RecInfo - Email reporting of recording results

[jimh]

Whew, here's my first release for the GBPVR community:

RecInfo - version 0.9beta.  Get it here:RecInfo-09beta.zip

This tool, when added to your PostProcessing.bat file (ideally AFTER comskip.exe), allows you to access approximately 20 program-related fields, including show title, description, number of commercial breaks found by comskip, etc.

Configuration of RecInfo is set via the included RecInfo.cfg file, by which you can customize a detailed email message to be sent (via the auth-SMTP server you have access to) with numerous details about the just-completed recording.  In order to use this feature, you MUST add your SMTP info to the config file.

Also, via its config file, you can specify a shell command for RecInfo.exe to execute that includes any of the variables that RecInfo makes available to you.

Finally, using the included free tool "MediaInfo.exe" (see http://mediainfo.sourceforge.net), RecInfo will report data about the actual .mpg file (currently only playing/duration).

I created this tool basically because I wanted to be able to assure my wife that her shows actually did record correctly and in full (without actually having to examine each one manually).

Here's a sample of the email that RecInfo now sends to me:

To: <me>
Subject: Recording Results for "NYPD Blue"  OK!
From: GBPVR Recording Server
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2005 20:02:00 -0800 (PST)

"NYPD Blue" was successfully recorded.
(Bale to the Chief: The squad's temporary boss cares more about golf than solving crimes; Ortiz and Murphy suspect a man of stabbing his young Muslim bride to death; Bale recommends Sipowicz as new squad commander for the precinct.).

This episode was broadcast on 7 WABC (from TV Tuner),
and ran from Feb. 22, 2005 at 22:00:00 to Feb. 22, 2005 at 23:00:00.

Actual recording started at Feb. 22, 2005 at 21:59.01 (1 minute prepadding was specified),
and ended at Feb. 22, 2005 at 23:01.00 (1 minute postpadding was specified).
Recording appears to be complete.

The recording, which is 1 hour, 1 minute, and 54 seconds long,
is stored in D:\NYPD Blue\NYPD Blue_20050222_22002300.mpg and is 1780 MB in size.

7 commericial breaks were marked by comskip.
Total time for these 7 commercials: 18 minutes and 21 seconds.
Estimated viewing time without commercials: 43 minutes and 32 seconds.

(Drive D: has currently has  8,425,091,072 bytes free.)

-------------
Please post comments/suggestions/problems here and I'll do my best to get this release out of beta ASAP.

[mz-system]

hi, this will be a nice tool ;-)

but it don´t work on my machine. i change "recinfo.cfg" like this:

<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Code Sample </td></tr><tr><td id="CODE">
TV_Format=PAL                                 # CHOOSE NTSC or PAL
GBPVR_Dir=c:\programme\devnz\gbpvr       # DEFAULT: c:\program files\devnz\gbpvr
#MediaInfo=mediainfo.exe                        # DEFAULT: mediainfo.exe (in local directory)
#
# IN ORDER FOR EMAIL TO BE SENT, ALL OF THE FOLLOWING MUST BE ACCURATELY PROVIDED
#SMTP_User =
#SMTP_Password =
SMTP_Server =192.168.1.1

EmailFrom=GBPVR Recording Server
EmailSendto=XXXXX@XXXsecretXXXX
EmailSubject=Recording Results for "$$ShowName$$"

# THESE FLAGS INDICATE WHAT OPERATIONS RecInfo.exe SHOULD PERFORM
GetMediaInfo=1         # 1 = Use MediaInfo.exe tool to process and report video-related information
SendEmail=1            # 1 = Send email reporting results of the recording
[/QUOTE]

the mail will not be delivered, with tcpdump i see the connection from recinfo to my smtp-server, the log of my smtp-server (ms exchange2003) seems strange:

<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Code Sample </td></tr><tr><td id="CODE">
2005-03-14 13:30:18 192.168.1.6 demo SMTPSVC1 SERVER-002 192.168.1.1 0 MAIL - +FROM:+user 250 0 42 15 0 SMTP - - - -
2005-03-14 13:30:18 192.168.1.6 demo SMTPSVC1 SERVER-002 192.168.1.1 0 RCPT - +TO:+user 250 0 30 13 0 SMTP - - - -
2005-03-14 13:30:18 192.168.1.6 demo SMTPSVC1 SERVER-002 192.168.1.1 0 DATA - <SERVER-002WGzEPORiZ0000001b@XXXXsecretXXXX> 250 0 125 922 16 SMTP - - - -
2005-03-14 13:30:18 192.168.1.6 demo SMTPSVC1 SERVER-002 192.168.1.1 0 QUIT - demo 240 47 61 4 0 SMTP - - - -
2005-03-14 13:32:22 192.168.1.6 demo SMTPSVC1 SERVER-002 192.168.1.1 0 EHLO - +demo 250 0 303 9 0 SMTP - - - -
2005-03-14 13:32:22 192.168.1.6 demo SMTPSVC1 SERVER-002 192.168.1.1 0 from: - +GBPVR+Recording+Server 500 0 32 28 0 SMTP - - - -
2005-03-14 13:32:22 192.168.1.6 demo SMTPSVC1 SERVER-002 192.168.1.1 0 to: - +XXXX@XXXXXsecretXXXXX 500 0 32 19 0 SMTP - - - -
2005-03-14 13:32:22 192.168.1.6 demo SMTPSVC1 SERVER-002 192.168.1.1 0 subject: - +Recording+Results+for+"Wunderwelt+Wissen"++OK! 500 0 32 55 0 SMTP - - - -
2005-03-14 13:32:22 192.168.1.6 demo SMTPSVC1 SERVER-002 192.168.1.1 0 "wunderwelt - +Wissen"+was+successfully+recorded.
(:+Magazin+·+Thema+u.a.:+Löschdrohnen+-+Brandbekämpfung+der+Zukunft+·+Moderation:+Robert+Biegert).

