Fix Scanning Frequency Options: Register and Vote/Comment

[darcilicious]

Hi all,

In response to numerous posts about the lack of "frequent monitoring" for Local Sources, I opened an issue with the Boxee team via: http://jira.boxee.tv/browse/BOXEE-6928 a couple of days ago.

The issue was closed based on their current design decision; HOWEVER, they want user feedback so now is your chance: go to http://jira.boxee.tv, create an account and then visit http://jira.boxee.tv/browse/BOXEE-6928 and "vote" for the issue (use the "More Actions" dropdown near the top left of the page, just above the main content of the page).

You can also leave comments by using the comment button at the very end of the page -- be polite, these guys ARE already hard at work on the next release.

[KennethC]

The "vote" option doesn't seem to be available. I left a comment, though.

[darcilicious]

Sorry about that -- I was passing on instructions -- I'm guessing that if an issue is closed it can't be voted for (make sense :p ) so leave your comments, even if it's only "+1"

Thanks!

[darcilicious]

Okay, you can just use "vote" now too :)

[revlisoft]

I voted too!

[SecretAsianMan]

Voted, thanks. imho this is a total deal-killer and will probably make/break the decision to keep my boxee box.

[flynn]

Voted. I was surprised to see the most frequent option be daily - feels like a regression from 0.9.

[Bob_UK]

Hi all,

The issue was closed based on their current design decision; HOWEVER, they want user feedback so now is your chance:


If they closed it last time is there a point? It seems they have made their mind up..

This is what they are going to give us.. take it or leave it.. They are thinking we will all calm down and accept it so not to worry..

I still cant see why they changed from a working 0.9 version to an untested v1...

There is a lot of talk on here about them listening and doing things.. but you yourself said they closed your issue... that to me is not listening its we have given you something like it.

I know I will get flamed for this post but such is life.
They released an untested product with beta software and now trying to fix all the bugs.. They should of stuck with 0.9 software then given us v1 to test then later send it out to the boxes.

I loved boxee but not now..

Flame away.

[kompakt]

If they closed it last time is there a point? It seems they have made their mind up..

This is what they are going to give us.. take it or leave it.. They are thinking we will all calm down and accept it so not to worry..

I still cant see why they changed from a working 0.9 version to an untested v1...

There is a lot of talk on here about them listening and doing things.. but you yourself said they closed your issue... that to me is not listening its we have given you something like it.

I know I will get flamed for this post but such is life.
They released an untested product with beta software and now trying to fix all the bugs.. They should of stuck with 0.9 software then given us v1 to test then later send it out to the boxes.

I loved boxee but not now..

Flame away.

It has been reopened, and appears to have been assigned to a build version, so here's hoping they have listened and will be addressing the issue. I too think it's a deal breaker otherwise - unless the Boxee team would like to try and explain to my wife how to navigate file structures (it's an exercise in futility - hence why I purchased the BB in the first place!) :)

[pcm2a]

I have voted and placed a comment in there. Scanning frequently works on .9 great. Without it it will be going back to the retailer. When I copy some shows to the drive for my wife to watch a little bit later, she is not going to browse a file structure for it. :-)

[gtoddv]

Okay, you can just use "vote" now too :)

voting is disabled again, although it is reopened...:(;)

I am voting in spirit!

[Bob_UK]

voting is disabled again, although it is reopened...:(;)


hahaha whats the excuse this time? to many asking to get this fixed?

[infomofo]

I opened a JIRA account but I can't seem to vote or comment on this JIRA.

I just unpacked and set up my boxee box today and this was one of the first things that I noticed. It certainly seems like a glaring omission, and is currently one of the biggest issues preventing me from using boxee as my main media center, and recommending it to less saavy computer users at this time.

[hawkesbury]

Voted! This is my second biggest concern over the switch to burying local content underneath all the 'prioritized' web-based stuff. We go through the trouble to have high-def local content for a reason. :)

[darcilicious]

voting is disabled again, although it is reopened...:(;)


hahaha whats the excuse this time? to many asking to get this fixed?

