I started using Plex a couple years ago and eventually managed to cut the cord 
. Now that I’m using it a lot, I realize that my current libraries/folders set up might need some ironing out and my workflow could use some serious debugging. Any suggestions are welcomed.
Here’s my hardware:
- PMS 1.15.6.1079
- 2007 iMac 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo
- MacOS 10.11 El Capitan
- Several external hard drives (USB 2)
- HDHomerun Connect + DIY OTA antenna
- Apple TV 4K (using ethernet, only device used to watch media)
- Wired router between iMac, HDHR and ATV.
Hardware is working well for me although I can’t watch .ts shows because transcoding on the fly is too demanding for that CPU. Not a big deal since I optimize all DVR recordings to save space anyways.
Here’s my current workflow:
1-I use Plex EPG to program recordings on HDHR Connect. Recordings are set to « Keep all episodes » and « Never delete » after watching).
2-Recorded TV shows are saved to a DVR TV folder, inside the TV Shows folder, both of which are tied to the TV shows library. Same thing for Recorded movies (saved to a DVR Movie folder, inside the Movies folder, both in the Movies library). I also have additional libraries for animated movies and documentaries (mostly ripped from Blu-ray/DVDs).
3-Plex automatically creates optimized versions of new recordings via 2 filters (TV Shows added within 5 mins, «Limit to 5» is unchecked; same for Movies).
4-Once a month I manually do what I call the Optimized file dance to save space:
- I move the optimized .mp4 file to the folder where the .ts file is
- I rename each .mp4 to match the original .ts filename
- I delete .ts file.
I would love to find a way to automate this.
5-At the same time I have to sort the optimized files that fill up the trash. This is an unresolved issue I’ve had: despite all the advice I got, some optimized files end up in the trash (cf Why do my optimized versions end up in the trash? - #4 by domperignon3).
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for almost all movies (9/10), Plex sends the optimized version to the trash, so I manually move each one back to its .ts folder, delete the .ts file. This one is easier since the filename is usually unchanged.
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for some movies Plex renames the optimized version with the english title, although the .ts file was in french. I was told it has to do with the 2 languages situation and some Agent not finding information about a given recording (cf How to fix: Movie names changing from french to english after optimization ): PMS language is set to french, libraries are set to french, localized titles are disabled (Agents) but recordings are from both french and english channels. I wish I could disable the filename renaming and keep the original one. Actually I’d rather keep ALL information provided in the EPG listing than whatever is grabbed by TheTVDB and The Movie database (which I can’t uncheck) because I’m losing all the ratings/synopsis/actors/etc.
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for some shows, Plex sends the optimized version to the trash, sometimes in duplicates. This one is more problematic since I have to figure out what show each file belongs to (ex.: S01E08.mp4) by watching 4-5 seconds. I then manually move it back to the folder where the .ts folder, rename it and delete .ts file. That’s my biggest problem.
6-I empty the MacOS trash.
7-From time to time I tidy up: I manually move individual movie folders from the DVR Movie folder to the main Movie folder. Same for TV shows once a season is over. This helps narrowing down folders with recently recorded shows from all the others, so I can move the trashed optimized files.
That’s the whole story. In summary:
Q1-Is there a way to automate the « Optimized file dance » on Mac?
Q2-How can I prevent Plex from trashing optimized files? What should I be looking for in the logs/settings/etc?
Q3-How can I keep EPG filename and information?
