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[muzicman0]

looks like thetvdb is back up...or at least it just loaded for me.

[RoderickGI]

EPG Collector collects data from the broadcast stream though. Almost out only option in Australia. But I know that isn't very good in most parts of America. You are in Canada though aren't you? I don't know how good the OTA EPG is there.

That is why Zap2it (Gracenote), Microsoft (Rovi), PercData(Gracenote), (and Schedules Direct (Gracenote) if you are naughty) are better options in America.

[RoderickGI]

looks like thetvdb is back up...or at least it just loaded for me.

It has been up and down all day. If it is up, do a test search at the episode level for "The Good Wife" Perhaps S07E12, "Tracks". Even when the site was up, I couldn't get that search to work.

[CountryBumkin]

It's Tuesday morning now, I checked my EPG data update scheduled to run at 6AM and it worked. I looked up "The Good Wife S07E12" and had no problem with that either. So perhaps whatever was going on with TheTVdb.com is over now.

@imeric, You said a few posts back that you got XMLTVDB working. Is it good now - or are you still working on issues?

BTW - I took a look at EPG Collector a while back, but never got it working - then everything came together with mc2xml>XMLTVDB (and then with "mc2xml>Schedules Direct JSON") so I never went further with Collector. If you do get it setup, let us know how the data compares with the XMLTVDB data.

[imeric]

It was working yesterday after updating Java and a reboot but I was getting timeout errors while it was fetching data throughout the day.
Now back to square one I just tried it again and I get this stupid error again:  

Code: [Select]

01/19/2016 08:49:18 AM ERROR   Error processing xml file: org.jdom.input.JDOMParseException: Error on line 305 of document file:/M:/XMLTVDB%20v1.0.1/xmltvs/xmltv.xml: The reference to entity "w" must end with the ';' delimiter.
Help Please!!

[muzicman0]

Can you attach the XMLTV file you are trying to process?

[CountryBumkin]

I was having problems/errors running XMLTVDB on my laptop (Wi-Fi) so I modified the timing settings in the XMLTVDB properties files to this:

The changes I made are:

Max Series lookup = 5 (default)
Max Wait_Hours_For_New_xmltv = 49 (default)
HTTP_Connect_Timeout = 60 (default is 20)
HTTP_Read_Timeout = 60 (default is 60)
HTTP_Request_Retries = 5 (default is 3)
HTTP_Time_Between_Retries = 10 (default is 15).

I don't know if it was coincidental or if the settings above fixed it, but it started working after that change.

[imeric]

I made the following changes thx.

I know it's not the xmltv file as the same file that was giving the error worked yesterday after the Java update and a reboot.

I'll try the reboot again.  + The xmltv file is 15 MB.... I could trim it a little and send it later but I'll try the reboot first.

Any other idea what might cause this? I re-attached my properties file.

Thx folks 

[muzicman0]

If you have a drop box, you could give me a link.  I can test it as soon as I have a copy...just to be sure.  The error you are getting is specifically referencing the XMLTV file, so I think it is worth checking on a known working system.

[imeric]

Here it is.
Thx for checking!

[muzicman0]

I get the same error on that XMLTV file.  I am looking deeper at it now.

[muzicman0]

It appears to have a problem with lines that start with <icon src=.  I removed line 305, and re-ran the jar file...then it had a problem with another line...did this about 5 times...just kept jumping to a new line that started with the icon key. 

I then downloaded from my SD account and ran, and it ran just fine.  I checked, and the SD XMLTV file does not have any <icon src= lines.

At this point, I don't know what else to try.  Sorry.

If you had a way to filter out those lines, it may work.  I tried to create a powershell script that would do just that, but interestingly enough, it failed on the same line.

