[Feature Request] Parse full DVD order information from theTVDB

[quaeritate]

This is specifically for multi-episode files, and I am going to use Paw Patrol as an example.

Here are the first eight episodes of Paw Patrol Season 3 as retrieved from here

1. Pups Find a Genie
2. Pups Save a Tightrope Walker
3. Pups Save the Soccer Game
4. Pups Save a Lucky Collar
5. Air Pups
6. Pups Save Friendship Day
7. Pups Save Alex’s Mini-Patrol
8. Pups Save a Lost Tooth

For season 3 of Paw Patrol there are typically two episodes per file, but sometimes only one.

• Paw Patrol S03E01E02 - Pups Find a Genie - Pups Save a Tightrope Walker.xxx
• Paw Patrol S03E03E04 - Pups Save the Soccer Game - Pups Save a Lucky Collar.xxx
• Paw Patrol S03E05 - Air Pups.xxx
• Paw Patrol S03E06 - Pups Save Friendship Day.xxx
• Paw Patrol S03E07E08 - Pups Save Alex’s Mini-Patrol - Pups Save a Lost Tooth.xxx

The DVD order has the information we need. But in plex there is no way of using it. I would have to use the above naming a accept all the annoyances the come with it.

Here is the same eight episodes with the DVD order information

• 1.1 - Pups Find a Genie
• 1.2 - Pups Save a Tightrope Walker
• 2.1 - Pups Save the Soccer Game
• 2.2 - Pups Save a Lucky Collar
• 3.0 - Air Pups
• 4.0 - Pups Save Friendship Day
• 5.1 - Pups Save Alex’s Mini-Patrol
• 5.2 - Pups Save a Lost Tooth

What I am proposing is adding another naming convention to thetvdb scanners that allow the dvd order to be used.

Proposed File Naming

• Paw Patrol S03E01.1E01.2 - Pups Find a Genie - Pups Save a Tightrope Walker.xxx
• Paw Patrol S03E02.1E02.2 - Pups Save the Soccer Game - Pups Save a Lucky Collar.xxx
• Paw Patrol S03E03 - Air Pups.xxx
• Paw Patrol S03E04 - Pups Save Friendship Day.xxx
• Paw Patrol S03E04.1E04.2 - Pups Save Alex’s Mini-Patrol - Pups Save a Lost Tooth.xxx

Displayed Metadata in Plex

• Pups Find a Genie / Pups Save a Tightrope Walker (Episode 1.1 & 1.2)
• Pups Save the Soccer Game / Pups Save a Lucky Collar (Episode 2.1 & 2.2)
• Air Pups (Episode 3)
• Pups Save Friendship Day (Episode 4)
• Pups Save Alex’s Mini-Patrol / Pups Save a Lost Tooth (Episode 5.1 and 5.2)

This shows all the episodes and their names.

[quaeritate]

@flow said:
https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/288407/pulling-dvd-order-vs-aired-order-from-thetvdb

From the post you linked

@OttoKerner
Yes, this is possible. But only if the show doesn’t have “double episodes” in DVD order.
As soon as version numbers like 2.1 and 2.2 appear on TheTVDB, this ceases to work.

I can only assume you are posting this in support of my feature request as they point out the exact use case my feature request is trying to solve.

[Travillion]

This is driving me crazy!! I use Plex DVR to record a bunch of kids shows (e.g., Daniel Tiger and Curious George) for my little ones and these are usually “multi-episode” (e.g., two segments in one 30-min episode). There is a big thread at tvdb discussing why they list each segment as an individual episode, why they will never join them, and how the solution is to use DVD order. But, as you point out, Plex does not support DVD order for multi-episodes (i.e., 2.1, 2.2, etc.). Another recommended solution was to use tmdb as the metadata agent because they don’t always split their episodes. This mostly fixed Daniel Tiger (though not completely) and their Curious George is not even close, and their stated policy is the same as tvdb’s (preferring multi-episodes be split). If I manually split and rename my episodes so the correct metadata gets pulled, then my DVR is messed up because it thinks I have different episodes (because of the mismatch between tvdb and TV guide information). As a result, I have inaccurate metadata in Plex so finding specific episodes is tedious at best.

There needs to be a way to pull multi-episode information from DVD order or allow Plex to save the metadata from the TV guide information the DVR uses. Heck, I would even build a database by hand of the shows I record if I had the coding knowledge to make my own metadata agent that referenced my database.