iTunes "media kind" being overridden by NAS streaming

[WildfireTech]

Howdy everyone!

I'm working on setting up a spiffy new RN312 as a "home media" server, and am working on getting the iTunes streaming to work.  I did the following:

1) Mounted NAS Share

2) Pointed iTunes "Media Folder Location" to the NAS Share through the Prefernces

3) Clicked on "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library"

4) Imported all my media (from backup disk)

Afterwards, I see that on the NAS Share, under the root of the Share, is the directory tree I expect with Artist/Album folder structure, also "TV Shows", "Home Videos", and "Movies".

Then I did this:

Set up the NAS Share by selecting the "iTunes" under "Network Access" and toggling that on

Now, back to iTunes I can see the NAS iTunes share, and select it for media

Here's the problem:

Video files "media kind" is getting all "jacked up".  When I view the files through the mounted drive as local iTunes, I have "Music Videos", "Home Videos", and "Movies".  When I go back to the NAS streaming, these are all "Movies"

But it gets weirder than that!

HellBoy, a "Movie" as "media kind' is now a "TV Show" when seen through the NAS streaming.

So it's NOT just that it's taking all "video file types" and calling them "Movies", there is something really squirely going on with the NAS Streaming which doens't alter the meta tags in the files, but presnts them as a random "media kind" via the iTunes streaming.

Anyone have success configuring the NAS iTunes streaming to present the ACTUAL information from the files as they are seen in native iTunes?

Does that all make sense?

[FramerV]

Hi WildfireTech,

Are you using AFP protocol on the shares?

Regards,

[WildfireTech]

When it is mounted locally, and I am using the iTunes "local" mode,  the "media kind" settings are all correct, and yes, I am mounting via AFP.

When it is streaming, I unmount the disk and view the media ONLY through the iTunes media browser.

[StephenB]

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@WildfireTech wrote:

When it is mounted locally, and I am using the iTunes "local" mode,  the "media kind" settings are all correct, and yes, I am mounting via AFP.

When it is streaming, I unmount the disk and view the media ONLY through the iTunes media browser.

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Are you saying that you have the ReadyNAS iTunes server enabled on the NAS share, but are also maintaining a local iTunes library?

In that case you have two independent media databases.

[coloatty]

http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/25400

The page above gives two options for configuring the Preferences settings in the iTunes app on a computer for iTunes media stored on a ReadyNAS. In sum, one can point the iTunes app on the computer to an iTunes library file in either an iTunes folder on the computer or a shared iTunes folder on a networked ReadyNAS.

I have used both configurations on my Macs, and I have problems similar to the OP. Edits made to an iTunes media file using Get Info in iTunes don't "stick." In the past, I have read that this is a problem with the iTunes app if the media files themselves (the library file location seems irrelevant) are stored on a networked device rather than on the computer or a device attached via USB, Firewire, or eSATA.

[StephenB]

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@coloatty wrote:

...Edits made to an iTunes media file using Get Info in iTunes don't "stick."

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It works on my windows system though. The library is on the windows system, and the media is all on a mapped network drive.  Media kind is certainly sticking (all my mp4 video files are tagged, and "media kind" set for each).

[WildfireTech]

Yes, THAT works.  If I mount the drive, and use the mounted drive as my iTunes Home, all media is fine.  If I go into the ReadyNAS and enable iTunes sharing for the volume that holds the media, the media types get stripped for things like "Home Video", "Music Videos", and other types of videos.

[FramerV]

Hi WildfireTech,

I have no experiences with iTunes unfortunately so I cannot give you enough information to maybe fix it.

I saw an old topic about iTunes and its possibly the explanation as to why the metadata is not being copied properly.

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Using-your-ReadyNAS/iTunes-library/td-p/956168

As for how its being tagged, can you tell me what are the formats of your media files? Its possibly being tagged based on the supported media formats of the NAS.

ReadyNAS supports the following iTunes formats:

• Audio. mp3, m4a, m4p, wav, aif
• Video. m4v, mov, mp4
• Playlist. m3u, wpl

Regards,

[FramerV]

Hi WildfireTech,

We’d greatly appreciate hearing your feedback letting us know if the information we provided has helped resolve your issue or if you need further assistance. 

If your issue is now resolved, we encourage you to mark the appropriate reply as the “Accept as Solution” or post what resolved it and mark it as solution so others can be confident in benefiting from the solution. 
 
The Netgear community looks forward to hearing from you and being a helpful resource in the future!
 
Regards,

[StephenB]

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@FramerV wrote:

I have no experiences with iTunes unfortunately so I cannot give you enough information to maybe fix it.

It sounds like its a limitation of the forked-daapd itunes server.  

[WildfireTech]

Thanks for the responses, I am finally back in the US and can try to noodle through this issue.

I am using music video .m4v and .mp4 files for my testing, and as you state they should be supported.

There is some good new:  After the FW6.6.01 upgrade, about 95% of my movies are now properly categorized as movies.  Some still aren't, but from 0 - 95% is a big improvement.

Now some bad news:  Things that were properly categorized as TV shows as now showing up in movies, and without the "Season / Episode" container format.  This means that I have about 300 "Movies" that are really TV Show Episoded (Futuram, All Seasons, as an example).

Everything still works perfectly if I mount the share as a disk and use that disk share as the iTunes library, but still my original complaint is unresolved that the iTunes Service Sharing from the ReadyNAS isn't functioning properly.

[coloatty]

Mostly for the same reason, I think I have finally given up on using iTunes with ReadyNAS in favor of Plex. An advantage is that I can use the original media files (mostly EyeTV) in Plex with proper tagging and don't end up with additional files converted to an iTunes compatible format. I have PlexConnect using OpenPlex running on Apple TV generations 2 and 3.