# TV Show matching issue **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussions\ **Created:** [March 18, 2017, 11:14am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/tv-show-matching-issue/185073 "2017-03-18T11:14:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Yaracuy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/yaracuy/32/313162_2.png) [@Yaracuy](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Yaracuy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 11:14am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/tv-show-matching-issue/185073/1 "2017-03-18T11:14:33Z")
I have added the 2010 Swedish mini series Arn - The Knight Templar to my TV Shows library. The directory and files are well structured as per guidelines and the same way as the other 60+ TV Shows in my library which are matched perfectly. Plex can’t automatically find a match and when trying to match the show manually, it doesn’t find anything even as that’s the exact name in TheTVDB: [http://thetvdb.com/?tab=series&id=138761&lid=7](http://thetvdb.com/?tab=series&id=138761&lid=7) I have tried entering the TheTVDB id - 138761 - in the title field but no results are found. The series are not found in The Movie Database but are found in IMDB - [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392307/?ref\_=fn\_al\_tt\_1](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392307/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1). How could I match this show? Many thanks ! ---
**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 11:28am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/tv-show-matching-issue/185073/2 "2017-03-18T11:28:29Z")
> @Yaracuy said: > The directory and files are well structured as per guidelines How _are_ they named and organised? Are you using mp4 files? If your files have embedded ‘Title’ tags, they could interfere with the matching process (if they contain improper information). > The series are not found in The Movie Database but are found in IMDB - [Arn (TV Mini Series 2010) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392307/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1). Plex doesn’t use IMDb for tv shows. ---
**Author:** ![JuiceWSA](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/juicewsa/32/12253_2.png) [@JuiceWSA](https://forums.plex.tv/u/JuiceWSA)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 11:31am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/tv-show-matching-issue/185073/3 "2017-03-18T11:31:17Z")
> @Yaracuy said: > I have added the 2010 Swedish mini series Arn - The Knight Templar to my TV Shows library. The directory and files are well structured as per guidelines and the same way as the other 60+ TV Shows in my library which are matched perfectly. ‘The Same Way’ doesn’t mean ‘In Compliance’. I just got an instant, fully populated match with: A TV Show Library …Arn - The Knight Templar …Season 01 …Arn - The Knight Templar - S01E01.mp4 ![](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/uploads/default/original/3X/7/6/76a9fe9a21e134075eb15008989350a529208d34.jpg) If your file names and folder structures are Compliant The [Plex Dance](https://forums.plex.tv/t/the-plex-dance/197064)® may help. TVDB has been having trouble staying online over the last week or so. It’s possible they were out of service when you tried to match your show: The [Plex Dance](https://forums.plex.tv/t/the-plex-dance/197064)®: 1. remove show from library 2. update library 3. empty trash 4. clean bundles [https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200392106-Library-Actions](https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200392106-Library-Actions) \<— update library, empty trash, clean bundles 5. bring names and structures into compliance 6. replace corrected show into library 7. update library All Steps. In Order. No Shortcuts. If your file names and folder structures are Compliant and The [Plex Dance](https://forums.plex.tv/t/the-plex-dance/197064)® doesn’t fix it (if TVDB is online), provide your log files and we’ll see wuz-up: [https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200250417-Plex-Media-Server-Log-Files](https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200250417-Plex-Media-Server-Log-Files) Drag Zip File to message window and drop it. ---
**Author:** ![Yaracuy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/yaracuy/32/313162_2.png) [@Yaracuy](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Yaracuy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 12:22pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/tv-show-matching-issue/185073/4 "2017-03-18T12:22:00Z")
Many thanks, everybody The show was organized like this: TV Shows …Arn - The Knight Templar …Season 01 …1x01 - Episode 1.mkv …1x01 - Episode 1.eng.srt As are most of my shows which match without problem. Have removed the show from the library, done The Plex Dance - I’ve done it before on several occasions - renamed the show folder structure this way: TV Shows …Arn - The Knight Templar …Season 01 …Arn - The Knight Templar - S01E01.mkv …Arn - The Knight Templar - S01E01.eng.srt updated TV Shows library but still no match. Not even manually ![](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/uploads/default/original/3X/5/d/5d2999153bad39acebf3fd5d0f3f0ea9f87c1fb8.png) ---
**Author:** ![Yaracuy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/yaracuy/32/313162_2.png) [@Yaracuy](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Yaracuy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 12:32pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/tv-show-matching-issue/185073/5 "2017-03-18T12:32:14Z")
I believe there might be a problem in the Plex request to TheTVDB. This is from thetvdb log: 2017-03-18 13:15:43,934 (64c) : DEBUG (networking:166) - Requesting ‘[https://tvdb2.plex.tv/search/series?name=Arn+the+Knight+Templar](https://tvdb2.plex.tv/search/series?name=Arn+the+Knight+Templar)’ 2017-03-18 13:15:43,996 (64c) : INFO (logkit:16) - Problem with the request: 2017-03-18 13:15:43,997 (64c) : INFO (logkit:16) - There was a problem attempting an exact TVDB match in Arn+the+Knight+Templar (lang: en) While a search in thetvdb site, the query looks like the following: [http://thetvdb.com/?string=arn+-+the+knight+templar&tab=listseries&function=Search](http://thetvdb.com/?string=arn+-+the+knight+templar&tab=listseries&function=Search) There seems to be a “-” character missing Furthermore: TheTVDB lists the show as English language. The language in the MKVs is correctly tagged as Swedish - there are some English dialogues but most of them are in Swedish. Maybe this is the culprit? ---
