DVR re-recording episodes already in library when it shouldn't

[richt 73]

Come on Emby Team!  Please take a serious look at this issue.  It is not that complicated to reproduce. 

I discovered some detailed information when I moved a TV series from my Series recording folder" to another folder in the same library.  The conclusion drawn from the test listed below is that if the files do NOT exist in the "Series recording folder" but DO exist in some other folder of the same library, Emby will try to re-record those episodes.

Observation

1. Folder that Emby records to is a member of a "TV Shows" Content type library that has 4 other folders on various hard drives. 
   1. Automatically merge series that are spread across multiple folders is enabled
   2. Folder structure of all folders in the library conforms to Emby standards (Top level folder (added to library) - Series - Season - Files)
   3. File naming complies to Emby standards - Without a Trace S01E20 No Mas.mkv
2. ALL episodes of "Without a Trace" existed in the series recording folder
   1. Schedule job still existed, and NO episodes were scheduled to record.
3. Moved all episodes of "Without a Trace" from series recording folder to another folder in the same library
   1. Now all episodes are scheduled to record

Test

1. Removed scheduled recording task for series "Without a Trace"
2. Moved Season 1 Episodes 20 back to "Series recording folder"
3. performed library scan
4. Used the search feature to find Without a Trace and selected programs in search results and selected Record Series
5. Edited Series Settings and selected "Don't record episodes that are already in my library"
6. All Episodes are scheduled to record EXCEPT Season 1 Episode 20
   1. even though all other episodes exist in different folder in the same library
7. Verified Season 4 Episode 1 was scheduled to record.
8. Moved Season 4 Episode 1 to "Series recording folder"
9. Scanned library
10. Season 4 Episode 1 is no longer scheduled to record

Edited March 1 by richt

[scott46953 11]

there you go... exactly what I figured out.  Mine happens every time I change the recording folders...

I just spent 2 hours deleting shows that should not be... Also, when I delete a show... it does not delete the first time???

I have to now keep going back and i see the same show coming back, but with less ep's... I believe i have to delete once for every hard drive I have..

So if a show is split between 3 or 4 hhd's then I have to refresh and go back and delete the same show 3 or 4 times.  Even more times if it exists....

 

Edited March 1 by scott46953

[richt 73]

On 2/7/2024 at 1:15 AM, Luke said:

And is the series in your library part of the library that is configured in live tv setup?

No.  Same library, different folders!  See post noted below.  This should NOT fail just because the series is in a different folder in the library.  If you're telling us, that's the way it is, it is a pretty USELESS feature.

 

[scott46953 11]

I think that they get the point, we're just waiting on a resolution or a reply letting us know something about the bug.. fingers crossed hopefully there's a quick fix..

For now I just played clean up last night, getting rid of shows and episodes that I don't even need anymore.. 7tb used to be plenty of space, with several TB left over... When I added a second hard drive I was thinking I was expanding, faster than expected, I then added a third and a fourth hard drive.. I'm just wondering how long this bug is actually been going on... Hopefully the fix will remove and delete duplicate episodes.. or maybe a quick easy button in case it needs to be used again later.. deleting the whole series of a show isn't so bad, but having to open up four hard drives and compare each individual show and against all the episodes, that's time consuming.. especially with 7tb hhds

[Luke 37094]

So this is a behavioral change where it's now only checking the recording folder rather than all libraries.

Some people want it one way, others want it the opposite, so we'll just have to make this in option on the series recording screen. We'll do that in the upcoming 4.8.4 maintenance release. Thanks.

[scott46953 11]

Thanks Luke, I'll be waiting

[sjabaker 9]

That's great news, @Luke- thanks.

I don't know if it's related or not (it's very possible this behaviour pre-dates the 4.8 release, and perhaps even more likely that it's not related to the same parts of the code in any case), but I literally just now happened to notice that when I deleted an entire show from the "Latest TV Shows" row in the home screen (long-press then delete in the Android TV app) it actually only deleted the show's folder in the Recording directory and not the other folder for the same show in one of the other library folders. (I have 'Automatically merge series that are spread across multiple folders' enabled, so I'd expect it to delete all the show's folders.)

I know it's always behaved in a similar vein when doing metadata refreshes or 'edit images' - it'll only update the .nfo or replace the changed image files in one of the show's folders but not the others (which can be mildly annoying) - but I think it used to correctly apply the delete action to all folders?

