Difficulty Getting All Episodes Imported Correctly Together (2 Viewers)

[superman859]

I have several tv series and have been able to come up with parsing expressions with some, use default included parsing expressions for others, etc. in order to get each to import individually.

However, I haven't been able to figure out how to get them all in at the same time. This is because if I have the full folder / all folders enabled for import path (thus the import files display every episode from all series), I have not been able to get everything to match up correctly - some parsing expressions interfere with others and cause mismatches. If I disable the parsing expression that causes the problem, it might fix one series but leave another series parsed incorrectly.

I thought I would use multiple import paths - one each for each TV series (since they are in separate folders). That way I only deal with one series at a time and can enable/disable parsing expressions as needed until it is a correct match without worrying about messing others up. I thought I would do an series, disable its folder in import paths, and then do the next. But it seems that when I disable it (not remove it, simply disable it) it then removes the connection between episodes and local files if I browse the database. It still shows the list of episodes, but they are grayed out without the local filename field filled in. They also do not show up in Mediaportal.

So what is the best way to go about this? Is the only way to get them all imported correctly to have all of them parsed correctly at the same time and all episodes listed (parsed correctly) in the import paths tab? This has been very difficult for me, even though I can get them parsed correctly when only dealing with one series at a time.

All files are stored on local HD. I have it set up as

C: TV Shows/Series-Name/(files, or seasons if there are several, etc)

Thus they all rest in the TV Shows folder and all in an individual folder by series name. However, inside the series name folder they are not standardized - filename format does differ and so does season structure (although I guess I could easily fix the season structure to make it tv shows/series-name/season#/files)

Anyways - just trying to see if I must have them all parsed correctly at the same time or if there is some way to pull it off by working with one at a time and disabling / enabling expressions as needed that interfere with the current series. I haven't been able to pull it off all at the same time yet and I only have 6-7 series. I can only imagine it to get even more challenging as the collection grows.

 

[marvenius]

perhaps you can use a separate folder for testing, placing a series in it, have it parse correctly and then move it to the correct folder for official parsing.
I think the import folders are meant as main entry for TV Series (Tvseries\<series>\<season/serie> etc) just like you have it.
disabling the import path is saying to the plugin, that the files located there are... disabled. therefor, not available.

using the import path entry at series level is not a good idea.. Have the plugin do all the work, not you
And just being curious, but what naming scheme do you have for your files, that you need heavily customized expressions?

 

[superman859]

I try to keep the naming scheme similar to <series> - <season>x<episode>.<ext> which is pretty simple. However, there are a couple that vary.

I'm not sure how having a testing folder to test and then moving to official parsing would be much different than testing in the official folder itself - you don't have to import until the parse is correct (just hit refresh on the import paths page to see how things match up). The problem is this solution still sounds like it has all files listed and imported at the same time - the parsing expressions interfere with each other sometimes - even if they parsed correctly individually and I have working rules, a couple series don't play well together. I could go back and rename the filenames for a couple series, but I'm rather lazy.

I have found a solution that works for me and lets me deal with one series at a time to add them in.

1. Make sure on the general tab that the checkbox for 'keep reference to files that are no longer available on computer' is checked.

2. For import paths, I use it at the series level. If I want to add a new series, simply add that series folder. Only leave that series folder enabled, and disable the rest. Refresh import paths page to make sure I'm only looking at that series.

3. Configure parsing expressions / string replacements as needed for that series - can disable and ignore expressions not involved if they cause problems.

4. Import.

5. Repeat 2-4 as needed, only leaving one import path enabled (the one for current tv series)

The key difference is step 1 - if that box is not checked, every time you work on a new series, all previous series are lost because they cannot be found during the import process - since the files haven't actually changed and are still available since I simply disabled the folder from import paths for convenience, they continue to work just fine in MediaPortal.

Overall, this solution is much easier for me than trying to parse them all and deal with all series at the same time. I only have to worry about the one I am looking at - I also don't have to scroll down in that import paths bottom list to find the series and see how well it is parsing each time I want to test expressions - it's the only series listed so no scrolling necessary!