Why are my TV Shows not being scanned?

[bibowski]

Ok, I've been using Boxee software on my PC for months as a means for watching shows. I use it simply for the 'original air date', 'episode synopsis' and the ability the marked as watched or not.

I got the Boxee Box last night and so far I have had nothing but problems.

I am using it on a wireless-G network, and after about 2 hours, I FINALLY managed to get it setup to find my movies, music and pictures (btw, where did the Pictures menu item go????).

However, none of my TV shows are showing up, it just says 'No local media yet'. Every time I try to scan, it says 0 items found, 0 items scanned. I can play them though if I access them through 'TV Shows on PC' under 'Files'.

I left the thing over night to scan, so it's not that it's just taking a long time and I'm impatient (which however, I quickly becoming with this damn thing).

[darcilicious]

Re: Pictures and Music are now under Files. Not great, I know, and I believe Boxee is looking at addressing it.

Re: not sure what's going on with scanning. Have you tried power cycling the box?

[bibowski]

Well.... I power cycled and it seems to have kickstarted something.

The age old saying 'did you turn it off and on again' really does work WAY too often...

I'll let you know if it truly does work.

[darcilicious]

:-) Keep me posted, and I'll help out as best I can :)

[pcm2a]

I had a similar problem where I removed my source and re-added it. After re-adding it would not scan no matter how long I waited, even with resets. I ended up doing a factory restore.

[bibowski]

Ok, so I restarted it and it said "130 files found. 10 missing identity"

Fine, but the 130 found files are still not showing up under my shows. And I've let it sit for 3 hours, so it obviously doesn't need any more time.

Grr.... I think i'll have to do a factory reset.

[cmglassmire]

i posted this in another thread, but didnt get an answer yet.

in 1.0, it wouldnt scan ANYTHING. i rolled back by restoring to factory defaults, everything scans.

my question is, if i upgrade BACK to 1.0, will i have to rescan? or will it leave my library intact?

[bibowski]

I just realized something, there's only 'Video, Music, Photos' as Media types now. On the older software, you could choose Movies and TV Shows. This HAS to have something to do with the difficulties in adding tv shows.

[bibowski]

i posted this in another thread, but didnt get an answer yet.

in 1.0, it wouldnt scan ANYTHING. i rolled back by restoring to factory defaults, everything scans.

my question is, if i upgrade BACK to 1.0, will i have to rescan? or will it leave my library intact?

When I first opened the BB on thursday, it had 0.9 on it. I had a lot of issues even then, but when it FORCED me to upgrade to 1.0, I did have to rescan everything again.

[technopimp]

I am having the same issue...I have a "TV" folder beneath my main movies share. All movie files scanned successfully, but even after re-scanning multiple times TV Shows will not show up. I have them named as the following example:

Dexter.S01E01.mkv
Dexter.S01E02.mkv

etc.

Any help is appreciated.

[Ph8]

For those of you having issues are you able to see the files when manually browsing to the fodler location? I want to see if its a fodler issue or recognition issue. Im not part of Boxee, but it would help trying to determine where the error is ocurring.

For Techno have you tired adding the year?

[micr0be]

Ok, so I restarted it and it said "130 files found. 10 missing identity"

Fine, but the 130 found files are still not showing up under my shows. And I've let it sit for 3 hours, so it obviously doesn't need any more time.

Grr.... I think i'll have to do a factory reset.

I have a similar issue. I have old doctor who episodes from the original series that were unidentified. I renamed them with the year as per IMDb and scan just the folder that contained them. It found all 42 files, and listed none as unidentified...but they don't show up in the library anywhere!

[Trotski99]

I had a similar issue. When I added my video source, I selected it from "movies". My TV shows didn't show up until I selected the same video source through the "Shows" menu selection. I'm not sure if this is what really did the trick or not, but a few minutes after I did this, my TV Shows showed up.

[rene_alby]

Yes, I am having the same issue. Several of my movies are not showing up. They are all movies that are split into 2 files. I named them using the proper convention movie.name.CD1 etc, that helped with a couple but many of them are still not appearing

[Volatile]

I just realized that my issue is different than the original post... His shows aren't being scanned, while mine aren't being identified... I'll open a new topic

[gazhowell]

I'm having the same problem. I've got tons of tv shows all in their own folders with separate season sub-folders and only one of them shows up (that being 24). They're all viewable if I go to Files and then choose the source, but they're not in the TV Shows section.

