I like to keep my files so that they are in a structure that keeps everything organised. I have found that by accepting the limitations of iTunes it is the best tool that can utilised on the Mac.
The advantage is by using iTunes that it is easier to share the files with you iPhone, iPad and Apple TV.
Problem is that it can be quite laborious to rename, convert, import and categorise files. I found an tutorial at Mactalk.com.au that gave some ideas, but due the numerous naming conventions that exist for video files the aim to fully automate the process was unachievable. The other issue was that there was little control of the renaming and categorising of the TV Shows and Movies.
While free software may exist to replace the following commercial applications I use I think the overall cost for what is acheived is well worth the investment.
- Hazel (should be a standard app in all Macs)
- Turbo 264 (hardware and software)
- iFlicks
- TuneUp
- NZBVortex (optional)
NZBVortex is a great piece of software that makes it very easy to obtain the newest episodes ot TV Shows or Movies that you are interested in. It can identify new files from RSS feeds and automatically grab the NZB file to start the download process. If you are into NZBs you need this software.
While a fully automated system would be great I found that you can’t totally eliminate manual intervention, The following procedures I have implemented has reduced my resource investment by about 90%.
Downloads
1. Create a rule in Hazel to move MP3s to the Automatically Add to iTunes sub folder found in the Itunes library location. This will import the songs into Itunes using the ID3 tags that already exist in the files. These may be inaccurate or incomplete but this will be corrected later.
2. Via a Hazel rule move all video files to a folder that you have created for the purpose of converting to a format that can be imported in to iTunes. I use the Apple TV format as I find that it works in all of my devices.
Convert
3. Create a rule in Hazel using Applescript to automatically convert the video files using Turbo.264 HD, here is the code for this rule;
**********
– Waits till Turbo.264 is not running to start this portion of workflow
tell application “Finder”
repeat until name of processes does not contain “Turbo.264″
delay 5
end repeat
end tell
– Adds file using Hazel’s theFile call
tell application “Turbo.264 HD”
add file theFile exporting as AppleTV
encode
end tell
tell application “Turbo.264 HD”
repeat while isEncoding
delay 5
end repeat
tell Application “Turbo.264 HD” to quit
end tell
**********
Add another rule in Hazel to move the original file to trash.
4. In Turbo.264 HD have all output saved to a folder ready for renaming and adding of metadata. Elgato have now released a software only conversion application that could be used instead of the hardware/software solution.
5. Another Hazel rule runs on the output folder that automatically adds the files to iFlicks, here is the Applescript code;
**********
tell application “iFlicks”
import theFile with gui
end tell
**********
6. Here is the first time I have had to get involved in the process. Review the files in iFlicks, if you are lucky the file will be recognised automatically and will be categorises as either a Movie or TV Show, metadata added with details of Actors, Directors, Plot etc and the Cover-art.
If there is a problem it usually just requires a manual rename or categorisation, you can then rerun the metadata lookup and it will add the required information. I generally find that about 75% will be correctly recognised.
Once that is done just press Start and it will rename the files based on the metadata, save and sort the files based on the Rules that you have utilised in iFlicks (very similar function to Hazel), finally it will add the listing into Itunes.
7. Going back to step 1. check the MP3s in iTunes. If you find any with incorrect metadata or missing covers drag them onto the TuneUp window and run the Clean process. It will analyse the songs and grab the required information from the internet. This will then ensure that your collection is nice and tidy.
Well thats about it, my involvement is minimal but I have a collection of media that is correctly named and filed and has accompanying metadata that displays my media perfectly, not matter what device I choose to access it with.
