IMDb plugin maintenance issues

[goddert]

Thank you.

With the next version you could maybe resolve also the problem with the roman numbers in titles?

Thanks again

[The Singer]

Guys, I can´t download posters from IMDB.
Upgraded, but there's no link to dowloand poster from IMDB in preferences.

Can anybody tell me what I doing wrong ?

Thanks. 

[rick.ca]

Select 'Download image' in the plugin configuration and set the overwrite option for 'Poster'.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[The Singer]

Many thanks, rick.
I got it.  Working good. 

[Strat]

Hi, I have an issue with getting new episodes into series from IMDB or, from TheTVDB. If I have already series data that lacks some new episodes, those new episodes are not added while importing data. I'm using IMDB plugin version 0.9.8.1.

[trumpy81]

GDay All,

Strat, I've had that problem since day one. The only solution I've found is to add the additional episodes manually.

In all fairness though, it is a very difficult task to sort a series episode from a regular movie particularly if all your files are .avi like mine (I convert any that are not .avi because that is the only format that my PVR will play consistently).

You also have to consider the filenames;

House MD - s01e01 - Day Of The Jackal.avi - would be an acceptable filename for an episode, but we often see things like;

hmd12-3-2000.thebestdarnfileever.fromthebestdarnyobboever.inthebestdarncountryever.avi - which is not quite so legible or easy to sort from the rest.

HTH

[rick.ca]

Hi, I have an issue with getting new episodes into series from IMDB or, from TheTVDB. If I have already series data that lacks some new episodes, those new episodes are not added while importing data. I'm using IMDB plugin version 0.9.8.1.

Welcome to the forum.

It's not clear how you're importing data, so I'll just share what I've learned. Either plugin should add any episodes that did not exist at the source the last time the series was updated (i.e., the series record selected and the plugin run with the option to add episodes). The IMDb plugin has been somewhat inconsistent lately (probably due to changes in the site) in it's ability to add future episodes for which the data is incomplete (it should still get whatever is available, even if that is just an episode title and URL). The TVDb plugin is more reliable in this regard, as it always downloads a data file with data for all available episodes. It seems to me it never fails to add episodes—if records for those episodes have been added to the TVDb. Once episodes have been added by TVDb, they can be selected and updated with the IMDb plugin to get any data for episodes it was unable to add.

I normally add episode records before the episodes are actually released, so I'm not sure what happens when Scan folders... finds an episode media file for which the corresponding record has not yet been added. If the file scanner is configured correctly (so the Series title, Season and Episode numbers are correctly obtained from the file name), I would expect the episode record and file to be correctly added to the series.

If you continue to have problems, please examine the sources in your browser to verify the data you're expecting actually exists. If it does, please provide examples of the episode URL's the plugins are failing to add.

[trumpy81]

GDay All,

Rick.ca, in most cases the episode will be added as a regular movie file, NOT as an episode, even if the filenames and location are consistent with other episodes or series and irrespective of whether or not the episode has corresponding data at IMDB or TVDB.

In some cases, the episode will be added like so:

Series Title - Season #
  Episode # - Episode Title

But it will be 'outside' of the existing series entries, or to put it another way, it is orphaned from the rest of the same series and same season.

Also, if the Series Title and Season # are already entered the listings will always start at Season One.

Series Title - Season 7
to add another episode under this season you must enter the episode as season one, episode #, otherwise you end up with something like this

Series Title - Season 7
Season 1
  episode # - episode title
  episode # - episode title
  episode # - episode title
Season 7
  episode # - episode title

Instead of:

Series Title - Season 7
  episode # - episode title
  episode # - episode title
  episode # - episode title
  episode # - episode title
  episode # - episode title
  episode # - episode title

Also, if an episode title is similar to an existing movie title that is already in the PVD database, PVD will want to change the file location for the existing movie. The same can occur if two movies released in different years share the same name, irrespective of the year being included in the filename and/or location.

I should add, that I know most of these problems are caused by the RegEx search strings, but I am not proficient in RegEX and I challenge anyone who does not have RegEx experience to read and understand a RegEx search string ... lol

[rick.ca]

I should add, that I know most of these problems are caused by the RegEx search strings, but I am not proficient in RegEX and I challenge anyone who does not have RegEx experience to read and understand a RegEx search string ... lol

As I said...

If the file scanner is configured correctly (so the Series title, Season and Episode numbers are correctly obtained from the file name), I would expect the episode record and file to be correctly added to the series.

