Suggestion for TV Naming article in KB: explain episode-level extras can be in subfolders

[Fweep 11]

In another thread,

On 1/13/2025 at 1:50 AM, sjgidman said:

i've worked it out i just create a folder for that episode then create the sube folders interview, extras etc

Wow. I just ran into a similar issue where I couldn't figure out how to name extras in a season-level subfolder such that they would be treated the same as when you append -interview, -deleted, -behindthescenes, etc. suffixes to an episode-level file name.

The solution was indeed to create an episode folder and have the episode in it along with extras subfolders. Unlike the suffix option, this structure allows for descriptive file names for the extras (which display on the episode page verbatim), and it allows for more than one extra of each type (e.g. you can have 2 deleted-scene videos for the same episode).

I feel this feature really ought to be documented in the TV Naming KB article.

@sa2000

Please review the following suggested edits:
 

Quote

Special features for TV series can be stored as video files in an extras folder under TV Series folders. It is also possible to add these extras folders at the season or episode level.

In addition to extras, several other sub-folder names are supported:

• extras
• specials
• shorts
• scenes
• featurettes
• behind the scenes
• deleted scenes
• interviews
• trailers

It is also possible to add the type of extra as filename suffix extensions, as for the following:

-behindthescenes -deleted -featurette -interview -scene -short -trailer

[replace examples with the following]:

Extras will appear in Emby at the same level as in the file system. Extras at the series level appear on the series page as a Specials season. Extras at the season level appear on the season page alongside the regular episodes. Extras at the episode level appear on the episode page as Extras (or possibly as more specific types in some Emby apps, e.g. Interviews separate from Featurettes).

The following example demonstrates various levels and naming conventions:

\Seinfeld
   \Specials
      Seinfeld S00E02 How It Began (Documentary).mkv
   \Season 2
      \Specials
         Master of His Domain (Season 2 unused standup scenes).mkv
      Seinfeld S02E01 The Ex-Girlfriend.mkv
      Seinfeld S02E02 The Pony Remark.mkv
      Seinfeld S02E02 The Pony Remark-behindthescenes.mkv
      Seinfeld S02E02 The Pony Remark-deleted.mkv
      \S02E03
         Seinfeld S02E03 The Jacket.mkv
         \behind the scenes
            Inside Look - The Jacket.mkv
         \deleted scenes
            The Jacket - deleted scene.mkv
      Seinfeld S02E04 The Busboy.mkv
      Seinfeld S02E05 The Baby Shower.mkv

Note: It is not recommended to have folders for individual episodes unless you also have subfolders for extras related to those episodes. Also, Emby will not look for external metadata provider (e.g. TVDB) matches for episode-level extras; to potentially match, the extras need to be at the series or season level.

 

Hopefully these statements are all correct and Emby is working as intended.

[Fweep 11]

\Seinfeld
   \Specials
      Seinfeld S00E02 How It Began (Documentary).mkv
   \Season 2
      \Specials
         Master of His Domain (Season 2 unused standup scenes).mkv
      Seinfeld S02E01 The Ex-Girlfriend.mkv
      Seinfeld S02E02 The Pony Remark.mkv
      Seinfeld S02E02 The Pony Remark-behindthescenes.mkv
      Seinfeld S02E02 The Pony Remark-deleted.mkv
      Seinfeld S02E03 The Busboy.mkv
      Seinfeld S02E04 The Baby Shower.mkv
      \S02E05
         Seinfeld S02E05 The Jacket.mkv
         \behind the scenes
            Inside Look - The Jacket.mkv
         \deleted scenes
            The Jacket - deleted scene.mkv

Minor update to the example so the episodes are in the order people are more likely to have them (DVD order). Looks a little cleaner this way too.

[Luke 42078]

Hi, yes we can add that, thanks !

[Fweep 11]

Thanks. There's something else to mention. It seems that if there are extras at the series level, the resulting Specials "season" will also include specials from the lower levels, duplicating content that is in specials subfolders in each season. I haven't tested to see how this works with all types of extras. I just noticed it happening for specials folders—e.g., if I have /Seinfeld/Specials/foo.mkv, then there is, of course, a Specials "season" with foo in it. If I also have a /Seinfeld/Season 1/Specials/bar.mkv, then bar shows up not only mixed in with the Season 1 episodes, but also in that top-level Specials section where foo is. I don't mind that it's happening; I just am not sure how best to explain this in the docs.

Edited June 29, 2025 by Fweep

[sa2000 674]

Thank you for your input. I will add to my list to look into.

[sa2000 674]

On 29/06/2025 at 13:07, Fweep said:

Please review the following suggested edits:

 

On 29/06/2025 at 20:43, Fweep said:

Minor update to the example so the episodes are in the order people are more likely to have them (DVD order). Looks a little cleaner this way too.

The TV Naming article has been updated. Thank you for providing the examples and notes. I have included almost all. For a few explanatory text statements, I felt it unnecessary to add that level of detail.

 

On 29/06/2025 at 21:59, Fweep said:

There's something else to mention. It seems that if there are extras at the series level, the resulting Specials "season" will also include specials from the lower levels, duplicating content that is in specials subfolders in each season. I haven't tested to see how this works with all types of extras. I just noticed it happening for specials folders—e.g., if I have /Seinfeld/Specials/foo.mkv, then there is, of course, a Specials "season" with foo in it. If I also have a /Seinfeld/Season 1/Specials/bar.mkv, then bar shows up not only mixed in with the Season 1 episodes, but also in that top-level Specials section where foo is. I don't mind that it's happening; I just am not sure how best to explain this in the docs.

I have looked into this and I think it is ok. I tried your example for Seinfeld with a Special at the series level and one for Season 2. The fact that all the specials show in the Specials section, I think is ok.

Ignore the actual images showing for the specials. They are from the actual video files which were just dummy media files and not the actual specials.

Also I do not think we need to mention this level of detail it in the support articles.

 

[Fweep 11]

What you have added looks great. Thanks.