How to name a file to get a correct match

Some of my MKV-files dont get a correct match, even if the Movie itself is a famous one and i have named it exactly what the name is.

Is there a way to see somewhere how i can help Plex to find the file. For example, i have the Movie Alien vs Predator - Requiem, if i name this file like this, Plex wont find it. I have also tried AVP2 and AVP requiem. I have also put the year in the filename. It would be hand if i can see somewhere on internet (database), how this Movie should be named so Plex will find it.

Of course i can do a manuell match and then it works perfect. But some day i maybe need to wipe my Plex server install and do a new metadata find and all my files i have manually matched, i must do that once again.

It should be a way how to name the Movie so Plex will find it imediately.

I use Filebot, best app ever for correctly naming movies and series.

Hopefully some of this helps:

Plex Naming Conventions (How files should be named)
https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200381023-Naming-Movie-files

Forum post about Media Agents (The parts of Plex that retrieve tag info)

Moving Plex (How to keep all your tags and watched info)
https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/201370363-Move-an-Install-to-Another-System

There are times when Plex tags something in a strange way, and I have to make manual updates. My last link will be my saving grace when I reinstall my system in the next month or two. I would hate to do all that work again.

@kotten said:
Some of my MKV-files dont get a correct match, even if the Movie itself is a famous one and i have named it exactly what the name is.

Is there a way to see somewhere how i can help Plex to find the file. For example, i have the Movie Alien vs Predator - Requiem, if i name this file like this, Plex wont find it. I have also tried AVP2 and AVP requiem. I have also put the year in the filename. It would be hand if i can see somewhere on internet (database), how this Movie should be named so Plex will find it.

Of course i can do a manuell match and then it works perfect. But some day i maybe need to wipe my Plex server install and do a new metadata find and all my files i have manually matched, i must do that once again.

It should be a way how to name the Movie so Plex will find it imediately.

FileBot - again - link in my signature.
The beauty of FileBot is it ‘pre-matches’ TV Shows and Movies by going to the online database in question and getting the name they use. That pretty much eliminates all possibilities for error. When you drop a FileBot named file in your library it’s already been matched, so it’s scanned and populated instantly. No Muss - No Fuss.

If you don’t use FileBot - you go to the database in question:
https://www.themoviedb.org/ - Movies (Plex Movie uses IMDB and that is arguably your WORST choice - TMDB is king)
https://www.thetvdb.com/ - TV Shows
Get the name they use, name and structure your file according to the Packaged Plex Instructions:
LInked a bunch already above
and away you go.

A TV Show Library/
…TV Show Name/
…Season 01/
…TV Show Name - S01E01 - Episode Name Optional.xxx
…TV Show Name - S01E02.xxx
^ That’s IT. There is no wiggle room.

A Movie Library:
…Movie Name (YEAR).xxx
or
…Movie Name (YEAR)/
… Movie Name (YEAR).xxx

MP4/M4V files with embedded Title Fields brings down a whole bunch of bad ju-ju on the hapless Plex User. Plex will read this info and prefer it over a perfect file name/structure, but you can combat that situation by moving Local Media Assets to the bottom of every agent list you can find. All tabs in TV Show and Movies here:
https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200241558-Agents
Just drag LMA to the bottom of the list and drop it.
If you do have embedded metadata this will cure the issue, if you don’t it won’t matter. LMA will do what it has to from the bottom.

Renaming/restructuring is best performed OUTSIDE the library and you’ll need to write a new bundle for the show so The Plex Dance® was invented:

The Plex Dance®:

  1. remove show/movie from library
  2. update library
  3. empty trash
  4. clean bundles
    https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200392106-Library-Actions <— update library, empty trash, clean bundles
  5. bring names and structures into compliance/ or the ultimate bundle reboot operation
  6. replace corrected show/movie into library
  7. update library

All Steps. In Order. No Shortcuts.

@per_PLEX_ed said:
I use Filebot, best app ever for correctly naming movies and series.

not free anymore, right?

@AmazingRando24 said:
Hopefully some of this helps:

Plex Naming Conventions (How files should be named)
https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200381023-Naming-Movie-files

Forum post about Media Agents (The parts of Plex that retrieve tag info)
https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/175164/selecting-the-best-plex-movie-tv-agent

Moving Plex (How to keep all your tags and watched info)
https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/201370363-Move-an-Install-to-Another-System

There are times when Plex tags something in a strange way, and I have to make manual updates. My last link will be my saving grace when I reinstall my system in the next month or two. I would hate to do all that work again.

this might be what i am looking for, thanks.

@kotten said:

@per_PLEX_ed said:
I use Filebot, best app ever for correctly naming movies and series.

not free anymore, right?

There are some things that are worth 100x what they cost - FileBot is one of those things.
I type 120WPM - I couldn’t imagine my life without FileBot in it.

@JuiceWSA said:
I couldn’t imagine my life without FileBot in it.

… Truth.

