Naming the Hunger Games: Mockingjay movies

Plex Media Server Desktops & Laptops
1

Okay, I’ve searched this forum and tried every permutation of file names I can find, but the two movies end up combined into one listing EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I’ve tried shifting the hyphen, I’ve tried adding and subtracting hyphens. I’ve had the release years in parentheses at the end of both file names since my first attempt. I’ve even tried adding extraneous BS info to the end of the file names. (the current name permutations are “The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 1 (2014) -1080.mp4” and “The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2 (2015) -1080.mp4”) I’ve tried checking for embedded metadata AND have Local Media Assets as far down on my agent list as it can go.

And the dumbest part? I had ZERO issues with both parts of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Both added to my library individually on the first shot.

Can someone tell me what the hell I need to do to get Plex to stop acting stupid? At this point I’ve Plex Danced at least 7-8 times in the past half hour, and I’m getting sick of it.

2

https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/categories/200028098-Media-Preparation
https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200381023-Naming-Movie-files <— required reading
https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200220687-Naming-Series-Season-Based-TV-Shows <— really required reading

https://www.themoviedb.org/ <— when in doubt - check with the database - and the database sez!:

The Hunger Games (2012).xxx


The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013).xxx

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014).xxx

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015).xxx

(Note: simply leave out any special characters that’ll make Windows cry)

any questions?

3

Yes. What else can I try? I’ve literally done that with the Mockingjay movies. Like I said, I feel like I’ve tried every permutation of hyphens I can logically think of at this point. I’ve done:

The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 1 (2014).mp4
The Hunger Games Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014).mp4
The Hunger Games - Mockingjay Part 1 (2014).mp4
The Hunger Games - Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014).mp4
The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 1 (2014) -1080.mp4

I make it a point to check TMDB for every single movie I add, so that I can have proper years and to know when colons might give me issues. So far, absolutely nothing has worked, and I can’t think of a single solution that will work, which is incredibly stupid when, as I said before, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows gave me no issues under very similar circumstances.

4

Check to be sure there isn’t metadata in the title field of the mp4 that would be causing incorrect matching.

5

Stupid question, but are you not able to just select the Split Apart option then update metadata as needed?

6

@adamskoog said:
Check to be sure there isn’t metadata in the title field of the mp4 that would be causing incorrect matching.

As I stated in the opening post, I already did that. Totally squeaky clean.

@dtom2444 said:
Stupid question, but are you not able to just select the Split Apart option then update metadata as needed?

If I do that, then every time I play one part, Plex will say I’m simultaneously playing both parts. A minor issue, really, but I’d rather have my library as clean and smooth running as it can be, especially when it’s possible. Like I can let that issue go with other movies I’ve had to split (like “Invasion of Astro-Monster” and “Godzilla Vs. Monster Zero”, because both are recognized as being “Invasion of Astro-Monster” despite being two different versions of the same core movie) because the relevant data isn’t available through TheMovieDB yet. (and I haven’t had time to create a new listing for “Godzilla Vs. Monster Zero”) But when two separate listings already appear and should logically be manageable properly in Plex, I refuse to accept a lesser option.

7

I’ve had similar issues in the past and my solution has always been to split them, then using the Match option or Fix Match option, have Plex find the correct movie (might have to modify the search options) and update the metadata if anything seems off. Never had an issue with doing that before.

8

@dtom2444 said:
I’ve had similar issues in the past and my solution has always been to split them, then using the Match option or Fix Match option, have Plex find the correct movie (might have to modify the search options) and update the metadata if anything seems off. Never had an issue with doing that before.

I’ve done it before too (Invasion of Astro-Monster/Godzilla Vs. Monster Zero, and both parts of An Evening With Kevin Smith 2, since each part takes place in a different city) but as I stated, during playback of split files, Plex still decides you’re watching both parts at the same time. To me, that’s just stupid and ugly, especially when all the data is there to display the two parts separately, as my library did first-shot with the last two Harry Potter movies.

9

That’s very strange. I’ve never seen or even heard of that happening before. They’re separate files and if Plex has matched the movies correctly, there’s no reason they should be linked in any way.

