I do not like needing to add all my tv show folders to my library. If the video files are labeled correctly, for example this is how i name a file “The Goldbergs - S01E09 - Stop Arguing & Start Thanking.mp4”. Can i just dump all the files into one folder called TV Shows, instead of individual Folders named for each show? Is there a downside to doing this?
@truth447 said:
I do not like needing to add all my tv show folders to my library. If the video files are labeled correctly, for example this is how i name a file “The Goldbergs - S01E09 - Stop Arguing & Start Thanking.mp4”. Can i just dump all the files into one folder called TV Shows, instead of individual Folders named for each show? Is there a downside to doing this?
It “might” work that way for some shows BUT the folder structure/naming is actually more important for Plex recognition than the filename. Plex is VERY persnickety about naming and structure for TV shows. For movies Plex is a little more forgiving.
I STRONGLY recommend that you follow Plex’s naming and structure EXACTLY for TV shows if you want consistent and accurate matching.
…
TV Shows <— The library points here
---------TV Show Name (Year first aired if needed) <— This folder holds the season folders
------------------Season 01 <— This folder holds all the episodes for season 01
-------------------------ShowName - s01e01 - Episode Name.ext
-------------------------ShowName - s01e02 - Episode Name.ext
-------------------------And so on for the rest of season 01
------------------Season 02 <— This folder holds all the episodes for season 02
-------------------------ShowName - s02e01 - Episode Name.ext
-------------------------ShowName - s02e02 - Episode Name.ext
-------------------------And so on for the rest of season 02
------------------Season 03 <— This folder holds all the episodes for season 03
-------------------------ShowName - s03e01 - Episode Name.ext
-------------------------ShowName - s03e02 - Episode Name.ext
-------------------------And so on for the rest of season 03
---------2nd TV Show Name (Year first aired if needed) <— This folder holds the season folders
------------------Season 01 <— This folder holds all the episodes for season 01
-------------------------2nd ShowName - s01e01 - Episode Name.ext
-------------------------2nd ShowName - s01e02 - Episode Name.ext
-------------------------And so on for the rest of season 01
------------------Season 02 <— This folder holds all the episodes for season 02
-------------------------2nd ShowName - s02e01 - Episode Name.ext
-------------------------2nd ShowName - s02e02 - Episode Name.ext
-------------------------And so on for the rest of season 02
------------------Season 03 <— This folder holds all the episodes for season 03
-------------------------2nd ShowName - s03e01 - Episode Name.ext
-------------------------2nd ShowName - s03e02 - Episode Name.ext
-------------------------And so on for the rest of season 03
Note: The year after the show name is only normally needed or desired if there is more that one show with exactly the same name. Check http://thetvdb.com/ if you are not sure and match exactly the name used there. There are some exceptions to this where the year is needed even if there is no other show of that name or if the show does not have the year in TheTVDB.
There are naming methods other than the above that work but this does work 99.9% of the time.
If you are going to use Plex it is best to use the proper naming conventions so Plex makes the best match possible. Trying to force Plex to use other naming methods is just asking for frustration.
https://plexapp.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/200220687-Naming-Series-Based-TV-Shows
