Random issues with metadata

[marinko70_icloud_com]

Server Version#: 1.23.2.4656-6000 on Synology DSM6 latest updates.

I’m reaching the point of ditching PLEX because it is so random in losing metadata. I resolved a major problem a couple of months back by deleting my PLEX account! and setting up a new account from scratch. Fine for a couple of months then started to lose metadata for films randomly. Worse still the ‘match’ function does not find any films, but was working fine. I installed the above supposed latest version for Synology and it’s got worse.

Other than deleting my account and creating a new account yet again and starting form scratch does anyone have any tips?

I’m not prepared to waste time on some software that requires new account setup even couple of months… because???

Player Version#:

[FordGuy61]

Please provide an example of file/folder naming and organization for some of the problematic films.

To ensure proper matching, make sure you follow Plex guidelines for naming and organizing your media. Note you can include imdb, etc IDs in the folder & file names. Plex will use the ID to match the file and pull the correct metadata.

Category : Your Media | Plex Support

[marinko70_icloud_com]

thanks for the response. these are all movies. plex is pointing to the main folder called ‘videos’ and within this folder the movies are split into 2 folders; ‘vol1’, ‘vol2’. the file name is the actual film title. when I created a new account and set-up from scratch PLEX finds everything without issue and I said this lasted for around 2 months.

[marinko70_icloud_com]

sorry, I don’t see IMDB as an agent and it doesn’t appear anywhere in settings as an option. I live in the UK.

[FordGuy61]

@marinko70_icloud_com

plex is pointing to the main folder called ‘videos’

Do not use the default Synology folders. This will cause issues. Synology may reset file permissions at seemingly random intervals. This can happen even if you do not have the Synology applications (Video Station, etc) installed.

See Installation & Setup of Plex Media Server on Synology for information on how to organize your media.

Note: Not that you are, but never use the Plex shared folder for your media. Doing so will definitely cause problems when running DSM 6 (things change for DSM 7).

@marinko70_icloud_com

plex is pointing to the main folder called ‘videos’ and within this folder the movies are split into 2 folders; ‘vol1’, ‘vol2’.

That is the wrong way to organize your media and may cause problems. Plex does not like such subfolders.

For example, given a folder structure:

/media
../movies
..../vol1
..../vol2

The Plex movie library should point at vol1, vol2, etc, not at movies. You can add multiple folders to a library.

@marinko70_icloud_com

the file name is the actual film title

Make sure you follow Plex naming requirements. Also, it is recommended that you place each movie in its own folder, ex: ../Avatar (2009)/Avatar (2009).mkv. It will speed up library scanning when adding new media, as Plex will scan just the additions, not the entire library. Also, if you wish to add extras, trailers, etc, individual folders are required.

@marinko70_icloud_com

I don’t see IMDB as an agent

The ability to add the IMDB/TMDB, etc ID came with the new Plex Movie agent and scanner, which is now the default for new libraries.

The Plex Movie agent/scanner will see the ID in the folder/file name and use it to match the media. See the previously linked support docs for details. Look in the Naming & Organizing Your Movie Files and Naming & Organizing Your TV Show Files for details.

Example:
../Avatar (2009) {imdb-tt0499549}/Avatar (2009) {imdb-tt0499549} [1080p].mkv

1. Note the curly brackets.
2. If there is other info you want in the file name, put it in square brackets. Plex will not use it for matching & metadata retrieval.

[sundi712]

What you are explaining of Plex loosing the metadata is odd. I can see if it just stopped pulling data. I’d say that there is an issue with the Data folders on the device and a clean wipe needs to be confirmed. Hopefully someone will reply that can understand some Plex log files and you can upload those for them.

Regarding the other topics already discussed, IMO there are some unnecessary recommendations here. I’ve had my Plex share setup for 6-7 years in the default video folder on my Synology w/o any trouble - however I may have been lucky so maybe changing would be good on your end.

@FordGuy61

That is the wrong way to organize your media and may cause problems. Plex does not like such subfolders.

The Plex movie library should point at vol1 , vol2 , etc, not at movies . You can add multiple folders to a library.

I’d say that having multiple folders in a library is useful if the items should truly be separated or if you utilized real-time scanning to update your libraries. I use subfolders w/o any trouble. There are two folders/libraries in the pic that use subfolders w/o any trouble.
Library - \server\video\movies\main\A-D (and so on…)
Library - \server\video\tv_series\main\A-D) (and so on…)
I did this because it took forever when trying to browse a folder with 1000+ files/folders.

@FordGuy61

Make sure you follow Plex naming requirements. Also, it is recommended that you place each movie in its own folder, ex: ../Avatar (2009)/Avatar (2009).mkv . It will speed up library scanning when adding new media, as Plex will scan just the additions, not the entire library. Also, if you wish to add extras, trailers, etc, individual folders are required.

@FordGuy61

The ability to add the IMDB/TMDB, etc ID came with the new Plex Movie agent and scanner, which is now the default for new libraries.

The Plex Movie agent/scanner will see the ID in the folder/file name and use it to match the media. See the previously linked support docs for details. Look in the Naming & Organizing Your Movie Files and Naming & Organizing Your TV Show Files for details.

Example:
../Avatar (2009) {imdb-tt0499549}/Avatar (2009) {imdb-tt0499549} [1080p].mkv

1. Note the curly brackets.
2. If there is other info you want in the file name, put it in square brackets. Plex will not use it for matching & metadata retrieval.

