Duplicate Subtitles BROWSE button

[KenLinder 4]

There are a lot of things good about EMBY but one that is seriously lacking is the way that subtitles are currently handled. I love that EMBY can use opensubtitles to just search for them, but when I already have a subtitle file (which matches the file name format perfectly) the EBMY server ignores it entirely. VLC (on any device in the house) and our OLED TV & all of our old media player boxes can see and use those files automatically because of the names having the same pattern, but EMBY ignores the subtitle files.

To make this worse there is no BROWSE button to allow the user to select a file they already have. They can only grab subtitle files off of the web. Users should be able to just use the right naming convention but it doesn't work. Unfortunately the normal solutions are two :

1) have the server notice properly formated subtitle file names (as it should and it does not)
2) let the user click BROWSE to get an explorer window that is already in the same directory as the video file) does not exist in this software (which is really odd - senior IT guy here).

For instance if I have these files :

    Supernatural - S06 - E10 - (Caged Heat).mp4
    Supernatural - S06 - E10 - (Caged Heat).srt

If they are all in "C:\Files\Video\Series\Supernatural" and I create a library that includes the directory "C:\Files\Video\Series\Supernatural" EMBY notices the video file, but not the (perfectly matched in name) subtitle file. The only way I can get EMBY to notice the file I already have is to use the "Edit Subtitles" page and have it go search the internet (opensubtitles) for a new srt & then grab ANY of them. After EMBY has the new file imported it will list then TWO srt files (finally noticing the properly formatted name which was there the entire time).

But then you have TWO srt files, so you kill the one you just imported. This is currently the the most reliable method for getting the server to notice an existing and properly named srt file).

As a senior I.T. guy, this really gets me. Why exactly did nobody ever think to just put in a BROWSE button?

(and here's an idea) maybe actually *check* to see IF the EMBY server really is automatically using existing subtitle files when they are properly formatted named and in the same folder. EMBY does not do this. It is supposed to. The server has no idea that those srt files exist & it is not a result of the name format not matching. I have several drives of media where EMBY fails to use the existing SRT files and everything else in the house finds them just fine. TO get those subtitles working my only choice is to manually import a new SRT for every one of those files.

Edited November 14, 2022 by KenLinder
spelling

[KenLinder 4]

FYI. when using CHROME I cannot edit my post. Not even in an incognito window. I go to the post, and I click [...] and then click [edit] which gives me the post but not in an editable form.

[KenLinder 4]

By the way it's worse than I thought. I can *occasionally* get subs to work with matching files names when I watch the video from EMBY server. This is not reliable. I spent a big hunk of time last night using EMBY to add SRTs from opensubtitles because the server simply refused to notice the ones that were in the directory with the mp4 files. It is possible that there is a setting somewhere in the server (possibly about how often to scan Library Files, or the setting for weather or not to update files and metadata whenever you change/add a file. Right now one of mu libraries contains these files 

    C:\Files\Video\Series\Supernatural\Supernatural - S07 - E07 - (The Mentalists).mp4
    C:\Files\Video\Series\Supernatural\Supernatural - S07 - E07 - (The Mentalists).srt

EMBY knows about the video. The SRT was in that same directory for 4 years before I installed EMBY, and EMBY still hasn't noticed the subtitle file. This is a bug.

Now compare this to these other files in the very same directory and library

    Supernatural - S02 - E22 - (All Hell Breaks Loose Part 2).srt
    Supernatural - S02 - E22 - (All Hell Breaks Loose Part 2).mp4
    Supernatural - S03 - E02 - (The Kids Are Alright).mp4
    Supernatural - S03 - E02 - (The Kids Are Alright).srt

In both cases if I use EMBY to look at the detail on *those* episodes the Media Info only lists the video file (no srt files). Here is an example :
 

Media Info

 

C:\Files\Video\Series\Supernatural\Supernatural - S03 - E07 - (Fresh Blood).mp4

MP4Added 4/22/2019 9:14 AM

---------
But if I play this video? After hitting play (at least on the server) EMBY finds the srt when playing the file. After starting to play it the existence of that srt is added to the Media Info for that mp4. How about before? When the database for the library is being built (or updated) the existence of subtitles files ought to be a part of that refresh/build process?

Right now it appears that EMBY doesn't bother checking for properly named subtitle files that are already there, adding that detail to the Media Info for that video file whenever it updates the existence of that mp4.

A BROWSE button would be a way to work around this. Letting the users BROWSE for a subtitle file. It would obviously be better know understand why EMBY doesn't notice properly named SRTs reliably and why the Media Info for videos does not include properly named subtitle files until after they are played.

You also have to let users provide a search sting to opensubtitles (let them choose what to search for) because otherwise it can be impossible to find the subtitle you want.

[GrimReaper 3274]

2 hours ago, KenLinder said:

but when I already have a subtitle file (which matches the file name format perfectly) the EBMY server ignores it entirely.

 

2 hours ago, KenLinder said:

For instance if I have these files :

    Supernatural - S06 - E10 - (Caged Heat).mp4
    Supernatural - S06 - E10 - (Caged Heat).srt

If they are all in "C:\Files\Video\Series\Supernatural" and I create a library that includes the directory "C:\Files\Video\Series\Supernatural" EMBY notices the video file, but not the (perfectly matched in name) subtitle file.

Likely because you're using unsupported naming convention:

Quote

Episode naming conventions

A number of naming conventions are supported:

• show name - S01E01 - Episode Name.ext
• show name S01E01 Episode Name.ext
• anything_s01e02.ext
• anything_s1e2.ext
• anything_s01.e02.ext
• anything_s01_e02.ext
• anything_1x02.ext
• anything_102.ext
• anything_1x02.ext
• 02 Episode Name.ext
• s01e02.ext
• 1x02.ext

Emby TV Naming

Dump that "space-dash-space" between season and episode identifiers and you should have no issues as majority of users don't, with local subtitles.

[SATMOS 0]

Got into this too XD

Downloaded a movie, EMBY identified it immediately (which is really nice); then downloaded a subtitle like this:

Quote

A New Movie.mkv

A New Movie.srt

and then don't know how to use it in EMBY......

And finally I found that I need to "re-identify" the movie using the Identify button, and then EMBY will use the new subtitle.

 

[KenLinder 4]

1 hour ago, SATMOS said:

Got into this too XD

Downloaded a movie, EMBY identified it immediately (which is really nice); then downloaded a subtitle like this:

and then don't know how to use it in EMBY......

And finally I found that I need to "re-identify" the movie using the Identify button, and then EMBY will use the new subtitle.

 

I guess that means that "identify" is serving the purpose of a 'browse' button, trouble is... if the code did what they say it does it would match those files up perfectly and there would be no need for uses to do that. Makes me wish I wasn't so disabled. This project has so many positives and then... another 'oh well' thing crops up.

[ebr 14905]

Hi, there's already an open request for this or something functionally equivalent. Please join in and contribute to the existing discussion at:

Same discussion as here.