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Search in emby not showing list of airings, only random channels


Red5ive

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Noticed for a while that when I search for a program to record instead of a list of airings I get a list of random channels unrelated to the show I am looking for.

This happens on all clients I use (Web app, Roku and Android app).
Doing a little research I see that server version 4.6+ introduced a new 'Grouped suggestions' in search:

"You'll now see Shows and Movies grouped as one single entry, rather than separate entries for every single airing". - This is actually a feature I have long been asking for so was pleased to see it implemented but it's seemingly broke for me.

I get my Live Tv and listings via NextPVR and the NextPVR plugin in emby.
I noticed that new versions of NextPVR v5 and the emby plugin have been released but even after upgrading those to the latest version (v5.2.0.210912 of NextPVR and plugin version 3.7.4 from here: NextPVR plugin 3.7.4 - NextPVR - Emby Community ) I still get the random list of channels rather than airings (see screenshot)

Any help appreciated!

Untitled.jpg

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Hi, I just tried to reproduce this but can't find that show.  I'm also not using NextPRV or the plugin but could install those for testing if needed.

Do you think you could find another example using a more common show that will likely be available?

What is the source of the tuner setup in NextPVR?
What is the guide source you have setup in NextPVR?

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Hi Cayers

I'm in the UK and that show is on nearly every daytime during the week but it happens on any show I search for to record.

Source tuner is freeview on a Hauppauge quad tuner with schedules direct as the source.
 

If I try searching the show using NextPVR the showings are all listed correctly as can be seen in the screenshot.

Search used to work Ok in emby (though I always hated how it would list all the showings in the results but not what channel they were on) until the recent change of displaying them.

Untitled.jpg

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pünktchen

I think your problem lies within SchedulesDirect as a guide source in NextPVR. With the xmltv export api of NextPVR as well with the Emby plugin, the program data is stripped down to the main show title without any further details like episode title, episode numbers or even description. Everything that would help to identify unique programs. This is because Schedules Direct prohibits the use of their data in non approved, especially commercial apps.

Edited by pünktchen
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Yes I think this is something new that was just implemented

What OS are you running on?
If windows have you tried installing WinTV and then installing your Quad card directly in Emby?

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It is Windows and I did try the wintv and emby setup a few years ago but found it buggy and it also did not support my other capture card at the time, a Hauppauge dual DVBS satellite card.

I have been using this setup fine for a long while and emby used to be able to search correctly, It's since server 4.6 and the changes made to the search and display that it is not showing correctly.

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Understood.  Yes you need to use NextPVR or similar for these tuners.
The problem is NextPVR is now stripping this information before it gets to Emby to there is nothing that can be done on the Emby side.

Off the top of my head I can think of two ways to resolve this.  Setup a different EPG source in NextPVR other than SD or switch out NextPVR to something different.
You used to be able to export and use M3U from NextPVR but that does not work well in NextPVR V5.

If you install a NextPVR V4 server you can probably work around this and export M3U from it. Then you set this up directly in Emby and use Emby Guide data.
https://support.emby.media/a/solutions/articles/44002060568

The best alternative is setting up a TVHeadEnd machine (Linux) on a dedicated or Virtual Machine to use for bringing in your tuner channels then create a M3U output similar to above or use the TVHeadEnd plugin available in the Emby Catalog.

Using the M3U approach you don't need any guide providers setup in NextPVR or TVHeadEnd as you will be using strictly as a "dumb tuner". All guide & channel mapping is done in Emby.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Red5ive

Not wanting to cross-post but I submitted this issue in the general windows support but believe it's now a problem with NextPVR or the plugin.

Here is the original thread: Program search only showing list of channels, not airings - General/Windows - Emby Community which contains screenshots and info on my setup

but in a nutshell:  I have been using for some time NextPVR V5 with Schedules Direct and the emby plugin and all has been working well until I believe a recent emby server change where they group search results for show airings together rather than lots of separate entries. Now searching for a program to record withing emby does not bring up any airings for me but a random list of channels.

Searching for the same show in NextPVR brings up the correct info,

@cayars believes it's NextPVR not passing this info across anymore, but I am more inclined to believe it's the change emby made and perhaps the plugin needs to be amended to make this work again, can you advise @emveepee?

 

Edited by Red5ive
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I'm almost positive it's the change in NPVR5/plugin that is causing this issue for you as it's a recent change.

There are a few things you could change/try to improve this. They are listed likely from easiest to hardest.

  • Install the latest version of WinTV on your server and reconfigure Emby to use this with a guide provider (US, CA & UK work out of the box).
  • Change the guide provider in NextPVR to something other than Schedules Direct.  This way the NextPVR plugin will not filter the data.
  • Try setting up Media Portal. Then install the Media Portal plugin in Emby.
  • Install NextPVR version 4 and use the plugin for version 4 with Emby.
  • If in the USA, Canada or UK, setup NextPVR version 4.  Remove the NextPVR plugin from Emby and export an M3U file from NextPVR that can be used in Emby.  In Emby you configure the M3U as a tuner and then setup the guide data using Emby's own Guide Provider.  Instructions for this setup are linked above. The advantage of this is using Emby's built in guide data vs a 3rd party which you likely are paying for.

