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[BartMan01]

Having issues with TV episodes that I already have in my library being recorded. When determining if a shows needs to be recorded, do the recording rules look at files in your library even if MC did not originally record them?

[RoderickGI]

No.

The wording of the Recording Rule gives a hint, "Do not record programs that have been recorded in the past". The rules don't say "Do not record programs that already exist in the Library".

The only way MC knows that a program has been recorded in the past is if it has a value in the [Recording Rule ID] field. Generally, the existence of a value in that field is how MC determines that a file is a TV recording. That field isn't editable. I think there was some discussion about making it editable some times ago, but apparently that would break too many things.

Maybe there is a case for an extra rule that does take into account what is already in the Library, as defined by [Series], [Season], and [Epsiode]. But that doesn't exist at the moment.


Of course, I could be wrong. I can't take advantage of that rule very often because I have poor EPG data, so I'm going by memory. But your observation confirms what I have said, I believe.

[BartMan01]

Thanks. This is a bit of an ongoing pain because I have a ton of old TV show stuff in my existing library that I use OTA recordings to fill the gaps in for. Ending up having to spend a lot of time deleting duplicate episodes.

Just FYI for future feature consideration - Plex does look at your library and has an option to only record a show if it is of higher quality that what you currently have in your library.

[RoderickGI]

Take a look at Swag of Tools and MCUtils to see if either can add a value to the [Recording Rule ID] field. I suspect they can. I'm just not sure what that would do to other TV functionality in MC.

As always, make a backup before trying such stuff.