Smart Prerolls - Genre/Metadata-Based Selection + TV/Music Support

Feature Suggestions
1

:clapper_board: Feature Request: Smart Prerolls - Genre/Metadata-Based Selection + TV/Music Support

TL;DR: Let Plex select prerolls based on what you’re watching (genre, rating, studio, etc.) instead of the same random preroll for everything. Also add preroll support for TV shows and music libraries.

:thinking: The Problem

Movies

  • Prerolls are configured as a global, server-wide setting

  • All movies receive the same preroll(s) regardless of content metadata

  • Selection is limited to sequential (comma-separated) or random (semicolon-separated) from a static list

TV Shows

  • No preroll support exists for television content

  • Can’t play network bumpers or intros at the start of viewing sessions

Music

  • No audio preroll or interval-based playback functionality

  • Can’t create “radio station” style experiences with audio drops or station IDs

Example of the frustration: I have custom studio stingers and parody bumpers organized by genre. Right now, it’s completely random - an intense action-style intro might play before a romantic comedy, or a goofy parody bumper before a serious drama. The mood doesn’t match at all! :sweat_smile:

:light_bulb: What I’m Proposing

:one: Smart Preroll Selection for Movies (Metadata-Based)

Instead of one global list, let Plex filter prerolls based on the movie’s metadata:

How it would work:


Playing "Die Hard" (Action, R-rated)

→ Plex checks: Genre = Action

→ Plays random preroll from Action folder

→ Movie starts

Configuration example:


Genre: Action

├─ /prerolls/action/action_stinger1.mp4

├─ /prerolls/action/action_stinger2.mp4

Genre: Comedy

├─ /prerolls/comedy/comedy_bumper.mp4

Genre: Horror

├─ /prerolls/horror/horror_intro.mp4

Content Rating: G, PG

├─ /prerolls/family/family_friendly_intro.mp4

Default (no match):

├─ /prerolls/general/default.mp4

What metadata could be used for filtering:

  • Genre (Action, Comedy, Drama, etc.)

  • Content Rating (G, PG, PG-13, R, etc.)

  • Studio (Disney, Warner Bros, etc.)

  • Release Decade (1980s, 1990s, 2000s, etc.)

  • Custom Collections (User-defined Plex collections)

:two: TV Show Session Prerolls

Right now, prerolls only work for movies. Let’s add them for TV shows!

How it would work:

  • Play preroll at the start of a viewing session (not between episodes)

  • Configurable “session timeout” (e.g., 30 minutes of inactivity = new session)

  • When you manually start an episode or come back after a break → preroll plays

Use cases:

  • Network “bumpers” or channel idents (like traditional TV)

  • Studio intros for specific shows

  • Family reminders (“It’s bedtime after this episode!”)

  • Custom branding for curated content

Configuration example:


TV Library: Kids Shows

Session Preroll: /prerolls/kids/be_kind_intro.mp4

Session Timeout: 15 minutes

Apply to: Manual start only (not auto-play next episode)

:three: Audio Prerolls for Music

Create a personal “radio station” experience!

Option A: Session Start

  • Play audio clip when music playback begins

  • Perfect for station IDs, DJ drops, or custom audio branding

Option B: Interval-Based (my favorite!)

  • Play audio clip every X minutes or every X songs

  • Example: “You’re listening to [Your Name]'s 80s Rock Station” every 30 minutes

Configuration example:


Music Library: 80s Rock

Audio Preroll: /audio/station_id.mp3

Trigger: Every 30 minutes OR Every 10 songs

Volume: Match playback level

:bullseye: Why This Matters

For Home Theater Enthusiasts:

  • Get the authentic cinema experience with genre-appropriate intros

  • Match the tone: action stingers for action movies, comedy bumpers for comedies

For Families:

  • Keep age-appropriate content separate (no mature content intros before kids’ movies!)

  • Educational reminders or fun bumpers before kids’ shows

For Music Lovers:

  • Create your own personal radio station with custom audio drops

  • Professional audio branding for shared servers

For Everyone:

  • More polished, professional media experience

  • Content that actually matches what you’re watching

  • No more jarring mismatches between preroll and main content

:hammer_and_wrench: How Could This Work? (Technical Notes)

For Plex Developers:

  • Metadata is already available (genre, rating, studio, etc.)

  • Just need to add filtering logic before random preroll selection

  • Could be phased in gradually (start with genre-only, add more later)

  • Backwards compatible: current global setting becomes “Default” rule

Suggested rollout:

  1. Phase 1: Basic genre filtering for movies + TV session prerolls

  2. Phase 2: Multi-metadata rules (genre + rating) + music prerolls

  3. Phase 3: Advanced features (per-user rules, interval-based music)

:magnifying_glass_tilted_left: What About Existing Tools?

“Can’t Kometa or PrerollPlus do this?”

Not really:

  • Kometa does date-based scheduling (holidays, seasons) but can’t filter by genre

  • PrerollPlus has buckets/sequences but still can’t dynamically select based on what you’re watching

  • Custom scripts are complex, have multi-user conflicts, and aren’t accessible to most users

Why native Plex support is better:

  • :white_check_mark: No external tools needed

  • :white_check_mark: Works seamlessly for multi-user servers

  • :white_check_mark: User-friendly configuration

  • :white_check_mark: Better performance and reliability

:bar_chart: Community Interest

This addresses requests that have been floating around the forums for years:

  • Genre-specific prerolls (since ~2019)

  • TV show prerolls (frequently requested)

  • Better preroll management overall

Commercial cinema systems and professional media servers already have these features. Let’s bring them to Plex! :clapper_board:

:+1: If You Want This…

Please upvote if you’d use any of these features:

  • :star: Genre/metadata-based movie prerolls

  • :star: TV show session prerolls

  • :star: Music audio prerolls/intervals

Even if you’d only use one of these, this would be a major improvement for home media presentation!

Submitted: October 25, 2025

2

There’s already three existing suggestions addressing what you’re asking for.

Please comment/vote in those threads in order to help us avoid distracting or cannibalizing votes. Unless I’m missing some unique aspect of your suggestion, I’ll close this thread as a duplicate.

3

I might contend that a platform wide enhancement of the preroll functionality would constitute a single feature suggestion and worth consolidating the other requests to one post, but I’ll concede the point that the individual suggestions exist. Fair enough, I’ll add my votes there.

4

So you want to bring annoying, egomaniacal features to Plex.
The same features that lead to people fleeing from regular TV and radio to their own, private media collections in the first place.
Great idea.

Just a private observation, but most of the above is reeking of the desire to be a “professional” server operator.
But if there is one thing that Plex doesn’t want to be used in, it’s a professional context.
It is in fact against Plex’s usage terms and conditions.

5

That’s painting with a rather broad brush; I know there are bad actors but plenty of us aren’t building things like this for the money. I’m not trying to become a media mogul. It’s just cheaper and cleaner than tinkering on an old corvette. I’d like it to feel professional because that’s the fun part, to challenge myself to build something that is professional-grade for my own use.

Honestly, I had to edit my response because I’m re-reading your response again, and feel compelled to say that your obvious tones of hostility are a poor reflection of the Plex brand. Please reflect on this, you may learn more if you assume less about the intentions of others.

1 Like
6

2025 clean-up: duplicate(s)