Naming video files/Episodes

Create Video Libraries

1. The Basics

2. Source Folder

3. Movie Setup

4a. TV Show Setup

4b. Seasons Setup

4c. Episodes Setup

5. Music Videos Setup

6. Add Source & Scrape

7. Scraping Problems

Video library

Create Video Library

Episodes

Introduction

Be aware of the following:

• The only item in the episode file name that the Kodi scanner searches for is the Season and Episode numbering (SxxEyy). Everything else is irrelevant.
• It is this SxxEyy that is used to match and scrape the episode metadata and artwork.
• To reduce the risk of the scanner becoming confused by complicated naming, ensure your episode filenames are clean and simple as described below.
• Contrary to advice from 3rd party internet guides, you cannot set season and episode numbering through NFO Files.

Note: Do not refer to IMDB for episode orders. There is no IMDB TV Show Scraper. If you are using the default scraper then the site to check is TMDB. If you have changed to TVDB or TV Maze, check the appropriate site.

Single Episode Files

Note: Episode files are assumed to contain a single episode. If you have files that contain two or more episodes, then read the Multi-Episodes section below.

The following table details the Minimum and Recommended naming for episodes files.

Minimum required episode name:			Recommended episode name:
S01E01.mkv			Angel (1999) S01E01.mkv
Where:	S01E01 = Season 1, Episode 1 - no spaces		Where:	Angel (1999) = TV Show name
				S01E01 = Season 1, Episode 1 - no spaces

The Pattern S01E01 is the most accurate available. Other Patterns are available as shown in the table below with Order 1 being the most accurate and accuracy decreasing with higher numbers.

With Season No Season By Date By Title Order Episode Naming Order Episode Naming Order Episode Naming Order Episode Naming 1 Name S01E02.ext 2 Name ep02.ext 3 Name yyyy.mm.dd.ext 7 Name.special.ext 1 Name S1E2.ext 2 Name ep_02.ext 3 Name yyyy-mm-dd.ext 1 Name S01.E02.ext 7 Name part.II.ext 4 Name dd.mm.yyyy.ext 1 Name S01_E02.ext 7 Name pt.II.ext 1 Name S01xE02.ext 7 Name pt_II.ext 5 Name 1x02.ext 6 Name 102.ext

With Season The most commonly used for nearly all TV Shows. No Season Normally used for Anime or single season TV Shows. Not commonly used. By date Used for long-running daily shows. Check the scraper site for numbering method used. By title Used exclusively by the TVMaze scraper. Added in v20 "Nexus" Allows matching special episodes by their titles as TVMaze do not not support "Season 0" convention for specials.

Multi-Episode Files

If your video files contain two or more episodes, then the following naming is required to scan multiple episodes from a single file.

Minimum required episode name:			Recommended episode name:
S01E01E02E04.mkv			Angel (1999) S01E01E02E04.mkv
Where:	S01E01E02E04 = Season 1, Episode 1, 2 & 4		Where:	Angel (1999) = TV Show name
	Note that Episode 3 is not included			S01E01E02E04 = Season 1, Episodes 1, 2 & 4

Complex Pattern Short Pattern Order Example Name Order Example Name 1 name s01e01-s01e02.ext 1 name s01e01e02.ext 1 name s01e01-episode1.title-s01e02-episode2.title.ext 1 name s01e01-02-03.ext 1 name s01e01-s01e02-s01e03.ext 5 name 1x01x02.ext 5 name 1x01-1x02.ext 2 name ep01-02.ext 2 name ep01-ep02.ext

Note: It is recommended that multi-episode files be split into Single Episode files. In cases where the video file contains more than one episode, you must nominate each episode in the filename. The patterns are the same as Single Episode numbering, but extended to include multiple episodes. Only the episodes in the file name will be added, e.g. Angel (1999) S01E01E04.mkv will scrape episodes 1 and 4 but not include episodes 2 and 3. When using a single video file for multiple episodes it is possible to set episode bookmarks for each episode in the file. See: Episode Bookmarks See also: Multi-Episode Matching to create additional pattern matches

Specials

• Specials are extras or episodes that don't belong to a season.
• Movies based on TV shows are usually not added as specials. Instead you link a movie to a TV show. It will then appear at the bottom of the season list.
• Specials are named as season 00 and start at E01, e.g. S00E01. Which episode number they'll have depends on the website the scraper use. At TMDB you access the specials by going to "View All Seasons">Specials.

In Kodi specials will appear under Specials in the season list.

Episode Groups

• Episode Groups or Orders are listings with alternate episode orders.
• Some TV Shows are broadcast in one order but the DVD/Bluray release may have a different screening order. A well known example is the TV Show Firefly where the Studio opted to broadcast high action episodes for ratings first, while the Producer wanted a different order to correctly unfold the storyline.

Each Information Provider uses a different method to make alternate orders available. Check which scraper you are using and select the correct method below.

TheMovieDB-TV Shows

See... TheMovieDB Episode Groups

Only available when using the python scraper TMDB TV Shows.

The TVDB

See... TheTVDB Flexible Orders

Only available when using TheTVDB v4 python scraper by TVDB Team.

TVmaze

See... TVmaze Episode Orders

References

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	Seasons Setup	Add Source & Scrape

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