Is there a way to make recently added functionally accurate?

[bozrdnag 75]

I have not been able to find a way to make this work as I think it should.  I'll use movies as an example.  If I set Emby to use the library scan date, that works a decent amount of the time.  When it doesn't is when I upgrade and existing movie to a higher quality.  Say from DVD to BluRay.  Emby sees the upgrade as new and puts the movie under recently added even though it may have been in my library for years.  I understand this happens because it is technically a new file.  But functionally, the movie itself is not recent to my library.  I use Radarr so it updates movie qualities from time to time based on my settings. 

Likewise, if I use the file date, that causes other issues.  For example, if I add an older movie (say Gladiator) to my library for the first time, it will most likely have an older file date and not appear in recently added even though it is indeed new to my library.

 

I know Radarr it also has it's own settings for file creation date but the available options don't solve the issue.  I guess what I am looking for is basically use scan date unless the title already existed in the library.  Is there a way to achieve that functionality and get recently added to be correct?

[Luke 42078]

Hi, when you upgrade a video it's a brand new file so that's why that happens. You can always edit the data added in the metadata editor.

[bozrdnag 75]

29 minutes ago, Luke said:

Hi, when you upgrade a video it's a brand new file so that's why that happens. You can always edit the data added in the metadata editor.

As I said in my post, I understand that it happens because it's a brand new file.  It's just that isn't the behavior that you would expect from recently added since it is displaying titles.  And in these cases it's not a new title or IMDB/TMDB ID.  I really wish there was a way that Emby could see it's the same title as an existing movie and not place it on recently added.

 

I appreciate that you can edit the date added, but when everyone is using tools like Radarr along with Emby's ability to detect when new media is added and automatically scan it and scrape metadata and images, that really interrupts the whole automated process.

[ebr 16184]

But it is a recently added item because you just added (or updated) a new version of it.

[Ronstang 294]

If you don't want the old file simply put the new movies in the old folders, either replacing the existing file or keeping both.  From my experience the date added goes by the folder and nfo file, not the date of the file itself.  I have replaced several movies this way and the added date remains the same.

[Happy2Play 9780]

I am a little confused hear as I update/replace files all the time and Emby does not change date added.

Do you save nfo files with media?  If so is your third party software changing things in that nfo file?

If you don't save nfo with media I sort of see this as a issue as changing a existing item will remove the old database entries and re-add the item as a new item.

[ebr 16184]

As mentioned by Ronstang, there may also be a difference between having your movies in individual folders and not...

[bozrdnag 75]

Upgraded movies go into the previously existing movie folder.  They are not deleted and recreated.  I do use nfo files and they are deleted and recreated because they are required to be based on the movie file name, correct?  The file name changes some to reflect the quality so therefore a new nfo is created. 

 

Emby must be able to keep track somehow because if the previous version has been watched the new, upgraded version remains marked as watched.  It would be great if it could just do the same with recently added. 

[Happy2Play 9780]

12 minutes ago, bozrdnag said:

I do use nfo files and they are deleted and recreated because they are required to be based on the movie file name, correct?  The file name changes some to reflect the quality so therefore a new nfo is created. 

Correct so you need to rename the existing nfo file to your new media name if you want to maintain previous DateAdded. Or Media to nfo name.

12 minutes ago, bozrdnag said:

Emby must be able to keep track somehow because if the previous version has been watched the new, upgraded version remains marked as watched

This data is tracked by providerid (ie IMDB, TMDB, TVDB) to maintain watched status.  Now if said item did not have this then your scenario would clear that information every time also.

Edited January 30, 2021 by Happy2Play

[bozrdnag 75]

1 minute ago, Happy2Play said:

Correct so you need to rename the existing nfo file to your new media name if you want to maintain previous DateAdded.

This data is tracked by providerid (ie IMDB, TMDB, TVDB) to maintain watched status.  Now if said item did not have this then your scenario would clear that information every time also.

But then couldn't Emby have an option to track the date added (or any metadata) by providerid too?  Just like watched status.  My upgrades are automated so there's no way for me to be able to rename the existing nfo file before it is deleted and recreated.

 

Or heck... just allow us the option to name them movie.nfo and they would never have to change.

[Carlo 4561]

17 minutes ago, bozrdnag said:

Upgraded movies go into the previously existing movie folder.  They are not deleted and recreated.  I do use nfo files and they are deleted and recreated because they are required to be based on the movie file name, correct?  The file name changes some to reflect the quality so therefore a new nfo is created. 

