How to manually refresh SmartShare file list on LG 4K TV?

aikiwolf

I have an LG UK6190 70" 4K Smart TV to which I stream video files from my computer via the SmartShare program. It works really well, except changes (adding/removing folders/files) don't immediately appear in networked folders on my LG TV, even if I refresh the content from the PC SmartShare program. The changes eventually appear, but it might take hours to days.

Is there a way to manually refresh the list of files on the LG TV or set a higher update frequency? I haven't found any options for such on the TV anywhere and not even restarting the TV itself helps. It acts like there's a cache that it reads from rather than looking for a live streaming broadcast.

Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

CustomerInquiry

https://lgcommunity.us.com/discussion/comment/10414#Comment_10414

"would not be possible in the TV"... by design? Maybe I'm unfamiliar with the client/ server relationship or what role my LG tv is playing within that relationship... Can you elaborate on this? What file am I supposed to download onto my PC so that it informs the TV that there has been a change?... I do not have anything titled "smart share settings" on my PC.

CustomerInquiry

https://lgcommunity.us.com/discussion/comment/10414#Comment_10414

"would not be possible in the TV"... by design? Maybe I'm unfamiliar with the client/ server relationship or what role my LG tv is playing within that relationship... Can you elaborate on this? What file am I supposed to download onto my PC so that it informs the TV that there has been a change?... I do not have anything titled "smart share settings" on my PC.

CustomerInquiry

https://lgcommunity.us.com/discussion/comment/10414#Comment_10414

"would not be possible in the TV"... by design? Maybe I'm unfamiliar with the client/ server relationship or what role my LG tv is playing within that relationship... Can you elaborate on this? What file am I supposed to download onto my PC so that it informs the TV that there has been a change?... I do not have anything titled "smart share settings" on my PC.

CustomerInquiry

https://lgcommunity.us.com/discussion/comment/10414#Comment_10414

"would not be possible in the TV"... by design? Maybe I'm unfamiliar with the client/ server relationship or what role my LG tv is playing within that relationship... Can you elaborate on this? What file am I supposed to download onto my PC so that it informs the TV that there has been a change?... I do not have anything titled "smart share settings" on my PC.

MickyV

I find the best way update changes in your media files is to uninstall Smartshare then re-install Smartshare.

This only takes a few mins.

MickyV

I find the best way update changes in your media files is to uninstall Smartshare then re-install Smartshare.

This only takes a few mins.

Nyebodnye

Not for the faint hearted!

Exit SmartShare

Download dbBrowser SQLite from https://sqlitebrowser.org

Install

Run

Open Database

If you want to do it by folder...

C:\ProgramData\LG Software\LG Smart Share\User\<Username>\DB\SSContents.db

Table: Tbl_all_folders

Select Browse Data tab

Search for missing or Filter on Path and search for missing folder

If found, click on the left hand number

Delete

For individual files...

C:\ProgramData\LG Software\LG Smart Share\User\<Username>\DB\ContentsDirectory.db

Table: Tbl_movie_mt

Select Browse Data tab

Search for missing files or Filter on and search for missing files

If found, click on the left hand number

Delete

Quit/save

Restart SmartShare

Pray :-)

If it all goes to cr@p, uninstall, delete those database folders, reinstall, rinse, repeat, never try this again.

If it does, you now have a way to delete stuff you have already watched.

Disclaimer: Not responsible for lost time.

Nyebodnye

https://lgcommunity.us.com/discussion/comment/23601#Comment_23601

Found it!

C:\ProgramData\LG Software\LG Smart Share\User\<Username>\DB

C:\Users\All Users\LG Software\LG Smart Share\User\<Username>\DB

SSContents.db is a SQLite database with all your TV programs in it.

Nyebodnye

https://lgcommunity.us.com/discussion/comment/23582#Comment_23582

Tomorrow, I will be using tools to find out exactly where SmartShare is storing it's database of files. I've tried my Windows profile and the Program Files\LG folder and can't find anything yet (I didn't try unicode though)

Will post when I find out.

