IMDb+ Plugin 2.0.0.281 with IMDb+ Scraper v4.9.41 (3 Viewers)

[TheBatfink]

Hi Homey, yeah I was doing that but the script wasn't finding matches. I've fixed it now though, deleted the script in MovPic config, uninstalled and reinstalled imdb+ with the extensions installer and then let it update itself. It appeared to be using whatever version is packaging in the version on the extension.

I've just done a reinstall from an svn version to 1.3 final and swapped out the movingpictures db with the one from my previous install. It would appear that whilst MovPic config is correctly reporting that its an old version, whatever mechanism is being used to update is deciding there is no new version available and it gets stuck with the no working version in the original package. Much the same issue as Lightening had above.

 

[HomeY]

...uninstalled and reinstalled imdb+ with the extensions installer and then let it update itself. It appeared to be using whatever version is packaging in the version on the extension.

Depends on how the dev uploads it to the repo but most of the time they simply put 1 version online, but that should always be the latest.

I've just done a reinstall from an svn version to 1.3 final and swapped out the movingpictures db with the one from my previous install. It would appear that whilst MovPic config is correctly reporting that its an old version, whatever mechanism is being used to update is deciding there is no new version available and it gets stuck with the no working version in the original package. Much the same issue as Lightening had above.

Don't forget that your MovingPicuctures settings are stored in the dB, so when you replace it with an older version it's wise to check the scraper settings (and order) first. I just noticed that IMDb+ wasn't first anymore after updating MovingPictures.
As for match issues: easiest way is to simply add the ttxxxx number from the IMDb site to the file or foldername of the movie.

 

[TheBatfink]

Well his IMDB+ version on the extensions installer is of course the latest, but the scraperscript is very old. Forget what it said but think 2.x.x where as its now 4.9.12. No doubt this is why the script returns no results. There's something funky with how its determining if it needs to update but looks like that's part of movingpicturescore. But having an existing version suddenly appear from nowhere when the database is replaced is breaking some logic somewhere But it is strange the movpic config did report it was an old version (I should of noticed it wasn't 4.9.12 to begin with) and still decided not to update.

.....
My DB definitely had the latest version (along with about 30 previous versions) in it, so who knows why it starts using an older version. I have the db available if it will be of any use, but its simple enough to replicate by doing a fresh install and then replacing movingpicturesdb immediately after the movingpictures / imdb installation.

Maybe also worth noting I installed imdb first and got the cornerstone.dll error. So I installed movpic and then uninstalled imdb+ and reinstalled it.

 

[RoChess]

The best way to go about it then is to open MovPic config, go to manually manage scraper-script inside the importer tab, select IMDb+ and use the drop down option on the [-] toolbar icon to 'delete' the scraper-script.

Then IMDb+ plugin will properly re-install the current scraper-script when your launch MediaPortal GUI again.

All scraper-scripts are stored inside the MovPic database within the 'scripts' table and all the old versions are kept. I've never been able to find a way to consistently cause it to faul on the problem you are experiencing, so figuring out a solution for this random annoyance is then almost impossible. Upon launch of IMDb+ plugin, it asks MovPic plugin "what is the latest version of IMDb+ scraper-script". It then compares that to a fresh download from IMDb+ SVN and if it differs it will install the latest SVN, or otherwise skip it. Sometimes MovPic just doesn't do it right, which causes your issue.

It could relate to the fact that MovPic has another table that keeps track of what scraper-script was used to import a movie, as well as other references. Somewhere it goes wrong then, either IMDb+ is assigned a new 'id' internally and not linked proper anymore, or a movie was already imported with another scraper-script and then it will keep referring to that one.

To get around that last one (which is the same as upgrading an existing setup), is to use the IMDb+ plugin hidden menu "Force IMDb+..." option. This will scan the MovPic database for any movie imported that contains an IMDb tt-ID reference. This includes "imdb (default)", but also the TMDb scraper-script. Their internal scraper-script IDs are then reset to point to IMDb+, after which you just have to 'refresh' the online details. Another option is to send the movie back to the importer of course, after you allowed IMDb+ to force itself to primary scraper-script position and use the current version of v4.9.12 (this can all be verified inside IMDb+ plugin as well via hidden menu option "IMDb+ Info".

@HomeY, I know the wiki needs some serious updating, but it is already tough to find the time to work on IMDb+ scraper-script and IMDb+ plugin. I'd be happy to give you Google code project access to update the wiki if you feel interested.

 

[TheBatfink]

Make a fresh install of movpics and imdb then replace the movingpictures db with a current version that contains the latest scraper *before* firing up mediaportal. This is how I broke it before and again this time. When you go to movpics config, it will report the scraper as being an older version but won't trigger any updates either. Presumably because 4.9.12 is being used for the published date comparison (so no update triggers), but somehow not being used as the script.

How come it stores all the old versions anyway rather than overwriting the existing when it finds a new one? That must be how its managing to use an old version when scraping.

 

[RoChess]

@TheBatfink, The IMDb+ plugin is seperate from IMDb+ scraper-script and comes bundled with whatever IMDb+ scraper-script was 'latest' at the time. At the same time the IMDb+ plugin auto-checks to see if the Google code SVN has a 'newer' version of IMDb+ scraper-script and auto-updates if that is the case.

