https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200220687-Naming-Series-Season-Based-TV-Shows
The Plex TV Show Naming and Structuring Guide
Macross Zero @ TVDB: http://thetvdb.com/?tab=series&id=79034&lid=7
I’m not too sure what you are doing over there, or what you’ve been led to believe, but here’s the horrible truth:
Your naming and structuring method simply won’t work for TV Shows.
If it’s been working at all - it’s a Miracle.
No matter how you think these things should be listed - and even if you’re 100% correct - that matters very little in the big scheme of things and where Plex and TVDB are concerned. Plex is going to look to TVDB for the listing and if your names and structure don’t match with what TVDB expects to see results will be intermittent or non-existent - which ever comes first.
You basically need to capitulate or suffer. I guess you could put all your stuff into an ‘Other Videos’ Library and hand edit everything at which point Plex simply won’t try to match your stuff with TVDB at all. It won’t be pretty, but you can call and structure these things the way you want.
I got a first time, instant, fully populated match with this:
A TV Show Library/
…Macross Zero/
…Season 01/
…Macross Zero - S01E01.xxx
As I said: This may be absolutely wrong (I don’t have a clue really) as far as Anime Experts are concerned, but as far as Plex and TVDB are concerned the above is what you’ll have to do. There are no other viable solutions to be honest.
If you want Plex to index and draw from TVDB you’ll need to follow the guidelines pretty much to the letter to enjoy any reliability. You’ll need to go to TVDB, find your stuff, call your stuff what they’re calling it and structure it properly with compliant file names. Right or Wrong that’s what has to happen.
Renaming/restructuring is best performed OUTSIDE the library and you’ll need to write a new bundle for the shows so The Plex Dance® was invented:
The Plex Dance®:
- remove show from library - Yep the whole thing
- update library
- empty trash
- clean bundles
https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200392106-Library-Actions <— update library, empty trash, clean bundles
- bring names and structures into compliance
- replace corrected show into library
- update library
All Steps. In Order. No Shortcuts.
Here’s another little trick you may need to employ if you’re using MP4/M4V files - or ever want to. If MP4/M4V files have embedded and non-compliant Title Fields a match will be impossible. Plex will read this info and prefer it over a perfect file name/structure (you don’t have any of those yet), 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. Once that is done Plex will stop giving embedded and bogus Title Fields tip-top priority and concentrate on your good file names and folder structure instead - once you make that happen.
This step will have to be done BEFORE the Plex Dance® - or you will have to Plex Dance® again after you move LMA.
