Just wanted to confirm and understand why a Photo library in Plex can identify and show both photos and videos, but a Library setup as a Video library, only can show videos and not photos. Or, at least that is what I am seeing in my library where my video library shows all my videos but if there are any photos in the same folder, plex will not recognize or display them. However, my photo library can identify both video and photo files.
A regular video library in Plex is made to recognize videos and “match” them to an entry in an online metadata provider. So that metadata can be loaded into Plex.
These kinds of libraries require that you follow a set of rules how to name your files and to organize them into subfolders. They will also require you to separate “movie” and “TV show” types of videos into different libraries.
https://support.plex.tv/articles/201543057-why-is-some-of-my-content-not-found/
The “video” functionality of photo libraries are made for those kind of videos you take with your (phone) camera. No meta data at all are getting fetched for them and usually those videos also only make sense within the context of all the photos around them.
The explanation seems very appropriate for the video libraries that are created using the TV Shows and Movie options where I would expect the need for metadata and I have created separate libraries for TV Shows and Movies accordingly.
However, for my “home videos” - videos taking with my phone camera, GoPro, Sony 4K video camera and the like, I have created a using the type “Other Videos” as I figured that was the most appropriate for the home videos that I have. And as you stated, it would not seem reasonable to expect Plex to look for Metadata for these type (nor do I save them with a expected file name). For my original question, I still see Plex handling Other Videos and Photo libraries different as explained above in which the former will only show videos while the later can show photos and home videos.
Maybe your explanation does not change, but just wanted to clarify that we are talking about the same video library type as I would not have expected Other Videos to be looking for metadata. Either way considering Photos and Other Videos are likely meant for typical photos and home videos, it would be nice for the “other videos” library to gain the same dual functionality of photo library and still recognize a photo if it is contained in my Video library folder. For example, think GoPro - taking majority of footage using video but on occasion I shoot some stills. I currently have this GoPro folder in my Other Videos Library but as we have already established, it will only show videos, not stills. So, I have had to move this folder to my Photo library so it can see both, but again is more of a video library than a photo library based the content.
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