STV Import: MovieTimes Movie Listings Import v0.57 Beta

[gexi]

Originally Posted by nielm

yeah, sorry that was for 6.1, a few changes are required for 6.2, but I havn't figured them out yet!

No worries, I was hoping that was the answer! I'll wait until it's working in 6.2. I tried to take a crack at it myself yesterday but didn't have much luck.

[JonTom]

i'm reading through the thread, but i'm wondering:

yahoo has no details for the single theatre in my town. is it possible to get movie listing data from a different source in the 'canada' location? i notice that in germany it uses a version of MSN so it must be somewhat possible but i don't know how to change it or even what source may have the data i need....

[JonTom]

well this is going to be interesting...

found a source for the data i need: http://www.cinemaclock.com/aw/ctha.a...ribaldi_5.html

now i just need to learn VB since MTSA is open source; i guess it must be possible to change it to use this site instead of yahoo. i sorta see where in the code for the 'yahoonorthamerica.vb' file it builds the URL but i'm lost as to how to pull this off. i guess that i could try and hardcode it to start with, since presumably every site with source data would need to be coded separately? or are there other people out there that would like a second source for theatre/movie listings in north america?

something tells me i'm biting off more than i can chew...

hmmm, msn also has the data. can one of the other msn sources (germany, france) be modified more easily?

[JonTom]

never mind. yahoo has my theatre, if i go in as a US user instead of Canadian. weird.

[Shield]

Hello all - I toggle back and forth between CoreAVC and the Cyberlink PD7D H.264 decoders. Both work perfectly for everything except the CoreAVC doesn't seem to work with Sage 2.6.10 AND the MovieTimes trailers.

Any ideas? All I've done is toggle the merits of the filters and rebooted for testing.

Thanks,
Shawn

[DreamWeb]

Hello.

I am currently trying to install the SageMC version.

When I try to (re)load theatres from within Sage I get an error message saying MTAS has crashed.

If I run MTAS from the command prompt I get a more detailed error message (as well as the crash)

C:\movietimes>mtsa /updatetheatersonly
MovieTimesVBNET - Stand Alone, Version 4.3.1
Official Home - http://movietimes.home.comcast.net

Locating config file...
Found: C:\movietimes\config.xml

Reading config file...
Logging activity: C:\MTSA\Media\log.txt

Updating theater names only, please wait...


Unhandled Exception: System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to
an instance of an object.
at mtsa.mtsa.UpdateTheaters(LogFile oLogFile)
at mtsa.mtsa.Main()

C:\movietimes>

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

.david

[Morgan111]

David, make sure you have .NET 1.1 or 2.0 installed. You can post your config.xml and locations.xml file in a zip here. And I can try to look at it.

Morgan

Originally Posted by DreamWeb

Hello.

I am currently trying to install the SageMC version.

When I try to (re)load theatres from within Sage I get an error message saying MTAS has crashed.

If I run MTAS from the command prompt I get a more detailed error message (as well as the crash)



Any help would be greatly appreciated.

.david

[pjpjpjpj]

So I downloaded the .NET stuff (BTW, the link provided needs to be updated, as it has moved), installed it, downloaded this zip file, put everything in place, and followed the wonderfully simple-to-understand instructions. Everything worked perfectly... until Bill Gates struck.

Apparently there is a problem with one of the latest Windows security updates, and it causes an error in the Windows Task Scheduler. I ran through the Scheduler setup and everything was fine until I clicked "Finish" and it gave me the error, and would not run. Upon searching microsoft.com for the explanation, I was pleased (sarcasm) to discover this "problem" explaned. The good news? Bill's boys will send me a "hotfix" to cure it, complete with all sorts of warnings and disclaimers that it could have conflicts with other programs and such. The bad news (besides the possibility of it screwing up other programs), is that I have to wait "8 business hours".

Aargh.

I know, I'm probably not getting a lot of sympathy since most of you are probably using Linux or something else.... but it really irks me when I figure out how to do something that would give me big-time WAF (for doing it by myself) and it gets snagged by a friggin Microsoft security issue.

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by pjpjpjpj

So I downloaded the .NET stuff (BTW, the link provided needs to be updated, as it has moved), installed it, downloaded this zip file, put everything in place, and followed the wonderfully simple-to-understand instructions. Everything worked perfectly... until Bill Gates struck.

