Playback Error occurs when trying to play video after editing its file name

Plex Media Server NAS & Devices
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1

Server Version#: Version 1.29.2.6364
Player Version#:

I am new to Plex server hence may not be familiar with the settings.

i recently link media library to plex server and all the media starts to pop up, however as I proceed to tidy the file naming in my Libary in Synology folder side i realised my plex do not refresh the names of the movies titles, and worst it can no longer be played as it states playback error.

Would really appreciate if someone could guide me on this issue so that i do not need to unlink and relink my library each time I add a new movie or rename a file.

Regards,
Jeremy

2

Re-scan the library, then empty trash (see pic below). Plex will pickup the new file name with the re-scan. Emptying Trash will remove old information from the server (it does not remove the file, it just deletes info from the Plex database).

FYI, since you’re new to Plex, you might review these two documents. They can help avoid common pitfalls when running Plex on a Synology NAS.


Edit-Library

3

Hi thanks for your Swift reply un fortunately i cant seem to resolve the issue.

I selected “Scan Library Files” followed by “Empty Trash”

When I go back to the library it still looks the same, I close plex window and reopen but nothings changed, am I doing it wrongly ?

Regards,
Jeremy

4

If the re-scan/empty trash did not work, then Plex Dance the file. That should definitely fix things.


For best results, make sure you follow Plex naming & organization documents.
Plex Documentation → Your Media

If you’ve many movies/shows to name, there are tools that can help. Filebot is popular. The free version of Tiny Media Manager works quite well. There are many others as well.

TMM Renamer Patterns:

  • Show Name: ${showTitle} (${showYear})
  • Season: Season ${seasonNr2}
  • Episode Name: ${showTitle} (${showYear}) s${seasonNr2}e${episodeNr2} ${episode.title}
  • Movie Name: ${movie.originalTitle} (${year}) {tmdb-${movie.tmdbId}}

PowerRenamer in Microsoft Power Tools is helpful for simple renaming with pattern matches or regular expressions. It makes quick work of tasks such as adding a year to file names, removing undesirable text from multiple files, etc

5

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image1275Ă—736 73.8 KB

Are you asking me to click delete under manage Library ? then re add them back ?

Regards,
jeremy

6

No. That would delete the entire library.

Move the file to a location not visible to Plex - not in any Plex library.

Then proceed with the remainder of the Plex Dance steps.

7

But I have been spending the whole day renaming all the files in the library after I link them to Plex, I cant remember which are the files, they can be like 50 over folders. What Should I do ?

Regards,
Jeremy

8

Select the Library tab (instead of Recommended).

Do any of the movie posters have a red trash can on them?

Try to play one of the movies that you have renamed.

What error message is displayed?

9

Actually I realised the problem is greater, files which i didnt rename or move is also indicated as playback error, basically my whole library is unable to play any files in plex. did i do something wrongly ? like a setting ?

Regards,
Jeremy

10

What error message is displayed?

11

image
image1266Ă—734 45.9 KB

All my video shows unavaliable, i dont know what went wrong.

Error Msg when click on: Playback error: Please check that the file exist and the necessary drive is mounted.

Regards,
Jeremy

12

Thanks for the screenshot.

The problem is the file names and organization.

You need to rename and reorganize your files according to Plex naming requirements.
See Plex Documentation → Your Media

After you have renamed and reorganized the files, perform the Plex Dance.

For example:

/volume2/Videos/HD-Movies  <-- Folder added to Plex library
.../300 Rise of an Empire (2014) <-- Movie_Name (year)
....../300 Rise of an Empire (2014).mkv <-- Movie_Name (year).ext  ext=mkv/mp4/etc.

If you wish to keep the information such as resolution in the file name, place it inside square brackets at the end of the file name.

/volume2/Videos/HD-Movies  <-- Folder added to Plex library
.../300 Rise of an Empire (2014) 
....../300 Rise of an Empire (2014) [1080p etc etc].mkv
13

Thats what ive been doing whole day, for this particular movie 300 i have not done the renaming, but for those that i have rename i bracket the year and square bracket the resolution.

But now even those that i have rename are unable to open.

See below for what is reflected in plex and what is reflecting in File Station

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image931Ă—537 62.4 KB

image
image1274Ă—473 23.3 KB

Regards,
Jeremy

14

Upload a screenshot for one of the files you have renamed and does not play.

15

Basically Plex server is pointing to the location before I rename the folders and files, it doesn’t seem to refresh and update the directory.

Regards,
Jeremy

16

The Plex Dance should clean things up.
You should also try changing the folder name for the movie.

As a test, try this…

  1. Make a temporary, working folder that is not scanned by Plex. (ex: /volume2/Videos/working).

  2. Move the Fast and Furious 7 file to that folder.

  3. Perform steps 2, 3, and 4 of the Plex Dance. You must do this at the server level, not the library level. See the screenshot on the Plex Dance page.

Edit: The movie should no longer appear in the HD-Movies library.

  1. Still in the working folder, place the movie in a new folder and rename like this: /Furious 7 (2015)/Furious 7 (2015) [1080p BRRip x264 DTS].mkv

  2. Move the Furious 7 folder with the movie to the HD-Movies folder:
    /volume2/Videos/HD-Movies/Furious 7 (2015)/Furious 7 (2015) [1080p BRRip x264 DTS].mkv

  3. Re-scan the library.

Plex should correctly recognize the movie, add it to the library, download cover art, etc.

17

  1. the current file and location allows plex to download the album art and information.

  2. i can try the above tml, as its 4am in my country and i need to catch some rest.

  3. Would deleting the library and re adding them back solve the issue ?

Thank you for your help and patience with me, hope to hear from you soon on the above.

Regards,
Jeremy

18

The Plex Dance is probably the right move for you, but also consider this.

If you delete a library from inside Plex, that will eliminate your custom posters, playlists, watch history, and so on.

But… If you have not really used that library yet, or customized it at all… And there is nothing you need to save… Deleting and re-adding the library from the Plex controls is an alternative to the Plex Dance which will also force a total re-scan.

(I always suggest that people do not get into crazy customization of their Plex libraries until they are 100% sure that everything is well organized and scanning correctly, for exactly this reason. I had to delete and re-add my music library about 10 times while I was working on file organization problems.)

19

thanks for your inputs, just a few newbie questions.

  1. Custom posters ? are you referring to Cover art of the movie? currently it seems to auto download from the web. for some movies i do download and save a copy inside the folder but does plex auto take it from the same folder as album art ? is there an option for this?

  2. it may take weeks for me to sort out the library as my previous nas broke down years ago and i only recently replace it. i am still sorting thru 8Tb of movies and have not even started with my music yet. Just wanna know how plex work so that i dont need to keep redoing everything. hope to learn from you guys.

Regards,
Jeremy

20

You first need to clean up the naming and organization. If you do not, it will cause problems at some point.

Deleting then re-creating the library would avoid the need to Plex Dance the individual files.

It definitely takes less steps, if you don’t mind doing that. Many people do not want to delete the library for the reasons @BanzaiInstitute mentions.

Understand. Write back when you get a chance.