TV Naming

For a simple TV folder structure, the recommended folder layout is Series (year)\Season #\Episode. The Episode name itself should contain the show name, the season and the episode episode number which is covered below.

When setting up the library make sure to select TV as the content type. Having the year in the series name is not strictly mandatory as Emby can usually match a series without it but it helps tremendously with rebooted series and those that have broadcast in different years such as Battlestar Galactica (1978) and Battlestar Galactica (2003). The year is also very helpful for some series such as Africa (2013) which could potentially match to a few different shows without the year.

For example:

 \TV
    \Glee (2009)
       \Season 1
          Glee S01E01.mp4
          Glee S01E02.mp4

 \TV
    \Seinfeld (1989)
       Seinfeld S01E01.mp4
       Seinfeld S01E02.mp4

Complex Folder Structure

In more complex situations where your top-level directory is further sub-divided before the show folders, the recommended option is to create a TV media folder and add the sub-folder locations instead of the top level folder.

For example:

 \TV
     \A-M
       \Glee (2009)
          \Season 1
             Glee S01E01.mp4
     \N-Z
       \Seinfeld (1989)
          \Season 1
             Seinfeld S01E01.mp4

In the above example, the recommended setup is to create a TV media folder, and then add the A-M and N-Z library paths.

For more information on setting up the library, see Library Setup.

DVD and Blu-ray episodes

Dvd and Blu-ray folder structures are also supported. The folders can have any name, but using episode numbers will improve the ability to download and display metadata.

To be recognized as a dvd structure, the folder must contain either a VIDEO_TS subfolder, or a VIDEO_TS.ifo file. To be recognized as a blu-ray structure, the folder must contain a BDMV subfolder.

 \TV
    \Glee (2009)
       \Season 1
          \Glee S01E01-E04
              \VIDEO_TS
          \Glee S01E05-E08
              VIDEO_TS.IFO
          \Glee S01E09-E10
              \BDMV

Mixed Content Libraries

TV series are supported in mixed content libraries using the Unset content type, but season sub-folders are required in this scenario.

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

By date

Common for long-running daily shows, you can also use the date the episode aired.

  • anything_1996.11.14.ext
  • anything_1996-11-14.ext
  • anything_14.11.1996.ext

Multi-Version Episodes

Multi-Version Episodes are best using the following format:

  • show name - S01E01 - Display Name 1.ext
  • show name - S01E01 - Display Name 2.ext

For example: Star Trek, The Next Generation - S01E01 - Original Broadcast.mkv Star Trek, The Next Generation - S01E01 - Digital Remix.mkv

anything following the "-" (dash) up to the file extension will be used in the drop down version selector in your Emby client. In this case the two versions show in the interface will be "Original Broadcast" & "Digital Remix".

Multi-Episode files

All multi-episode files must be part of the same season.

The following conventions are supported:

  • 01x02x03 episode name.ext
  • S01x02x03 episode name.ext
  • S01E02E03 episode name.ext
  • S01xE02xE03 episode name.ext
  • S01E02-E03 episode name.ext
  • S01E02-X03 episode name.ext
  • 01x02 01x03 episode name.ext
  • 01x02 - 01x03 episode name.ext
  • 01x02 - 01x05 episode name.ext (includes episodes 2,3,4 and 5)
  • 01x02 - x03 episode name.ext
  • 01x02 - x05 episode name.ext
  • S01x02.S01x03 episode name.ext
  • S01x02 - S01x03 episode name.ext
  • show name 01x02x03 episode name.ext
  • show name S01x02x03 episode name.ext
  • show name S01E02E03 episode name.ext
  • show name S01xE02xE03 episode name.ext
  • show name S01E02-E03 episode name.ext
  • show name S01E02-E05 episode name.ext
  • show name S01E02-X03 episode name.ext
  • show name S01E02-X05 episode name.ext
  • show name 01x02 01x03 episode name.ext
  • show name 01x02 - 01x03 episode name.ext
  • show name 01x02 - x03 episode name.ext
  • show name S01x02.S01x03 episode name.ext
  • show name S01x02 - S01x03 episode name.ext

Specials

Specials should be named using one of the following season folder names:

  • Season 0
  • Season 00
  • Specials

For example:

 \TV
    \Glee (2009)
       \Season 0
          Glee S00E01.mp4
Tip

Please see Ordering TV Show Special/Extras to learn how to place these specials in the proper timeline.

Series & Season Images

Images are supported in both series and season folders. Below is a table of the supported image file names. Supported image extensions are jpg, jpeg, png and tbn.

Several image types support multiple file names. They are listed in the order that they're checked for.

Image Type Supported file names
Primary folder.ext
poster.ext
cover.ext
default.ext
show.ext (series folder only)
Art clearart.ext
Backdrop backdrop.ext, backdropX.ext
fanart.ext, fanart-X.ext
background.ext, background-X.ext
art.ext, art-X.ext
extrafanart (subfolder)/fanartX.ext
Banner banner.ext
Disc disc.ext
cdart.ext
Logo logo.ext
Thumb thumb.ext
landscape.ext

For backdrops, X represents a number, and you can have any amount of numbered backdrops. For example:

 \TV
    \Glee (2009)
       backdrop.ext
       backdrop1.ext
       backdrop2.ext
       backdrop3.ext

Season images without season folder

If season folders are not used, season images can still be supplied directly in the series folder, using a naming convention to indicate the season.

Image Type Supported file names
Primary seasonXX-poster.ext
season-specials-poster.ext
Backdrop seasonXX-fanart.ext
season-specials-fanart.ext
Banner seasonXX-banner.ext
season-specials-banner.ext
Thumb seasonXX-landscape.ext
season-specials-landscape.ext

For example:

 \TV
    \Glee (2009)
       season01-poster.jpg
       season-specials-poster.jpg
       season01-fanart.jpg
       season-specials-fanart.jpg
       season01-banner.jpg
       season-specials-banner.jpg
       season01-landscape.jpg
       season-specials-landscape.jpg

Episode Images

The following naming conventions are supported for episode images:

  • {name}-thumb.ext (in same folder)
  • {name}.ext (in metadata sub-folder)

Supported image extensions are jpg, jpeg, png and tbn.

For example:

 \TV
    \Glee (2009)
       \Season 1
          Glee S01E01.mp4
          Glee S01E01-thumb.jpg
       \Season 2
          Glee S02E01.mp4

3D episodes

3D episodes files are supported. See 3D videos.

Media stubs

Media stubs are supported as episodes. See media stubs.

Strm files

Strm files are supported as episodes. See strm files.

Subtitles

Subtitles for episode files are supported. See subtitles.