STV Import: TVExplorer for SageMC

[Skirge01]

Since you say you're running BMT 3.0, I'd first upgrade to 3.1 or 4.0 to see if the issue gets fixed. Then, I'd verify where the issue is when you see it happen. Is it that the EPG data is wrong or the database BMT is using. In either case, if those are wrong, you're probably out of luck. You may also be seeing an issue where the airing date was different from the actual episode sequence. Firefly comes to mind on this, since they aired them out of sequence originally.

[Hunter69]

I have been installing this great plugin, by the way it has been pretty easy once the prereq's are installed. I followed the instructions, then I was reading and testing a way to come up with a button on my remote that could be pushed to go straight to tvexplorer. I discovered a very simple way to accomplished this:
I followed the instructions as provided until a person is required to edit the sage_menu.xml. I decided not to do this. Instead I imported the stvi into sagemc from my hd200. Then I entered the sagemc global settings. I defined a custom view of the sagemc recordings as the tvexplorer plugin. By doing this the button on the remote linked to sage recordings now opens tvexplorer. I just thought I might share this finding. If this procedure has been already posted my apologies.

Bill

A question I did have is:
Is there a way to sort the titles of recordings in alphabetical order. I am not talking about the titles of therecorings themsevles but the title of the series.

[razrsharpe]

Originally Posted by Hunter69

I have been installing this great plugin, by the way it has been pretty easy once the prereq's are installed. I followed the instructions, then I was reading and testing a way to come up with a button on my remote that could be pushed to go straight to tvexplorer. I discovered a very simple way to accomplished this:
I followed the instructions as provided until a person is required to edit the sage_menu.xml. I decided not to do this. Instead I imported the stvi into sagemc from my hd200. Then I entered the sagemc global settings. I defined a custom view of the sagemc recordings as the tvexplorer plugin. By doing this the button on the remote linked to sage recordings now opens tvexplorer. I just thought I might share this finding. If this procedure has been already posted my apologies.

thanks for the tip , and ya importing TVE that way would be the only way OOTB to get to TVE directly from the remote...

A question I did have is:
Is there a way to sort the titles of recordings in alphabetical order. I am not talking about the titles of therecorings themsevles but the title of the series.

On the left selection panel select Group (the folder icon) -> Title: Alphabetical

[razrsharpe]

Originally Posted by Skirge01

Firefly comes to mind on this, since they aired them out of sequence originally.

ya thats what i was thinking (i couldn't think of any other shows that aired out of sequence) but even for firefly epguides, imdb, and thetvdb all have the season/episode numbering the same as the original air date.... so i think they only changed the order for the dvd...

[ohpleaseno]

Is the setting for showing SxxExx on recorded TV files working for anyone else? I want the episode list to show season and episodes, but the setting to activate that doesn't change anything for it. Is that not the intended use and is it only for imported video?

[razrsharpe]

Originally Posted by ohpleaseno

Is the setting for showing SxxExx on recorded TV files working for anyone else? I want the episode list to show season and episodes, but the setting to activate that doesn't change anything for it. Is that not the intended use and is it only for imported video?

they will only show up if they exist in the extra metadata properties... that is, they need to be visible in bmt. The EPG (provided by Sage) does not include season/episode number... so the only (read easiest) way to get them is to run the automatic plugin part of bmt to monitor your recordings and fill in the missing metadata.

[Skirge01]

I've been monitoring my TV series since upgrading to BMT 4.0 to see if the season info gets populated at some point. It could just be that the most recent episodes don't have the data available online yet.

[razrsharpe]

Originally Posted by Skirge01

I've been monitoring my TV series since upgrading to BMT 4.0 to see if the season info gets populated at some point. It could just be that the most recent episodes don't have the data available online yet.

it should be there (even for new episodes) if bmt is updating everything correctly. If BMT shows a season & episode number in its webui when browsing and TVE does not (with the option set to show them always) then its a bug in TVE.

[Oats]

Would it be possible to add the Created Timed Recording feature to a future version? Maybe put it in the options under Links.

[razrsharpe]

Originally Posted by Oats

Would it be possible to add the Created Timed Recording feature to a future version? Maybe put it in the options under Links.

can you elaborate on what you want the feature to do? (Create a timed recording on a given channel, at a given time, for a given link, or filter timed recordings from the list (either to include or exclude)?

if it is creating a timed recordings where do i find that in the current sagemc ui?

[Oats]

Originally Posted by razrsharpe

can you elaborate on what you want the feature to do? (Create a timed recording on a given channel, at a given time, for a given link, or filter timed recordings from the list (either to include or exclude)?

if it is creating a timed recordings where do i find that in the current sagemc ui?

