Author Topic: AllRovi movie script (Read 122101 times)

rick.ca · « **Reply #60 on:** July 22, 2011, 09:57:59 pm »

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So, why are the custom fields needed instead of that info going into the Additional Rating, Actors, and Duration fields as they did with the old AllMovie script?

The reason is as I explained above. There are all sorts of ways you might want it to work. It's up to the user to modify/configure it according to his particular needs. Having said that, there's a logical reason for the default handling of each of the items you mention...

Rovi rating is not put in [orating] because that's the only field available to a secondary plugin. A script has the option of using a custom field, so that's what's used. If there is no likelihood of ever needing to use a secondary plugin, set the GET_RATING option to 'True' to put it in [orating].

Actors (and other people fields) should be filled by a source that can provide both movie and people data—like IMDb. If you are maintaining people data, mixing sources is a bad idea. If this script is your primary source, set the GET_ACTORS option to 'True' to put it in [Actors].

Run time is that of the original theatrical release. In PVD, [Length] (aka 'Duration') is that of the actual media—as scanned by the program. The very point of getting Rovi's Run time is the two are not necessarily the same. I suppose another use of the data could be to provide a duration for records for which there is no media (e.g., 'Wish list' items). When media is acquired, it would be overwritten. If there's an expressed need, I'll add an option for that.

BTW, in looking at the original Allmovie script, I see it has a "Custom field names to use" section for setting those in script variables. Maybe we should do that, so it would be a little easier for users to change the field names to whatever they want to use. The same variables could also be used to indicate if the default PVD field should be used. Each available data element would be set to 'Default' or '[a custom field name]'. Then the code would be something like...

Code: [Select]

if ROVI_DATA = 'Default' then
       AddFieldValue(mfField, TmpStr)
else
       AddCustomFieldValueByName(ROVI_DATA, TmpStr);

The current "Field Use" documentation could be replaced with a "Fields to Use" section in which all the field variables are set.

minolotus · « **Reply #61 on:** July 23, 2011, 08:12:14 pm »

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BTW, in looking at the original Allmovie script, I see it has a "Custom field names to use" section for setting those in script variables. Maybe we should do that, so it would be a little easier for users to change the field names to whatever they want to use.

I think this is a good idea.

Another suggestion: Maybe it would be helplful if you start a new topic regarding the allrovi script and this new topic should be sticked to the the top instead of this topic. The new topic should include the current version of the scipt and all basic information for the users, e.g.

- Which information could be downloaded,
- Which PVD fields are used,
- which alternative custom fields could be used, included a short hint how to edit a script and how to add custom fields,
- For further information, suggestions and question a link to this threat.

Even if all the information from above is included in this topic, I suppose that there are several users which may lose track here because of the numbers of posts and the code etc.

It would be a pity if users don’t use your script because they don’t know what features the script includes.

rick.ca · « **Reply #62 on:** July 23, 2011, 11:46:27 pm »

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Another suggestion: Maybe it would be helplful if you start a new topic regarding the allrovi script...

Maybe I'll do that when the script is "released" and included in the automatic update system. I suppose users seeing it there may appreciate a more concise and easier to find description and instructions. Ideally, however, a script should be fully self-documented. If I'm curious about a script in the update list, I should be able to install it, open it in an editor, see all the necessary instructions, set my personal preferences, and go. To that end, there should be a View/Edit/Configure this script button in Preferences > Plugins that opens the selected script in the default editor. Or just using the existing Configure button would do.

minolotus · « **Reply #63 on:** July 24, 2011, 12:04:20 am »

I agree, if the information would be avaiable directly in PVD and the configuration could also set in PVD, this would be much better and easier to use.

RazorHall · « **Reply #64 on:** July 24, 2011, 06:40:21 am »

Thanks! With the above info I was able to get the script to download most of the data in question exactly as the AllMovie one did.

rick.ca · « **Reply #65 on:** July 24, 2011, 09:38:28 am »

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Thanks! With the above info I was able to get the script to download most of the data in question exactly as the AllMovie one did.

You're welcome. Please let us know if you have any problems or comments. I expect there must be some glitches and unforeseen circumstances. Feedback would be helpful.

RazorHall · « **Reply #66 on:** July 24, 2011, 03:50:51 pm »

Quote from: rick.ca on July 24, 2011, 09:38:28 am

I expect there must be some glitches and unforeseen circumstances. Feedback would be helpful.

I haven't noticed any glitches so far. Of course I really just use the script to get the Rovi Rating and fill in Category and any other fields that the IMDB plugin didn't cover. Also, on rare occasions IMDB doesn't have the movie I'm looking for in their database, in which case I'll use AllRovi's info. Right now I can only think of one additional thing I'd like to see, which is the ability to have the run time downloaded into the Duration field, for those who don't use the program to scan actual media. The IMDB plugin does this, as did the AllMovie, so it'd be nice to have that option.

rick.ca · « **Reply #67 on:** July 24, 2011, 05:19:26 pm »

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Right now I can only think of one additional thing I'd like to see, which is the ability to have the run time downloaded into the Duration field, for those who don't use the program to scan actual media.

