MyMeta for Windows 8
MyMeta is a Windows 8 / Windows RT App for editing metadata and artwork on MP4, M4V and MOV media files. MyMeta allows you to tag all your media files so that their information appears correctly in your favorite media player or streaming device.
About
MyMeta integrates seamlessly with leading internet metadata providers including TheMovieDB.org, TheTVDB.com and tagChimp to allow you to search for metadata and DVD artwork for your movies and TV episodes.
MyMeta also provides an 'AutoTag' feature that allows you to select a set of media files and to automatically set their metadata and cover art based on the best match search result available from the internet. This allows you to tag your media collection rapidly with minimum effort. AutoTag also allows you to select all episodes of a TV series and set entire series metadata in just a few clicks!
Installation
When you start MyMeta for the first time, you'll be asked to select your preferred Media Player. This section explains this question in further detail.
MyMeta tags video files that are in MP4, M4V and MOV file format. This file format is the standard used by most Apple devices, such as iPod, iPhone, Apple TV as well as iTunes media software. MyMeta sets tags embedded within the file according to the formal specification for. these files, a specification that is honored by Apple iTunes.
Windows 8's built-in Video app (otherwise known as Xbox Video) as well as Zune media players do not honor many of the built-in tags, and therefore MyMeta applies Windows specific extended properties to these files as well so that your tagging is optimised for both players.
However, there are some differences between the two players that mean that it is not always possible to tag files in a way that will work perfectly for both iTunes and Microsoft players.
This page outlines the key differences.
Television Episodes
iTunes uses the MP4 "Show" tag to store a TV show name (eg "Friends") whilst the episode name is stored in the file's Title field. Conversely, Microsoft players use the file's Title field to store the TV show name, and an extended property called 'EpisodeName' to store the TV episode title. These two conventions are mutually exclusive - in one the Title field denotes the episode name, and in the other it denotes the show name. MyMeta will apply the appropriate convention depending on which player you have selected as your preferred media player. If episodes of the same show up in the Windows 8 Video app without show or season grouping then it is usually because the wrong convention is being used; the tag that the Video app uses to group shows together may be filled with a unique episode name per file instead of the show name. If this is the case, change your preferred media player in MyMeta's settings charm and then re-tag the affectd files.
Artwork / Boxart and Windows 8 Video App
When the Windows 8 Video App starts up, it indexes all video media files under your computer's Video library folder. When it indexes a media file, it extracts the file's artwork and caches it within a hidden folder in your profile in order to quickly display thumbnails. MyMeta allows the embedded artwork within a media file to be modified manually or by searching the internet. When these changes are applied to a media file, the Windows 8 Video app sadly does not refresh its cached thumbnail, therefore the updated artwork will not appear in the Video app. This appears to be a bug within Windows 8 and has been raised to Microsoft.
You can work around this by clearing the Windows 8 Video artwork cache directory:
- Close the Video app if you have it open by swiping from the top of the screen to the bottom (or press Alt + F4)
- Open the Windows 8 desktop
- Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the following folder:
C:\Users\[Username]\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.ZuneVideo_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\ImageCache\20
- The folder should contain a series of filenames named random letters and numbers, eg UoNcxDLdeLK0noyrwBnHVKwgA920uBLsFFEpPn00
- Select all the files in this folder and move them to your Recycle Bin
- Restart the Video app
- Your artwork cache will be recreated
Please do not rate us negatively for this issue - the bug is within the Windows Video app, not within MyMeta - we have no way of forcing the Video app to update its thumbnail
FAQ
MyMeta is a powerful metadata editor for MP4, M4V and MOV video files for Windows 8 and Windows RT. MyMeta allows you to tag all your media files so that their information appears correctly in your favorite media player or streaming device.
Media files weren't meant to be identified by file name alone! Unleash your media by setting properties such as title, description, actors, directors, producers, screen writers, rating (eg PG). Beautify your media collection by assigning high resolution DVD artwork to your tracks.
MyMeta allows you to do this really really quickly across your entire library. There are three ways of tagging:
- 1. Manually enter your data
- 2. Manually search for your film or TV episode
- 3. Bulk tag your media collection using AutoTag - for either Movies or TV episodes
MyMeta runs on Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro, Windows 8 Enterprise and Windows RT. x86, x64 and ARM platforms are supported.
Please check the Windows Store regularly for current pricing as pricing varies.
An update to the app made in late January 2013 provides improved compatibility with the Windows 8 Video app as well as Microsoft's Zune devices. Please update the app if you are running a previous version. There are some caveats when using this app with Windows 8 Video..
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Simply email us at [email protected]. We encourage user feedback about bugs or feature requests and will aim to implement any functionality that is useful and technically feasible.