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SageTV Integration - Movies and TV Shows archiving compatible with XBMC
Yep, XBMC can be picky about it's naming conventions and folder structures.
Well, I hope it works for you now...
XBMC.MyLibrary (add anything to the library)
ForTheLibrary (Argus TV & XBMC Library PVR Integration)
SageTV & XBMC PVR Integration
Reply
Hi,

bradvido88 Wrote:So I created a script that does the following:
  • Integrates XBMC video library and SageTV by archiving SageTV recordings in a format that XBMC understands and can scrape.
  • Can add shows to XBMC's library even if they don't have known Season/Episode numbers.
  • Optionally compresses the SageTV recordings w/ options.
  • Optionally deletes the original recording once the archived recording is created.
  • Optionally creates a symbolic link with an XBMC-friendly name that points to the original recording (allows XBMC to use its library and SageTV to both access the same video without conflict.)
  • Optionally extracts Closed Captions from SageTV recordings and saves them as .srt's for XBMC subtitle compatibility.
  • Optionally sends notifications on success/errors.
  • Optional automatic updating of XBMC Library via XBMC's JSON-RPC interface.
  • many more features (See comments in Config.xml)...

This script will archive your Movies and TV Shows like so, where DROPBOX is a folder you define:
DROPBOX\Movies\[Movie Title] (Movie Year)
DROPBOX\TV Shows\[Series]\[Season]\[SeriesName.SxxExx - Title]

XBMC likes this format, its easy to understand, and all your content will be available in XBMC's library once you add the folders to XBMC's sources and set the content type.

I tried to use this on a Windows 2003 server with the objective of only using redirect. I quickly came to the conclusion that symlinks doesn't seems to work the same as on Windows Vista/7 as nothing is created and the command that is in the FAQ is not working (don't support the same switch/function).

I'm thinking about trying this on a Windows Vista or 7 client that will also act as a XBMC client. This should be able to create the symlinks. However, I'm wondering if this will work as the dropbox will actually reside on a file server running SAMBA (which means I'll be using UNC to reach the files).

How are managed symlinks? Are they actual files that contains metadata that will redirect to the original source or it is an extension of NTFS which means it won't work on a SAMBA file server?

Thank you for your assistance on this.


ehfortin
Reply
ehfortin Wrote:Hi,



I tried to use this on a Windows 2003 server with the objective of only using redirect. I quickly came to the conclusion that symlinks doesn't seems to work the same as on Windows Vista/7 as nothing is created and the command that is in the FAQ is not working (don't support the same switch/function).

I'm thinking about trying this on a Windows Vista or 7 client that will also act as a XBMC client. This should be able to create the symlinks. However, I'm wondering if this will work as the dropbox will actually reside on a file server running SAMBA (which means I'll be using UNC to reach the files).

How are managed symlinks? Are they actual files that contains metadata that will redirect to the original source or it is an extension of NTFS which means it won't work on a SAMBA file server?

Thank you for your assistance on this.


ehfortin
As long as everything is on a share, it will work.
You will have to execute this command (one time only) on the box hosting the symlink as well as any box using the symlink:
Code:
fsutil behavior set SymlinkEvaluation L2L:1 R2R:1 L2R:1 R2L:1
XBMC.MyLibrary (add anything to the library)
ForTheLibrary (Argus TV & XBMC Library PVR Integration)
SageTV & XBMC PVR Integration
Reply
Hi,

I tried this with a samba shared drive and it didn't worked. Windows 7 was able to create the subfolder but it didn't created any symlink. I tried this mounting a shared drive as a drive letter without success. I even tried to run the application as the administrator without more chance.

The only way I had it working was when I created a local folder on Windows 7. There, everything was working great. Is there a workaround for samba shares?

I also got some kind of a problem with XBMC. A lot of the show that I recorded with SageTV (HD-PVR .ts files) are working great but some are either displaying a blue screen or half of the image is fine and the rest is filled with the last visible line of the recording showing hundred of times. Is is something specific to the SageTV recordings?

Thank you.

ehfortin
Reply
ehfortin Wrote:Hi,

I tried this with a samba shared drive and it didn't worked. Windows 7 was able to create the subfolder but it didn't created any symlink. I tried this mounting a shared drive as a drive letter without success. I even tried to run the application as the administrator without more chance.

The only way I had it working was when I created a local folder on Windows 7. There, everything was working great. Is there a workaround for samba shares?

I also got some kind of a problem with XBMC. A lot of the show that I recorded with SageTV (HD-PVR .ts files) are working great but some are either displaying a blue screen or half of the image is fine and the rest is filled with the last visible line of the recording showing hundred of times. Is is something specific to the SageTV recordings?

