Rovi Keeps Comin' Back :(

An evolving, supported alternative to Rovi
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garyan2

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#21

Post by garyan2 » Thu Apr 07, 2016 7:28 am

I think you're right. My test bed with both Rovi and epg123 finally went through a Rovi guide update today ... and didn't touch my epg123 channels. Making epg123 the primary provider for the channel works.

What this means is it is not necessary to do a clean start, though I still recommend it because Rovi will still mess up a few things even though it is absent in the guide.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

marvin-miller

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#22

Post by marvin-miller » Thu Apr 07, 2016 9:38 am

This is amazing and, I think, a real milestone. I really don't yet understand the basics of the modification but I can assure you of this much, with the other versions, I was installing it, getting it working, and then programming 20 series for recording and then finding out that it more/less expired after 24 hours.

Now, I've got my 20 series back in and I've taken the time to go through the entire upcoming movie lineup (about 650) and picked off all the ones I want from start to finish over the next 20 days. That's a LOT of work, and it's indicative of my faith in the mods. To give you an idea, I've got +/- 275 shows being recorded by ONE colossus card over the next 20 days...

I'm that sure you nailed it :clap:

To give you an idea as to how important this is, American Idol is on it's last season and it's down to the very last episodes. Miss one of those and the show's over (literally, in more ways then one). Castle is a series I'm just getting up to speed on and each day is a new (to me) episode, in order. Miss one of those and the show's over (again).

It reminds me of when Microsoft started down this path. The head of the Media Center division (brand new at the time) understood how important it was to get it right. He mentioned something, in those early days, about how messing up someone's TV would be a really, really bad thing. It underscored to me, at the time, that he understood the massive undertaking they were going to take on.

Fast forward a few years and look at what's happened to Media Center. It's a travesty. That sincere honest understanding of the implications of messing with someone's TV has long since become irrelevant to them. Rovi was just the first sign of this. And so, it makes the work you've undertaken that much more important to me. If anything, this just illustrates to me how easy it is for a company to entirely loose sight of something that they used to understand the importance of. Whoever that person was that understood that, he's long gone. It's pretty sad really.

The good news is that a real guide is back in place thanks to your efforts. You've managed to recapture what that original guy mentioned so long ago. What can I say other then that you've breathed new life into a great product and, ultimately, salvaged what Microsoft lost. No small achievement I'd say. :thumbup:

Just for the record, there's probably not enough old timers around that remember the start of Media Center or the words that that person spoke so long ago. For myself, I remember when Ted Rogers went down to Microsoft and saw the future of cablevision and I remember reading his article in the press about it. At that time, the very concept of pausing live TV was beyond comprehension. In that visit he really saw where cable was going. And here is Microsoft, doing what they do so well, writing off millions in time and effort and ultimately shafting the customer that bought into that future in the process. It's a story I've seen repeated by MS many times over the last 20 years.

But like I said, your work just went a heck of a long ways to righting that wrong. I'm sure you won't get rich off it, but man, what an enormous benefit this is to the people that bought into, and understand, the importance of Media Center. Well done sir! :clap:

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#23

Post by artm » Thu Apr 07, 2016 5:34 pm

garyan2 wrote:I think you're right. My test bed with both Rovi and epg123 finally went through a Rovi guide update today ... and didn't touch my epg123 channels. Making epg123 the primary provider for the channel works

What you mean ny "primary provider"? I thought if we disable Rovi and update with epg123 then that is the ONLY provider.

As I noted in another thread, I see Rovi descriptions throughout, even after deleting ehome. Specifically, for movies. As Rovi is having issues currently, with the guide expiring on April 13, i expected my epg123 updates well into the future to NOT have Rovi descriptions.

In WMC>General>Automatic Download Options I enable "Retrieve ..." and disbled "Automatically download ...Data...".

In WMC>General>Optimization I have it disabled.

