I have a WebDav server that contains some movies and shows. I use Infuse on Apple stuff and NOVA Video Player on Android to watch these. The directory is not organized, file names aren’t manually adjusted, and the movies and shows are mixed together. Yet, both of these programs are able to index recursively, get metadata, create a library and let me watch my media without issues.
Kodi, on the other hand, seems to be unable to index nested directories, requires you to tell it what type of media is in the individual directories and cannot identify anything correctly unless I go and manually rename directories/files. It also is exclusive for TV usage and not very suitable for desktop.
So, are there alternative programs to Kodi, ideally better suited to desktop usage or extensions I can install to make it work properly?
kodi is best as a front-end for an already curated library. ive used it extensively since the xbmc days…
i use mediaelch to scrape, generate metadata files and rename files and folders into a standard way. it [can] generate things in a kodi-compatible format. kodi is set to just pull in that data. i concurrently use emby (jellyfin) to access that same metadata.
your problem is conflating the curation of your library with the applications that will use it.
kodi does need a full computer to run. thats where emby comes in. its for viewing the same shit on any other device
your problem is conflating the curation of your library with the applications that will use it.
This is not some extremely hard job that’s way out of the scope of a media center. As I said, other platforms already have applications that can do this without breaking a sweat. I’ve never had to manually organize my files in years in any other platform.
i cant even imagine wanting a mess of stuff as you describe, or expecting some media app to manage that mess on the fly. but hey, if thats how you want it. good luck.
ive got 2500 movies and > 35,000 episodes in my library.
It’s not a mess on properly implemented clients but I also have a fraction of the media you have. I put new stuff in, they get indexed, I watch them, I delete them. I am not going to do extra work for the privilege of using Kodi 🤷
other platforms already have applications that can do this without breaking a sweat
Then go with those applications and that’s it. In the same vein, you can say that Kodi needs an organized library, so organize it and Kodi won’t break a sweat. That’s what a lot of people are telling you in this thread.
Just organize your library properly and pretty much every software will manage it better. There are options for organizing and renaming them mostly automatically, like EastTAG or filebot. Some people use Sonarr and Radarr to organize shows and movies, but those are probably overkill for you. The various *arrs will be more useful if you’re consuming new media through a server hosting Plex or Jellyfin. Kodi is also a waste if the library isn’t already meticulously organized and you don’t need a 10 foot interface.
If you’re only consuming on desktop and you insist on being disorganized, then why even bother with anything other than VLC? It runs on Linux, Windows, iOS, and Android.
People keep talking about needing to “organize your library” but what do you mean by that? Is metadata tagging sufficient? Or does Kodi care about filenames and directory structure?
Sonarr puts shows in
- show folder
- season folder
- show name - S01E01 - episode name.mp4
Wait, is this not standard practice?
I’ve always organized media files this way; I index my music similarly.
I was a long time Kodi user from back when it was called XBMC.
About 5 years ago I got tired of messing about with managing media, editing config files and installing addons. Moved to Emby first, and now I am on Jellyfin. No media management required, the backend server does it all for me and the front end is great, never gives me any problems and plays everything. I run the front end on multiple Nvidia Shields with no performance issues.
I’d manage your media better with movies and TV in separate parent folders and not all mixed together. When you setup Jellyfin, you point it at a folder and tell it what media type it is. Mixing up different media types in the same folder structure just makes things harder than they need to be for no gain.
Ok but Jellyfin is a web service. Not really suitable for a Home Theatre PC. If there was a frontend application that worked in a kiosk type way, then it would replace Kodi.
No, Jellyfin has a server backend which manages the media and serves it up to the client frontends which support most modern operating systems like Windows, Linux and Android. See https://jellyfin.org/ for details.
I’d ditch the HTPC, and go for an Android based media player like the Shield, no moving parts, no keyboard/mouse and rarely requires an update. Had a HTPC for many years and anytime I wanted to watch something I had to mess about with it first before it would play.
Sorry but it doesn’t sound like you know what you’re talking about. Jellyfin is a server. Sure you can use a web client but there are many others too
So recommend a client suitable for a dedicated HTPC? I’ve yet to find one, as the Kodi add-on for jellyfin is buggy in my experience.
Not really suitable for a Home Theatre PC
Not sure where you got that idea, but it’s absolutely what I use it for. That I can also watch content from multiple sources as well is part of the appeal. Plus no constant upsell like Kodi and Emby.
The directory is not organized, file names aren’t manually adjusted, and the movies and shows are mixed together
Disgusting
Is there a reason you don’t want the files organized? Id suggest using radarr or something else to organize them first.
As an alternative to kodi, jellyfin is great.
