Moving Library files creates duplicate entries in Channels DVR

Channels DVR Server Troubleshooting
#1

Channels has been doing a great job of importing new Library files as they are generated/added to the collection. Recently, however, I have noticed that multiple entries are created for a single show should the associated file be relocated from its original location when it was initially added into the Channels Library.

As you can see in the example below, I have two entires for the same show. In this instance, an automated process external to Channels relocated this episode into a Season 1 subfolder after the show was added to the Library. It's hard to say whether Channels DVR checks for such changes and adapts accordingly. This seems to be a new issue as the duplicates seem to only affect files added in the last month or so.

Thoughs?

DVR details can be found in the logs I submitted for another issue - 4ef37ef6-5e41-46dc-b26b-fe7de9935489 .

image
image806×554 129 KB

#2

Managing/moving/deleting content that you have imported into Channels outside of the program is not a good idea. However, if you are going to move your local content around after it has already been added to Channels' Library, then you can manually tell Channels to verify that files are where they are expected, and remove entries that no longer exist.

In the web UI, go to: Settings > Local Content > Maintenance > Prune Deleted. This will cause the files that cannot be found to be removed from the Library.

#3

Thanks for the suggestion. Manually running Prune Deleted seems to have addressed the duplicates, although I find it suspect that my Channels DVR instance is no longer pruning Local Content as part of the automated pruning process. Deleted Recordings, for example, are still being pruned automagically.

#4

Are you deleting the items imported via Channels' interface (whether from the administrative web UI or via a client app), or are you moving/deleting the items outside of Channels via a file manager or the command line? If it is the latter, then what you are experiencing is the expected behavior. Channels does not remove items from its Library if you removed the files from outside of Channels; that is why the "Prune Deleted" option is there: to manually clean up the Library after you have done stuff outside of Channels.

In short: once you put your content into Channels, the expectation is that Channels will manage it. If you do stuff to the underlying files in your Library outside of Channels, it does not "auto-magically" pick up those changes.

#6

That may be how Channels behaves now, but that has not been my overall experience since the Library feature was added. To the best of my recollection, today was the first time I've ever manually run the Local Content -> Prune Deleted feature against the Library. Prior to today, Channels had been cleaning up the cruft without any manual intervention from me. :man_shrugging: