# Movie Origanization

**URL:** <https://forums.plex.tv/t/movie-origanization/421351>\
**Category:** Metadata & Adding Files\
**Tags:** server-linux\
**Created:** [June 9, 2019, 11:55pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/movie-origanization/421351 "2019-06-09T23:55:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![choman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@choman](https://forums.plex.tv/u/choman)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2019, 11:55pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/movie-origanization/421351/1 "2019-06-09T23:55:55Z")

</div>

NOTE: I’m not why it says server-mac

For the most part I follow the following format:

```
         Title (YEAR)/title (YEAR).<res>.mkv

```

My first question is this still the predominant recommendation to structure one’s movie archive.

My second question is I started grouping movies for better organization and notice something strange:

First what do I mean by grouping, rather than have

- Men in black
- Men In Black 2
- Men in Black 3

I’;ve created a folder Men In black to house them all, so

- Men In Black/Men In Black 1 (YEAR)
- Men In Black/Men In Black 2 (YEAR)
- Men In Black/Men In Black 3 (YEAR)

Not sure if that’s a great idea, but plex doesn’t seem to mind and I like the looks on the command line. However I’ve notice somethning stange recently with with approach

if I have:

- XYZ (YEAR)/XYZ (YEAR).480p.mkv
- XYZ (YEAR)/XYZ (YEAR).1080p.mkv

The web UI shows one poster and in the upper left cover I see that I have multiple versions of said movie.

However, in the men in black example:

- Men In Black/Men In Black 1 (YEAR)/Men in Black (YEAR).480p.mkv
- Men In Black/Men In Black 1 (YEAR)/Men in Black (YEAR).1080p.mkv
- Men In Black/Men In Black 2 (YEAR)
- Men In Black/Men In Black 3 (YEAR)

For the Men in black 1, i’ll see two posters on the web UI and in other cases I see the one poster with the upper left reference. Thoughts?

Thanks in advance

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![NewPlaza](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/newplaza/32/128634_2.png) [@NewPlaza](https://forums.plex.tv/u/NewPlaza)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 12:15am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/movie-origanization/421351/2 "2019-06-10T00:15:49Z")

</div>

> [@choman](#):
>
> Title (YEAR)/title (YEAR)..mkv

Should be `Title (YEAR)/title (YEAR).[res].mkv`  
Plex will ignore anything in `[]`(In terms of matching or mismatching)  
But yeah, the folder structure look okay.

> [@choman](#):
>
> Not sure if that’s a great idea, but plex doesn’t seem to mind

Not so great. But as long as it works for you(and Plex)

> [@choman](#):
>
> However I’ve notice somethning stange recently with with approach

Try changing to `[]` to see if fixes your issue. You may have to do [The Plex Dance ™](https://forums.plex.tv/t/the-plex-dance/197064).

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![choman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@choman](https://forums.plex.tv/u/choman)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 4:23am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/movie-origanization/421351/3 "2019-06-10T04:23:34Z")

</div>

> [@NewPlaza](#):
>
> so great. But as long as it works for you(a

Interesting, do you have a point to the latest recommended organization guide

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![NewPlaza](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/newplaza/32/128634_2.png) [@NewPlaza](https://forums.plex.tv/u/NewPlaza)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 2:57pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/movie-origanization/421351/4 "2019-06-10T14:57:46Z")

</div>

> [@choman](#):
>
> Interesting, do you have a point to the latest recommended organization guide.

The official FAQ is one folder per movie.  
[https://support.plex.tv/articles/naming-and-organizing-your-movie-media-files/#toc-0](https://support.plex.tv/articles/naming-and-organizing-your-movie-media-files/#toc-0)

Or all movies in one folder(ROOT folder)  
[https://support.plex.tv/articles/naming-and-organizing-your-movie-media-files/#toc-1](https://support.plex.tv/articles/naming-and-organizing-your-movie-media-files/#toc-1)

But as I said. If it works for you then keep it up.

Though I’m not sure why you have two copies of MiB1(not merged). The only thing I can think of is each MiB movie is using a different matching agent(PlexMovie vs TheMovieDb). That or one of the movies is not matched at all.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![choman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@choman](https://forums.plex.tv/u/choman)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 5:15pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/movie-origanization/421351/5 "2019-06-10T17:15:25Z")

</div>

So what the recommendation for “typo info” for movie.

