# TheTVdb no longer working as metadata source, others are ok
**URL:** https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/t/thetvdb-no-longer-working-as-metadata-source-others-are-ok/5954
**Category:** Metadata and Renaming
**Created:** [August 5, 2026, 10:26pm UTC](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/t/thetvdb-no-longer-working-as-metadata-source-others-are-ok/5954 "2026-08-05T22:26:48Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@John\_Freiman](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/u/John_Freiman)
#### Post date: [August 5, 2026, 10:26pm UTC](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/t/thetvdb-no-longer-working-as-metadata-source-others-are-ok/5954/1 "2026-08-05T22:26:48Z")
I’ve been using TheTVdb exclusively for TV series renaming so that naming, premier year, etc is consistent across the seasons, etc.
However, in the past several days, none of my series episodes have been matching and I thought it was a glitch and would work itself out. It’s been about 3 days and I am still getting no matches.
I did update to the lastest version (2.7.2 July 24) thinking that my old build needed updating to communicate to the server/database, but that did not fix it.
I do have a 2nd system with MCEBuddy installed and when I checked, that one too is not connecting with TheTVdb – and it used to, so it seems the issue is not with my Windows, security or app configuration, but the link between MCEBuddy and theTVdb.
Selecting TMDB in Advanced Settings worked as expected - episode titles, premier year, etc are used to rename the episodes.
Would someone see if this is a general issue with TheTVdb or if this is unique to my two computers?
attached are some log files for both theTVdb and TMDB retrieval data.
Thanks in advance to anyone looking into this.
-John
[MCEBuddy TheTVdb Metadata.zip](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/uploads/short-url/cu7hNbuPK2q9aYhV7aGfTtBfedg.zip) (456.3 KB)
---
### Author:  [@mike808](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/u/mike808)
#### Post date: [August 5, 2026, 11:39pm UTC](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/t/thetvdb-no-longer-working-as-metadata-source-others-are-ok/5954/2 "2026-08-05T23:39:08Z")
I _think_ I am experiencing a similar behavior. TheTVDB doesn’t pull metadata, and it is falling back to IMDB metadata. I haven’t looked deep enough to see if there is an ordering or merging of the metadata between the two, or if it is checking IMDB first, getting a result, and using that, and effectively never “getting” to pulling metadata from TheTVDB.
I also “solved” the problem by adding an exception to use TheTVDB ID for the series as a stopgap measure.
---
### Author:  [@John\_Freiman](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/u/John_Freiman)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2026, 1:57am UTC](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/t/thetvdb-no-longer-working-as-metadata-source-others-are-ok/5954/3 "2026-08-06T01:57:05Z")
> [@mike808](#):
>
> exception to use TheTVDB ID
> [@mike808](#):
>
> eresting. I have too many series and Conversion Tasks to implement this on a permanent basis, but it could work as a quick and temp fix. THKS
> [@mike808](#):
>
> I also “solved” the problem by adding an exception to use TheTVDB ID for the series as a stopgap measure.
Ah, I thought about this, but up until now I’ve only used this for series that otherwise do not match or match incorrectly.
I personally have too many Conversion tasks and Series to make this a perm fix, but if ‘forcing’ MCEB to use the TheTVdb ID works, it might be worth doing when TMDB doesn’t use the same ordering or premier year as TheTVdb does.
Thks
---
### Author:  [@John\_Freiman](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/u/John_Freiman)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2026, 5:05pm UTC](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/t/thetvdb-no-longer-working-as-metadata-source-others-are-ok/5954/4 "2026-09-10T17:05:49Z")
\*\* Bump
I just checked, and TheTVDB is still not fully operational, ie matching titles.
I have been using TMDB, The Movie Database, but it isn’t finding many things, it’s not generating Series Premier Year (because it’s not in the database).
IMDb’s TV episode ordering is not consistent; episode titles are sometimes very generic, etc.
I was using TheTVDB as my sole agent because it would guarantee (except for TheTVDB changes) that all my episodes are placed in the same folder(s) week after week.
Now that MCEBuddy link to TheTVDB is broken, I’m having to use apps like Bulk Rename Utility to rename blank episode titles, which is the title; these episodes do not include series/episode metadata.
Is this issue being looked into? Is TheTVDB no longer supported as a metadata source?
---
### Author:  [@Goose](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/u/Goose)
#### Post date: [September 12, 2026, 10:56pm UTC](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/t/thetvdb-no-longer-working-as-metadata-source-others-are-ok/5954/5 "2026-09-12T22:56:43Z")
We’ve made some recent updates to metadata management for various online sources. Are you using the latest beta release?
