# How are chapters scanned?

**URL:** <https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-are-chapters-scanned/217730>\
**Category:** General Discussions\
**Created:** [December 15, 2017, 2:54pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-are-chapters-scanned/217730 "2017-12-15T14:54:33Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 9\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![acollin2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@acollin2](https://forums.plex.tv/u/acollin2)\
**Post date:** [December 15, 2017, 2:54pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-are-chapters-scanned/217730/1 "2017-12-15T14:54:33Z")

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Hello,

I have a MP4 movie that is missing the usual chapter selection. The rest of my movies are fine.

If I open the file in QuickTime on the Mac I can see the chapters:

But in Plex they are missing.

How can I fix this? I tried looking for errors in my [server logs](https://support.plex.tv/articles/200250417-plex-media-server-log-files/) but couldn’t see anything about chapters or the name of the movie.

Thanks.  
Ashley

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![anon18523487](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@anon18523487](https://forums.plex.tv/u/anon18523487)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2017, 8:53am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-are-chapters-scanned/217730/2 "2017-12-16T08:53:46Z")

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If the chapter information is in the file, Plex will read it directly from the file.

Please post the XML from Plex. If you have the program mediainfo, also provide the text output from that for this file.

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**Author:** ![acollin2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@acollin2](https://forums.plex.tv/u/acollin2)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2017, 12:00pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-are-chapters-scanned/217730/3 "2017-12-16T12:00:01Z")

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I’ve attached those to this post. thanks!

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![acollin2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@acollin2](https://forums.plex.tv/u/acollin2)\
**Post date:** [January 18, 2018, 7:37pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-are-chapters-scanned/217730/4 "2018-01-18T19:37:51Z")

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Any ideas on this MovieFan.Plex?

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**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\
**Post date:** [January 18, 2018, 9:35pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-are-chapters-scanned/217730/5 "2018-01-18T21:35:41Z")

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Most Plex clients don’t have a visual representation of chapters yet.  
The only exception is the iOS client I think.  
But many Plex clients do support jumping back and forth from chapter markers.

In the web client, this is achieved by pressing `Alt`+`←` and `Alt`+`→`

Plex Media Player in fullscreen mode uses `↑` and `↓`

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**Author:** ![Hellowlol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/858c86/32.png) [@Hellowlol](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Hellowlol)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2018, 9:45pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-are-chapters-scanned/217730/6 "2018-03-04T21:45:04Z")

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> @“MovieFan.Plex” said:  
> If the chapter information is in the file, Plex will read it directly from the file.
> 
> Please post the XML from Plex. If you have the program mediainfo, also provide the text output from that for this file.

Where are the chapters stored for episodes? I assume the chapters isnt read from the file everytime i call [http://127.0.0.1:32400/library/metadata/36?includeChapters=1](http://127.0.0.1:32400/library/metadata/36?includeChapters=1) ← 36 is a episode!

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**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 5:58pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-are-chapters-scanned/217730/7 "2018-03-18T17:58:10Z")

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> @Hellowlol said:  
> Where are the chapters stored for episodes? I assume the chapters isnt read from the file everytime i call [http://127.0.0.1:32400/library/metadata/36?includeChapters=1](http://127.0.0.1:32400/library/metadata/36?includeChapters=1) ← 36 is a episode!

If the episode _has_ chapters, they are imported into the Plex database.  
For movies, Plex will fetch chapters from [chapterdb.com](http://chapterdb.com). But for episodes there is not a comparable service. Therefore the chapters need to be in the media files themselves.  
I know Plex reads them from MKV files. Not sure if the same applioes to mp4 files too.

