So I am ripping TV Shows. Looks like the metadata is working, pulling in summaries, episode info, but, the title is not being changed. I reordered the plugins already, but did not do the ‘dance.’ The status shows that the folder was scanned.
Looks like this has been an issue for a long time: https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/106159/plex-not-getting-episode-names-or-other-metadata
@dotzeno said: …
Curious to know why some files with the original file name (i.e. inclusive of fansubber group name and resolution) work flawlessly, but Mob Psycho, in particular requires a rename to work. …
The reason some files work with improper names is basically luck. Also files that work with a bad name can suddenly stop working.
The best, and easiest, thing you can do is name the files correctly before Plex ever sees them. There are plenty of tools that automate the process and even very large libraries can be fixed in a pretty short time.
Of course there is nothing forcing you to rename everything, if needed, but if you fight the great Plexosaurus your data could end up resembling Tokyo after a visit from a certain large lizard derivative.
Personally I prefer to watch my media rather than messing with it trying to understand any mismatches that poor naming might cause.
@OttoKerner said:
Perhaps you renamed the files to a conforming name schema only after they were already (incorrectly) matched.If this is the case, you still need to perform the ‘Plex Dance™’ to erase their checksums from the plex database.
[optional: disable the SubZero plugin if installed]
- move all files for the show out of ‘sight’ of plex
- update library (
not ‘force update’not ‘Refresh all’)- empty trash
- clean bundles
- double check naming schema and move files back
- update library
[optional: re-enable the SubZero plugin if installed]
in this order
@OttoKerner, does this erase user’s viewing history? Not sure how the viewing history is stored vs. the metadata
@burkasaurusrex said:
@OttoKerner, does this erase user’s viewing history? Not sure how the viewing history is stored vs. the metadata
As long as you are using the same metadata agent (TheTVDB vs TheMovieDatabase), the ‘watched’ status will be retained.
I had to deal with a very much same “file naming/Plex Registering” clusterruck earlier this year after having to rebuild the server. I learned few things myself to watch for. From my experience largest factor on the decision had the size of the media library and how bad of a mess it is before it falls into the hands of Plex Management. I became best friends with “Better File Rename” application that takes the headache out of file naming. Make a a system that works for you and agrees with Plex guidelines and just stick to it— Consistency is the key and takes all the gueswork out of the process. Get exact file count (lets say video files) the number will be you instant indicator if Plex registered your files or missed some and if you have the high number of titles, close to 4000 in my case, having those number handy can save large amount of time. Another fantastic application that save me time was Directory Opus. You can use it to create exact layouts of your media folders and provide you with a list of directory structure and every file in there which you can use to compare with the report that plex gives you and narrow down the issues if they are file management related.
I have also done experiment where i didn’t bother trying reverse engineer plex functionality in order to find my files or gain better understanding in it’s way of doing things. Having fast internet helps knowing that your library is properly structured i just deleted plex database and had it recreate entirely new one and even though it had to redownload everything it took about 24 hour give-or-take and done. Having good structure of your libraries and being able to break it down into segments of processed tasks makes it possible to make a nice back up copy of the database after each successful stage as incremental backup, ( it sounds cooler when you have to go backwards, haha) I sure would love to hear other peeps ideas on how they structure and organize their data. btw, i’m running plex on freebsd (FreeNAS), which on it’s own can cause you frustrations when it comes to data management 
We Live We Learn (well at least I try most of the time Cheers
What finally worked for me is making sure that the root folder the movie lives inside does not have the year in the folder name. Also, when using the organizing by folder method, the extras must be directly in the folder and not inside their own folders.