Looking at my library, I have part 1 named as “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1.mkv” and part 2 as “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2.mkv” so your naming scheme should be fine. The only difference I can see is that I use Plex Movie as my default movie agent, not TMDB.

10

@Nights0ng said:
Check to be sure there isn’t metadata in the title field of the mp4 that would be causing incorrect matching.

Yep, I think that’s the root of this evil…

FileBot (link in my signature) can handle the naming for @jwickert automatically or manually in seconds.

What FileBot can’t do is remove possible embedded metadata in the Title Field of MP4/M4V files. 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.

Again, here are the absolute correct and proper file names (this time with illegal characters removed - for clarity):

The Hunger Games (2012) [1080p].xxx <— all in [Brackets] will be ignored by Plex and you’ll still have a valid file name

The Hunger Games Catching Fire (2013).xxx

The Hunger Games Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014).xxx

The Hunger Games Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015).xxx

(Note: simply leave out any special characters that’ll make Windows cry)

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

The Plex Dance®:

  1. remove movies 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 into compliance/Move Local Media Assets/etc
  6. replace corrected movies into library
  7. update library

All Steps. In Order. No Shortcuts.
(if you don’t do them all, in order, you may as well not even do them)

Also check:

913×481 122 KB

909×407 111 KB

And after this if you still have a problem - Log Files:
https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200250417-Plex-Media-Server-Log-Files
Drag zip file to message window and drop it.

1 Like
11

As I’ve already stated repeatedly, I’ve checked the metadata (unless I’m doing it wrong, but I’m not handling this any different than Harry Potter) AND I have LMA moved as far down the agent list as I can. And as I’ve also already stated, I’ve tried that suggested naming scheme. I’ll have to upload logs later as I’m currently away from home for the day, but hopefully they give the right info because clearly I’m not with all the restated solutions being given.

12

@jwickert said:
Okay, I’ve searched this forum and tried every permutation of file names I can find, but the two movies end up combined into one listing EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I’ve tried shifting the hyphen, I’ve tried adding and subtracting hyphens. I’ve had the release years in parentheses at the end of both file names since my first attempt. I’ve even tried adding extraneous BS info to the end of the file names. (the current name permutations are “The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 1 (2014) -1080.mp4” and “The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2 (2015) -1080.mp4”) I’ve tried checking for embedded metadata AND have Local Media Assets as far down on my agent list as it can go.

And the dumbest part? I had ZERO issues with both parts of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Both added to my library individually on the first shot.

Can someone tell me what the hell I need to do to get Plex to stop acting stupid? At this point I’ve Plex Danced at least 7-8 times in the past half hour, and I’m getting sick of it.

First off; take a deep breath. We’ve pretty much all had that one show or movie that we just couldn’t get to do what it was supposed to and we know how frustrating it is.

Next remove your movies completely and do the Plex Dance again (yeah, I know). . . make sure you do all the steps in order, cause Plex is like a dog with a bone sometimes.

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.

. . . A couple of times, I’ve went so far as to shut down and re-start the server after the Plex Dance; cause it just wouldn’t let go of the old info. . . never been sure if that actually helped or if it just made me feel better till Plex decided to behave.

Anyway, as you’re renaming your files, make sure to rename your folders as well; cause the folder and the file names need to match. Unless you need it for some reason; get rid of the extra info in your filenames, like 1080p; etc. . .
You should end up with something like this:

873×477 292 KB

Which should give you this:

Good luck.

13

Deep breath

Now it’s worse.

Juice, I LITERALLY copied and pasted your “absolute correct and proper file names”. I triple checked information to make sure no lingering metadata was there. LMA is at the absolute bottom of my agent list in every conceivable way. I even followed flamebird’s suggestion and completely exited out of Plex and restarted it after not one but TWO full Plex Dances.

Now, as you’ll see in the photo, Plex isn’t even loading ANY metadata at all. I just get a cropped out cap of Gale’s face in some random scene.

Someone PLEASE look at this log file and tell me what I’m doing wrong, because it’s starting to really frustrate me.