[sward 26]

13 hours ago, Luke said:

So this is a behavioral change where it's now only checking the recording folder rather than all libraries.

Some people want it one way, others want it the opposite, so we'll just have to make this in option on the series recording screen. We'll do that in the upcoming 4.8.4 maintenance release. Thanks.

Seems like before it was including the recording folder along with all libraries when evaluating whether you already had a show (shouldn't libraries ALWAYS be scanned?), but I can't say for sure though b/c I was treating the recording folder as a "working folder" to house "raw" recordings before I edited them to remove commercials etc... so nothing was in there too long. Anyways, I look forward to the 4.8.4 maintenance release!

[sward 26]

On 3/1/2024 at 5:25 PM, Luke said:

So this is a behavioral change where it's now only checking the recording folder rather than all libraries.

Some people want it one way, others want it the opposite, so we'll just have to make this in option on the series recording screen. We'll do that in the upcoming 4.8.4 maintenance release. Thanks.

Hi Luke - are we any closer to the 4.8.4 maintenance release? I have stopped recording several series for a month now due to the amount of effort required to prevent re-recording episodes.

[scott46953 11]

My drives are almost full again

Will the update also auto remove duplicate EPS?

[TMCsw 122]

On 3/9/2024 at 10:06 AM, scott46953 said:

Will the update also auto remove duplicate EPS?

Do you really wan't emby to arbitrarily Delete Your Media ?

I sure  Don't !

[scott46953 11]

Absolutely I don't mind, as long as it picks the the file with the longest time, example 122 minutes, 121 minutes should be deleted anything smaller.

I prefer to keep the bigger file, just in case one didn't complete the recording, which does some times happen especially on IPTV.. 

However the option should be selectable by the server owner, so if you don't want that to happen, then that would be perfectly fine as well.. I highly doubt they're just going to throw an update in there that's going to delete files without you knowing about it. It would be an option that would be off by default, and more than likely work just like the database sweeper.. one selected a reboot will be required, after the reboot the option will automatically go to off.. I'm sure there are several different ways they can figure out how to do it, I'm just giving an example.

[TMCsw 122]

But what if the 122 min file is 480p and the 121 min 1080p , what if there was bad weather and 122 min was made and it constantly pixelates or sound gets out of sync....

[Luke 37094]

On 3/1/2024 at 5:25 PM, Luke said:

So this is a behavioral change where it's now only checking the recording folder rather than all libraries.

Some people want it one way, others want it the opposite, so we'll just have to make this in option on the series recording screen. We'll do that in the upcoming 4.8.4 maintenance release. Thanks.

This is in the 4.9 beta channel by the way.

[scott46953 11]

Luke, I asked probably in a different thread, do you think I would help emby team by switching to beta? I don't mind as long as the beta is operational.. I don't mind bugs on new options. Keep in mind I started off on Android, transferred emby files and folders manually to Linux version, then had some issues with my Linux distro and emby not recognizing external USB drives and permissions, then I mainly grabbed the files from emby folder, installed fresh copy on Windows, and then manually added my copy files from the Linux. So far it's been bug free and operational and then updating just fine over the years.  But if I switch over to beta, and for some reason I don't like it, just maybe I can find a way to manually switch it back..  if not I got plenty of clones of my complete working emby drive complete with operating system.  So I guess I can only switch back that way,. As a last resort.. just need to know if it will benefit the team any.. if so I will definitely do the beta..  if not I am more than happy to wait for the stable release

[Luke 37094]

8 hours ago, scott46953 said:

Luke, I asked probably in a different thread, do you think I would help emby team by switching to beta? I don't mind as long as the beta is operational.. I don't mind bugs on new options. Keep in mind I started off on Android, transferred emby files and folders manually to Linux version, then had some issues with my Linux distro and emby not recognizing external USB drives and permissions, then I mainly grabbed the files from emby folder, installed fresh copy on Windows, and then manually added my copy files from the Linux. So far it's been bug free and operational and then updating just fine over the years.  But if I switch over to beta, and for some reason I don't like it, just maybe I can find a way to manually switch it back..  if not I got plenty of clones of my complete working emby drive complete with operating system.  So I guess I can only switch back that way,. As a last resort.. just need to know if it will benefit the team any.. if so I will definitely do the beta..  if not I am more than happy to wait for the stable release

Hi, yes certainly. Feedback on the beta channel is always helpful.

[sward 26]

4 hours ago, Luke said:

Hi, yes certainly. Feedback on the beta channel is always helpful.

