Tech savvy guy with media library issues

WD Legacy Products WD TV Live Streaming
1

Hello community,

I am now one of you.

I recently purchased the WD TV Live after reading extensively through multiple review sites and including this one on the possibilities of this little black box.

I am primarily using the media player to stream my videos to the big screen.

THe WD TV Live (not HUB model so no HDD) has no USB storage attached to it. ALL the videos are being streamed wirelessly from a Synology NAS. My DS212J has a 2TB and a 3TB hard disk - almost 4TB is video.

My issue:

I want to take advantage of the media library - to compile the thumbnails of all the videos in an easy to browse fashion on the big screen.

I went through all the instructions and came to conclusion that I have to access the folder NOT via ‘Media server’ but rather ‘Network Share’.

After some fiddling it eventually started "compiling media library’. But it never ends…

It is always compiling the library for the last two days. I am seeing progress but it’s taking too long.

My question is:

1.   How long should the compilation of a library that is 4TB take (being streamed wirelessly)

2.   Is the processor unresponsive/slow purely because it is compiling? I am having trouble navigating at all.

3.   Once it ‘compiles’ and ‘gathers content info’ will it do it all over again when I switch it on again the next time?

4.   Is there a way of adding the thumbnails to the files on the server first (using third party software/resource) and THEN ask the WD TV Live to simply access the files thumbnail-ready.

Sorry for the long story. Best to tell it succinctly to get the right advice quicker. Thanks for your understanding folks. Hope to hear back from this extensive community soonest.

Thanks again.

Happy holidays.

2

 Welcome.  It’s a special apprenticship you can only get online.

:stuck_out_tongue:

1.   How long should the compilation of a library that is 4TB take (being streamed wirelessly)

While wireless isn’t a performance positive, I’ve had no problems streaming anything wirelessly with this device once it is set up correctly.   Length of time seems to depend on how many actual files you have.  I have a rather large music collection and found that this unit just couldn’t process huge files.  It would just compile forever.  The wd_tv file would grow in size, but it just never ended.  My solution was to feed it one letter (folder) at a time throught the Media Library Manager  instead of the root folder all at once.  Your solution might be to group your videos by genre to achieve smaller sub-folders.  I think there is a limit on the number of folders that you can moniter through Media Library Manager, but I don’t know what it is. 

2.   Is the processor unresponsive/slow purely because it is compiling? I am having trouble navigating at all.

Absolutely.  While this little box can go a great many things, it can’t do many at once.  Overstressing it is easy, and can be frustrating as it just haaaaaaangs. 

3.   Once it ‘compiles’ and ‘gathers content info’ will it do it all over again when I switch it on again the next time?

No;  When it compiles the library it is creating the wd_tv files.  If you power cycle the unit, it does take a few minutes to gather all these files again, but the major work seems to be in creating them in the first place. 

4.   Is there a way of adding the thumbnails to the files on the server first (using third party software/resource) and THEN ask the WD TV Live to simply access the files thumbnail-ready.

Yes.  Thumbgen is a nice little program for just this purpose.  It will create backdrops and box covers for you with a little work.  I use it with a custom theme that Tinwarble has generously supplied the community with.  You can find all the info you need in the Darklight thread.  The first post, carefully read, gives you about all the information you need. 

An advantage to this is that it limits the amount of metadata that gets scraped.  For some TV series, the WD would scrape 10-15 backdrops per episode!  Gawd, what a waste of space.  A disadvantage is that if you have tried to create a media library using the WD’s internal scraper already, you are going to have metathumb files all over the place mucking up your folders, but these can easily be deleted by using the search function.  I use Thumbgen and  turn off the internal scraper in Setup / System / Get Content Info / Manual Only.   The media library then only compiles the information already present. 

Also, and I’m not sure how to say this correctly, but there are a few threads of folks trying to use their NAS’s internal scraper instead of the WD box.  I have a Synology 212+ and there are packages specifically for contect scraping,  I haven’t gone that route, but I think there was some success for those that tried.

So, while these may not be the answers you want, I hope they help you out.  Give the Darklight thread a look-see and decide for yourself whether you want to climb another learning curve.  I did.  It was worth it to finally see this thing light up. 

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Thanks for the speedy reply bloodshot.

I take on board most of the advice. Except…I’m a mac user. And I cannot use ThumbGen. Is there a mac alternative?

But more interestingly, I did not know Synology has its own version. Will try and find it. Thanks.