How to Customize Media Center Master for First Run
Back to Main Page - Installing Media Center Master
Installation Notes - read before installing.
For users who have installed Media Center Master previously, and are having problems, it is suggested to completely remove Media Center Master, using the uninstaller, delete the hidden user files/folders, and delete the registry entries. Reinstall, starting with the "Installation Notes, read before installing. These guides are written with the intent of Media Center Master to be installed on the system hard drive (C:\) in the same computer uTorrent is installed on.
Screen shot examples are taken from a Windows XP Operating System.
- Where major differences between operating systems occur; screen shots from a Windows 7 Operating System are included.
- The changes shown in this guide will optimize Media Center Master for the first time run, and
- Complete the integrating of Media Center Master with uTorrent.
How to Configure the General Tab Settings
How to Configure the Download Parser Tab Settings
How to Configure the Download Parser Tab Settings - Transparent Effect
How to Configure the uTorrent Tab Settings
How to Auto-Start Media Center Master After a Boot-up
How to Configure the Downloader Tab Settings
All of the settings and configurations made, to this point, with Media Center Master, and uTorrent, to start and complete an automated process of downloading, renaming, moving completed torrents... are Basic, General, settings. The following steps outline detailed specifics to make an availability of an unknown, large, number of torrents in a pool to select from, and detailed specifics to set known limits, restricting, the number of torrents to fetch from the pool. These setting are what will enable a relatively short, and fast first run.
Step 1 - Open the Settings & Preferences" window through the "Application" menu.
This is the first of two (2) parts to: the specific settings of; the complete set-up configuration, which will ensure the downloading of a minimum of one (1) up to a maximum of five (5) TV Series Episodes during the first run.
- Not enabling "Allow torrents with archived files" option, removes any possible issues related to archived files.(*)
- Enabling the remaining four (4) "Allow torrents with ..." options,
- Not selecting a preferred video standard option,
- Not selecting a country bias, and
- Using all of the torrent sources:
- Provides for an unknown, large, torrent pool for selection.
- Allows Media Center Master to fetch any .torrent file for a TV episode that otherwise would be missed.
- Back dating the calender for one (1) month;
- Provides for a maximum of four (4), or five (5), weekly, episodes, depending on what day of the week the TV Series airs.
- Takes into consideration,
- Holidays, Special Showings of..., Special News/Current Event, and/or other minor breaks in a TV Series Season
- No torrent/s created for an episode, missed episode/s by torrent up-loader on vacation..., episode/s not made available for downloading for other reasons.
- New TV Series Season just starting only having one (1) aired episode during the chosen month span.
- Provides for a minimum of at least one (1), weekly, episode.
Step 2a - In the "Downloader" tab settings, do the following:
- Tick the check box for "Enable TV downloads,"
- Make sure the check box for "Allow torrents with archived files" is not checked,(*)
- Tick the check box for "Allow torrents with .WMV/>ASF,"
- Tick the check box for "Allow torrents with .MPG/MPEG,"
- Tick the check box for "Allow torrents with .FLV,"
- Tick the "pull down menu button" (∨) for "Skip TV episode before:" to get the pop-up calender,
- Tick the "back button" (<) on the calender to set the date back one month,
(*)Enabling the "Allow torrents with archived files" would require users to manually un-archive and remove the archived files. A feature for complete processing of archived files is in the "Beta" release phase, at the time of this writing. This option is used with the "Beta" feature option. Use of both options is intended for testing and to be used by advance users. This option and it's "Beta" featured option is not recommended for new users, or for the first run.
- This step configures the location of where Media Center Master will save a fetched .torrent file for uTorrent to read and set controls for a TV Series Episode download.
- After it is read, it is deleted by uTorrent.
- The second location, if left blank, will be configured by Media Center Master.
- By default, this will be the same location as listed in the "Save T.V. torrents files to:" field.
- This location will not be visible until the "Setting and Preferences" window is saved, closed, and reopened.
- The remaining options on this tab do not relate to TV Series, only, to Movies.
Step 2b - "Downloader" tab settings, continued
- Tick the "browse button" (…) for "Save T.V. torrent files to:," once to close the calender, and again to open the "Browse for Folder" window,
- Browse to the uTorrent Folder Structure, created in the "How to set up a Folder Structure for uTorrent" guide,
- Click on the "torrent Files" folder to select, then click "OK."
This is the second step of a two (2) part outlined process to define: the specific settings of; the complete set-up configuration, which will ensure the downloading of a minimum of one (1) up to a maximum of five (5) TV Series Episodes during the first run.
- Choose, only, one (1) TV Series.
- The main goal of this section is for the user to choose a TV Series which is popular to the viewing general public, thereby providing a good number of torrents in the availability pool for downloading during the test run.
Step 1 - Before configuring Media Center Master to add a new TV Series to the collection, it is important for the user to know the correct name and spelling of a current airing TV Series with new episodes being shown weekly. A good place to make sure of this is to visit the EZTVShow List page.
- Begin with changing the "Filter Show List by Status:" to "Airing" with the "pull down menu" button (∨), to get the current airing TV Series.
- Pay close attention to the "Status" of the shows, "Airing: Irregularly" or "Airing:..."
- Pick a TV Series, making sure it is an "Airing:..." series.
- Highlight the complete name with the left mouse button to select it for copy and pasting into Media Center Master.
- Return to Media Center Master
Step 2 - Open the "Add a T.V. series..." window through the "Media" menu.
Step 3 - Click on the single listing, to select and highlight the "Folder to auto-scan" (TV Show Archive folder location), click "Next."
Step 4 - The name for the TV Series used in the this example, Covert Affairs, is used for demonstration purposes, only. The user should not use it for a first run testing.
- Paste the name of the chosen TV Series selected above into the "Search by title:" blank area,
- Click the "Search" button, after a few seconds, the chosen TV Series information should show in the "Selected T.V. series:" area,
- If the TV Series is listed, click the "Next" button then continue to Step 5.
- If the TV Series does not show up, go back to Step 1, pick a different show, and repeat Steps 2 and 3.
Step 5 - Assuming all of the data provided to the internet sites used for this step is up to date, there should be a "Confirm Settings:" listing showing "Status: Continuing" for the selected show.
- The check box for "Keep this series up to date with new episodes" should have a check in it.
- If the check is present, click the "Finish" button to close the "Add a T.V. Series..." window and continue to Step 6.
- If the check is not present, go back to Step 1, pick a different show, and repeat Steps 2 - 4.
Step 6 - There should now be an entry added to the "Media in your collection:"
- At the top, left, the name of the selected show with some date related to it is shown.
- In the middle, right, the log shows the processes of what Media Center Master did, during the adding of the new TV Series.
- At the bottom, right, there is a graphic representation of the data fetched by Media Center Master for the new TV Series.