I don't think it is included in SageMC by default (it is in the default STV). I created a custom menu item for it by choosing internal screen - Manual Recording. It lets you choose a channel and then set the start and end time to record.

[Skirge01]

Oats... thanks for bringing this up. I had forgotten about this screen since switching to TVE and I miss it! I record PPV events, which the Guide never has the correct show length for. I've been having to select the PPV event via the Guide and then change the stop time to up to 240 minutes before. The manual recording is definitely the proper way to do this, though.

My only issue is I don't know where this link should be. It seems like it should be an icon on the left panel, but with how I have my screen laid out, there isn't any more room. I like the current size of the icons. I definitely don't think it belongs in the links section of the Options Menu, though. Any other ideas? As a workaround, I'm thinking about adding this as a button on my Harmony remote.

I'd also like to see the "TV Editorials" make an appearance in TVE. In the past, I've enjoyed browsing this for new things to watch.

@razrsharpe: I found an issue with some formatting. You can see it in the images I'm including, but the left panel button descriptions sometimes wind up underneath the recording icon or even under the date in the top right corner. Feel free to address this in v2, however.

[Islander]

I got a new server to replace the previous one and updated to the new version of TV Explorer. I am having the same problem I had with the previous version in that the "imported" include filter does not seem to have an effect as the programs do not appear on the app. I can confirm that they are imported because they show as such under BMT web and SageTv web.

In order for me to get to display in TVExplorer I have to make them into Sagetv recordings by using BMT. What am I doing wrong?

[razrsharpe]

@Islander: the key for displaying imported content in TVE is to have the Mediatype = TV. You can check this from the BMT WEBUI. If the mediatype is not tv then TVE will not display it.

if you set the imported filter to include it will ONLY include imported content, it will no longer include sage recordings....

if the mediatype is truely set to TV for the media items and your still having issues, try loading the defaults (TVE Options -> Main -> Load Defaults) and let me know if that works, you will need to reload (go back to the main menu) TVE.

[Islander]

Originally Posted by razrsharpe

@Islander: the key for displaying imported content in TVE is to have the Mediatype = TV. You can check this from the BMT WEBUI. If the mediatype is not tv then TVE will not display it.

if you set the imported filter to include it will ONLY include imported content, it will no longer include sage recordings....

if the mediatype is truely set to TV for the media items and your still having issues, try loading the defaults (TVE Options -> Main -> Load Defaults) and let me know if that works, you will need to reload (go back to the main menu) TVE.

Thanks Razr yes all the show are Mediatype = TV.

"if you set the imported filter to include it will ONLY include imported content, it will no longer include sage recordings...." - sorry this I do not follow. The filter options for imported are: Include, Exclude, No filter, none of which shows the imported in the list or cause any different display insofar as the sage recordings are concerned for that matter.

I will try the defaults and relog but as this is a fresh install (and in the older version I had the same problem from the time I installed it) then anything like the defaults should have been there the first time I looked at the list. The only filters I have set otherwise are Movies to exclude and Manuals to Exclude. The latter because even after changing the Movies filter I still get some Movies (these are probably from the time when I was manually moving files rather than using SJQ, some failed and I reinserted them using BWT/Webserver).

Thanks.

[Islander]

I think I narrowed it down. If I exclude Movies then the "imported" Tv media type (per BMT) that has not been saved with the SageTv recordings checkmark then do not appear on the list. [I have seen the make imported tv sagetv recordings BMT but I am certain that I have checked that box but it has no effect for me, any suggestions - I am guessing that this will get rid of my issue altogether.]

I guess it would be just a minor inconvenience if I had just had to have the Movie group at the top but it also has the effect of showing two groupings for series that have some imported shows. One for the imported shows that I have already saved using the "SageTv recordings" checkbox in BMT and those that I have not. I also lose the capability to have all episodes sorted by episode number in one place.

Any ideas? These are the file details from the Webserver if they are relevant:


