iTunes handling of TV Shows files in Library?

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iTunes handling of TV Shows files in Library

Ok, hoping to get a new Apple TV 4 for Christmas. Been making a list of apps that I will download, and have Plex on my list. Seems like a slightly better way to allow access to my non iTunes purchased content than making sure iTunes is running all the time (The Plex Media Server seems to use less resources in my limited checking than iTunes).

So this got me thinking about cleaning up my 3 TB iTunes drive. Plex has some required/suggested file naming conventions. Basically, TV Shows > {Show Name} > Season Number > Show Name S##E## - Episode Name.m4v

This actually makes a lot of sense to me, so I looked at how iTunes handles it. Slightly different, but workable. I first checked on my MacBook Pro (2014), which only has episodes, etc. I am currently watching, due to space limitations. But the structure seems to be

~/Users/username/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/TV Shows/Show Name/Season #/#-## Episode Name.m4v

Seems like it is close enough.

Then I went to my iMac, which actually has my full iTunes Library (on an external drive). It is a 2008 iMac. I look at the files, and the structure is different. It is:

~/Volumes/iTunes HD/iTunes Music/TV Shows/Show Name/#-## Episode Name.m4v

See the difference? Every episode of a given series is in the one folder. So, Friends, for instance, has 10 seasons worth all in one folder, versus how, if they were on my MacBook Pro, would be 10 folders.

It's a minor thing, and one that doesn't seem to be causing any issues with Plex (I have the media server applet running on my iMac, and have checked with the iPhone app (viewing, can't actually play without subscribing). I'm going to test the Xbox app tonight to see what I can see, but doesn't seem to impede functionality. So that is good.

But that (long winded way) brings me to my question:

How can I use the structure my MacBook Pro creates on my existing iMac library? I tried manually moving into folders, but the minute I go into iTunes and Get Info, it moves the file back out.

Thoughts? I don't see this as an option in iTunes, but now that I see the differences in how each machine handles these files, I prefer how the MacBook Pro does.

Also, I notice that the MacBook Pro does the same for Movies. Puts all files of one Movie in a folder with the Movie name. I like this for organization, and would love to get my iMac Library to be this way, even if it is manual. What I don't want to do is move everything the way I want, only to have iTunes put it back how it is now.

Thanks in advance for any help.
 

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