So, I'm confused. When we view the guide grid, that info is NOT Rovi. But, clicking on a movie, the detailed description is Rovi. Will that be the case, permanently?
-Art --
Win7 Ultimate x64 (NO UPDATES!), EPG123 v1.1.19, Schedules Direct, HDHomerun Prime,
Dell 980 SFF, i5, Nvidia GT710
Dell 780 SFF, i5, HD4000

marvin-miller

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#24

Post by marvin-miller » Thu Apr 07, 2016 5:51 pm

Good question. When I look at the details for a movie that's in the Schedules Direct guide I see my firewall connecting to;

images.windowsmedia.com
movie.metaservices.microsoft.com
s3.amazonaws.com

So my guess would be that the movie image (thumbnail) is coming from images.windowsmedia.com (Microsoft) and that the metadata (description) is coming from movie.metaservices.microsoft.com (microsoft/rovi?)

Perhaps the author can shed more light on this? Maybe the EPG123 update is just about getting the guide only from SD? I don't know the full scope of the mod but it's a very good question.

Space

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#25

Post by Space » Thu Apr 07, 2016 5:59 pm

Extended movie data is provided by AMG which is owned by Rovi. So yes, there is still some data that is dependent on Microsoft servers which are populated with Rovi data.

You can start reading a little bit about it here (from Gary):

http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/vie ... 24#p102124

Note that I believe that this data (the extended movie data) has ALWAYS been provided by AMG, even back before the Rovi cutover (when WMC was using Gracenote/zap2it/TMS as their guide data source).

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#26

Post by artm » Thu Apr 07, 2016 6:08 pm

Comparing zap2it's descriptions with Rovi's, it is night and day - Rovi wins. So, I do not mind using Rovi for this except when that option stops working. Then we're in trouble.
-Art --
Win7 Ultimate x64 (NO UPDATES!), EPG123 v1.1.19, Schedules Direct, HDHomerun Prime,
Dell 980 SFF, i5, Nvidia GT710
Dell 780 SFF, i5, HD4000

marvin-miller

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#27

Post by marvin-miller » Thu Apr 07, 2016 6:10 pm

That bytes :cry: I was under the impression that there was no dependency on MS / Rovi at all and that everything was running off Schedules Direct. I guess it's a lot harder to completely separate the two then one would think.

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garyan2

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#28

Post by garyan2 » Thu Apr 07, 2016 6:35 pm

Back off the ledge guys ... my comments were all about the possibility of coexistence with Rovi in the database.

When looking at movie details, the enhanced metadata is still coming through the windows servers (images.windowmedia.com & movie.metaservices.microsoft.com). The s3.amazonaws.com is the image used in the guide by epg123/SD. The information from Rovi is strictly the enhanced metadata which includes the characters played by the actors, reviews, and similar movies. There is no harm with getting this data and the guide stays intact.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

artm

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#29

Post by artm » Thu Apr 07, 2016 6:41 pm

That's fine with me. My main reason to switch was all that "Teams to be determined" crap I was getting for sporting events - even up until gametime!
-Art --
Win7 Ultimate x64 (NO UPDATES!), EPG123 v1.1.19, Schedules Direct, HDHomerun Prime,
Dell 980 SFF, i5, Nvidia GT710
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rkulagow

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#30

Post by rkulagow » Thu Apr 07, 2016 7:02 pm

The Schedules Direct data also includes enhanced metadata.

