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fermentj

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 2, 2008
27
0
Since Apple has still not allowed us to create playlists with Movies on the :apple:TV, I have invented my own little organization.

The issue is I have a ton of kids movies so rather that seaching through the whole library, I named all the movies with a "- " infront of the title. When browsing movies these ones are always on top and make it easy for my Kids to find.

Since this latest release the :apple:tv treats the titles the same way Itunes does and ignores the "- " leading characters.

So now my library is a mess.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to fix this or am I missing a way to do playlists or organize movies besides alphabetically?

thanks
 

PixelFactory

macrumors regular
Jun 6, 2003
233
0
Chicago
You could always use the Genre feature. Just select the movies in quicktime, get info and then change the genre o to something like "Kid Movies". Then you can go to that genre on the Apple TV and and thats all they would see.
 

toddrohner

macrumors newbie
Jul 24, 2007
17
0
Maryland
You could modify the sort title in itunes. This will not change the displayed title, just the order of sorting. Prefix the titles you want at the top of the list with something like "aaaa".

I often modify sort titles, such as sorting "The Matrix" as "Matrix, The."
 

gadabout

macrumors member
Sep 15, 2007
74
0
in itunes, change the sort title to start with the "-" or a couple of a's. easiest and best solution
 

fermentj

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 2, 2008
27
0
See thats why I asked, I didn't know I could look at Genre with the :apple:TV.

The sorting thing is an idea but I'm not sure if that will also work on the :apple:TV, sounds more like its for Itunes.

I'm thinking the TVshow is currently the best option, at least until I start saving all those off too.

Thanks for the ideas, I'll let you know what works best.
 

toddrohner

macrumors newbie
Jul 24, 2007
17
0
Maryland
The sorting thing is an idea but I'm not sure if that will also work on the :apple:TV, sounds more like its for Itunes.

The use of a sort title in itunes will certainly impact the sort order on the apple tv. As I indicated in my post I have used it many times before.

Keep in mind that apple tv is just an extension of itunes to your tv.
 

EarthDawn

macrumors 6502a
Feb 18, 2008
883
10
Long-eye Land, NY
great couple of ideas !!!..

I too have been looking for ways to sort movies to make them easier to view depending on my mood or what family member is looking for a movie to watch...

the library is now at 920 lol :rolleyes::rolleyes:
 

fivepoint

macrumors 65816
Sep 28, 2007
1,175
5
IOWA
I use an "Animation" Genre for everything Pixar, Disney, etc.

My guess is that Apple will soon release different ways for us to sort content on the AppleTV (like they do with "Genre" now) such as "rating", "year", "Actors", etc.
 

fermentj

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 2, 2008
27
0
So how do I sort by Genre on the :apple:tv.

I saw under the movie section there was a Genere above My Movies, however when I got there its all rentals movies.

How do I look at MY movies by Genre?
 

fivepoint

macrumors 65816
Sep 28, 2007
1,175
5
IOWA
So how do I sort by Genre on the :apple:tv.

I saw under the movie section there was a Genere above My Movies, however when I got there its all rentals movies.

How do I look at MY movies by Genre?

Movies > My Movies > Genres
BTW, make sure you're running the most recent version of AppleTV software. The old stuff did not have this feature.
 

fermentj

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 2, 2008
27
0
maybe I need the update then.

When I go to my Movies it just puts them up, there is not further selection
 

fivepoint

macrumors 65816
Sep 28, 2007
1,175
5
IOWA
maybe I need the update then.

When I go to my Movies it just puts them up, there is not further selection

That is most certainly the case. If you have an updated version, the first thing you should see inside of My Movies is "Genres".
 

Alfie

macrumors regular
Feb 22, 2004
147
26
South Dakota
Genres

I'll add a vote for using Genres to fix this issue. I am in the same boat as you with 200+ movies, but only about 30 of those are kids movies. I just typed in "Kids" in the Genre column of the kids' movies listed in my iTunes library. Every movie I have has the appropriate genre entered, making all the movies much easier to find on the Apple TV. I believe the movie genre feature of Apple TV was not available until version 2.0.1 was released earlier this year.
 

fermentj

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 2, 2008
27
0
so I did have the latest update, I guess I just never noticed that GENREs at the top, I guess I have been looking at it for too long.

Thats cool, thanks for the help.

Anyone else have an issue with turning off their :apple:tv?

I read now you need to be on the main menu to turn it off, thats pretty dumb in my opinion. Makes my Harmony remote all but useless is shutting down everything
 
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