I guess the question is how easy is it to go back if necessary? I remember when 4.8 first installed itself over 4.7, I was unable to go back (I was using the portable installation BTW).

[scott46953 11]

2 hours ago, sward said:

I guess the question is how easy is it to go back if necessary? I remember when 4.8 first installed itself over 4.7, I was unable to go back (I was using the portable installation BTW).

It is very easy to go back.  I use Macrium Reflect and clone the Emby drive.  Yes it works even when Emby is running!

It is always good to have a backup clone of your own,  local emby backups are ok, but it is much easier to swap the drive out and boot up. VS waiting on a restore of backups,

specially when an update or upgrade is not possible to go back.  So Yes, you can go back, and yes it is only as easy has you have prepared for.

[sward 26]

Yeah, I use Acronis to create disk images, but going back to a stable Emby release should not require blowing away your current image.

[scott46953 11]

2 minutes ago, sward said:

Yeah, I use Acronis to create disk images, but going back to a stable Emby release should not require blowing away your current image.

It may work going back, but it may not run correctly or it may run fine.  It's better to ask someone like Luke before going back stable to ensure that nothing major has been changed in the database.  If the stable release is very close in version or if you wait until the stable version of your current beta comes out is the best way.

So from what I have experienced in the past, and from what I have gathered from reading, as long as it's done with the proper planning there is no issue with going from beta to stable. 

Maybe somebody like Luke can confirm this to be for sure.

[pwhodges 1532]

4 hours ago, sward said:

I guess the question is how easy is it to go back if necessary? I remember when 4.8 first installed itself over 4.7, I was unable to go back (I was using the portable installation BTW).

The database in 4.9 already has changes from 4.8, so going back from the beta to the stable will not work properly (some people have already fallen foul of that).

Paul

[Cluttered 8]

Quote

Some people want it one way, others want it the opposite

Is there a reason people want (by default) to re-record something that exists in their main TV/Movie libraries, that seems bizarre.

Surely only a minority would want that, most people would only want one copy of a given recording. The people who want to keep multiple identical copies could uncheck the 'Don't record episodes that are already in my library' option, or just add it as a one off recording? 

Plus the option is in my LIBRARY not in my recordings...

It just seems odd to change the way an existing feature works that will have an  impact on everyone rather than keep the original behaviour. I'd say 'and give an option for the other behaviour', but surely that option already exists as above?

As a side, I went back to 4.7, is staying on 4.7 going to cause issues in the future (especially given I am stuck on Monterey)?

[TMCsw 122]

33 minutes ago, Cluttered said:

Is there a reason people want (by default) to re-record something that exists in their main TV/Movie libraries, that seems bizarre.

I have some TV Shows or Movies that I have recorded a few year back and they are of lower quality (mostly 480p) now I want to replace them with Higher Resolution versions of say 1080i/p… ..get the idea?

So I as you, want this to be an optional (per recording) setting also.

Edited March 14 by TMCsw
typo

[sward 26]

Not sure when the 4.8.4 maintenance release is coming out, but it won't be a moment too soon, as I've noticed yet another problem. My guide refresh happens at 4AM daily, but I don't get downstairs until 6AM which is my first opportunity to check what new recordings have been added to the schedule, so in the interim there is a 2 hour window where I cannot prevent shows from being re-recorded, and sure enough this morning Emby re-recorded TWO back-to-back copies of the latest American Experience episode on "Cancer Detectives", which I had already recorded when it first aired earlier this week. I had seen this behavior a couple of times before, but just chalked it up to be a fluke. Now that I've experienced a few more times, I've been able to piece together the actual cause, which is of course the inability to remove from the recording schedule shows that are already in your library.

[scott46953 11]

Hopefully soon, unless you want to go to beta..

I have not yet switched the beta but definitely have thoughts of doing it.

I definitely need a way to reboot the server as a scheduled task... I my server rebooted once a day, and if it's a feature I would like to do it twice a day.

Reason being, there is bugs on IPTV, not closing streams properly, sometimes when trying to watch an IPTV stream, after the service been running for 2 or 3 days, it will buffer buffer buffer, problem disappears after a quick simple reboot.  Not to mention updates will automatically be updated at that point. The database sweeper will also be Auto initiated that way as well..  the auto review as a task has been talked about several times on several different posts, it's just something that needs to be put in so it don't have to be talked about no more. not to mention... It is a very easy thing to code..:)