EMC – library, covers and skin
Open EMC → MENU → EMC Setup. These display options apply to EMC; they do not configure native MovieSelection. See the EMC options reference for exact labels and searchable keys.
Movie home and folders
Section titled “Movie home and folders”
Movie home is the starting directory, for example /media/hdd/movie. Movie home at start selects returning home, remembering the previous folder or returning after standby. EMC path access limit restricts upward browsing; it does not restrict SSH, FTP or other plugins.
Directories, symbolic links and bookmarks serve different purposes. A link points to another path; a bookmark stores a shortcut. E2 bookmarks can also appear in other Enigma2 selectors, while EMC bookmarks belong to EMC. Display E2, EMC, both or neither.
| Group | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Show directories/links | Shows or hides entries without deleting them. |
| Directories within the list, configured directories on top | Controls placement relative to movies. The additional top-directory list comes from /etc/enigma2/emc-topdir.cfg. |
| Directory information and size | Displays count, size or both. Reading these can access HDD/NAS storage. Placeholder text/icons apply while values are unknown. |
| Latest Recordings and limit | Aggregates newer recordings from the relevant directory tree; the limit reduces the displayed selection. |
| Default sorting / permanent folder sorting | A global default versus a folder rule saved through MENU. Permanent rules are stored in /etc/enigma2/emc-permsort.cfg. |
| Cursor move after selection | Controls where highlighting moves after marking an entry; useful when selecting a series. |
emc-hide.cfg and emc-noscan.cfg provide additional hide/scan rules. They do not configure network mounts. See EMC and network storage for slow or offline NAS systems.
Where do titles and descriptions come from?
Section titled “Where do titles and descriptions come from?”
A recording often includes a movie and sidecars: .ts contains the stream, .meta metadata, .eit programme information, .cuts cut/resume information and .ap/.sc index data. Not all media types have every sidecar.
Load titles from .meta, extra metadata and load titles from .eit enhance filename-only display. Additional reads can slow large lists. Special-character replacement, format/cut-number display and using paths as fallback descriptions affect presentation. Resolving real paths shows a link’s destination; it does not move the movie.
Audio metadata uses available tags in supported audio files. An ordinary EPG refresh cannot reliably reconstruct missing programme descriptions for existing recordings.
Covers and movie information
Section titled “Covers and movie information”Enable Show Cover to display available images. A display delay avoids unnecessary reads while scrolling; fallback cover and background settings control missing-image presentation. Enabling covers does not automatically produce successful cover downloads.
Use MENU → Cover search or Download Movie Information for the respective tools. Their additional settings include language, provider, title matching/filtering, image resolution, multiple results and saving descriptions/covers. Movie information can include runtime, genre, production countries, release date and rating. Verify the movie and year before saving: identical titles or episode names can match the wrong production.
Providers are external services. Availability, API access and installed companion plugins can change. This guide and its captures verify available controls; successful downloads from every offered provider have not been established. Local cover display is independent of that. Covers represent movies, whereas picons are channel logos.
Skin, progress and colours
Section titled “Skin, progress and colours”
Use original EMC-skin selects EMC’s own template; when disabled, the active image skin can supply an EMC layout. Close and reopen EMC after changing it. The original skin offers information on the left or at the bottom, each with or without MiniTV. This does not change screen resolution; use the MetrixHD resolution settings for that.
Further options control skinnable list rows, date format/alignment, movie icons/link arrows and service picons with position and custom path. The actual skin template determines which elements appear.
Show movie progress and the partially/fully watched percentage thresholds determine status display. Colours distinguish unwatched, partially watched, finished, recording and highlighted entries; a star can mark new recordings. “Finished” is a calculated status. When automatic removal uses it, changing the percentage affects more than colour: see trash and cleanup.
Sources: EMC setup, file list and metadata, cover and movie information dialogs.