Updates WMC or not

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artm

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Updates WMC or not

#1

Post by artm » Sun Mar 20, 2016 3:37 pm

After installing EPG123 how do I deal with this:

1. album art: if I disable that in WMC will I still get that data form TMB during the EPG123update?

2. WMC downloads between time period: is that for the guide or other data as well (artwork)? Should I disable that since EPG123's update handles that now?

3. WMC optimization: I assume I should enable that, as part of housekeeping tasks even with EPG123?

4. mcupdate_scheduled in task scheduler: This is scheduled to run weekly. Should this remain as a task?

I know there is no mention of changing these settings in the installation guide. But, is the mix of Rovi and non-Rovi data related to these settings?
-Art --
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glorp

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#2

Post by glorp » Sun Mar 20, 2016 4:08 pm

You can leave the WMC automatic download options enabled if you want. If you followed the EPG123 setup instruction correctly WMC will no longer do EPG updates as part of those anymore. You can/should review the Windows Event Log for Media Center (look for the text in the MCUpdate events) after a daily run to find out what other packages it's still updating. If none of them matter to you then you can disable both auto download options in WMC and mcupdate_scheduled will be set to run every 5 days rather than daily. I don't know how/when or if WMC gets album art in one of the standard packages so maybe someone else can tell you specifically what gets album art.

You should not disable mcupdate_scheduled in task scheduler. It needs to run every 5 days to do garbage collection. It will continue to do that regardless of how you set the automatic download options as long as you don't disable the task itself.

WMC optimization should have no effect either way as it probably doesn't do what you think regarding the EPG database. That's handled by garbage collection. I think most people believe you should disable it but not for reasons having to do with EPG123.

artm

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#3

Post by artm » Sun Mar 20, 2016 5:42 pm

1. When I disable this I get limited information as to other movies from an actor, for example. For example, I found a movie with christian Bale, when I searched for more of his only 12 appeared. When I enabled this setting then 47 appeared, right away.

Also, when I disable this in the cast and crew page I do nto see the character's name along under the actor's name. When I enable it, I do.

Obviously, I will enable this setting but I am concerned that a lot of Rovi information is still around in the guide...
-Art --
Win7 Ultimate x64 (NO UPDATES!), EPG123 v1.1.19, Schedules Direct, HDHomerun Prime,
Dell 980 SFF, i5, Nvidia GT710
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garyan2

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#4

Post by garyan2 » Sun Mar 20, 2016 5:53 pm

The additional movie info and CD album stuff is completely separate from the guide information. You may not have known it at the time, but when Zap2it was the provider, AMG (Rovi) was still the source for the movie/CD stuff. The only thing to be concerned about is the EPG and tuner stuff which was completely separated from Rovi when you declined the guide TOS.

Like I said in a previous post somewhere, I keep everything default and continue to get the additional movie information which I actually like. The downside is when viewing the movies and getting additional data, you may temporarily get a crappy cover art ... it's not permanent but is annoying.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

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garyan2

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#5

Post by garyan2 » Sun Mar 20, 2016 5:56 pm

Note on WMC optimization ... don't bother. This is for all of WMC, not just the guide database and I've never seen any benefit come from it. Also, I believe there is a requirement that WMC would have to be closed to perform the optimization and can take a considerable amount of time.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

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STC

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#6

Post by STC » Sun Mar 20, 2016 6:01 pm

I recall a memory leak or two was the reason to restart the services through WMC optimization.
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artm

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#7

Post by artm » Sun Mar 20, 2016 6:08 pm

I see...the connection between AMG/Rovi. I didn't realize they were the same.

Yes, absolutely, the most important issue is accurate guide data. The rest is fluff and welcomed but I can live without it. I am tired of seeing too may guide sports entries with Rovi that said "teams to be determined" - even up to hours before game time!

So, to be clear...when I click on a guide entry and see pages for the synopsis, cast and crew, other listings are these part of the EPG or are they extras handled by other downlaods?
-Art --
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Space

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#8

Post by Space » Sun Mar 20, 2016 6:14 pm

garyan2 wrote:...
The downside is when viewing the movies and getting additional data, you may temporarily get a crappy cover art ... it's not permanent but is annoying.
With old zap2it, I used to see cover art for a movie, and then when I selected that move it would replace the cover art with a (sometimes) completely different cover art. I don't see this happen anymore with Rovi data. I always though this was weird and didn't know why it happened.

Are you saying this happens because the initial cover art is from the EPG provider and the second cover art is from Rovi/AMG and is loaded when you display the details along with other extended info (review)?

I am guessing the reason it doesn't happen anymore with Rovi data is because the year of release is not populated, so it isn't able to load that extended data anymore.

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garyan2

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#9

Post by garyan2 » Sun Mar 20, 2016 6:33 pm

^ Correct.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

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Ladislaus

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#10

Post by Ladislaus » Sun Mar 20, 2016 6:43 pm

Might I suggest that the Epg123 installation guide include a note or two regarding the points that artm brought up in the original post (above)? Other novice Epg123 installers, will surely have similar questions in the future and, thus, it might be helpful to simply document the answers garyan2 provided instead of having to hunt through the forums to find them. Anyway, it's just a thought.

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garyan2

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#11

Post by garyan2 » Sun Mar 20, 2016 6:51 pm

I was thinking more along the lines of a FAQ, but yes ... absolutely agree. This is especially needed considering how big the EPG123 subforum is getting.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

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