Code: Select all

{
    "programID": "MV000000030000",
    "titles": [
        {
            "title120": "American Pop"
        }
    ],
    "descriptions": {
        "description100": [
            {
                "descriptionLanguage": "en",
                "description": "Four generations act out the history of popular music from burlesque to punk rock."
            }
        ],
        "description1000": [
            {
                "descriptionLanguage": "en",
                "description": "This animated trek across the musical landscape of the 20th century begins with young immigrant Zalmie (Jeffrey Lippa) arriving in New York City. He's addicted to show business, but an accident ruins his voice. He marries a stripper (Lisa Jane Persky) and their son, Benny (Richard Singer), becomes a jazz pianist. Although Benny is killed in World War II, his son, Tony (Ron Thompson), goes on to great success as a songwriter during the '60s, as does Tony's son, Pete (also Thompson), in the '80s."
            }
        ]
    },
    "genres": [
        "Animated",
        "Musical"
    ],
    "keyWords": {
        "Mood": [
            "Spectacular",
            "Passionate"
        ],
        "Time Period": [
            "20th century"
        ],
        "Theme": [
            "Rise",
            "Transformation"
        ],
        "Character": [
            "Immigrant",
            "Vaudevillian",
            "Jazz musician",
            "Songwriter",
            "Rock star",
            "Stripper"
        ],
        "Setting": [
            "Russia",
            "New York City",
            "Theater",
            "Studio",
            "Hotel"
        ],
        "Subject": [
            "Show business",
            "Music history",
            "Vaudeville",
            "Rock 'n' roll",
            "Family history"
        ]
    },
    "contentRating": [
        {
            "body": "Motion Picture Association of America",
            "code": "R"
        }
    ],
    "contentAdvisory": [
        "Adult Language",
        "Adult Situations"
    ],
    "movie": {
        "year": "1981",
        "duration": 5820,
        "qualityRating": [
            {
                "ratingsBody": "Gracenote",
                "rating": "3",
                "minRating": "1",
                "maxRating": "4",
                "increment": ".5"
            }
        ]
    },
    "cast": [
        {
            "billingOrder": "01",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "161970",
            "personId": "161323",
            "name": "Ron Thompson",
            "characterName": "Tony / Pete"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "02",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "938416",
            "personId": "447457",
            "name": "Marya Small",
            "characterName": "Frankie"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "03",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "112690",
            "personId": "112690",
            "name": "Jerry Holland",
            "characterName": "Louie"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "04",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "158158",
            "personId": "157909",
            "name": "Lisa Jane Persky",
            "characterName": "Bella"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "05",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "400723",
            "personId": "391848",
            "name": "Jeffrey Lippa",
            "characterName": "Zalmie"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "06",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "56978",
            "personId": "56978",
            "name": "Roz Kelly",
            "characterName": "Eva Tanguay"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "07",
            "role": "Actor",
            "nameId": "654311",
            "personId": "86449",
            "name": "Frank De Kova",
            "characterName": "Crisco"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "08",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "829519",
            "personId": "424846",
            "name": "Richard Singer",
            "characterName": "Benny"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "09",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "153801",
            "personId": "153646",
            "name": "Elsa Raven",
            "characterName": "Hannele"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "10",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "232682",
            "personId": "229536",
            "name": "Ben Frommer",
            "characterName": "Palumbo"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "11",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "399907",
            "personId": "391032",
            "name": "Amy Levitt",
            "characterName": "Nancy"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "12",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "169428",
            "personId": "168392",
            "name": "Leonard Stone",
            "characterName": "Leo Stern"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "13",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "439317",
            "personId": "430442",
            "name": "Eric Taslitz",
            "characterName": "Little Pete"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "14",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "81346",
            "personId": "81346",
            "name": "Gene Borkan",
            "characterName": "Izzy"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "15",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "41115",
            "personId": "41115",
            "name": "Lynda Wiesmeier",
            "characterName": "The Blonde"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "16",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "82305",
            "personId": "82305",
            "name": "Joey Camen",
            "characterName": "Freddie"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "17",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "64843",
            "personId": "64843",
            "name": "Vincent Schiavelli",
            "characterName": "Theatre Owner"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "18",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "54370",
            "personId": "54370",
            "name": "Richard Moll",
            "characterName": "Beat Poet"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "19",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "411755",
            "personId": "402880",
            "name": "Bob Morones"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "20",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "348669",
            "personId": "339795",
            "name": "Hilary Beane",
            "characterName": "Showgirl 1"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "21",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "334011",
            "personId": "325606",
            "name": "Beatrice Colen",
            "characterName": "Prostitute"
        }
    ],
    "crew": [
        {
            "billingOrder": "01",
            "role": "Director",
            "nameId": "81751",
            "personId": "81751",
            "name": "Ralph Bakshi"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "02",
            "role": "Producer",
            "nameId": "423295",
            "personId": "414420",
            "name": "Martin Ransohoff"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "03",
            "role": "Producer",
            "nameId": "81751",
            "personId": "81751",
            "name": "Ralph Bakshi"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "04",
            "role": "Executive Producer",
            "nameId": "435865",
            "personId": "426990",
            "name": "Richard R. St. Johns"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "05",
            "role": "Executive Producer",
            "nameId": "342224",
            "personId": "333350",
            "name": "Maggie Abbott"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "06",
            "role": "Writer",
            "nameId": "210940",
            "personId": "208687",
            "name": "Ronni Kern"
        }
    ],
    "entityType": "Movie",
    "showType": "Feature Film",
    "recommendations": [
        {
            "programID": "MV000000280000",
            "title120": "The Jazz Singer"
        },
        {
            "programID": "MV001122020000",
            "title120": "Rock Star"
        },
        {
            "programID": "MV000013280000",
            "title120": "New York, New York"
        }
    ],
    "animation": "Animated",
    "hasImageArtwork": true,
    "md5": "P9YBBUBT61vo5hOLVtYUXw"
}

