Schedules Direct US/Canadian/Mexico EPG Plugin (Updated August 2010) (4 Viewers)

[benicehavefun]

As I was doing my manual renaming of the Bones and Scandal episodes listed above, I noticed that the correct season and episode numbers are present concatenated together in the %episode% variable. For example, the Bones episode should be S10E01 and the Scandal episode should be S04E01. In the Bones example above, "1001" is shown after the last capital "E" in the filename. In the Scandal example, "401" is after the last capital "E" in the filename. Could this be some sort of parsing issue with the data received from The TVDB.com?

 

[Andrew H]

I'm NO expert here... it seems SD is operating on some but not all the TV programs. SD reuses the %series% variable as a pseudo 'season' variable to complement the %episode% variable yet I suspect the hosting data is using %series% as a unique identifier for the show. Like Hawaii Five O (new) vs the one with Jack Lord in the 60's. I no longer use SD, but a combo of mc2xml.exe and episodescanner.exe which grabs Season & Episode numbers from TVDB.

All of these utilities have their querks... I hope I've shed some light on your issue.

 

[benicehavefun]

I'm NO expert here... it seems SD is operating on some but not all the TV programs. SD reuses the %series% variable as a pseudo 'season' variable to complement the %episode% variable yet I suspect the hosting data is using %series% as a unique identifier for the show. Like Hawaii Five O (new) vs the one with Jack Lord in the 60's. I no longer use SD, but a combo of mc2xml.exe and episodescanner.exe which grabs Season & Episode numbers from TVDB.

All of these utilities have their querks... I hope I've shed some light on your issue.

Andrew -

Thanks for the response. I've actually made some progress on this issue since my I original post. Here's what I've uncovered:

• The SchedulesDirect TVDB update process was failing on the same show (The Mysteries of Laura) every time it ran (determined through the TV Service log file). Once I deleted this show, all of my series recordings added after that show were "enriched" with season and episode data from TheTVDB. I tried to add the show again, and the same error re-materialized. I inspected the TheTVDB.com data directly for "The Mysteries of Laura" but couldn't see any issues.
• For the shows which didn't have TVDB data, zap2it episode IDs were being used as %series% numbers and a concatenation of season number and episode number were being used as %episode% number. Presumably SD is supplying the zap2it IDs and the season/episode number as part of the original EPG data. It would be nice if that data was used as a fallback to TheTVDB data as opposed to the incorrect data now being used if the TVDB enrichment process fails.

I'm not sure if this is a SchedulesDirect plugin problem, or if the TV Server is picking up the wrong data from the EPG when it names episodes.

What sources are you using for TV (cable, over-the-air, settop-box)? I think I'm pretty much stuck with SchedulesDirect since I'm using a pair of HD-PVRs connected to settop boxes, and the plugin creates my channels in lieu of scanning. Do you think episodescanner.exe would work if I run into any other shows that SD chokes on? Or, can it only be used as a replacement for that part of the SD plugin?

 

[benicehavefun]

Anybody know of a way to get MediaPortal (1.9.0) to use TheTVDB name for a show rather than the SchedulesDirect EPG name when creating the filename for a recording?

I have the SchedulesDirect option enabled for enriching EPG data with season and episode info from TheTVDB, and I have show names mapped when the EPG name doesn't match the TVDB name. Examples would be: Castle s/b Castle (2009), The Bridge s/b The Bridge (2013), Chicago PD s/b Chicago P.D., Forever s/b Forever (2014), etc. I have the following custom filename specified for recordings: %title%\Season %series%\%title% - S%series%E%episode% - %name%. This works great, except in the cases just specified. It's easy enough to rename the recordings and their matching XML and Comskip files, along with the parent folder, but -- since the correct data is already there, I'd like to use it!

MP-TVSeries, Plex and RaspBMC, all of which I use, need the TVDB name to scrape the correct data.