14

G:\Movies\The Hunger Games (2012).mp4
G:\Movies\The Hunger Games - Catching Fire (2013).mp4 <— there’s no ‘-’ in that file name, but…
G:\Movies\The Hunger Games Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014).mp4
G:\Movies\The Hunger Games Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015).mp4

It either works - or something else is wrong. @OttoKerner / @astrofisher should look at those logs.

While we wait - I’d remove ‘catching fire’, update the library, empty trash, clean bundles, get rid of that dash, put it back, update the library, see what happens and wait for the log-Doctors.

15

Catching Fire worked just fine and dug up all proper metadata so that’s not a concern.

16

Any help with the logs, please? These are literally the last two files I need to add to my library for the time being, so I’m itching to get them situated properly :frowning:

17

I’ve forwarded your logs to a developer.

Are you using any type of anti virus?
Is your server connected wirelessly?
Is your internet connection wonky sometimes?

18

I use Windows Defender. It didn’t seem to interfere with any other files so I don’t know why it would randomly affect these two files.

My server is my personal computer, which is connected wirelessly to my router, and my internet has operated just fine recently. Again, neither has seemed to interfere with dozens of other movies recently added, so I don’t see either thing being an issue.

19

I am asking because of this:

2017-09-23 09:38:04,993 (b54) :  CRITICAL (core:574) - Exception when constructing media object (most recent call last):
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Plex\Plex Media Server\Resources\Plug-ins-b207937f1\Framework.bundle\Contents\Resources\Versions\2\Python\Framework\api\agentkit.py", line 637, in __init__
    setattr(self, 'tree', Media.TreeForDatabaseID(self.id, type(self)._level_names, level_attribute_keys=type(self)._level_attribute_keys))
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Plex\Plex Media Server\Resources\Plug-ins-b207937f1\Framework.bundle\Contents\Resources\Versions\2\Python\Framework\api\agentkit.py", line 676, in TreeForDatabaseID
    xml_str = cls._core.networking.http_request('http://%s:32400/library/metadata/%s/tree' % (host, str(parent_id or dbid)), cacheTime=0, immediate=True)
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Plex\Plex Media Server\Resources\Plug-ins-b207937f1\Framework.bundle\Contents\Resources\Versions\2\Python\Framework\components
etworking.py", line 370, in http_request
    return HTTPRequest(self._core, url, data, h, url_cache, encoding, errors, timeout, immediate, sleep, opener, follow_redirects, method)
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Plex\Plex Media Server\Resources\Plug-ins-b207937f1\Framework.bundle\Contents\Resources\Versions\2\Python\Framework\components
etworking.py", line 141, in __init__
    self.load()
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Plex\Plex Media Server\Resources\Plug-ins-b207937f1\Framework.bundle\Contents\Resources\Versions\2\Python\Framework\components
etworking.py", line 181, in load
    f = self._opener.open(req, timeout=self._timeout)
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Plex\Plex Media Server\python27.zip\urllib2.py", line 435, in open
    response = meth(req, response)
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Plex\Plex Media Server\python27.zip\urllib2.py", line 548, in http_response
    'http', request, response, code, msg, hdrs)
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Plex\Plex Media Server\python27.zip\urllib2.py", line 473, in error
    return self._call_chain(*args)
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Plex\Plex Media Server\python27.zip\urllib2.py", line 407, in _call_chain
    result = func(*args)
  File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Plex\Plex Media Server\python27.zip\urllib2.py", line 556, in http_error_default
    raise HTTPError(req.get_full_url(), code, msg, hdrs, fp)
HTTPError: HTTP Error 403: Forbidden

Something is interfering there.
Please tell Windows Defender to stay out of this folder
C:\Users\Josh\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server
Then restart Plex Media Server and try again.

Perform the Plex Dance strictly in-order.
Wait for each step to complete before initiating the next one.

20

@jwickert said:
My server is my personal computer, which is connected wirelessly to my router… snip

Hmmmmm - bad idea.

The box with Plex on it really, really needs to be wired - really.
I have wireless clients/devices, but - the server is wired.