@edwdecarlo Sorry for not responding sooner to this. Did you get the installation figured out? There are steps in the first post of the scanner and metadata agent posts that describe how to install on the different OSes. I assume that the install for Linux is similar to the Qnap install. The scanner files actually go in a different high-level folder named Scanners and not the plug-in folder.
@inferno596 I think issue #2 is related to the bug that was reported starting in the 1.3.x releases that causes episodes to be displayed out of order. See https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/248406/bug-plex-v1-3-1-4-x-inc-1-4-1-isnt-showing-metadata-correctly-for-some-agents-logs-included/p1 for more details.
@mjarends Did you mean that bug #1 is caused by that? (I read the report and that makes sense to me but #2 doesnāt)
@inferno596 I did mean issue #2. In the comments for the bug report Plex acknowledged that there was a change in the way in which Plex is displaying the episodes. Iām unsure if there is a different bug report for that specific issue.
Can you confirm that you are seeing the original air date in Plex for the episodes that you showed in the attached screen capture. The scanner and metadata agent are using the OS file system last modified date to set this value in Plex. I noticed that the dates on the file system do not match the episode order. The bug report that I referenced above indicates that Plex is using episode air date over episode numbering when displaying the shows which is a regression/change in functionality.
Ah I understand now. Yes, the issue is fully explained by plex using the date modified instead of episode number. Is plex going to revert back to the old way and if not is there a way for you to build a work around to this into the addon? This seems like itās inherently going to be a recurring problem with for this addon, since date modified is entirely uncorrelated with episode number for many use cases of this addon. Iād offer to do it myself but I donāt know enough python.
Were you able to look into/replicate bug #1 that Frank.Moll described?
I actually thought Frank.Moll was referencing davidjoshualightmanās Extended Personal Media Completer tool and not the actual metadata agent. The Extended Personal Media metadata agent is dependent on Plexās local media metadata agent to find and associate images to the videos in Plex. If there a repeatable issue then I would suggest filing a bug report for the Local Media Metadata Agent with Plex.
The issue only occurs for me when using it in compliment to this, so I think itās something in here. Also, any thoughts on fixing the extension to revert to relying on episode number instead of the local file edited date, since that causes issues with this?
I should be able to add an option to the metadata agent plugin to enable/disable the use of file date for the episode release date. I will try to release something in the next couple of days.
@inferno596 I created a branch for the scanner that removes the line that sets the release date on the episodes in Plex. I was unable to re-produce the issue on my test environment to see if the changes fixes the issue. Can you try it against your media to see if it resolves the issue. If it does I will move the change back to the main line.
The updated scanner code is here: https://bitbucket.org/mjarends/plex-scanners/get/episode-order.zip. Just copy the Extended Personal Media Scanner.py file over your existing scanner .py file.
In order to force Plex to update the media files within your library you will need to remove the directory from your library that was having the issues, run a library update (possibly empty the trash), move the files back and then run a library update.
Let me know - Thanks.
That fixed both issues, thanks a ton.
Interestingly, however you implemented this reproducably made scanning 20-50x faster than it always was before (and yes I actually timed it). If you know why and it wasnāt an accident, congratulations and Iād be curious to know what you changed.
Thanks for validating the change.
The only changes I made were to remove the call to get the fileās last modified timestamp and then format it correctly for Plex to store with the episode. Interesting that those changes resulted in a big performance boost. Did you empty the trash for the section after you removed the media from Plex?
For all of the others that monitor this thread. I will update the main line with the change and post a comment when itās available. If anyone has issues with the change let me know in this thread.
Thanks.
I didnāt, but with my settings plex /shouldāve/ done it automatically.
Iām using your scanner and agent for my training videos. How can I automatically add the release date and possibly also the studio (publisher) to the Plex library with this format?
/College Classes
/Physics 101
Physics 101 - c1e1 - First chapter.m4v
Physics 101 - c1e2 - 2nd chapter.m4v
/C2
e1 - Some notes.m4v
e2 - Some more notes.m4v
/Chapter3
e1 - Something else.m4v
e2 - Something more.m4v
e3 - Something real.m4v
@zed123789 Are all of the media files actually dated correctly?
The current scanner/metadata agent use the fileās last modified date to set the release date if you are using episode numbering. If the files do not have the right last modified dates you can add the release date to the file name and the scanner will use that date instead. See the Episodes that contain episode release dates from the first post in this thread for an example.
Unfortunately the metadata agent does not support adding a studio/publisher to the files at this time.
@mjarends: ok, right. Itās set on each file. Either last modified or a fixed value.
I meant the date (originally available) in the properties of the āshowā. Is it possible to set a date on the show itself? I would like to quickly see the release date or filter on the library screen.
@zed123789 By in the properties of the show what do you mean? Are you talking about seeing the date within the Plex web application or Apple/Android apps? The scanner is actually setting this value currently when the data is initially scanned.
@mjarends The date is set on each video (I.e. e1 - 2017-01-01 - Something else.m4v), but not on the entry in the Library (I.e. College Classes).
Could we combine the values of each episode file or implement it via a file like the .summary file?
I.e. 2017-01-01.release (+ abc.studio, etc. pp.)
@zed123789 Now I get what you meant. I was thinking episode and not the TV show. How about supporting the following directory/file naming convention:
Show Title - YYYY-MM-DD/(Season|Chapter) Number/EXX - YYYY-MM-DD - Episode Title
Where YYYY-MM-DD after Show Title would be the show release date.
I would like to avoid adding a bunch of files just for metadata. If I was to support more metadata I would more than likely standardize on NFO or using a custom INI file so all data could be specified in a single file. What do you think about my suggestion?
I have updated the scanner and metadata plugins to make using the media fileās last modified timestamp as the episodeās release date optional. Plex made some internal changes that caused episodes to be displayed out of order if the episode numbers and episode release date orders did not match.
By default the scanner/metadata agent will behave the same way. To disable using the media fileās last modified timestamp go to the Extended Personal Media Shows Settings page and disable the āUse last modified timestamp for episodesā option.