I only create a subfolder for a video if it has multiple files, such as a subtitle or poster .If it actually has just one subtitle, I have included the video/subtitle in the main folder w/o any issues. Again, library scanning speed is only an issue if you use real-time and your processor can’t handle it (I wouldn’t recommend this on any Synology hosting a Plex service.) You should be scanning in the middle of the night.
Regarding the naming scheme, using that IMDB ID and having to acquire each ID would be a pain IMO. Just include the name AND year like the article says because the year is VERY important.

I’d be careful making all of these library and naming scheme changes (with the exception of the Year in the name) until you find out some more information. I wouldn’t expect Plex to ever loose/change metadata for existing content unless an agent/plugin/setting or file name was changed. Doesn’t sound like you changed the file names (yet) so I suggest looking into another possible cause.

[marinko70_icloud_com]

thanks for all your replies. if I may just comment and ask questions on some of you posts.

1. If I set up multiple folders underneath a new shared folder on synology and point PLEX to the sub-folders then it seems all those sub-folders appear in PLEX and it does not provide a unified view of all movies. Is there an option to merge all folders into 1 view?

2. I deleted the PLEX library (not the files on synology) to start again. I then added 1 subfolder to the new shared folder on synology and added a few films. I then make sure that in the advanced options for setting up a new library it is using ‘Plex Movie’ . PLEX processes the films in the library (3films) successfully, but still does not add the metadata.

3. When I go to an an individual movie and try the ‘match’ option, it doesn’t matter what I put in the search category it comes back ‘no matches found’. It does not respond to any film name/year combination.

thanks again

[marinko70_icloud_com]

ps I tried adding the IMDB ID into a film title using the curly brackets
PLEX just changes the name of the film to include the curly brackets and ID and still does not find any matches.

Seems to me I will again have to delete my account and set-up from scratch i.e. that my account is being corrupted.

[marinko70_icloud_com]

ps2

I signed out of PLEX on my laptop and signed back in and get this useless message

‘This server is unclaimed and not secure
Claiming this server will associate it with your Plex account. This helps your devices find each other and helps keep your media safe.’

OF course it does not allow me to claim the server.

[FordGuy61]

Try logging into your server directly, not via plex.tv.

http://[synology_ip_address]:32400/web/index.html

or https:…

[marinko70_icloud_com]

I go into synology and from the main menu I select plex, which logs me onto plex in a browser.

[marinko70_icloud_com]

thank you all for the hints and tips. I’ver wasted enough time on this and it’s a shame but really isn’t worth the hassle.

I’ve been in the tech industry for 30yrs and have seen lots of software that is good at one thing but not others. in the case of plex its got an excellent the user interface, but the rest of it is a bag nails.

I’ve moved back to synology video player and while it doesn’t provide the same quality in the user interface it generally works and most importantly its quick and easy to fix issues.

[FordGuy61]

You’ll need to claim your server before addressing any metadata issues.

@marinko70_icloud_com

Seems to me I will again have to delete my account and set-up from scratch i.e. that my account is being corrupted.

It is not necessary to delete your account at plex.tv. The problem is not with your plex.tv account.

The problem is with your Plex Media Server installation - the software, the hardware, the network, etc. That’s what we need to figure out.

@marinko70_icloud_com

If I set up multiple folders underneath a new shared folder on synology and point PLEX to the sub-folders then it seems all those sub-folders appear in PLEX and it does not provide a unified view of all movies. Is there an option to merge all folders into 1 view?

Let me know if I’m misunderstanding your question.

You can add multiple folders to a Plex library. The library will show a unified view of the movies.

I’m using A-L and M-Z as examples. You can name the folders anything you wish, add the movies however you wish (alphabetical, genre, random, etc). They can be in separate shared folders. Just make sure Plex has at least read only access.

I’m not aware of a limit on the number of folders that can be added to a library. I’ve seen postings on the forum where some users have 10 - 20 folders.

Example file structure:

/media/movies
.../A-L
....../Airplane (1980)/Airplane (1980).mp4
....../Logan's Run (1976)/Logan's Run (1976).mp4
.../M-Z
....../Zoolander (2001)/Zoolander (2001).mp4

Folders added to Plex movie library:

Library appearance in Plex Web:

@marinko70_icloud_com

PLEX processes the films in the library (3films) successfully, but still does not add the metadata.

You are using a Movie library, correct? Just want to make sure. Plex will not pull metadata for media in “Other Videos” libraries. Also, no movies in a tv show library or visa-versa. Mixing movies & tv shows is not supported by Plex.

Plex Media Server must communicate with plex.tv hosts to pull metadata.

Do you have any firewall, etc restrictions on the Synology or in other locations (router, separate firewall, etc)? If so, make sure the plex.tv domain is whitelisted.

What DNS server is configured on the Synology? Control Panel → Network → Network Interface → select interface & choose Edit → IPv4

Try using a public DNS server such as 8.8.8.8 (Google), 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare), etc.

If you change any firewall or DNS settings, refresh the metadata for the Plex library.

---

Pull the log files for your Plex Media Server. Hopefully they’ll show what is happening.

In Plex Web, go to Settings → Troubleshooting, choose Download Logs. Attach the ZIP file to the thread.

Alternately, in Synology File Station, go to /Plex/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server/. Compress the Logs directory and attach the ZIP file to the thread.