Can't see the new show I put on my plex server, Why?

I finally found a show I wanted to add to Plex, and it’s in a .mp4 format. The show is “Buzz Lightyear of Star Command”

I understand that if I don’t have the file structure just right, it won’t show up, however, I have put it under the correct structure:

TV Shows > Buzz Lightyear of Star Command > Buzz Lightyear of Star Command - S01E01

Thank you for any advice/help you can provide.

Server Version#: 1.40.3.8555
Player Version#:

Name the file “Buzz Lightyear of Star Command.2000.S01E01.mp4”

Year is important in the folder structures as well as files though. Better to do both.

nothing yet, When I scan, it is really quick, is that normal?

If you’re going to include the year, use parenthesis.

e.g.

Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000)/
  Season 01/
    Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000) - S01E01.mp4

Still nothing…

Move the files away from where Plex monitors.

  1. Scan files
  2. Empty Trash
  3. Clean Bundles
  4. Move files back

Renaming files in-situ, after they’ve been scanned, doesn’t always work.

ALSO, MP4’s carry title / name metadata embedded. IF that info is junk, PMS won’t match, You’ll need to remove that metadata from the file.

What are the steps to empty the trash and clean bundles?

Plex/web

  1. Hover over your server name and expose the ellipsis
  2. Manage Server

I just opened it in VLC to see the metadata, and it is incorrect, if I get it in .mkv, will this fix the issue or how can I fix the metadata?

MKV’s metadata (internal fields) aren’t scanned by plex.

You can also usemkvpropedit -s title= filename_here.mkv if you want to remove any title data (make it null)

The title= with nothing after it is deliberate

Alternative:

MKVtoolnix will let you convert mp4 → mkv -AND- fix the metadata on the fly.
No re-encoding

EDIT: Fixed typo – Thanks @shark2k :saluting_face:

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ok, here’s another very similar issue. I have Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire) and the second movie will not appear, I have had to recreate my Plex server from scratch once or twice with a different OS, this file is .mkv but it still doesn’t show up, Do you have any thoughts?

Two top problems with PMS on Linux:

  1. Naming

I use FileBot to name my files (all MKV) but there are others (TinyMediaManager, etc) which will provide perfect Plex naming format (IMPORTANT)

  1. Permissions

Plex runs as a different username. You have to remember to relax the default Linux permissions to all that other user to read it.

My default permissions are:

  • Directories = 755
  • Files = 644

This way, my username (which owns the files) has full privilege.
Plex (because it’s an ‘other’ user) has read only.

I’ve never had a problem

Just to clarify what @ChuckPa meant is that the metadata for MKV’s is not scanned by Plex.

That sentence can make it seem like Plex will not import MKV’s which is not the case.
Just wanted to clarify in case anyone sees that in the future to prevent confusion.

-Shark2k

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Non-productive / off-topic posts have been removed.

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ok, so I was looking at the logs and found something interesting…

Plex Media/RIP TV Shows/Star Command (parent: yes)
Jun 27, 2024 02:13:43.451 [125875188149048] ERROR - Couldn’t check for the existence of file “/mnt/MATRIX/Plex Media/RIP TV Shows/Star Command/.plexignore”: boost::filesystem::status: Permission denied [system:13]: “/mnt/MATRIX/Plex Media/RIP TV Shows/Star Command/.plexignore”
Jun 27, 2024 02:13:43.452 [125875188149048] ERROR - Couldn’t check for the existence of file “/mnt/MATRIX/Plex Media/RIP TV Shows/Star Command/.plexignore”: boost::filesystem::status: Permission denied [system:13]: “/mnt/MATRIX/Plex Media/RIP TV Shows/Star Command/.plexignore”
Jun 27, 2024 02:13:43.453 [125875188149048] DEBUG - Skipping over directory ‘Star Command’, as nothing has changed; removing 0 media items from map.

I just checked my permissions and it says it’s good for my Plex user

Walk every directory in the path. Somewhere one of them isn’t allowing it.

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