I seem to have run in to a glitch with auto-optimization with multiple recordings that happen on the Same day. I’m using NextPVR to auto-record directly to a location on the Plex server, and I need to auto-optimize the recordings. So, I choose the show at the top level, and select optimize “in folder with originals” so it auto-optimizes anything that goes in to this show folder. However, sometimes because of repeats, there will be multiple recordings of the same show on the same day. NextPVR will name the recordings like this:
The Chase_2020-07-16_20592200.ts
The Chase_2020-07-16_22002300.ts
As you can see, they have the same date stamps, but different timestamps. Now, the Plex auto-optimizer sees them, and starts to optimize, but it generates a file in “Plex Versions” that looks like this:
2020-07-16.mp4
Herein lies the issue. I have 2 source files that wold both generate the same optimized version file. What appears to happen is that Plex optimizes one of them, and then does nothing with the other, presumably believing that it has already been optimized.
Is there any way to fix this problem? I can’t see any option in settings that allow me to tell Plex to use a more granular name (which would be the solution here).
OK, thanks. I guess you can close this thread, maybe with an enhancement request.
It seems like this kind of thing happens quite often in most countries now; since the start of digital broadcasting, a lot of free to air channels, have some other secondary channel where they often have repeats of shows, and it is quite common for them to show multiple in one day. It would be really nice if Plex was able to handle and recode these somehow.
For the time being I am just renaming the original file and recoding manually. It works, but it would be nice to automate it.
Having repeats and multiple episodes on the same day is fine. The issue is 2 episodes of the same same that have the same originally aired date. That is unusual and what can’t be handled by Plex. As long as the shows have separate originally aired date, these can be saved by Plex with those correct dates. Plex does not match by actual aired date.
So the problem is your recording program that saves it by the actual aired date and not the original. If your program has the option to save by the original aired date or the SxEy format itstead, those wouldn’t have an issue.
OK, that makes sense, and in fact the problem is the EPG. NextPVR seems to be able to handle the SxEy format, but the issue is that the EPG being used does not distinguish between a new episode and a repeat.
These are actually Australian TV shows, and the root of the problem is that the channel providers in Australia are not good about indicating new vs repeat on their guides, or which episode of which season is being broadcast, so original air date is a total loss, the best NextPVR can do is stamp it with the actual air date. Not much any software can do about that, it needs to be fixed by the broadcaster
Do a search of the forums for Coronation Street or Emmerdale
A way to get Plex to identify multi date based episodes in one day has been going on for years
Was originally brought up for DVR, when it matched with tvdb and though both episodes where the same
I assume you are in Australia so not sure how different it is to the UK guide
The only work around i can think of (used it occasionally) is check the recording in NextPVR, it might have an originall available date on it, if so rename the recording to this date
Ugh. So some episodes are twice as long as others, so they split those into part 1 and part 2. Why would the broadcaster make it confusing like that. That’s just wacky.
Yes, a manual file rename seems to be the fix. Currently I just pick a random date since I have no idea what version or episode it is. Unfortunately the Australian EPG gives no indication of this, and NextPVR just creates a file with a date-stamp an nothing else, even though I have every option checked in NextPVR “Recording Settings”.
Thanks, let me try that. I already tried a Movie library, but that didn’t work because it places everything in one location when it recodes, rather than maintaining the TV show folder structure.
Personal media on a TV library might do the trick; I don’t care about finding that actual episode meta-data in the TVDB; because of the bad EPG information, that is a complete loss anyway.
I think I found a solution for this and my other issue. There is the ability in NextPVR to run a script after the recording has finished. In NextPVR, this is a shell (or bat) script which runs when NextPVR is done called PostProcessing.sh (or .bat). So I can just record in a folder that Plex doesn’t see, and then have the shell script move the file to a folder monitored by Plex after the recording is done.
