Specify Folder on Network Share?

#1

I just got my Hub, but I’ve had the WD TV and WD TV Live since they were released.

The vast majority of my media files are located on a Windows Home Server. I am not using it as a Media Server, I am just accessing the files as a regular Network Share. Within the main share there are folders for Video, Music, Photos, Software, and other stuff I have on my server. On the Hub, I have the Library turned off because I prefer my own folder structure.

There is on thing that annoys me. When I go to Videos, Music or Photos, all of them show me the same root share location because all the files are part of the same share. Ideally I’d like to be able to specify that the Content Source for Videos is SERVER/Videos and SERVER/Photos and so on. Because as it is now I have to click into the right folder each time. This is the same thing I have been doing on my old WD Live, but I was hoping to not have to with the Hub.

I know turning on the Media Library is supposed to solve this sort of issue, but I have two problems with it

  1. From what I observed and have read, the Library doesn’t really update when files are added to Network Share locations, and I add new files often so thats a huge annoyance.

  2. ISO software files and other random files from various folders get detected as video and are listed in the library. Since all the files are in one big share on the Windows Home Server, not sure there is a way around that.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

#2

Why dont you just create separate shares for each? \server\videos\ \server\pics\ etc

#3

That is how they exist… but unless I am missing something the Hub doesn’t let you set that specific path as a content souce. I can only set the root of the server, so I have to click into the video or music folder each time.

Know what I mean?

#4

JR - i have the same issue, i have one root share with subfolders for my types of media, i wanted the video menu on the Live Hub to go straight into the share\video folder but doesnt look like it can do it, seems to always go to the root of the share and you have to manually browse into the folder structure which like you say is annoying as it picks up loads of other stuff in my other folders as video when i dont want it to.  Last night i created three new shares on my NAS for Video, Photo and Music which map to the relevant folders on the NAS and hope to reconfigure my hub to look at those specific shares for each media type, this is the only work around i can think of.

#5

well that didnt work :frowning:

When browsing for network shares you only have the option of choosing the system name (so in my case NAS) then OK and it will scan the whole lot, you cannot specify what share you want to use for each section… ggrrrrr

#6

If you’re wanting to, say, select VIDEOS and then be looking at a whole bunch of video content WITHOUT having to select the actual SHARE, that’s not going to work;  you must select the share first.

If you’re wanting NON-Video shares to NOT show up in the VIDEO tab, then you must REMOVE the video files from the other shares; then they will disappear from the list.

Other options are to restrict certain shares from the user account the Hub uses to sign in.

That’s what I do on my QNAP…  I have three User Accounts:

Kids

Teens 

Me

The KIDS account has access to the shares

Kids’ Movies

The TEENS account has access to the shares

Kids Movies

Movies 1

TV Shows

The ME account has access to ALL shares

Movies 1

Movies 2

TV Shows

That specific subset of “Folders” appear ONLY on the LIVE that uses those specific credentials…  The Kids and Teens don’t even know the Movies 2 Share exists.

#7

Thanks, Tony.

However the first idea assumes you’re using the automatic media library, which I am not. I would, but I mentioned a couple reasons it doesn’t work well for me in my original post. Primarrily because it doesn’t update prompty for networked folders, so if I add files (which I frequenly do) they don’t appear in the library.

I thought about using the user accounts method but there are a couple issues, 1) that could prevent the non-video folders from being listed, but I’d still have to click into the right folder each time. 2) Since I have the hub set to remember my server credentials, I think I’d have to enter them each time because as it is now if I pick my server it just uses the saved username/password.

The closest thing I have found is going into the folder sync settings. Granted a sync is not what I am looking to do, but it does let you pick a folder within a machine on your network to sync with the internal Hub drive. This is at least closer to what I want to do. Hopefully they will add being able to pick a folder in the same way as a content source…

#8

yeah agreed JR, hopefully they will add that feature.