Look at the bottom:

```auto
<MediaContainer size="1" allowSync="1" identifier="com.plexapp.plugins.library" librarySectionID="17" librarySectionTitle="Anime Serien" librarySectionUUID="193154db-bb3f-4542-86ab-f4062c8db87b" mediaTagPrefix="/system/bundle/media/flags/" mediaTagVersion="1521048616">
<Video ratingKey="126463" key="/library/metadata/126463" skipParent="1" grandparentRatingKey="126461" guid="com.plexapp.agents.thetvdb://245451/1/1?lang=de" librarySectionTitle="Anime Serien" librarySectionID="17" librarySectionKey="/library/sections/17" type="episode" title="Der nemëische Löwe" titleSort="nemeische Lowe" grandparentKey="/library/metadata/126461" grandparentTitle="Appleseed XIII" parentTitle="Staffel 1" contentRating="TV-14" summary="Die futurxxxxxxxxxxx" index="1" parentIndex="1" rating="7.0" year="2011" thumb="/library/metadata/126463/thumb/1488466930" art="/library/metadata/126461/art/1488466931" parentThumb="/library/metadata/126462/thumb/1488466931" grandparentThumb="/library/metadata/126461/thumb/1488466931" grandparentArt="/library/metadata/126461/art/1488466931" duration="1363822" originallyAvailableAt="2011-06-03" addedAt="1409013671" updatedAt="1488466930" chapterSource="media">
<Media videoResolution="1080" id="112514" duration="1363822" bitrate="9186" width="1920" height="1080" aspectRatio="1.78" audioChannels="6" audioCodec="dca" videoCodec="h264" container="mkv" videoFrameRate="24p" audioProfile="dts" videoProfile="high">
<Part accessible="1" exists="1" id="113292" key="/library/parts/113292/1365873167/file.mkv" duration="1363822" file="G:\Anime\Appleseed XIII\Appleseed.XIII.S01E01-1080p.mkv" size="1566025786" audioProfile="dts" container="mkv" indexes="sd" videoProfile="high">
<Stream id="190490" streamType="1" default="1" codec="h264" index="0" bitrate="7024" language="日本語" languageCode="jpn" bitDepth="8" cabac="1" chromaSubsampling="4:2:0" codecID="V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC" duration="1363822" frameRate="23.976" frameRateMode="cfr" hasScalingMatrix="0" height="1080" level="41" pixelFormat="yuv420p" profile="high" refFrames="4" scanType="progressive" title="Appleseed XIII - S01E01 - Der nemëische Löwe" width="1920"/>
<Stream id="190491" streamType="2" default="1" codec="dca" index="1" channels="6" bitrate="1509" language="Deutsch" languageCode="ger" audioChannelLayout="5.1(side)" bitDepth="24" bitrateMode="cbr" codecID="A_DTS" duration="1363808" profile="dts" samplingRate="48000"/>
<Stream id="190492" streamType="2" selected="1" codec="ac3" index="2" channels="6" bitrate="640" language="日本語" languageCode="jpn" audioChannelLayout="5.1(side)" bitDepth="16" bitrateMode="cbr" codecID="A_AC3" dialogNorm="-31" duration="1363808" samplingRate="48000" />
<Stream id="190493" streamType="3" default="1" forced="1" codec="pgs" index="3" language="Deutsch" languageCode="ger" codecID="S_HDMV/PGS" format="pgs" title="Forced PGS"/>
<Stream id="190494" streamType="3" codec="vobsub" index="4" language="Deutsch" languageCode="ger" codecID="S_VOBSUB" format="vobsub" title="Forced VobSub"/>
<Stream id="190495" streamType="3" selected="1" codec="pgs" index="5" language="Deutsch" languageCode="ger" codecID="S_HDMV/PGS" format="pgs" title="Full PGS"/>
<Stream id="190496" streamType="3" codec="vobsub" index="6" language="Deutsch" languageCode="ger" codecID="S_VOBSUB" format="vobsub" title="Full VobSub"/>
</Part>
</Media>
<Writer id="31526" filter="writer=31526" tag="藤咲淳一"/>
<Chapter id="31609" filter="thumb=31609" tag="" index="1" startTimeOffset="0" endTimeOffset="62020" thumb="/library/media/112514/chapterImages/1"/>
<Chapter id="31609" filter="thumb=31609" tag="" index="2" startTimeOffset="62020" endTimeOffset="622789" thumb="/library/media/112514/chapterImages/2"/>
<Chapter id="31609" filter="thumb=31609" tag="" index="3" startTimeOffset="622789" endTimeOffset="1333290" thumb="/library/media/112514/chapterImages/3"/>
<Chapter id="31609" filter="thumb=31609" tag="" index="4" startTimeOffset="1333290" endTimeOffset="1363808" thumb="/library/media/112514/chapterImages/4"/>
</Video>
</MediaContainer>

```

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Hellowlol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/858c86/32.png) [@Hellowlol](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Hellowlol)\
**Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 9:41pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-are-chapters-scanned/217730/8 "2018-03-24T21:41:31Z")

