Meta Data Match of Recording vs. Import

[jator]

I've created a virtual channel for my wife focused on Travel Shows. She loves to travel and we get to occasionally, but she likes to watch the shows to get ideas....and hear me groan when she talks about the ever gorwng bucket list destinations. Yes, I realize I'm feeding the beast.

I'm recording a bunch of shows and processing through MCEBuddgy and then reimporting them. Most I don't have an issue with, but there are occasional series that has a basic image and narrative embedded, but when I then try and import, Channels treats it as a "can't find" and just the generic gradiated blue/purple background and text.

Is there a way to import the basic metadata that channels has off the recording when it can't find it in the gracenote database? I have tried to find it through Fix Show Match, but it's not showing up when I search. I have found when scheduling some shows a series ID which is a bunch of numbers and tried to use that with gracenote search under Fix Show match, but that doesn't produce any results.

Thanks for any suggestions on how to address.

[chDVRuser]

For Fix Show match you need either the Show Name or the gracenote TMS ID, Seried ID doesn't work.
You most likely recorded that from one of the FAST sources and it doesn't have a TMS ID.
TMS ID would look like this SH005302440000

You can also use edit metadata to copy the show or episode metadata from the recording and paste it into the import.

To get a gracenote TMS ID for a recording, follow the directions in this post to get the ProgramID

Fixing 1 of a series

That would be a good addition to the OliveTin tool here OliveTin for Channels: An Interface for Misc Channels DVR Scripts & Tricks The user could provide the FileID# i.e. for this example 7137 [Screenshot 2023-10-05 at 19-19-46 Channels Manage Recordings] [Screenshot 2023-10-05 at 19-20-12 Channels Manage Recordings] and OliveTin could parse /dvr/files/FileID i.e. for this example /dvr/files/7137 to get the Airing.ProgramID [Screenshot 2023-10-05 at 19-20-41 Channels Manage Recordings] …

Then edit that ProgramID EP000031631029 as follows to make it a TMS ID
Change the first two letters to SH
SH000031631029
Change the last 4 digits to zeroes
SH000031630000
You now have the gracenote TMS ID for the show and can use that to search for a Fix Show match.

[chDVRuser]

Another option is to just over write the CDVR recorded file with the one you processed with MCEBuddy.
Just rename your MCEBuddy processed file the same as the CDVR recording filename and move/copy it over the recorded file.
That will keep the metadata from the CDVR recording and play your processed file.

I use a script after I do that (that's now in OliveTin) to refresh the duration, rebuild the video index and mark the recording as having no commercials.

[jator]

@chDVRuser

Another option is to just over write the CDVR recorded file with the one you processed with MCEBuddy.
Just rename your MCEBuddy processed file the same as the CDVR recording filename and move/copy it over the recorded file.
That will keep the metadata from the CDVR recording and play your processed file.

I use a script after I do that (that's now in OliveTin) to refresh the duration, rebuild the video index and mark the recording as having no commercials.

Thanks @chDVRuser , that is what I am doing (removing commercials and then placing in the Import folder for future use as a virtual channel. If there's a way to do that with OliveTin and retain the existing location, that would be ideal.

[chDVRuser]

To run the action in OliveTin you just need to specify the DVR and the FileID.

[jator]

Tried but getting errors:

