info.  I haven't tried it out yet, but I'm certainly going to in the near future.  This is really going to help my multiple media center systems.  I was totally unaware of symbolic links.  Are there any special security or access settings that apply to symbolic linking?  Or is it the same for general access (requiring a user account/password on the server or domain/user accounts or leaving the folder wide open, etc)?

 

 

I would like to share the dvdid.xml files among several accounts and several PC. So, reading this thread, I tried to replace the directory "DvdInfoCache" by a Symlink. mklink /d DvdInfoCache \\MyNetworkDrive\MySharedFolder\DvdInfoCache Unfortunately this doesn't work. For some reason, Microsoft does not support Symlink with Shared Folders on Network Drive... Any idea or workaround to solve this ? O.

Hi, I have been loadsa trouble with getting metadata to appear in Windows 7 Media Center. Does the xml system work any differently in 7MC. I have followed all the instructions in using one DvdInfoCache folder and setting up symlinks for all profiles, details of my entire problem can be found in this post http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/p/48266/466395.aspx#466395 Any help would be really appreciated.