Okay, I'll add that option.

Ivek23 · « **Reply #68 on:** July 24, 2011, 06:17:38 pm »

Quote from: rick.ca on July 24, 2011, 05:19:26 pm

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Right now I can only think of one additional thing I'd like to see, which is the ability to have the run time downloaded into the Duration field, for those who don't use the program to scan actual media.

Okay, I'll add that option.

It can also be added Awards hyperlink for custom 'Awards Link' field.

Code: [Select]

//Get Awards URL
 //addwd by Ivek23 07/24/2011 hyperlink to 'Awards' page in custom 'Awards link' field
  EndPos := Pos('"><span>awards</span>', HTML);
  if EndPos > 0 then begin
	curPos := PrevPos('href="/movies', HTML, EndPos);
	TmpStr := BASE_URL + Copy(HTML, curPos + 6, EndPos - curPos - 6);
  end; 

 //AddFieldValue(mfFeatures, '<link url="' + TmpStr + '">Awards</link>'); 
  AddCustomFieldValueByName('Awards link', '<link url="' + TmpStr + '">Awards</link>');

rick.ca · « **Reply #69 on:** July 24, 2011, 09:55:55 pm »

Quote from: rick.ca on July 12, 2011, 02:06:18 am

Suggested TODO List:
Add Rovi Rating to custom field and optionally to [orating]. ~~Beg nostra for help?~~
Add Awards and Releases to custom fields using same technique as Cast & Crew.
OMG, is there nothing else?
Wait for Rovi to add the missing AllMovie data.

Okay. Would we then be at number 3?

Ivek23 · « **Reply #70 on:** July 25, 2011, 08:24:04 am »

I changed the Run Time it now also works in the standard 'Duration' field and custom 'Run Time' field.

Quote from: rick.ca on July 24, 2011, 09:55:55 pm

Quote from: rick.ca on July 12, 2011, 02:06:18 am

OMG, is there nothing else?

Okay. Would we then be at number 3?

I do not understand what was meant by this.

rick.ca · « **Reply #71 on:** July 25, 2011, 08:41:36 am »

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I do not understand what was meant by this.

It means nothing. I was expressing surprise we have run out of things to do.

Ivek23 · « **Reply #72 on:** July 25, 2011, 11:55:23 am »

Quote from: rick.ca on July 25, 2011, 08:41:36 am

Quote
I do not understand what was meant by this.

It means nothing. I was expressing surprise we have run out of things to do.

OK, unfortunate that currently there is not anything new to do with the script.

minolotus · « **Reply #73 on:** July 25, 2011, 06:45:16 pm »

If you both are bored

you may think about adding a trailer field with the link to the trailer?

rick.ca · « **Reply #74 on:** July 25, 2011, 10:46:47 pm »

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If you both are bored you may think about adding a trailer field with the link to the trailer?

That is the sort of suggestion I was fishing for, but it doesn't look like those links will help. They'll only play in the Flash player used by the website. But, no great loss—they're not of very good quality.

Ivek23 · « **Reply #75 on:** July 26, 2011, 06:24:04 am »

Switch turns the idea to me, but I did not even find how to do this to the Characteristics additional import those word concepts in Attributes custom field, which were in AllMovie the Attributes category.

rick.ca · « **Reply #76 on:** July 26, 2011, 08:10:30 am »

There are only 8 values used, so it would be easy to test for them in Characteristics and if found save them in Attributes.

That might be possible for Moods as well. The following 41 values are used in my database. I wonder if that's all of them. Do you have the same list? (Check any record in edit mode.)

Code: [Select]

A Good Cry
A World of Its Own
Abandon All Hope
Adrenaline Rush
Angsty
Bad Taste
Blood and Gore
Button Pushers
Carnal Knowledge
Comedy on the Edge
Estrogen Shot
Eyepoppers
Fantastic Reality
Flames of Passion
Food for Thought
For Love of Country
Gutbusters
Head Trips
High on Emotion
In a Minor Key
In the Mood for Love
Just for Fun
Just for Laughs
Memory Lane
Mindbenders
Mood Enhancers
Nail-biters
Off the Beaten Path
Only Human
Other Dimensions
Pick-Me-Ups
Slow Burn
Spellbinders
Strictly Speaking
Tough Guys
Trashy
Triumph of the Geeks
Triumph of the Spirit
Uncomfortable Viewing
Unloveables
Young and Old Alike

There are far too many terms to do the same thing with Themes—at least with the scripting methods I'm familiar with (*). If that were not the case, it would be possible to remove Attributes, Moods and Themes, and then the remaining terms in Characteristics would all be Keywords.

