Plex Media Server library set up problems

Plex Media Server NAS & Devices
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Server Version#: DSM 7.2.1-69057 Update 5
Player Version#: Plex on TCL Google TV usually, but also on a host of other devices

The problem that has been plaguing me for the past couple weeks has been I can’t get the libraries set up correctly in Plex Media Server on Synology NAS. I’ve tried to keep it very simple to begin with, I have the NAS set up as the only media source and the only sub-headings under it are Movies and a show called The Chosen. That’s it. Just two libraries, at least that is my intention. For now.

Here is where the confusion comes in: Up until a couple weeks ago, I’ve been using Synology Video Station on the NAS and DS Video on TV’s and other devices. This is how I was taught to set it up when I first bought the NAS about a year and a half ago. With that setup, I basically had to upload all my movies to the “videos” folder in File Station. There was some confusion because my movie collection is made up of alot of files organized in folders, lots of folders. This was around early 2023 when I was setting this up so I don’t have a photographic recollection of the entire process – particularly every problem that arose. I could sum it up by saying it just never worked very well. Particularly subtitles were a total nightmare, trying to find good ones that are in sync. Almost impossible in the DS Video app on Google TV. (something Plex seems to do 1000% better, so far at least)

Other issues with the Video Station/DS Video setup were a constant annoyance and at some point I decided to start looking for an alternative, something that would just work better. To that end, a couple weeks ago I discovered that Plex Media Server was available in the Synology Package Center, and I immediately made it a goal to get Plex set up and running smoothly on my NAS and home network system. Just as immediately I ran into challenges and realized it was not going to be easy. Alot of this technology seems to make my brain melt. That’s where I’m grateful to have found this forum…

To complicate matters, I toyed around with Plex a couple years ago and still have Plex on my devices. Combine that with having struggled to get Video Station and DS Video to function smoothly with the NAS on our home network, and suffice to say it was kind of a mess. I probably should have just shut everything down and deleted the whole setup and started fresh with Plex on the NAS. It’s possible I should still do that now, rather than trying to clean up the existing mess. I’ll await your sage advice on that course of action.

Sooo, again I apologize for this lengthy diatribe. I don’t seem to know how NOT to do that. Everything I’m saying seems important in the moment and then I look down and find a soap opera novella looking back at me. :roll_eyes:

Quickly circling back to the first paragraph, I mentioned the only two libraries listed beneath the name of the NAS in Plex Media Server are Movies and The Chosen (currently should only contain episodes 1-8 of season 4). But I have not for the life of me been able to get those 8 episodes to appear in that library. No matter what I try, this is the result:

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Oddly, however, those 8 episodes do appear in the Movies library, which is where they apparently wish to stay. A mystery I have yet to figure out. What I did figure out, was how to place the 8 episodes in a Collection, a workaround that will suffice until I figure out the underlying mystery:

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So all that has been a long winded way of asking: how do I get those 8 episodes out of the Movies library and into The Chosen library, eliminating the need for The Chosen collection entirely.

I’ve tried following the steps Plex tells me to take, no success. I’ve tried to come at it probably a dozen plus ways, nothing has worked. Help will be greatly appreciated! Cheers :beers:

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Installation & Setup of Plex Media Server on Synology

Synology FAQ - Questions, Answers, and How-To’s

Plex Documentation → Your Media

  • You cannot mix movies and tv shows. They must be in separate libraries.
  • Verify which media folders are added to each library.
  • You must also follow Plex naming and organization requirements.

Example:

/media
  /tv shows  <-- folder added to tv show library
    /The Chosen (2017) <-- show name (intro year)
      /Season 01 <-- "Season" in English
        /The Chosen (2017) s01e01 I Have Called You By Name.ext <-- ext = mkv/mp4/etc.
      /Season 02
        /The Chosen (2017) s02e01 Thunder.ext <-- sXXeYY important, episode name optional.
  /movies <-- folder added to movie library
    /The Chosen (1977) <-- movie_name (year)
      /The Chosen (1977).ext
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and yet, I’m in bizarro world where Season 4 of The Chosen, a TV show, is stuck in the Movies library and I cannot get it out of there!!!

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I created a TV show library and called it The Chosen, but I cannot get those files to move there, so, as you can see, The Chosen Library remains empty:

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This has been going on for a couple weeks and it really is driving me mad. (mind you, I’ve had a hell of a lot going on and haven’t honestly found enough time or energy to dedicate to the task… still, I must say it really feels alot harder than it should be).

