Embedded metadata in MKV files

Legacy 2nd gen Apple TV
1

Hi,

 

Does mediaplayer recognize (and use) embedded metadata in MKV files?  My video library is almost exclusively MKV, and most of my media is tagged.  If embedded tags are supported, to what extent (which fields are used)?  If not, where, exactly, does mediaplayer store the metadata it downloads, and what is the risk of filling the ATV’s available space if I have a really big media library?

 

If it matters at all, my media is saved on, and will be streamed from a NAS using AFP.

 

Thanks…

2

Yes, the first attempt will be to use the embedded title tags to locate and download information from TheMovieDB.org. If no title tags are present, MP will then look at the actual filename to try and find a match.

Other embedded tags are not currently used, but in the rare event you need to override the info TheMovieDB provides, you can use an XML file as described here.

3

Great, thanks James.  So the second part of my question, then, is about where the information that mediaplayer goes and and downloads is actually stored, and if there is enough capacity in the ATV’s internal file system.

 

I have over 1000 full-length movies in my collection, and somewhere in the neighborhood of 3000-4000 TV episodes.  Would I be better off going the XML file route, and saving those XML files on my NAS with my media to ensure I don’t have issues with my ATV becoming “full” with all this metadata and cover art?

 

Finally, are m4v tags handled identically today, or is there more robust support (current or planned) for m4v embedded tags?

 

Thanks again for your quick response.

4

I wouldn’t worry too much about the space requirements. The biggest factor here will be the cover art and fanart, and even with these we’ve not had any reports of anyone running out of space (the AppleTV does have a respectable 8GB of internal storage).

For example, on one of the test units we have here there are about 500 movies/TV shows and 100 or so music and image files. The database that contains the metadata for these files is 3.6MB, and the cover art/fanart images add up to about 65.1MB. As you can see, you would literally need to have tens of thousands of movies and TV shows to even get close to running out of space.

5

Excellent - that tells me what I need to know.  Thanks again, James.

 

I’ll be buying this weekend.