---
### Author:  [@mike808](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/u/mike808)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2026, 4:00pm UTC](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/t/thetvdb-no-longer-working-as-metadata-source-others-are-ok/5954/6 "2026-09-18T16:00:35Z")
Using current beta, 2.7.2 2026-07-24. Windows 10.
TheTVDB is still not finding an obvious match for an episode of Stargate SG-1 in TheTVDB. I just picked one for the example here.
There are metadata tags for seasonNumber and episodeNumber in the file, but no other show metadata tags.
As a result of TheTVDB search failure, MCEBuddy ends up pulling both the show name (aka “series name”) and the episode name (aka “Subtitle”) from the filename, which is then not overrriden by metadata MCEBuddy then places in the file. IMO, external metadata sources should override filename sources for output media file metadata, and for file renaming, unless that is explicit in the options to force file naming information to be used instead.
Sourcing metadata based on arbitrary fuzzy heuristics deciding what parts of a file name are relevant or applicable to any particular metadata element is going to be very error-prone.
The show/series name is “Stargate SG-1”, but the filename special character mangling results in setting the show/series name to “Stargate SG 1”, removing the dash.
The episode name / subtitle incorrectly includes parts of the filename that are not relevant, which in this particular case of naming convention, includes the reslution, source, and codec. And we all know that naming conventions are wildly unreliable and not uniform, especially across shows, movies, sports events, and sources.
The media file:
```auto
--> Dumping complete information about the file E:\Recorded TV\Manual\Stargate SG-1 (1997) - S01E03 - The Enemy Within (1080p BluRay x265).mkv
```
The relevant TheTVDB matching failure section of the log file.
```auto
2026-09-18T10:03:46 MCEBuddy.MetaData.VideoMetaData --> Trying to match nPVR/SiliconDust/FlixGrab series showname -> Stargate SG-1 (1997) - S01E03 - The Enemy Within (1080p BluRay x265)
2026-09-18T10:03:46 MCEBuddy.MetaData.VideoMetaData --> Looking for Season/Episode information in text
2026-09-18T10:03:46 MCEBuddy.MetaData.VideoMetaData --> Pattern 1, Found Season/Episode information in text, Season:1, Episode:3
--> Looking for Premiere Year information in text
--> Found Premiere Year information in text, Year:1997
2026-09-18T10:03:46 MCEBuddy.MetaData.VideoMetaData --> Successfully matched nPVR/SiliconDust/FlixGrab series filename metadata
2026-09-18T10:03:46 MCEBuddy.MetaData.VideoMetaData --> Video Tags extracted from file/name metadata ->
Title: Stargate SG 1
SubTitle: The Enemy Within (1080p BluRay x265)
Description:
Network:
Network Affiliate:
Parental Rating:
Media Credits:
Genres:
Season: 1
Episode: 3
Banner:
Banner URL:
IMDB Id:
MovieDB Id:
TVDB Id:
Is Movie: False
Is Sports: False
OriginalBroadcastDateTime: 1900-01-01T00:00:00
RecordedDateTime: 1900-01-01T00:00:00
SeriesPremiereDate: 1997-05-05T00:00:00
CopyProtected: False
SageTV FileID:
SageTV MediaFileID:
2026-09-18T10:03:46 MCEBuddy.MetaData.VideoMetaData --> Checking for metadata title and ID correction
2026-09-18T10:03:46 MCEBuddy.MetaData.VideoMetaData --> Checking for metadata type correction
INFORMATION> 2026-09-18T10:03:46 MCEBuddy.MetaData.VideoMetaData --> Downloading Series details
2026-09-18T10:03:46 MCEBuddy.MetaData.VideoMetaData --> Overwrite title from internet -> Default
INFORMATION> 2026-09-18T10:03:46 MCEBuddy.MetaData.VideoMetaData --> Recording Type Show
INFORMATION> 2026-09-18T10:03:46 MCEBuddy.MetaData.VideoMetaData --> Checking TheTVDB
--> No match found, checking for special characters in the Title
--> No match found on TVDB
WARNING> 2026-09-18T10:03:47 MCEBuddy.MetaData.VideoMetaData --> TheTVDB failed
```
---
### Author:  [@mike808](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/u/mike808)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2026, 4:14pm UTC](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/t/thetvdb-no-longer-working-as-metadata-source-others-are-ok/5954/7 "2026-09-18T16:14:09Z")
Later on in processing the above file, MCEBuddy does get some information from TMDB, but does not override the “Subtitle” or create an “EpisodeName” tag, leaving it incorrectly set from the filename. It then skips IMDB, concluding that the metadata is complete.
```auto
--> Found series match on TMDB by Episode and Season No. Updated video tags ->
Title: Stargate SG 1
SubTitle: The Enemy Within (1080p BluRay x265)
Description: Major Kawalsky is possessed by a Goa'uld, and the SGC must find a way to remove it without killing him.