 

[RonD]

try looking at the http://thetvdb.com/ webpage, you can search for series names and see what options you can use

 

[benicehavefun]

RonD -

Thanks for the reply. I'm not clear on how that applies here though. I'm trying to get MediaPortal to name the .ts files created when recording a show using a valid TVDB name. For example, I recorded "The Bridge" last night on FX. The MP recording was named The Bridge\Season 02\The Bridge - S02E13 - Jubilex.ts. Since there was another show named "The Bridge" once upon a time, TheTVDB calls the show "The Bridge (2013)". So... in order for MP-TVSeries, Plex and RaspBMC to identify the show correctly during scraping, it needs to be named The Bridge (2013)\Season 02\The Bridge (2013) - S02E13 - Jubilex.ts. Without the (2013) added the show will be mis-identified every time.

Am I missing something obvious? I already have these name mappings added to the SchedulesDirect plugin and they're used for getting the correct season and episode number in the recording filename. It's just that the original EPG show name is used when naming the recording, rather than the more useful TVDB name.

Best,

Scott

 

[RonD]

Not sure of the internal details in the SD/TVDB code but my reading of the limited documentation is the SD/TVDB code replaces the not very useful SD season/episode info from the normal EPG data and replaces them with more useful season/episode info from TVDB. The SD mapping table helps find the correct TVDB series name when looking up the data.

My guess is you can't get the series name changed the way you want using just the SD plugin. I have the same problems with TV Series, I end up using either the plugin based series rename option to fix up series names or the TV Series Config tool. The actual file names on the disk are not changed. Not sure what you can do to get the file names modified the way you want.

There are some other tools like FileBot that might be able to help. I've never used/tried any of those tools so I can't say what options work well.
https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/...te-tv-renamer-and-subtitle-downloader.103652/

 

[geoffstewart]

Sorry guys, I don't seem to get notifications about this thread anymore.

The TVDB part of this plugin tries to use the name and date to match. You can add manual mappings for names that cannot be found normailly. Lastly, you can add the ID from thetvdb.com if the other mapping doesn't work:

Clip from the homepage:
svn21

• This version adds the ability to specify the tvdb.com by series ID. In the setuptv.exe tool, you can use the checkbox in the mapping and in the tvdb.com field, enter the ID found on the website for the series in question.
• For "$..! My Dad Says", you would put "$..! My Dad Says" in the Schedules Direct name, and 164951 in the tvdb.com field as well as check the box that says Series ID before adding the mapping. The ID is found in the URL when you're looking at the series on thetvdb.com website.

Hope that helps

Geoff

 

[benicehavefun]

Sorry guys, I don't seem to get notifications about this thread anymore.

The TVDB part of this plugin tries to use the name and date to match. You can add manual mappings for names that cannot be found normailly. Lastly, you can add the ID from thetvdb.com if the other mapping doesn't work:

Clip from the homepage:
svn21

• This version adds the ability to specify the tvdb.com by series ID. In the setuptv.exe tool, you can use the checkbox in the mapping and in the tvdb.com field, enter the ID found on the website for the series in question.
• For "$..! My Dad Says", you would put "$..! My Dad Says" in the Schedules Direct name, and 164951 in the tvdb.com field as well as check the box that says Series ID before adding the mapping. The ID is found in the URL when you're looking at the series on thetvdb.com website.

Hope that helps

Geoff

Geoff -

Thanks for the reply. And -- thanks for developing this plugin! I've been using the manual mapping of SD EPG names to TheTVDB names, and that for the most part works great. The problem I was having, was with one particular show "The Mysteries of Laura", which when the TVDB portion of the plugin would run, would generate an error and in the log and no further shows would be processed. At one time that show was in the middle of my list of scheduled shows, so half weren't being enriched with season and episode info. Once I deleted that show, all other shows were enriched. Any attempts to add "The Mysteries of Laura" have resulted in the same situation. This is not a show I have mapped because the SD EPG name and the TVDB name are the same. Are you suggesting that mapping the show by Series ID might solve this problem?

