Raindancing created an absolute order TVDB agent for Plex [here](http://forums.plexapp.com/index.php/topic/21625-absolute-order-agent/), but it is only available as a .plexapp file, which I couldn't install on my Linux PMS. Inspired by Raindancing's scanner modifications, I wrote a scanner to handle absolute ordered shows ([BABS](http://forums.plexapp.com/index.php/topic/31081-better-absolute-scanner-babs/)) and modified the default TVDB agent in 0.9.3.5 to handle absolute order metadata retrieval, which I called AbsTVDB. I was having some issues with date ordered names mentioned in a post at the end of the thread linked above, so held off posting it.
Now that 0.9.5 is out and the date ordering seems to work properly with the default scanner/agent and in the combination of BABS and AbsTVDB. Other than changes I made to support absolute ordering, the original BABS scanner and the AbsTVDB agent attached here diff out the same as the 0.9.5 series scanner and TVDB agent.
I have over 150 series in my anime collection using absolute numbers, SxxExx, Epxxx, and Season folders with episodes starting at 1 for each season--sometimes multiple schemes in the same series. Why all the inconsistency? Well, sometimes a second season has a different name (example: Nurarihyon no Mago vs. Nurarihyon no Mago: Sennen Makyou) but TVDB doesn't treat it as a separate show. So I just add Epxxx to the second season episode names to match the correct absolute ordering. I often use S0Exx for specials. And sometimes the shows really do have true seasons, so end up in Season folders. The combination of BABS and AbsTVDB handle them all. **If you've got something that breaks the pair, let me know. Please.**
To install, AbsTVDB, go to the (/var/lib/plexmediaserver/)Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server/Plug-ins directory and unzip the file. It should create an AbsTVDB.bundle folder with the agent in it. You may need to stop and start plexmediaserver to get PMS to recognize AbsTVDB. Give it time to come up fully. You should see AbsTVDB as an option for your section's metadata agent in the Web Manager section configuration popup (click the Advanced button).
Again, if you're doing absolute ordering, you probably want BABS, especially if your series goes over 99 episodes. The pair complement each other.
--EDIT--
22 Nov 2011 -- fixed the naming problem Aucix found -- zipped from the wrong place. Thanks for the catch.
It works really well, thank you. I did have trouble installing initialy, it turns out the code file is named __init__abstvdb instead of just __init__ and once I changed that it was perfect.
I installed it to the proper plugins dir, but when I look in the “agents” part of the preferences, under the absTVDB heading the agent is grayed out and the checkbox can’t be activated (it stays unchecked) In short, I can’t get it to work. I have a few shows that get metadata just fine from the TVDB, but the problem is that I want them to be in DVD order or Absolute order (they’re effectively the same) since the files I have are ripped from the blu ray and the story makes more sense in that order rather than the jumbled aired order.
EDIT: I tried right clicking the series and choosing to unmatch it, then matching it using the AbsTVDB option. Some episodes were matched correctly and some were not. I’m trying to fix The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya so it is in the correct order. The original run of the show (2006) is all wrong. It’s using the aired order, not the absolute order. Starting with Episode 15, however, it has most of the matches right. Some of them are still off, but most of them are right. If there’s any fix I’d be glad to know.
I haven't figured out exactly what Agents in Preferences does, :blink: but it doesn't select the active agent. Edit the section configuration, click Advanced (looks something like this: http://wiki.plexapp.com/index.php/PlexNine_PMS_MediaManager#Setting_up_your_first_Section), and change the default metadata agent. For example, in my AnimeSeries section, I have the default scanner set to BABS and the default metadata agent set to AbsTVDB.
Alternatively, you can scan individual series as you described. Note that AbsTVDB is generally a suitable replacement for the base TVDB agent at the section level (but see the documentation on AbsTVDB and BABS for a few special cases).
Haruhi is a little strange (unsurprisingly <_< ). I have the series and see what you mean when I compare what I have in PMS against the various orders on TVDB.
But I'm not sure the sort problem is a scanner/agent issue. I could be wrong, but the scanner is about identifying media files to process and the agent is about managing interaction with the metadata provider (TVDB in this case) and matching scanned files to metadata provider's metadata model. It isn't about sorting. Not 100% sure, but I think that's correct. The only sorting I see in the agent is around the list returned when you search for a series using Fix Incorrect Match and artwork (posters, fanart, etc.).
The scanner/agent pair allows PMS to match metadata from TVDB when the series files are named in absolute order as opposed to SxxExxx or separated into season folders. It attempts to match against the absolute episode number in TVDB's metadata model in addition to the standard (season/episode and date-based) matching methods. It also populates the episode.absolute_number attribute in the PMS metadata. But I suspect this does not affect how PMS sorts the files. I suspect PMS looks at a specific element in its metadata for sort order, and that is probably not absolute number given PMS's default distaste for absolute numbers. I suspect it's either season+episode or air date. Someone who knows the PMS code can confirm or deny.
