[SOLVED] Import from IMDB Not Working

[rick.ca]

I'd like to also add that the IMDB plug-in is no longer working for me...

What OS are you using? Are you using the latest versions of the program and the plugin? If so, try the "debug" version of the plugin posted here. Follow the instructions carefully, and post the data it collects back here.

[Data1001]

Chiming in here -- haven't had time to do anything with PVD for over a month (maybe two or more, I forget), so I thought I'd test to see how the IMDb plugin worked for me. Starting up PVD for the first time in a while there were two things that came up in a window saying there were updates (scripting engine was one, I believe?), so I said yes and restarted PVD as per the next dialog box.

IMDb plugin worked fine for several movies (don't remember all the titles, but "Young @ Heart" was one), then I added some covers (using the IMPAwards, FilmUP and Amazon.com plugins), and some time after that -- perhaps immediately after that -- IMDb plugin stopped working (titles it could not grab info for include "The Wrestler")... it was only grabbing the URL, nothing else. Looked like the rest was downloading, but nothing was saved to the database.

Thinking I'd post my results here, I shut down PVD and restarted with the -debug function. However, now IMDb plugin was working again. Tried recreating my cover downloads, thinking maybe that had something to do with it, but IMDb plugin kept working. I was even able to grab full information for those titles which had not worked just minutes before.

Curious thing. Not sure if this helps anything, or just confuses the issue, but I thought I'd share my findings, nonetheless. Only thing I can think of that would be cause for intermittent import problems is an issue or restriction on IMDb.com's end of things, perhaps even a quota thing they've implemented? I'm just grasping at straws...

My IMDb plugin version is 0.9.3.8 and my PVD version is 0.9.9.21.

Not sure if the results of my debug session are useful, but I have attached that to this post as a text file. (Alas, I was not in debug mode when I momentarily was unable to DL from IMDb.)

[attachment deleted by admin]

[rick.ca]

Only thing I can think of that would be cause for intermittent import problems is an issue or restriction on IMDb.com's end of things, perhaps even a quota thing they've implemented?

What you describe does sound like an Internet problem. It's not uncommon for the IMDb to be too busy or have some other intermittent problem. They can prevent one or more items in a mass download to be skipped, but the download will continue (i.e., it truly is intermittent). Although I worry about the possibility, there's no evidence they're imposing any kind of controls to stop what we're doing.

I recommend using the -debug switch always. It doesn't hurt, and it means you'll always have a log if something strange happens.

[Data1001]

I recommend using the -debug switch always. It doesn't hurt, and it means you'll always have a log if something strange happens.

I was actually thinking that maybe I'd start doing that, although at the same time I was trying to determine if the website queries ran slower when I was in debug mode. But I guess that basic logging procedures shouldn't affect the speed of anything within the application, eh?

[rick.ca]

If there were a difference, I'm sure you wouldn't be able to measure it.

[Ungrimmer]

I am having the same problem as data1001:
 

IMDb plugin worked fine for several movies (don't remember all the titles, but "Young @ Heart" was one), then I added some covers (using the IMPAwards, FilmUP and Amazon.com plugins), and some time after that -- perhaps immediately after that -- IMDb plugin stopped working (titles it could not grab info for include "The Wrestler")... it was only grabbing the URL, nothing else. Looked like the rest was downloading, but nothing was saved to the database.

Thinking I'd post my results here, I shut down PVD and restarted with the -debug function. However, now IMDb plugin was working again. Tried recreating my cover downloads, thinking maybe that had something to do with it, but IMDb plugin kept working. I was even able to grab full information for those titles which had not worked just minutes before.

Will post a debug log when it happens again. It seems to happen with movies that IMDB doesn't got much info on. (the more obscure movies, in my case atleast.) Although the wrestler seems to be a fairly big production.

Greetz Ungrimmer

[korbenPL]

No results for 'Iron Man 2' here...strange

edit// restarted PVD after 2 failures and got the requested data :happy:

[rick.ca]

What you describe does sound like an Internet problem. It's not uncommon for the IMDb to be too busy or have some other intermittent problem.

If you believe something else is going on, please post a log.

[sanangelis]

I'm having the same problem too and am having to use TVdb for episodes. It does seem to work if you go back to it, after shutting down, sometimes. As I am converting my M collector across it is a pain as there are 1000's of movies and series. it used to work fine up until the last update.

[rick.ca]

I've witnessed it not working in the last hour, but it's fine now. While it wasn't working, I could find not evidence of anything wrong with the plugin. IMDb just wasn't responding with any data.