Now i am trying to name the move: Charlie’s Angels Full Throttle

This is impossible, Plex dont understand this Movie at all

Now i am trying to name the move: Charlies Angels Full Throttle

This is impossible, Plex dont understand this Movie at all


Charlie’s Angels Full Throttle (2003).xxx <— leave out ‘special characters’, like ‘:’ and whatnot

Rename - Plex Dance - Done

Filebot would have matched and named that item in .0477 seconds.
You may not think that’s worth 20 bucks - but very soon it’ll be worth $1000 - when you’re on the brink of madness.

lol

@JuiceWSA said:

@kotten said:

@per_PLEX_ed said:
I use Filebot, best app ever for correctly naming movies and series.

not free anymore, right?

There are some things that are worth 100x what they cost - FileBot is one of those things.
I type 120WPM - I couldn’t imagine my life without FileBot in it.

Amen! When it was free, I donated to them. Then when it became a paid app, I gladly bought the new version. I can’t imagine being a cheapskate over something that vital… It honestly saved me hundreds of hours over the years.

@JuiceWSA said:

@kotten said:

@per_PLEX_ed said:
I use Filebot, best app ever for correctly naming movies and series.

not free anymore, right?

There are some things that are worth 100x what they cost - FileBot is one of those things.
I type 120WPM - I couldn’t imagine my life without FileBot in it.

i have now tried filebot, but there is a java error when i start to match. The app starts but when i want to match to Movie db i got an java error. I use latest windows 10 with java. I have tried this on two Machines now, same error.

Update Java - I seem to recall I had to do that and keep Java updated.

@rednoah42 / @OttoKerner can add more details to this mystery…
one thing is certain - you definitely want FileBot working - and it’s working fine on Win10/Win7 here at this time.

Filebot seems to still be free if you just download it, rather than get the Windows app. I’ve never had luck with Windows apps; so never even looked for it there.

sourceforge.net/projects/filebot/
A lot of people seem to complain about the “donation” pop-ups; but you can’t have everything.

@flamebird said:
Filebot seems to still be free if you just download it, rather than get the Windows app. I’ve never had luck with Windows apps; so never even looked for it there.

sourceforge.net/projects/filebot/
A lot of people seem to complain about the “donation” pop-ups; but you can’t have everything.

Everything is free - if you google hard enough (I got an M1A1 parked in a gap in the fence out back).
That pop-up when you close is easy to circumvent - never close it.

lol

… but seriously, folks - 20 bucks for FileBot is the wisest investment you’ll ever make. It’ll save millions in heath-care bills - eventually - 'cause this **** will drive you crazy after a while.

Speaking of Plex, FileBot and Crazy - @OttoKerner assured me the other day that adding the year to ALL TV Shows would cause no ill effects, so I made this little change to the string in FileBot and that’ll take care of that issue with TV Shows that have modern ‘versions’ and the ensuing headache associated with Plex not wanting the same name TVDB has. ‘Edit Format’ and add ({y}) right after the name in the string and there you go:

This assumes you only use FileBot for File Naming as I do. I still like having something to do… :wink:

If you dig deeper in your FileBot than I do here are some sage words:
https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/comment/1536497/#Comment_1536497
and methods to inject said headache medicine deeper into FileBot than I go.

@JuiceWSA said:

@flamebird said:
Filebot seems to still be free if you just download it, rather than get the Windows app. I’ve never had luck with Windows apps; so never even looked for it there.

sourceforge.net/projects/filebot/
A lot of people seem to complain about the “donation” pop-ups; but you can’t have everything.

Everything is free - if you google hard enough (I got an M1A1 parked in a gap in the fence out back).
That pop-up when you close is easy to circumvent - never close it.

lol

… but seriously, folks - 20 bucks for FileBot is the wisest investment you’ll ever make. It’ll save millions in heath-care bills - eventually - 'cause this **** will drive you crazy after a while.

The pop-up doesn’t bother me and I’ve donated; because it does work so well, just letting people know ahead of time.
For me now, it’s more of, I’ve never had any luck with “Windows apps”, so just use the download version.
What kills me is that it works so well and simply, that I didn’t use it for years; because it was so simple to use I couldn’t figure out how to do it. sometimes a blind-spot can be miles wide. I finally watched a demo on Youtube and was like “that’s it?”, and been using it ever since. . . :wink:

Same…

I think it was that time I found 250+ episodes of SG-1 out of whack to the point they wouldn’t work any more, opened YouTube, found a 10 second FileBot tutorial and I was like… ‘well, ****’…
2 seconds later the whole show was fixed.

FileBot changed my life, Man.

:slight_smile:

I bet I use it no less than 2x per day. Probably more.

Simple solution if you don’t need to rename hundreds of files.
Go to IMDB.com
Locate the film
Copy the text of the name off the webpage including the date:
For your films they are:
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)
Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003)

Paste that name as the name of your movie. The colons will go away as they aren’t supported in Windows (if you are using windows).
99% of the time this will work unless it is a very old film that may be similar to something else