[bossanova808]

So not so long ago I switched my entire library back to using TheTVDB (New) scraper, instead of the TMDB TV.  I initially moved to the TMBD one as that seemed to be the recommended default for Kodi 19 - but that one as that was missing so many things, and a whole bunch of shows got misidentified etc, requiring manual interventions....I looked at the TVMaze along the way but that seems to have more gaps then the TMDB one even. 

Perhaps because I am in Aus, but most current shows were either not being updated or only updated after several days (meaning new epsiodes won't come up in Kodi)...so in all, this wasn't working well for me.  The TVDB (New) addon works far better,  with vastly fewer mis-identified shows etc.  So definitely happy with the move.  @pkscout and others, many thanks for your hard work, it's appreciated.

However, today I got an email from the TVDB about the old API being shuttered.  And a new official python wrapper being available.  And I know I read somewhere around here that the TVDB folks were working on their own Kodi scraper - but given they have no forums anymore, not sure where to get info about that, or if there is a repo to look at? 

So, I find myself curious about the state of Kodi & TheTVDB.  Is this (the 'New') addon written with the V4 API already (from a quick look at the code it seems to be).  Is the intention this scraper keeps going?   At least until the TVDB folks release theirs?  (And is it a great idea to be dependent on them?)

I know subscriptions are a thing with the TVDB now (which, at $12/yr, doesn't really bother me if it (with Kodi) is reliable, and the best source of info for my needs).  So really, just trying to work out what the state of things is really...

[Karellen]

Hi @bossanova808

I've split your post into your own thread as your second question is unrelated to TMDB-TV Shows

initially moved to the TMBD one as that seemed to be the recommended default for Kodi 19 - but that one as that was missing so many things, and a whole bunch of shows got misidentified etc, requiring manual interventions

Can you describe what is missing? I thought it a comprehensive scraper and it does everything the other scrapers do, and more in some areas.
Can you also provide examples of mis-identified shows? I use this scraper and never have a problem. But I don't know how many shows you scrape weekly and I always use the individual scrape, not the global Update Library.

However, today I got an email from the TVDB about the old API being shuttered

I don't have a TVDB API, so I did not receive that email. Do you mind posting it here?

So, I find myself curious about the state of Kodi & TheTVDB.

You and me both. TVDB have been pretty quiet about their development and it all seems to be happening behind closed doors. There has been some contact requesting various bits of information about various functions/features. Early July we were advised that we (Team) would have something to test early Q3 which is around now.

Thats pretty much all we know for now. Talks regarding subscription will continue once the scraper is available for testing.

[bossanova808]

Sure, to start, here's the email:

Code:



Hi TheTVDB Community Member,
 
As you likely know, in November of 2020 we released the latest version of our API, affectionately known as v4. Since then, TheTVDB team has been hard at work cranking out new features like expanded search, as well as developing additional endpoints and support tools for our developer community.
 
Given these recent improvements, we wanted to encourage all of our developers to upgrade to v4 if they haven’t already. And to help with that, we have pushed the deadline for sunsetting our legacy APIs to October 1, 2021. You will have until then to ensure your project is fully operating on the v4 API.


Additionally, our public GitHub is now officially open! You can submit support issues and connect directly with TheTVDB’s developers in our v4 API repo.

Take Me to GitHub https://github.com/thetvdb

We’ve also just released a Python wrapper for the v4 API, which developers can now make use of. The wrapper is currently in beta, and can be found in our GitHub repo.

See the Python Wrapper https://github.com/thetvdb/tvdb-v4-python

Lastly, our data contribution feature has just been released. Our Points Portal allows users to contribute data to the site in exchange for a waived annual subscription to TheTVDB. Subscriptions include a PIN that can be used in conjunction with an API key to access our metadata, and also feature an ad-free site experience.
 
Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay up-to-date on new feature releases, site updates, and other important communication from TheTVDB team.
 
We’re looking forward to hearing your feedback. And thanks for being a part of TheTVDB community.



[bossanova808]

RE: The TMDB one, the main/daily issues I had were missing episodes of Aus reality type shows (for the family, not my personal cup of tea...but it's important I keep this stuff working or they will stop tolerating my constant mucking about with all this stuff!)