Bad example, but:

Title (YEAR).fullscreen.unrated.directors\_cut.480p.mkv

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![NewPlaza](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/newplaza/32/128634_2.png) [@NewPlaza](https://forums.plex.tv/u/NewPlaza)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 6:34pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/movie-origanization/421351/6 "2019-06-10T18:34:14Z")

</div>

I don’t understand your question.  
But your bad example would be  
`Title (YEAR).fullscreen.unrated.directors_cut.480p.mkv`  
Change to…  
`Title (YEAR) [fullscreen] [unrated] [directors_cut] [480p].mkv`

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ChuckPa](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/chuckpa/32/79710_2.png) [@ChuckPa](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ChuckPa)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 7:19pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/movie-origanization/421351/7 "2019-06-10T19:19:32Z")

</div>

To add to NewPlaza,

`Title (Year) [any optional - texts - can - be here].ext` because the scanner ignores anything within the `[]`. Care should be taken to avoid any spurious punctuation.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![choman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@choman](https://forums.plex.tv/u/choman)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 10:57pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/movie-origanization/421351/8 "2019-06-10T22:57:46Z")

</div>

Thanks all, I’ll start looking into this

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ChuckPa](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/chuckpa/32/79710_2.png) [@ChuckPa](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ChuckPa)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 11:18pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/movie-origanization/421351/9 "2019-06-10T23:18:53Z")

</div>

@choman,

Most of us use a program like FileBot or TheRenamer.  
FileBot seems to be the defacto standard even with it’s paid status. (It’s that good).

My renaming rules are simplistic in form. You can augment mine into your desired form easily by adding the additional fields.

You’d have perfect Plex format with your desired info.

```auto
/nas/movies/{n} ({y})/{n} ({y})`

```

{n} = Name  
{y} = Year

MANY options exist

You would have something of the form

```auto
/nas/movies/{n} ({y})/{n} (y) [{resolution} - etc - etc - etc]

```

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![choman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@choman](https://forums.plex.tv/u/choman)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 1:01am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/movie-origanization/421351/10 "2019-06-11T01:01:53Z")

</div>

thank, very familiar with filebot

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Kriskk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5e9695/32.png) [@Kriskk](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Kriskk)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 3:29pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/movie-origanization/421351/11 "2019-07-08T15:29:37Z")

</div>

You’re kidding, right? I have thousands of movies, I break them down into general categories (Action/Drama/Horror) and have a separate library for each genre. Do you all **really** put all your movies into individual folders, or have all your movies in just **one** folder? I can’t imagine trying to navigate to find anything that way. Especially since I don’t always agree with whatever a default genre may be from IMDB or something.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![NewPlaza](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/newplaza/32/128634_2.png) [@NewPlaza](https://forums.plex.tv/u/NewPlaza)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 4:05pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/movie-origanization/421351/12 "2019-07-08T16:05:38Z")

</div>

> [@Kriskk](#):
>
> Do you all **really** put all your movies into individual folders

Heavens, no.

> [@Kriskk](#):
>
> or have all your movies in just **one** folder?

Yep. For the most part.  
 ![Capture](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/2/7/27b3330345a3b58002a37d68b8b2789fcd929a84.jpeg)  
I think you can guess the rest.

> [@Kriskk](#):
>
> Especially since I don’t always agree with whatever a default genre may be from IMDB or something.

Ahh! That’s where we differ. I think genre is the biggest load of dog-s#$@t. They NEVER make sense and are always wrong!! And change from time-to-time.  
Not to mention Action/Drama/Horror can be said for every movie. More so with drama.  
On that note, how about a little romance?

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/9-dIdFXeFhs/maxresdefault.jpg "The Room (2003) - Trailer") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-dIdFXeFhs)

So I will never categorize movies based on genres.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Kriskk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5e9695/32.png) [@Kriskk](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Kriskk)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 5:42pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/movie-origanization/421351/13 "2019-07-08T17:42:25Z")

</div>

So…how do you find stuff to watch? I mean…I usually figure what sort of mood I’m in, then go wander through a section with all those movies in it and see what tickles my fancy. Plus I don’t know that I want “Air Bud” to show up next to “Alien”…although to be honest, both **are** terrifying in their own way.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![NewPlaza](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/newplaza/32/128634_2.png) [@NewPlaza](https://forums.plex.tv/u/NewPlaza)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 6:46pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/movie-origanization/421351/14 "2019-07-08T18:46:26Z")

</div>

> [@Kriskk](#):
>
> So…how do you find stuff to watch? I mean…I usually figure what sort of mood I’m in

Hmm. Interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever thought of it that way.  
I’ve never been in a ‘mood’ to watch anything in particular via genre before, or at least, if I had I don’t remember. Don’t know… Most everything I don’t want to watch but once I start the film/series I find that I’ll keep watching for the most part. I just watched Stranger Things s03 though didn’t watch ep1. I may get around to watching the first ep… Maybe not. Just watched Jessica Jones(I’m liying, I only watched the last episode).  
Just watched

```auto
Spider-Man: Far from Home
Dark Phoenix
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Men in Black: International
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
Hellboy

```

They were all boring to me but that didn’t stop me from watching to the end.  
Guess what I’m saying is I don’t watch movies on a mood and my expectations are very low so not to ruin the suspension of disbelief.