Just a temporary glitch I suspect; at least three new votes this morning, up to 51 :) Second highest voted bug (after fixing TV episode order in Netflix ;) )

[infomofo]

I was just reading the petition, and it's to get an option in between daily and frequently.

That's fine, but actually, when I upgraded to 1.0 on my BB, I lost the option for "Frequently" entirely.

Is that a known issue too?

[darcilicious]

when I upgraded to 1.0 on my BB, I lost the option for "Frequently" entirely. Is that a known issue too?

Yes, however it's unlikely we'll see 'frequently' return due to performance issues in various users' environmens. I could be wrong though.

If you need something more than hourly, definitely leave a comment there :)

[Silverlock]

Yes, however it's unlikely we'll see 'frequently' return due to performance issues in various users' environmens.That seems backwards. Just because some have problems with it, no one should have the option to use it???

[infomofo]

If you need something more than hourly, definitely leave a comment there :)

Wait, you have Hourly? Am I doing something wrong, the options I get for scanning sources is:

"Never"
"Once"
"Daily"

I don't get an option for scanning an SMB source hourly. Am I doing something very wrong?

[darcilicious]

Wait, you have Hourly? Am I doing something very wrong?
No you're not doing anything wrong. We're talking about the content of the ticket I posted which proposes a minimum of hourly. What actually ends up getting implement (if anything) we'll have to wait and see.

[jasmel]

+1... I added some files last night and wanted to view them.. no go. So, off to "files" section and had to go through folders to get to the content I added.

I voted as well.

Thanks!

[scottdye]

I voted.

btw, since I haven't used 1.0 yet - is there at least a way to manually kick off a scan, for instance when you know you just added something? Not something I expect my wife to do, but I might use it. Just curious.

[darcilicious]

Yes, you can force a rescan via Settings>>Local Sources, then select a particular source and use the Rescan button. I'm the gadget geek around here and I think that's too cumbersome, personally.

[hawkesbury]

Yes, you can force a rescan via Settings>>Local Sources, then select a particular source and use the Rescan button. I'm the gadget geek around here and I think that's too cumbersome, personally.

I agree, at the *very* least it should be 2 or maybe 3 clicks away while browsing media, imo.

[jtown]

I'd vote for an option that reliably scans "right freakin' now" and provides thorough reporting of the scan progress. When I hit "scan source", Boxee seems to take it as more of a suggestion than a command. Eventually, it gets around to starting a scan. And progress updates during the identification phase would be nice. "Obtaining data for item 215 of 3192."

[growlf]

That last post echoes my situation as well. I can only imagine that the people who are successfully using the scan button to trigger a scan have... shall we say.. anemic... media libraries.

If I tell the box to initiate a scan, it may happen today, tomorrow... who knows. Even the scheduled daily scans, in my case, aren't happening daily. The Boxee seems to get confused on one or two of my libraries, takes > 24 hours to complete, and everything else gets backed up.

So... if all of this is working for you like a charm, get more media.

[aaronwt]

Mine has been scanning daily(going by the info it shows for the date of the last last scan) and if I force a scan it starts soon after initiating it.
Between music, pictures and movies mine is monitoring over ten thousand items right now. Although currently I've only opened it up to a few hundred pictures and only my lossy music. I do have it monitoring my BD ISOs on my WHS, but none of my TV recordings.

[flynn]

When I hit "scan source", Boxee seems to take it as more of a suggestion than a command. Eventually, it gets around to starting a scan.

FYI - did you know that Boxee won't scan unless there is no playback? I didn't until I saw this bug:
http://jira.boxee.tv/browse/BOXEE-7011

So don't go and watch something to kill the time while waiting for a scan...