This works:
X:\Storage\MovieName
X:\Storage\MovieName\Movie-2017.mkv
X:\Storage\MovieName\Behind The Scenes
X:\Storage\MovieName\Behind The Scenes\Extras1.mkv
X:\Storage\MovieName\Behind The Scenes\Extras2.mkv
This does NOT work:
X:\Storage\MovieName.2017
X:\Storage\MovieName.2017\Movie-2017.mkv
X:\Storage\MovieName.2017\Behind The Scenes
X:\Storage\MovieName.2017\Behind The Scenes\Extras1.mkv
X:\Storage\MovieName.2017\Behind The Scenes\Extras2.mkv
This does NOT work:
X:\Storage\MovieName
X:\Storage\MovieName\Movie-2017.mkv
X:\Storage\MovieName\Behind The Scenes
X:\Storage\MovieName\Behind The Scenes\Extras1
X:\Storage\MovieName\Behind The Scenes\Extras1\Extras1.mkv
X:\Storage\MovieName\Behind The Scenes\Extras2
X:\Storage\MovieName\Behind The Scenes\Extras2\Extras2.mkv
So sorry, replied to the wrong topic!
@psyki said:
What finally worked for me is making sure that the root folder the movie lives inside does not have the year in the folder name. Also, when using the organizing by folder method, the extras must be directly in the folder and not inside their own folders.This works:
X:\Storage\MovieName
X:\Storage\MovieName\Movie-2017.mkv
X:\Storage\MovieName\Behind The Scenes
X:\Storage\MovieName\Behind The Scenes\Extras1.mkv
X:\Storage\MovieName\Behind The Scenes\Extras2.mkvThis does NOT work:
X:\Storage\MovieName.2017
X:\Storage\MovieName.2017\Movie-2017.mkv
X:\Storage\MovieName.2017\Behind The Scenes
X:\Storage\MovieName.2017\Behind The Scenes\Extras1.mkv
X:\Storage\MovieName.2017\Behind The Scenes\Extras2.mkvThis does NOT work:
X:\Storage\MovieName
X:\Storage\MovieName\Movie-2017.mkv
X:\Storage\MovieName\Behind The Scenes
X:\Storage\MovieName\Behind The Scenes\Extras1
X:\Storage\MovieName\Behind The Scenes\Extras1\Extras1.mkv
X:\Storage\MovieName\Behind The Scenes\Extras2
X:\Storage\MovieName\Behind The Scenes\Extras2\Extras2.mkv
If you were following the guideline for naming and structuring you wouldn’t have to promote what is STILL WRONG!
https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/categories/200028098-Media-Preparation
This REALLY works - Because it’s right:
X:\Storage\MovieName (2017)
…MovieName (2017).mkv
…Behind The Scenes
…Extras1.mkv
…Extras2.mkv
@JuiceWSA said:
If you were following the guideline for naming and structuring you wouldn’t have to promote what is STILL WRONG!
https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/categories/200028098-Media-PreparationThis REALLY works - Because it’s right:
X:\Storage\MovieName (2017)
…MovieName (2017).mkv
…Behind The Scenes
…Extras1.mkv
…Extras2.mkv
I stand corrected, if the year is in parenthesis (per the guidelines) then the extra subfolder naming convention works as expected. I will make the case that this is a negative user experience though, as Plex seems to have no problem accessing movie files if they are in a directory that does not strictly follow the guidelines, but it seemingly cannot associate the extras subfolders unless the movie parent is named accordingly.
For those who may have hundreds or thousands of movies with folders named “incorrectly” but otherwise working fine, this was needlessly difficult to troubleshoot. The documentation about local extras (https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200220677) should make it abundantly clear that the parent folder must be named according to the guidelines.
The negative user experience kicks in when Plex doesn’t REQUIRE the reading of this material:
https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/categories/200028098-Media-Preparation
and just assumes you’re gonna be able to find it - or it’s magically built into your DNA.
The good news is that now you know the correct way and the links - you can join the ranks of the Volunteer Support Squad and aim hapless users without Plex Enhanced DNA in the right directions.
(Note: it’s a BIG JOB that NEVER ENDS. Set some bookmarks and welcome aboard)
lol
Hi all
suddenly the last days I have this problem, never had it before.