[RoderickGI]

2015-08-11: MS has added ampersands to the program images. Send an email if your PVR software has any problems importing the xmltv file (due to the icon tag with unencoded &amp;) and I will reply with an update that encodes/fixes it (a quick fix if your PVR doesn't use images: sed "/<icon/d" xmltv.xml > xmltv.out )

From http://mc2xml.awardspace.info/ Service information(9);
Reference https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sed#Other_sed_commands

Might be a bit harder in Windows to delete all the icon lines.
This, also from http://mc2xml.awardspace.info/  Service information(9);

Microsoft media center Win7+ service: If you have used Windows 7 or 8 you might have noticed more program information in the guide. It uses a completely new TV data service that seems to support everything that the microsoft legacy service supported*, but adds full ATSC/subchannel support ("OTA") for the US & Canada, plus listings include writer/producer credits, program images  , as well as other miscellaneous program details. (note: Microsoft might have a North American focus?)

But, why isn't everyone else having the same problem? Is there a setting in the mc2xml setup in MC to ask for images and/or channel icons? Of course, it may just be that certain broadcast area get the images, and others don't.

[CountryBumkin]

@imeric - are you in Canada? If so, maybe that's the difference.

[imeric]

I'M in Canada. But I get the same error with an xmltv file with a ZIP code close to the border.  So Everyone using the XMLTV.xml file coming from Rovi will get the same error right?
I'm also using MC2XML v1.4 (same as what's in MC21.0.37)

Any idea on what to do next or it's a dead end with Rovi and XMLTVDB?

Thank you all for your help on this. Much appreciated.

[CountryBumkin]

I don't use XMLTVDB anymore. Since I have a subscription to Schedules Direct, and SD now has the JSON data available, there is no need for me to run the extra step/program (XMLTVDB).

I can run mc2xml built-in to MC to generate a "xmltv.xml" file and I get no error.  Give me your Zip code and I'll try for you (are you using "OTA broadcast" or using "cable" or something else?

To be clear, is the error on the xmltv.xml file (generated from mc2xml), or are you getting it running the XMLTVDB program (which would then create the file "xmltv.enhanced.xml"?

[imeric]

Hi Countrybumkin. 12919 is the Code with OTA.

Are you using the updated jar or just the one in the 1.09.1 zip file on the XMLTVDB website?

The error is coming from the error log in XMLTVDB. It's strange as I had it working ONCE after the java update and reboot but was not able to re-running it without this error...
Well it ran but never produced the enhanced file. At least it went past the error above...

[CountryBumkin]

I'm using XMLTVDB version 1.0.1 before that it was 1.0
I've never seen a 1.09.1

Are you getting your file here: https://code.google.com/p/xmltvdb/downloads

UPDATE: I just ran mc2xml with your zip code and then XMLTVDB (ver 1.0.1) and it running fine.
If your not using 1.0.1 upgrade to that first, if your still having trouble, I'll go through step by step with you.

[imeric]

Yes I am but I saw an update for 2014 for the jar file maybe that's the issue...
I'll try on my other PCs and post back.  WHich version of Java are you using?
again, many thx for the help with this

[CountryBumkin]

There is an error in your xmltvdb properties file. You have this
#The folder to listen to. Any XMLTV files put in this folder will be enhanced and moved to the OUTPUT_XML_FILE location
WATCH_FOLDER=M:\mc2xml_OTA
#The final destination (including file name) of the enhanced XMLTV file.
OUTPUT_XML_FILE=M:\mc2xml_OTA

You should have this:
#The folder to listen to. Any XMLTV files put in this folder will be enhanced and moved to the OUTPUT_XML_FILE location
WATCH_FOLDER=M:\mc2xml_OTA
#The final destination (including file name) of the enhanced XMLTV file.
OUTPUT_XML_FILE=M:\mc2xml_OTA\xmltv.enhanced.xml

I have Java 1.8.0_60

Also you have this #Pipe | seperated list of XMLTV source-info-name attributes that identify the guide data as from Zap2It
ZAP2IT_SOURCE_INFO_NAMES=Zap2it|Schedules Direct|Rovi

But "Rovi" is not in the code (at least not in 1.0.1, and that version works fine). I don't know if adding "Rovi" matters or not - probably not. I think once you add the "output file name" it will work.

[imeric]

Yes I changed it a few minutes ago and that would explain why it didn't output the enhanced file the ONE time I was able to run it....

 I also updated to the latest Java release (71) and still not working.