EDIT: I lied, i still got 34 minutes left of John Wick: Chapter 3.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![JuiceWSA](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/juicewsa/32/12253_2.png) [@JuiceWSA](https://forums.plex.tv/u/JuiceWSA)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 7:05pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/movie-origanization/421351/15 "2019-07-08T19:05:53Z")

</div>

> [@Kriskk](#):
>
> Do you all **really** put all your movies into individual folders, or have all your movies in just **one** folder?

Movies are slowly going into their own folders (kicking and screaming) - the most annoying, time consuming, infuriating requirement absolutely devised by pure evil. Plex developers have never opened Windows Explorer to look in their media folders. Apparently.

40 thousand+ movies in one Library?  
Only if you’re a Plex Employee/Designer (with your two test movies) or a rabid Plex fan. Everybody else creates a few libraries for sorting/filing purposes - the details are as varied as the users.

I have 17 movie libraries: 20s-30s, 40s, 50s, 60s-70s, Science Fiction, Science Fiction - Vintage… and so on, and on, and on… When a developer/employee clicks on an actor image they’re taken to all the movies with that actor in them because both of their test movies are in the same library. When a user clicks an actor image, they just get that one library searched (and yes, most of the movies with that person in it aren’t in that library).

No, I won’t be moving all my movies into one library (but I said that same thing about movie folders a while back).

Bottom line, if you use Plex you have to use like the Developers use it or it’s a constant battle you wage against an enemy that simply doesn’t see the problem.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Kriskk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5e9695/32.png) [@Kriskk](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Kriskk)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 7:22pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/movie-origanization/421351/16 "2019-07-08T19:22:04Z")

</div>

> [@JuiceWSA](#):
>
> I have 17 movie libraries: 20s-30s, 40s, 50s, 60s-70s, Science Fiction, Science Fiction - Vintage… and so on, and on, and on… **snip**
> 
> Bottom line, if you use Plex you have to use like the Developers use it or it’s a constant battle you wage against an enemy that simply doesn’t see the problem.

See, that’s closer to what I do! Lots of different libraries for each genre. So my directory structure is x:files/Movies/Grown\_Up\_Movies/Action/ /Comedy /Drama…etc. With another main directory for Kids\_Movies to keep their Air Bud stuff away from anything I have to look at.

Now within each of those directories, I have a mix of files and folders. For example I have /Action/Marvel\_Movies and even inside that I will have /Action/Marvel\_Movies/Iron\_Man\_Movies and so far I’ve never had an issue. I cannot imagine going back through and moving every movie into it’s own folder. The above breakdown also makes it a lot easier if I give a friend movies. I just run a list command to show everything, and they can point out if they want all the **Fast and Furious** movies and I know they are all in one sub-folder. Doing a folder for each movie, they’d be all over the place because the names aren’t consistent between movies.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ChuckPa](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/chuckpa/32/79710_2.png) [@ChuckPa](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ChuckPa)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 9:32pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/movie-origanization/421351/17 "2019-07-08T21:32:36Z")

</div>

40 thousand movies sounds like the Library of Congress.  
Is this figurative or literal?

Filebot will sort a lot of stuff and make it perfect, Yes even subdirectories / genre clarifications / when used correctly. It can do a lot more than just put perfect names into a single library.

Using NAS syntax:

```auto
/nas/Movies/{genres[0]}/{n} ({y})
-or-
/nas/Movies - {genres[0]}/{n} ({y})

```

Ref: [https://www.filebot.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=531](https://www.filebot.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=531)

RTFM please.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![NewPlaza](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/newplaza/32/128634_2.png) [@NewPlaza](https://forums.plex.tv/u/NewPlaza)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 10:13pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/movie-origanization/421351/18 "2019-07-08T22:13:52Z")

</div>

> [@ChuckPa](#):
>
> RTFM

You got me!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ChuckPa](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/chuckpa/32/79710_2.png) [@ChuckPa](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ChuckPa)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 10:42pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/movie-origanization/421351/19 "2019-07-08T22:42:48Z")

</div>

Don’t you love it? 😈

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![NewPlaza](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/newplaza/32/128634_2.png) [@NewPlaza](https://forums.plex.tv/u/NewPlaza)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 10:44pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/movie-origanization/421351/20 "2019-07-08T22:44:58Z")

</div>

I love to hate it. Though… There’s always Bing.

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