TVDB, UTF-8 and MyTvseries

Erez · 2008-02-23, 12:18

Hi,
I've noticed that TVDB now saves all series information in UTF-8.
Does MyTvseries extracts the info as UTF-8?
I ask because Hebrew information is extracted as gibberish.
If I want MyTvseries to extract Hebrew information correctly I need to go to TVDB, manually change my browser's encoding and save the series data under 'ISO-8859-1' encoding.
The problem is that for some reason that doesn't last for long. For example, yesterday I fixed the hebrew data for 'Lost' (saved it as 'ISO-8859-1' encoding) and today the info appears as gibberish again.
But if the info is saved as 'UTF-8' it doesn't change back to gibberish.
I'm guessing that MyTvseries extract the 'ISO-8859-1' data instead of the 'UTF-8' data.
Thanks,
Erez

Inker · 2008-02-23, 13:59

Didn't we go down that road before? I remember fighting for hours trying to get all those characters to work and I thought it was finally fixed?

jocke · 2008-02-23, 16:54

Missing spanish characters

Similar to this problem?

Something might have changed after the move to the new host....

Erez · 2008-02-23, 19:56

Hi Inker,
After looking more into this problem I think the problem again is with the TVDB site. I think that due to changes at the site the Hebrew data gets screwed up (and also characters that are not a part of ISO-8859-1).
I'll try to explain.
As you might now there are several encoding methods. 'ISO-8895-1' support mainly english characters and 'UTF-8' support a lot more characters (Hebrew, Spanish and more).
Till now the way for me to get correct Hebrew info in MyTvseries is to make sure that when I save the data at TVDB my browser is set to 'ISO-8859-1' (a bit strange, I know).
This because of the TVDB interface. For example when you try this:
http://thetvdb.com/interfaces/GetSer...st&language=24
The TVDB interface access the data as 'ISO-8859-1' and not 'UTF-8'. So if I saved the data while my browser was set to any other encoding besides 'ISO-8859-1' using the interface to access the data will result in gibberish. But if you went to the show info at the site (not through the interface) you could select the proper encoding.

The problem now is that for some reason the data that is saved as 'ISO-8859-1' gets screwed up all the time.
I've tried resaving is but it gets screwed up again.

Jocke, I guess we have the same problem.
A partial solution for you is to resave the data as 'ISO-8859-1'.

Anyway,
I'll try my luck at the TVDB forum,
Thanks,
Erez

Hawkeye · 2008-02-24, 00:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erez

The problem now is that for some reason the data that is saved as 'ISO-8859-1' gets screwed up all the time.
I've tried resaving is but it gets screwed up again.

Maybe this happens when other users save informations in other languages...

BTW: I got this problem too with german umlauts...

Erez · 2008-02-24, 07:55

It is reasonable that data that is saved as 'ISO-8859-1' gets screwed up since this method supports only ASCII characters.
The main problem is with the interface. If you go to the series page and your browser is set to 'UTF-8' the data is displayed correctly. It looks like the interface it set to 'ISO-8859-1' and not 'UTF-8'.

Erez

jeanluc · 2008-02-24, 17:19

I've noticed that as well after TVDB changed host. Hopefully this will get fixed by TVDB staff.

Durbi · 2008-02-24, 20:08

Polish characters imported and displayed incorrectly too.

z3us · 2008-02-25, 14:07

Im the spanish guy having problems with some characters.
I hope tvdb people can get this fixed soon

TY for the explanation

Erez · 2008-02-25, 20:12

OK, a short summary:
There are two problems. One is that MyTvSeries uses the old interface instead of the new one (all language fixes and UTF-8 support are made for the new API). The second problem is that UTF-8 doesn't work perfectly with the new API (not all characters are returned correctly).
Read this thread for more info:
Online TV Database :: View topic - Unicode / UTF-8 and other fun

