I’m not tech saavy so I have no idea why I keep having his issue. I upload MP4, if it doesn’t match then I match it and manually enter any missing or incorrect data. That’s all fine. Then, days or weeks later I go to update something for a particular movie or video and – voila – it refreshes for no reason and deletes random bits of information like the release date and my tags. Originally I thought I was just forgetting to properly lock after edits but nope. It happens even when I know 100% for sure I locked and saved each bit independently. Aside from continually having to re-edit, the most annoying part is the randomness. What the hell?
This requires a bit of a longer explanation:
If you place your files into a regular ‘Movie’ library, Plex will attempt to ‘match’ your file to a movie listed in one of its online databases. This enables it to download suitable metadata, posters, cast info etc.
When it fails to ‘match’ the file, it displays wrong or incomplete metadata.
Despite you editing/overwriting those wrong metadata, Plex will still attempt to match the movie next time the library is updated. Which then can lead to your hand-edited metadata to get overwritten.
In such a situation, you have 2 options:
- either make it easier for Plex to ‘match’ your files
- designate the movie as being a ‘Personal Media’ item. Plex will then not try again to match it.
While 2) is the easier method, I urge you to choose 1)
It serves you better in the long run.
I will now explain the 2 methods:
#1) Make your files easier to ‘match’
##preparation:
Go to Settings - Server - Agents - Shows - TheTVDB
In there, grab the line ‘Local Media Assets’ with your mouse and drag it downwards, so it ends up being at the bottom of the stack of active agents.
Repeat the same under
Settings - Server - Agents - Shows - TheMovieDatabase
+
Settings - Server - Agents - Movies - Plex Movie
+
Settings - Server - Agents - Movies - TheMovieDatabase
##Bring your file names into a format which is better recognized by Plex
Detailed instructions are here: https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/categories/200028098-Media-Preparation
The gist of it, as far as movies are concerned:
Movie Title (year).mp4
Sometimes after a file was ‘mismatched’ and you have renamed it, you must “convince” Plex to re-evaluate the changed file name. This procedure is inoffically called the Plex Dance.
#2) Designate the file as Personal Media
perform a Fix Match/Match operation on the movie
Choose ‘Personal Media’ as the metadata agent
Afterwards, your file is marked as ‘Personal Media’.
Plex will no longer try to match it to a movie and thus, the metadata you put into it manually are preserved.
Thank you Otto. I did #1 for my movies and TV and #2 for my personal videos. Hope this works, and appreciate the assist.