At those TV shows , I have “no series cover”, “no season cover” and the description has come afterwards, shows are named 100% correct and I cannot see why is this happening, the problem as I said has come the last episodes of,
Billions, Westworld, Colony, The Expanse and Fear The walking Dead.
After that I have the same problem by adding at my folder many episodes from various Star Trek series and fans production series of Star Trek like,
Star Trek Continues, Star Trek: Dark Armada, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Odyssey, Star Trek: Starship Exeter, Star Trek: Voyager, Starship Farragut.
I have try the “Plex Dance” solution but no results!
Thanks
Further reading of the forum will reveal an issue with TVDB/Plex wherein posters simply won’t make it - until that Plex Pass Preview Build ‘repair job’ makes it’s way to the general public:
https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/comment/1680985/#Comment_1680985
You should probably read that entire thread, but the linked post is the one that garnered ‘The Answer’ with a temporary back-woods work-around that does work…
B)
Thanks Tony
TVDB -
The TVDB is user editable… we (the internet at large) would all appreciate it if you’d create a corresponding entry in the TVDB 
This is often as easy as referencing the IMDB entry, taking only seconds to save many others the same frustration…
(If you wonder why Plex (or any of dozens of other apps) don’t just use IMDB for metadata, it’s $$$. While TVDB allows API calls (this is how metadata requests are handled behind the scenes) for free, this is apparently not the case for IMDB, who require paid agreements in the tens of thousands of dollars for similar API access… annual Plex Pass for $999 anyone?)
File / Folder Naming - I’ll echo the responses of others concerning proper file naming. In OP’s case, simply naming the ripped file properly in the first place would have averted this problem.
Manual Match -
I’ve ended up in a similar situation after using third party apps to rename my files, and manual match is how I fixed it. It’s a bit cumbersome for large numbers of files, but great for one offs that aren’t matched automatically. YMMV
Just to throw my 2 cents into this. I have a solution. (I found this thread while looking for a solution - nothing above worked for me or wasn’t something I hadn’t already done - but then the simplest idea came to me and it worked like a charm.) In short…same issue, specifically and only with Aqua Teen Hunger Force Seasons 1 and 2 (season 3 looks perfect and I don’t have 4-final). I have thousands of other correct matches, so I know it’s not my file structure or naming conventions. I did some digging. It appears that Aqua Teen’s Season 1 and 2 are incorrectly mapped via thetvdb.com even though (by all appearances) it should work.
Easy solution… the mapping to themoviedb.org is spot on. All I did was go to my TV SHOWS directory, UNMATCH my Aqua Teen from the highest level, rescan my TV SHOW library to clear the previous Aqua Teen matches out, then use the MATCH search to re-find my show… the only catch is, when you search for the show… don’t accept the default result, instead use the SEARCH OPTIONS, make sure the year is typed in as 2000 and the AGENT should be set to The Movie Database instead of TheTVDB… super easy. Works like a charm. And sure enough, I verified the episode listings on both databases online and they are identical. It appears to be an issue with Plex and thetvdb.com’s ability to map correctly for this particular show and for particular seasons only.
Just wanted to help in case anyone’s manual edits disappear someday. No need to re-do all that work. The Movie Database has us covered… not a perfect solution, but it works with just a couple of clicks. If you are questioning the validity of this, try it for yourself… it is a simple rematching. When I search for my match using the TVdb agent/engine through Plex… no episode titles for seasons 1 and 2… switch the agent to The Movie Database and perfection.
Total bummer that I liked the individual episode thumbnails from thetvdb.com better… but it is more important that the episode titles are correct than their representative images.
Notice how my directory is still in my TV SHOWS folder… just for this one show, I searched for the match using The Movie Database agent. Screenshot enclosed.
helped me out after incorrectly clicking fix match, used filebot to sort out names did the above and the two series were seperated again
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