marvin-miller

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#31

Post by marvin-miller » Thu Apr 07, 2016 7:09 pm

garyan2 wrote:Back off the ledge guys ... my comments were all about the possibility of coexistence with Rovi in the database.

When looking at movie details, the enhanced metadata is still coming through the windows servers (images.windowmedia.com & movie.metaservices.microsoft.com). The s3.amazonaws.com is the image used in the guide by epg123/SD. The information from Rovi is strictly the enhanced metadata which includes the characters played by the actors, reviews, and similar movies. There is no harm with getting this data and the guide stays intact.
Just in theory, is it possible to completely divorce MCE from ROVI or are the queries all hard-coded into the app?
How open is that side of it?

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garyan2

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#32

Post by garyan2 » Thu Apr 07, 2016 7:12 pm

rkulagow wrote:The Schedules Direct data also includes enhanced metadata.

Code: Select all

{
    "programID": "MV000000030000",
    "titles": [
        {
            "title120": "American Pop"
        }
    ],
    "descriptions": {
        "description100": [
            {
                "descriptionLanguage": "en",
                "description": "Four generations act out the history of popular music from burlesque to punk rock."
            }
        ],
        "description1000": [
            {
                "descriptionLanguage": "en",
                "description": "This animated trek across the musical landscape of the 20th century begins with young immigrant Zalmie (Jeffrey Lippa) arriving in New York City. He's addicted to show business, but an accident ruins his voice. He marries a stripper (Lisa Jane Persky) and their son, Benny (Richard Singer), becomes a jazz pianist. Although Benny is killed in World War II, his son, Tony (Ron Thompson), goes on to great success as a songwriter during the '60s, as does Tony's son, Pete (also Thompson), in the '80s."
            }
        ]
    },
    "genres": [
        "Animated",
        "Musical"
    ],
    "keyWords": {
        "Mood": [
            "Spectacular",
            "Passionate"
        ],
        "Time Period": [
            "20th century"
        ],
        "Theme": [
            "Rise",
            "Transformation"
        ],
        "Character": [
            "Immigrant",
            "Vaudevillian",
            "Jazz musician",
            "Songwriter",
            "Rock star",
            "Stripper"
        ],
        "Setting": [
            "Russia",
            "New York City",
            "Theater",
            "Studio",
            "Hotel"
        ],
        "Subject": [
            "Show business",
            "Music history",
            "Vaudeville",
            "Rock 'n' roll",
            "Family history"
        ]
    },
    "contentRating": [
        {
            "body": "Motion Picture Association of America",
            "code": "R"
        }
    ],
    "contentAdvisory": [
        "Adult Language",
        "Adult Situations"
    ],
    "movie": {
        "year": "1981",
        "duration": 5820,
        "qualityRating": [
            {
                "ratingsBody": "Gracenote",
                "rating": "3",
                "minRating": "1",
                "maxRating": "4",
                "increment": ".5"
            }
        ]
    },
    "cast": [
        {
            "billingOrder": "01",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "161970",
            "personId": "161323",
            "name": "Ron Thompson",
            "characterName": "Tony / Pete"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "02",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "938416",
            "personId": "447457",
            "name": "Marya Small",
            "characterName": "Frankie"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "03",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "112690",
            "personId": "112690",
            "name": "Jerry Holland",
            "characterName": "Louie"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "04",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "158158",
            "personId": "157909",
            "name": "Lisa Jane Persky",
            "characterName": "Bella"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "05",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "400723",
            "personId": "391848",
            "name": "Jeffrey Lippa",
            "characterName": "Zalmie"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "06",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "56978",
            "personId": "56978",
            "name": "Roz Kelly",
            "characterName": "Eva Tanguay"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "07",
            "role": "Actor",
            "nameId": "654311",
            "personId": "86449",
            "name": "Frank De Kova",
            "characterName": "Crisco"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "08",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "829519",