Log snippet:

[2014-10-01 20:32:58,570] [Log    ] [31       ] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Request update of tvdb.com information for scheduled recordings
[2014-10-01 20:32:58,582] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Start asynch update of tvdb.com info for all schedule recordings.  Total number: 33
[2014-10-01 20:32:58,603] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for Madam Secretary
[2014-10-01 20:32:59,010] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for The Good Wife
[2014-10-01 20:32:59,451] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for Manhattan
[2014-10-01 20:32:59,804] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for PBS NewsHour
[2014-10-01 20:33:00,371] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: No episode match for series: PBS NewsHour, seriesId: 81388, episodeName: -
[2014-10-01 20:33:00,631] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: No episode match for series: PBS NewsHour, seriesId: 81388, episodeName: -
[2014-10-01 20:33:00,946] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: No episode match for series: PBS NewsHour, seriesId: 81388, episodeName: -
[2014-10-01 20:33:00,950] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for Gotham
[2014-10-01 20:33:01,259] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for The Blacklist
[2014-10-01 20:33:01,593] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for NCIS
[2014-10-01 20:33:03,909] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for NCIS: New Orleans
[2014-10-01 20:33:04,228] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for Chicago Fire
[2014-10-01 20:33:04,584] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
[2014-10-01 20:33:04,907] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for Forever
[2014-10-01 20:33:05,228] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for Nashville
[2014-10-01 20:33:05,614] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for Chicago PD
[2014-10-01 20:33:05,903] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
[2014-10-01 20:33:08,680] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for Scandal
[2014-10-01 20:33:09,038] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for Bones
[2014-10-01 20:33:09,914] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for How to Get Away With Murder
[2014-10-01 20:33:11,247] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for Hawaii Five-0
[2014-10-01 20:33:11,651] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for Blue Bloods
[2014-10-01 20:33:12,452] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for PBS NewsHour Weekend
[2014-10-01 20:33:13,061] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: No episode match for series: PBS NewsHour Weekend, seriesId: 273048, episodeName: -
[2014-10-01 20:33:13,335] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: No episode match for series: PBS NewsHour Weekend, seriesId: 273048, episodeName: -
[2014-10-01 20:33:13,342] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for Hell on Wheels
[2014-10-01 20:33:13,692] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
[2014-10-01 20:33:15,593] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for Resurrection
[2014-10-01 20:33:15,937] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for Revenge
[2014-10-01 20:33:16,299] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for Masterpiece Mystery!
[2014-10-01 20:33:16,592] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for Castle
[2014-10-01 20:33:17,233] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for Scorpion
[2014-10-01 20:33:17,544] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for Red Band Society
[2014-10-01 20:33:17,856] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for Sons of Anarchy
[2014-10-01 20:33:18,251] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for Franklin & Bash
[2014-10-01 20:33:18,574] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for The Bridge
[2014-10-01 20:33:18,930] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for Criminal Minds
[2014-10-01 20:33:21,391] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [INFO ] - SD-TvDb: Update tvdb.com info for The Mysteries of Laura
[2014-10-01 20:33:21,850] [Log    ] [TvDbThread] [ERROR] - Error trying to update tvdb.com info: The string was not recognized as a valid DateTime. There is an unknown word starting at index 5.

To better explain my second issue:

The mapping feature you've provided is excellent for season and episode data, however, the mapped name isn't being used by MP when the recording is created. Since the TVDB name isn't used, many of my shows are not scrapped correctly by MP-TV Series, or by RaspBMC (XBMC on the Raspberry Pi), or by Plex. All of which I use. So, shows like "The Bridge" which I map to "The Bridge (2013)" in your plugin, has recordings saved as The Bridge\Season 02\The Bridge - S02E13 - Jubilex.ts. In order for it to scrape correctly it needs to be named The Bridge (2013)\Season 02\The Bridge (2013) - S02E13 - Jubilex.ts. I'm guessing that at the same time the season and episode enrichment happens that the show name could be changed too, but perhaps that would create other issues within MP...

Also, I'm going to add you into a conversation that Sasha @sjevtic and I have been having on these issues. Sasha and I are both U.S.-based DirecTV, HD-PVR/Colossus, SchedulesDirect and SHEF plugin users, so we have similar points of interest.

Cheers,

Scott

 

[geoffstewart]

Hey Scott,

OK, I can probably fix the error if you can help narrow down the file name that is causing the error:

Error trying to update tvdb.com info: The string was not recognized as a valid DateTime. There is an unknown word starting at index 5.

I don't use the plugin anymore.. but I'll have a look if I can get some time... maybe this weekend.

However, I don't think I can help with the MP-TVSeries import problems... I don't recall having those types of problems at all... once I match the series the first time, it remembers the "The Bridge" is the one I want, not the old one. It may involve some massaging in the tool offline to start, but it doesn't need tweaking often, in my experience.

g