I’ve recently added some downloaded TV shows in mp4 format (the same format to which I have converted other DVD films, and recorded TV shows and films using Handbrake).
Yesterday, when I opened the files on my Android phone in ES File Explorer, and clicked them, I was asked for a media player to use. I selected Plex, and it played the files and would cast them via Plex to my TV using Chromecast.
Today, after upgrading the DSM on my NAS 214Play to DSM 6.1.3-15152 Update 3 the only option I now see in ES File Explorer is to play direct to Chromecast.
When I use Plex directly (both before and after the DSM update today) to browse the /Volume/video folder on my Synology DS214Play, it can see all the OTHER mp4 files, but not these - they don’t show up.
They seem to have the same owner (me) and privileges (Read/Write) as all the other files in the video folder. They were downloaded as mp4 files, not transcoded.
They are in a relatively low resolution (480p) and file sizes are under 500MB. Would that prevent them showing? If not, what else might?
And what if anything could I try to have the files show up in the Plex browser on my phone?
The most important thing for Plex is how your files are named. With MP4 files, the next most important thing is the embedded metadata (title, name, etc).
Please take a look at the media naming link in my signature. It will take you to the support page.
If you still have questions, please show us how you have them named and we’ll work through it here.
I looked at the media naming earlier, and I think I have renamed the downloaded files accordingly - but will recheck.
They are all in the form now of Series name S01E01 Episode name (yyyy).mp4 with successive episodes having S01E02, S01E03 etc. Is that right? Does it matter that they are downloaded TV episodes, which I have put in the same folder as films ripped from DVDs that I own?
The file permissions for all the media files in this folder are wide open - rwx for owner, group and user - and are the same for these files that Plex doesn’t see as they are for all the others that it can see and read.
How do I look to see what metadata has been embedded? What program would enable me to view and/or edit it?
I’m still pretty new to using Plex for video, films and TV, and indeed to understanding video formats generally, so if you have any more useful links I will happily read them.
PS. None of the other files that ARE visible seem to be particular about how they are named, which is quite variable. Some are simply ‘Film title.mp4’ with no year or any other text in the file name. Others have the file name they were given by BBC iPlayer.
Here are a few random examples:
Files that Plex CAN see (all have .mp4 file extensions, and file sizes ranging from just over 1GB to just over 5GB):
A Man for All Seasons_BBC TWO_2014_04
Addams Family Values_Film4_2012_08_19
Enchanted April
Some Like it Hot
And the series it CAN’T see, also all with file extensions .mp4 and smaller file sizes ranging from about 350 to 400 MB
Miss Fisher S01E01 Cocaine Blues (2012)
I’ll try the more complex renaming you suggest, moving to subfolders, and flushing Plex’s library info. Won’t have time to do until over the weekend, but will report back success or failure.
Why do some work quite simply, and others not? And how do I even see, let alone edit, the MP4 metadata, please?
Should I just have kept the original, longer names with . separators, but no episode titles included, I wonder?
There is a great tool to help if you want… I use FileBot. I never have any trouble with it either.
my media is on my NAS. The renaming template I use is:
/nas/tv/{n}/Season {s.pad(2)}/{n}.{s00e00}.{t}
{n} = formal name {s}.pad(2) = Season number padded with leading zeros to two digits {s00e00} = the standard SxxExx template {t} = Episode title
It gives names like this:
The Flash (2014}/
Season 03/
.
.
-rw-r--r--. 1 chuck users 1819041795 Jun 23 14:48 The Flash (2014).S03E04.The New Rogues.mkv
-rw-r--r--. 1 chuck users 1814145578 Jun 23 14:48 The Flash (2014).S03E05.Monster.mkv
-rw-r--r--. 1 chuck users 1813652570 Jun 23 14:48 The Flash (2014).S03E06.Shade.mkv
Here’s just one of my problems. From what you said Plex won’t see files unless properly named. Well, Plex will see the last three files of the series (Episodes 10, 11, and 12) but it does not see the others. What is the difference?!?!?
You’re using MP4 files. I apologize for not mentioning PMS will read the metadata (name/title) embedded in the MP4 and override what it has from the file name. If this information is incomplete or contradictory, PMS will not be able to match it. PMS needs a 65 point or better match score to consider it a match if no alternatives. PMS must have an 8+ point margin to select one title over another when multiple possible results are found.
If you are able to clear the name & title fields then do the plex dance (move out, scan files, empty trash, clean bundles, move media files back into position, and scan again) if the names are correct, they will be picked up
Anime is also its own set of issues. As I understand it, not all anime is defined on TheTVDB. As such, if not there, you’ll need an alternative agent to match with or you will need a manual (backdoor) .nfo file with the tt=number value in it.
Okay, thanks for the info. I’m doing better now. Did the plex dance and made sure all of the data was matching that I could in the file properties. Ironically, I also changed one thing about the file name. The single episode files all started with “EpX…” but the ones showing up started with “EpXX…” So, I changed the single digit to doubles. Again, thanks for the help!