            "personId": "424846",
            "name": "Richard Singer",
            "characterName": "Benny"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "09",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "153801",
            "personId": "153646",
            "name": "Elsa Raven",
            "characterName": "Hannele"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "10",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "232682",
            "personId": "229536",
            "name": "Ben Frommer",
            "characterName": "Palumbo"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "11",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "399907",
            "personId": "391032",
            "name": "Amy Levitt",
            "characterName": "Nancy"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "12",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "169428",
            "personId": "168392",
            "name": "Leonard Stone",
            "characterName": "Leo Stern"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "13",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "439317",
            "personId": "430442",
            "name": "Eric Taslitz",
            "characterName": "Little Pete"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "14",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "81346",
            "personId": "81346",
            "name": "Gene Borkan",
            "characterName": "Izzy"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "15",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "41115",
            "personId": "41115",
            "name": "Lynda Wiesmeier",
            "characterName": "The Blonde"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "16",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "82305",
            "personId": "82305",
            "name": "Joey Camen",
            "characterName": "Freddie"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "17",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "64843",
            "personId": "64843",
            "name": "Vincent Schiavelli",
            "characterName": "Theatre Owner"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "18",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "54370",
            "personId": "54370",
            "name": "Richard Moll",
            "characterName": "Beat Poet"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "19",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "411755",
            "personId": "402880",
            "name": "Bob Morones"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "20",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "348669",
            "personId": "339795",
            "name": "Hilary Beane",
            "characterName": "Showgirl 1"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "21",
            "role": "Voice",
            "nameId": "334011",
            "personId": "325606",
            "name": "Beatrice Colen",
            "characterName": "Prostitute"
        }
    ],
    "crew": [
        {
            "billingOrder": "01",
            "role": "Director",
            "nameId": "81751",
            "personId": "81751",
            "name": "Ralph Bakshi"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "02",
            "role": "Producer",
            "nameId": "423295",
            "personId": "414420",
            "name": "Martin Ransohoff"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "03",
            "role": "Producer",
            "nameId": "81751",
            "personId": "81751",
            "name": "Ralph Bakshi"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "04",
            "role": "Executive Producer",
            "nameId": "435865",
            "personId": "426990",
            "name": "Richard R. St. Johns"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "05",
            "role": "Executive Producer",
            "nameId": "342224",
            "personId": "333350",
            "name": "Maggie Abbott"
        },
        {
            "billingOrder": "06",
            "role": "Writer",
            "nameId": "210940",
            "personId": "208687",
            "name": "Ronni Kern"
        }
    ],
    "entityType": "Movie",
    "showType": "Feature Film",
    "recommendations": [
        {
            "programID": "MV000000280000",
            "title120": "The Jazz Singer"
        },
        {
            "programID": "MV001122020000",
            "title120": "Rock Star"
        },
        {
            "programID": "MV000013280000",
            "title120": "New York, New York"
        }
    ],
    "animation": "Animated",
    "hasImageArtwork": true,
    "md5": "P9YBBUBT61vo5hOLVtYUXw"
}
The problem is we don't have access into those fields to populate based on SD data. It would be nice to have that control, it just isn't there.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

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#33

Post by garyan2 » Thu Apr 07, 2016 7:14 pm

marvin-miller wrote:
garyan2 wrote:Back off the ledge guys ... my comments were all about the possibility of coexistence with Rovi in the database.