EDIT - In fact, now 3 shows are showing up (24, Deadwood and Dexter) which by no coincidence are the first 3 alphabetically in that folder. This makes me think that it must be taking an absolute age to grab the info from IMDB or it's just not doing it properly. I've left it running over 24 hours now and it only managed those 3 and no more. Something must be wrong surely.

[whipmyhair]

i had .9, it scanned my shows


i upgraded to 1.0, obv it kept the shows the same


i decided to format my drive from NTFS to HFS+, put the shows back (same directory structure, same file names), and none of the movies, albums, or tv shows will scan....


its been a WEEK on this configuration, with the machine at 95%+ idle time, and its been cycled a few times (cuz the boxee crashed :rolleyes:), but i havent seen a single media file "scanned" ....


i was a september pre-orderee, but at this point im thinking about returning the box and for +100$ get a ION 2/hdmi/ net top with wireless kb/mouse for way way more flexibility and less hassle

[gazhowell]

i had .9, it scanned my shows


i upgraded to 1.0, obv it kept the shows the same


i decided to format my drive from NTFS to HFS+, put the shows back (same directory structure, same file names), and none of the movies, albums, or tv shows will scan....


its been a WEEK on this configuration, with the machine at 95%+ idle time, and its been cycled a few times (cuz the boxee crashed :rolleyes:), but i havent seen a single media file "scanned" ....


i was a september pre-orderee, but at this point im thinking about returning the box and for +100$ get a ION 2/hdmi/ net top with wireless kb/mouse for way way more flexibility and less hassle

Don't sell up too soon - I've just upgraded to the new firmware released today and all my shows are there now, nicely scanned with all artwork and episode info. Great stuff.

[Kidloco46]

Still not picking up one series I have even after the update. It's uk series called Game On. Only picking up 1 episode. I can see them when I browse the folder and there all properly named with ember.

Any idea how I can fix this?

[thisguynoel]

EDIT 2:

I finished my factory reset and am in the process of scanning file sources. The scan is taking a long time but already some shows are popping up under the Shows section where they never were before. I think this solved whatever the problem was. I guess I will know soon enough, when the scan is complete.

Original:

Since my first setup, I have not been able to have Boxee Box identify any TV shows. It did a great job of getting my movies, but would say something like "0 shows identified"

I'm currently doing a factory reset to see if this will help as all else has failed. I have done power cycling, changed the folder structure of my tv shows and other ideas with nothing working. I have always been able to see and watch the TV shows under the files section and manually browsing to the sources, but this is ugly and doesn't show which shows have been watched.

I had been hoping the new firmware would solve this problem, but it didn't. Hopefully the factory reset will be the answer. I'll update with any results.

And if you have any other ideas, let me know. I'm getting desperate.

edit: I'm using a usb drive connected to the box directly.
my folder structure looks like this:
Movies/title [year]/videofile.mkv
Television/title [year]/season x/episode.name.s01.e01.avi

[gazhowell]

I think you may be naming your files incorrectly. I'm new to this but from what I've read in the info you need to put the TV Show name and the season/episode info in the filename, not just the folder.

All my files are showing up now and I name them this way:

The.Wire.S02E01

You can add the episode name after that if you want, and then file info. Have a look at the following link.

http://boxee.zendesk.com/entries/42693-correctly-naming-local-media-files

[demizer]

I have been waiting for the UI update for weeks to fix this problem. Unfortunately, after doing the latest update today, the box still does not display my shows correctly. I have tried renaming all the files in many different ways (my pyrenamer skills are now hardened) and nothing works! The first season of my shows are getting detected correctly, after that, nothing. Dexter, for example, is in a directory structure like this:

shows -> Dexter -> Season 1 -> "Dexter - S01E01.mkv"

Is my directory structure wrong? Or is this a really nasty bug that is evading the developers? I tried searching the forums, but all I find is mixed messages about the file name structure. This really sucks. I waited almost a year for this box to do one thing, and it doesn't do it.

I did do a factory reset, and the episodes did display properly, but that is with the old firmware, and I want the new stuff.

Sorry for the venting. Can anyone explain what is going on?

Edit: Forgot to mention, I am sharing the files from a samba server on a arch linux box. The samba conf works, but maybe a setting is bad?

[gazhowell]

It may not make any difference as I imagine the software is intelligent enough to know what the file is, but you're not naming them the way they tell you to name them. If you look at my post directly above yours you can see that your show should be named:

Dexter.S01E01.mkv and not Dexter - S01E01.mkv

[PhatPhreddy]

I think you may be naming your files incorrectly. I'm new to this but from what I've read in the info you need to put the TV Show name and the season/episode info in the filename, not just the folder.

