#555 Moving on from Media Companion

[Trevor P]

I've been a loyal Media Companion user for many years, and I've always appreciated the way it was designed and how well it worked for me.

More recently, though, I've run into a number of issues that haven't been resolved as quickly as I personally need. I completely understand that development takes time and that people have other commitments in their lives. There's no criticism intended there at all. At the same time, I also reached a point where I needed something that was working reliably for my setup right now.

With the recent API-related issues, along with some of the problems I've previously reported involving NFO files, I decided to start looking at alternatives.

For anyone else who may be in a similar position, I would suggest taking a look at TinyMediaManager. I've been using it and, so far, everything I've thrown at it has simply worked. It has a modern interface, scraping has been reliable, and I haven't encountered the API or NFO issues that were causing problems for me.

Unfortunately, that means I've decided it's time for me to move on from Media Companion.

I want to sincerely thank the developer for all the work and effort that has gone into Media Companion over the years. I've gotten a tremendous amount of use out of it, and I genuinely hope the current issues are resolved and that the project continues to do well.

This isn't meant as a criticism or a "this versus that" post, just my experience and a possible alternative for anyone who finds themselves in the same situation.

Thanks again for all the years of work on Media Companion.
Peace all!

[thund3rstruck]

In 2022 I migrated my entire home and work environment to Linux but no matter how I tried Wine just didn't execute this specific program correctly so since 2022 I have been running a Windows 10 virtual machine just so I can keep this single program.

Back then I tried every Linux compatible media manager but they all either cost a monthly fee or just didn't work correctly.

Your post has got me wondering if I should re-evaluate if today, in 2026, there is some kind of viable replacement for this program or not (which is Linux compatible).

[Rob]

Hi Trevor

Sorry to see you go, but I understand the reasoning. I have been quite lapse lately spending time on coding.
I am the only developer of Media Companion for the past 8 years, and lately have been struggling to spread my free time between family and Media Companion.

With the changes on the web with IMDb, as well as the shutting down of TVDb API V1 & V2, This has resulted in a lot of background work to update Media Companion to a later version of Dot Net, with time spend fixing all the bugs that have now popped up.

I am working on getting IMDb data back, but TVDb V4 api is now a Pay per use, instead of free, and this kinda annoys me to the point of not wanting to upgrade to V4.

Just a little background, but not trying to get sympathy.

Having tried TMM myself not too long ago, I understand the move.

Hopefully I can get MC back to better working function again, and you might give MC another go.

[Kevin]

Media Companion will always be special to me, I thank you for everything over the past 8 wonderful years and I look forward to what's to come. Family will always come first, as it should.

[Rob]

Hi thund3rstruck

Unfortunately some parts of MC break in Wine. And making MC Linux compatible is probably over my head.

MC will forever remain free, but We/I desperately need volunteers to help with the code.

[Charlie]

Wow yeah looks like for TVDb V4, the app developer has to pay an annual fee based on revenue, but if it is an Open-source or free project (like this one) they require the end-user to buy a personal subscription. This costs $11.99 per year (often rounded to $12). Subscribing generates a unique User PIN that you enter into your software settings to unlock metadata access.

[Charlie]

I'm holding out hope for this project. I like it better than TinyMediaManager. Of course family comes first, but don't totally abandon this! Fix the donation link so the community can help motivate you! :-)

[David MacLeod]

I just bought tiny media manager due to lot of .net errors (Win 11 25H2 ON domain so yeah....) causing tv series to suddenly show oddly on media companion.
I look fwd to any media companion updates, it just is easier to use.