Apparently there is a problem with one of the latest Windows security updates, and it causes an error in the Windows Task Scheduler. I ran through the Scheduler setup and everything was fine until I clicked "Finish" and it gave me the error, and would not run. Upon searching microsoft.com for the explanation, I was pleased (sarcasm) to discover this "problem" explaned. The good news? Bill's boys will send me a "hotfix" to cure it, complete with all sorts of warnings and disclaimers that it could have conflicts with other programs and such. The bad news (besides the possibility of it screwing up other programs), is that I have to wait "8 business hours".

Aargh.

I know, I'm probably not getting a lot of sympathy since most of you are probably using Linux or something else.... but it really irks me when I figure out how to do something that would give me big-time WAF (for doing it by myself) and it gets snagged by a friggin Microsoft security issue.

Make sure the user you are using to schedule the task has a password and is in the administrator group. Otherwise the task won't run.

Gerry

[pjpjpjpj]

Originally Posted by gplasky

Make sure the user you are using to schedule the task has a password and is in the administrator group. Otherwise the task won't run.
Gerry

It's a simple home PC with only me as the user and administrator (when you turn it on, it doesn't even ask for a password - not that it is ever off since SageTV was installed).... and believe me, I double- and triple-checked that it was not that sort of issue when it first occurred.

I put the error code into the search pane on Microsoft's home page and it pulled up the information immediately. It is a glitch that one of their security updates caused. They sent me the hotfix this morning (it was in the inbox when I got to work), so I will install it when I get home this evening and everything should be fine.

It just p'ed me off that Windows has so many security issues that one of their many patch fixes screwed up another of their own products. And more than anything, it p'ed me off that I was about to spring a big WAF-raiser and had to put it off.

As with many guys who do this stuff, I do it because I find it cool and fun to play with, but the amount of time that I am afforded to "play" is directly proportional to how well the playing keeps up the WAF. The higher the WAF, the more patience she has with me killing hours "playing", know what I mean?

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by pjpjpjpj

It's a simple home PC with only me as the user and administrator (when you turn it on, it doesn't even ask for a password - not that it is ever off since SageTV was installed).... and believe me, I double- and triple-checked that it was not that sort of issue when it first occurred.

And please don't take this the wrong way because there are a variety of users on this forum with different levels of experience.

As long as you're saying you set the task up as a user with a password. From the Microsoft Knowledgebase:

5. Type the name and password of the user who is associated with this task. Make sure that you choose a user with sufficient permissions to run the program. By default, the wizard selects the name of the user who is currently logged on.

Gerry

[pjpjpjpj]

Originally Posted by gplasky

And please don't take this the wrong way because there are a variety of users on this forum with different levels of experience.

As long as you're saying you set the task up as a user with a password....
Gerry

Yeah, it's cool - I'm one of the ones with very little experience myself. But the error message I got (I can't remember it now but wrote it down at the time) was something unusual, which was my first clue to check online. The search result clearly admitted it as a Microsoft problem. The only user on that computer is me (the name I set up when I first got the machine, which is something like "Family basement computer") - and when it asked for the user, it already had that in the line as a default. There are not multiple users even set up on the PC, so the default has all the priveleges.

I am confident that when I get home and install the hotfix, all will be well (can I get a smily/emoticon for "fingers crossed"?)

[gplasky]

If that user ID doesn't have a password the task won't run. I'm just letting you know.

Gerry

[pjpjpjpj]

Update: So I installed the hotfix, and this time, it gave me a different error code. Plugging that into microsoft.com, I was informed that it was some sort of error (I don't remember the details) and that the workaround was to create another user (also with administrator priveleges), delete the first user, and then create a new user, and redo the scheduled task . Did all that, and now it is working.

I had made a password for the original user account; I don't know why that one didn't work. But I made the new one, and it worked, so it's fine now.

[gplasky]

Good deal.

Gerry

[Andrew54]

I went through the installation and followed every detail including the differences between the manual and SageMC version.

