How can I make Plex dumber, please

[bblackmoor]

Server Version#: PlexMediaServer-1.24.4.5081-e362dc1ee (Ubuntu 20.04.1)
Player Version#: 6.9.8.7332-8ba9f346d-Plex

Hello. Thank you for Plex. I am using Plex to play media files from an Ubuntu server on my home network, to Roku devices which are also on my home network. (I am replacing a previous media server/player which is no longer supported.)

The files are in folders that I want, with file names and metadata that I want. What I want is to browse the folders and play the files. That’s it. That’s what I want.

I do not want to search the Internet for metadata. I want it to use the metadata I put in the file.

I do not want Plex to try and figure out if a file is a movie or a TV show or a bonus behind-the-scenes “extra” video for a movie. What I want is to browse the folders and play the files. That’s it. That’s what I want.

How do I tell Plex to just play the files?

I have gone through the “agents”, and prioritized the “Local Media Assets” in every category, but I do not appear to be able to de-select the “Personal Media” item. So movie synopses (which are usually wrong) keep showing up for videos which do not have a synopsis in the file metadata.

Also, MANY folders have videos in them which Plex refuses to even show – it says, “No Content. This listing appears to be empty”. The folders aren’t empty. They have mp4 files in them just like every other folder.

All I want is to play the files. How can I stop Plex from trying to be smart, and just play the files?

Thank you.

[BigWheel]

tv library scanner will ignore files without episode notation like the S01E01 and movies library scanner will ignore files with it.

If you don’t care about metadata you can use an “other videos” library instead.

[bblackmoor]

Brilliant! Thank you so much. By clicking the three dots to the right of the “Movies” category, selecting “Manage Library >> Edit”, I changed the type to “Other Videos”, and changed the scanner to “Plex Video Files”. I also renamed “Movies” to “Videos” (a small thing, but it made me happy).

I am making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS.

Although … that seems to have borked the user interface. On the web console, everything is shown in “list” fashion, and in the Roku app, some screens are shown as cover art (portrait-style, like DVD/BR covers, which is what I selected during setup, and what I would prefer), and some screens are grid style, but the images are landscape-style, showing the middle one-third of the cover image.

So that’s … weird. Why on earth would changing the scanner alter the user interface? And so inconsistently?

Even so, I guess that is a separate question. Thank you so much for helping to answer this question, and so promptly!

[TeknoJunky]

Some clients have a folder view, where you can navigate via your existing folders system.

Other clients may only have a poster or grid view.