* From it's description in the manual, it sounds like a list could be read into an array using ExplodeString(), but I have no idea how the array might be used in a processing loop (that would search Characteristics for every item in the array).

Ivek23 · « **Reply #77 on:** July 26, 2011, 09:52:47 am »

Quote from: rick.ca on July 26, 2011, 08:10:30 am

That might be possible for Moods as well. The following 41 values are used in my database. I wonder if that's all of them. Do you have the same list? (Check any record in edit mode.)

Code: [Select]
A Good Cry A World of Its Own Abandon All Hope Adrenaline Rush Angsty Bad Taste Blood and Gore Button Pushers Carnal Knowledge Comedy on the Edge Estrogen Shot Eyepoppers Fantastic Reality Flames of Passion Food for Thought For Love of Country Gutbusters Head Trips High on Emotion In a Minor Key In the Mood for Love Just for Fun Just for Laughs Memory Lane Mindbenders Mood Enhancers Nail-biters Off the Beaten Path Only Human Other Dimensions Pick-Me-Ups Slow Burn Spellbinders Strictly Speaking Tough Guys Trashy Triumph of the Geeks Triumph of the Spirit Uncomfortable Viewing Unloveables Young and Old Alike

Code: [Select]

A Good Cry
A World of Its Own
Abandon All Hope
Adrenaline Rush
Angsty
Blood and Gore
Comedy on the Edge
Estrogen Shot
Eyepoppers
Fantastic Reality
Flames of Passion
Food for Thought
For Love of Country
Gutbusters
Head Trips
In a Minor Key
In the Mood for Love
Just for Fun
Memory Lane
Nail-biters
Off the Beaten Path
Only Human
Other Dimensions
Pick-Me-Ups
Slow Burn
Spellbinders
Strictly Speaking
Tough Guys
Trashy
Triumph of the Geeks
Triumph of the Spirit
Young and Old Alike

The same list, but only 32 values on the list because I have a small list of movie in the database.

minolotus · « **Reply #78 on:** July 26, 2011, 08:05:05 pm »

Quote from: rick.ca on July 25, 2011, 10:46:47 pm

That is the sort of suggestion I was fishing for, but it doesn't look like those links will help. They'll only play in the Flash player used by the website. But, no great loss—they're not of very good quality.

Yes, you are right. However, my main issue to suggest this was to keep you busy

Quote from: rick.ca on July 26, 2011, 08:10:30 am

That might be possible for Moods as well. The following 41 values are used in my database. I wonder if that's all of them. Do you have the same list? (Check any record in edit mode.)

I have as additional item "button pushers" (e.g. Four Lions, Network).

Quote

If that were not the case, it would be possible to remove Attributes, Moods and Themes, and then the remaining terms in Characteristics would all be Keywords.

Even if I like the idea to get these fields back, I am not sure if this will work very well as we don't know if they keep these lists for movies release in the future. If they, for example, decide to kick "Tough Guys" from the moods list and replace it by "Very tough guys", we wouldn’t recognise that change. This may cause a slowly progressing data mess-up. An older movie would have as mood "tough guys" but a similar movie recently released would have an entry under characteristics "very tough guys". Sooner or later we will have to ask ourselves how reliable these lists are.

(I think the attributes are an exception as it should be possible to check also in the future if they use these for movies released in the future).

rick.ca · « **Reply #79 on:** July 26, 2011, 10:14:11 pm »

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Sooner or later we will have to ask ourselves how reliable these lists are.

Yes, I suppose wishful thinking caused me to contradict my previous conclusion...

Quote from: rick.ca on July 11, 2011, 02:45:49 am

Yes, it's almost impossible to figure out what they're doing with "Characteristics," which, of course, is a big part of the problem. Not only does it not work as a "mashup," they're not doing whatever they're doing with any discernible consistency. Attached is my effort to figure it out. I can see some patterns, but my conclusion is there is very good reason why it's useless. More disturbingly, it appears they may be dropping some data elements (Moods and Keywords) entirely. If that's the case, I have little hope any of this data will be restored to it's previous form.

I think the result would be even worse than you imagine. Those who have used AllMovie in the past will already have Moods, Themes and Keywords. If these haven't been added to Characteristics exactly as they were (or not at all), then even a perfect attempt to extract them will produce a different result. Unless overwrite settings are such that data is only added to empty fields, this would result in overwriting good data with bad. And even then, the new data would be inconsistent with that previously saved for other movies.

The only "safe" way to break Characteristics into it's components would be to use different fields than those previously used by AllMovie scripts. I'm sure no one would want such a cluttered database. Those who have never used AllMovie scripts are unaffected, but they also have less reason to care about breaking-down Characteristics. Maybe an alternative that would partially serve both interests would be to reformat Characteristics so it included subheadings for each of the data types. The result, saved in a memo field, would make a lot more sense than it's existing form.

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Author Topic: AllRovi movie script (Read 122101 times)