Server not reading local metadata

[Luke 37094]

ok. i tested your first file and it worked for me a movie folder type.... see the no data and 2013 year

 

[tired dad 28]

I had already set my folder type to movie and am still having the issues with no metadata.  For fun, I turned on the metadata abilities of the server, and it happily saved a new XML file with the name of the movie as the prefix.  Hitting refresh still didn't work, so I removed the "movie.xml" file and did another library refresh to no avail.

Edited March 11, 2014 by tired dad

[Luke 37094]

can you post the file?

[tired dad 28]

I gave in. Completely re-installed the server.  The movie from the first post showed up, complete with metadata.  Ran a refresh after adding another folder, and then the description stopped working. No amount of refreshing will display it again.  In the library display, the movie appears with the pointer symbol indicating it's a folder; when that's clicked, the symbol disappears.  No movie with the symbol next to it will show metadata, but some that don't have it will.  Very inconsistent.

Edited March 12, 2014 by tired dad

[Luke 37094]

I gave in. Completely re-installed the server.  The movie from the first post showed up, complete with metadata.  Ran a refresh after adding another folder, and then the description stopped working. No amount of refreshing will display it again.  In the library display, the movie appears with the pointer symbol indicating it's a folder; when that's clicked, the symbol disappears.  No movie with the symbol next to it will show metadata, but some that don't have it will.  Very inconsistent.

 

what symbol?

[Hedwig 1]

On my 1 file MB3 database the Refresh button did his work but unfortunately still not in the main db...

 

I decided to manually correct all files in the main db which is a hell of a task...

 

Therefore I would like to ask if it is possible to prevent MB3 to update automatically?

 

This would give us a possibilty to backup the db before to allow MB3 to update.

 

Could you tell us what files or folders should be backed up?

 

Is a rollback at all possible?

 

 

Many questions ... but very helpful I think...

[Luke 37094]

On my 1 file MB3 database the Refresh button did his work but unfortunately still not in the main db...

 

I decided to manually correct all files in the main db which is a hell of a task...

 

Therefore I would like to ask if it is possible to prevent MB3 to update automatically?

 

This would give us a possibilty to backup the db before to allow MB3 to update.

 

Could you tell us what files or folders should be backed up?

 

Is a rollback at all possible?

 

 

Many questions ... but very helpful I think...

 

no but we can keep working to solve the issue. in your case, did you notice anything in your logs? can you post a complete log file?

[Danee 57]

 Therefore I would like to ask if it is possible to prevent MB3 to update automatically?

Do you mean the software updating? Running it as a service will prevent auto updates.

[Hedwig 1]

Danee: Yes, but in that case the PC must be on all the time....

 

Luke : this is my server log of today. As you can see it only takes 59 seconds to start up. Same startup some weeks ago took at least 45 minutes? Is that not strange?

 

 

 

server-63530241077.log

[ebr 14921]

Do you mean the software updating? Running it as a service will prevent auto updates.

 

Please don't find ways to disable automatic updating.  The only hope we have of creating and supporting a stable product is if people stay up to date.  If we have 20 different versions being run by people there is no way we can possibly support or improve the product.

 

Thanks.

[Luke 37094]

Danee: Yes, but in that case the PC must be on all the time....

 

Luke : this is my server log of today. As you can see it only takes 59 seconds to start up. Same startup some weeks ago took at least 45 minutes? Is that not strange?

 

 

 

server-63530241077.log

 

No it's not because the length of the startup time depends on the state of the server. Also this log isn't what I need, what I need is a log of you adding a movie that doesn't get metadata read.

[tired dad 28]

what symbol?

This one:

 

 

Now... there are two files with the same movie, one appearing as a folder, the other as the movie.  Pressing refresh on the movie actually refreshed it.

Other movies still appear with the folder symbol until I click on them, and refreshing them has no results whatsoever.

 

Edited March 12, 2014 by tired dad

[Dan64 30]

Sometime happen to me that the metadata information for a movie are not refreshed, especially if I simply update the movie with a versions having a different resolution. But by refreshing the parent folder I always get the metadata properly refreshed. I hope this can help.

Edited March 12, 2014 by Dan64

[tired dad 28]

Sometime happen to me that the metadata information for a movie are not refreshed, especially if I simply update the movie with a versions having a different resolution. But by refreshing the parent folder I always get the metadata properly refreshed. I hope this can help.

Thanks for the suggestion; I tried it and it did not work.

[Danee 57]

Please don't find ways to disable automatic updating.  The only hope we have of creating and supporting a stable product is if people stay up to date.  If we have 20 different versions being run by people there is no way we can possibly support or improve the product.

 

Thanks.