Erez

2008-02-23, 12:18	#1 (permalink)
Erez Portal Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 82 Thanks: 5 Thanked 9 Times in 7 Posts Country:	TVDB, UTF-8 and MyTvseries Hi, I've noticed that TVDB now saves all series information in UTF-8. Does MyTvseries extracts the info as UTF-8? I ask because Hebrew information is extracted as gibberish. If I want MyTvseries to extract Hebrew information correctly I need to go to TVDB, manually change my browser's encoding and save the series data under 'ISO-8859-1' encoding. The problem is that for some reason that doesn't last for long. For example, yesterday I fixed the hebrew data for 'Lost' (saved it as 'ISO-8859-1' encoding) and today the info appears as gibberish again. But if the info is saved as 'UTF-8' it doesn't change back to gibberish. I'm guessing that MyTvseries extract the 'ISO-8859-1' data instead of the 'UTF-8' data. Thanks, Erez

2008-02-23, 13:59	#2 (permalink)
Inker Retired Team Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,667 Thanks: 46 Thanked 149 Times in 65 Posts My System	Didn't we go down that road before? I remember fighting for hours trying to get all those characters to work and I thought it was finally fixed? __________________ There are only two industries that refer to their customers as "users". - Edward Tufte

2008-02-23, 19:56	#4 (permalink)
Erez Portal Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 82 Thanks: 5 Thanked 9 Times in 7 Posts Country:	Hi Inker, After looking more into this problem I think the problem again is with the TVDB site. I think that due to changes at the site the Hebrew data gets screwed up (and also characters that are not a part of ISO-8859-1). I'll try to explain. As you might now there are several encoding methods. 'ISO-8895-1' support mainly english characters and 'UTF-8' support a lot more characters (Hebrew, Spanish and more). Till now the way for me to get correct Hebrew info in MyTvseries is to make sure that when I save the data at TVDB my browser is set to 'ISO-8859-1' (a bit strange, I know). This because of the TVDB interface. For example when you try this: http://thetvdb.com/interfaces/GetSer...st&language=24 The TVDB interface access the data as 'ISO-8859-1' and not 'UTF-8'. So if I saved the data while my browser was set to any other encoding besides 'ISO-8859-1' using the interface to access the data will result in gibberish. But if you went to the show info at the site (not through the interface) you could select the proper encoding. The problem now is that for some reason the data that is saved as 'ISO-8859-1' gets screwed up all the time. I've tried resaving is but it gets screwed up again. Jocke, I guess we have the same problem. A partial solution for you is to resave the data as 'ISO-8859-1'. Anyway, I'll try my luck at the TVDB forum, Thanks, Erez Last edited by Erez; 2008-02-23 at 20:13..

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2008-02-23, 16:54	#3 (permalink)
jocke Portal Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 109 Thanks: 3 Thanked 6 Times in 5 Posts Country:	Missing spanish characters Similar to this problem? Something might have changed after the move to the new host....

2008-02-24, 07:55	#6 (permalink)
Erez Portal Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 82 Thanks: 5 Thanked 9 Times in 7 Posts Country:	It is reasonable that data that is saved as 'ISO-8859-1' gets screwed up since this method supports only ASCII characters. The main problem is with the interface. If you go to the series page and your browser is set to 'UTF-8' the data is displayed correctly. It looks like the interface it set to 'ISO-8859-1' and not 'UTF-8'. Erez

2008-02-24, 17:19	#7 (permalink)
jeanluc Portal User Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 2 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Country:	I've noticed that as well after TVDB changed host. Hopefully this will get fixed by TVDB staff.

2008-02-24, 20:08	#8 (permalink)
Durbi Portal User Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 2 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Country:	Polish characters imported and displayed incorrectly too.

2008-02-25, 14:07	#9 (permalink)
z3us Portal Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 535 Thanks: 92 Thanked 19 Times in 19 Posts Country:	Im the spanish guy having problems with some characters. I hope tvdb people can get this fixed soon TY for the explanation

2008-02-25, 20:12	#10 (permalink)
Erez Portal Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 82 Thanks: 5 Thanked 9 Times in 7 Posts Country:	OK, a short summary: There are two problems. One is that MyTvSeries uses the old interface instead of the new one (all language fixes and UTF-8 support are made for the new API). The second problem is that UTF-8 doesn't work perfectly with the new API (not all characters are returned correctly). Read this thread for more info: Online TV Database :: View topic - Unicode / UTF-8 and other fun Erez