If you haven’t already done so, you will need to make your media files accessible to all your XBMC devices by sharing them on the network through file sharing. Once you can see your network share on each PC then it’s time to proceed with setting up your XBMC library. Your PC’s should also have their own fixed IP addresses.
- Download a copy of MySQL Server from http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/mysql/
- Select Server Only as the installation type
- Choose “Server Machine”, Port “3306” and Tick to open the Firewall port, click next
- Create a root password when asked, typically “xbmc”
- Don’t create a user yet, click next
- Make sure “Start the MySQL Server at Startup” is ticked
- Run Windows service as “Standard System Account”, click next
- Click next a few times and the installation is complete
- Now, open the “MySQL Command Line Client” from the new MySQL menu under Programs from the Windows Start button
- Enter the root password when asked, typically “xbmc”
- Enter the following commands:
- Type in:
CREATE USER 'xbmc' IDENTIFIED BY 'xbmc';and press return - Type in:
GRANT ALL ON *.* TO 'xbmc';and press return - Exit the command line tool
Create a file in notepad or wordpad and save it as advancedsettings.xml (Make sure that is has the extension .xml and not .txt) NB: You may need to change windows folder view options to untick “Hide extensions for known filetypes”
Copy and paste the the following text into the document
<advancedsettings>
<videodatabase>
<type>mysql</type>
<host>127.0.0.1</host>
<port>3306</port>
<user>xbmc</user>
<pass>xbmc</pass>
</videodatabase>
<musicdatabase>
<type>mysql</type>
<host>127.0.0.1</host>
<port>3306</port>
<user>xbmc</user>
<pass>xbmc</pass>
</musicdatabase>
<videolibrary>
<importwatchedstate>true</importwatchedstate>
<importresumepoint>true</importresumepoint>
</videolibrary>
</advancedsettings>
Copy the advancedsettings.xml file you just created to the userdata folder of your XBMC install. Located in the following locations. NB: You may need to change windows folder view options to enable “Show hidden files, folders and drives”
Windows XP: Documents and Settings<your_user_name>Application DataXBMCuserdataadvancedsettings.xml
Vista/Windows 7: Users<your_user_name>AppDataRoamingXBMCuserdataadvancedsettings.xml
Mac OS X: /Users/<your_user_name>/Library/Application Support/XBMC/userdata/advancedsettings.xml
iOS: /private/var/mobile/Library/Preferences/XBMC/userdata/advancedsettings.xml
Linux: $HOME/.xbmc/userdata/advancedsettings.xml
Now, open XBMC, and under videos / files choose add source. type the address of the video folder that you have already shared so that it is in the following format.
smb://192.168.0.10/MyTVShows
Replace this example IP address wth your own MySQL / XBMC servers ip address and make sure that the folder name is exactly as you have already shared over the network
Click OK and then select source type and choose TV or movies depending on what your sharing.
Click OK and your library should be created, if so, you will now have a new icon on the XBMC welcome screen for Movies or TV Shows.
On every other PC that you want to connect / share the library with copy the advancedsettings.xml from this PC to the xbmc/userdata folder on the other PC’s. But, you must replace the two instances of 127.0.0.1 with the actual IP address of the PC that is running MYSQL.
Load XBMC on one of the “client” PC’s and it too should have access to the shared library under the TV Shows and Movie icons within XBMC
