TheTVDB.com Integration

af123

Administrator
Staff member
I finally found some time to look at integration with theTVDB.com again. Those with long memories may remember the initial attempt a few months back which was partially successful but highlighted some problems.

I've just published webif 1.2.5-1 which contains a better implementation of this function. It's off by default but can be enabled via the settings page. It requires that your Humax has Internet connectivity.

Screenshot%202015-10-12%2022.39.52.png


Enabling it will add a new button to the media browser screen which allows you to search for a choose a series for the recordings contained within:

Screenshot%202015-10-12%2022.41.34.png


Once you have chosen a series the system will download the episode data and make it available to the dedup and sweeper functions. Note that this does not work 100% of the time as the broadcasters are pretty bad at consistent EPG data and sometimes just don't include enough information for the episode to be uniquely identified. - however I have had good results with most series, you just need to check that it is going to do something sensible before enabling it. I've used it to very good effect to sort out some of the series I've been recording for a while.

Screenshot%202015-10-12%2022.42.29.png

Screenshot%202015-10-12%2022.47.04.png


It is also possible to give the system a hint as to which series number is in the folder. This is important when episode names are re-used - more common than you might think - but can be left blank for most.

Screenshot%202015-10-12%2022.53.46.png


Assuming the EPG data is good enough, dedup will immediately begin to generate names with the correct episode name and with series and episode information. If more flexibility is required then sweeper rules can be used to automatically name recordings.

Here is an example sweeper ruleset that I have been using. It's actually what dedup will do by default now but should give a starting point for more complex requirements.

Code:
!flag Deduped fileexists %asfilename/%epdescr_%epname/.ts action delete
!flag Deduped intmatch {%episode~~> 0} action {renamefile %epdescr_%epname}
lastrule "" action {settitle {%epdescr - %epname}}
lastrule "" action {flag dedup}

Please let me know how it works for you and post any suggestions here!
 
I am not seeing the series banner image at the top of the folder display although the thumbnail does appear in the series select results.

I see in the webif-error log a few occurrences of:
Code:
8 at file "/mod/webif/html/browse/tvdb/search.jim", line 16
7 /mod/webif/html/browse/tvdb/search.jim:16: Error: can't read "series(banner)": no such element in array
6 at file "/mod/webif/lib/tvdb.class", line 158
5 at file "/mod/lib/jim/oo.tcl", line 65
4 in procedure 'tvdb fetchseries' called at file "/mod/lib/jim/oo.tcl", line 48
3 in procedure '<reference.<tvdb___>.00000000000000000000>' called at file "/mod/webif/lib/tvdb.class", line 330
2 in procedure 'tvdb' called at file "/mod/webif/html/browse/tvdb/store.jim", line 22
1 /mod/webif/lib/tvdb.class:158: Error: Problem preparing series statement table series has 5 columns but 6 values were supplied

I also do not see the 'Force series number' option anywhere

I did have the old version of TVDB installed, I have tried using the 'Clear series information' without effect but I was wondering if there was any other detritus that needed to cleaned up before the new version could be used

I also tried the dedup option and it would be nice if there was a link to the full recording information box (as shown from browse list) so you could see the information being used to choose the new file name and title.
 
Ah yes, missed that, I'll add something to the postinstall.
To fix the problem, clear the /mod/var/tvdb folder and everything in there will be regenerated/downloaded as necessary.
(for those not familiar with the command line, run the tvdbreset diagnostic)
 
tvdreset fixed that problem :) and I now have the image at the top of the folder but... :(

My Father Brown folder now matches with the 2013 version rather than the 1970 version but it has only downloaded information from season 1 and I have episodes from both seasons 1 and 2 in my folder and it is mismatching season 2 episodes with season 1 based on episode number.