I'm sorry, but I don't see the point in explaining all that goes wrong when you can't be bothered configuring the file scanner correctly. I've now tested adding new episode files for which there are no records in the database. It correctly adds new episode records, even if the series does not exist. So it's not even necessary to add any records to the database before using the scanner.

Also, if an episode title is similar to an existing movie title that is already in the PVD database, PVD will want to change the file location for the existing movie. The same can occur if two movies released in different years share the same name, irrespective of the year being included in the filename and/or location.

Since a properly configured scanner is going to recognize any episode file as an episode, it's not possible to add it as a movie—existing or otherwise. As for a movie with the same name as one in the database, but a different year (e.g., a remake), the scanner's inability to recognize the file represents a new movie is not unexpected. It's primary role is to match files with records. Finding only one record in the database with the same title, it matches it without checking the year—which is not an unreasonable thing to do. If the second movie has been added to the database, distinguished from the first by its Year, then the scanner will match the file correctly.

[Strat]

Thanks for your replies, I have for example in my database series Lost (imdb id tt0411008), all fine until season 5 that has only 6 episodes (likely when I first imported data that was the last one available). Now, there should be 16 episodes and also the final 6th season on IMDB as this is not aired anymore. Now, if I try to import data from IMDB (from movie master), it doesn't import any new seasons/episodes. It will update perhaps some data into movie master as well as set the Last modified field. Importing from TVDB does not help neither.

I actually deleted one movie master that I haven't yet seen (it was incomplete series too) and that had the same problem (it had 2 season out of 4 available on database & episode names were like episode 1#1). Anyways, after deleting the invalid movie master and importing data again from IMDB, I managed to get all 4 seasons correctly into PVD.

So, there seems to be something on PVD preventing data to be inserted into database correctly for series, rather than issue on IMDB plugin in this. I could delete movie master for incomplete series (I have a few of those), but then I would lose track of Seen Dates & what episodes I have actually seen.

Could you pls investigate this a bit more, I appreciate your efforts & providing this software for free.

Oh and maybe this is not a plugin issue after all so should be moved into some other thread...

[rick.ca]

First, let me clarify some terminology. By "movie master," I think you're referring to the series record. A "series record" is identical to a "movie record" except that it has episodes attached (and it's that characteristic alone that makes it a series record). New Movie Master is the multitasking tool that creates a new record (movie or series), adds files, downloads meta data, etc. In troubleshooting something like this, it's best to use the individual tools rather than NMM so it's clear where the problem lies.

As I said, the IMDb plugin has been inconsistent lately in it's ability to add episodes. I'm not sure how much we can deduce from one series, as it seems to work for some and not others. This is how I tested Lost...

• Added "Lost" using NMM (choosing the series from a pick list). The plugin added only season 1.
• Selected the series record and run the plugin again. Only season 1 was processed. The log indicates the season 1 page being processes, and then moving on to the "technical" page.
• Manually added episode 2.1 with it's URL and updated the series again. It still only processed season 1.
• Selected episode 2.1 and ran the plugin. It properly updated the episode.
• Selected the series and ran the TVDb plugin. All seasons/episodes were properly added.
• Selected episodes added by TVDb and ran the IMDb plugin. Although the correct episode had to be picked from the results of an episode title search, the episodes were properly updated.
• For comparison, added Fringe using the plugin. All episodes (up to 4.22 to be released 05/11/2012) were added correctly.

So I would describe the problem like this: For some series, after processing a season, the plugin fails to recognize there are further seasons to be processed. I don't know if the problem always occurs after the first season, or could occur after any number of seasons are processed. I don't see any difference in the source pages, except that Lost seasons 2 to 6 had few thumbnails, while Fringe had thumbnails for all episodes.

I didn't experience any problems with the TVDb plugin. So it seems to me the (imperfect) workaround I suggested before is still valid—Use the TVDb plugin to add any missing episodes, then select the episodes that need updating and run the IMDb plugin.

Anyways, after deleting the invalid movie master and importing data again from IMDB, I managed to get all 4 seasons correctly into PVD.

Are you saying this is a series for which the plugin failed to add missing seasons/episodes, but did add all seasons/episodes after the series was deleted and re-added? If so, what was the series? Are you able to recreate the state where the seasons are incomplete and the plugin is unable to add the missing ones?

[Strat]

Are you saying this is a series for which the plugin failed to add missing seasons/episodes, but did add all seasons/episodes after the series was deleted and re-added? If so, what was the series? Are you able to recreate the state where the seasons are incomplete and the plugin is unable to add the missing ones?