Thank you.

ehfortin
All my over-the-air HD recording play back well.
As far as the smb issues, did you execute the fsutil command I posted previously?
XBMC.MyLibrary (add anything to the library)
ForTheLibrary (Argus TV & XBMC Library PVR Integration)
SageTV & XBMC PVR Integration
Reply
ehfortin Wrote:I also got some kind of a problem with XBMC. A lot of the show that I recorded with SageTV (HD-PVR .ts files) are working great but some are either displaying a blue screen or half of the image is fine and the rest is filled with the last visible line of the recording showing hundred of times. Is is something specific to the SageTV recordings?

Are you using XBMC on Windows with DXVA2 enabled? I know some of my recordings from certain channels don't look right with DXVA2 enabled, but they are fine with it disabled.
Reply
pkscuot Wrote:Are you using XBMC on Windows with DXVA2 enabled? I know some of my recordings from certain channels don't look right with DXVA2 enabled, but they are fine with it disabled.

I played with that but it was disabled by default. Nothing changed regarding my issue.

I figured what cause the issue but I'm surprised that some player (WMP and SageTV for example) can work and some other (XBMC, MediaPortal) can't. I have a few recordings that started on a 720x480 TV station and then moved to 1280x720 channel after a few seconds (cable box being slower to change channel then the recorder). As such, there are some changes in the resolution and XBMC doesn't like this. WMP handle this gracefully. So, I'm not going through my files with VideoRedo and I'm doing a QuickStream fix which will remove the first few seconds that are not at the same resolution as the rest of the file. This seems to fix the issue for XBMC.

I would have love XBMC to handle this directly as it would have been simpler for me (less manual work) but I guess I have a workaround even if it means I'll have to check future files manually and... pay for VideoRedo.

If somebody have another workaround, I would be interested.

Thank you.

ehfortin
Reply
I read a few pages back about issues when the sage server requires a password. Has there been a solution to that? I tried http://user: pass@localhost:8080, but still get 401 errors in the log. Copy and paste the url to the browser and it works, though.

Anyone successfully using this with a password? How? If not, how do I remove the password requirement on the server?

Thanks

Nevermind. Finally, read this post correctly and fixed it:

ipvpn Wrote:Hi! Just wanted to mention that authentication can be disabled from the SageTV Plugin settings menu under Setup->Sage TV Plugins->Installed Plugins->sagex-services->Configure Plugin->Secure HTTP.

Hope this helps!
Big Grin
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dgeezer Wrote:I just bought an AppleTV and am having the same problem. It must be something with the symlinks.If I add one of my SageTV drives as a source I can browse and play the files, but they won't play through the symlinks. I need to do some more research on this.

Did you ever find out how to enable the ATV to follow the symlinks?

I have tried any number of suggestions... in short, the ATV sees the symlinked files as seperate entities and not as the redirect to the actual files.

-Jason
Reply
Hi,

Bradvido88, I'm using this tool and I have a question. Most of my recorded files are processed correctly but I still have about 30 files that are not handled correctly and I would like to know how to manage this. For example, I've recorded the movie "9" and the movie "17 again" or something like that. The movie "17 again" is processed correctly and is renamed "17 again (2009)". Then, when come the movie "9", the tool detect that it is "17 again" and as the shortcut already exist, nothing is made.

I assume this is because there is some wildcard while doing the search on the movie title but... what can I do to reduce the risk of that kind of error?

Let me know. Thank you.

ehfortin
Reply
JasonMeudt Wrote:Did you ever find out how to enable the ATV to follow the symlinks?

I have tried any number of suggestions... in short, the ATV sees the symlinked files as seperate entities and not as the redirect to the actual files.

-Jason
Symlinks + ATV do not work. I'm not sure if anyone has a workaround for this.

ehfortin Wrote:Hi,

Bradvido88, I'm using this tool and I have a question. Most of my recorded files are processed correctly but I still have about 30 files that are not handled correctly and I would like to know how to manage this. For example, I've recorded the movie "9" and the movie "17 again" or something like that. The movie "17 again" is processed correctly and is renamed "17 again (2009)". Then, when come the movie "9", the tool detect that it is "17 again" and as the shortcut already exist, nothing is made.

I assume this is because there is some wildcard while doing the search on the movie title but... what can I do to reduce the risk of that kind of error?

Let me know. Thank you.

ehfortin
Hmm.. I've not seen this before. Could you post your log and config?
XBMC.MyLibrary (add anything to the library)
ForTheLibrary (Argus TV & XBMC Library PVR Integration)
SageTV & XBMC PVR Integration
Reply
Hi,

I just did an update and got the same result. Here are the config file and the log. Look for 9-72* in the log and you will see that is refer to the "17 again (2009)" symlink and as such, doesn't want to create the new shortcut.