When looking at movie details, the enhanced metadata is still coming through the windows servers (images.windowmedia.com & movie.metaservices.microsoft.com). The s3.amazonaws.com is the image used in the guide by epg123/SD. The information from Rovi is strictly the enhanced metadata which includes the characters played by the actors, reviews, and similar movies. There is no harm with getting this data and the guide stays intact.
Just in theory, is it possible to completely divorce MCE from ROVI or are the queries all hard-coded into the app?
How open is that side of it?
Speaking strictly for the guide/schedule data ... yes. To stop the enhanced data, I think the selection in the download options will take care of that.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

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#34

Post by marvin-miller » Thu Apr 07, 2016 7:27 pm

No, I meant how hard would it be to get Media Center to use SD with full functionality? Is it even possible or is it hard-coded to return home? Did they architect it (at the time) with the ability to change providers or is it locked? That was kind of what I was curious about.

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#35

Post by garyan2 » Thu Apr 07, 2016 7:55 pm

artm wrote:Comparing zap2it's descriptions with Rovi's, it is night and day - Rovi wins. ...
I feel just the opposite. I find Rovi's descriptions to be too verbose. I like short, succinct descriptions ... not the CliffsNotes.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

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#36

Post by KenL » Thu Apr 07, 2016 10:08 pm

More important is the accuracy and Gracenote wins that one easily. I also appreciate the Zap2It Cast + Crew, although the enhancements are nice for Movies.

When the AMG lookups essentially disappeared in the cutover I noticed you can manually look them up on allmovie.com if you really want that Rovi review.

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#37

Post by Space » Thu Apr 07, 2016 10:57 pm

marvin-miller wrote:No, I meant how hard would it be to get Media Center to use SD with full functionality? Is it even possible or is it hard-coded to return home? Did they architect it (at the time) with the ability to change providers or is it locked? That was kind of what I was curious about.
WMC uses real-time queries to get the extended movie data. I am not sure if anyone has looked at those queries to see if they can be reversed engineered to create a server that simulates it's functionality.

If it is possible to see the query and duplicate it's response, then a replacement server may be possible.

You would just update the hosts file to redirect the domain names that are used by the service back to your local HTPC (so instead of sending those queries to Microsoft, it just sends them to your local HTPC). Then you would run a local server on your HTPC that accepts the queries from WMC and does the appropriate queries against Schedules Direct (or other sources) and returns the result in the expected format.

This is similar to what was done with the WiRNS project for the ReplayTV platform. In that case you needed a separate PC to run the WiRNS server since the ReplayTV was a standalone dedicated DVR. But since WMC runs on a PC, you could also run the replacement server on the same PC (at least theoretically).

All of this is speculation and theory. I have no idea if any of this is truly possible, and if it is, if anyone would bother working on it. I suppose if Microsoft finally pulled the plug on providing the data, there would be a small chance of someone caring enough to look in to it.

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#38

Post by marvin-miller » Thu Apr 07, 2016 11:32 pm

That sounds like a lot of work/inelegant hack but I would guess it's based on the premise that the description lookups are hard-coded to Microsoft's servers.

I personally don't have any faith in Microsoft or Rovi and I have long experience with the former and their ability to discontinue products. I can see them dropping the description lookup service without any thought at all.

I wish they would take their lead from Google and SageTV and release it as open source. I'm thinking SageTV will probably make a strong come-back. They've already created a Windows installer for the open source release. I tried it out and found native support for the Colossus and a plug-in for Schedules Direct (that needs a bit of work). I had it up and running within an hour but my lack of familiarity with it was a bit of an issue.

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#39

Post by STC » Fri Apr 08, 2016 2:11 am

XBoxTV most probably uses the same data.
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