International Cinema Listings plugin - Support Thread

[McBainUK]

lol

[SuMo]

Sumo: If you are interested in doing some translation services for me I could have a look at adding filmladder.nl as a source.

sure, no problem, just let me know.

Didn't know if you've missed this one, but anything I can do to help, let me know.

[kaizen]

Any chance you could do a US version? The Theater plugin hasn't worked proper for months now and it doesn't look like Brian's got the time to fix it.

[McBainUK]

If you find me a source I will look into it. But I think its because source keeps changing things so the same thing would happen with my plugin also.

[kayak4ever]

My understanding was that it is not the source that is changing but the way the source, http://www.fandango.com releases the information. I looked for other sources.

http://www.zap2it.com has theatre listings but they aren't in a soap based format.

I also found the following sites:
http://movies.go.com/
http://movies.yahoo.com/showtimes/ch...&date=20070208
http://www.waff.com/Global/link.asp?L=185319
http://www.wlns.com/Global/link.asp?...v=menu25_14_13

I don't know if any of these are in the right format, but the last 2 are taken from another company as indicated in the terms of use: "© Copyright 2001-2003 WorldNow". If it can be done, my preference would be for the worldnow version or the zap2it version because each of them allows you to restrict your area within your postal code (Canada) or zip code (US). For those with a lot of theatres in their zip code or postal code, this can be useful to restricting the listings to the theatres the user would be likely to attend. Also for those in areas with few theatres who are willing to drive further to get to a theatre, the listing can be expanded.

[McBainUK]

My plugin works a little different to the US one. It takes in CinemaIDs instead of ZipCodes and scrapes the HTML site instead of using soap/rss.

Which source has the widest range of data for all cinemas in US/Canada?

[kayak4ever]

I have been thinking about your question and I am not sure that I understand how it works without a reference to area in which you live since the movies showing in the theatres in Ottawa, Canada will be different from the theatres showing in Miami,USA even though they are the same theatre chains. I am assuming the same thing must happen in other countries.

zap2it would be my choice (see http://movies.zap2it.com/movies/browse/m...--,00.html for information to choose city) because Canadian and US gbpvr users are already downloading from that site. However, the opening movie page wants to know your city and how many miles circumference you want or your postal code\zip code. Once you have selected a city, postal code\zip code and\or distance willing to travel, the list of theatres appears to be very complete. For my area, for example, it lists all the theatres that we have in Ottawa, Canada.

[kaizen]

My plugin works a little different to the US one. It takes in CinemaIDs instead of ZipCodes and scrapes the HTML site instead of using soap/rss.

Which source has the widest range of data for all cinemas in US/Canada?

I think that would be Fandango. I don't know about the Cinema IDs, but you should be able to scrape the HTML. I think the reason for the problems with the original version is more Brian's availability than anything programming wise from the PM he sent me.

[McBainUK]

OK, I've had a little look at the Fandango with respect to using as a US source for the International Cinema plugin and it looks possible.

Available data example : http://www.fandango.com/TheaterPage.aspx...AABQA&pf=1

Zap2It also seems to be a good source.
Available data example : http://movies.zap2it.com/movies/theaters...VD,00.html

Will post when have something to show but may be a few weeks as have a lot of University work on at the moment.

[kaizen]

OK, I've had a little look at the Fandango with respect to using as a US source for the International Cinema plugin and it looks possible.

Available data example : http://www.fandango.com/TheaterPage.aspx...AABQA&pf=1

Zap2It also seems to be a good source.
Available data example : http://movies.zap2it.com/movies/theaters...VD,00.html

Will post when have something to show but may be a few weeks as have a lot of University work on at the moment.

My preference would be Fandango as Zap2it only lists 3 area theaters for me and one that's not even in my state! I tried the same query with my parent's address and it is also incorrect.

Fandango OTOH lists ALL the theatres in my area, and if you view this link: http:// http://www.fandango.com/TheaterL...zipsearch you get the links to the movie and theater details not to mention 'coming attractions'.

To be honest, the main reason I use the Theater Listings plugin is actually for the reviews more than anything else. I haven't been to a theater in years, and am even less inclined since setting up GBPVR with my big screen TV and theater sound system...

And I don't mind waiting a few weeks; it still seems like a better bet than waiting for an update to Theater Listings since jorm hasn't posted here since November. I think he's just overwhelmed with work right now.

Let me know if I can be of any help - I am not a real programmer (certainly not .net anyway) but I will contribute what I can - testing, graphics, etc.