I will try on a few other PCs to see what happens...If you have any other suggestions don't be shy !

Thx a lot for your help with this!

[imeric]

Oh and are you running Win10?  I also deactivated McAfee, put excusions for the jar file but it didn't change anything...
I have one WIn7 machine I'll try with..thx

[CountryBumkin]

You can try copying my file setup exactly if you want. It might make it easier to figure out why it runs on my computer and not yours.

1) create a new folder at C:\mc2xml
2) Put mc2xml.exe and mc2xml.dat files in this folder.
3) Run the mc2xml program. This will create the file "xmltv.xml".

4) copy (drag-drop) the XMLTVDB folder and its subfolders to C:\mc2xml, so you have "C:\mc2xml\xmltvdb v1.0.1"  (rename the "xmltvdb v1.0.1" to "xmltvdb" to make it easier to work with). There will be subfolders under xmltvdb (such as Lib, xmltvs).
5) Make the changes to the "xmltvdb.properties" file as described elsewhere (i.e. the watched folder is "C:\mc2xml" and output folder-file is "C:\mc2xml\xmltv.enhanced.xml").

6) test step 1: open a Command Window, type "cd C:\mc2xml\xmltvdb", then type "Java -jar xmltvdb.jar". This starts the XMLTVDb program to watch "xmltv.xml".
7) test step 2: leave the Command Window open, then use Windows File Explorer and move the "xmltv.xml" file out of the folder C:\mc2xml". Then move it back in to C:\mc2xml folder (that will trigger the XMLTVDB program to run the search).

Does this now work?

[imeric]

Same error..But on the same PC...Let me try on another machine and see how it goes.
Has to be Java.  The ONE thing it worked was right after an update of Java....

Thank you CountryBumkin for all your help much appreciated and I really want this to work!!!

[RoderickGI]

The problem, as I said back here, is the ampersand (&) in the "<icon src=..." line. The first of such lines in your sample file is line 305, which looks like this;

      <icon src="http://images-eds.xboxlive.com/image?url=cOC861nTwwD6fdaNNqSphYhIoPdt3SpAXZveWYNx1owgCAFwKkxN4BHYkOsXD3dIwKodgfbUrBAfnHsMhu._ZusWV2mP8djwAhyIBPnHHXxao5KMQaJ4PITjyW4RAAYcmQF8x27HBO4iEIK_N4PaOw--&w=267&h=150" />

The next line that has the problem is line 315. If I edit line 305 to add in the ampersand coding, shown below in red;

      <icon src="http://images-eds.xboxlive.com/image?url=cOC861nTwwD6fdaNNqSphYhIoPdt3SpAXZveWYNx1owgCAFwKkxN4BHYkOsXD3dIwKodgfbUrBAfnHsMhu._ZusWV2mP8djwAhyIBPnHHXxao5KMQaJ4PITjyW4RAAYcmQF8x27HBO4iEIK_N4PaOw--&amp;w=267&amp;h=150" />

Then XMLTVDB fails at line 315 instead of line 305. I tested with both a UTF-8 format files, and an ANSI formatted file using the version of XMLTVDB from this page.

So, the problem is definitely the "&" in the "<icon src=..." lines. XMLTVDB needs the ampersand to be encoded.

It could be that no-one else is getting that line in their Rovi XMLTV files. CountryBumkin, perhaps if you ran your standard alone version of mc2xml that works with Rovi data for a few random US post codes, you could check to see if they have the "<icon src=..." lines.

Or it could be that no one else who gets those lines is using XMLTVDB to improve their data. After all, both mc2xml and MC cope with the format currently being used, which is using ampersands without encoding.

I don't think you are going to get anyone to fix XMLTVDB so it handles un-encoded ampersands. You may be able to find another piece of software that does the same thing. Another solution, is to ask Yaobing to contact the author of mc2xml and include a copy of mc2xml in MC that encodes the "&" to "&amp;", as long as that doesn't break MC functionality.

Over to you guys. I don't need this tool, so at this stage, I'm taking it no further.



Oh, one last point. As MC doesn't need Season and Episode numbers to look up TheTVDB any more, do you really need this tool now?

