Bulk Importing "orphaned" Media items into Myriad Playout v6

How to Use the Command Line Utility to Import Orphaned Media Items

The Myriad v6 Command Line Utility includes a powerful tool for recovering “orphaned” media items—audio files that still exist in your media folders, but which have no corresponding database records. This typically occurs if the database has been lost or partially restored after hardware failure without including a recent backup, while the media files remain intact on disk.

This guide explains how to use the /action=ImportOrphanedMediaFiles command to scan a range of Media IDs and automatically repopulate missing database entries based on the embedded metadata in the audio files.

An example Batch file is attached to this help article, but you should review it carefully before using it.

⚠️ Important Information Before You Begin

• Always back up your Myriad database and media folders before performing bulk operations.

• This process should only be performed by an IT administrator or experienced support professional.

What is an Orphaned Media Item?

An orphaned media item occurs when:

• The audio file still exists on disk in its expected location.

• The database entry is missing, corrupt, or was never created.

Myriad can detect such discrepancies and re-import these items by reading the metadata from the audio files themselves.

Basic Syntax

To import orphaned media items, use the following command:

MyriadUtilityCL6.exe /action=ImportOrphanedMediaFiles /startMediaId=<start> /endMediaId=<end>

Required Parameters

Example:

MyriadUtilityCL6.exe /action=ImportOrphanedMediaFiles /startMediaId=1000 /endMediaId=1999

This command scans media IDs from 1000 to 1999 and attempts to re-import any items missing from the database but present on disk.

Notes on Usage

• You must specify both startMediaId and endMediaId or the utility will not run.

• IDs outside the valid range of your database will be rejected.

• The process uses the media folder path defined in your Myriad Application settings.

• It attempts to populate the Media ID, Title, Artist, and other metadata fields using information embedded in the audio files (e.g. Cartchunk or ID3 tags).

Advanced Use (Automation & Deployment)

You can automate this recovery process using scripting or enterprise tools:

1. Group Policy or Scheduled Task

Create a scheduled task or GPO to run the command with appropriate privileges on startup or at a set time.

2. Silent Mode

Add the /silent switch to suppress console prompts:

MyriadUtilityCL6.exe /action=ImportOrphanedMediaFiles /startMediaId=1 /endMediaId=500 /silent

Summary

This command line function is ideal for restoring lost database metadata without needing to manually re-import each file. It's particularly useful following hardware failures or migrations where audio files were preserved but database backups were unavailable or outdated.

If you need assistance with choosing the correct Media ID range or interpreting the results, please contact Broadcast Radio support.