Ever since I started using Media Center (even MCE), I’ve felt that the video library plugins available have just been missing something.  MyMovies filled in perfectly in the pre-Vista Media Center days, but it appears when a MCML version for it shows up, Windows 7 will be knocking on our door and who knows if it’ll be compatible.  Then came OML and their open-source offering that got everyone excited.  While it looks great and has features to dream of, it still leaves some of us lacking.  It doesn’t support layered folder structures or TV collections.

I don’t want to take anything away from MyMovies or OML.  They’re both great in their own rights and have huge followings of loyal users.  However, I can’t really wait any longer.  I have a huge collection of movies and TV shows that are folder-based and in a layered directory structure.  It used to not be folder-based, but I changed in order to use a plugin that, at first, I hated to love – Sam’s Video Browser.

Video Browser is a very simple folder-based plugin that requires a folder.jpg image (poster) and mymovies.xml file (metadata) to be present in order to work properly.  A series.xml file and metadata folder (containing individual episode images and xml episode metadata) are used for TV episodes.  It is currently the only plugin that I know of that actively supports both movie and TV collections.  As of late, development has really ramped up to provide some absolutely fantastic features and display options.  I’ve included just a sneak peak of a few of their views below.

Poster view

Poster view with title label

Poster detail view

TV detail view

There are more views available (including a new beta strip view), but I don’t want to give away everything.  You can also change the poster sizes to accommodate more, or less, posters on the screen (less makes them larger).

Other new features include the display of TV show metadata (not just individual episodes anymore), director sorting, separated caching folders (so you can refresh image cache without wiping out your settings) and more.  One of the things that really set Video Browser apart from the others is what most users find most important – they lack a collection management system.  That’s right – Video Browser doesn’t have a single data file, database or any other centralized form of managing your collection.  This is really the beauty of folder-based video collections, however.  When you get a new movie, you throw it in a folder of the same name, generate your metadata, grab your poster, throw it in your library and you’re done!  Video Browser automatically finds it and caches it for your.  The problem I find with plugins that rely on a backend is that if you forget to add the movie or incorrectly link it, you may never notice it’s not actually there or not configured properly (especially if you have a very large collection – even a new movie can easily get lost in the crowd).  If you ever want to remove a movie, it’s as simple as deleting the folder.

Aside from everything I’ve mentioned, Video Browser looks great and is lightning fast.  Initial caching of my top level folder (nearly 900 images) took just seconds.  I highly recommend you take a look at this plugin and drop by their forums to offer your suggestions…I’ve already had two of my recommendations included simply by asking.  The developers are all about providing a plugin that users want.

Great job Video Browser team!