[CountryBumkin]

I don't understand why imeric is having a problem running mc2xml and XMLTVDB when I ran the same program (using his postal code) and it works fine for me. If there are ampersands in imeric's XMLTVDB code they should also be in mine.
Perhaps it is his version of Java.
I'll try with the lastest Java version (71) next, just to know.

I didn't review the XMLTVDB log file imeric posted because it's RAR compressed and I don't have a program to open that.

@imeric, are you using XMLTVDB version 1.0.1 or the version you downloaded (1.09.1) that you said was newer? Perhaps that newer version is the problem.

[imeric]

Hi CountryBumkin,
I tried with both version and it gives me the same result.  I still haven't tried on another PC I need to do that...

I really think it's either Java or Windows 10 or my Anti-Virus (Mcafee) but the AV is disabled...

I also run Dos as an admin and it leads to the same error.
Which version of Windows are you running?
WOuld you mind trying with the latest Java? here is what I have (see pic attached)

[imeric]

Just tried on another PC but it has Win10 and the same AV...
Country Bumkin would you mind sharing your properties file I'll try with it and change my Directories only...

I will also try with a different PC with Win7 and Microsoft endpoint...Tonight..

[JimH]

I really think it's either Java or Windows 10 or my Anti-Virus (Mcafee) but the AV is disabled...

Disabling an antivirus program is sometimes not enough.  Uninstalling it is the only way to eliminate it as the cause of a problem.

[CountryBumkin]

Win10 x32 on my laptop (where I do my testing-playing around) and Win10 x64 at home (Server and Clients). I only have Windows Defender installed on laptop, at home I use Windows Defender and Malwarebytes.

This ampersand issue/error that is mentioned, where are you seeing that, in the XMLTVDB log file?

[imeric]

Yep.

@Jim  Yeah I know, thx for the suggestion though...I'll try other things on another machine with a different AV and see what happens. (However it's my work PC and can't disable it we'll see how it goes)

As I was able to run it once after fiddling with Java versions I'm 99% convinced it has something to do with Java...Maybe this is what I should uninstall and reinstall I'll try that when I have a few minutes...

Thx all for the help!!!

[CountryBumkin]

The error says the problem is in the xmltvdb\xmltvs\xmltv.xml file. Try copying my xmltv.xml file to your computer. Had to Zip it as MC says its too big to attach as is (32KB). Be sure to put it in the xmltvs subfolder, not the mc2xml folder.
I am including the xmltvdb.properties file too, but I don't think that is the problem as mine looks identical to yours.

Also why not include your file and I'll see if I get the error on my machine using your xmltv.xml file.


Interact is having a fit with my attachments. the "XMLTVDB.zip" is the "XMLTVDB.properties" files. Then Interact says my post with the new attachment is a "duplicate" so I have to start over. This is my fifth attempt now. It won't let me attach the xmltv.xml file (even compressed its too big).
Send me a PM and I'll e-mail the file to you.

[imeric]

Oh, one last point. As MC doesn't need Season and Episode numbers to look up TheTVDB any more, do you really need this tool now?

Is this official? This will be in the next version?

I still would like to give XMLTVDB a shot..Just curious (and stubborn )
CountryBumkin I'll send you my XMLTV

[CountryBumkin]

I believe Roderick is referring to the discussion about having a blank "Season" or "Episode" number, and the Get Movie & TV Info tool will still work. Of course it's just nicer to get all the correct info in one shot (if there is an EPG source that provides it).

[imeric]

If that's the case he needs to re-read my posts  as I've been repeating at least 5-10 times that I want this to be automated

Countrybumkin another more simple option would be to use winrar as the compression rate is very good with those xml and you could grab it from my xmltv.xml file split in 2 in my earlier post. That's what RoderickGi used to test.

