DVR problem - mixing up feature length episodes with two-part episodes

[NJMorf]

Server Version#: 1.32.8.7639
Player Version#: N/A
Tuner Make/Model: HDHomerun Connect
Guide/Lineup name: Freeview
Using XMLTV?: No
Channel number/Name: ITV3, Freeview channel 10

I’m recording episodes of Lewis (2008). These are being broadcast as single two-hour episodes but both the MovieDB and TVDB lists them as one-hour shows. The DVR is naming them as if they are one-hour episodes, so I have manually renamed the files to show them as merged episodes to match the TVDB/MovieDB naming convention. However, Plex seems to be getting confused over which episodes it still needs to record.

I currently have these files in the Season 07 folder:

Name

Lewis (2008) - S07E01 - Down Among the Fearful.ts
Lewis (2008) - S07E01-E02 - Down Among the Fearful.ts
Lewis (2008) - S07E03 - Intelligent Design.ts
Lewis (2008) - S07E05-E06 - Intelligent Design.ts

Note that I manually renamed the two “merged” files some time ago: they were originally named as unmerged, single episodes.

The two files named as merged episodes existed first. The S07E01 file was recorded later, despite the S07E01-E02 file being present, and despite the fact that Plex was showing that both episode 1 and 2 were already available in the library. Plex currently shows two entries for episode 1 and one for episode 2.

A similar mistake has now taken place for episode 5/6: the S07E05-06 file already existed, but another recording has been made as S07E03: both files have the same episode name, but neither the TVDB nor the MovieDB show that episode name against E03. The plex library shows three episodes for that episode name: one as episode 3, named “Intelligent Design”, another as “Intelligent Design: Part 1” and episode 5, and a third as “Intelligent Design: Part 2” and episode 6. The latter two point to the same file, S07E05-06.

I have two problems and one potential problem here.

1. Plex should not have recorded the S07E01 and S07E03 files, since both episodes were already contained in the library.
2. The DVR should not have named “S07E03 - Intelligent Design” as E03, since both of the database websites show that episode name as E05 and E06. The EPG shows the episode as number 3 (it clearly thinks of the season as three two-hour episodes, not six one-hour episodes). I should note that the episode broadcast is indeed “Intelligent Design”, as stated in the EPG.
3. I don’t think Plex will be able to record the episode that isn’t currently in the library ( The Ramblin’ Boy, Lewis: Season 7 (2013) — The Movie Database (TMDB)) because it probably thinks it’s already been recorded as part of S07E01-02 thanks to the mismatch between the numbering used in the EPG and the TVDB/MovieDB databases. (I actually assume that episode was broadcast a few days ago and Plex opted to skip the recording).

Is there anything I can do to address this? I assume that renaming the files to match the EPG’s numbering will prevent Plex from matching the episode to the TVDB/MovieDB and thus prevent the download of the metadata.

[pshanew]

@NJMorf

Is there anything I can do to address this?

Yes. Stop renaming your files mid-season. Your station appears to be using a modified DVD ordering. TheTVDB has their DVD order showing as two of each episode; there’s a part one and a part two. However, they’re using the same season/episode numbering for each pair (there are two each of S01E01, E02, and E03).

For a while now Plex has used EPG data (except for XMLTV guide data) when adding recorded items to libraries. This was done to eliminate a different set of inconsistencies which used to exist. So there should be no expectation that what the stations broadcast matches what is in the online databases from a metadata standpoint.

If you’re insistent upon forcing a TVDB ordering (and disregarding the EPG data), wait until the season is over and then rename, rescan, and refresh metadata. Trying to mix the two, EPG data and online databases, is not going to work out well in some cases.

(Incidentally, both Plex’s database at watch.plex.tv and TVDB’s database show this as a 2006 series; this might contribute to some matching issues, if your TV provider is providing incorrect EPG data to Gracenote.)

[NJMorf]

TVDB shows the series as 2006, with the pilot episode as S01E01 and season 1 containing four episodes. The MovieDB shows the series as 2007, with the pilot episode as S00E01 and season 1 containing three episodes. The DVR is labelling the series as 2008, which I assume is coming from the EPG, as you say. I suspect I opted to leave the year alone because I’d have to rename each file as it was added. Both databases show episodes from seasons 7-9 as two-parters because it seems ITV broadcast them as such, although the repeats I’m currently recording are all one-parters. I’m leaving the series as 2008 because I think I remember the DVR creating duplicate recordings if the dates don’t match (i.e. if the show folder is 2007, the DVR will just create a new folder as 2008, or at the least a new copy of the episode as 2008).

I’ve been filling holes where the recordings were corrupted or cut off the start or end of the show. The earliest recordings I have at the moment are from about eight months ago, but I’m not convinced that the episodes haven’t been broadcast in a somewhat random order.

I have an ongoing problem with Plex and metadata: it doesn’t seem to make any effort to match any new film or series against either TMDB or MovieDB, so it doesn’t pull in any remote data or images, nor does it show the cast and crew links. Whenever I record something new, I always manually “fix” the match so that the metadata is retrieved (although, for the record, the name and date are usually correct, presumably taken from the EPG data). I usually have to repeat this process for TV shows every time it records the first episode from any subsequent season, as Plex refuses to automatically pull in new metadata for those new seasons. Is this deliberate? It would be an odd choice to have all these features like cast links but rely on the user to pull them in rather than have Plex deliberately match the recording and populate all this extra information.

As for the ordering, I’m just trying to avoid having to fix all this mess by hand. I’d prefer Plex to show them all as single part episodes with the numbering from 1 to 3 instead of 1 to 6, but if I name the files as such and refresh the metadata, the episode names, summaries and thumbnails get messed up because they’re pulled in from TBDM/MovieDB and applied to the wrong episodes. I accept what you say about waiting until the season is complete, but if I have to delete a corrupted recording and wait for it to be rebroadcast, it all goes to pot again.

(As an aside, Plex has an annoying habit of recording multiple copies of some episodes and not actually merging them into a single entry. For season 6, which the DBs agree had four episodes, Plex has added a further six copies, all named identically with the addition of “(copy 1)” or similar, and shows each of them separately in the player, despite them having identical names and summaries. Refreshing the metadata has no effect, nor does fixing the match, though obviously the proper solution is for me to delete the duplicates.)