Removing commercial markers from recording with File ID: 5860 on DVR: 192.168.0.5:8089
{"ID":"5860","JobID":"1779509061-194","RuleID":"194","GroupID":"Grand Earth","Path":"TV/Grand Earth/Grand Earth S01E01 Deserts Salt Desert Boliv 2026-05-23-0004.mpg","Checksum":"wqiDm5ipnnbPouG-KjXW9ZUsy1JH4SWBPUWYYQOvQV8","CreatedAt":1779509061,"FileSize":502777393,"Duration":2637.846967,"Completed":true,"Processed":true,"Airing":{"Source":"xmltv:FastChannels","Channel":"87","Time":1779509121,"Duration":3568,"Title":"Grand Earth","EpisodeTitle":"Deserts: Salt Desert, Bolivia; Socotra, Yemen","Summary":"When most people think of deserts, we think of punishing heat, camels and rattlesnakes. But dig a little deeper, and unbelievable stories emerge, like a bleeding tree, and a desert filled with salt.","Image":"https://partner-upload-assets.wurl.com/videoelephant_limited/grand_earth_s01_1920x1080_en.jpg","Genres":["Nature","Plex","FastG"],"Tags":["HD","Stereo","CC"],"SeriesID":"Grand Earth","ProgramID":"Grand Earth/S1E1","SeasonNumber":1,"EpisodeNumber":1,"ContentRating":"PG","Raw":{"xmltv":"\u003ctv generator-info-name=\"FastChannels\" generator-info-url=\"http://192.168.0.5:5523\" date=\"20260523030959 +0000\"\u003e\n\u003cchannel id=\"plex.5e20b730f2f8d5003d739db7-64e437ba7ef2bf9f66b42615\"\u003e\u003cdisplay-name\u003eTravel Escapes\u003c/display-name\u003e\u003cicon src=\"http://192.168.0.5:5523/logos/a33fffd823022df4892982800a59bca9.png\" /\u003e\t\u003clcn\u003e87\u003c/lcn\u003e\n\u003c/channel\u003e\n\n\u003cprogramme start=\"20260523040521 +0000\" stop=\"20260523050449 +0000\" channel=\"plex.5e20b730f2f8d5003d739db7-64e437ba7ef2bf9f66b42615\"\u003e\u003ctitle lang=\"en\"\u003eGrand Earth\u003c/title\u003e\u003cdesc lang=\"en\"\u003eWhen most people think of deserts, we think of punishing heat, camels and rattlesnakes. But dig a little deeper, and unbelievable stories emerge, like a bleeding tree, and a desert filled with salt.\u003c/desc\u003e\u003ccategory lang=\"en\"\u003eNature\u003c/category\u003e\u003ccategory lang=\"en\"\u003ePlex\u003c/category\u003e\u003ccategory lang=\"en\"\u003eFastG\u003c/category\u003e\u003cicon src=\"https://partner-upload-assets.wurl.com/videoelephant_limited/grand_earth_s01_1920x1080_en.jpg\" /\u003e\u003crating system=\"MPAA\"\u003e\u003cvalue\u003ePG\u003c/value\u003e\u003c/rating\u003e\u003csub-title lang=\"en\"\u003eDeserts: Salt Desert, Bolivia; Socotra, Yemen\u003c/sub-title\u003e\u003cepisode-num system=\"xmltv_ns\"\u003e0.0.\u003c/episode-num\u003e\u003cepisode-num system=\"onscreen\"\u003eS01E01\u003c/episode-num\u003e\u003c/programme\u003e\u003c/tv\u003e"}},"ChannelNumber":"87","DeviceID":"M3U-FastNG","UpdatedAt":1779532230497,"Version":23,"JobTime":1779509061,"JobDuration":3748,"HighestPTS":343468674,"BufferStats":{"BufferPct":{"Initial":0,"Last":0,"Min":0,"Max":0,"Sum":0,"GoodCount":1883,"BadCount":0},"BufferDrop":{"Initial":0,"Last":0,"Min":0,"Max":0,"Sum":0,"GoodCount":1883,"BadCount":0}},"CommercialsEdited":true,"CommercialDetectSource":"local","MediaRegions":[{"Start":0,"End":2637.846967,"Type":"content","Sources":null}]}