**Author:** ![JuiceWSA](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/juicewsa/32/12253_2.png) [@JuiceWSA](https://forums.plex.tv/u/JuiceWSA)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 12:33pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/tv-show-matching-issue/185073/6 "2017-03-18T12:33:29Z")
Read again The Plex Dance Steps. ALL Steps MUST be done in the order they are listed or The Plex Dance doesn’t work - at all. I got an instant match with my test file and folder structure because as far as Plex is concerned ‘Arn’ was a brand new item. The Plex Dance is designed to ‘trick’ Plex into believing the item is brand new - when you remove the entire show from the library, empty the trash and clean the bundles. If you’re not doing all the Dance Steps you may think you’re Dancing, but really you’re just wiggling around wasting your time. You’ll also want to make sure BEFORE you Dance that TVDB is in the top slot in it’s tab in Shows, TMDB is in the top slot in it’s tab in Shows: > **[Agents | Plex Support](https://support.plex.tv/articles/200241558-agents/)** > > “Metadata Agents” (or just “agents”) are the server component that’s responsible for taking the information from the scanner and then... It could be a language thing - if the above doesn’t produce a cure provide log files: > **[Plex Media Server Log Files | Plex Support](https://support.plex.tv/articles/200250417-plex-media-server-log-files/)** > > Log files are an important tool that can be used to help investigate problems you may be having. It’s important... Drag zip file to message window and drop it. ---
**Author:** ![Yaracuy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/yaracuy/32/313162_2.png) [@Yaracuy](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Yaracuy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 12:55pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/tv-show-matching-issue/185073/7 "2017-03-18T12:55:10Z")
Done everything by the book - especially The Plex Dance - but still no match. Looks like Plex removes “-” from the title ![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/0/0/005e230f5ef35e1875d57c70d9dcdfea8f46167c.png) Here are the logs. Many thanks. ---
**Author:** ![JuiceWSA](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/juicewsa/32/12253_2.png) [@JuiceWSA](https://forums.plex.tv/u/JuiceWSA)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 1:05pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/tv-show-matching-issue/185073/8 "2017-03-18T13:05:04Z")
Well, considering there’s nothing in those scanner logs and there seems to be real issues with the other ones I’d say we should call in some reinforcements - one of which was already here: @OttoKerner / @astrofisher / @sa2000 . If things are working right you can probably leave that ‘dash’ out all together, but you have something else going on I believe. ---
**Author:** ![Yaracuy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/yaracuy/32/313162_2.png) [@Yaracuy](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Yaracuy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 1:16pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/tv-show-matching-issue/185073/9 "2017-03-18T13:16:31Z")
> @JuiceWSA said: > Well, considering there’s nothing in those scanner logs and there seems to be real issues with the other ones I’d say we should call in some reinforcements - one of which was already here: @OttoKerner / @astrofisher / @sa2000 . > > If things are working right you can probably leave that ‘dash’ out all together, but you have something else going on I believe. What issues would they be? Plex is working flawlessly and what “something else going on”? I’m curious 😄 ---
**Author:** ![Yaracuy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/yaracuy/32/313162_2.png) [@Yaracuy](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Yaracuy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 1:18pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/tv-show-matching-issue/185073/10 "2017-03-18T13:18:13Z")
I had also read in the documentation that you could enter the TVDB show ID in the title field but entering a correct ID Plex doesn’t find any match ---
**Author:** ![Yaracuy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/yaracuy/32/313162_2.png) [@Yaracuy](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Yaracuy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 1:22pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/tv-show-matching-issue/185073/11 "2017-03-18T13:22:02Z")
> @OttoKerner said: > Are you using mp4 files? > If your files have embedded ‘Title’ tags, they could interfere with the matching process (if they contain improper information). Thanks, Otto. The files are mkv and the only tag is in the audio stream: Swedish. I have changed the first episode audio tag to ENG - The TVDB has the show listed as English language - but still no luck ---
**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 1:52pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/tv-show-matching-issue/185073/12 "2017-03-18T13:52:47Z")
If your tv show library is set to ‘swedish’, you must use the swedish name for your file and folder names. [http://thetvdb.com/index.php?tab=series&id=138761&lid=8](http://thetvdb.com/index.php?tab=series&id=138761&lid=8) TV Shows …Arn - Tempelriddaren …Season 01 …Arn - Tempelriddaren - S01E01.mkv …Arn - Tempelriddaren - S01E01.eng.srt ---