Gilligans Island/Season 1/Gilligan's Island
Episode: Gilligan's Island
Aired: Apr 1, 2010 7:23 AM - 7:48 AM
Duration: 25 m
Description: The shipwrecked castaways awaken to find themselves marooned on an uncharted island, so Gilligan and Skipper set out on a flimsy raft to find civilization.
Category: Comedy - 1964
Run Time: 30 minutes
Show ID: MF1109065
Starring: Bob Denver -- Gilligan [imdb], Alan Hale Jr. -- The Skipper [imdb], Dawn Wells -- Mary Ann Summers [imdb], Tina Louise -- Ginger Grant [imdb], Jim Backus -- Thurston Howell III [imdb], Russell Johnson -- Professor Roy Hinkley [imdb], Natalie Schafer -- Lovey Howell [imdb]
Director: John Rich [imdb]
Writer: Lawrence J. Cohen [imdb], Fred Freeman [imdb]
File Format: AVI[MPEG4-Video 4:3 512x384@24fps, MP3/32Kbps@48kHz]
Files:
\\HPSERVER1\Downloaded Content\Gilligans Island\Season 1\Gilligans Island - S01E01.avi
File Playlists: [wvx] [m3u] [pls]
Size: 0.18GB
Internal details: MediaFileID=1109065 , AiringID=1146943

[razrsharpe]

@Islander - Sorry for my slow response. Unfortunately, I'm really baffled by your problem . If the mediatype = TV (set by bmt) then TVE should display the episodes no problem. You should not have to set the "tv recordings" checkbox in bmt for the episodes to show up in TVE. The "tv recordings" checkbox is required to have the default TV screens show imported content as TV.

The "movie" group is there to group tv recordings that are not part of a series. They're category is "Movie" or mediatype = "movie". So when metadata is correct no tv series should end up in the "Movie" Group. You can also disable the Movie group somewhere in TVEOptions (can't remember specifically where and can't check at the moment)

I think this really boils down to a problem with your metadata. Something is not getting set right somewhere. When the metadata is correct you should never have multiple groups for the same show.

-Can you post a screenshot of the BMT webui for one of the problem episodes? Or post the .properties file that bmt creates. A screenshot of the webui is better because that is read directly from the database.

[razrsharpe]

Originally Posted by Islander

"if you set the imported filter to include it will ONLY include imported content, it will no longer include sage recordings...." - sorry this I do not follow. The filter options for imported are: Include, Exclude, No filter, none of which shows the imported in the list or cause any different display insofar as the sage recordings are concerned for that matter.

Basically the way the filters currently work is takes a list of mediafiles, applies the filter, and then passes the result to the next filter.

so for the imported filter.....
Include = imported TV is passed on, recorded TV is filtered out
Exclude = imported TV is filtered out, recorded TV is passed on
No Filter = both imported and recorded TV are passed on (ie Output = Input)

[Islander]

It has me baffled as well but I agree something is not right. I tried adding a ss on my first post but I was unable to. In any event here is the properties file for a show in a series that does not appear on the list unless I include movies:

#Generator: Batch Metadata Tools (4.0-beta21); MediaFile: \\HPSERVER1\Downloaded Content\Gilligans Island\Season 1\Gilligans Island - S01E00.avi
#Fri Apr 09 16:06:03 GMT-05:00 2010
Actor=Bob Denver -- Gilligan;\nAlan Hale Jr. -- The Skipper;\nDawn Wells -- Mary Ann Summers;\nTina Louise -- Ginger Grant;\nJim Backus -- Thurston Howell III;\nRussell Johnson -- Professor Roy Hinkley;\nNatalie Schafer -- Lovey Howell;
Description=The S.S. Minnow first sails into TV legend\! That maiden voyage includes a different, Calypso-like theme song and three cast members not in the series. Fimed at Kauai's Molona Bay.
Director=Rod Amateau;
EpisodeTitle=Pilot
Genre=Comedy
MediaProviderDataID=77345
MediaTitle=Gilligan's Island
MediaType=TV
OriginalAirDate=1964-09-01
RunningTime=1800000
SeasonNumber=1
Title=Gilligan's Island - S01D
UserRating=0
Writer=Sherwood Schwartz;Austin Kalish;Elroy Schwartz;
Year=1964
x-MetadataProviderId=tvdb
x-ser-Cast=1|Sherwood Schwartz|Writer|null;1|Austin Kalish|Writer|null;1|Elroy Schwartz|Writer|null;2|Rod Amateau|Director|null;0|Bob Denver|Gilligan|null;0|Alan Hale Jr.|The Skipper|null;0|Dawn Wells|Mary Ann Summers|null;0|Tina Louise|Ginger Grant|null;0|Jim Backus|Thurston Howell III|null;0|Russell Johnson|Professor Roy Hinkley|null;0|Natalie Schafer|Lovey Howell|null
x-ser-Genres=Comedy

Please let me know if there is something else that I should do to figure this out. Thanks.

[razrsharpe]

Originally Posted by Islander

In any event here is the properties file for a show in a series that does not appear on the list unless I include movies:

that property file looks ok... if the movie filter is set to "No Filter" what happens? I will check tonight if setting the movie filter to "exclude" also removes imported tv on my setup... it shouldn't but who knows