Aus. Survivor, The Block etc - would not get added to Kodi (at least the next day, as I would expect them to be...) ...as the eps were missing.  Also, lots and lots of missing specials would never come up.    We use Kodi for everything - whilst I have a NextPVR install going for very rare broadcast TV needs, we haven't had an aerial connected to our TV as such since about 2003...so the daily use is pretty intensive as far as it goes, I'd imagine for many a few days delay would not matter, but it was an ongoing irritant.  To be fair though, many things were fine...but no question when I flipped back the entire library scraped in again very easily with TVDB and a lot less (basically, no) manual intervention needed. 

Mis-identified shows - from my library of (currently) 363 shows, I'd say about 50ish shows - largely ones with ambiguous names, since it seems to ignore the date in the show folders (e.g. Grace (2021) - came up as Alias Grace or Will & Grace).  I do use the whole library scrape (each time I boot).   Over the months of using TMDB I found myself manually using the 'change content' option to change more and more shows to use the TVDB and eventually I decided it would just be easier to flip over whole-sale to the TVDB again as that has served me well (apart from some downtime episodes) for a decade plus now.

I definitely don't love the TVDB per se - their approach/demeanour in the forums was always a OTT and unwelcoming, but the quality of the data is definitely better (for my library anyway).

[Karellen]

RE: The TMDB one, the main/daily issues I had were missing episodes of Aus reality type shows (for the family, not my personal cup of tea...but it's important I keep this stuff working or they will stop tolerating my constant mucking about with all this stuff!)

Ok, so the issue is more with the content at TheMovieDB, rather than with the scraper.

since it seems to ignore the date in the show folders (e.g. Grace (2021) - came up as Alias Grace or Will & Grace). 

Let me try this in my own library with some dummy files after lunch.

I have a NextPVR

Me too. That is where most of my content comes from nowadays, but we never watch live tv. The commercials are too annoying.

[bossanova808]

Yep, the issue was mostly missin content at TMBD.  The mis-identifying thing was an initial problem, but just a bit of extra work (vs the TVDB) and solved easily enough.  It was the ongoing missing things that made me switch.

And agreed re: commercials.  I've done everything I can to remove all advertising from my life....just can't stand it.  I've got no problem with direct marketing (like a newsletter etc) - but scattershot advertising can just die in a fire as far as I am concerned.

[DarrenHill]

I clarified the situation with TVDB overnight, as I got the same email.

Their scraper for Kodi is apparently progressing well, and is in final testing internally before they release it to us.

We will of course test it too once we receive it, and if all is OK then it can be released to everyone.

From what they've told us in the past, it will enable Kodi to maintain at least feature parity with what exists at the moment without cost. There will be the option for their subscription service and PIN to unlock some of the new features they've added with API v4, but for functionality equivalent to what is available now that won't be needed (or at least that's what they've told us).

Hopefully there aren't any last minute showstoppers, if they want to keep their now announced 1st October deadline for stopping the legacy APIs...

[shedrock]

@DarrenHill - Will TheTVDB addon still work with Leia with the new changes?

Thanks,

Shedrock

[DarrenHill]

@shedrock - No. To my understanding the new scraper will be Python3 based, so Matrix and later only. At least for now anyway, the priority is to get something up and running on the current version of Kodi.

There may be a follow-on scraper in Python 2, but that would be up to them as they are creating and supporting it and would depend on demand.

Any such requests should be routed to them, but remember that Leia is now legacy and not supported as we move onward to Matrix, Nexus and beyond.

There would of course be no reason that a community written scraper couldn't also be produced. But Team Kodi have no interest in making one ourselves, as it would be for a legacy Kodi version only and we are moving forward with the current and future ones.

[shedrock]

Any such requests should be routed to them, but remember that Leia is now legacy and not supported as we move onward to Matrix, Nexus and beyond.

I understand. I just wanted to stick with Leia and use TheTVDB. The new scrapers are extremely slow in comparison with TheTVDB. They also don't find tons of older TV Show series.

Anyway, I tried Matrix and it has just been a disaster for me. I am stuck on a constant reboot with it, and can't figure it out. I have to post over on LE's forums to see if they can help me.

Thanks for the info.

Shedrock

[DarrenHill]

One suggestion is perhaps get one device up and running with Matrix and the new scraper, then use that exclusively to do the scraping and periodically export your library as individual separate files per show episode/movie to your server. Other older devices can then locally scrape the NFO (wiki) files that are generated and can be kept up to date that way.