Nyebodnye

https://lgcommunity.us.com/discussion/5197/how-to-manually-refresh-smartshare-file-list-on-lg-4k-tv

I usually go to Settings, My shared folders, select the folder then update on the SmartShare software.

It might take some time but we're talking minutes here, not days.

I have found that alternating between "All folders" and "Video, Videos by folder" sometimes triggers an update and stops it caching.

Either that or by going into a folder that hasn't had an update, then coming back into a folder with an update and scrolling around/waiting.

The third (not proven yet) is to try the utilities in C:\Program Files (x86)\LG Software\LG Smart Share\Update

Particularly, SmartShareClean and SmartShareUpdate

...and make sure you're using the latest version.

I still have a folder called Aeon FLux and a folder called Aeon Flux and the correct one says it's empty :P

Itsmeuphere

Update to my last post. The fix I posted does not work unless you toggle between the two modes and in that case it does end up removing the unwanted files. I don't have a specific order in which it works. I just keep refreshing in both modes until they are gone and I'm satisfied that at least I can do that.

Itsmeuphere

The software has a bug but it is able to be overcome. I was having the same issue so after some experimentation I solved it at least for me.

 

The software has two modes. Open Smartshare but not the settings section. Refreshing In the settings section does not have an effect. However in the main menu the one where you have the three tabs Movie Photo and music I went into the movie section and used the refresh button at the bottom of the screen and viola the files updated and the deleted files were not gone. In the settings section the refresh icon appears to do something but deleted files remain.

Again, pressing the refresh lower right hand corner in this section works fine.

 

arnslab

I have found that the most effective way to refresh/update your shared folder, is on your PC in the SmartShare program, go to Settings, My Device Setting, and change your Device Name (just add a number or whatever) and hit Apply or Ok. You'll soon see your TV going back to the root where you can see the new Device Name, and hopefully also an updated list of your content.

However there are some folders that just refuse to show up on your TV.

Sometimes changing the name of your video file folder (on your PC) to something more simple and short does the trick, or dragging the video file out of his folder into your root can sometimes also work.

Either way, i'd love an update for SmartShare that fixes some of these bugs..

Dayton933

Hello just to clarify I am having the same problem but just to make you aware guys it's not the TV it is the PC that the Shared drives and folders are on. If you go to This PC and then you will see the Smart Share server listed under Media servers, you will find that the folders in there are also not updating which takes you back to the Smart Share application which confirms it's not refreshing shared content folders. I am working on a little patch and we'll get back to you once I have something.

Daxi

I'm also experiencing this exact issue.

Csurga

Same error here, Smart Share is useless...

eebie

I'd also like an answer to this.  When I make a change in Smartshare it takes a while to see it on the TV.  Did you resolve the issue?

aikiwolf

As I mentioned in the original post, I can refresh manually within the SmartShare program on my PC. And I can confirm the changes are in the list of shared files/folders. However, the LG TV only displays the old list from before the changes. That's why I said it sounds like the LG has some kind of cache that its reading from, rather than "looking" for the actually available content.

Furthermore, I might see different folder lists on the LG depending on the navigation method, even though I end up in the same location. For example, after selecting the networked location on my LG and then choosing "Photos & Videos": If I go to "All Folders," I might not see the updated list, but if I go to "Videos" and then "Videos by Folder," I might. If the list is being read purely from the PC, then I would expect the folder list to be identical with my setup, as would any files without those folders. But it's not. Even if I then opened the same folder using both methods, the file list would differ if there were updates (i.e., first method doesn't show the changes, but the second method does). Thus, it acts like the LG is drawing from a cache, and the second method didn't have one established yet because I never use that method and the LG then needs to "look" for the current folders/files.

Now, if I then update files/folders on the PC again, neither method will display the newest updates, presumably because both methods now do have a cache. So the question remains: How do I force the LG to display the "live" list of files/folders?

LGModerator1

aikiwolf, this would not be possible in the TV. The updating of the folders would need to be performed on the PC. If the refresh rate of the folders can be set automatically, it would be in the Smart Share settings on the PC.