It’s that time again, another beta build of Media Browser (Beta9) is available. With the success of our previous release (Beta8) we have seen a large number of new users migrating from other applications to MB. As with any new application there is a learning curve and MB is no different. With strong community feedback we found the learning curve for MB steeper than we imaged. In particular, the initial setup proved to be the most complex task new users were facing when migrating to MB. With that in mind this release was focused on getting users over the initial setup faster, so they can really join the rest of the community and enjoy their MB experience.
Enter the Media Browser Configuration Utility or as I prefer ‘The Configurator’. The configurator is a small utility that is auto-launched after the install process and subsequently made available in the start menu. This utility allows users to setup their media collections, options and setting in an easy to use graphical interface written in WPF. As of Beta9 the configuration utility allows users to:
- Manage their media collections
- Minor configuration settings
Enough rambling let’s take a closer look at the utility. When you first enter the configurator you are presented a rather blank tab ‘media collection. On this tab you can create locations by clicking the Add button .
After you have added a media collection, a new panel appears to the right enabling you to configure the details of that collection. Here you can set the default image (to be displayed within MB) and add more folders as a part of that collection. This enables users to integrate different folders together so that they appear as a single collection within MB.
Some of our intermediate users will quickly pick up on the similarity to virtual folders – and you are right. The configurator gathers information and creates .vf files to manage your collection of media -meaning you will never have to touch .vf files ever again (well... unless you prefer using text editors)! If you don’t know what a vf file is – it is a simple text file that MB can read to manage collections of media.
We have changed the default initial folder which is now available at: C:\programdata\mediabrowser\startupfolder\ instead of user’s video folder. This change was made to help extender users under win 7 open only one folder with access rights instead of multiple locations.
In addition Beta9 has introduced a number of fixes which you can read in the complete release notes here. As always feedback is welcome good or bad.
Download Link: http://code.google.com/p/videobrowser/downloads/list
Wiki Link: http://code.google.com/p/videobrowser/wiki/00_Index
Forum Link: http://www.mediabrowser.tv