You can't of course share databases directly between the Leia and Matrix devices, but you can do info and metadata sharing that way.

[shedrock]

One suggestion is perhaps get one device up and running with Matrix and the new scraper

Thank you very much for the info Darren. I may actually do that, or I may just upgrade my old Zotac box.

Regards,

Shedrock

[bossanova808]

Personally I use trakt for this.  I've moved away from library exports and .nfo files because those don't get updated over time (I suppose if you export to nfo, re-import, then delete the nfo you'd be ok).  But syncing your watched stuff to trakt works really well for this (if you're comfortable with a cloud service).  You then just re-import your library and trakt takes care of marking off all the watched etc.

(I agree the new pythong scrapers are slower than the old, but I find the the TVDB (new) python scraper to be at least as accurate as the old one...and the slowness only really makes a big difference on re-scanning the whole library, for day to day scans it's not much different...)

I will also say - with Matrix it's definitely best to start with a clean install.  Probably true with Kodi upgrades in general, to be honest, but given all the changes with addons from Leia to Matrix -> definitely true for Matrix.   Clean install, clean library re-import and you should find Matrix very good.  In the form of Coreelec on an Odroid N2 it's easily the most stable Kodi setup I've had in almost 15 years of very solid Kodi use...

[shedrock]

But syncing your watched stuff to trakt works really well for this

I have been using trakt for over 8 years now. It is not perfect in terms of marking TV Shows as watched all the time, but it does the job. I actually prefer using an addon that is no longer maintained called script.watched.states. Works on Leia, but not on Matrix for obvious reasons.

(I agree the new pythong scrapers are slower than the old, but I find the the TVDB (new) python scraper to be at least as accurate as the old one...and the slowness only really makes a big difference on re-scanning the whole library, for day to day scans it's not much different...)

Yes, the TVDB (new) scraper is by far the best, slow, but very accurate indeed. For movies, UMS is still my preferred choice. As for the speed, it is very slow on Matrix. I scanned 270 TV Shows from 9:45am to 3:30pm, and I still have 500 more to go and 4000 movies. It's a new install (2nd time) but it is frustrating, and my internet speed is 50 Mbps so it is the scrapers I imagine. I also have no luck with Matrix (LibreELEC), just like Krypton and Jarvis. Only Helix and Leia have ever worked for me, but Helix was perfect. I imagine it is a hardware issue, so a new box is on the wish list.

Anyway, thanks for your input.

Regards,

Shedrock

[fsurfer]

But syncing your watched stuff to trakt works really well for this

I have been using trakt for over 8 years now. It is not perfect in terms of marking TV Shows as watched all the time, but it does the job. I actually prefer using an addon that is no longer maintained called script.watched.states. Works on Leia, but not on Matrix for obvious reasons.

(I agree the new pythong scrapers are slower than the old, but I find the the TVDB (new) python scraper to be at least as accurate as the old one...and the slowness only really makes a big difference on re-scanning the whole library, for day to day scans it's not much different...)

Yes, the TVDB (new) scraper is by far the best, slow, but very accurate indeed. For movies, UMS is still my preferred choice. As for the speed, it is very slow on Matrix. I scanned 270 TV Shows from 9:45am to 3:30pm, and I still have 500 more to go and 4000 movies. It's a new install (2nd time) but it is frustrating, and my internet speed is 50 Mbps so it is the scrapers I imagine. I also have no luck with Matrix (LibreELEC), just like Krypton and Jarvis. Only Helix and Leia have ever worked for me, but Helix was perfect. I imagine it is a hardware issue, so a new box is on the wish list.

Anyway, thanks for your input.

Regards,

Shedrock

Going through the same process as we speak, majority of my media used and uses TMM

With my TV / Anime media, I wasn't sure which Kodi scraper to use:- Local, TMDB TV Shows (TMDB is missing quite a lot of Anime shows), The TVDB or The TVDB (New) so I settled with The TVDB (New) followed by Artwork Beef now using Artwork Dump as Beef kept crashing - scanning speed with smb hasn't changed.

Update:- The TVDB (New) scraper worked, for films themoviedb Python scraper was slow, inaccurate and failed miserably, however themoviedb scraper worked like a charm.