Studio & rating artwork

Reel can display studio and content-rating images supplied by the server owner. The current reader discovers PNG files in a Photos library named REEL, derives an identity from each filename, and matches it to the title's Plex metadata.

This is an optional artwork source. It is independent of whether shared configuration is stored in a playlist or on itsreel.tv.

Prepare the library#

1. Create a directory for the images on storage that PMS can read. If PMS runs in a container, use a directory visible inside that container.
2. Add a Photos library in Plex named exactly REEL, pointing to that directory.
3. Add the PNG exports using the names below and let Plex scan them. The images must be indexed as photos; an empty filesystem directory supplies no artwork.
4. Grant the intended managed and shared profiles access to the REEL library. Verify with the affected profile, not just the owner account.
5. In Reel, allow Studio & rating artwork to show, then reload server settings or relaunch to refresh the catalogue.

Use one Photos library with this name. If multiple matching libraries exist, Reel cannot select one unambiguously. A REEL-CONFIG album is not required by the current identity-artwork reader; it scans photos across the library.

reel-artwork/
├── studio-warner-bros-pictures.png
├── studio-paramount-pictures.png
├── rating-pg13.png
├── rating-r.png
└── rating-tvma.png

Filename matching#

The filename must match the actual studio or contentRating string PMS returns for the title. Reel normalizes that string by trimming it, converting it to lowercase, and removing ASCII punctuation. Studio whitespace becomes a hyphen; rating whitespace is removed.

Matching does not substitute familiar brand names. A title with studio “Warner Bros.” has a different normalized identity from one with “Warner Bros. Pictures.” Supply images for the metadata values in your library. Non-ASCII letters are retained; the normalization does not transliterate them.

The reader also accepts mpaa- rating names and names beginning with tv-. The explicit rating- form above is sufficient for a new setup. Older REEL-video-… or REEL-studio-… badge instructions describe a different catalogue and are not this reader's filename convention.

Image exports and variants#

Use PNG exports. Transparent backgrounds generally integrate with the details surface. Preserve the logo's aspect ratio and include the intended padding in the image rather than relying on a forced stretch.

A size-neutral file such as studio-paramount-pictures.png is valid. You may also supply a size-specific export such as studio-paramount-pictures-45px.png. The suffix identifies a target display height; accepted numeric suffixes are 1 through 512.

Selection prefers an exact requested-height variant, then a size-neutral file, then the nearest larger or smaller image. Do not provide two photos that normalize to the same identity and variant. Ambiguous duplicates are suppressed rather than resolved by directory order.

The current catalogue is bounded to 4,096 indexed photo rows. Source width and height must be positive and at most 32,768 pixels. These are validation limits, not recommended export dimensions. Use appropriately sized images.

Screenshot placeholderMatched studio & rating images

Show a details page with the matching filenames and Plex metadata identified beside it.

Access and fallback#

Artwork is read through authenticated Plex media-part URLs. The current reader uses the filename PMS supplies for a photo; it does not infer an identity from its pixels or use a display-title fallback in this path. If it works for the owner but not a shared profile, check library access and whether PMS returns usable photo file information for that profile.

Hide disables studio and rating artwork and leaves the content rating as text. A missing or unmatched optional image does not create a new metadata value. If an image is absent, inspect the filename, the exact metadata spelling, duplicate identities, and whether Plex has indexed the file.