A weird problem happened editing a "custom" TV show I created.

[RLanger7228 73]

I collected some Cirque du Soleil show DVDs when I heard they were declaring bankruptcy during COVID (they eventually recovered & are back in business).  I converted them to MP4, accumulated them into a single folder as separate episodes, along with a few documentaries about the troupe,  There were all named "cirque du soilel - S1E# - show name".  When I started using Emby, the show was incorrectly "identified" as an actual Cirque Du Soleil show, and it mis-identified all my episodes as episodes of that show.  This is reasonable and not the problem.

I edited the metadata of the main show, deleted the IMDB/external references, edited the show description & locked further changes.  I also edited each of the episodes to be the titles of the videos I intended them to be, deleted the IMBD/other external references, edited the descriptions, numbered the season/episodes, then checked the "lock from further changes" box & saved each of the episodes.  I did all this editing from an iPad remotely, via an internet connection from work (during breaks), using an Emby client app, logged in as the administrator.

When I got home, I connected with Emby on my local network via my laptop.  When I went to the show in Emby, all the episodes were gone!  I went to the Synology home page, then to File Server.  The Cirque du Soleil folder was still there, and all the episode files were still present in the folder.  When I went back to Emby after reloading the page in the browser, the episodes were still missing, so I tried "scan library files" and went back to the Synology server to startup a new instance of Emby in a new tab, hoping it would re-recognize the episodes, but it didn't .

Just for a goof, I tried pressing the play button on the main show, and the episodes started playing (?!?).  I skipped to the end of each episode & allowed the next one to start automatically, skipped to the end, etc until I had played all the episodes.  Back at the main page for the show, the episodes had "returned", but had lost ALL the editing I had done earlier.  Shows were titled as their literal file names, no season/episode numbering, & no descriptions, no genres, but of note, they did not revert to their original incorrectly identified information either.

 

Any thoughts?

 

Additional notes:  I have done a LOT of editing remotely through this same iPad before.  All my edits were present when I checked the shows/movies to do additional editing at home (some things I can only do on my laptop & not from a tablet).  I have never lost episodes like that, either.  Rescanning the files should have brought back the episodes.  Why did playing them bring them back instead?  How could Emby play the episodes if it did not recognize them enough to list them under the show?  Very weird.  Also very frustrating to lose hours of work for no apparent reason, that will need to be duplicated.  it also introduces a certain amount of uncertainty & worry that data can be lost on a whim.  Some reassurance would be appreciated before I invest more time editing my library.  If there is a better way to recategorize an incorrectly identified show, please let me know.

I remember seeing a "remove identification" option somewhere.  Maybe I should have done that before editing?  Since I did not Identify the show myself (as I have done for other items), I didn't think to do that.  Could that have  potentially made a difference?

[Carlo 4560]

Hi,

What client were you using at home?

[RLanger7228 73]

The Emby app (V 4.8.10.0) downloaded to my Synology server DS718+

[Luke 42077]

Hi, can you please show screenshot examples to demonstrate the issue? Thanks !

[RLanger7228 73]

Unfortunately, the initial problem has been resolved, so screenshots of the problem itself are not possible.  

Normally, when you open a show, there is a description & poster above and a listing of episodes (or seasons) below, as in the 1st screenshot(SS).  When I opened the show on my browser at home, after the earlier remote edits, only the main show information & poster above was showing - no episodes or seasons.  I described the initial unsuccessful steps in my 1st post.  SS 3 shows the files present in the cirque du soleil folder (using File Station on my Synology NAS), even when the episodes were not listed in Emby, as they are now in SS 1

When you hover the pointer over the poster for the show, a PLAY icon appears (2nd SS).  When I clicked it, the episodes started playing, even though they were absent from the bottom of the main screen (SS 1).  I played them all sequentially, using fast forward to speed things up.  After playing all the episodes, when I went back to the main show, all the episodes were present again.  However, all the metadata edits I had made remotely were gone (SS 4), and the episode titles defaulted to the full file name (bottom of SS 1).

[RLanger7228 73]

Also, when I went to clean up some other TV shows, I noticed that other "custom" created shows had lost the edited metadata edits AND images I had uploaded.  This just keeps getting weirder & weirder.   I specifically check the "lock this to prevent further changes" when I have to IDENTIFY an item incorrectly automatically identified or if I significantly change its metadata.  Also, if it was incorrectly automatically identified, I now click "remove identification" before I click "identify"

SS 1 is a show I had uploaded an image for (from a link, locally, on my laptop).  I also uploaded many of the individual episode images, and edited the metadata.  Once again, the edited data disappeared & the show titles defaulted back to the full file names (SS 2).  I KNOW I changed them all, on my local network - about a hour worth of work or more, simply vanished.

Another "custom" show lost just the main show image, while the individual episode metadata edits remained intact (I did not change any episode images).  Fortunately, I found a better image, so that worked out OK.  However, inconsistent problems with computer that I can't figure out the "rules" for drive me nuts!

[RLanger7228 73]

Last night I made extensive edits to a "custom" TV show I created, called Behind the Scenes: a collection of the Making of... videos often included on DVDs as extras.  So far, the edits remain intact (as expected).  However, I am concerned about the other disappearing information events.  I would very much appreciate some of your wisdom on this, when you get a chance to respond.  If it is related to something I am doing, I want to take different steps to avoid doing it.  Having hours worth of work simply evaporate is exquisitely frustrating.

[Luke 42077]

Hi, if you can catch it when it happens, or as close to that as possible, then please attach the Emby server log. Thanks.

[RLanger7228 73]

OK.  I have 4 logs now, dated 10/20, 21, 22 & 23, though debugging was not enabled.  Might any of these be valuable?  Should I enable debugging?  Is there a way to enable more than 4 days worth of logs?  I assume that once I have a log I want to send you, I should message you directly & attach the log file.

[Luke 42077]

On 10/23/2024 at 8:35 PM, RLanger7228 said:

OK.  I have 4 logs now, dated 10/20, 21, 22 & 23, though debugging was not enabled.  Might any of these be valuable?  Should I enable debugging?  Is there a way to enable more than 4 days worth of logs?  I assume that once I have a log I want to send you, I should message you directly & attach the log file.

Did the problem happen again during the time of those log files?

[RLanger7228 73]

I think so, but I am not sure.  I only noticed the problem accidentally and am not certain exactly when the loss occurred.  Unfortunately, my logs now only date back to 10/23.  I don't believe I have "lost" any edits since my second post in this thread (10/20).

Is there a way to increase the timespan that logs are retained?  I have plenty of room on my NAS, so space is not an issue.

[Luke 42077]

11 hours ago, RLanger7228 said:

I think so, but I am not sure.  I only noticed the problem accidentally and am not certain exactly when the loss occurred.  Unfortunately, my logs now only date back to 10/23.  I don't believe I have "lost" any edits since my second post in this thread (10/20).

Is there a way to increase the timespan that logs are retained?  I have plenty of room on my NAS, so space is not an issue.

There isn't such a setting at the moment, although it's something we should add. The best thing to do is grab all of the log files as soon as you notice that it has happened again. Thanks.