[rick.ca]

Happened again just now. I cleared the log and tried again. Same thing. The log shows...

Code: [Select]

(09/18/2010 02:27:19 PM) Logging in...
(09/18/2010 02:27:19 PM) POST: http://www.imdb.com/register-imdb/login?
(09/18/2010 02:27:19 PM) Redirected to: https://secure.imdb.com/register-imdb/login
(09/18/2010 02:27:19 PM) Searching movie information for: Goodfellas
(09/18/2010 02:27:19 PM) GET: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099685/

...which is the same as what I saw last time. I restarted the program, and it worked fine...

Code: [Select]

(09/18/2010 02:29:34 PM) Logging in...
(09/18/2010 02:29:34 PM) POST: http://www.imdb.com/register-imdb/login?
(09/18/2010 02:29:34 PM) Redirected to: https://secure.imdb.com/register-imdb/login
(09/18/2010 02:29:34 PM) Searching movie information for: Goodfellas
(09/18/2010 02:29:34 PM) GET: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099685/
(09/18/2010 02:29:35 PM) GET: http://imdb.com/title/tt0099685/keywords
(09/18/2010 02:29:35 PM) Redirected to: http://www.imdb.com/rg/parked-domains/imdb.com/title/tt0099685/keywords
(09/18/2010 02:29:36 PM) Redirected to: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099685/keywords
(09/18/2010 02:29:36 PM) GET: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099685/fullcredits#cast
(09/18/2010 02:29:37 PM) GET: http://imdb.com/title/tt0099685/awards
(09/18/2010 02:29:37 PM) Redirected to: http://www.imdb.com/rg/parked-domains/imdb.com/title/tt0099685/awards
(09/18/2010 02:29:37 PM) Redirected to: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099685/awards
(09/18/2010 02:29:38 PM) GET: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099685/business
Although it wasn't evident that's what made the difference, I restarted the program last time too. So now I wonder...if it is an intermittent IMDb site or Internet problem, it's hard to imagine why restarting the program should make any difference.

[mgpw4me@yahoo.com]

Although it wasn't evident that's what made the difference, I restarted the program last time too. So now I wonder...if it is an intermittent IMDb site or Internet problem, it's hard to imagine why restarting the program should make any difference.

Because the restart takes 5 minutes and the site / internet problem cleared in that time?

[rick.ca]

Because the restart takes 5 minutes and the site / internet problem cleared in that time?

I don't think so. A restart takes closer to 5 seconds. I thought that was the case the first time, because it was more like 5 minutes before I got around to restarting. The reason for that was I happened to be running two instances at the time. So the first thing I did was try the other instance—and it worked. This caused me to think it must have something to do with the configuration file, so I deleted that and restarted the instance that didn't work—and it worked. But then I got suspicious and tried it again with the old configuration file—and it worked. So I concluded it must be an intermittent thing, and I just happened to test it as it fixed itself. But two such coincidences in a 15 hour period doesn't seem likely.

And BTW, it works now.

[Quartzer]

Hello,

I've just started using PVD from yesterday, and "out of the box" I am experiencing the same problems - nothing but the URL from IMDB being imported. Same MO as previous posters (after using debug mode), log shows the first GET then nothing, though there is download activity (about 100K) that goes on in the status.

Using the debug option helps somewhat but still fails on the IMDB import within 1-3 imports (4 was my maximum). A restart of PVD (debug mode) *always* successfully imports a manual request of IMDB import (non "New Movie Master") on first try, but then again 1-3 tries later it fails (manual or master import) - just the URL and another restart is required to continue.

[CAD]

Are logging into IMDB as a registered user?

Its a bit hardcore, you could try installing wireshark and see what's happening at TCP layer

[Quartzer]

I did actually try as a logged in or not IMDB user but there was no difference.

Also looked at ngrep output to see if there was something awry in the stream from IMDB but nothing stood out.

That I can import from IMDB after a restart of PVD (debug mode) *everytime* but then it fails after 1-3 further attempts seems to indicate a client side issue. To be clear, once an import fails, it continues to fail, but once PVD is restarted that same import succeeds. A further import from IMDB may succeed, sometime twice or occassionally thrice more, but once it fails it's a restart again Painful!

I'd also like to stress that I've only had this limited success using the debug mode. I've been unable to connect for IMDB import ever (since yesterday when I first installed it ) using the "out of the box" PVD.

[helverdi]

Hi,
I started having the same problem just 15 min. ago. I downloaded IMDB data 2 hrs ago for a few films, and closed the application. Now when I try to download data for a new movie, all I get is the URL of the movie. The version is 0.9.9.14.
Thanks.