Refreshing Metadata
{"ID":"5860","JobID":"1779509061-194","RuleID":"194","GroupID":"Grand Earth","Path":"TV/Grand Earth/Grand Earth S01E01 Deserts Salt Desert Boliv 2026-05-23-0004.mpg","Checksum":"wqiDm5ipnnbPouG-KjXW9ZUsy1JH4SWBPUWYYQOvQV8","CreatedAt":1779509061,"FileSize":502777393,"Duration":2637.846967,"Completed":true,"Processed":true,"Airing":{"Source":"xmltv:FastChannels","Channel":"87","Time":1779509121,"Duration":3568,"Title":"Grand Earth","EpisodeTitle":"Deserts: Salt Desert, Bolivia; Socotra, Yemen","Summary":"When most people think of deserts, we think of punishing heat, camels and rattlesnakes. But dig a little deeper, and unbelievable stories emerge, like a bleeding tree, and a desert filled with salt.","Image":"https://partner-upload-assets.wurl.com/videoelephant_limited/grand_earth_s01_1920x1080_en.jpg","Genres":["Nature","Plex","FastG"],"Tags":["HD","Stereo","CC"],"SeriesID":"Grand Earth","ProgramID":"Grand Earth/S1E1","SeasonNumber":1,"EpisodeNumber":1,"ContentRating":"PG","Raw":{"xmltv":"\u003ctv generator-info-name=\"FastChannels\" generator-info-url=\"http://192.168.0.5:5523\" date=\"20260523030959 +0000\"\u003e\n\u003cchannel id=\"plex.5e20b730f2f8d5003d739db7-64e437ba7ef2bf9f66b42615\"\u003e\u003cdisplay-name\u003eTravel Escapes\u003c/display-name\u003e\u003cicon src=\"http://192.168.0.5:5523/logos/a33fffd823022df4892982800a59bca9.png\" /\u003e\t\u003clcn\u003e87\u003c/lcn\u003e\n\u003c/channel\u003e\n\n\u003cprogramme start=\"20260523040521 +0000\" stop=\"20260523050449 +0000\" channel=\"plex.5e20b730f2f8d5003d739db7-64e437ba7ef2bf9f66b42615\"\u003e\u003ctitle lang=\"en\"\u003eGrand Earth\u003c/title\u003e\u003cdesc lang=\"en\"\u003eWhen most people think of deserts, we think of punishing heat, camels and rattlesnakes. But dig a little deeper, and unbelievable stories emerge, like a bleeding tree, and a desert filled with salt.\u003c/desc\u003e\u003ccategory lang=\"en\"\u003eNature\u003c/category\u003e\u003ccategory lang=\"en\"\u003ePlex\u003c/category\u003e\u003ccategory lang=\"en\"\u003eFastG\u003c/category\u003e\u003cicon src=\"https://partner-upload-assets.wurl.com/videoelephant_limited/grand_earth_s01_1920x1080_en.jpg\" /\u003e\u003crating system=\"MPAA\"\u003e\u003cvalue\u003ePG\u003c/value\u003e\u003c/rating\u003e\u003csub-title lang=\"en\"\u003eDeserts: Salt Desert, Bolivia; Socotra, Yemen\u003c/sub-title\u003e\u003cepisode-num system=\"xmltv_ns\"\u003e0.0.\u003c/episode-num\u003e\u003cepisode-num system=\"onscreen\"\u003eS01E01\u003c/episode-num\u003e\u003c/programme\u003e\u003c/tv\u003e"}},"ChannelNumber":"87","DeviceID":"M3U-FastNG","UpdatedAt":1779532231276,"Version":23,"JobTime":1779509061,"JobDuration":3748,"HighestPTS":343468674,"BufferStats":{"BufferPct":{"Initial":0,"Last":0,"Min":0,"Max":0,"Sum":0,"GoodCount":1883,"BadCount":0},"BufferDrop":{"Initial":0,"Last":0,"Min":0,"Max":0,"Sum":0,"GoodCount":1883,"BadCount":0}},"CommercialsEdited":true,"CommercialDetectSource":"local","MediaRegions":[{"Start":0,"End":2637.846967,"Type":"content","Sources":null}]}

Regenerating Video Index
404 Not Found

It is showing the "adjusted time" in the library now, but also says it still has commercial markers though when I click on re-edit commercials, nothing happens.

And the EDL shows it was updated to a blank file, so perhaps this is the expected result even with the error code above?

[chDVRuser]

OK. Looks like they changed a couple API's.
I just notified @bnhf to update his OliveTin action.

@jator

says it still has commercial markers though when I click on re-edit commercials, nothing happens.

Are you seeing ad markers when you play it?

For now, after running the OliveTin action, do a Reprocess Video on the recording

[chDVRuser]

OliveTin updated with the fix

OliveTin for Channels: An Interface for Misc Channels DVR Scripts & Tricks

@chDVRuser Pushed just now as bnhf/olivetin:latest (aka bnhf/olivetin:2026.05.23). Thanks for making it super easy!

[jator]

@chDVRuser

Are you seeing ad markers when you play it?

No, the commercial markers were gone in the recording when watching the video so it worked it would appear.