First, my apologies for bad terminology.

Yes, this is exactly how it happened. The series was Tudors (tt0758790), I had data for 2 first seasons and there are 4 seasons. I deleted series record and then added it again with NMM tool and it pulled in all 4 seasons with all episodes.

I tried next that I deleted 1 episode from season 3 (from Tudors) and imported data from IMDB, missing episode was not added. The same happened with the TVDB plugin. From URLs, it was possible to see that all 4 seasons were scanned with IMDB, however, TVDB plugin went briefly and I'm not sure what it did. Is there btw any possibility to see e.g. from log files or text files what is actually retrieved? I think that with Lost, only season 1 is scanned (based on URL shown at the bottom), so this could be some plugin issue. However, Tudors seemed to work ok with all the seasons. Next I added the missing episode manually, run both plugins but it was not updated. Next, I added url into episode and then it was updated correctly.

So, it appears that data is mined from IMDB correctly and is not missing. However, at processing, something prevents it to be added into db. Btw, I'm using latest official release, not beta. 0.9.9.21 is the version number. Also, this may be important, I am using option that deleted data is not deleted from db, it is just marked inactive I guess. Also, I have originally imported data for these series with older version, like 2 years ago. I have developed some data mining software for personal use so it looks to me that this part is ok, but, something goes wrong when parsed data is tried to be used i.e. updated into db. Some condition prevents to add it correctly/only updates existing episodes. Related to that, episodes information is very brief with only a few data fields. However, if I select episode & import data, many more fields are actually retrieved. Maybe this is on purpose, I don't know.

I have a few similar series on my db for testing purposes if you have any suggestions

[rick.ca]

Yes, this is exactly how it happened. The series was Tudors (tt0758790), I had data for 2 first seasons and there are 4 seasons. I deleted series record and then added it again with NMM tool and it pulled in all 4 seasons with all episodes.

You're answering my (quoted) question, so I'll assume your intent to imply you did attempt to add the missing episodes by running the plugin first. But did you Refresh before assuming the episodes were not added? It seems to me they will not appear until the list is refreshed. In any case, I'm unable to reproduce a condition where seasons/episodes are missing and running the plugin fails to add them—except in the case of Lost. I'm sure there could be more, but Lost is the only series I'm aware of that has this problem. I deleted two seasons from Tutors, and the running the plugin added them back. I deleted one episode from season 3, and the running the plugin added it back.

The same happened with the TVDB plugin.

I don't think so. It doesn't work the same way. It uses an API, and downloads a file containing the data for all episodes. So updating a series with it should produce an all or nothing result.

Is there btw any possibility to see e.g. from log files or text files what is actually retrieved?

You can record a log by starting the program with a -debug command line switch. View the log using the command on the Help menu. The log is saved as log.txt in the installation folder. You can always find the last page downloaded as page.html in the installation folder.

Also, this may be important, I am using option that deleted data is not deleted from db, it is just marked inactive I guess.

I suppose that could affect your results, but in all of my tests I permanently deleted whatever it was I wanted to try re-importing.

Related to that, episodes information is very brief with only a few data fields. However, if I select episode & import data, many more fields are actually retrieved. Maybe this is on purpose, I don't know.

In the case of the IMDb plugin, that is by design. Updating the series only adds episodes with the title, URL, year, release date and description. To add additional fields, the episodes must be selected and the plugin run again.

I have a few similar series on my db for testing purposes if you have any suggestions.

Please test those as well. Before running the IMDb plugin, make sure all episodes are visible (i.e., no filters are set). After running the plugin, refresh the list before concluding what happened. If episodes appear to be missing, verify they do exist at the source, and make a copy of the log. If you can find at least one more like Lost, that might make it easier for nostra to figure out what's going wrong.

[Strat]

I have a theory now. I deleted once again season 3 from Tudors. I tried to add it back from IMDB/TVDB but couldn't. I used refresh & also cleared filters (although I'm not using them). So next, I deleted the series master for Tudors, this time, there was a prompt to press CTRL + delete to permanently delete records. I only pressed DELETE without CTRL button. Next, I used NMM to add Tudors using IMDB (it's my default plugin). The result: I got Tudors back, but season 3 was still missing.

Next, I deleted Tudors once again, this time I pressed CTRL to make sure to get rid of them permanently NMM and this time, I got all 4 seasons back.

So the theory: if record is set inactive/hidden, updating it via plugins will still leave it hidden into db and not refresh this status field?