Each of the above are different setups that should fix this issue for you. You could try all of them if inclined to see what works best.

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emveepee

I might have screwed up the logic for determining the UK  codes,  what are the SD lineup names showing on the access screen.  I only pass US, CAN and GBR listing unfiltered.

You also missed the most important screenshot what does the EPG look like? 

Regardless the search result from Emby looks like a bug to me since if it was being truncated you would be seeing "Homes..." as the show name and it should be showing you all the "Homes ..." results not random shows.

Martin

 

Edited by emveepee
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Red5ive

Thanks emveepee
SD lineups are [Freesat from Sky (GBR-1002100-DEFAULT)] and [YouView - Cambridgeshire (GBR-1007509-DEFAULT)]
See screenshot.

Have also attached screenshots of both guides, inside emby and NextPVR. Both seems fine to me, tune correctly and can set recordings from the guide.

SDLineup.jpg

NextGuide.jpg

Emby Guide.jpg

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emveepee

So as I suspected the plugin's part is actually working, the search would be against the database.   I don't know how the showing function work but perhaps if there was a field that I don't know about where I could populate the TMS ID then things might be better.

Martin

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On 10/8/2021 at 9:59 AM, emveepee said:

So as I suspected the plugin's part is actually working, the search would be against the database.   I don't know how the showing function work but perhaps if there was a field that I don't know about where I could populate the TMS ID then things might be better.

Martin

To get the series groupings you need to set a seriesid on the program infos. It could be anything, just as long as it is the same for all episodes of a series.

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Just now, emveepee said:

@Luke ok thanks what would the dictionary key value pair look like?  

Martin

What do you mean by dictionary? The series id is just a string property.

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emveepee

Sorry I was looking at SeriesProviderIds.  The backend doesn't current provide this info so I can craft my own but for EPG source that is not that rich it won't be that unique.

Is showing supposed to be episode specific or series specific?  @Red5ive what would you prefer?

Also shouldn't Emby skip this lookup if seriesId is not set?

Martin

Edited by emveepee
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Red5ive

Not sure what the difference is, or how Emby is now grouping them.

Before the emby change if you searched for a programme to record such as 'Casualty' it would list every individual showing in the guide, including those that were on the HD and +1 versions of the channel in one long list. That was annoying as you had no indication what series or indeed what channel it was until you clicked on the individual entries.
Something I assume is fixed with the recent change.

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44 minutes ago, emveepee said:

@Luke I have updated the code to pass the series name as a link but it still returns junk for movies as show here https://imgur.com/a/XVQgzws Is something else required

Martin

Are you setting the SeriesId property as well as IsSeries?

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emveepee

@Luke after looking into it more marking them as movies is even worse.  https://imgur.com/a/5kaijkg  Halloween is still shown as a program and not movie, I don't get the deifferent Halloween versions in the result list and I get really unknown junk in other showings.  The relevant (I believe) fields are shown here.   What else might I be missing?

 

 select sortname, name, type, isMovie isSeries, ProductionYear, SeriesName, MediaType   from mediaitems where sortname="Halloween";
Halloween|Halloween|5|||1978||1
Halloween|Halloween|27|1|0|1978||1
Halloween|Halloween|27|1|0|1978||1
Halloween|Halloween|27|1|0|1978||1
Halloween|Halloween|27|1|0|1978||1
Halloween|Halloween|27|1|0|1978||1
Halloween|Halloween|27|1|0|1978||1
Halloween|Halloween|27|1|0|1978||1
Halloween|Halloween|27|1|0|1978||1
Halloween|Halloween|27|1|0|1978||1
Halloween|Halloween|27|1|0|1978||1
Halloween|Halloween|27|1|0|1978||1
Halloween|Halloween|27|1|0|2007||1
Halloween|Halloween|27|1|0|2007||1
Halloween|Halloween|27|1|0|1978||1
Halloween|Halloween|27|1|0|1978||1
Halloween|Halloween|27|1|0|1978||1
Halloween|Halloween|27|1|0|2018||1
Halloween|Halloween|27|1|0|2018||1
Halloween|Halloween|27|1|0|2018||1
Halloween|Halloween|27|1|0|2018||1

 

Edited by emveepee
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Hi, try this query instead

select sortname, name, type, isMovie isSeries, ProductionYear, SeriesName, MediaType from mediaitems where Type=27 and sortname like "%Halloween%";

Changed it to a wild card search with anything "Halloween" in it and restricted it to program data (type=27)

The results match what I see using Emby Guide data.

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