ok so i am wondering why videos/music added via config>folders add do not show up under movies and music. i was wanting a media center solution that would take stored files ( video/music ) and show them as cover art. for example: I click movies and a list shows with cover art for the given film or artis/album. As it is i have to browse through the folder selection to find the file i want to play. am i missing something? i chec ked the elisa wiki and I THINK i went with a kinda straight forward install. I am also having issues with dvd play back. I added all the non free codec packs and xine backend libs. could use some help here please.

thanks for your time.

ps: if anyone has a better selection for a media player please let me know. in the windows enviroment i have used winamp to play all files but dvd. i dont like app jumping when i can avoid it when media is concerned.

I'm not sure I fully understand your problems so I'll just try to explain my solutions.
I use vlc to play movies. Playing encrypted dvd's requires a special codec that is restricted by patent issues. To get it in Ubuntu, you have to add the medibuntu repositories. But be warned that there are legal issues especially if you live in the USA.
If you're trying to set up a system exclusively for multi-media, the Mythtv Ubuntu package provides a PVR setup. (needs a tv tuner card for best effect.)
Multimedia, and especially dvd, requires a lot of resources to run properly. I've noticed that my movie collection doesn't play well on mplayer, hence the reason I use vlc.
Note that the Ubuntu and Medibuntu repositories should work for any debian distro.

I am marking as solved.
Reason: I ended up trying out mythTV / xbmc / LinuxMCE. All of which performed what i needed ( automated fan art / disk art for video files).

Thanks!