Anyways I tried other series too, Ketonen&Myllyrinne (tt0898241) with similar results.

However, this should not apply to series which has new episodes added into IMDB after series have been added into PVD, like Lost & CSI series. CSI is now complete until season 9 which only has the first episode.

I'm trying to find out if I can open db to see if there are any missing records for missing episodes.

[rick.ca]

I deleted once again season 3 from Tudors. I tried to add it back from IMDB/TVDB but couldn't.

I can't reproduce this either. I tried deleting (not Ctrl-Deleting) season 3 from Tudors. The plugin added it back. Same with Ketonen & Myllyrinne. So maybe there is something wrong with your database, or your plugin is not configured correctly. Try the experiment using new database, and double-check your configuration ('Download episodes' should be set in the configuration and 'Episodes' enabled in Overwrite fields).

Just to be clear, what you found with Lost seems to be a problem with the plugin, but I don't think we've yet established that happens with anything but Lost. It could be due to an anomaly on one of its pages. As I said before, it would be helpful if we could find another verified case of the same issue.

[Strat]

  Well, now I must confess that my problems were due to fact that I had not crossed overwrite fields for plugins, doh! I'll try to update series next and find out if there are any similar to Lost...

[trumpy81]

As I said...

Where exactly did you say what exactly?

I'm sorry, but I don't see the point in explaining all that goes wrong when you can't be bothered configuring the file scanner correctly.

Of course you wouldn't see the point. Take the blinders off, it may help a little.

Also, if an episode title is similar to an existing movie title that is already in the PVD database, PVD will want to change the file location for the existing movie. The same can occur if two movies released in different years share the same name, irrespective of the year being included in the filename and/or location.

Why does it ignore the year in the filename?

Isn't that enough to distinguish one file from another?

the scanner's inability to recognize the file represents a new movie is not unexpected. It's primary role is to match files with records. Finding only one record in the database with the same title, it matches it without checking the year—which is not an unreasonable thing to do.

So how else is PVD supposed to distinguish one file from another?

Sorry, but that logic seems flawed to me, particularly when you consider that 2 files cannot share the same name in the same folder as per any operating systems rules.

If the second movie has been added to the database, distinguished from the first by its Year, then the scanner will match the file correctly.

So, if it can be done after the fact, why not before, when it is actually needed to be done?

...

I have been searching for any information in regards to RegEX in the help files/wiki etc...  as near as I can tell there is none, and there is no indication that changing of the RegEx search strings is even necessary. There is no indication of what flavour of RegEx is in use or what commands & operators are legal within PVD and even when someone points out an obvious problem related to RegEx search strings, no help is forthcoming. Probably explains why a NON RegEx user ignores it.

[rick.ca]

Where exactly did you say what exactly?

Take your blinders off...

The IMDb plugin has been somewhat inconsistent lately (probably due to changes in the site) in it's ability to add future episodes for which the data is incomplete (it should still get whatever is available, even if that is just an episode title and URL).

Your post was about your own self-inflicted problems which have little to do with Strat's, or this topic.

Why does it ignore the year in the filename?

It doesn't if there are two movies with the same title in the database. The case where there is only one movie with the same name is probably rare enough it can be ignored. There would probably be as many cases where the year in the filename is inadvertently not exactly the same as the year of the intended target in the database.

So, if it can be done after the fact, why not before, when it is actually needed to be done?

So, yes, that would be possible. But why do something that will just invite a different (and possibly more common) error. Why can't you just add the movie manually in the rare case you're intentionally adding a title that's the same as one already in the database?

I have been searching for any information in regards to RegEX in the help files/wiki etc...  as near as I can tell there is none, and there is no indication that changing of the RegEx search strings is even necessary. There is no indication of what flavour of RegEx is in use or what commands & operators are legal within PVD and even when someone points out an obvious problem related to RegEx search strings, no help is forthcoming. Probably explains why a NON RegEx user ignores it.

You're not looking very hard. There are a number of topics here about regex and the configuration of the file scanner. The information available and the help offered is often ignored by those who are unwilling to consider the necessity of such a system. You claim to know nothing about regex, yet suggest you're at some disadvantage because you're not told what "flavour" of regex is used. Considering the rudimentary level at which regex is used, I'd be very surprised if there where any differences between what is used and any other flavour of regex. Any simple regex reference for beginners will explain all you need to know. In most cases, you don't even need that—to make minor modifications to the regex provided so they work with your file naming practices. The Regex Tester utility is handy for testing modifications, or for creating your own expressions. Or, if you prefer not to fiddle with regex at all, just change your file naming practices to comply with the regex provided.

