Server Version#: 1.21.1.3876
Player Version#: 4.47.3
So - if I have multiple versions of a film (i.e. Director’s Cut, Theatrical Version, etc.) in my Plex server - and I added them correctly to the Library (i.e. only my preferred version of the film is included in the same folder with the Local Extras, with other versions of the film added later outside of that folder) - should these Local Extras be available with every version of that film when selected in the Player? Or only with the preferred version of the film that’s in the folder with the Local Extras?
I was under the impression that the Local Extras would appear in the Player with every version of the film, but maybe that’s completely wrong.
So you have multiple cuts of a film and you want to have them all in Plex, a common enough situation. There are 2 ways Plex can have multiple versions of the movie, either “stacked” on the same entry in Plex or “Split” into multiple entries.
When you ‘Split’ entries in the Plex interface and then match them to the same movie ID for all the addition metadata you will get separate entries (which I assume is what you have currently done). In my own server “Suicide Squad” is an example of the Split for the theatrical vs extended versions:
When you split a film you are telling Plex that combining them was incorrect and they are distinct and to be treated differently. The fact they are then matched to the same film for metadata reasons does not override Plex treating them separately. In the case of splitting them in the Plex interface, the film with the extras in folder would have them but the others would not because you have told Plex they are not the same. If you have not split them (or join a split) then they are stacked and you see a number indicating multiple versions of the film.
Stacking is made for using with the exact same film, Plex is expecting you to have different resolutions/encodes and selecting based on the playback device. While you could use this to do multiple cuts of a film, Plex just gives you resolution and bitrate when trying to play a certain copy:
For multiple film cuts this does not give you enough information to reliably determine the version playing. It also will select one based on playback device so you cannot have a ‘prefered cut’. Stacking is not viable as an option due to these reasons.
This leaves you with 3 remaining options I am aware of to manage multiple cuts, which comes down to personal preference:
Keep all the extras under one version of the movie (say theatrical) and standardize it for yourself so you know where to find them and keep movies split
Have copies of the special features in each movies folder so each version shows them and keep films split
Using the folder organization method and then symbolic linking the folders to each version so that Plex can see them locally but only have 1 copy of the files is something I have heard works but have not personally played with
Take the additional versions of the film and place them as extra features under your prefered cut and have one movie entry that is not split or stacked
My personal choice after using it for a while and playing with each method is the third one. I disliked having multiple copies of a movie polluting my list of films and inflating my library numbers, so while I originally did split films I have been slowly condensing them down into one entry and putting my prefered cut as the main film. Example - for the movie ‘The Martian’ I have the main film as the regular edition because it has the highest resolution (4K) but I also have an extended edition so I put it as an “Other” special feature.
Plex will still track your position and you can select audio and subtitle versions once you begin playing the additional cut under ‘extras’ you just lose the nice dropdown the main film has, and any searches/sorts on your library and play progress at the continue watching or library level.
Thank you, piskieee, for your thoughtful and comprehensive answer. Your breakdown is perfect!
I’ve been using Plex for some time, and still wasn’t sure what behavior to expect with multiple versions of films. I Split the films once they were matched, so it now makes sense why the Local Extras didn’t port to all the versions of a film. Plex sees them as different film entries entirely.
I hadn’t heard of the symbolic link to Local Extras method. I may test that with a few files to see what happens. I assume it involves making a ‘shortcut’ or ‘alias’ link to each Local Extra from the original folder to a folder containing the alternate version of that film.
But I’m now thinking - as you did - that it’s smarter to combine all cuts into one entry, with the additional cuts as Local Extras. Thank you for the awesome tip of classifying the additional versions as Other.
I’m looking forward to cleaning up my Library today in my downtime.
I appreciate the time you took to break this all down for me.
You can classify it under any category outlined in the Local Files for Trailers and Extras support article. I personally have found its most consistent and easy for me to manage using the ‘Organized in Subdirectories’ method in that article. I personally found that none of them really fit so I categorize them under ‘Other’.
In regards to the symbolic links, it is different than a shortcut in behavior and creation. I like how it was described in this HowToGeek article which also has some examples of their creation and use:
Symbolic links are basically advanced shortcuts. Create a symbolic link to an individual file or folder, and that link will appear to be the same as the file or folder to Windows—even though it’s just a link pointing at the file or folder.
To simplify it from a high level view: Shortcuts are a special file type all their own. The program must be able to handle the link and all those complications. Symbolic links appear to be the actual target. The OS handles the link and the program thinks it is just handling a local file.
You can read more technical details about symbolic links on Wikipedia.
If you run a list command a shortcut and symbolic link will show differently. When you use a symbolic link Plex is just accessing the file as it normally would and sees it local while the lifting to point it to a different spot is done outside Plex. Symbolic links are especially powerful as you can point to absolute paths, the symbolic link doesn’t even have to point to the same disc on the system, or event that same system! (Don’t hop systems unless required as this adds complexity regarding access, permissions, and availability).
TL;DR Shortcuts are not symbolic links. Shortcuts are for people using GUIs, symbolic links are for software navigating file paths