Let's see if you get the same thing as per his post:

The problem, as I said back here, is the ampersand (&) in the "<icon src=..." line. The first of such lines in your sample file is line 305, which looks like this;

      <icon src="http://images-eds.xboxlive.com/image?url=cOC861nTwwD6fdaNNqSphYhIoPdt3SpAXZveWYNx1owgCAFwKkxN4BHYkOsXD3dIwKodgfbUrBAfnHsMhu._ZusWV2mP8djwAhyIBPnHHXxao5KMQaJ4PITjyW4RAAYcmQF8x27HBO4iEIK_N4PaOw--&w=267&h=150" />

The next line that has the problem is line 315. If I edit line 305 to add in the ampersand coding, shown below in red;

      <icon src="http://images-eds.xboxlive.com/image?url=cOC861nTwwD6fdaNNqSphYhIoPdt3SpAXZveWYNx1owgCAFwKkxN4BHYkOsXD3dIwKodgfbUrBAfnHsMhu._ZusWV2mP8djwAhyIBPnHHXxao5KMQaJ4PITjyW4RAAYcmQF8x27HBO4iEIK_N4PaOw--&amp;w=267&amp;h=150" />

Then XMLTVDB fails at line 315 instead of line 305. I tested with both a UTF-8 format files, and an ANSI formatted file using the version of XMLTVDB from this page.

So, the problem is definitely the "&" in the "<icon src=..." lines. XMLTVDB needs the ampersand to be encoded.

[CountryBumkin]

If that's the case he needs to re-read my posts  as I've been repeating at least 5-10 times that I want this to be automated

I found the easiest way "for me" is just to pay for a Schedules Direct subscription, then I don't need to worry about running two programs (mc2xml and XMLTVDB), I just use mc2xmlver 1.5 and it provides me the Schedules Direct JSON data.

I have not bothered to compare the data from Zap2it to XMLTVDB to see which is more complete/better (although Zap2xml may be easier to run). I'm happy with SD data now that they added the JSON feature.

[RoderickGI]

Is this official? This will be in the next version?

It is official, and has been in the software December 14, and it works. The only disadvantage is that MC looks up the information after a recording is started, and so it is not in the EPG. But MC will find the metadata for a program based purely on the Series and Episode names. No Season or Episode numbers required.

Media Center 21.0.28 for Windows -- Available here
21.0.28 (12/14/2015)
5. Changed: TheTVDB lookup can look up tracks that don't have a season or episode number and will now look up just by the episode name.

I still would like to give XMLTVDB a shot..Just curious (and stubborn )

I know. But still, XMLTVDB is no longer required, assuming that the new functionality works correctly. It would help JRiver if you tested that instead of working on XMLTVDB. 

[imeric]

All right I agree enough with XMLTVDB I looked at a few enhanced files and it doesn't seem like it's not gonna cut it anyway.

As per my several posts here: http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=99519.msg712257#msg712257

I can guarantee you that this here:

21.0.28 (12/14/2015)
5. Changed: TheTVDB lookup can look up tracks that don't have a season or episode number and will now look up just by the episode name.

 
Is not working as it will always take S0EXX along with the episode name which means the search will fail.  This is what happens when I hit Get Movie & TV Info... I therefore assume it's doing the same with the auto-import.
If it was working then it would grab the info automatically with the auto-import after a show is recorded and it's not happening. Not with Rovi anyway...
My good wife snapshots and examples here: http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=102045.msg712624#msg712624
AND I don't need the Season and or detailed info in the EPG if I get it after with the TVDB lookup on autoimport that's all I need.
thx

[RoderickGI]

I'm going to give this thread a little bit more of a poke, just for future reference and other potential users.

Are you using the updated jar or just the one in the 1.09.1 zip file on the XMLTVDB website?

First, as CountryBumkin said, I have never seen a version 1.09.1 of XMLTVDB. But I have seen many versions created by people other than the author, and sometimes they are packaged up with a version of Java from the time they are created. Maybe one of those versions is what you have got. Where did you get the version 1.09.1 from? You should be using version 1.0.1 from the official site CountryBumkin posted, https://code.google.com/p/xmltvdb/downloads/list.

As I was able to run it once after fiddling with Java versions I'm 99% convinced it has something to do with Java...

