Online and local content separated?

[se99jmk]

Hi

I haven't got a boxee box yet so just wanted to get a better understanding of the direction taken in v1.0 (may be I missed something)

Have they now separated online content from local content?

Using 0.9 currently on a MacBook Pro - If I go into "TV Shows" and select 'Scrubs' for example, it would show me seasons and episodes in a big list, selecting an item would prioritise local content over streaming (although online version is available to select).

It seems to me that with 1.0 there would be two areas to get Scrubs, by selecting it from the main menu (online) or going through "Files" (local).

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Is my understanding of this correct?

I wanted a system to manage local media mainly, and Boxee has by far the best interface for this - all the family can use it because it's so damn simple!

Having to explain to them about the two different sections and why they can't just select "TV Shows" as before could make for some headaches ;-p

[newboxeeuser]

Yes the GUI was ruined in 1.0, your local content cannot be sorted either, if you have large collections this is a nightmare. Its now just a bunch of file listing ala XMBC (which actually does it better). See this threrad for missing/broken confirmed features http://forums.boxee.tv/showthread.php?t=21778

[l0th]

sadly, you are correct: local and online are now separated. I'm afraid that the boxee team had this idea that by burying local medias, people would be more likely to consume online content. When you click Movies, you now get to movies online, many of them not free.

[se99jmk]

Hmm - I do believe there will come a time in future where all content will be streaming, I just don't think we've hit that yet!

My family have been using Spotify across various accounts / mobile devices, and it's been a breath of fresh air not to have to rename files, manage meta tags, sync between locations etc.. (almost) every album or artist we can think of is instantly available.

I can't wait until the same happens for movies and tv shows - but seemingly it's just not possible to say, find out about The Sopranos and want to watch the whole back collection, instantly available. (I'm in the UK).

Hell, I'd happily pay per month to get the same easy access to an obscenely large media library like Spotify gives, it just seems that's a pipe dream for now.

In the mean time, if you're going to have local and streaming, then having a single section named Movies or TV Shows makes it easy for everyone!

[nothsa]

How are they separated? When I select a show, it displays "Play" buttons with all my local sources first, and then "Play" buttons for online sources. Seems pretty joined to me =/. Are you sure you're looking in the right place?

[darcilicious]

Okay, if you want to view only your local content, go to Files>>Shows or Files>>Movies. You get cover art this way, not just folder/file listings. If you want folder/file listings you can get that too with Files>>Browse.

If you want to see both online and local content go directly to Shows or Movies -- this will have both.

[pcm2a]

Darcilicious: That is totally incorrect, going to Files->Shows will mix local and online content just like going to Shows->Files will. I have found no way to see the "cover art" view of my shows without getting online stuff mixed in.

To make sure we are on the same page I have recorded a video of this. In the video I go to Menu->Files->Shows and it loads my list of shows. I select Chuck from the list. I demonstrate selecting an episode that is my local file and two episodes that are not local files.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxoKWt2lrdY

Let us know if there is a work around for this!

[darcilicious]

Well, crap.

I humbly stand (or sit) corrected. I could have sworn... (has been a loong couple of days)

(Yesterday, I couldn't get any online Chuck episodes via Files>>Shows, yes, that same show, what a funny coincidence!)

[pcm2a]

Hilarious that Chuck is the show of choice for testing.

I think the misconception is people go into a show, like Castle for instance. On the PC version you will get lots of "online" episodes (if you mix your content). But on the physical Box you won't see any of these episodes since those online providers aren't available yet. That could easily make someone think their media was separated out just by luck of the draw.

[hawkesbury]

I actually kind of like how if you have some TV episodes saved locally but you're missing some, it will fill in the blanks.

What I do not like, however, is when you go to 'Shows' without going to 'Files' it shows all the online content *before* your local content.

I'd like the ability to select 'Shows' from the main nav and have my local content all together at the first, and then perhaps a separator in the list that says 'Online Content' or something. Same thing for Movies.