… it is all very per-PLEX-ing!!

Thanks for listening.

4

It looks like you have the movie library configured to scan the tv show files.

How do you have the files named and organized?

Look at the example in my earlier post. The “tv shows” directory is scanned only by a tv show library. The “movies” directory is scanned only by a movie library.

If you were to add “media” to a movie library you would see strange results such as what is happening with your system.

Edit the movie library (Settings → Libraries, mouse over library name, click Edit). Select Add Folders. It will show the folders added to the library. Take a screenshot and upload it to the thread.

Repeat for the TV show library.

Edit one of the episodes of The Chosen. Click on Info. That will show the path to the file. Take a screenshot and attach to the thread.

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OK first screenshot shows NAS name = iwfi, and presently only two libraries, a Movies library called Movies and a TV show library called The Chosen:

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Next, at your request, screenshot showing folders added to the Movies library:

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NOTE: the reason The Chosen has been added to the Movies library is simply because I can’t get it to show up in the TV shows library. I put it in Movies just to make it available to watch, but I know it’s not set up right.

Next, you asked me to repeat the above for the TV show library, so here is a screenshot showing The Chosen folder was definitelyb added to the TV show library:

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And the last item you requested is a screenshot showing the path to an episode of The Chosen:

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The “video” folder on volume1 is where my movie collection was uploaded during set up of Synology Video Station, which has been my NAS media server the past year and 1/2. I tried to put The Chosen in the PlexMedia folder of PlexMediaServer and you can see in the NAS File Station all the episodes are there:

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…but in the Plex Media Server for Synology app The Chosen library is still empty. The only way I could see and access them was to upload that folder to the video folder and then they show up in the Movie library. Not ideal, I know, but at least they’re there and friends, family and I can watch them.

Thank you to all for the ongoing help. I know there is a bunch of info you have provided which I need to study more closely. Not exactly sure when I’ll be able to do that task justice. Life is demanding my attention elsewhere at this moment. But I’ll be back asap to do some more homework and get this thing ironed out.

6

Thanks for the information.

Not to be harsh, but you’ve pretty much done everything wrong:

  • You placed media files in the PlexMediaServer directory, despite the message (in six languages) saying not to do so.
  • You mixed movies and TV shows in the same directory.
  • You added a TV show to a Movie Library
  • You added the wrong directory to a TV show library
  • You do not follow Plex naming requirements for TV shows.

I suggest you do the following:

  1. Read Installation & Setup of Plex Media Server on Synology .

  2. Read Plex Documentation → Your Media. Specifically, the “How to name & organize…” documents for movies and tv shows.

  3. Delete the Movies and The Chosen libraries. This will clean the bad info from the Plex database.

  4. Reorganize and rename your media files.

    If you no longer use Synology Video station:

  • Create a new shared folder, /media, via Synology Control Panel → Shared Folder.
  • Create two sub-folders, movies and tv shows using File Station.
  • Move all your movies into /media/movies.
  • Move the TV shows in to /media/tv shows.
  • Give system internal user PlexMediaServer access to the /media folder (the same way you gave it access to /video).
    The process is detailed in FAQ 29 - DSM 7 - Give PlexMediaServer access to your media

    If you still need the files to be located in /video:
  • Create two sub-folders, movies and tv shows.
  • Move all your movies into /video/movies.
  • Move the TV shows in to /video/tv shows.

  1. MANDATORY: Rename the tv shows to follow Plex requirements.
    Naming & Organizing Your TV Show Files
    See my first reply. It shows how to correctly name The Chosen.

  2. Create a new movie library.
    Add /media/movies or /video/movies, depending on where the media is located.

  3. Create a new tv show library.
    Add /media/tv shows or /video/tv shows, depending on where the media is located.

  4. Let Plex Media Server scan the files. When finished, check to see that the files are correctly organized.

7

Just a quick note to say I’m still here and very much appreciate all the help. I am working through it, although I haven’t had as much time to invest as I’d like. This is largely what led to all the mistakes you have pointed out, rushing through setting up, cutting corners, etc… Hoping to get lucky and get away with it… but no such luck on this occasion.

The one plus at present is that the content is there and it is playable, even though it isn’t organized correctly and my libraries are a 3 ring circus. When I get a block of time I am going to uninstall everything associated with media, delete all the misplaced content, re-install Plex server on the NAS and start over from scratch organizing and uploading content. A fresh start.

Once I’ve got that done I’ll report back. Cheers :beers:

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