The MediaBrowserXml.config file is used by Media Browser to store most of it’s settings. A lot of settings in this file are exposed through the Media Browser Configurator or the Configuration Menu.

Some settings are for advanced use only and are not exposed through either of the above.

Modify this file at your own risk. Always make a backup before making changes


MediaBrowserXml.config

Here are the parameters, in the same order as they are created in the initial MediaBrowserXML.config file. You can find the file in C:\ProgramData\MediaBrowser.

Items with a yellow background need improvement.

(Please note that you can only see the colouring when clicking the improve button)

Explanation of UI (User interface) values:

  • MBC: Media Browser Configurator
  • CM: Configuration Menu
  • 1st: Only on first-run
  • No: You cannot configure this setting through an application, you will need to edit the MediaBrowserXML.config file. Always edit this file with a plain-text editor like Notepad.

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Parameter Allowed Values Default Value UI Comments
MBVersion No
EnableResumeSupport true / false True No By default we track video playback position to support resume. Set this to false only for diagnostic purposes.
EnableLocalTrailerSupport true / false true No http://community.mediabrowser.tv/permalinks/1465/how-exactly-does-local-trailer-support-work
EnableExperimentalSqliteSupport true / false false No Deprecated as of 2.5.0 per: http://community.mediabrowser.tv/permalinks/1438/how-do-i-get-the-experimental-sqlite-support-working-on-media-browser
EnableDirectoryWatchers true / false true No If you enable this MB will watch for changes in your file system and update the UI as it happens, may not work properly with SMB shares.
SortUnwatchedByName true / false False No When set to true, the unwatched shows are sorted by name as opposed to by unwatched show count
ShowNowPlayingInText true / false False No [improvement needed. what does this do?]
AlwaysShowDetailsPage true / false true CM When set to True, always display a title’s detail page, even if no metadata has been collected for the title.
EnableVistaStopPlayStopHack true / false true No When set to True MB will quickly simulate pause-play when a video is started 1 second into it. Note: the code ONLY affects Vista machines, it is bypassed on Windows 7.
EnableRootPage true / false true CM, MBC When set to True, causes MB to display the Enhanced Home Screen (or EHS).
IsFirstRun true / false true (before first run)
false (after first run)
1st Controls whether MediaBrowser has been launched once and the initial configuration has been completed.
ImageByNameLocation path “%programdata%\MediaBrowser\ ImagesByName No Location for the Genre, Actor, Year etc. images. http://community.mediabrowser.tv/permalinks/1203/what-is-the-imagesbyname-folder-and-how-does-it-work
OverScanScaling number (int.) <X>1</X>
<Y>1</Y>
<Z>1</Z>
No Allows configuration of scaling of the screens to cope with screen with overscan, this should only be used if Media Centers default controls are not sufficient. http://community.mediabrowser.tv/permalinks/1239/media-browser-is-not-displayed-on-100-of-the-screen-how-to-troubleshoot-overscan-issues
OverScanPadding number (int.) <Bottom>0</Bottom>
<Left>0</Left>
<Right>0</Right>
<Top>0</Top>
No Allows padding of pages to allow for overscan issues, this should only be used when Media Center’s own controls are not sufficient. http://community.mediabrowser.tv/permalinks/1239/media-browser-is-not-displayed-on-100-of-the-screen-how-to-troubleshoot-overscan-issues
EnableTraceLogging true / false false CM Enables logging of trace information useful for debugging. Files are written to ”%programdata%\MediaBrowser\Logs". http://community.mediabrowser.tv/permalinks/1240/how-do-i-enable-logging-where-can-i-find-logfiles
DefaultPosterSize number (int.) <Height>30</Height>
<Width>220</Width>
CM Controls the default constraint size posters. Once a folder has been entered for the first time it is then remembered and controled from the view menu.
GridSpacing number (int.) <Height>0</Height>
<Width>0</Width>
CM Controls the spacing between posters.
MaximumAspectRatioDistortion number (dec.) 0.5 No Posters are scaled to create the small versions used in poster view and thumbstrip view. Unfortunately not all the source posters are not the same size. To make the screen look nicer in we allow for a cetain amount of non-aspect scaling to make all the posters the same size. This number is the maximum absolute difference between the displayed aspect and the real aspect to permit. Larger numbers allow for a greater distortion.
EnableTranscode360 true / false false MBC (in the Configurator) Enables Transcode 360 support for extender devices.
ExtenderNativeTypes types sep. by ‘,’ .dvr-ms,.wmv MBC (in the Configurator) A lower case comma delimited list of types the extender supports natively and therefore do not require further transcoding.
ShowThemeBackground true / false false MBC Enables a transparent background in Media Browser, thus showing the Windows Media Center background.
