Hello all! This is my first time asking a question on these forums, so my apologies if I’m going about this wrong!
I just set up my Plex DVR system yesterday, using an Nvidia Shield as the server, and a large (4TB) WD external hard drive as my primary storage medium (I also added a 32GB U3 SD card as extra internal storage to allow for more flexibility when recording). After some issues, including having to totally wipe my Nvidia Shield and start from scratch at some point, I finally thought everything was up and running.
However, I’m noticing that my setup will not actually retain all my recordings. Specifically, it seems that any recording that I setup as anything other than “Keep All Episodes” (such as keep only 5 or keep only the last x days) will record successfully, then immediately delete the recording.
This is extremely frustrating and I’m at a loss on how to fix it other than wipe the server and start over. Even changing the settings on these shows to keep all episodes after the fact appears to not fix the issue.
I searched the forums and didn’t find a similar issue, though I did find a reference on Reddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/6enewh/plex_dvr_deletes_the_show_immediately_after/). I’m not following how the person in this post fixed the issue though, as it requires knowledge of how to set up the file folders for the shows that are being deleted, which I never see since they keep being deleted.
If this is a bug, it’s a pretty big and annoying one! If it’s a problem with my setup, then I welcome any advice on how to fix it. Right now, it’s essentially rendered my DVR useless (but I’m enjoying using Plex to organize all my photos/media in the meantime!)
Plex uses the original air date to determine when recordings are deleted. I don’t using any settings except keep all and never delete. I manually delete recordings I no longer want.
The Plex DVR retention rules are interesting, and sometimes frustrating. Here’s what I’ve learned:
Keep All Episodes - Will keep all episodes Keep Episodes for X Days - Ties to the original broadcast date, so any repeats will likely delete immediately after recording Keep X Episodes - Will only keep the most recent X episodes by original broadcast date. This could result in episodes older than the current 5 kept being recorded and immediately deleted.
The only safe option is as @johnm_ColaSC recommends. Keep All Episodes. Your system is fine, and working as designed.
Also, to note: These settings are universal to the show regardless of what library it resides in. Deletion settings could possibly cause havoc among shows you currently have if you set up new episodes to record with any sort of deletion settings applied.
I learned all of this the hard way, constantly wondering why my back log of The Big Bang Theory kept constantly disappearing.
I had read that the 'Keep Episodes for X Days" was based on broadcast date, and should likely only be used for something like a nightly newscast or similar. I didn’t realize the Keep X Episodes also was by original broadcast date!
Out of an abundance of caution, I went into the ‘Recording Priority’ section and cancelled all recordings that have been giving me problems. I then re-searched for the program and recreated the recording schedule with the settings set to ‘keep all’.
So happy about the warning on existing shows. I just migrated my backlog of episodes of various shows from an old NAS onto this system and would have been really confused if they all disappeared!
Thank you again for your incredibly quick replies, and I hope this helps someone else in the same situation!
For your existing shows, and peace of mind… double check the retention settings at the show level in your library. Navigate to the show and click the icon in the lower left corner of the show poster. Click Advanced.
Make sure the Keep settings are good there and you’ll be a happy camper. The setting here and in the recording settings are tied together. It’s a good way to double check yourself.
which includes how to deal with the case where the recording settings have been ferreted away for a show causing future recordings to immediately disappear regardless of the Recording Schedule settings.