I'm not trying to find a way to disable automatic updating, this is an inbuild feature (?) I'd rather see automatic updating working when mbs is running as a service but fact is it doesn't.

[Luke 37094]

This one:

 

Capture.JPG

 

Now... there are two files with the same movie, one appearing as a folder, the other as the movie.  Pressing refresh on the movie actually refreshed it.

Other movies still appear with the folder symbol until I click on them, and refreshing them has no results whatsoever.

 

Capture2.JPG

 

can you setup a teamviewer session so that i can take a look? thanks.

[tired dad 28]

can you setup a teamviewer session so that i can take a look? thanks.

Ready, just need to know how to set a session up

[Luke 37094]

Ready, just need to know how to set a session up

 

just go here click the big green button, takes about a minute

 

http://www.teamviewer.com/en/index.aspx

[Hedwig 1]

I found a solution for the problem of MB3 not adding metadata when introducing a new (not fetchable) movie.

Obviously since the new big release of february 24th (and when starting MB3 as a server - I repeat that dailly) MB3 does not do a complete rebuild af all metadata in the db.
That's why it takes so little time (45 sec <> 45 minutes before the release). And that made me thinking...

In fact I use several software programs to build metadata in serveral db.

In order of performing things :

1. Tag tool from Netgear for one of my videoplayers.
2. MCIM for building videowall on my Dune and MedeBer videoplayers
3. Media Center Master for building movie.xml file, videoinfo etc.
4. MB3 as main db on my PC.

Starting up MB3 as last was the wrong thing to do (although it was not a problem in the past).
This morning I started MB3 as FIRST, added 5 new movies... and everything went on perfectly.

I could clearly see in the log file that MB3 starts working immediately when adding new items in the movie folders.

So for new items the problems are solved but for items that already were in the db before, the problem remains.

I tried to move items to new folders but that doesn't help either. Cliking on the refresh button has no effect at all. So I will continue correcting items manually...

[Hedwig 1]

To continue with former post I found a workaround for the problem of the missing metadata on older items and which disappeared with the update of 24th February.

 

If you are using Media Center Master to create the movie.xml file you should do the following.

 

1. Start MB3 server

2. Remove movie.xml file in the folder of the movie with the missing metadata along with other files made by MCM. Leave only movie file, folder.jpg and other pictures.

3. Start MCM and check the altered movie folder(s). MCM will create new movie.xml file.

 

>> you will notice that MB3 adds automatically the missing metadata (no need to refresh).

 

Cheers!

[Hedwig 1]

There is one main thing that I forgot to mention. In each movie folder you also need a (name of the movie).TAG file.

MCM uses this to retrieve metadata for its own db.

 

I use Netgear tag tool. Maybe it works with other tag tools but that I do not know (you should test it).

[tired dad 28]

I found a solution for the problem of MB3 not adding metadata when introducing a new (not fetchable) movie.

 

Obviously since the new big release of february 24th (and when starting MB3 as a server - I repeat that dailly) MB3 does not do a complete rebuild af all metadata in the db.

That's why it takes so little time (45 sec <> 45 minutes before the release). And that made me thinking...

In my case, it seems that the file lists are literally disappearing and re-appearing, which is causing a lot of issues. @Luke looked at it, but we were unable to find a cause.

Edited March 16, 2014 by tired dad

[tired dad 28]

I was able to resolve the problem of files appearing and disappearing.  However, the server still does not honour some local xml metadata files on some drives.   I had the server retrieve metadata, but that isn't saved into any local xml file that I can see.  Very puzzling.

[Luke 37094]

The server does honor your local metadata, however from my teamviewer session there appeared to be some environmental issues at play affecting the server. If the server doesn't recognize your folder as a movie, then there's no local metadata to honor because it's never going to look for movie.xml. So that is the first problem to solve, which takes us back to what appeared to be file system or network issues causing files to disappear.

[tired dad 28]

The server does honor your local metadata, however from my teamviewer session there appeared to be some environmental issues at play affecting the server. If the server doesn't recognize your folder as a movie, then there's no local metadata to honor because it's never going to look for movie.xml. So that is the first problem to solve, which takes us back to what appeared to be file system or network issues causing files to disappear.

Makes sense to me.  I was able to get the MB server to consistently recognize the same number of movie folders on each drive (no more jumping from 14 to 82 and back again) by going back to using the software as a service and ensuring the account used to launch the service was a) not the system account and b ) had access rights to the files on the other machine. 

 

If the server does not recognize the folder as a movie, then the MB metadata function should not work either, correct?  I've had a look at some of those problem files, and metadata was indeed added.  So: if the server is not recognizing a movie, what basis is it using to pull the data? The name of the folder perhaps?

 

 

Edited March 19, 2014 by tired dad