DimUnselectedPosters true / false true CM, MBC Dims all unselected posters in Poster and Thumbstrip views.
EnableNestedMovieFolders true / false true CM, MBC Automatically generates a playlist for movies whose parts are in different subfolders (Disc1, Disc2, etc.), instead of displaying those subfolders and items.
EnableMoviePlaylists true / false true CM (Allow Playlists in the UI) Automatically generates and starts a playlist when entering a folder containing a limited number of items (max. the number set in the Size Limit below), instead of displaying the list of items.
PlaylistLimit number (int.) 2 CM Maximum number of items allowed in a folder to allow the creation of automatic playlists, if allowed by “EnableMoviePlaylists”.
InitialFolder path %ProgramData%\Media
Browser<br />StartupFolder
No Since recent builds, after first run, the StartupFolder is used instead of MyVideos, and .VF files are placed there automatically by the Configuration program
EnableUpdates true / false true CM (Automatic Updates in the UI) Prompt to install new major releases of MediaBrowser.
EnableBetas true / false false CM Also prompt for beta releases.
DaemonToolsLocation full path to .exe  %ProgramFiles%\Daemon Tools
Lite\daemon.exe
MBC Path to the locally installed Daemon tools, necessary to directly open movies in .ISO files
DaemonToolsDrive drive letter E MBC Virtual drive letter to be used by Daemon Tools.
EnableAlphanumericSorting true / false true No (no comment)
EnableListViewTicks true / false false CM, MBC (Watched Indicator in Detail View in UI) Display the “Watched” checkmark on folders and videos when using the Detail View.
ListViewWatchedColor Colors LightSkyBlue No Use the value ‘Transparent’ to remove watched color. Examples: http://cloford.com/resources/colours/namedcol.htm
ShowUnwatchedCount true / false true CM, MBC Display the number of unwatched items in all subfolders of this folder.
ShowWatchedTickOnFolders true / false true CM, MBC (Watched Indicator on Folders in UI) Display checkmark when all items in this folder (and all subfolders) have been watched.
ShowWatchTickInPosterView true / false true CM, MBC (Watched Indicator on Videos in UI) Display checkmark in Poster view if this video has been watched.
DefaultToFirstUnwatched true / false false CM, MBC When entering a folder, immediately jump to the first unwatched item (folder or video) in the list.
AutoEnterSingleDirs true / false false CM, MBC When a folder contains a single folder, enter that folder automatically. http://community.mediabrowser.tv/permalinks/1003/what-are-movie-playlists-why-do-they-exist
AssumeWatchedBefore Date & Time 2007-03-01T00:00:00 1st Set in First Run UI. Applied to all media in your collections, including media added after the initial configuration. Can be set to a future date if you will be importing a library of archive media after you have already started using Media Browser and then modified to the day after the last import date when you are finished.
InheritDefaultView true / false true No Folders inherit the view used in the parent folder.
DefaultViewType Poster, Details,
ThumbStrip…
Poster No Default view to be used for any folder where one hasn’t been selected yet.
DefaultShowLabels true / false false No Show labels for folders and videos by default.
DefaultVerticalScroll true / false false No Set all lists to scroll vertically by default instead of horizontally.
BreadcrumbCountLimit number (int.) 2 CM Number of parent folders to display in the Breadcrump at the top of the screen.
SortRemoveCharacters chars with "|" separator ,|&|–|{|} No Characters to ignore when sorting.
SortReplaceCharacters chars with "|" separator .|+|% No (no comment)
SortReplaceWords words with "|" separator the|a|an No Words to ignore when sorting.
AllowInternetMetadataProviders true / false true CM (Allow Internet Based Providers in the UI) allows MediaBrowser to download MetaData information, Posters, Banners and Backdrops from third party providers such as TheTVDB.com and TheMovieDB.com. Should be left enabled for most users.
EnableFileWatching true / false false No (no comment)
ThumbStripPosterWidth number (int.) 550 CM (Thumb Width Split in the UI) Amount of screen space to use for posters in Thumb Strip view.
RememberIndexing true / false false CM, MBC (Remember Folder Indexing in the UI) Remembers how a folder was last indexed (e.g. by Genre).
ShowIndexWarning true / false true No Shows a warning if the selected Indexing method won’t work because this value is absent from a large number of files.
IndexWarningThreshold number (dec.) 0.1 No (no comment)
PreferredMetaDataLanguage language code en No (no comment)
ExternalPlayers (xml code) none No Enable External players instead of Windows Media Center for specific media types. http://community.mediabrowser.tv/permalinks/1274/how-to-configure-an-external-player-for-media-playback
Theme Default, Black,
Extender Default
or Extender Black
Default CM, MBC (Color Theme in the UI) Specify using the “Default” (blue) or Black colors.
FontTheme Default or Small Default CM, MBC (Font Size in the UI) Display Default or Small fonts.