If you can stop  doing that and just rename to "movie (year).mkv your issues will go away.

What many of us do is preprocess things so you get one file extension with a standard naming convention.  Now it's a replacement file and not new when you switch it out.

[bozrdnag 75]

But then how do you keep track of any given file's quality outside of Emby?  IIRC, Radarr used the filename to assign quality when first importing movies.  And v3 required me to reimport my whole library when upgrading to it.  What if that happens again in the future or, who knows, you switch to a different program down the road?

[Happy2Play 9780]

1 minute ago, bozrdnag said:

But then how do you keep track of any given file's quality outside of Emby?

Only tracked within the database, sure it written to nfo file but not used at all.  If a item changes it get probed and data base updated.  But item name changing old item has to be deleted from the database and add new item as one can not transparently replace the other.  Only way for this to happen is SAME name.

[Carlo 4561]

19 minutes ago, bozrdnag said:

But then how do you keep track of any given file's quality outside of Emby?  IIRC, Radarr used the filename to assign quality when first importing movies.  And v3 required me to reimport my whole library when upgrading to it.  What if that happens again in the future or, who knows, you switch to a different program down the road?

Why do I need to track it outside of Emby?  It's all in the database and I can easily pull this info from the DB and use it down the road if needed.

It would be a 10 minute job to pull this info from the DB into a text file (batch) that could be ran and update folder and/or file names if needed.

I do this now to remove dupes from movies and TV Show libs so it's a slight adaption.
 

[pwhodges 2012]

46 minutes ago, bozrdnag said:

But then how do you keep track of any given file's quality outside of Emby?

If I need to know, I just look at it with a program like MediaInfo.

Paul

[bozrdnag 75]

14 hours ago, cayars said:

Why do I need to track it outside of Emby?  It's all in the database and I can easily pull this info from the DB and use it down the road if needed.

It would be a 10 minute job to pull this info from the DB into a text file (batch) that could be ran and update folder and/or file names if needed.

I do this now to remove dupes from movies and TV Show libs so it's a slight adaption.
 

 

I, and many others, do not have the skills to pull any needed info from the db into a text file or whatnot and batch rename files with that info.  And even scanning the file like Emby or MediaInfo does, does not tell me full details like is it a1080p remux or 1080p transcode.  I have a theater with a 136" with screen so I like to keep the highest quality file I can get.  Without keeping said info in the file name how would I know which ones need to be upgraded when possible?  

For that same reason, Radarr uses the file name for more accurate classification of media.  Without keeping that info in the file name, importing my library would have required a lot of tedious, manual work.  I've been using HTPC software and tools for over 15 years and numerous times over many different programs have I been forced to rescan libraries or dbs.  Going from Radarr v2 to v3 I had to do that.  So you can't even really just take the mentality of do it once and your done.

 

And finally, neither Kodi nor Emby can detect things like Atmos, DTS:X or Dolby Vision so how do I know if my files contain that when browsing my library.  I use Kodi as my front end at home and at least with it, as long as I have that info in the path/file name, some skins can display that info.  I also have overhead speakers in my theater so I like knowing which movies have Atmos or DTS:X as I'll make sure I watch those there.

 

[Carlo 4561]

I agree with some of what you said, but it really doesn't matter.  You're stuck between choosing which is more important to you.

Having info in the files name and having Emby show replacements as new files or

Using same name and not having updates show as new media.

It a binary choice we each have to make based on our own needs.

[bozrdnag 75]

2 hours ago, cayars said:

I agree with some of what you said, but it really doesn't matter.  You're stuck between choosing which is more important to you.

Having info in the files name and having Emby show replacements as new files or

Using same name and not having updates show as new media.

It a binary choice we each have to make based on our own needs.

 

I think you're missing the evolution of this thread.  I'm not complaining.  I posted simply asking if there was a way to achieve something.  You posted a work around and I replied why it wouldn't work well in my scenario.  I realize I have to make a choice based on the available options, but expressing the desire for different options is how we sometimes get change.

 

The only real question I still have is that if a new file name doesn't seem to change the watched status, then why isn't other data retained too?  At least optionally.

[Carlo 4561]

You're right I probably did. I'm of course only speaking from personal experience of how things work now.

