Recorded TV Filenames for Media Managers and Metadata

Beta Community DVR Beta
#1

I’m sorry to post this as it seems to be somewhat duplicative but I cannot seem to find an appropriate answer. The filename created [recording date/time] - [tv show name] - [original air date] - [season number][episode number] is not being handled properly with Infuse 5 or Kodi 17.3.

It looks like others are using tools to manipulate the filenames but, in the spirit of the community, is there a way to configure the output filename or conform to a standard so that media managers are more able to acquire accurate information without needing to edit each file?

I’ve also used Plex, but it would be so nice to be able to just have the DVR software running to record the TV shows and use Infuse to see the stored media whether recorded or other content. Not having to go through Plex would be ideal. The Plex app on tvOS is not conducive to recorded TV, yet.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thank you!

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#2

We only tested our filenames against Plex, so I guess I’m not that surprised they’re not working with Kodi/Infuse.

For Kodi, I think we can add an option to add NFO files next to each recording which might help it recognize what’s inside each recording: http://kodi.wiki/view/NFO_files/Movies. (We currently have a similar option for MCEBuddy).

I don’t have much experience with Infuse, so if you have any links to what sort of filenames it wants, or ways to help it match with extra metadata files, that would be helpful.

I know @DebbieFL and @timstephens24 playing with Kodi recently, but I thought TV shows were working fine and it was just movies that were having issues.

#3

I know Infuse doesn't work, but with an nfo it might. They both don't like the extra date fields in the filenames.

https://support.firecore.com/hc/en-us/articles/215090947-Metadata-101

#4

Thanks @timstephens24!
I was looking at the Metadata 101 from fireCore earlier, I should have included it. Sorry about that @tmm1.
I’m happy to try anything out. I’m going to try the .NFO file and see if Infuse plays nicely.
Thanks for the fast replies!

#5

Thanks. That page says:

Custom metadata can be set by adding an XML file.

https://cloud.firecore.com/sample.xml

#6

Accommodations have been made in Channels for Plex, however not Kodi (granted the first mention of Kodi was only recently in this forum).

I’m a former user of Plex, but due to Plex limitations have decided that Kodi, SPMC or MrMC would be preferable. All 3 have similar requirements, hence none work with the current file naming convention of Channels.

Don’t know if devs have current/future plans to address this issue.

For the record, my major disillusionment with Plex stems from the current practice of only using the server for transcoding, while a more efficient process would be to utilize capabilities of modern client devices to decode & playback.

#7

I haven’t tried Infuse (iOS and tvOS) in the past few months, however it was slow to load files, ffd, etc. on mpeg2 format last time I used.

Kodi (or forks) appear to have best playback functionality.

I’d be very interested when/if this file name functionality for Kodi can be incorporated in Channels.

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#8

The content of that XML calls out movie data, not tv show data. Clearly this isn’t on Channels to manage, but it would be ideal, since these other media management software solutions are heavily adopted by users like myself, that compatible naming conventions were used.

Having to tinker with XML and NFO files is what kills mass adoption. If it isn’t going to be an all in one solution, users are forced to compromise and find additional solutions to supplement missing functionality. Not that Channels is missing functionality, but if I want to have all my media accessible from a single place [Apple TV] I’m going to need those solutions to coexist in a harmonious and collaborative way.

If Channels would have adopted the emerging standard of [TV show name] - S[Season Number]E[Episode Number] - [Recorded date/time] - [Original Air Date] then it could have coexisted out of the box with multiple media managers allowing it to be a suitable alternative to other DVR engines. I call that the emerging standard because the various media management software [Kodi, iTunes, Plex, Infuse] out there seems to look for show name and episode season/number to relay up to metadata providers. I’m relatively new to the game, but the concepts here are not lost on me.

At the time I subscribed to Channels, I was already paying for Plex Pass to get DVR functionality, as well as SiliconDust HDHomeRun DVR. Channels is the first to prepend the recorded date/time. HDHomeRun periodically changes guide data and messes up filenames so media managers have trouble, Plex was delightful, until the server software was updated and required manual guide refreshes and constant attention or my scheduled recordings would vanish.

I’ve been messing with this network tuner and DVR solution since November of last year when Comcast slowly started converting their video streams and my retail Moxi boxes were no longer able to decode them.
I’m willing to throw money at a solution that adopts standards and functions while keeping me from having to rent hardware from Comcast. I’m not as willing to have a whole home DVR that requires constant tinkering to make it work.

Sorry for the yammering. It’s been a long road to get here. I truly do appreciate the work being done here. The simplicity in the UI is fantastic. The ability to see and manage upcoming recordings or series (passes) is something lost in other PVR/DVR solutions I’ve been evaluating. There really is so much I love about Channels.