ShowClock true / false false CM, MBC Shows the clock in all views.
EnableAdvancedCmds true / false false No Show additional commands in the Movie Details page.
AdvancedEnableDelete true / false false No If EnableAdvancedCmds is true, also show a Delete button (careful !)
UseAutoPlayForIso true / false false MBC By default Iso images will be played using the built in player. If ExternalPlayers are configured then we will try to use this configuration – although often the image is not fully mounted an available by the time we do our checks. Turning on UseAutoPlayForIso means that MediaBrowser won’t try to play iso images, instead it just mounts them and lets your AutoPlay settings kick in.
ShowBackdrop true / false true CM Show Backdrops (Fan Art) for folders.
InitialBreadcrumbName name Media No Name used for your MediaBrowser Initial Screen in the BreadCrumb.
UserSettingsPath none The path to the “User Settings” folder. UNC paths are supported. Leave at the default value unless you need to share View and Playstate with multiple machines. Note: This setting is ignored when SQL lite is enabled.
ViewTheme Default Default CM, MBC (Visual Theme in the UI) Current MediaBrowser Theme. http://community.mediabrowser.tv/permalinks/1258/how-to-install-a-plugin-or-theme
AlphaBlending number (int.) 80 CM Ddetermines how much certain areas of the screen need to be darkened (e.g. to make the text easier to read).
ShowConfigButton true / false false CM Display the “Wrench” (Spanner) configuration icon at the bottom left of the screen in all screens.
SyncViews true / false true CM, MBC Remember how items are displayed at the Movies, Series, Season and Episode levels, and apply this view automatically in all locations.
YahooWeatherFeed MBC http://community.mediabrowser.tv/permalinks/1368/how-do-i-show-the-weather-on-supported-themes
YahooWeatherUnit C CW Show the weather in Celsius or Fahrenheit.
ShowRootBackground true / false true CM
PodcastHome
HideFocusFrame true / false false CM, MBC
EnableProxyLikeCaching true / false false Depreciated, confirmed by edr: http://community.mediabrowser.tv/permalinks/r/9040/37382/what-does-enableproxylikecaching-in-the-xml-do#37382
MetadataCheckForUpdateAge number (int.) 14 No
ParentalUnlockPeriod number (int.) 3 CM, MBC http://community.mediabrowser.tv/permalinks/1327/how-to-configure-and-use-parental-controls
HideParentalDisAllowed true / false true CM, MBC http://community.mediabrowser.tv/permalinks/1327/how-to-configure-and-use-parental-controls
ParentalBlockUnrated true / false false CM, MBC http://community.mediabrowser.tv/permalinks/1327/how-to-configure-and-use-parental-controls
UnlockOnPinEntry true / false true CM, MBC http://community.mediabrowser.tv/permalinks/1327/how-to-configure-and-use-parental-controls
ParentalControlEnabled true / false false CM, MBC http://community.mediabrowser.tv/permalinks/1327/how-to-configure-and-use-parental-controls
ParentalPIN number (int.) 0000 CM, MBC http://community.mediabrowser.tv/permalinks/1327/how-to-configure-and-use-parental-controls
MaxParentalLevel number (int.) 3
EnableMouseHook true / false false CM Enable better scrolling support with the mouse
RecentItemCount number (int.) 20 No Number of items to display in the Recently Added List (RAL) when the EHS is enabled
RecentItemDays number (int.) 60 No Deprecated in v2.5.2 confirmed by ebr in http://community.mediabrowser.tv/permalinks/10345/what-is-the-recentitemcontainercount-tag-for. Number of days that is considered recent for the RAL.
RecentItemContainerCount number (int.) No The number of items that will appear in a recent list that is collapsed into higher level items (TV and Music at the moment). It is basically the RecentItemCount for TV.
RecentItemOption added
ShowHDIndicatorOnPosters true / false false CM
ShowRemoteIndicatorOnPosters true / false true CM
ExcludeRemoteContentInSearch true / false true CM
ShowUnwatchedIndicator true / false false CM
PNGTakesPrecedence true / false false No When set to true, will give priority to .png instead of .jpg images.
RandomizeBackdrops true / false False CM When set to true, multiple backdrops will be shown in a random order. can be combined with RotateBackdrops
RotateBackdrops true / false True CM When set to true, multiple backdrops will rotate. can be combined with RandomizeBackdrops
CacheAllImagesInMemory true / false false No Cache all images in memory so navigation is faster, consumes a lot more memory when set to True. Setting to False reduces memory requirements drastically, but increases CPU usage.
FullRefreshInterval number (int.) 24 No Interval in hours for full library refreshes
LastFullRefresh Date & Time 0001-01-01T0:00:00 Date & time value when last full refresh took place
PluginSources <PluginSource>http://
www.mediabrowser.tv
/plugins/
plugininfo.xml
</PluginSource>
See Section “Adding a plugin source”
MBInstallDir No This value should not be modified by the user. It tells us where you installed MB via the installation program so we can find the service and configurator.

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