movie database on HD to watch on tv

[tonedeaf2]

Hi I have a collection of movies on my external HD which I plug into my tv's usb port to watch. I was wondering if there is an organizer that I can put on the HD, to organize the movies in a better way than just having folders.

I am using windows 10 to set up the HD and the movies are in mp4 format.

[johnmeyer]

What exactly do you want to do? "Organize" can mean a lot of things. Do you want to group by date? director? actors? title? length? subject matter? genre?

IMHO, people spend way too much time worrying about organization instead of simply playing or watching their media. With songs, which are only 3-5 minutes each, I understand the use of a playlist, but for movies which you pick, watch, and then go do something else, I don't see the benefit.

Perhaps you mean something else, in which case perhaps there is a good solution. In the meantime, folders sure sounds like they should be sufficient.

[usually_quiet]

Hi I have a collection of movies on my external HD which I plug into my tv's usb port to watch. I was wondering if there is an organizer that I can put on the HD, to organize the movies in a better way than just having folders.

I am using windows 10 to set up the HD and the movies are in mp4 format.

It is very doubtful that such an app exists. The operating systems and processors used for smart TVs are less versatile and less powerful than those used by a computer, plus the apps that run on smart TVs are stored in the TV itself, not an external storage device. The smart TV apps that I have seen are mostly geared towards streaming video or music from various websites, Internet browsing, and home automation. There are Android versions of VLC and Kodi available from Google Play that might run on some Sony Android TVs, but they aren't really media organizers.

[lordsmurf]

IMHO, people spend way too much time worrying about organization instead of simply playing or watching their media.

That's an understatement.

I could say the same about some other hobbies, too. Too much time wasted over-organizing, not enough partaking. Several times per year, I'll see somebody all proud of some asinine organization system, and I'll piss in their Cheerios by saying "what difference does that make?"

I don't at all endorse having movies/TV on random unlabeled DVDs in a box. But the solution is simply having some organization, not OCD organization.

I put all mine in a few basic common-sense categories, structured in folders, ISO/MKV on HDDs. And done. Watching and enjoying daily.

[tonedeaf2]

I would like to have a description of the movie and it rating would do.

[usually_quiet]

I would like to have a description of the movie and it rating would do.

If your TV is a Smart TV but not a Sony Android TV, then you'll need to look at the manufacturer's website to see if there are any apps listed that will do what you want. However, I doubt that you will find such an app.

If your TV is not a Smart TV or has no apps that will do what you want then you need to use a PC to play your videos rather than the TV's media player. There are apps such as Kodi which run on a PC with add-ons like The Movie Database which can download movie metadata, posters and fanart to enhance the user's experience.

A Sony Smart TV running Android TV as its OS can also run Kodi. You go to the Google Play store using the TV and install Kodi, then install a movie information add-on within Kodi using Kodi's repository.

[jagabo]

IMHO, people spend way too much time worrying about organization instead of simply playing or watching their media.

When you have tens of thousands of videos they need to organized somehow. Or else you'll never find what you're looking for. Especially when using playback devices that don't let you search through a drive looking for a partial filename. I use the folder structure to start with. Something like:

\\server\movies\C\Casablanca (1942).mkv
\\server\series\D\Dollhouse\Season1\Dollhouse s01e01 Echo.mp4

Where available I run Kodi to navigate through those paths, keep track of partially/watched shows, see metadata, etc.

The OP probably has no other choice since he's locked into what his TV's media player app provides. He should forget the TV's media player and get the latest Google Chromecast with GoogleTV.

[johnmeyer]

Why are we resurrecting this very old thread???