Starting with folders and playlists

[SolihullRog]

I've had Mezzano for a few months but never got my menu structure right. I just want it simple and prioritised to give me my most played stuff with a minimum of clicks. e.g. I've got good folder structures, so I'd like to see them first, but I appear to be limited to alphabetic listing of my options.

Before you read this, is there a nice little 'getting Started' tutorial that tells me the sequence of building my database in the 'right way'? I can't find one.

I expect to have Music, Video and Photos at the top of the library tree, but I've always finished up with a couple of music folders under Photos and Videos.

I don't know how they get there. They appear on my TV, but not on my PC. Sony Bravia W905A.

(1) How do they get there and how do I get rid of them?

(2) I can't organise the playlists so that they show on my TV as I want them. They always appear in alphabetic sequence. I want them in my own sequence. Can I achieve that?

I've now obliterated my library and I'm about to start again.

I see that Mezzano still shows Music, Video, and Photos. They are all empty.

(3) What are these - folders / lists, or something else?

(4) What is the best sequence to do things in now?

There's a tool called Setup Mezzmo Library.

(4A) Do I start here? It was empty before I erased my database, even though I had hundreds of songs, films and photos in the library.

EDIT: I couldn't wait for guidance so I just blazed ahead with creating my new database. I added three movie folders. Then I let it build the database. Then I went back into Tools/Setup Your Media Library. The folder list is empty! How do I know which folders are currently in my library?

(4B) If I start here, what do I do next? Add Folders under Music, Video, and Photos? But I don't want duplication - say a Music folder under Music. How do I achieve this without specifying every folder individually? e.g. The first entry under Music might be 'Abba' - which is a folder on my PC. I don't want to add a few hundred entries down to ZZ Top!




At least Mezzano plays all my media - which is more than most of the competitors do.

[Paul]

Thanks for the questions.

There is no "right" way to build your Mezzmo library. Every person has a different style or set of requirements how they want their media files listed and organized. Unlike other DLNA servers, Mezzmo lets you create any style of library you want. When you install Mezzmo, a default Mezzmo library is created for you and it has a set of playlists for Video, Music and Photos. You can use these as-is, or you can modify them, or you can remove them to start from scratch. Typically, most users start with these default playlists and then start to fine-tune their Mezzmo library by adding folders & playlists or editing/removing some of the default playlists.

If you have a folder structure for all your files on your computer and just want to use it in Mezzmo, then you can add this folder structure into Mezzmo. Follow these steps:

1. First step is start with a new Mezzmo database. In Mezzmo (Windows) app, go to the Options dialog (General page), click the 'Reset Database' button and this will create a new empty Mezzmo library with the default set of playlists.
2. Click on "Video" in the tree in Mezzmo (Windows) app and press the DEL key on your keyboard. This will delete the Video playlist. Repeat these steps for Music and Photos. Now you should have no playlists listed.
3. Click "Add To Library" -> "Add folder" and select the folder that you wish to add into your Mezzmo library. On the Folder Properties dialog, select the "Presets >" button and select the types of media files that contained in the folder & sub-folders that you are adding (e.g. select "Videos" if you just wish to add videos from the folder, or "All" if you have videos, music and photos in the folder). Click OK to complete adding your folder. Mezzmo will now add all files & sub-folders into your Mezzmo library. It will create artwork & collect metadata for your files as a background task. You will see these steps in the Status pane.
4. Once all the metadata and artwork has been collected for your files, then you can view your files in Mezzmo (Windows) app, or start your Mezzmo server and browse your Mezzmo library on your devices in your home.

Let us know how you go.

[SolihullRog]

Thanks for you rapid answer, Paul. I've done that, although I'm waiting for it to finish thumbnails and artwork. I seem to have an immediate problem relating to your steps 2 and 3.

I carried out both steps. The headings/folders 'Videos', 'Music', and 'Photos' no longer show in the Windows app on my PC, which shows (approximately)

Movies - Rock Concerts
Movies - War
Music on iPod
Music not on iPod
Photos - Current
Photos - Family History

Unfortunately, when I go to my Sony W905A TV I see

Videos
Movies - Rock Concerts
Movies - War
Music on iPod
Music not on iPod
Photos - Current
Photos - Family History

Music
Movies - Rock Concerts
Movies - War
Music on iPod
Music not on iPod
Photos - Current
Photos - Family History

Pictures
Movies - Rock Concerts
Movies - War
Music on iPod
Music not on iPod
Photos - Current
Photos - Family History

These only play if the media type matches the top-level branch name. (e.g. A rock concert movie plays if it is in the Videos branch, but the same movie doesn't play from within the Photos branch.

Do you know why?

I've just noticed that the playlists are not in alphabetic sequence, but something that is called 'Restore'. It appears that the user should be able to change this, but it replies with a message to the effect that the client? server? - can't remember which - doesn't support different sequences. I've also been reading about profiles, which I haven't noticed in Mezzmo, and wonder if there's a different Sony profile that I should be using? and where to find it?

[Paul]

Sony TVs and Blu-ray players do operate this way - i.e. their firmware has 3 distinct modes (Video, Music and Photos) - and you can only play play video files under "Video" mode, music files under "Music" mode, and photos under "Photos" mode. So in your case, trying to browse and view some photos when under Video or Music mode will not work due to the restriction in Sony's firmware. The recommended fix would be as follows:

1. Reset you Mezzmo database again to get back the default set of playlists.
2. This time, keep the top-level "Video", "Music" and "Photos" playlists but delete all the playlists under them (such as "Recently Added", "Movies", "Genre", "Year", etc.).
3. Click on "Videos" playlist in the tree in Mezzmo and click "Add To Library -> "Add folder" to add your folder "Movies - Rock Concerts". And, then so the same for "Movies - War" folder as well.
4. Click on "Music" playlist in the tree in Mezzmo and add your folder "Music on iPod" and "Music not on iPod".
5. Click on "Photos" playlist in the tree in Mezzmo and add your folder "Photos - Current" and "Photos - Family History".
6. Wait for Mezzmo to add all sub-folders and files and collect metadata.
7. Now try your Sony TV. You should only see your relevant folders & files now.

The reason we keep the top-level default playlists is that Mezzmo server knows that the Sony device is in (say) Video mode and can deliver all the folders, playlists and files under the "Video" playlist.