Questions about import (beta)

Channels DVR Server
#1

I just started using the regular production version of Channels dvr yesterday, but I see the import of prior recordings is considered to be in beta. I tried that to import my .WTV files from Windows Media Center and it worked. They are accessible and play fine on the server and android clients (Shield, Firetv, Miibox). I have 2 questions about this:

  1. Is Channels just pointing to the .WTV files in the source folder or have they been converted and stored in a new location? I didn’t see the 150+ files I imported in my specified recordings folder.
  2. The UI is a little rough for the import. Is there a way to organize them (even if it’s manual effort) so that episodes within the same show are grouped together? Right now it’s just a whole bunch of individual thumbnails with no apparent rhyme or reason. I was hoping to be able to do it natively rather than incorporate another application like Emby or Plex if at all possible.
#2

Just pointing to the original files.

Where exactly are you referring to? Are you looking on the app on your tv or phone, or the dvr web UI?

Sounds like maybe the metadata was not matched correctly. On the web UI you should be able to go to Recordings > Imports > Unmatched and then fix each match.

Can you provide some example paths? Perhaps they are not in the expected dir structure and that's why they're not grouped together?

#3

In WMC, all files are stored in a single folder with no directory structure beyond the specified recording folder. For me, that’s E:\Recorded TV.

An example would be E:\Recorded TV\The Terror_AMCHD_2018_03_26_22_01-00.wtv and then other episodes of that show follow the same format swapping the date.

#4

I see them in the web UI, but don’t see an option to fix other than fix time stamp. What is the workflow to fix each match?

#5

Okay that explains it then. Surprisingly this didn't come up during RESEARCH: Media Library Organization

If you can share more examples for movies vs shows, and for various episodes that would be helpful. Is the season/episode number in the file names?

#6

I think the season and episode is stored in the metadata, because it displayed in Windows Media Center. The next 2 episodes for the Terror (tv series) have filenames of The Terror_AMCHD_2018_04_02-20_00-00.wtv and The Terror_AMCHD_2018_04_09_20_00_00.wtv. An example of a recorded movie is X-Men- Days of Future Past_HBO_2015_04_11_18_58_00.wtv. I only had a few movies in my list of 155 files to import and am not concerned about those. I already located and deleted those from the Channels UI anyway. My primary focus is on the tv content. I’ll have a larger list to import after installing a new power supply in my WMC server. This was really just a test run.

#7

If it would help, I would not be opposed to creating a copy with structure such as E:\TV\The Terror\ %filename% and then importing again.

#8

Yes that would help. Then you would be able to fix the matches for the show and individual episodes

#9

That didn’t seem to make any difference unless I’m missing something. They still came in as unmatched individual files, not grouped as the same show. What are you saying I can do to fix that once imported? I’m not seeing many options to edit anything other than time stamp and rebuild index.

#10

Please click Support > Submit Diagnostics on the DVR web UI

#11

Diagnostic logs submitted.

#13

You need to add E:\TV as an imported TV path. Not E:\TV\The Terror

#14

Ah...I’ll delete those and try again

#15

I think you'll also want to update your DVR (by click-and-HOLD on the Check for Update button).

#16

If I understand correctly, that would load the beta rather than stable version. Not sure if I want to do that, but willing to consider if there is some specific reason to do so.

I did import again, this time correctly specifying just the root-level folder without the show name and it grouped perfectly. Even found cover art. Thanks so much for the help. The support here BY FAR exceeded my expectations. Amazing!

1 Like
#17

Only issue now is that when I click on the grouping called The Terror, I have 22 episodes all just labeled “The Terror” with no easy way to tell what order to watch them in. Any thoughts on that or is that just going to be how it works?

#18

If you're using a beta feature then you should use the latest beta code. I can't help debug bugs that were fixed months ago.

When you click into The Terror, you can select Fix Incorrect Match on each episode and specify the correct season and episode number.

#19

I’m not seeing that option now, but maybe that’s because I don’t have the beta version. I have recordings going now, so don’t want to load an update that will interrupt. I’ll update to the beta and report back in the morning.

#20

Yea its missing in your version I think. If you update now, the DVR will wait until any recordings are done to restart itself.

#21

After upgrading to the 2020.12.02.0209 (beta) version, I now see the "Fix Incorrect Match" option on each episode and it opens a window where you can change the title text, but not sure what to do from there. It lets you type over the name, but won't save changes. How is that feature intended to work?