Setting up your Emby server to manage a movie library can be an exciting endeavor. However, ensuring Emby correctly identifies your movies and fetches accurate metadata hinges on one crucial aspect: naming your movie files and folders correctly. This guide will walk you through the best practices for Emby server movie naming, ensuring a smooth and organized media library experience.
Library Setup: Choosing the Right Content Type
Before diving into naming conventions, it’s essential to set up your Emby library correctly. When adding a new library in Emby, make sure to select the appropriate content type: Movies, Home videos, or Music videos. Choosing the correct type is the first step in ensuring Emby processes your media accurately.
Emby supports various media formats, including ISO copies and DVD/Blu-ray layouts. While these formats are compatible, they aren’t ideal for streaming. Streaming-friendly formats like MP4 or MKV with H.264 or H.265 video and AAC audio are highly recommended. Pre-encoding your media into these formats minimizes server-side transcoding, leading to smoother playback and better compatibility across Emby clients.
Naming Your Movie Media Files and Folders
The most straightforward and effective naming convention for movies in Emby is using the format: “Movie Name (Year).extension”. For example:
Top Gun (1986).mp4Avatar (2009).mkv
To further enhance organization and leverage Emby’s features, it’s best to house each movie’s files within its own folder. Name the folder using the same convention as the file: “Movie Name (Year)”. Emby will then use the folder name to identify the movie.
Your movie library structure should look like this:
MoviesAvatar (2009)Avatar (2009).mkv
MoviesPulp Fiction (1994)Pulp Fiction (1994).mp4
MoviesReservoir Dogs (1992)Reservoir Dogs (1992).mp4
MoviesThe Usual Suspects (1995)The Usual Suspects (1995).mkv
MoviesTop Gun (1986)Top Gun (1986).mp4Alt text: Example of Emby movie library folder structure, showing individual movie folders named “Movie Title (Year)” each containing a movie file named similarly.
Complex Folder Structures for Large Libraries
For extensive movie libraries with thousands of titles, consider adding an extra layer of folders based on the first letter or number of the movie title. This structure aids in navigation when browsing your library outside of Emby, using file explorers like Windows Explorer.
For example:
MoviesAAvatar (2009)Avatar (2009).mkv
MoviesPPulp Fiction (1994)Pulp Fiction (1994).mp4
MoviesRReservoir Dogs (1992)Reservoir Dogs (1992).mp4
MoviesTThe Usual Suspects (1995)The Usual Suspects (1995).mkv
MoviesTTop Gun (1986)Top Gun (1986).mp4While this complex structure is optional for Emby functionality, it significantly improves library management, especially when dealing with a large number of movies. It prevents long loading times and endless scrolling when searching for a specific movie outside of Emby’s interface.
Utilizing ID Tags in File and Folder Names
Emby is capable of reading metadata IDs directly from file and folder names, enhancing accuracy in movie identification. This is particularly useful for movies with similar titles or when you want to ensure Emby matches the correct movie.
Emby supports the following ID formats:
Name (Year) [tmdbid=xxxx]Name (Year) [tmdbid-xxxx]Name (Year) [tmdb=xxxx]Name (Year) [tmdb-xxxx]Name (Year) {tmdbid=xxxx}Name (Year) {tmdbid-xxxx}Name (Year) {tmdb=xxxx}Name (Year) {tmdb-xxxx}
Supported ID providers include:
- tmdbid (The Movie Database): https://www.themoviedb.org/ – Generally the preferred ID to use.
- imdbid (Internet Movie Database): https://www.imdb.com/
- tvdbid (The TV Database): https://thetvdb.com/
Example:
Severance (2022) [tvdbid=371980]
Using tmdbid is generally recommended for movies as it’s a comprehensive and widely used movie database.
Managing Multiple Movie Versions
If you have multiple versions of the same movie (e.g., different resolutions, director’s cut, extended edition), Emby allows you to group them under a single movie entry. To achieve this, store all versions within the same movie folder.
/Movies/300 (2006)/300 (2006)/300 (2006) - 1080p.mkv
/Movies/300 (2006)/300 (2006)/300 (2006) - 4K.mkv
/Movies/300 (2006)/300 (2006)/300 (2006) - 720p.mp4
/Movies/300 (2006)/300 (2006)/300 (2006) - extended edition.mp4
/Movies/300 (2006)/300 (2006)/300 (2006) - directors cut.mp4
/Movies/300 (2006)/300 (2006)/300 (2006) - 3D.hsbs.mp4Each version’s filename should start with the folder name, followed by ” – “. The text after the dash will be displayed in the Emby client, allowing you to easily distinguish between different versions.
Alt text: Screenshot from Emby showing multiple versions of the movie “300” listed, differentiated by resolution and edition.