All my files are showing up now and I name them this way:

The.Wire.S02E01

You can add the episode name after that if you want, and then file info. Have a look at the following link.

http://boxee.zendesk.com/entries/42693-correctly-naming-local-media-files

And how would that have any impact on the boxee box identifying a show manually and still saying "cannot download movie data" or whatever that error precisely is ??

This isnt only about non discovery, its about broken functionality.

[gazhowell]

Maybe it doesn't impact on it and maybe it is broken functionality, all I know is that I've followed the instructions and mine works perfectly (since the update).

We've all got the same box and should all be running the same firmware if everyone is up to date so in theory we should all see the same functionality. The only other factor that can impact it must be your home setup, and if we are naming files differently then it's worth a consideration that it may be a potential cause.

For what it's worth, my setup is this:

Films and TV shows stored on external hdd plugged into my iMac and the drive set as SMB sharing. iMac and boxee box connected together via a gigabit switch.

2 folders on my media drive, "Films" and "TV Shows". Each one added separately as a source in boxee, I haven't just added the whole drive as a source. Films separated into subfolders a-z and tv shows separated into show sub folders with season subfolders below that.

Also, I know this is simple but it's worth checking that you've identified what media type is in that source folder, eg make sure you tell boxee that the content in the tv shows folder is actually shows and not movies.

[trooperlooper]

And how would that have any impact on the boxee box identifying a show manually and still saying "cannot download movie data" or whatever that error precisely is ??

This isnt only about non discovery, its about broken functionality.

Because, even though it shouldn't, the manual identification you are talking about still needs the file to be named correctly.

Yes, it will find the file via manual id if it is named incorrectly, but that error you see is due to boxee requiring the file to be named correctly to be able to add it to your local media library. You can find it, but not add it. This is obviously a bug and needs fixing, but the workaround at the moment is to rename your files.

You may not like that, but that is the way it is.

[PhatPhreddy]

Maybe it doesn't impact on it and maybe it is broken functionality, all I know is that I've followed the instructions and mine works perfectly (since the update).

We've all got the same box and should all be running the same firmware if everyone is up to date so in theory we should all see the same functionality. The only other factor that can impact it must be your home setup, and if we are naming files differently then it's worth a consideration that it may be a potential cause.

For what it's worth, my setup is this:

Films and TV shows stored on external hdd plugged into my iMac and the drive set as SMB sharing. iMac and boxee box connected together via a gigabit switch.

2 folders on my media drive, "Films" and "TV Shows". Each one added separately as a source in boxee, I haven't just added the whole drive as a source. Films separated into subfolders a-z and tv shows separated into show sub folders with season subfolders below that.

Also, I know this is simple but it's worth checking that you've identified what media type is in that source folder, eg make sure you tell boxee that the content in the tv shows folder is actually shows and not movies.

The fact is many of us have non USA material.. I have loads of BBC stuff and they are not found, much of it isnt even in the date base..

But secondly.. Even if you manually point it to the file listing in the database.. It still fails to download.

As a test.. You name a collection of 8 files any way you like for

http://thetvdb.com/?tab=series&id=81716

And try to get it to add them to shows.

Because Boxee can be pointed directly at the listing (using manual identify) and it then just says "failed to download the movie data" and thats when there is no possibility of it being due to naming and interpreting the name.. As you just pointed it at the precise listing in the database.. And it still fails !! You cant say its user error in naming, when we have taken the name to database part of the problem out of the loop.

Sure my common us shows are found.. The wire.. Rome.. Junk like that.. But documentary TV, non US shows, natural history etc.. Hardly any of it it works.

[PhatPhreddy]

Because, even though it shouldn't, the manual identification you are talking about still needs the file to be named correctly.

Yes, it will find the file via manual id if it is named incorrectly, but that error you see is due to boxee requiring the file to be named correctly to be able to add it to your local media library. You can find it, but not add it. This is obviously a bug and needs fixing, but the workaround at the moment is to rename your files.

You may not like that, but that is the way it is.

Then whats the point of manual idents ??

If manual idents NEVER work.. As the filename doesnt change.. What good is it ??

And none of that takes into account the huge amount of stuff they dont have listings for.. Movies are well covered by IMDB.. But global TV ?? Not yet.

[trooperlooper]

Then whats the point of manual idents ??