After I have configured the program with "United States" and zip of "89103" and then I select "(Re)Load Theaters" I get an application error (Microsoft type dialog box) that says:

"mtsa.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience" Here are more details of that error:
EventType : clr20r3 P1 : mtsa.exe P2 : 1.0.2722.19012 P3 : 4672b3a7
P4 : mtsa P5 : 1.0.2722.19012 P6 : 4672b3a7 P7 : c9 P8 : 6ce
P9 : system.nullreferenceexception

I have tried it several times and have also done the following as well:

1. Repaired install of Microsoft.NET (then rebooted and tried again)
2. Installed latest update to Microsoft.Net service pack 1
3. Made sure my computer has latest updates and rebooted and tried again

I have installed the program in the default location c:\MovieTimes

I noticed that program is writing to the config.xml file as the date and time are current. BUT it is not writing to the location file as the date and time are old - not sure if the program writes to this file or not. I have open the file in a text paid with no problems.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks in advance for the help,
Andrew

SageTV V6.3.10
SagMC V6.3.7a
Java V1.6.0_05
Microsft.NET V2 SP1
Windows XP SP2

[pjpjpjpj]

Does anyone know if it is possible to have movie trailers available and viewable on the HD100 extender?

When I first installed this customization, I had the "trailers" option completely turned off (per the suggestion in the instructions). But since everything is working fine, I would like to turn it on and be able to view current movie trailers through SageTV on my extender.

If it is possible, what player do I need to choose as my default viewer, and do I need to do anything unusual to set it up?

Thanks!

[gplasky]

Yes you can. If you're using SageMC you can use the Sageplayer. If you are using the default you have to install and use mplayer.

You'll have to make modifications to how you point to the config files and in the config files and I think it's called the movie.xml file itself. You want to make sure you reference everything for poster and movie paths as UNC. And in your sageclient.properties file you need to use a UNC path to where the config files resides. Since that is all on the server you want to share out your Movietimes folder. So in my sage file it is \\\\main\\movietimes\\config.xml.

When you install it on a client you can't browse to or specify the UNC path so you have to edit it manually after the fact.

I'm at work so I might have a file name wrong but if you look in all the config files whenever you see it calling a drive letter path it needs to be UNC.

Gerry

[pjpjpjpj]

Originally Posted by gplasky

Yes you can. If you're using SageMC you can use the Sageplayer. If you are using the default you have to install and use mplayer.

You'll have to make modifications to how you point to the config file and in the config file and I think it's called the movie.xml file itself. You want to make sure you reference everything for poster and movie paths as UNC. And in your sgaeclient.properties file you need to use a UNC to where the config files resides. Since that is all on the server you want to share out your Movietimes folder. So in my sage file it is \\\\main\\movietimes\\config.xml.

When you install it on a client you can't browse to or specify the UNC path so you have to edit it manually after the fact.

I'm at work so I might have a file name wrong but if you look in all the config file whenever you see it calling a drive letter path it needs to be UNC.

Gerry

Heh. Um, yeah. I have no idea what you are talking about.

I am in default SageTV, not MC.

I should have preceded my post with "I have very little programming knowledge so any answers would need to be in step-by-step, "for dummies"-type style. I don't know what the following mean:

-"...you have to install and use mplayer." (though I probably could do this myself with a little looking around)

-"...make modifications to how you point to the config file and in the config file..."

-"...reference everything for poster and movie paths as UNC." (the only "UNC" I know is where the Tarheels play basketball )

-"...in your sageclient.properties file you need to use a UNC to where the config files resides."

-"...you want to share out your Movietimes folder."

-"...on a client you can't browse to or specify the UNC path so you have to edit it manually after the fact."

So, in other words, pretty much everything. If I'm too hopeless to help (or you don't have the time to write it all out, which I would understand), no big deal. I am accepting of the fact that many of the customizations here are above my head. Just getting "MovieTimes" installed and working was a feat far above my skill level, and I attribute that to the wonderfully-simple, step-by-step instructions that come with the download. But getting these trailers isn't important enough for anyone to spend hours writing it out - I was just hoping it was an easy fix. Thanks for responding anyway!

[gplasky]

Sorry for the complexity but this was th eonly way to get it to work on any client for the most part. On a PC client you could install the full package to get it to work. But each PC would download its own trailers and play them from their local disk. And that doesn't help on either the MVP or the HD Extender. I can try and write this up in more detail and have example files but it will still take some work. Unless someone redoes the STVI so that it takes advantage of the API for client-server access this is the best I can provide. So this is one way of getting it to work.

Gerry