Network: Showtime;Syfy
Network Affiliate:
Parental Rating: M;TV-PG;NR;12;NR;PG;Från 11 år;6;7;16;12;M18
Media Credits: Richard Dean Anderson;Amanda Tapping;Christopher Judge;Michael Shanks;Don S. Davis
Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy,Action & Adventure
Season: 1
Episode: 3
Banner: C:\Program Files\MCEBuddy2x\cache\Stargate SG 1.jpg
Banner URL: http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/dQjmI7XxI47v8IM2MUysHG0LuU2.jpg
IMDB Id: tt0118480
MovieDB Id: 4629
TVDB Id: 72449
Is Movie: False
Is Sports: False
OriginalBroadcastDateTime: 1997-08-01T00:00:00
RecordedDateTime: 1900-01-01T00:00:00
SeriesPremiereDate: 1997-05-05T00:00:00
CopyProtected: False
SageTV FileID:
SageTV MediaFileID:
INFORMATION> 2026-09-18T10:03:48 MCEBuddy.MetaData.VideoMetaData --> Not checking IMDB Series since metadata is complete and overwrite from IMDB is not required
```
---
### Author:  [@John\_Freiman](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/u/John_Freiman)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2026, 3:34am UTC](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/t/thetvdb-no-longer-working-as-metadata-source-others-are-ok/5954/8 "2026-09-19T03:34:45Z")
We’ve made some recent updates to metadata management for various online sources. Are you using the latest beta release?
I’m also using 2.7 beta 2 from July.
I attached my log files on the initial post which should have all the data avail including the version and system config.
I’m away from my system while visiting family. I can remote in to my system to test anything new/updated/
As of a few days ago, it was still not working and a lot of series just aren’t matching using using Default or TMDB so no new episodes are being placed in the correct folders and since they aren’t matching (at all) they also don’t have the episode tiles, etc.
I have over 400 log files that haven’t been erased yet, so I have plenty of data if you want to look at it —
Just let me know what’s needed because this issue is causing havoc with Resilio file maintenance (creates a .rsls file for every file and folder rename or deletion.
---
### Author:  [@mike808](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/u/mike808)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2026, 11:11am UTC](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/t/thetvdb-no-longer-working-as-metadata-source-others-are-ok/5954/9 "2026-09-19T11:11:36Z")
I will say that I am using a workaround by manually entering a simple filename match for each series to match the specific TheTVDB ID I manually kook up and select. Then I am manually processing each media file through MCEBuddy.
Did I mention this is a manual process? Obviously, that’s not scalable or sustainable, so hopefully, an automated solution will be coming.
If this is a new error from these APIs, like gating or perhaps we, as individual users of those APIs need to have accounts or subscriptions to the services, then that will mean MCEBuddy will need to maintain and manage secure storage of the credentials and authorization tokens needed for us to access those APIs (e.g. client certificates for TLS, API encryption and signing, and OUTH or OIDC tokens)
I do enterprise API security and integration in my professional life, so Goose or the MCEBuddy team reach out to me directly or via DM if me volunteering will help.
---
### Author:  [@John\_Freiman](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/u/John_Freiman)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2026, 2:01am UTC](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/t/thetvdb-no-longer-working-as-metadata-source-others-are-ok/5954/10 "2026-09-23T02:01:46Z")
> [@mike808](#):
>
> will say that I am using a workaround by manually entering a simple filename match for each series to match the specific TheTVDB ID I manually kook up and select. Then I am manually processing each media file through MCEBuddy.
My daily workload does not allow for me to realistically do this for all the series and trim folders I use for my television collection.
If this is an issue that can not be worked out, I’ll need to search for other solutions or figure out another workflow. The fact that MCEBuddy doesn’t use one master “metadata correction list” but instead, each Task uses it’s own makes editing, adding etc a nightmare.
Each year there are series added and deleted (cancelled), multiply that with years of past series still airing or future shows airing, it just isn’t practicle or realistic – MCEBuddy was not designed for that, it was designed for automation.
_\*\* I just counted how many different episodes I have used MCEBuddy to organize since Sept 12 (10 days ago when I last cleared the history) – 101 series via approx 16 Tasks._ **10 days, not 365.**
---
### Author:  [@jsam01](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/u/jsam01)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2026, 12:02am UTC](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/t/thetvdb-no-longer-working-as-metadata-source-others-are-ok/5954/11 "2026-09-25T00:02:33Z")
I’m still using 2.6.5 and it’s been wonky for me. I had the lookup putting the series id into the parent folder name and maybe last week or so (haven’t done a lot of conversions lately) it’s putting episode id instead of series, so now getting completely separated parent folders instead of series\_seriesID/season/episode