Note that Emby has a limit of displaying up to 8 different versions of a movie in the interface. This feature is designed primarily for different qualities but can also be used for different cuts, although with potential limitations.
Organizing Movie Extras and Special Features
Enhance your Emby library by including movie extras like deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes footage, and trailers. Create subfolders named “extras”, “specials”, “shorts”, “scenes”, “featurettes”, “behind the scenes”, “deleted scenes”, “interviews”, or “trailers” within the movie folder to store these files. Nested folders within these extra folders are not supported.
/Movies/Home Alone (1990)/Home Alone (1990).mkv
/Movies/Home Alone (1990)/extras/deleted-scenes.mkv
/Movies/Home Alone (1990)/behind the scenes/video1.mkv
/Movies/Home Alone (1990)/interviews/video1.mkvImportant: Ensure the main movie file is present in the movie folder before adding extras to avoid potential misidentification by Emby.
Adding Video Images: Posters, Backdrops, and More
Emby utilizes images to visually enrich your movie library. You can include various image types within your movie folders, and Emby will recognize them based on specific filenames and extensions (jpg, jpeg, png, gif, tbn).
Here’s a table outlining supported image filenames for different image types, listed in order of priority for detection:
| Image Type | Supported File Names |
|---|---|
| Primary | {name}.ext, {name}-poster.ext, {name}-cover.ext, {name}-default.ext, {name}-movie.ext, folder.ext, poster.ext, cover.ext, default.ext, movie.ext |
| Art | {name}-clearart.ext, 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 | {name}-banner.ext, banner.ext |
| Disc | {name}-disc.ext, {name}-cdart.ext, disc.ext, cdart.ext |
| Logo | {name}-logo.ext, logo.ext |
| Thumb | {name}-thumb.ext, {name}-landscape.ext, thumb.ext, landscape.ext |
{name} represents the movie file name without the extension. For movies not in individual folders, only the {name} conventions are supported. For backdrops, X denotes a number, allowing for multiple backdrop images (e.g., backdrop.jpg, backdrop1.jpg, backdrop2.jpg).
Movies300 (2006)backdrop.jpg
Movies300 (2006)backdrop1.jpg
Movies300 (2006)backdrop2.jpg
Movies300 (2006)poster.jpgAlt text: File explorer view of a movie folder “300 (2006)” containing backdrop.jpg, backdrop1.jpg, backdrop2.jpg, and poster.jpg image files.
DVD and Blu-ray Folder Structures
Emby also supports DVD and Blu-ray folder structures. For DVD recognition, the folder must contain either a VIDEO_TS subfolder or a VIDEO_TS.ifo file. Blu-ray structures are identified by the presence of a BDMV subfolder.
MoviesAlien (1979)VIDEO_TS.IFO
MoviesLéon (1994)VIDEO_TS.IFO
MoviesScarface (1983)VIDEO_TS.IFO
Or:
MoviesAlien (1979)VIDEO_TSVIDEO_TS.IFO
MoviesLéon (1994)VIDEO_TSVIDEO_TS.IFO
MoviesScarface (1983)VIDEO_TSVIDEO_TS.IFOISO Format Support
Emby offers basic support for ISO format movie files. While playback within Emby apps might be limited to HTPC-based clients like Emby for Kodi or Emby Windows, other apps may require external players.
Name ISO files similarly to other video files, but include “.dvd” or “.bluray” in the filename to help Emby automatically determine the ISO type. If these are not included, Emby will default to assuming it’s a DVD ISO.
MoviesAlien (1979)Alien (1979).dvd.iso
MoviesLéon (1994)Léon (1994).bluray.iso
MoviesScarface (1983)Scarface (1983).isoHandling Split Video Files (File Stacking)
For movies split across multiple files (file stacking), Emby supports default stacking extensions added to filenames. These include -part#, -cd#, -dvd#, -pt#, -disk#, -disc# where # can be 1-9 or A-D. Alternatively, you can use moviename#.ext where # is A-D.
Split videos require all parts to be in the same movie folder, with no other video files present. Stacking works for video files and DVD/Blu-ray folder structures.
MoviesAvatar (2009)Avatar (2009)-cd1.mkv
MoviesAvatar (2009)Avatar (2009)-cd2.mkvOther Media Types and Features
Emby supports various other media types and features, each with its own naming conventions, including:
- 3D videos: Refer to the 3D Videos guide.
- Media stubs: See the Media Stubs guide.
- Strm files: Consult the Strm Files guide.
- Subtitles: Explore the Subtitles guide.
- Theme songs & videos: Check out the Theme Songs & Videos guide.
- Trailers: Learn more in the Trailers guide.
By adhering to these Emby server movie naming conventions, you’ll ensure your movie library is accurately recognized, beautifully organized, and ready for seamless streaming and enjoyment. Properly named media is the foundation for a great Emby experience.
