UltraXMLTV - New Beta

[TomR]

Something I noticed was that the new seriesID file seems to break old versions of UltraXMLTV when you have Auto Download Master List selected. If you run the previous version with this selected you are forced to upgrade to the beta version. If you don't you keep getting a message about the seriesID file being locked by another process.

Unfortunately I did not get any screenshots of the message but here is the entry in the app log...

Code:

18/10/2010 7:22:33 AM :2> 2.0.3505.21771
18/10/2010 7:22:33 AM :1>
=============
18/10/2010 7:22:33 AM :1> Loading XMLTV file...
18/10/2010 7:22:49 AM :1> Loading Series list...
18/10/2010 7:22:50 AM :1> ERROR: Popup skipped. Title:  Prompt: SeriesID file is locked.  Cannot continue.  Exiting... (SeriesID_loadMergefile)

Can something be done about this for those who do not want to switch to the beta version? Possibly put back an old copy of the series file and have the beta version use a different file name?

[zehd]

Something I noticed was that the new seriesID file seems to break old versions of UltraXMLTV when you have Auto Download Master List selected. If you run the previous version with this selected you are forced to upgrade to the beta version. If you don't you keep getting a message about the seriesID file being locked by another process.

Unfortunately I did not get any screenshots of the message but here is the entry in the app log...

Code:

18/10/2010 7:22:33 AM :2> 2.0.3505.21771
18/10/2010 7:22:33 AM :1>
=============
18/10/2010 7:22:33 AM :1> Loading XMLTV file...
18/10/2010 7:22:49 AM :1> Loading Series list...
18/10/2010 7:22:50 AM :1> ERROR: Popup skipped. Title:  Prompt: SeriesID file is locked.  Cannot continue.  Exiting... (SeriesID_loadMergefile)

Can something be done about this for those who do not want to switch to the beta version? Possibly put back an old copy of the series file and have the beta version use a different file name?

Yes... I saw that on a different machine :-(

I think your idea of have a new seriesid.txt for just the new version is a good idea I'll get on that.

[zehd]

I've uploaded the previous _seriesID.txt that worked with the public release of Ultra. Hopefully, anyone who has not upgraded will not have any more troubles...

For those that wish to downgrade to the public release, get the original public release in place (re-download it from the wiki if necessary) and then delete your local copy of the _seriesID.txt.

Run Ultra manually... it will download the older _series file and then ultra will operate as normal... for those with a whole lot of shows that are not in the master file, ultra will find them all again...

Beta Testers: I'm changing a couple of things for the new version to work so that you can actually have both versions on your computer at the same time... stay tuned!!!

[zehd]

I've edited the first post... please grab your copy of Ultra... It has a new online update feature, so this may be the last time you have to manually download and copy over files...!

That's what I did today. I'd really like to be sure that the online update feature is working well for everyone.. as I tweak and improve the program, you can always be sure you have the latest...

At the same time, mistakes happen. So the upgrade process backs up the EXE, so that you can always go back if you need...

The online update is currently only available to beta tester.. If you want to become one, I have an easter egg built in to the program where you can switch it to beta mode...! On the 'TS' tab... click a spot at the bottom left corner of the form (just above the progress bars) If you have it, you'll see a msgbox... and then restart the program.

As Tom pointed out... the new version isn't as 'drop-in replacement' as I thought. So I'm using a couple of different filenames for the seriesID lists... The master 2.1 version online is identical to the 2.0 at the moment... and as your 2.1 scans the net, it starts to build a local list... and it will handle foreign characters better.

Please let me know how the updater works

[TomR]

So if I have it correct...we need to run UltraXMLTV_Enhancer2_1.EXE. It will check to see if we are running the most recent copy of the app?

How will we know there is a newer version? Will it prompt us letting use know when there is a newer version and give us the opportunity to run the newer version? Or will it automatically download and run the newer version?

If both copies are currently identical, then how will we be able to let you know if the updater works?

If we want to be able to run both version on the same computer is there anything special we need to do? Or is it just download the version on the wiki and put just the copy of UltraXMLTV_Enhancer.exe (not the other files such as IsoCodes.dll and XmlTv.dll) into the same directory as the beta version?

[TomR]

The beta version of this application seems to run so much faster than the current public release version!

Keep up the great work Frank!

[zehd]

Hi Tom..

I can't make Ultra auto update... You have to do it manually... The manual check, checks if there is something new to download.. if there is, Ultra closes while ZUpdater downloads the new copy, backs up previous 2.1 versions, and restarts Ultra.. if there isn't a new version available, it says so, and nothing happans..

I will announce when there has been an important change that I'd like you all to update to and try out.

If Ultra is auto run inside an UpdateEPG, and it closes for ZUpdater to do its thing, the the UpdateEPG.bat will think Ultra is finished, and continue its thing. Batch files typically wait for a program that is being called to finish before it proceeds... in this case it would proceed BEFORE the new program is in place and before any xmltv records are processed.

Currently, the online update is only set up for beta testers. When this is working fine, I will also have a chance for non beta testers to keep up to date with the latest stable version... and let's face it... some beta versions aren't all that stable so it's not there yet for regular users...

About TWO versions... I have made it so that you can have both versions in your .../EPG/UltraXMLTV folder. They can run independently.. BUT really you should use only one and stick to it... Especially Beta Testers, if you don't mind... I only made them run seperately from the same folder, for back testing and being sure that the legacy will continue working for those who haven't upgraded yet...

Ultra 2.1 is ready for regular use.. so edit your UpdateEPG.bat to change it from UltraXMLTV_Enhancer.exe to UltraXMLTV_Enhancer2_1.exe

Once I have enough reports that the 2.1 is stable, I'll be updating the wiki, and 2.0 will not be available anymore.

[zehd]

TheTVDB.com is down again... Oh well... it's the perfect time to check if Ultra will deal with it ok

Sure enough, although it can't get fresh episode files from the tvdb.com it does do what it can do to query what exists in the cache... it rolls right over the down server...

[zehd]

Another thought.... have you ever seen a show in the Program guide and thought... 'hey, that should have episode numbers... it's a pretty big show..."

Well, the seriesid list has over 8600 shows in it now. I've done some hand picking and done things like given 'American Dad' a seriesid (There's only one for 'American Dad!') and I gave an ID to 'the office' where there is really only entries for 'the office (us)'.. etc...

Then I went through all my daughter's shows and realized that there were plenty of shows that had legit seriesIDs on theTVDB.com but couldn't be culled through their very own API (that ultra uses) I checked and I checked... I thought it was my fault or the programs fault...

Anyway when the tvdb.com was up, I went to their main web page and entered the shows in their search engine and low and behold, I got numbers... Well I added them manually to the master SeriesID.txt file... and some of those new entries are in the master list online right now...

What I'm offering is: if you think there's a show that SHOULD have a SeriesID but you don't see it... check it out yourself and then post a list of the shows with there IDs... I'll add it into the master and upload it for all...

(I don't quite want to do this for all 8600 shows, nor do I want to flooded with... 'How about this show?'... Basically, I'd like you to do the leg work and hunt down the series IDs yourself on theTVDB.com... and just post your results here...)

Happy hunting!

[leaded1]

Hey Frank, Just wanted to give you an update from a happy user. I've been using the new beta for a couple of days with no problem. I grabbed 2_1 yesterday, ran the auto-update, and it looks like everything ran great last night. Thanks for a great product! I'm off to hunt down my list of Favorite Missing Show ID's...

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