[TnS]

It is probably because of the redesign of IMDb. Here is an example link. These redesign changes are live for me, so the regular link shows me the same page.

[Hyomil]

It is probably because of the redesign of IMDb.

I had the problem happen a couple times even before the redesign.

[rick.ca]

I had the problem happen a couple times even before the redesign.

There are a number of different issues at play here.

First, the error "503 Service Temporarily Unavailable" will always (it seems) intermittently occur. I updated 819 movies last night. In the 90 minutes that took, there were 11 of these—causing the update of 11 records to fail. A 1.3% failure rate for a Silent mode operation is fine. But if the same error is encountered when not in Silent mode, the failure will look like any other. This is why I recommend always using the -debug switch—so the log is available to determine the cause of any failure.

Second, there is an IMDb site redesign going on. From the look of it, it will require a complete re-write of the plugin. But even worse, it appears to be the sort of thing that's going to be phased in—so it may be a moving target for months. 

These redesign changes are live for me, so the regular link shows me the same page.

Please post a log. This sounds like some users (based on location?) are being redirected to the "lab" site. What happens if you change your IMDb user preferences as described here, and add your login to the plugin configuration?

The version is 0.9.9.14.

Please update to the current version.

That I can import from IMDB after a restart of PVD (debug mode) *everytime* but then it fails after 1-3 further attempts seems to indicate a client side issue.

Thanks for your thoughtful troubleshooting. I agree the fact that restarting temporarily fixes the problem has to be significant. Maybe IMBb is allowing a few page hits, and then redirecting to the "lab" site—but that's only a wild guess. I would think that if a redirection were being attempted, it would show in the log. But maybe the plugin is getting "stuck" because this is happening in an unexpected way.

On the other hand, the fact that I've seen the same behaviour as you and I'm not being redirected, suggests something else is going on. Following is a composite log of my latest experiment. Rather than just update a record, this time I cleared the record and then ran the plugin. I consistently got the same behaviour you've reported...

Code: [Select]

