Aaaand we missed the 9 year anniversary yesterday 
Of course we did!
Itâs very surprising this hasnât been implemented yet, considering the main core needed to implement something like this already exists and could be achieved in a minor update.
Scan for multiple versions? 
Utilise the â-extraâ tagging system?
Design language to follow throughout media apps? (See Below)
The space I used in the mockup is simply dead space, it doesnât get used and thereâs no reason why it shouldnât be used now. It looks, and works perfectly with the new Modern Layout too!
I certainly donât speak for everybody, but I donât need anything complicated or âadvancedâ. Something as simple as this would literally be perfect for the âmajorityâ. Some may call it a âHalf Bakedâ implementation but this is literally all we need. A simple way to switch between versions, that are tagged using the already existing tagging mechanic.
26 Likes
Not really. Plex are too arrogant to listen to their users, nevermind their fully paid customers!
Just +1 to this and More Info in "Play Version"
Itâs very tedious trying to find the correct version to watch on the ever increasing number of titles that have multiple cuts/releases
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I canât get over the fact that next year it will be a full DECADE since this was suggested⊠and itâs such a simple fix to just display the file name on the list.
Maybe Iâm wrong, though, maybe developing a streaming service and arcade games were way easier to implement.
3 Likes
Wow man, thatâs such a great proof of concept. Hope this gets adopted.
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This looks fantastic and would be plenty for my needs. Iâm starting to add more alternate cuts to my server and filing them under the âOtherâ extras tag which gets pushed to the very end of extras becomes annoying very quickly. Please, please implement something like this.
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Unfortunately the use of the -extra tag would not work, and such an idea has been extensively discussed earlier in the topic.
However your graphic mock-up of the client front end is certainly a nice idea.
Now to why the -extra tag wouldnât work.
When you take a look at this article, you will see what â-â tags have been implementedâŠ
https://support.plex.tv/articles/local-files-for-trailers-and-extras/
SpecificallyâŠ
Each tag that has been defined, has been explicitly defined by the developers, and are not customisable by the user.
If you were to use the â-â tagging system, the developers would have to âpre-defineâ which cuts would be included, such asâŠ
-Theatrical
-Extended
-Directors
But these would literally be âpre-definedâ and could not be defined by you as the user.
And so what would happen at some point, is some user would now complain that Plex doesnât support the âSuper Duper Cutâ or the âSome Other Custom Cutâ.
So in order to be truly flexible, with the ability for the user to be able to create / use any kind of cut he / she chooses, it would have to be some mechanism that is not reliant on the developers âpre-definingâ which cuts are supported.
2 Likes
Nine years since this was request was posted, five years since I +1âd. I just scrolled through all 600+ posts and there are plenty of good ideas on how this might be tackled, yet not one dev response that I could find.
Devs, please respond.
Iâm a Plex Pass member because I have a library of media, not because I want to stream or record TV. Please focus on the features your customers have paid for â managing our home media libraries.
7 Likes
This, 100 times!
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Iâm sorry, but youâre actually a little mistaken. The system they have in place would work perfectly for what we want and wouldnât pose any issues like the ones you discussed, allow me to explain how the - tag system would indeed work.
Going by the example you provided, you raised a perfectly reasonable issue. If the name of the Cut / Edition doesnât go by traditional naming standards (Super Duper Cut), it would require more work and upkeep by the Plex devs.
However, this is where youâre overlooking existing functionality behind these tags. For example, If you manually place an extra in your library and use the -other tag, you get to set the name thatâs displayed in your library.
Meaning, if Plex take the system theyâre already using, add a new tag such as -cut or -edition, we the user, can name that cut anything we like as long as its before the hyphen.
Super Duper Cut-cut.mkv
Extended Edition-cut.mkv
The core for this feature is already available to the devs and would require minimal effort for them to implement it, itâs just a case of when theyâre actually going to it. Hell, if theyâre feeling nice they could even take a little extra time and allow us to apply a number to the end so we can order them to our likingâŠ
Directors Cut-cut01.mkv
Special Edition-cut02.mkv
The immediate downside I see there is no way to name the cut of the main file, and possibly a secondary issue of getting files confused later on since you might have multiple identically named files like Directors Cut -cut.mkv spread all around your drive.
