guides

Playing Series in Sequence

By default, FieldStation42 picks a random video from a folder each time a show is scheduled. Sequences change that: they play episodes in order, picking up where they left off each time. If you've got a series you want to watch from beginning to end, this is how you do it.

Setting Up a Sequence

Add a sequence name to any time slot in your station config:

"monday": {
  "20": {
    "tags": "star_trek",
    "sequence": "trek_sequential"
  }
}

Videos in the star_trek folder are sorted alphabetically, and each day at 8 PM the next episode plays. When it reaches the end, it loops back to the beginning. The position is saved between runs.

Name your files so they sort correctly:

star_trek/
├── S01E01 - The Cage.mp4
├── S01E02 - Where No Man Has Gone Before.mp4
├── S01E03 - The Corbomite Maneuver.mp4
...

Sequences also work with nested folders (like season subfolders). All videos are collected recursively and sorted by full path, so a structure like star_trek/Season 1/S01E01.mp4 works fine.

The sequence name can be anything you want. It's just a label that FieldStation42 uses to track the position.

Multiple Sequences of the Same Show

Use different sequence names to run independent progressions of the same show:

"monday": {
  "17": {
    "tags": "star_trek",
    "sequence": "afternoon_trek"
  },
  "20": {
    "tags": "star_trek",
    "sequence": "primetime_trek"
  }
}

The afternoon and primetime showings track their positions separately, so they'll be on different episodes. This is great for simulating the way real TV networks would air a show in syndication at one time and new episodes at another.

Internally, the sequence key is <TAG>-<SEQUENCE_NAME>, so star_trek-afternoon_trek and star_trek-primetime_trek are tracked independently. Even if two different shows share the same sequence name, they won't interfere with each other:

"21": {"tags": "friends", "sequence": "prime"},
"22": {"tags": "seinfeld", "sequence": "prime"}

Both friends-prime and seinfeld-prime are tracked separately.

Sequence Start and End Points

You can play only part of a series by setting start and end percentages (0.0 to 1.0):

"weekday_day": {
  "17": {
    "tags": "xfiles",
    "sequence": "daily_xfiles",
    "sequence_start": 0.0,
    "sequence_end": 0.75
  }
},
"friday_prime": {
  "21": {
    "tags": "xfiles",
    "sequence": "primetime_xfiles",
    "sequence_start": 0.75,
    "sequence_end": 1.0
  }
}

This plays the first 75% of X-Files episodes (the older seasons) during the weekday 5 PM slot, and the final 25% (newer seasons) on Friday at 9 PM. If you have 100 episodes, that's episodes 1 through 75 and 76 through 100.

This is great for playing classic seasons during the day and recent seasons at primetime, or splitting a long series across different time slots.

When a sequence reaches its end point, it loops back to its start point (not the beginning of the series).

Scanning and Rebuilding Sequences

After you add or change sequences in your config, scan them:

python3 station_42.py --scan_sequences

To delete and rescan all sequences from scratch:

python3 station_42.py --rebuild_sequences

If you get errors during scanning, try rebuilding your catalog first with --rebuild_catalog.

Random Play (No Sequence)

If you don't add a sequence to a time slot, episodes play randomly. This doesn't affect any existing sequences for that show:

"21": {"tags": "xfiles"}

Random slots and sequenced slots can coexist for the same show without interfering with each other.

Things to Know

  • Sequence names can be anything you want
  • Each channel tracks its sequences independently
  • Changing sequence_start or sequence_end resets the sequence position
  • Sequences always loop when they reach their end point
  • Catalog rebuilds do not affect sequence positions
  • When a schedule is deleted, the sequence rewinds to the correct point
  • Store only series episodes in the tag folder (keep other content elsewhere so it doesn't get mixed into the sequence)
  • Subfolders (like season folders) are supported and sorted by full path

Content Storage Tips

Keep your sequence folders clean. If you have a star_trek folder that feeds a sequence, every video in that folder (and its subfolders) becomes part of the sequence. Stray files like trailers or bonus content will get mixed in.

A good structure:

catalog/my_channel/
├── star_trek/
│   ├── Season 1/
│   │   ├── S01E01 - The Cage.mp4
│   │   ├── S01E02 - Where No Man Has Gone Before.mp4
│   ├── Season 2/
│   │   ├── S02E01 - Amok Time.mp4

The key is consistent naming with zero-padded numbers so files sort correctly. Episode10.mp4 sorts before Episode2.mp4 alphabetically, so use Episode02.mp4 and Episode10.mp4 instead.

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