I know that doesn't solve your problem, but hopefully the information about is useful.
(Curiously, even though my Haruhi episodes are numbered in aired order, the metadata seems to be correct. I can only theorize that someone reordered them on TVDB after I scanned them. The difference between the aired order numbering and the absolute numbers now on TVDB should produce a mismatch in episode 1.)
It is part of fate/stay night on thetvdb. I’d like the series to stay separate, but I can’t even have it in my library unless it gets found. Currently I have it set up as such
Fate/Stay Night S01EXX
Fate/Zero S01EXX
Fate/Zero II S01EXX
mainly for use with anidb on xbmc. I’d prefer Fate/Zero and Fate/Zero Season 2 to be in the same folder obviously, but separate from Fate/Stay Night.
Using babs and your plugin I’m able to get fate/stay night, But since I think both fate/zero and fate/zero II trigger as Fate/stay night, it causes them both to get merged and forgotten? I think this is because of the episode numberings. Since they all contain the same numbers in fate/stay night.
Is the only option to conform and put them all under fate/stay night. I Suppose even if I kept them in their separate folders and used absolute numbering it would still merge them all into 1 show. Am I correct in that assumption?
I just put (all of) Fate/Zero in a season 2 folder under Fate/Stay Night. I don't agree with TVDB's decision to take a show that is a prequel that was released several years after the original and call it "Season 2," but I chose to live with it. I'm struggling to see how they rationalize making Naruto Shippuuden a separate show from the original Naruto series given the Fate series and Last Exile/Fam the Silver Wing. Just because we jumped forward two or three years in the timeline? Shippuuden started the week after the original Naruto series ended, didn't even have the decency to wait a few years like F/Z and Fam did. So wouldn't F/Z have at least as good an argument for being a separate show? And why is Fam "part of" Last Exile even though LE ran spring/summer of 2003 and Fam ran autumn/winter of 2011/12. I mean, heck, it even has a radically different title. Surely there's at least as strong an argument to make it a separate show as Naruto.
I've concluded that TVDB has their reasons whereof reason knows nothing and trying to make sense of some of their decisions is a road to insanity (because that's the only way they can rationalize some of their decisions). My choices are to live with them or rescan my whole library from another source (that will do other things wrong, IMO) or break the library up based on what TVDB does wrong and hope the other sources do it right. I've chosen to live with the warts I know. (Though they have seriously munged up a few series, especially the .//hack family. Fortunately, I scanned before they messed that up, so my db has the old stuff that was right.)
Thank you for this great tool. However, I am facing one annoying issue.
I get the metadata for the animes I have tested (One Piece and Pokemon). But, everything is being stored in Season 1 on the Plex Manager. Is there a way to split the series up into seasons while still maintaining the absolute numbering system.
For example, Pokemon Season 1 ends at Episode 83 and Season 2 starts at Episode 84. I want them to split up into 2 seasons rather than having to scroll down the whole Season 1 folder on Plex. I have tried separating the files into 2 folders, however Season 2 with filenames starting at Episode 84 do not get metadata if its not in the root of the series.
Thank you for this great tool. However, I am facing one annoying issue.
I get the metadata for the animes I have tested (One Piece and Pokemon). But, everything is being stored in Season 1 on the Plex Manager. Is there a way to split the series up into seasons while still maintaining the absolute numbering system.
For example, Pokemon Season 1 ends at Episode 83 and Season 2 starts at Episode 84. I want them to split up into 2 seasons rather than having to scroll down the whole Season 1 folder on Plex. I have tried separating the files into 2 folders, however Season 2 with filenames starting at Episode 84 do not get metadata if its not in the root of the series.
This may be a very noobish question, but I'll toss it anyway.
First, thank you for making this, trying to get anime into seasons gets annoying because thetvdb has no consistency, dragonball/z's using american seasons (set by FUNimation), whereas One Peice I assume is using Japanese seasons (because an 8 episode season 1 just seems odd to me) - really wish I could just use seasons from one side of the ocean or the other, having them mixed is super annoying - but this fixes that, just listing absolute order solves that issue and I thank you for it.
My question is, I can't seem to use theme song music with this agent, it isn't even an option to use them with it in the plex media servers configuration area, is there a way for me to change this?
Thanks in advance for making an agent and for looking at the question! :)
Plex’s own TheTVDB agent now supports absolute ordering.
If TheTVDB actually has the absolute episode numbers stored for the show in question, that is.
Looks like I’ll have to go one show at a time but this is still better for me than installing agents and scanners. I do hope they’ll make it possible to choose the episode ordering format on a whole playlist.
