If there’s one thing that the majority of metadata tools are missing it’s the ability to go beyond the basic movie collection and grab information on TV series collections as well. While MetaBrowser provides a comprehensive tool for both Movie and TV series metadata, as well as a more complete integration with Media Browser’s backdrops, covers and actor images, let’s take a special look at it’s TV series capabilities.

To get started first you’ll need to head over to the MetaBrowser website and download then install the latest version. Once installed run the program for the first time and you’ll see that the interface is very minimalistic at first glance. This can be slightly intimidating for first time users who aren’t quite sure where to start.

Start off by selecting the Options button in the lower left hand corner of the program. This will bring up a small dialog window with a few tabs. Under the general tab let’s add the folders where our TV series are stored.

Press the browse button (…) in the upper right hand corner to bring up a folder selection dialog. Next choose your folder from the box and click OK. Now once the folder has been entered into the input box, you need to select the input box and press enter. Though it’s unclear why this extra step is needed, you’ll see the folder listed below along with a small red button to remove the folder.

Below this area you’ll find the general options for MetaBrowser. Included are the ability to define what types of files are used in your collection, the location of your ImagesByName folder if using Media Browser and the ability to monitor folders for new content.

Once you’ve entered all the general options move on to the TV tab. Meta Browser follows fairly strict naming conventions with little room for error when it comes to TV series. Likely this is the reason why other programs haven’t ventured into this territory.

Here you can define valid names for season folders, for example Season 01, Season 02. All your TV series folder must be arranged as Series Name\Season 00\Videos.ext. If you have videos directly in the series folder or improperly named or arranged folders Meta Brower will not detect them as TV series but Movies instead.

Once you’ve finished, save your settings and return to the main window. It may take a few moments but the list should begin to be populated with your TV series.  Each series should appear under the TV heading with a tree structure containing the season and episodes underneath.

Selecting the series name should bring up a large array of data and options on the right hand side. Here you will be able to assign series artwork, series information and even download actor images. If it hasn’t already been filled in press the Fetch Metadata button to retrieve metadata on this series or the [ Process All TV ] link to do all your TV series at once.

From here you can also download actor images if you have properly set your ImagesByName folder in the general option tab. Simply press the Download Actor Images button on the far right hand side.

Once you’ve finished editing your series details be sure to press the Save Metadata button, otherwise all your edits will be lost when you leave this view!

After saving your series metadata you can go on to edit individual episode information and images by selecting the episode name in the left hand pane. Once again be sure to Save Metadata after making any changes and before moving on to the next section.

That’s all there is to fine tuning your TV series metadata for use in Media Browser with MetaBrowser. Unfortunately for users of the native Windows 7 Media Center formats such as DVR-MS and WTV this tool won’t provide much help in those areas as the formats aren’t supported.

Stay tuned to Hack7MC in the future to get even more guides on using MetaBrowser and other great Windows 7 Media Center tools and plugins! Subscribe to our RSS Feed or Email Updates!