</div>

> @OttoKerner said:
> 
> > @Hellowlol said:  
> > Where are the chapters stored for episodes? I assume the chapters isnt read from the file everytime i call [http://127.0.0.1:32400/library/metadata/36?includeChapters=1](http://127.0.0.1:32400/library/metadata/36?includeChapters=1) ← 36 is a episode!
> 
> If the episode _has_ chapters, they are imported into the Plex database.  
> For movies, Plex will fetch chapters from [chapterdb.com](http://chapterdb.com). But for episodes there is not a comparable service. Therefore the chapters need to be in the media files themselves.  
> I know Plex reads them from MKV files. Not sure if the same applioes to mp4 files too.
> 
> Look at the bottom:
> 
> ```auto
> <MediaContainer size="1" allowSync="1" identifier="com.plexapp.plugins.library" librarySectionID="17" librarySectionTitle="Anime Serien" librarySectionUUID="193154db-bb3f-4542-86ab-f4062c8db87b" mediaTagPrefix="/system/bundle/media/flags/" mediaTagVersion="1521048616">
> <Video ratingKey="126463" key="/library/metadata/126463" skipParent="1" grandparentRatingKey="126461" guid="com.plexapp.agents.thetvdb://245451/1/1?lang=de" librarySectionTitle="Anime Serien" librarySectionID="17" librarySectionKey="/library/sections/17" type="episode" title="Der nemëische Löwe" titleSort="nemeische Lowe" grandparentKey="/library/metadata/126461" grandparentTitle="Appleseed XIII" parentTitle="Staffel 1" contentRating="TV-14" summary="Die futurxxxxxxxxxxx" index="1" parentIndex="1" rating="7.0" year="2011" thumb="/library/metadata/126463/thumb/1488466930" art="/library/metadata/126461/art/1488466931" parentThumb="/library/metadata/126462/thumb/1488466931" grandparentThumb="/library/metadata/126461/thumb/1488466931" grandparentArt="/library/metadata/126461/art/1488466931" duration="1363822" originallyAvailableAt="2011-06-03" addedAt="1409013671" updatedAt="1488466930" chapterSource="media">
> <Media videoResolution="1080" id="112514" duration="1363822" bitrate="9186" width="1920" height="1080" aspectRatio="1.78" audioChannels="6" audioCodec="dca" videoCodec="h264" container="mkv" videoFrameRate="24p" audioProfile="dts" videoProfile="high">
> <Part accessible="1" exists="1" id="113292" key="/library/parts/113292/1365873167/file.mkv" duration="1363822" file="G:\Anime\Appleseed XIII\Appleseed.XIII.S01E01-1080p.mkv" size="1566025786" audioProfile="dts" container="mkv" indexes="sd" videoProfile="high">
> <Stream id="190490" streamType="1" default="1" codec="h264" index="0" bitrate="7024" language="日本語" languageCode="jpn" bitDepth="8" cabac="1" chromaSubsampling="4:2:0" codecID="V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC" duration="1363822" frameRate="23.976" frameRateMode="cfr" hasScalingMatrix="0" height="1080" level="41" pixelFormat="yuv420p" profile="high" refFrames="4" scanType="progressive" title="Appleseed XIII - S01E01 - Der nemëische Löwe" width="1920"/>
> <Stream id="190491" streamType="2" default="1" codec="dca" index="1" channels="6" bitrate="1509" language="Deutsch" languageCode="ger" audioChannelLayout="5.1(side)" bitDepth="24" bitrateMode="cbr" codecID="A_DTS" duration="1363808" profile="dts" samplingRate="48000"/>
> <Stream id="190492" streamType="2" selected="1" codec="ac3" index="2" channels="6" bitrate="640" language="日本語" languageCode="jpn" audioChannelLayout="5.1(side)" bitDepth="16" bitrateMode="cbr" codecID="A_AC3" dialogNorm="-31" duration="1363808" samplingRate="48000" />
> <Stream id="190493" streamType="3" default="1" forced="1" codec="pgs" index="3" language="Deutsch" languageCode="ger" codecID="S_HDMV/PGS" format="pgs" title="Forced PGS"/>
> <Stream id="190494" streamType="3" codec="vobsub" index="4" language="Deutsch" languageCode="ger" codecID="S_VOBSUB" format="vobsub" title="Forced VobSub"/>
> <Stream id="190495" streamType="3" selected="1" codec="pgs" index="5" language="Deutsch" languageCode="ger" codecID="S_HDMV/PGS" format="pgs" title="Full PGS"/>
> <Stream id="190496" streamType="3" codec="vobsub" index="6" language="Deutsch" languageCode="ger" codecID="S_VOBSUB" format="vobsub" title="Full VobSub"/>
> </Part>
> </Media>
> <Writer id="31526" filter="writer=31526" tag="藤咲淳一"/>
> <Chapter id="31609" filter="thumb=31609" tag="" index="1" startTimeOffset="0" endTimeOffset="62020" thumb="/library/media/112514/chapterImages/1"/>
> <Chapter id="31609" filter="thumb=31609" tag="" index="2" startTimeOffset="62020" endTimeOffset="622789" thumb="/library/media/112514/chapterImages/2"/>
> <Chapter id="31609" filter="thumb=31609" tag="" index="3" startTimeOffset="622789" endTimeOffset="1333290" thumb="/library/media/112514/chapterImages/3"/>
> <Chapter id="31609" filter="thumb=31609" tag="" index="4" startTimeOffset="1333290" endTimeOffset="1363808" thumb="/library/media/112514/chapterImages/4"/>
> </Video>
> </MediaContainer>
> 
> ```

Thanks!

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/2/a/2acb9765406f63293d357b4ec509ec39aa28f2ad.png) [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)\
**Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 12:17am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-are-chapters-scanned/217730/9 "2020-01-08T00:17:04Z")

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