[growlf]

Mine has been scanning daily(going by the info it shows for the date of the last last scan) and if I force a scan it starts soon after initiating it.
Between music, pictures and movies mine is monitoring over ten thousand items right now. Although currently I've only opened it up to a few hundred pictures and only my lossy music. I do have it monitoring my BD ISOs on my WHS, but none of my TV recordings.

What is the size of your movie/tv library? (I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who has consistently successful scanning going on). Music and photos don't have metadata to search for online.

My TV library is relatively small, at about 700 episodes across 30 shows. DVD library is at around 300 titles, and miscellaneous (my uncatalogged videos) is around 1700 titles. I'm sure it keeps trying to scrape something in the video library and hangs... I have 5 shares, each set to daily, and some haven't been touched for 4 days now.

[maxery]

+1 After the first scan of my local files i have manually added every file since it scan is useless if it only happens once a day

[haveringcottage]

i can't understand how removing a feature can possibly be moving things forward?

1- Boxee introduces continuous monitoring
2- many report performance issues
3- Boxee either look into the issue and give up, or decide it's too much hassle
4- Continuous monitoring is just removed.

this isn't product development - its product regression!

Fair enough they didnt want to launch the boxee box with a feature that cripples the product. that would be madness.

but they know how many people want this feature (and for many it really is a deal breaker) so they should just knuckle down and start working on an implementation which doesn't cause the performance issues seen in the 0.9 implementation.

there MUST be a way to do this. Nothing is impossible. It may be hard, but if boxee decides not to try, that's just a crying shame.

[luckwouldhaveit]

yep. It needs to be more than just daily. It needs to be monitored. I usually add the content then go watch it within minutes, not a day later.

[BoxeeMan]

That last post echoes my situation as well. I can only imagine that the people who are successfully using the scan button to trigger a scan have... shall we say.. anemic... media libraries.

If I tell the box to initiate a scan, it may happen today, tomorrow... who knows. Even the scheduled daily scans, in my case, aren't happening daily. The Boxee seems to get confused on one or two of my libraries, takes > 24 hours to complete, and everything else gets backed up.

So... if all of this is working for you like a charm, get more media.

What isssues were people having with the frequent/monitored scanning? Why was it removed? Im confused, the frequent scan was an option.... so those having trouble with it should just not select it!

I may never upgrade from 0.9! :)

[luckwouldhaveit]

I have only read so much, and I'm not sure if this has been noted yet. But I reorganised my media (renamed, moved folder, added) and expected this to be a situation where I would have to clear the library and rescan everything again. I can say I didn't have to.

I saw that when I go into the actual connected share on Boxee Box, there is an option to rescan in the top right corner. When you select it, it starts rescanning. So this is basically a forced rescan. I know it's not the monitored option, but handy when you know that there is significant change that you want to capture.

Anyway, next thing I notice is, slowly but surely my reorganised, renamed, added content starts to appear. I can also happily report that there is a nice logic feature in the software that I'll explain. I was dreading the thought that I would have duplicates, but when Boxee sees this new file/path, it realises that it is the same movie / show already in the library and connects the file to it. When you click to view your movie, it now follows through to the new location. Excellent. Seamless. Effortless. Someone was eating their Weatbix that day.

Finally, an interesting observation is seen when you click on the Rescan again (while it is currently rescanning) it tells you that it is currently scanning and gives some useful stats. These stats and status would be nice to see in another more obvious way guys!

Anyway, keep up the good work as things can only get better and stronger.

Loving Boxee...

Later

[aym.boxee]

What isssues were people having with the frequent/monitored scanning? Why was it removed? Im confused, the frequent scan was an option.... so those having trouble with it should just not select it!

I may never upgrade from 0.9! :)

Hmmm, does frequent scan work for you on BB 0.9?

It does not for me. In fact, not only any autoscan does not work for me, even manually requested scan does nothing until I shut down and restart my BB (via the button, not menu, because it hangs on menu reboot).