I have the following:
macOS (most updated)
WD MyCloud Home External Disc (not really their NAS)
Plex Server Version#: 1.16.3.1402
I have all of my ripped movies in the new Apple “TV” app post iTunes break up.
All the movies are on my Mac HD using the standard iTunes doc tree format (iTunes Media > Movies > Movie Title (Folder) > movie_name.m4v
I have set up Plex on my ‘WD MyCloud Home’ external drive/disc but there are no movies/media in the Plex folders (Shared Movies, Shared Music, etc.)
In order for all of the movies in the iTunes ‘doc tree’ to ‘stream’ via Plex, do I need to actually move all of these files into the Plex “Shared Movie” folder on the WD MyCloud Home? Is there any way to map the movies from iTunes doc tree to Plex folder without having to actually move all the movie files?
I’ve seen a lot of discussion regarding Plex PlugIns and Plex Channels however it does not appear that Plex supports those any more. I am not able to find a simple answer or process description of the best way to use Plex to stream the movies I have in the iTunes ‘doc tree’ without having to go through the labor of physically copying/moving the movie files from the iTunes doc tree to the Plex “Shared Movie” folder.
The WD MyCloud Home version of the Plex Media Server is quite limited when it comes to where it looks for your media. As you already figured out it actually only looks in those dedicated folders created during the setup of Plex on the NAS.
You can find some more details on those restrictions in the related support article:
That being said… if you don’t want to move/touch this file structure you could try logging into the WD My Cloud via SSH and create some hard links of the files in your iTunes tree into the Plex folders. This way you could also compensate some of the naming going along with iTunes that might give Plex the hiccups.
Files
Plex
Shared Movies
Toy Story (1995)
Toy Story (1995).m4v -> pointing at: iTunes Tree > Toy Story > Toy Story (1080p HD).m4v
Toy Story 2 (1999)
Toy Story 2 (1999).m4v -> pointing at: iTunes Tree > Toy Story 2 > Toy Story 2 (1080p HD).m4v
That is way beyond my knowledge. And that seems to be way too much effort. I may as well just move the whole iTunes doc tree to the MyCloud disc and point Apple Music and Apple TV apps to the media on the MyCloud disc.