This+-UNKNOWN+was+broadcast+on+PRO+7+(from+wintv-pvr350),
and+ran+from+Mar.+07,+2005+at+07:45:00+to+Mar.+07,+2005+at+08:30:00.

Actual+recording+started+at+Mar.+07,+2005+at+07:40.01+(5+minutes+prepadding+was+specified),
and+ended+at+Mar.+07,+2005+at+08:40.00+(10+minutes+postpadding+was+specified).
Recording+appears+to+be+complete.

The+recording,+which+is+UNKNOWN+long,
is+stored+in+C:\media\dvr\Wunderwelt+Wissen\Wunderwelt+Wissen_20050307_07450830.mpg+and+is+-1522+MB+in+size.

0+commericial+breaks+were+marked+by+comskip.
Total+time+for+these+0+commercials:+UNKNOWN.
Estimated+viewing+time+without+commercials:+UNKNOWN.

(Drive+C:+has+currently+has+.)
500 0 32 804 0 SMTP - - - -
2005-03-14 13:32:22 192.168.1.6 demo SMTPSVC1 SERVER-002 192.168.1.1 0 . - - 500 0 0 1 0 SMTP - - - -
2005-03-14 13:32:22 192.168.1.6 demo SMTPSVC1 SERVER-002 192.168.1.1 0 QUIT - demo 240 16 0 1 0 SMTP - - - -
[/QUOTE]

may be you know what is wrong. is there the possibility to verbose the output?

[wtg]

Jim,

Another nice feature would be to be able to send the output to a file, that way the user can do whatever else they'd like with it. For me, since my server doesn't require SMTP authentication I can't send the email, but I'd still like to have the data so I could view it and parse it with a perl program of my own.

Thanks,
Tim

[jimh]

Quote[/b] (wtg @ Mar. 14 2005,09:28)]Jim,

Another nice feature would be to be able to send the output to a file, that way the user can do whatever else they'd like with it.  For me, since my server doesn't require SMTP authentication I can't send the email, but I'd still like to have the data so I could view it and parse it with a perl program of my own.

Thanks,
Tim

Tim:

If you send me a perl snippet showing how you are able to send email via your non-auth SMTP server, I'll encorporate it into the next release.

The only server that I know of that I can use to send email requires AUTH - if I had access to a non-auth email server, I could write and test the perl code myself. (If you know of one I can access for free, please let me know).

I'll also add a verbose/debug mode as well as the option to append the text of the email to a log file for those who don't have email capabilities.

- Jim

[Guest]

Jimh,
Slick program.  Unable to get an email set.  Here's the info I added.  Did I miss something or wrong syntax?  Also a wish - Any way to send an email for only certain shows?
Thanks, and again cool app.

# IN ORDER FOR EMAIL TO BE SENT, ALL OF THE FOLLOWING MUST BE ACCURATELY PROVIDED
SMTP_User =xxxx
SMTP_Password =xxxx
SMTP_Server =smpt.comcast.net

EmailFrom=GBPVR Recording Server
EmailSendto=xxxx@xxxx.xxx
EmailSubject=Recording Results for &quot;$$ShowName$$&quot;

[dab]

I made a typo in my last post &quot;smtp.comcast.net&quot;

[jimh]

RecInfo Version 0.95beta is now available here: RecInfo-095beta.zip

New features include:

1. RecInfo can send email via SMTP or AUTH-SMTP;

2. RecInfo can log its results to a user-specified logfile (as specified in RecInfo.cfg);

3. RecInfo has a debug mode (set debug=1 in RecInfo.cfg) which produces verbose output helpful for troubleshooting;

4. RecInfo now reads the GBPVR installation directory from the Windows registry (optional override still available via RecInfo.cfg);

[simon]

I've installed the latest version, and set it up via the instruction file.

The log file shows that the email is being generated correctly, but it never sends it to me. I've tried two different mail servers that I have access to. Are there any tools I can use to see what is going on?