Code:
Synopsis     1/10. The Ghost in the Machine: Father Brown investigates when one of his parishioners vanishes. Also in HD. [AD,S]
Episode     s1e1/10 - The Hammer of God (Father Brown/70416)   
TVDB    Found using episode number
A retired colonel, who has been having an adulterous affair, is found dead, his head caved in, with the blacksmith's hammer left nearby. The police have several suspects, but can Father Brown, a visiting priest with a fondness for puzzles, solve the mystery?
theTVDB does have the episode list for seasons 2 and 3 so a proper match should have been possible http://thetvdb.com/?tab=seasonall&id=265834&lid=7

For Dexter it has downloaded information for multiple series but due to the poor quality of synopsis information provided by CBS Action it has only been able to extract correct season/episode information for a subset of the episodes.
 
If it finds the episode number, it should match using other criteria but constrained to episodes with that number, so I would have expected it to find the right one.
Can you check the series database on your Humax? You should be able to see a database called 265834 in Diagnostics->Database Viewer. First thing is to check if that does have entries in it for series 2.

I think it might be failing to match the episode name because of the "1/10. " at the start - I can add that pattern to the list of prefixes it removes prior to attempting episode name extraction.
 
Shoot the senile idiot! :rolleyes:

Both series (1974 and 2013) showed up in the series search but I managed to click on the wrong one :oops:
Both series started with the Hammer of God episode to add to my confusion

With the correct series DB it makes a much better job of matching!
I don't think it is perfect but I need to double check on what I am seeing before making any more claims :unsure:
 
Checking each Father Brown episode it has correctly matched every episode in seasons 1,2,3 (i don' have every season 3 episode) except for season 2 episode 1
Code:
Synopsis     1/10. The Ghost in the Machine: Father Brown investigates when one of his parishioners vanishes. Also in HD. [AD,S]
Episode     s1e1/10 - The Hammer of God (Father Brown/265834) 
TVDB    Found using episode number
Father Brown investigates when a man is murdered at the unveiling of a new church clock. He must act quickly before an innocent woman is sent to the gallows

I can see nothing obviously different in the formatting of this episode's synopsis from the other episodes that have matched correctly - all use the "1/10. title: description" episode numbering convention
e.g.
Code:
Synopsis     2/10. Maddest of All: Series based on the novels of GK Chesterton. Father Brown investigates the death of an ex-serviceman and the facility where he was a patient. Also in HD. [AD,S]
Episode     s2e2/10 - The Maddest of All (Father Brown/265834)   
TVDB    Found using episode number
After Felix Underwood makes his way along the street in a hospital gown and says the word ‘murder' to Inspector Sullivan and Mrs McCarthy before collapsing, Father Brown investigates the place where he was a patient.

All three seasons espisodes appear in the database:
Code:
 Humax HDR Fox T2 (Humax)
Idle: 11m
Remove filters
/mod/var/tvdb/265834.db
episode
4476580     1     1     The Hammer of God     Father Brown investigates when a man is murdered at the unveiling of a new church clock. He must act quickly before an innocent woman is sent to the gallows
4476582     1     2     The Flying Stars     The priest becomes involved with a theatrical family when he discovers that a drowning initially thought to be a tragic accident was actually a murder.
4476583     1     3     The Wrong Shape     After a man is found hanging in the conservatory following a poetry recital, the priest soon realises he could not have committed suicide, and the search for a murderer begins.
4476584     1     4     The Man in the Tree     Lady Felicia is horrified to find an injured man stuck in a tree on her estate, apparently thrown there from a passing train on an overhead viaduct. When Sid is implicated as his tormentor, Father Brown is left to clear his name - but only if he is truly innocent.
4476585     1     5     The Eye of Apollo     The Church of Apollo comes to Kembleford and Susie is immediately drawn to Kalon, its charismatic leader. After his wife is murdered, Father Brown must break his spell over Susie or risk losing her for ever.
4476586     1     6     The Bride of Christ     The clergyman sleuth is called in to investigate when two nuns die in unusual circumstances at St Agnes' convent. However, the mystery attracts the attention of Sister Boniface, a would-be crime-solver with a passion for detective novels.
4476801     1     7     The Devil's Dust     The priest joins in the search for a girl believed to be radioactive, and investigates who is responsible for her overnight disappearance.
4476872     1     8     The Face of Death     The priest investigates a murder at the Kembleford charity treasure hunt. General suspicion falls on a bereaved man who wants revenge, but Father Brown is determined to prove he is innocent.
4476873     1     9     The Mayor and the Magician     The Mayor startles locals when he drops dead during his speech at the Kembleford village fete, and Father Brown suspects he was deliberately electrocuted. Meanwhile, Mrs McCarthy's past comes back to haunt her.
4476874     1     10     The Blue Cross     The priest's priceless Blue Cross is targeted by infamous criminal Flambeau, so taking matters into his own hands Father Brown sets out to try to save his soul, but risks falling into a trap.
4760377     2     1     The Ghost in the Machine     Father Brown feels sceptical after a parishioner thinks that she's being haunted by her sister who went missing years ago. After she herself vanishes though, he must investigate both of their disappearances.
4760378     2     2     The Maddest of All     After Felix Underwood makes his way along the street in a hospital gown and says the word \xe2\x80\x98murder' to Inspector Sullivan and Mrs McCarthy before collapsing, Father Brown investigates the place where he was a patient.
4760379     2     3     The Pride of the Prydes     Father Brown pays a visit to Pryde Castle where he learns about a trail of mystery, intrigue and betrayal which involves the Pryde family and provides a motive for murder.
 