**Author:** ![Yaracuy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/yaracuy/32/313162_2.png) [@Yaracuy](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Yaracuy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 2:10pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/tv-show-matching-issue/185073/13 "2017-03-18T14:10:38Z")
> @OttoKerner said: > If your tv show library is set to ‘swedish’, you must use the swedish name for your file and folder names. > [Arn - Tempelriddaren - TheTVDB.com](http://thetvdb.com/index.php?tab=series&id=138761&lid=8) > > TV Shows > …Arn - Tempelriddaren > …Season 01 > …Arn - Tempelriddaren - S01E01.mkv > …Arn - Tempelriddaren - S01E01.eng.srt Many thanks, Otto. It’s not my library that is set to Swedish. Only this TV Show. The rest are mostly American, British, some Italian. But setting the show titles to Swedish has produced strange results ![](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/uploads/default/original/3X/a/6/a6f6dab35a5d5216b2dd7dc83ebe7b9f900ceb6f.png) Very strange because the poster is the right one but the series info and air date are wrong showing in Plex are wrong. It’s about another show about same French warrior monks and the Holy Grail 😄 ---
**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 2:14pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/tv-show-matching-issue/185073/14 "2017-03-18T14:14:47Z")
> @Yaracuy said: > It’s not my library that is set to Swedish. Only this TV Show. The rest are mostly American, British, some Italian. Well, what language **is** set in the properties of your tv show library? Edit the library, the language dropdown is right on the ‘General’ tab > But setting the show titles to Swedish has produced strange results > Very strange because the poster is the right one but the series info and air date are wrong showing in Plex are wrong. It’s about another show about same French warrior monks and the Holy Grail 😄 That is a classic ‘mismatch’. Plex mistook the show for some documentary series about the knights templar. ---
**Author:** ![Yaracuy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/yaracuy/32/313162_2.png) [@Yaracuy](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Yaracuy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 2:21pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/tv-show-matching-issue/185073/15 "2017-03-18T14:21:04Z")
> @OttoKerner said: > Well, what language **is** set in the properties of your tv show library? > Edit the library, the language dropdown is right on the ‘General’ tab The library language is English - has always been. What I mentioned before was that in the MKV files in these episodes, the language track is - correctly - set to Swedish. But that shouldn’t have any negative side effects. Other series have the language track set to German, Spanish, Italian, etc. even though the show name is shown in English in Plex. ---
**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 2:58pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/tv-show-matching-issue/185073/16 "2017-03-18T14:58:58Z")
> @Yaracuy said: > The library language is English - has always been. What I mentioned before was that in the MKV files in these episodes, the language track is - correctly - set to Swedish. OK, then I misunderstood earlier. Sorry for that! > But that shouldn’t have any negative side effects. Correct. All I can say is revert to english file and folder names (maybe try **without** the hyphen in the show title.) perform the [Plex dance](https://forums.plex.tv/t/the-plex-dance/197064). Then your results should match those of @JuiceWSA ---
**Author:** ![Yaracuy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/yaracuy/32/313162_2.png) [@Yaracuy](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Yaracuy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 3:20pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/tv-show-matching-issue/185073/17 "2017-03-18T15:20:27Z")
> @OttoKerner said: > OK, then I misunderstood earlier. Sorry for that! No problem This is what happened: 1.- Removed the show from the library folder 2.- Did The [Plex Dance](https://forums.plex.tv/t/the-plex-dance/197064) 3.- Renamed the titles to English and removed the hyphen from the files titles 4.- Added the show to the library folder 5.- Updated the library and… 6.- …Plex got a perfect match 😄 ![](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/uploads/default/original/3X/4/8/48f5594545209b757fb835e0396b6f137c80d68d.png) Curiously, Plex sets the hyphen back in the show title so it’s probably a problem sending a query with hyphens to The TVDB. It may help others in similar circumstances. Many thanks, @OttoKerner and @JuiceWSA. ---
**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 4:25pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/tv-show-matching-issue/185073/18 "2017-03-18T16:25:08Z")
The hyphen is a special character to Plex in filenames. It is best to leave it off except where the [naming guidelines](https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/categories/200028098-Media-Preparation "naming guidelines") require it. ---
**Author:** ![Yaracuy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/yaracuy/32/313162_2.png) [@Yaracuy](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Yaracuy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 4:51pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/tv-show-matching-issue/185073/19 "2017-03-18T16:51:21Z")
> @OttoKerner said: > The hyphen is a special character to Plex in filenames. > It is best to leave it off except where the [naming guidelines](https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/categories/200028098-Media-Preparation "naming guidelines") require it. Many thanks! That did it for sure. I had never come across this issue before but now I know better 😃 ---
**Author:** ![JuiceWSA](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/juicewsa/32/12253_2.png) [@JuiceWSA](https://forums.plex.tv/u/JuiceWSA)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 5:29pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/tv-show-matching-issue/185073/20 "2017-03-18T17:29:57Z")
I used the hyphen in my file name/structure and got a perfect/instant match. Hard to say what the problem was, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the correct placement of a dash. [Next page](https://forums.plex.tv/t/tv-show-matching-issue/185073.md?page=2)