I am 100% convinced that it is nothing to do with the Java version you are using. I have run XMLTVDB on Java 8 Update 66 and 71, and it ran on earlier versions in the past. All worked fine. When you first ran XMLTVDB and it appeared to work, just that once, you didn't have the output file defined in the properties file, as noted later. I would be very sure that what happened is that XMLTVDB tried to run, checked the Output File setting or tried to create the output file, failed, and so stopped before attempting to process the XMLTV input file. It would have taken a while for XMLTVDB to give up on creating the output file, since it would be waiting for Windows to respond, and there were probably retries involved. Basically, I think you have to ignore that first attempted run as an anomaly, as that setting was wrong.

I don't understand why imeric is having a problem running mc2xml and XMLTVDB when I ran the same program (using his postal code) and it works fine for me. If there are ampersands in imeric's XMLTVDB code they should also be in mine.

UPDATE: I just ran mc2xml with your zip code and then XMLTVDB (ver 1.0.1) and it running fine.
If your not using 1.0.1 upgrade to that first, if your still having trouble, I'll go through step by step with you.

Did you check your output file to see if there were ampersands in it? If there were, did they have "amp;" after the ampersand, which XMLTVDB would then understand?

Are you sure you ran the same mc2xml version provided with MC as Imeric is running? You haven't replaced that version with the version 1.5 you have by any chance?

As I mentioned earlier, John Douglas, the author of zap2xml and mc2xml, has recognised a problem with reading un-encoded ampersands, and offered to provide a version that encodes them for programs that require it. He posted about that on 2015-08-11. Since then he released the Donateware version 1.5 of mc2xml, which may well have had the ampersand fix in it by default. So, if you used your version 1.5 of mc2xml to test Imeric's postcode, the XMLTV file mc2xml created may have had encoded ampersands in it, and XMLTVDB would therefore not have had a problem processing it.

By the way, mc2xml is up to version 1.6 now, and John seems to have removed the requirement to donate to get the version that works with Rovi data. I haven't tried to run it against Imeric's post code as I don't have a "Key" and "Secret" to run it independently, and I haven't tried to update the version in MC. In fact I would probably have to break my MC installation in order to test it, since my TV setup is completely different.

Finally, the change;

Media Center 21.0.28 for Windows -- Available here
21.0.28 (12/14/2015)
5. Changed: TheTVDB lookup can look up tracks that don't have a season or episode number and will now look up just by the episode name.

is working fine, but as you say, it gets stopped by the current practice of placing the year into the Season tag if it is blank, and that deleting the year from the Season tag means the lookup uses S0Exx, which will always fail.

As I have said elsewhere, the insertion of the year into the Season tag when it is empty needs to be stopped, but there also needs to be some more logic around the updating of the Season and Episode tags, because if the year isn't written to the Season tag, but the Episode number is provided by the EPG "onscreen" Season/Episode field, then the MC lookup will still fail because MC will use S0Exx. If the Episode tag wasn't updated when no EPG Season field was available, then the MC lookup by Series and Episode name would work.

Anyway, until that functionality is fixed, I have an idea on how it could be worked around. If an suitable expression could be written and added to each recording rule and the Auto-Import function for the location containing TV recordings, such that "if Season is <four numeric digits> OR <blank>, set Season and Episode tags to <blank>". With that in place, each recording made or imported into MC that did not have a non-year Season tag would have both tags deleted, and the MC lookup by Series and Episode name would work.

I might take a while to write such an expression, since I'm not up to speed on all of MC's expression language. It will also be a little difficult to test on my installation, without breaking things. But I could do it. However, if someone else wants to come up with the expression to be tested, great!

[astromo]

Yeah I saw your other posts...Mmm EPG collector..Should I look at that...Oh boy..Getting late, I'm spending WAY TOO much time on this..This is kinda why I'm always reluctent to re-try MC for TV...But now I feel I've gone too far ....Might be too late to go back!!

Stick with it is my tip.

Australian OTA EPG data is far from perfect and as Rod_GI points out, EPGC does what it can by enhancing data with a theTVDB scrape.

Even though MC can always be improved, the advantage of having all media action under one roof is what makes it work for me.