I am not seeing the series banner image at the top of the folder display although the thumbnail does appear in the series select results.
Same for me, no image, just selectable series name text, linking to filtered tvdb page.
 
Anyone had any notable successes or failures with this new feature?

I've been enjoying it with a few series folders.

Had some trouble at the start, since I was using the older version, so had to reset it. Now works fine.

Not played much, other than nice to have the large series image, and seems to work well with de-dupe.

Will try to play more... thanks very much.
 
Just had a play and it's renaming the files with an _ as there is a / in the episode title: s3e1/4 - '90 - Spring (This Is England '90/187351)

Any way to remove the /4 bit as I'd be happy with just: s3e1

Any way to get: s03e01
 
This feature is brilliant.

I have had one small glitch. We recently recorded ‘Parks and Recreation’ series 4 of Dave. It’s picked out all the episodes correctly, except the last one. In each case it picks out the episode title from the synopsis and webif reports ‘Found using episode name’. The final episode has the title in the synopsis (‘Win, Lose or Draw’), but webif has matched it to a different episode (s4e19 - Live Ammo) using ‘series and synopsis’.

I’ve used the diagnostic database browser, and the exact title is listed in there with the correct episode number, so don't see why it should have any trouble finding it.

All the same, thanks for all the hard work adding this feature.
 
This feature is brilliant.

I have had one small glitch. We recently recorded ‘Parks and Recreation’ series 4 of Dave. It’s picked out all the episodes correctly, except the last one. In each case it picks out the episode title from the synopsis and webif reports ‘Found using episode name’. The final episode has the title in the synopsis (‘Win, Lose or Draw’), but webif has matched it to a different episode (s4e19 - Live Ammo) using ‘series and synopsis’.
Could you please post the exact synopsis text for that last one please?
 
Could you please post the exact synopsis text for that last one please?

Synopsis text is: "Win, Lose or Draw: Will it be a case of 'Les We Can' or 'Knope, Thanks'? The results of the Pawnee City Council election are declared in the inspired sitcom's season finale. "
 
Just tried it with some Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and it worked superbly.

Many thanks af123.

Can someone tell me how with sweeper I can get the episodes to come up with 2 digits for the episode and the series number.
 
Anyone had any notable successes or failures with this new feature?
It really doesn't like the current showings of Star Trek: Deep Space 9 on CBS Action. Since they are transmitting from the beginning in episode order its pretty easy to see that the text matching on the Synopsis is not working. Even forcing the Series number makes less than half the episodes match correctly.
I suspect the problem is the Synopsis text from the broadcaster.
 
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