What if you have a Directors Cut and a Special Edition, but no theatrical release cut?
Thatâs suppose thatâs a fair point, I guess the only logical way to label the main file would be to have it default to âTheatrical Releaseâ with the ability to change that text within Plex?
Youâre right, while some might not like having extra files with ominous names in their library, this is the same system used when you have to name custom posters and fanart. At least for me, all of my media is organised within folders with extras, posters and other files so if Iâm looking for something Iâm searching for a folder not a specific file hahaha.
How about you can remove the main file completly if you donât have it? No way to need make it configurable. Convention over configuration 
There is a relatively simple bandaid that would put the control in the hands of the plex server admins.
The existing PLAY VERSION list is sad and useless, as an HEVC version vs 264 can have a smaller bit number with the same 1080p but be a superior copy in many ways. And different lengths are invisible.
PLEX states that we can get multiple versions of a movie to come under a single poster/item by this naming scheme
Movie Title (2020) - 720p anything we want Plex ignores this.mkv
Movie Title (2020) - 1080p Directorâs Cut anything we want Plex ignores this.mkv
Movie Title (2020) - 1080p Extended Cut, X264 anything we want Plex ignores this.mkv
Movie Title (2020) - 1080p Extended Cut, HEVC 10bit HDR anything we want Plex ignores this.mkv
Movie Title (2020) - 3D version with anything we want Plex ignores this.mkv
SO simply amend the âignoredâ text to the currently coded relatively useless stats
PLAY VERSION
720p 1.2 mbps - 720p anything we want Plex ignores this.mkv
1080p 4.1 mbps - 1080p Directorâs Cut, x264 anything we want Plex ignores this.mkv
1080p 19.6 mbps - 1080p Extended Cut, x264 anything we want Plex ignores this.mkv
1080p 9.6 mbps - 1080p Extended Cut, HEVC 10bit HDR anything we want Plex ignores this.mkv
1080p 4.8mbps - 3D version with anything we want Plex ignores this.mkv
Youâd think after eight years, theyâd have at least added the length of the movie to the two stats listed. This solution isnât the most elegant, but at least we would be in control by manipulating our filenames to make intelligent selections possible.
This seems like a relatively easy thing to code. Iâm sure client differences might limit how many characters can be displayed, but client to client variation has always been an issue from day one. Nothing to be done about that.
1 Like
Same can be said about the already existing tagging system, they are predefined so if users later down the road want a tag for example âbloopersâ, the developers would have to manually add it for everyone to use. So why not just add onto those tags with â-Theatricalâ â-Extendedâ etc.? Seems like itâs not really about being flexible is it?
Because as I said in my postâŠ
Do you really think that the devs will just keep adding additional tags every time someone asks for one? ⊠Of course they wonât!
So in actual fact, it does seem like itâs about being flexible!
you literally ignored my first half of the post so you could just be âcorrectâ but ok lol. Youâre saying developers donât want to keep adding tags because it wouldnât be flexible but the tagging system itself is already not flexible by having predefined values set by the devs.
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Exactly! lol But I guess the existing tag system doesnât really need to be any more than it already is. These tags pretty much cover everything⊠Well, at least from an âExtrasâ point of viewâŠ
What I was trying to get at, is there are potentially hundreds, if not thousands of different âcutâ names, and so whatever system is developed will need the ability for a user to enter anything he / she wants.
That will prevent the need for the devs to keep having to add items on a users request, and will ensure that the Super Duper 12" Remixed Ultimate IMAX Enhanced Cut can be accommodated for.
EDIT: And to reinforce my point, if we were to piggy back of the existing tag system, it would more accurately end up like thisâŠ
- A user realises that the Super Duper 12" Whatever Cut is not included in the list.
- The user will have to make a request to the devs to add it.
- The devs will eventually see the request, perhaps some days / weeks / months later.
- Meanwhile the user is still waiting for the request to be recognised.
- The request eventually gets accepted, and an engineer is assigned the job.
- The user is still waiting for the job to be done, and eventuallyâŠ
- The new version is released which includes the Super Duper 12" Remixed Cut.
- The user realises that what was added was not what he asked for!
And so it goes on, and on, and on!