== I'm not seeing the "Manage Attachments" button that is supposed to be there. I tried with a private message as well and I get the same result. How can I send you the log and config?

I have a few questions that if unavailable, may be used as request for new features.

* Is there a way to get a file that would identify all the original recorded files with the related shortcut (full name) so that I could check if everything make sense manually?

* Is there a switch I can use that would allow the tool to ask question for any title that report more than a single result from the search engine (TheTVDB and other) so that I can select the appropriate one?

* Is there a way to force a specific title for a known problematic file? I would think at an external fil where I would identify the file name (original-123.ts), the appropriate title ("My own movie") and the type (TV or Movie). This could help with errors I would find in the output provided by the feature explained at the first bullet above.

Thank you.


ehfortin
Reply
Well, I still can't attach any file to a post. Here is a an example of what is shown in the log for a file that has the issue I talked about:

Code:
09/19/2011 09:29:16 AM INFO     - 9-7289554-0.ts                                - Found matching recording, checking if it can be processed now: \\fileserver\recorded\9-7289554-0.ts
09/19/2011 09:29:16 AM INFO     - 9-7289554-0.ts                                - Performing additional checks to determine if \\fileserver\recorded\9-7289554-0.ts can be processed right now.
09/19/2011 09:29:16 AM INFO     - 9-7289554-0.ts                                - Retrieving XML from Sagex at URL: http://svcserver:8080/sagex/api?c=GetMediaFileForFilePath&1=%5C%5Cfileserver%5Crecorded%5C9-7289554-0.ts
09/19/2011 09:29:16 AM INFO     - 9-7289554-0.ts                                - sageMediaFileID = 7348224
09/19/2011 09:29:16 AM INFO     - 9-7289554-0.ts                                - ShowExternalID = MV2268070000
09/19/2011 09:29:16 AM INFO     - 9-7289554-0.ts                                - Movie Title: "9"
09/19/2011 09:29:16 AM INFO     - 9-7289554-0.ts                                - isCurrentlyRecording = false
09/19/2011 09:29:16 AM INFO     - 9-7289554-0.ts                                - Recording Duration = 5093 seconds
09/19/2011 09:29:16 AM INFO     - 9-7289554-0.ts                                - This recording is distributed over 1 file
09/19/2011 09:29:16 AM INFO     - 9-7289554-0.ts                                - isPartialRecording = false
09/19/2011 09:29:16 AM INFO     - 9-7289554-0.ts                                - Checking if this Movie already exists in c:\xbmc\Movies
09/19/2011 09:29:16 AM INFO     - 9-7289554-0.ts                                - The recording \\fileserver\recorded\9-7289554-0.ts will not be processed because this video is already archived : c:\xbmc\Movies\17 Again (2009).ts
09/19/2011 09:29:16 AM INFO     - 9-7289554-0.ts                                - Since this video already exists in the dropbox, marking this video as processed to avoid attempting to process this file again.

As you can see, the tool detect correctly the file and the title but for an unknown reason, when it do a check in the dropbox, it find an erroneous file. And no, the file "17 again (2009).ts" is not processed just before the problematic file (actually, it is not even processed in the same batch as it was already processed a few weeks ago). The symlink is not point to the 9-7289554-0.ts file either and really refer to the one for "17 again".

I guess this may be an issue with a single character title that can be seen in other title (like the 9 in 2009).

Let me know for this as well as for the 3 other items.

Thank you.

ehfortin
Reply
ehfortin Wrote:As you can see, the tool detect correctly the file and the title but for an unknown reason, when it do a check in the dropbox, it find an erroneous file. And no, the file "17 again (2009).ts" is not processed just before the problematic file (actually, it is not even processed in the same batch as it was already processed a few weeks ago). The symlink is not point to the 9-7289554-0.ts file either and really refer to the one for "17 again".

I know for TV Shows that sometimes the auto look up either can't find the show, finds too many choices or, as in your case with this movie, doesn't find the correct show. What I do for TV Shows is go find thetvdb ID and put it in the processing section of the SAGETV-XMBC config XML file.

I thought you could do the same thing with movies, but as I'm looking through the example config file it looks like you can't. For only one movie you might be better off just manually moving it and creating a .nfo file by hand for XMBC to scrape.
Reply
Hi,

I'll look into creating NFO manually. I'll have to create symlink as well.

Is there a way to see the list of all the symlink with the corresponding target on Win7? That would help me figuring what are the files that are not correctly assigned or that are not assigned at all. I know there are others as the count it not the same in XBMC and SageTV (symlink directory and sagetv directory don't match either).

Thank you.

ehfortin
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SageTV Integration - Movies and TV Shows archiving compatible with XBMC1