There's nothing wrong with the pattern matching aspect of the file scanner. The documentation leaves something to be desired. As with any such freeware application, your choices in dealing with that shortcoming are straightforward. Contribute the necessary documentation yourself, or ask the developer how much of donation would be necessary to compel him to create it.

[trumpy81]

Take your blinders off...

I have and it appears that you have either deleted a message or modified it so that the original information is lost, as I cannot locate the message containing your quote:

If the file scanner is configured correctly (so the Series title, Season and Episode numbers are correctly obtained from the file name), I would expect the episode record and file to be correctly added to the series.

Your post was about your own self-inflicted problems which have little to do with Strat's, or this topic.

Obviously you haven't taken the blinders off yet. While I do have the same problem as outlined by Strat, as I stated, I also have the problem I described which precedes the problem that Strat was having when adding a series and/or the episodes pertaining to that series.

It doesn't if there are two movies with the same title in the database. The case where there is only one movie with the same name is probably rare enough it can be ignored. There would probably be as many cases where the year in the filename is inadvertently not exactly the same as the year of the intended target in the database.

So without any filename checking PVD blindly tries to add the same movie all over again, simply by changing the files location. It should not do that. If a movie title already exists and PVD encounters a new file with same name, should it not perform other checks to determine whether or not you are trying to add the same file?

Other checks might include the filesize, the filename itself, which in my case is always different by the addition of the year the movie was released, or it may be the CRC of the file. But PVD strips all but the title contained within the filename and only uses that to determine a files difference to any other, which IMO is not the correct way to do it.

Granted, the additional checks would slow performance, but the relative rarity of the problem would not have a negative impact on the programs overall performance.

So, yes, that would be possible. But why do something that will just invite a different (and possibly more common) error. Why can't you just add the movie manually in the rare case you're intentionally adding a title that's the same as one already in the database?

I can see how errors could occur given the current model which is PVD, but that largely depends on how the relevant facts are determined within PVD.

You're not looking very hard. There are a number of topics here about regex and the configuration of the file scanner. The information available and the help offered is often ignored by those who are unwilling to consider the necessity of such a system. You claim to know nothing about regex, yet suggest you're at some disadvantage because you're not told what "flavour" of regex is used. Considering the rudimentary level at which regex is used, I'd be very surprised if there where any differences between what is used and any other flavour of regex. Any simple regex reference for beginners will explain all you need to know. In most cases, you don't even need that—to make minor modifications to the regex provided so they work with your file naming practices. The Regex Tester utility is handy for testing modifications, or for creating your own expressions. Or, if you prefer not to fiddle with regex at all, just change your file naming practices to comply with the regex provided.

Actually you are quite correct. I didn't think to scour the forum for answers ... Doh!!! I guess I was waylayed by Google which lead to my questions regarding version, flavour etc. and I overlooked the most obvious choice, although I did scour the help files section of the forum and the wiki.

There's nothing wrong with the pattern matching aspect of the file scanner. The documentation leaves something to be desired. As with any such freeware application, your choices in dealing with that shortcoming are straightforward. Contribute the necessary documentation yourself, or ask the developer how much of donation would be necessary to compel him to create it.

Actually, I beg to differ on that point, but that has already been established. The documentation IS lacking and you raise a good point in regards to remuneration, duly noted.

I would be more than happy to contribute to the documentation once I have a handle on RegEx and it's usage within PVD. 

[rick.ca]

I have and it appears that you have either deleted a message or modified it so that the original information is lost, as I cannot locate the message containing your quote:

Sigh. I don't know what more I can do than link directly to the original post. Perhaps you could try harder to read what others have actually written before making judgments about what they've said. Otherwise, you should expect them to get rather pissed-off at your comments.

I also have the problem I described which precedes the problem that Strat was having when adding a series and/or the episodes pertaining to that series.

As I said, it has nothing to do with this topic and is the result of you not using the program correctly. I appreciate you don't like being corrected, but I'd rather Strat and others not be distracted or mislead by such comments.

So without any filename checking PVD blindly tries to add the same movie all over again...

If it bothers you, start a new suggestion topic. It's completely off-topic here. I don't think it matters. As I said (and I'm getting tired of saying that), adding more logic will just invite different kinds of error, and make the whole thing more difficult to understand. Besides, by it's nature, it's the sort of thing that's never going to be better than 95% correct. You're supposed to be willing to identify and manually correct the remaining 5%.