TV Episode Metadata

General Discussions
1

I"m sure you guys get tired of reading these posts related to tv episode metadata, but I’m having trouble getting Plex to recognize Big Bang Theory episodes. Here’s one episode that’s currently failing (though there are many more): “The Big Bang Theory - S08E01 - The Locomotion Interruption.mp4” I believe that I’ve followed the naming conventions correctly (the only difference I’ve noticed is the capitalization of the “S” and “E”, but I’ve tried using lower case to no avail). I also tried moving the folder, updating the library, emptying the trash, and re-introducing the folder also to no avail. I saw something in reference to cleaning the bundles, but I can’t figure out how to make that happen manually, and I haven’t had time to wait for the scheduled task to run. Are there other things that I should be trying?

Also, is there a recommended tool for examining the metadata on the mp4 file itself? Plex is showing a name of “THE_BIG_BANG_THEORY_S8_DISC_1_Title3”, which was the original title, but I used the properties dialog in Windows 10 to remove that tile, so I’m wondering if a.) This title is stuck in the plex db for some reason or b.) there is some other piece of metadata on the mp4 file that still has this value.

2

Here’s how you do the Plex Dance

  1. Move the media (TBBT in this case) to some place you don’t have Plex looking at
  2. Update the library and allow to finish
  3. Empty the trash. (take a few seconds… observe reply on browser)
  4. Clean bundles. This takes a bit longer but you’ll hear some rattle as all the metata is fully removed
  5. Optimize database (if you’re in a pedantic mood but not required)
  6. Move your media back into position
  7. Update Libraries

Now, While it was away from Plex, a tool such as filebot goes a long way when you have crazy names. Those of us who use it never have matching issues

My Television episodes are on my synology, accessible via /syno/tv. This makes my renaming rule:

/syno/tv/{n}/Season {s}/{n} - {s00e00} - {t}

where: N = Name, S = Season, S00E00 is SxxExx value , and T is episode title

MP4 files have, imho, that nasty tendency to drag along all kinds of bad metadata. If the data is good, great. If it’s bad, definitely not so good.
For that reason, I use mkvmerge (mkvtoolnix and mkvtoolnix-gui on linux) to both a) remux mp4 to mkv and clean out the bad metadata at the same time. You can also set the appropriate language tags for tracks and everything. A very powerful, easy to use, tool. If you opt to use it, you’ll find your file sizes are smaller (MKV is smaller than MP4). If you play to Plex clients only, you will see no change as Plex reads both file containers natively.

3

Thanks ChuckPa! I tried your suggestion, but I’m still struggling. The one step I wasn’t able to accomplish was cleaning the bundles. Do you happen to have instructions for that step?

4

It’s very easy.

Under the ellipsis next to Libraries, you have the ‘Clean Bundles’ in the same dropdown as Empty Trash. When you click it, you’ll notice the HD going. Give it some time and let it quiesce before continuing.

5

Thanks again ChuckPa. I’ve completed each of those steps several times, yet I still ran into issues. Currently plex is calling the episodes in season 1 by one of the following names (despite having correct file names for each)
the_BIG_BANG_THEORY_S1_1
the_BIG_BANG_THEORY_S1_2
the_BIG_BANG_THEORY_S1_3

My last ditch effort to get this to work was to use a tool called Mp3Tag to manually update the metadata to match the filenames (previously the metadata was blank). Although this now works, it’s a pain to have to update the metadata for each file. Are there any log files that might give me a clue as to why Plex is getting confused in the first place?

6

@golfguy0082 said:
My last ditch effort to get this to work was to use a tool called Mp3Tag to manually update the metadata to match the filenames (previously the metadata was blank). Although this now works, it’s a pain to have to update the metadata for each file.

It is easier to just erase the metadata from the mp4 file.
mp3tag allows you to do that for several files at once
and to re-‘optimize the mp4 files for streaming’ afterwards (it is in the right-click menu)

Are there any log files that might give me a clue as to why Plex is getting confused in the first place?

You can instruct Plex to give the title from the online databases priority over those awful embedded ones:
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.

7

Thanks @OttoKerner! I tried removing the metadata and “re-optimizing” the mp4, but that still didn’t seem to solve the issue.

However, your second suggestion of lowering the priority of the Local Media Assets DID work!

The only problem is that I remember dragging that to the top for some reason in the past, but I can’t remember why I did that. I guess I’ll have to wait and see if that issue pops up again.

If anyone knows about the log files, I’d still be interested to know why plex was getting confused in the first place. Or maybe this is a feature request for plex to have a way to show “why it matched/named something the way it did”.