Thanks,

Simon

[jimh]

I've installed the latest version, and set it up via the instruction file.

The log file shows that the email is being generated correctly, but it never sends it to me. I've tried two different mail servers that I have access to. Are there any tools I can use to see what is going on?

Thanks,

Simon

Simon:

Set 'Debug=1' in the configuration file so that it prints out debug/verbose info during execution. If you capture the debug info and post it here, I'll look it over and try to find a solution.

- Jim

[simon]

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the quick reply. I've had debug=1 set since I installed recinfo, so the debug file contains a few email bodies which show that recinfo is being called and is generating the email correctly. It doesn't show why the email isn't sent, so I've grabbed the output from a test I did at a command prompt, which may be more useful. I've also attached the relevant part of my cfg file.

So far I have tried two different servers, both with or without an smtp password. I get the same error every time. I've also tried removing the <> around the EmailFrom and EmailSendto in the cfg file.

Thanks for any help you can give,

Simon

Code:

#BEGIN [D:\ER\ER_20050404_22002305.mpg]#
"ER" was successfully recorded.
(Middleman: Drama series set in the busy emergency room of Chicago's County General hospital. Pratt gets dumped for being immature. Susan tries to get money into the hospital. Jake juggles his shifts around to get closer to Abby.).

This was broadcast on Channel 4 (from Nova),
and ran from Apr. 04, 2005 at 22:00:00 to Apr. 04, 2005 at 23:05:00.

Actual recording started at Apr. 04, 2005 at 21:58.00 (2 minutes prepadding was specified),
and ended at Apr. 04, 2005 at 23:10.00 (5 minutes postpadding was specified).
Recording appears to be complete.

The recording, which is UNKNOWN long,
is stored in D:\ER\ER_20050404_22002305.mpg and is -2008 MB in size.

5 commericial breaks were marked by comskip.
Total time for these 5 commercials: 11 minutes and 42 seconds.
Estimated viewing time without commercials: UNKNOWN.

(Drive D: currently has 29,678,153,728 bytes free.)
#END   [D:\ER\ER_20050404_22002305.mpg]#

Code:

C:\Program Files\devnz\gbpvr>recinfo "D:\T4OC\T4OC_20050403_14351540.mpg"
QUERY: select * from RECORDING_SCHEDULE where filename='D:\T4OC\T4OC_20050403_14
351540.mpg'
QUERY: select * from CHANNEL where oid=4
QUERY: select * from CAPTURE_SOURCE where oid=1
QUERY: select * from PROGRAMME where oid=1544
0: 2053 -> 4703  -- 115.217391304348
1: 26065 -> 31555  -- 353.913043478261
2: 43680 -> 49029  -- 586.478260869565
3: 68152 -> 71680  -- 739.869565217391
<br>TX  ehlo demoP Ready -- Server ESMTP (MTA)
<br>TX  AUTH LOGIN PLAIN9F761D451D69DCB061E13E
<br>334 VXNlcm5hbWU6
<br>TX  c2ltb25yeWxleQ==
<br>334 UGFzc3dvcmQ6
<br>TX  b3JhbmdlbmV0
<br>235 2.7.0 LOGIN authentication successful.
<br>250 2.5.0 Address Ok.
<br>RESULT: 550 5.1.1 unknown or illegal alias: s************
<br>554 5.5.0 No recipients have been specified.
<br>
C:\Program Files\devnz\gbpvr>

Code:

#  UNCOMMENT (remove the leading # from) THESE CONFIGURATION PARAMETERS TO OVERRIDE DEFAULT VALUES IF NECESSARY
debug=1                                         # DEFAULT=0, debug mode is OFF
TV_Format=PAL                                   # CHOOSE NTSC or PAL
#GBPVR_Dir = c:\program files\devnz\gbpvr       # DEFAULT: GBPVR installation directory specified in Windows registry
#MediaInfo=mediainfo.exe                        # DEFAULT: mediainfo.exe (in local directory)
ShowComplete_Leeway=5                           # DEFAULT=0; Allowed number of seconds that recording can start late
                                                #            or end early without prompting an ALERT
#
#
# IN ORDER FOR EMAIL TO BE SENT, ALL OF THE FOLLOWING MUST BE ACCURATELY PROVIDED.
#  NOTE: IF YOUR SMTP SERVER REQUIRES AUTHENTICATION, YOU MUST SPECIFY SMTP_PASSWORD
SMTP_Server=smtp.orange.net    
SMTP_User =s***********
SMTP_Password =**********

EmailFrom=GBPVR@Recording.Server
EmailSendto=s****************
EmailSubject=Recording Results for "$$ShowName$$"

# THESE FLAGS INDICATE WHAT OPERATIONS RecInfo.exe SHOULD PERFORM
GetMediaInfo=1         # 1 = Use MediaInfo.exe tool to process and report video-related information
SendEmail=1            # 1 = Send email reporting results of the recording
LogFile=c:\RecInfo.log            # Logfile where body of email messages will be appended