If manual idents NEVER work.. As the filename doesnt change.. What good is it ??

And none of that takes into account the huge amount of stuff they dont have listings for.. Movies are well covered by IMDB.. But global TV ?? Not yet.

It's no good at all, nobody is disagreeing with that, it's a bug and needs fixing.

[PhatPhreddy]

What naming convention does Boxee desire for a Full ripped DVD with a series on it ??

A Video_TS style rip ??

The DVD obviously is a series of TV and has episodes selected through the menu ??

[PhatPhreddy]

It's no good at all, nobody is disagreeing with that, it's a bug and needs fixing.

Well your the first person whose said its an error.. Previous posts were 'your naming it wrong' without the explanation that boxee cant be corrected and the manual ident is broken.

I still am not convinced as I have many shows named exactly as boxee wants, but it still doesnt see them eg Rab.C.Nesbitt.S03E01.avi etc.. Wont show up or identify and is a show with a TVDB listing.

[PhatPhreddy]

It's no good at all, nobody is disagreeing with that, it's a bug and needs fixing.

Just want to take the time to say thank you.. And for some shows you were right..

Once I was informed that the manual lookups and manual ident dont work.. I went back to the naming again.. On shows that are 'specials' and not a 'series' you still must put s01 in them.. Even if there wont be an s02.. Even if its a special.. Even if its not relevant (the.pacific.e01.avi) even if tho it finds the correct show title, will not import it unless it is (the.pacific.s01e01.avi).

This applies even when you manually ident the show.. It still doesnt import.

But going with this info I have another maybe 20% in the boxee database.. But theres still loads of odd stuff that isnt found that needs local meta data tagging.

But anyway.. Thanks for the lead.

[demizer]

It may not make any difference as I imagine the software is intelligent enough to know what the file is, but you're not naming them the way they tell you to name them. If you look at my post directly above yours you can see that your show should be named:

Dexter.S01E01.mkv and not Dexter - S01E01.mkv

Tried that, and

dexter.s01e01.<titleofepisode>.mkv
Dexeter - S01E01 - <title>.mkv

[JDizzy]

Same boat here...

All movies scanned in nicely but not so with TV Series.

All my media was working with XBMC. When I added new episodes, etc for XBMC, I would login to TVDB and make sure title was an exact match.

I have tried scanning originally titled files that worked on XBMC and it just sits there and says 'Waiting to be scanned'.
I deleted that share (from Boxee) and renamed one series using the naming convention laid out here (periods.between.all.words.S01E01)...

Boxee is still 'Waiting to be scanned' and has been sitting idle for several hours to give it a chance. errrrr....

What gives?!

[gazhowell]

I find all this odd, the thing about having one boxee box I would have thought meant that as long as everyone was on the same firmware then we'd all have the same success or problems. It's got to be the way people set up their other parts of the network, it's the only other variable.

[daviddagenais]

Under my VIDEOS folder on my NAS, I have different folders like TV SHOWS, WORKOUT etc... and then all the movie files ".mkv and m2ts etc..." are simply under the VIDEOS folder. When I go to files and select VIDEOS I see it jsut like as though I am looking at my NAS, everythign is there. When I go and select MOVIES a large part of the movies arent there. For exmaple, on the NAS I labeled my HALLOWEEN movies from 01 to 10. In the VIDEOS folder I see HALLOWEEN listed with 01 to 10 so thats perfect. For some reason, when I go to the MOVIES I only see 5 of the 10 HALLOWEEN movies.

I have no idea why this is or how to get the MOVIES folder to show all of my movies. And they are not in the unidentified folder.

[JDizzy]

Part 2:

For what it's worth... once Boxee decides to scan in your TV series and is in the 'Identifying' stage. I have been going to Files/Browse and clicking on one of the episodes in that series. When it brings up the dialog Play, Identify, I choose to Identify and change the name of the file to the series name.
Then I click search... it finds the series, then you click on that, and it figures out the file is S0xE0x of that series. Then check the box 'Try to apply season details to all files in folder', click the Done button, and away you go!
Also, if multiple Season, you can go to each of the season folders for that series and do the same.... it will speed up the process.

I have now done 4 series with this method and it has worked!
(worth a try at least) and BTW/FYI - I am just doing 1 series at a time as to not end up with a mess to clean up.

Lastly, just because it worked for me, doesn't mean it will work for you......

Note: When I left it up to Boxee to identify a series, I would end up with 6 different series listed (with similar episode names), and have to go and manually identify those episodes to get them added to the correct series).