Clear record and run plugin...
(09/19/2010 01:42:53 PM) Logging in...
(09/19/2010 01:42:53 PM) POST: http://www.imdb.com/register-imdb/login?
(09/19/2010 01:42:53 PM) Redirected to: https://secure.imdb.com/register-imdb/login
(09/19/2010 01:42:53 PM) Searching movie information for: Casablanca
(09/19/2010 01:42:53 PM) GET: http://imdb.com/find?s=tt&q=Casablanca
(09/19/2010 01:42:53 PM) Redirected to: http://www.imdb.com/rg/parked-domains/imdb.com/find?s=tt&q=Casablanca
(09/19/2010 01:42:53 PM) Redirected to: http://www.imdb.com/find?s=tt&q=Casablanca
(09/19/2010 01:42:54 PM) GET: http://imdb.com/title/tt0034583/
(09/19/2010 01:42:54 PM) Redirected to: http://www.imdb.com/rg/parked-domains/imdb.com/title/tt0034583/
(09/19/2010 01:42:55 PM) Redirected to: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034583/
Failed. Try again...
(09/19/2010 01:45:47 PM) Logging in...
(09/19/2010 01:45:47 PM) POST: http://www.imdb.com/register-imdb/login?
(09/19/2010 01:45:47 PM) Redirected to: https://secure.imdb.com/register-imdb/login
(09/19/2010 01:45:47 PM) Searching movie information for: Casablanca
(09/19/2010 01:45:47 PM) GET: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034583/
Failed. Restart...
(09/19/2010 01:46:56 PM) PVD Version: 0.9.9.21
(09/19/2010 01:46:56 PM) OS: Windows 7 Home Premium Edition
(09/19/2010 01:46:56 PM) Plugin loaded: amazon.dll 0.4.3.6
(09/19/2010 01:46:56 PM) Plugin loaded: csvimp.dll 0.1.3.1
(09/19/2010 01:46:56 PM) Plugin loaded: imdb.dll 0.9.3.8
(09/19/2010 01:46:56 PM) Plugin loaded: imdb_people.dll 0.2.2.6
(09/19/2010 01:46:56 PM) Plugin loaded: impawards.dll 0.1.4.1
(09/19/2010 01:46:56 PM) Plugin loaded: msexcel.dll 0.4.1.0
(09/19/2010 01:46:56 PM) Plugin loaded: plainexp.dll 0.7.1.1
(09/19/2010 01:46:56 PM) Plugin loaded: scriptint.dll 0.2.6.1
(09/19/2010 01:46:56 PM) Plugin loaded: tvdb.dll 0.1.1.0
(09/19/2010 01:46:56 PM) Plugin loaded: valueconvert.dll 0.1.0.2
(09/19/2010 01:46:56 PM) Compiling script: allmovie.psf
(09/19/2010 01:46:56 PM) Script compiled successfully: allmovie.psf
(09/19/2010 01:46:56 PM) Executing script binary
(09/19/2010 01:46:56 PM) Script loaded: allmovie.psf 0.1.0.5
(09/19/2010 01:46:57 PM) Loading database: C:\Program Files (x86)\PVD Clean\movies.pvd
(09/19/2010 01:46:57 PM) UpdateToolbar: 1
(09/19/2010 01:46:57 PM) UpdateToolbar: 2
(09/19/2010 01:46:58 PM) UpdateToolbar: 3
(09/19/2010 01:46:58 PM) UpdateToolbar: 4
(09/19/2010 01:47:13 PM) Logging in...
(09/19/2010 01:47:13 PM) POST: http://www.imdb.com/register-imdb/login?
(09/19/2010 01:47:14 PM) Redirected to: https://secure.imdb.com/register-imdb/login
(09/19/2010 01:47:14 PM) Searching movie information for: Casablanca
(09/19/2010 01:47:14 PM) GET: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034583/
(09/19/2010 01:47:14 PM) GET: http://imdb.com/title/tt0034583/keywords
(09/19/2010 01:47:15 PM) Redirected to: http://www.imdb.com/rg/parked-domains/imdb.com/title/tt0034583/keywords
(09/19/2010 01:47:15 PM) Redirected to: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034583/keywords
(09/19/2010 01:47:15 PM) GET: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034583/fullcredits#cast
(09/19/2010 01:47:17 PM) GET: http://imdb.com/title/tt0034583/awards
(09/19/2010 01:47:17 PM) Redirected to: http://www.imdb.com/rg/parked-domains/imdb.com/title/tt0034583/awards
(09/19/2010 01:47:17 PM) Redirected to: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034583/awards
(09/19/2010 01:47:17 PM) GET: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034583/business
Success. Clear record and try again...
(09/19/2010 01:48:08 PM) Logging in...
(09/19/2010 01:48:08 PM) POST: http://www.imdb.com/register-imdb/login?
(09/19/2010 01:48:08 PM) Redirected to: https://secure.imdb.com/register-imdb/login
(09/19/2010 01:48:08 PM) Searching movie information for: Casablanca
(09/19/2010 01:48:08 PM) GET: http://imdb.com/find?s=tt&q=Casablanca
(09/19/2010 01:48:08 PM) Redirected to: http://www.imdb.com/rg/parked-domains/imdb.com/find?s=tt&q=Casablanca
(09/19/2010 01:48:08 PM) Redirected to: http://www.imdb.com/find?s=tt&q=Casablanca
(09/19/2010 01:48:09 PM) GET: http://imdb.com/title/tt0034583/
(09/19/2010 01:48:10 PM) Redirected to: http://www.imdb.com/rg/parked-domains/imdb.com/title/tt0034583/
(09/19/2010 01:48:10 PM) Redirected to: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034583/
Failure. Restart and try again...
...
(09/19/2010 01:49:46 PM) Logging in...
(09/19/2010 01:49:46 PM) POST: http://www.imdb.com/register-imdb/login?
(09/19/2010 01:49:47 PM) Redirected to: https://secure.imdb.com/register-imdb/login
(09/19/2010 01:49:47 PM) Searching movie information for: Casablanca
(09/19/2010 01:49:47 PM) GET: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034583/
(09/19/2010 01:49:47 PM) GET: http://imdb.com/title/tt0034583/keywords
(09/19/2010 01:49:48 PM) Redirected to: http://www.imdb.com/rg/parked-domains/imdb.com/title/tt0034583/keywords
(09/19/2010 01:49:48 PM) Redirected to: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034583/keywords
(09/19/2010 01:49:48 PM) GET: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034583/fullcredits#cast
(09/19/2010 01:49:49 PM) GET: http://imdb.com/title/tt0034583/awards
(09/19/2010 01:49:49 PM) Redirected to: http://www.imdb.com/rg/parked-domains/imdb.com/title/tt0034583/awards
(09/19/2010 01:49:50 PM) Redirected to: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034583/awards
(09/19/2010 01:49:50 PM) GET: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034583/business
Success.
...but I tried this again 20 minutes later and could not reproduce the behaviour. So my experience is the problem is intermittent, but when it happens it's consistent.