I'm not sure how this could be done but you could post a REQUEST to change functionality or have a new option for this "when files change".

 

I do know another way this could be done but would have to be "wedged" in to your current solution.  If you have Emby set to use file date/time then you could have a small util that changes the date/time of the new file to match your old file date/time.

That would fix this issue as well but not sure how you could implement that.  In your present solution can you add routines to the pipeline of actions that take place?

[solidsnakex37 55]

On 1/31/2021 at 11:58 AM, bozrdnag said:

 

I think you're missing the evolution of this thread.  I'm not complaining.  I posted simply asking if there was a way to achieve something.  You posted a work around and I replied why it wouldn't work well in my scenario.  I realize I have to make a choice based on the available options, but expressing the desire for different options is how we sometimes get change.

 

The only real question I still have is that if a new file name doesn't seem to change the watched status, then why isn't other data retained too?  At least optionally.

I am looking at a way to fix this, did you ever find a solution? 

Overall, I wish that Emby could just simply track when a movie name, via TMDB ID or something is scanned into a library. The date it's scanned in is set, UNLESS Emby detects that the file is missing during the next library scan that the file is missing, then delete it. I'm not a programmer, but I feel like this would allow recently added to stay true to when it was first added to the library, despite the file name changing. Or however it's determining that. 

[Carlo 4561]

Have you checked out the advanced tab in library setup?

This can come in handy if you ever reload a library.  Set it to use the creation date to get everything scanned in then, switch it to scanned into the library.  That keeps you from having everything with a similar date.

Set to "Use date Scanned into the library" should do what you're describing.

[solidsnakex37 55]

1 hour ago, cayars said:

Have you checked out the advanced tab in library setup?

This can come in handy if you ever reload a library.  Set it to use the creation date to get everything scanned in then, switch it to scanned into the library.  That keeps you from having everything with a similar date.

Set to "Use date Scanned into the library" should do what you're describing.

Those settings are actually what brought me to this post, though I don't think I did it in the way you described it. I am new to Emby, so I originally set that to "Use file creation date" when first setting up my library. But I noticed when something was upgraded it would mess up the recently added where I only want actual new stuff to show. 

So if I am understanding correctly, set it to use creation date, then save it. At that point do I trigger a full library scan? Then when it's completed, set it to "Use date scanned into the library"? 

Similar to the OP, I changed how Radarr manages my media where before it was {Title} {Year} {Quality Full} so for example Mortal Kombat (1995) - 1080p

I may have messed up my entire movie library in Emby by trying this, but if I understand your comments correctly above, my new naming scheme is now {Movie Title} ({Release Year}) {TmdbId} for the file name. So if something is upgraded, and the issue is that Emby sees the file name change, this theoretically should stop that since the quality is removed and the file name will be the same regardless of it's quality. 

[Happy2Play 9780]

There is actually missing info here.  As an item with a written nfo file cannot lose date added when file is changed/updated/replaced.  From a database only standpoint sure as it becomes a new item.  So, any programs that mess with the nfo file or deletes it will drive Emby to undesired results.

I know myself as a xml user will always have a set DateAdded value as Emby only reads the file.

 

But in the end I would be talking to Radarr not Emby as they create the issue if it were me.

Edited January 4, 2023 by Happy2Play

[solidsnakex37 55]

41 minutes ago, Happy2Play said:

There is actually missing info here.  As an item with a written nfo file cannot lose date added when file is changed/updated/replaced.  From a database only standpoint sure as it becomes a new item.  So, any programs that mess with the nfo file or deletes it will drive Emby to undesired results.

I know myself as a xml user will always have a set DateAdded value as Emby only reads the file.

 

But in the end I would be talking to Radarr not Emby as they create the issue if it were me.

I didn't have this issue on Jellyfin which is where I migrated everything over from, so I thought some of that functionality would be the same. Though I don't know how that is handled in JF. 

I did find this option in Radarr, maybe this will help Emby know how to better process the files. Though, unsure the best configuration to just do what I need it to. 

Edited January 4, 2023 by solidsnakex37
Information I stated was wrong, there is a date added

[solidsnakex37 55]

Is there a possible option to have Emby decide the behavior for new content, without looking at the metadata value? I know it in my screenshot below, that when a metadata value is present it will be used before either of the above options. So that kind of negates whatever setting I use...What if I don't want that to happen?