I sincerely hope that consideration will be made to further investigate the benefits of standardizing the filenames.

Thank you for the work!

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#9

The Infuse XML format should support TV shows as well: https://firecore.com/forum/topic/18330

Our intention is certainly to make it easy to interop with other media platforms. Ideally we would do so by using metadata files that can provide all the metadata we have to the other platforms (instead of being limited by what is included in the filename).

#10

Truly appreciate your taking the time to eloquently express your sentiments.

I wholeheartedly agree.

Back a year or so ago, I really appreciated the benefits of Plex (and the flashy UI), but it has become stale with no consideration to current technology. Lately, I’m having more and more problems on a day to day basis.

IMO, their DVR attempt, at the outset, was weak and has continued to spiral downwards.

SD’s solution is laughable and is only hanging on with the promise of DRM.

Channels is elegant, user friendly, packed with features and always being improved.

These two devs have already accomplished an amazing feat; however, changing an incorporated file naming convention is huge.

They already have many unfulfilled goals, so if they are able to use a background workaround now to accomplish a naming equivalance, I would surely understand.

If not, then each of us will have to evaluate our user case priorities.

To me, for Channels to be the premier adaptable solution, they will probably, at some point, have to make that change.

It’s all up to them to make these decisions and communicate with the community.

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#11

I don’t have Infuse setup myself, and won’t be back in my home office for another couple weeks.

If someone can confirm that sticking an xml file next to a movie/tv show helps Infuse recognize files correctly, I will add the feature to our DVR.

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#12

I’ve opened a case with fireCore to determine what the file syntax should be so we know the XML will be able to refer to the MPG. I suspect they’re going to recommend a folder structure or filename change.

More to come!

#13

My understanding is that you create an xml file that has the same filename as the video. So .mpg becomes .xml. I think even if you just put a single line in the xml file with a title, it should be enough to tell infuse what to use for its metadata matching:

<media type="Movie">
<title>Inception</title>
</media>

or

<media type="TV Show">
<title>Seinfeld S10E15</title>
</media>
#14

What I find is that it still categorizes it as Other rather than TV Show or Movie. The name in the library changes to be the series name in the XML, but it does not interpret the season or episode information so it doesn’t place it in the correct location in the library.

I copied the file and renamed it from 2017-05-31-2100 Fargo 2017-05-31 S0307 The Law of Inevitability to Fargo 2017-05-31 S0307 The Law of Inevitability and Infuse was still unable to identify it. I then renamed to Fargo-S0307-The Law of Inevitability and it identified it without issue.

I’m going to do some more testing, and check in with Kodi as well to see what is common. I’ll share what I find.

Thank you!

#15

so here is what i did for the last episode of the BBT that I recorded.
Still have to make the tree:
TV Shows
The Big Bang Theory
Season 7
then i named the XML the same as the mpg but used this:

<media type="TV Show">
<title>The Scavenger Vortex</title>
</media>

worked perfectly.
Like i said, i dont keep a bunch of stuff around so i dont have a ton of use cases. if you dont judge me, Infuse is just for my P90X videos :stuck_out_tongue:

#16

I just watched 2 minutes with Infuse, and was reminded how much I hate commercials, but love comskip.

Cant wait to see how you guys improve commerical skipping in the future… after iOS…

turns knife again and laughs maniacally

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#17

I just tried 2 movies the same way, and they worked too. just threw them in the Movies folder with the XML file.

#18

Just want to say that I would LOVE the addition of a file name or xml file that would work with infuse. Infuse is my go to app for watching recordings and it’s a mess with Channels files. I don’t know how to mess with xml files and I couldn’t get the mcebuddy xml hack to work so I’m no help at this stage. But I’m hoping it can get fixed soon!!

#19

Did you place the mpg in a …\TV Shows\The Big Bang Theory\Season 7\ directory tree, then add the xml file for the episode information at the …\Season 7\ folder?

I ask because all of that information should be able to exist in the \TV Shows\The Big Bang Theory\ folder with each mpg/xml and the appropriate tags. I don’t think Infuse bothers to parse all of the information in the XML. I’m hoping fireCore will be able to clear up what can be in the xml and what is irrelevant to them. If they require directory structure to get it organized, then there is going to be a manual process of moving files around and causing Channels to be unable to find the mpg. That is not desirable. :-\

#20

After additional testing, I’ve found that the most successful naming convention for Kodi, Plex, and Infuse is [Series Name] S[Season Number]E[Episode Number] [Air date] [[Record date and time]].
I’m still waiting to hear back from fireCore on the Infuse 5 Pro TV Show XML spec.

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