[80njc80]

Cheers. I will run without the "n" option specified. I just thought [nc] identifies the missing items then 'c' caches them afterwards. I initially wanted to run 'C' just so that it started from scratch but this seems unnecessary.

Once run the command for movies and tvshows i'll post the .log for comparison if that is OK? Thanks again for your time and efforts to date. Have learnt a lot so far!

[Milhouse]

Sure

[80njc80]

00.00 downloads per second - ETA: **.**.**.

Slow progress... Is that my setup or processes on the other end of the line? It hurts to watch! It is scraping though.

[Milhouse]

00.00 downloads per second - ETA: **.**.**.

Slow progress... Is that my setup or processes on the other end of the line? It hurts to watch! It is scraping though.

Could be both. Caching artwork isn't a particularly CPU intensive task so this would suggest a problem with your network (lack of bandwidth, or dns/routing issues) or problems with the sites you are downloading from (maybe not responding to queries due to API changes, sites are down, artwork is removed and no longer exists).

You may benefit from increasing the number of threads used to cache artwork by adding (for example) "download.threads = 8" to texturecache.cfg. The default is 2. The script will then use up to 8 threads at a time when requesting Kodi to cache artwork which can help speed things up, particularly when sites are responding slowly to individual requests however if your network/internet connection is the bottleneck then it may make the situation worse.

[80njc80]

OK cheers. Now requesting 8 threads but does not seem to have changed. The texturecache.cfg. was not in the folder... I just added it and changed it accordingly.

Just to double check i've done things right from the start... Firtly, I saved the single texturecache.py file to the pi and run it as a standalone script. Did I need to installed the whole master folder from Github in the pi then run the texturecache.py from that folder?

EDIT: Trying both methods as a precaution.

[Milhouse]

OK cheers. Now requesting 8 threads but does not seem to have changed. The texturecache.cfg. was not in the folder... I just added it and changed it accordingly.

Just to double check i've done things right from the start... Firtly, I saved the single texturecache.py file to the pi and run it as a standalone script. Did I need to installed the whole master folder from Github in the pi then run the texturecache.py from that folder?

EDIT: Trying both methods as a precaution.

Just as per the installation instructions: only download texturecache.py.

Also your texturecache.cfg file should be in /storage/.config/texturecache.cfg or in the same directory as texturecache.py - the script will look for it in both places (first in the directory where the script is located, then in /storage/.config whcih is where you normally put config files in OpenELEC).

You can use "texturecache.py config" to confirm your texturecache.cfg file is being read correctly, and your settings are being set.

What kind of internet connection do you have?

[80njc80]

The .cfg is working in /storage/.config as eight (8) threads are displaying in the scrap process i.e. overriding the default setting of two (2). I have a wireless setup. Netgear D6200 modem router, ADSL2 connection that works nicely with all the other wireless devices attached.

I did have Kodi setup through Raspian previously but, the SD card corrupted and now trying Openelec. I don't remember issues with scrapping with the previous setup. Is it worth trouble shooting the network connection? I have a VPN setup via an app. Would this be an issue?

I should note that the .py is scrapping - albeit very slowly. Errors are being noted in the CLI when running.

[Milhouse]

Is it worth trouble shooting the network connection? I have a VPN setup via an app. Would this be an issue?

Absolutely, although you'll need to find someone else to troubleshoot it with as I'm not that familiar with VPNs.

I should note that the .py is scrapping - albeit very slowly. Errors are being noted in the CLI when running.

Some errors are to be expected as some remote artwork will no longer be available, or the artwork sites might have temporary/intermittent issues, but the number of errors shouldn't be too excessive. A large number of errors would suggest a network issue, as would very slow downloads, which might all be attributable to your use of a VPN.

I'd suggest caching the artwork without the VPN (ie. direct connection to the internet) and see if download performance improves.

[80njc80]

Thank you for your time. I will try without the vpn and check performance accordingly. Will also try looking into other network solutions and tests. I have a feeling changing to TCP will resolve issue.

Last question I PROMISE... When everything has finished scrapping, do I just keep running 'c' to fill in missing artwork to reduce error output until none arise (hopefully)? Thereafter is it simply looking through the database and running ./texturecache.py C /movies.or.tvshows "file" to fix individual errors by removing and replacing. Is there a preferred methodology to remove all errors and update cache accordingly?

[Milhouse]

Last question I PROMISE... When everything has finished scrapping, do I just keep running 'c' to fill in missing artwork to reduce error output until none arise (hopefully)? Thereafter is it simply looking through the database and running ./texturecache.py C /movies.or.tvshows "file" to fix individual errors by removing and replacing.

Yes, pretty much.

Is there a preferred methodology to remove all errors and update cache accordingly?

Yes, use only local artwork.

[80njc80]

Yes, use only local artwork: Does that means only use your program to update?

[Milhouse]

Yes, use only local artwork: Does that means only use your program to update?

Not entirely, I'd recommend using a media manager (eg. Ember Media Manager or similar) to download the artwork alongside your movies (or tvshows). Although there is another option you can use for existing libraries[1].

Using remote artwork is prone to all sorts of problems - sites go offline, artwork your movie/tvshow library references is removed before you have cached it (more of an issue with MySQL and shared libraries, but can also affect anyone that deletes their texture cache and then finds the remote artwork referenced by their library no longer exists).

Another issue with remote artwork is that if you rescrape your library you will most probably see different artwork to the artwork you are used to seeing, usually because new artwork has become available (which can be both good and bad).

If you want reliable, consistent access to artwork then having artwork stored locally alongside your movies/tvshows is the only choice.

1. You can use my scripts to automatically convert your remote artwork to local artwork without any loss of quality - you will need to download the mklocal.py script from the tools folder in my texturecache.py github, then see this post for details.

Using mklocal.py is a better option than exporting the contents of your texture cache as you will only be able to export what has been cached and what you export will be the cached artwork which has been reduced in quality because it is optimised for speed of display. mklocal.py on the other hand will directly download the original quality artwork (assuming it's available to download) and store the new image artwork alongside your movies/tvshows, then allow you to replace the remote artwork urls in your media library with the new local urls that you can then cache reliably and consistently from your local network.

[80njc80]

Thanks again for your time! The culprit may have been the UPD VPN addon. Pi has never liked UDP on other systems. Will have a play around with the setup further but posters and fanart are speeding along now!

RESOLVED.

./texturecache.py jd movies | ./mklocal.py --local /freenas/media --prefix nfs://192.168.0.3/mnt/share/media --artwork fanart poster clearlogo clearart --output fixup.dat

Ok. The nfs:// will be my NAS SATA_DISK video folder where my seperate movie and tv show folders reside. Is it ok to just reference the parent video folder? Not sure what my local media folder is... the cache folder?