Grouping TV Shows - ie TV Show Name > Seasons > Episodes

Busta999 wrote:
Is there anyway to get the TV Show to pull all the Seasons together and just show the TV Show, then the Seasons, then the episodes?

this is actually how it works on the original appletv.
the reason why it doesn't do this on the new appletv is most likely a bug (one of the many).

Hi

Do your movies play ok on the Apple TV after tagging with iFlicks?

I ask because I've just tagged a bunch of movies with iFlicks and even though they play fine in iTunes and QT the won't play on my new AppleTV.

Yes, it would be nice if Apple would return to the original filing system! Do they ever chime in here and confirm if something like this is intentional or a bug they intend to address?

I expect better communications from Apple. Of late they are acting like other "average" companies by hiding their mistakes and not communicating.

I called them yesterday with a known issue and the response? "Mine works fine" and "the database doesn't show anyone else is having this issue."

Wow. I long for the old Apple that "manned up" and let you know where you stood!

I was searching to do this exact thing and thought I found the answer when I saw the post here. Bummer to see that it is what it is, a long list of all the same tv shows. I thought for sure using the video tab in iTunes to select seasons and episodes would have it all sorted for me.

Is there anyway to get the TV Show to pull all the Seasons together and just show the TV Show, then the Seasons, then the episodes?

If by this you mean three separate lists (i.e., "TV Show Names" from which you can select a show which then presents a list of seasons from which you can select just one of the seasons to present a list of episodes, then the answer is no.

On the other hand, if you merely want a list of shows from which you can select a continuous list of episodes but without the "season" divider line as used for the TV1 interface, then the answer is yes. Simply select all of your episodes for a particular TV show and remove the season designation. If your episodes are properly numbered, then will be lumped together and remain in their proper playing order.

Jon, I didn't see your post but found a way to get the TV Shows grouped into 2 levels like you speak of (I did not follow yours very well, did you mean just leave the "Season" text field blank on the video tab?)

If you select all the shows in a season and use command + i to open a multiple item dialog you can name the Show and Season. Then in Apple TV if you view by "Show" it will have the show name with an arrow (indicating there are items in this folder) and you can select it. Now I just did a quick test with 4 episodes of a season and it worked. I do believe there is probably no way to get 3 levels at this time so maybe the name of your show could be "Show Name -1" or "Show Name - Season 1" and this way you could make separate folders for each season and then scroll thru episodes. Like I said I haven't played with it much yet to see how I can format everything but this was a start.

here is the info I found where this guy was wanting to group his movies...
http://www.macworld.com/article/137856/2009/01/appletvfolders.html

Just realized my mistake above (didn't know if I could edit that msg or not), you don't have to name your TV Show with season in it. For my test I had "Friends" and when I did the multiple item dialog and put a "1" in the season field it displays the season on the first level. So when I view by shows it has "Friends" with Season 1 in smaller font underneath. I just saw that and wanted to add it to my post

For my test I had "Friends" and when I did the multiple item dialog and put a "1" in the season field it displays the season on the first level. So when I view by shows it has "Friends" with Season 1 in smaller font underneath. I just saw that and wanted to add it to my post

This is the way most people view their TV shows list. However, the original poster asked how to merge the various seasons for a single show together under a single TV show name--just the opposite of what you are doing (i.e., dividing the show by season). In my explanation, you select all episodes in all seasons for a single TV show, open the multi-file Info window and remove all of the season numbers in a single action. Thereafter, all episodes for that TV Show will then display under a single TV show name and, if the episode #s are correct, will be listed in their episode by season order but not place a "header" between seasons as is done on the TV1 menu when season IDs are included.

For me, it is six of one and a half dozen of the other. For instance, the original Doctor Who TV series has 26 seasons which would make 26 Doctor Who TV show entries in the TV show list making it easier to access individual episodes for each season. On the other hand, grouping all 26 seasons under a single TV show name makes it easier to select an individual TV show but makes it more difficult to access a single episode in the "season by episode" list which now contains over 500 individual episodes. Thus, each user must decide for himself/herself which work flow is more suited to their individual needs. My only reason for posting was to point out that both options are available for TV show lists and answers the OP's question.

Thanks for the response Jon, I see what you are saying now. Yeah, for something with 26 seasons, I can see wanting to store them all under one folder and just have them ordered correctly.