BETA: tvOS/ iOS - Stack Movies into their Franchises

[Edwin_Perez]

@Fofer

Everyone using this helpful feature should also be aware that TMDB's opinion about what constitutes a "franchise" in this context may not line up with their own. For example, according to TMDB, Ocean's 8 is not included along with Ocean's 11, Ocean's 12 and Ocean's 13 in the Ocean's 11 franchise. I wonder if that's just an oversight on their part, or if they're intentionally considering the 2018 film to be a distinct "spin-off?"

The way EMBY handles this situation it gives you the Option to add any movie to a collection simply right click on it... along with having automatic collections.

Example I have a movie that is missing from a collection ....

[Fofer]

Maybe one day the Smart Rule Editor that is adding content to a Movie Collection could include "Franchise" in the pulldown menu options?

[Channels2021]

Kodi does the same thing. Has their been any chatter about adding different versions to one movie tile? I can't be the only one with different qualities of the same film, due to the fact multiple devices handle various formats differently.

[LazarusLong]

Is there any way to see these stacks in the web interface? I use it a lot for curating my library but haven't found where to see them?

[maddox]

Franchises and stacking are a feature of the client only at the moment.

We'll look at exposing, them, but as mentioned before, they will be read only.

[Fofer]

On that note. I discovered that the 7th installment, "Saw: The Final Chapter (2010)" wasn't being included in the "Saw" franchise. I first checked TMDB and confirmed it wasn't lncluded in their official list. There's no reasonable explanation for that, aside from it being an oversight on their part, right?

Personally speaking I'm not a fan of these movies, but I figured this would be a good experiment. So I created an account on TVDB, and I opened a ticket, and reported this issue. I included a link to their list and a link to the series "finale" that should be included in it.

https://thetvdb.com/movies/saw-the-final-chapter#lists

Within a few minutes I got a one-word reply back from [email protected]:

Done!

And sure enough, now I see that movie is included in their list.

https://thetvdb.com/lists/saw

So, that felt good. But how do I reflect this update in Channels? I'm still not seeing the 7th film show up in the franchise. I refreshed metadata for that title, I also tried to fix it as an "incorrect match" (just changed it to something else and then back again,) and for good measure I "Scanned Personal Media" again too. I force quit the client app and re-launched it to hopefully get it to reflect this new change, but the title's still not being included in the franchise.

Is there a manual CDVR command to "backfill movie franchises" again?

[maddox]

Just use refresh metadata as usual. Though it might be hitting our online caches.

[chDVRuser]

TVDB vs. TMDB

@Fofer

Within a few minutes I got a one-word reply back from [email protected]:

Done!

And sure enough, now I see that movie is included in their list.

List - Saw Franchise - TheTVDB.com

Doesn't Channels use TMDB?

Saw Collection

[Fofer]

Oh. lol. Figures. Thanks!

[Fofer]

So it appears that TMDB is referring to "Saw: The Final Chapter (2010)" as "Saw 3D (2010)."

Saw 3D

Once I fixed the "incorrect match" in Channels DVR, changing from Gracenote to TheMovieDB, the new "franchise" poster included this title.

[cyberskier]

One possible glitch I noticed on the iPhone beta version is that there are times where the franchise is stacked, and when I go close the app and then open it again, the franchise poster is now a poster and link for just one of the movies. For example, the Avengers poster will be gone, with just the first Avengers movie showing, and no sign of the other movies in the franchise. It's almost like the movie replaced the franchise in the app.

[maddox]

Can you provide a step by step way to reproduce this?

[tsheley]

I have had this happen. I reproduced it by doing this…

1. Open Channels on iPadOS and go to all Movies.
2. Close Channels
3. Bring up Multitasking in iPadOS and select Channels.

[maddox]

Great thanks, we'll check it out.

[Fofer]

@Fofer

Everyone using this helpful feature should also be aware that TMDB's opinion about what constitutes a "franchise" in this context may not line up with their own. For example, according to TMDB, Ocean's 8 is not included along with Ocean's 11, Ocean's 12 and Ocean's 13 in the Ocean's 11 franchise. I do wonder if that's just an oversight on their part, or if they're intentionally considering the 2018 film to be a distinct "spin-off?"

I went down this rabbit hole a little further, this time on the correct site asking the fine folks over at TMDB if they wouldn't mind adding "Ocean's 8" to the "Ocean's 11" Collection?

I was then invited to read this previous content report:

Hi! The collection was locked to prevent users from adding the spin-off to the collection: Overview - Collection Bible — The Movie Database (TMDB)

So, no, it won't be added, but at least now I understand the rationale behind such a decision, and it's a pretty thoughtful one. The way they're using "Collections," they only consider them to include true movie sequels. Their "Collection Bible" explains it all, and foreshadows "a proper 'Universe' feature in the future."

[maddox]

@cyberskier

One possible glitch I noticed on the iPhone beta version is that there are times where the franchise is stacked, and when I go close the app and then open it again, the franchise poster is now a poster and link for just one of the movies.

This should be resolved with the latest TestFlight beta:

tvOS/iOS Beta Notes

v2025.01.10.1546 • FIXED: Movies were being incorrectly stacked/unstacked into franchises in some cases

[babsonnexus]

@Channels2021

I can't be the only one with different qualities of the same film, due to the fact multiple devices handle various formats differently.

You are not, or just duplicates for any reason:

Conditional visibility in Library (if no Stream Link version)

This is more of an overarching issue with duplicate items in the library in general. But your point for source prioritization (and not just the traditional resolution and quality) is a good one that we’ll keep in mind when this is finally tackled.

Channels needs to differentiate when there are 2 or more of the same Movie!

We totally understand this and want to get to a point where we're combining movies, but it's complicated. But we plan to get to it this year. For now, you should have metadata that shows on the movie view. Are you using Android? I think it's not showing some tags, which is incorrect. It should show HD, 4K, Atmos, etc. so that you CAN tell the difference. I'll look into it.

[maddox]

Please keep the thread on topic.

[kthomas1059]

I’m having trouble with the franchises being identified. I’m sure it’s some issue with my library and the way my files have been ID’d in the system but is there an easy/appropriate way to go about fixing it? I have every star wars movie but none are picked up by this feature.