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Managing Duplicate TV Series'


sundevil67

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sundevil67

Is there an “ideal” way to organize duplicate TV series’ (.strm files vs. actual media files like .mkv, .mp4, etc.)? I would prefer to avoid setting it up in a way that might impact performance or lead to a database corruption. I'd like to hang on to the actual files in case I'm unable to access the .strm files, just in case my ISP decides to throttle my bandwidth down to <1 Mbps, & blame it on a faulty ethernet cable.

At present, there’s no system or order behind how I have the libraries set up; some are mixed together (i.e. S01 contains .mkv & S02 uses .strm), while others are nested in separate directories altogether, beneath folders with labels like “TV – VOD” or “TV – Local”. This does cause a few minor annoyances, like “Continue Watching” containing duplicates or missing what I had just been watching, but it's nothing I can't live with.

Anyway, now that I’ve begun some “spring cleaning” in my media library, I thought I’d see if the community here had a “best practice” to share.

Thank you!

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Hi, if they are part of the same emby library, then you can use the option to automatically merge series from different folders together.

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sundevil67
5 hours ago, Luke said:

Hi, if they are part of the same emby library, then you can use the option to automatically merge series from different folders together.

This  would cause an issue with duplicates, no?

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11 minutes ago, sundevil67 said:

This  would cause an issue with duplicates, no?

What do you mean? The point of what I just said is to merge them and not show duplicates.

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Happy2Play

May need to show an example showing folder structure and applied libraries.

If you have multiple libraries the there will be duplication, if folders all fall under the same library then they should be merged per the library option.

Automatically merge series that are spread across multiple folders
If enabled, series that are spread across multiple folders within this library will be automatically merged into a single series.

 

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sundevil67

They are in different libraries... If you guys are saying that having these "duplicates" floating around or organized in a certain way IS NOT what's fouling up my "Continue Watching" area, and doesn't pose any additional risk of corrupting my database, then I'll conclude that it doesn't really matter how they're stored, and I'll leave it alone. 

The "Continue Watching" issues are more likely related to an old bug that's stubbornly sticking around on my Fire TV & stick....where it'll be missing the media I was most recently watching, and I'll have to find an old episode of the same series, drill down & "Go to Show", and navigate to the correct episode. Tedious, but I can live with it. I just wanted to ask if the duplicate files were affecting anything I might not be aware of before I make some pretty big changes with how I organize my libraries. One more question while I get ready to proceed with the spring cleaning - is it preferable to delete series' through Emby, or is deleting them through the Finder & performing a scan afterwards the same thing as far as Emby is concerned? The latter is much faster, but again I want to minimize the risk of fouling up the database.

Thank you!

Edited by sundevil67
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Quote

I just wanted to ask if the duplicate files were affecting anything I might not be aware of before I make some pretty big changes with how I organize my libraries.

Hi, not sure what you mean? Can you give an example of what you think they might be affecting?

Quote

One other question about database corruption - is it preferable to delete series' through Emby, or is deleting them through the Finder & performing a scan afterwards the same thing as far as Emby is concerned? 

Either way will produce the same result. Deleting through the folder will just require a little time after that, or a library scan in order for Emby Server to realize what has happened.

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sundevil67


Thanks for your help. I'll try to make this as simple & brief as I can. The main goals here are:

  1. To make sure I'm not going to corrupt the database when I start moving stuff around. 
  2. If "Continue Watching" being somewhat randomly populated is related to the duplicates; if it's fixable, and if this is a good time to apply said fix if it is.
  • What's in spot #1 now is actually correct - I just turned that episode off (maybe that's why it's right?) & had been watching on my iPad.
  • Spots #2 & #3: Family Guy - good example of a show I watch from local sources (when I'm fed up with being throttled by my ISP) & sometimes STRM. 
    • These 2 episodes are both local,
    • May appear further down the list on other devices
    • Stuck on these 2 episodes even though I've watched many others more recently
  • Spot #4: An episode of "Superman and Lois" also stuck; watched more recent ones since. 

I use Emby on several devices on my home network, so it'd really be great if that area worked as intended, and I'd like to get it fixed, but it'll depend on what's involved. with it for a while.  

I hope all of that makes sense. 

continue_watching.png

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Well the duplicates are based on your library setup as previously mentioned.

For the one that you think is incorrect, since we're about to release 4.7 I would suggest reevaluating once that is available.

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Happy2Play
9 hours ago, sundevil67 said:
  • Spots #2 & #3: Family Guy - good example of a show I watch from local sources (when I'm fed up with being throttled by my ISP) & sometimes STRM. 
    • These 2 episodes are both local,
    • May appear further down the list on other devices
    • Stuck on these 2 episodes even though I've watched many others more recently
  • Spot #4: An episode of "Superman and Lois" also stuck; watched more recent ones since.

Is this the combine Continue Watching row only?

Not sure on the Family Guy example but if it is the Combine CW row it will only track item with Resume point not the potentially Next Up item.  As it should only show one item from any given Series.  So any item with a resume point will skew the combine CW row.

If you have Legacy Next Up row displayed also then Next Up items are properly tracked there and only Resume items appear in CW.

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sundevil67
On 3/18/2022 at 1:31 PM, Luke said:

Well the duplicates are based on your library setup as previously mentioned.

For the one that you think is incorrect, since we're about to release 4.7 I would suggest reevaluating once that is available.

The duplication I get, it's the appearance of much older viewing habits instead of recent ones part of the same series that seems like a bug. I'll see how it goes after the update. Thanks.

  • Thanks 1
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