This can be verified in the IMDb+.log file, as per:

5/3/2013 11:52:41 AM[Check for Updates][12][Info] Checking for scraper update
5/3/2013 11:52:41 AM[Check for Updates][12][Debug] Downloading file from: [URL]http://imdbplus.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/Scraper/IMDb+.Scraper.SVN.xml[/URL]
5/3/2013 11:52:42 AM[Check for Updates][12][Info] Updating paths in scraper script
5/3/2013 11:52:42 AM[Check for Updates][12][Info] Finished updating paths in scraper script
5/3/2013 11:53:24 AM[Check for Updates][12][Info] Skipping update, latest version already installed.

It is not the most optimized system, as it requires a full download of the scraper-script from SVN to find out if its a new version. But on the other hand, the scraper-script is still relativly small, and this way MovPic handles all the logic to determine if the file in question is new.

The IMDb+ scraper-script ID never changes and has always been "<id>314159265</id>", so if MovPic gets confused as to what scraper-script needs to be updated when you restore an old backup, then that would be a bug in MovPic.

My suspecion is that somewhere MovPic got confused and ended up with 2x IMDb+, each with their own 'scripts' table ID. This can be manually verified with an SQLite tool. Open the 'scripts' table and go to last row. This should be current version as in v4.9.12, and then remember the 'id' value. Now open the 'scripts__source_info' table and locate that 'id' in the last 'scripts_id' column. This will then give you a matching 'source_info_id'. This same 'source_info_id' should match a ton of other 'scripts_id' entries, because those are added each time IMDb+ scraper-script is updated. As you can see by my update history this happens a lot, as I constantly have to adjust for changes made by Amazon/IMDb/etc, new features added or stupid mistakes on my part.

Somewhere in your database I bet there is another 'source_info_id' that also references the IMDb+ scraper-script. And the only easy workaround I know for that MovPic 'bug' is to use MovPic config and delete the entire reference to IMDb+ and start over. Be sure to verify IMDb+ is totally gone, because I did have it happen where IMDb+ was an active/black entry in the list, I deleted it and it came back as deactivated/grey list entry way down in the list.

 

[TheBatfink]

I'd have to do another fresh install because I've corrected it now. But in the database I used as the replacement the source info id is always the same and related to the various versions of imdb+. Maybe I'll do this tomorrow and if a second source_info_id is being created for the script, I'll go put it on his tracker if its not already there.

 

[TheBatfink]

Hmm, just gone to force imdb and its seeing all my existing movies as having no source now :/ Presumably these are all the previous movies imported with IMDB+ before the fresh install. Is there a way of restoring a database with movpic other than copying the file over that I've not seen that doesn't break stuff??

Also have you ever tried to force imdb+ with Titan skin?? I think the menus broken as it doesn't seem to do anything.. Sigh :/

Don't suppose you know off hand what fields I need to change to what values to change the source to imdb+? Probably easier to just run a query at this rate.

 

[RoChess]

@TheBatfink, You actual problem related to the fact you never allowed IMDb+ plugin to correct the old version that is bundled inside the MPEI. The IMDb+ scraper-script update check is only done in IMDb+ plugin, which is only activated inside GUI. This would explain your issues, as you appear to never go back to MediaPortal GUI, and launch MovPic config. A wiki entry that explains all the step required when you restore an old database is sorely missing.

The steps to take are:

1. Reinstall MePo
2. Reinstall all plugins with MPEI
3. Restore the database backups
4. Restore all the XML settings
5. Launch MediaPortal GUI
6. Allow IMDb+ plugin to verify that the IMDb+ scraper-script contained within your last MovPic dbase backup is current and update if needed
7. Open IMDb+ plugin and use "IMDb+ Info" and "Force IMDb+.." to verify and correct any mistakes that might still existing in old MovPic backup
8. Do whatever else you wanted to do

Now the problem is that when MovPic contains updates to other scraper script; it will, without any consideration for IMDb+, push itself back to the primary scraper-script position for "imdb (default)" or "TMDb". In that case you have to open IMDb+ plugin again inside GUI for it to do a quick check if its primary again (and show dialog to correct). The reason this is not done always or forced by IMDb+, is because there are many valid reasons for not wanting IMDb+ to be the primary scraper-script. As for MovPic reasoning to force itself as primary is I'm sure done to correct any mistakes in old databases, but it is annoying.

So each time MovPic updates, it might not always contain scraper-script updates to whatever it feels should be the primary scraper-script, but it is then adviced to simply launch IMDb+ plugins each time afterwards inside MediaPortal GUI to verify this. A suggestion to not do this was met with "Not going to adjust MovPic to cater to IMDb+", so aside from releasing a fork, the ugly work-arounds will have to do.

PS: I do hope to catch up on things and find the time to work to IMDb+ plugin and release an intermediar version that adds new features relating to collections and other aspects, but to not keep delaying it until I've finished the major rewrite, as that seems to take forever. That way a current IMDb+ scraper-script will be bundled inside the MPEI and indirectly solve this problem you are having as well. I've been sitting on v5.0 rewrite for a long time now, and appears I'm going to have to push that to v6.0, which is why I resorted to v4.9.10 when it was time to move to v5.0.1. That is another bug in MovPic as well, I can not release a x.x.0 version, or MovPic will not 'see' it as new.

 

[TheBatfink]

To be honest, I'm pretty sure they were the steps I took. When you say 'Allow IMDB plugin to verify..' what do you mean by 'Allow', physically enter the plugin screen?? Maybe I will look at writing something for restoring on the wiki because no doubt when I do this again next time I'll have forgotten all this again

And any idea on this unknown source / Titan force IMDB issue? (the bugs in this skin are starting to grind on me. Think its time to sack it off for something better supported).