Joined episodes (2 Viewers)

[acecombat]

Often TV shows will be released that have Episodes 1+2 joined together as the movie length opener. How do you name the file so that the plugin will recognise it has Episode 1+2 and not just 1?

 

[RoChess]

Often TV shows will be released that have Episodes 1+2 joined together as the movie length opener. How do you name the file so that the plugin will recognise it has Episode 1+2 and not just 1?

The following dual-episode filenames are supported:

foo_[s01]_[e01-02]_bar
foo.1x01.1x02.bar
foo s01e01 - e02 bar
foo s01e01 + s01e02 bar
foo - s01e01 - s01e02 - bar
foo #1.01 + #1.02 bar
foo #1.01 + 02 - bar
foo s01e01+02 bar
foo #1.01+02 bar​

more combinations work, but you get the idea. For the moment only two episodes in a single file are supported, but in a future version it is already scheduled to support more. This is only more of an issue for DVD collections where a single ISO file can contain 3+ episodes, and TheTVdB is more centered around TV releases which usually have a maximum of 2-in-1.

As for usage, if you start playback on 1x01 from "Foo - S01E01+02 - Bar.avi", then both episodes will be played, and the end result is that 1x01 and 1x02 will be marked as watched. You can still start playback on 1x02, but it will start at the beginning of the file (but this is what one would expect anyway). If you start 1x01, but stop at the halfway point where 1x02 begins, then both 1x01+02 show as unwatched and when you try to restart playback you will get the "resume from" dialog. If you delete 1x01 from disk, then 1x02 will prompt an error saying that it can no longer find the file (which is actually behaviour one would expect), and 1x02 will show up in remote color (when files do not exist on disk). This is actually behaviour that I personally prefer, because I watch+delete a lot of shows, and if both 1x01 and 1x02 would be deleted from disk, then the entire series would dissapear (I only keep the last episode on disk).

If you have any more questions, ask away.

 

[acecombat]

Thanks for that.

I had tried a few other combinations that didn't work but your's did.

 

[RoChess]

Thanks for that.

I had tried a few other combinations that didn't work but your's did.

Please write down the other combinations you tried.

It might be easy to add support for them, which will help the next person attempting the same.

 

[ryan20021982]

Just to add one to your list

I have always used s01e01e02 and it has always worked also

 

[acecombat]

I also tried S01E01&02, S01E01&E02, S01E01+02, S01E01+E02
I hadn't tried with spaces so perhaps they would of worked if I had of put spaces?

 

[RoChess]

I also tried S01E01&02, S01E01&E02, S01E01+02, S01E01+E02
I hadn't tried with spaces so perhaps they would of worked if I had of put spaces?

The '&' sign isn't supported, but I should be able to add that to the default expression without causing any false-positive problems.

However S01E01+02, and S01E01+E02 should have worked. Do you have a full filename example on what you tried?

 

[acecombat]

However S01E01+02, and S01E01+E02 should have worked. Do you have a full filename example on what you tried?

I don't remember the full filename example as I renamed it multiple times and have since simplified the filename too.

 

[dim_n]

it would be great to supprot
series\1x01-01 Some title.avi
and
series\season\01-02 Some Title.avi

thanks for the good work

 

[RoChess]

it would be great to supprot
series\1x01-01 Some title.avi
and
series\season\01-02 Some Title.avi

thanks for the good work

That would be the folder expression, since the series name is taken from folder, and I've only focussed on the filename expression (the "Show name - 1x01 - Episide title" kind), because that is how I got all my own shows setup, so easier for me to verify it works.

Once I got my HTPC unboxed and setup, I'll see about applying all the enhancements to the filename expression to the folder one, I should be able to setup some sample folders to verify it works. It really helps to have real-life examples, because theory never matches up with reality.