I’ve run into a big issue with my grandkids Spongebob shows. The shows match the IMDB database perfectly, but the TVDB database is super different. Is it possible to keep Plex from changing the names and use just what is in the file?
Verify based on what order your files are named.
Then edit the show in Plex, switch to the Advanced tab and set the episode ordering accordingly – e.g. to TheTVDb (Aired) or The Movie Database…
Plex doesn’t use IMDB for TV shows.
You say “what in the file”, do you mean the file name or is there embedded metadata in the file?
There was a SpongeBob related thread recently. Might help to clarify some things.
FYI, aside from MP4 files, Plex will NEVER respect your file names or metadata. The only parts of your filename Plex cares about is the show name of the folder, and the season/episode number in the filename. Everything else is ignored. MKV files can contain embedded metadata, but as of now Plex ignores these tags.
The only way to get the episodes to show up with metadata from online sources (which is Plex default for any matched show), is to look at either the TMDB or TVDB episode orders, and see if your episodes match up with those. If you have a DVD release, there is also a TVDB (DVD order) you can use.
By default, all libraries in Plex us TMDB episode ordering. You can edit your library to change the default to TVDB (aired), instead. You can also edit a single show and make it use one of these orders INSTEAD OF the library default.
