STV Import: NetFlix for SageMC (v2.1) 28-Feb-09

[Morgan111]

Originally Posted by mkanet

Browse All, Browse WatchNow completely stopped working. Did this happen to everyone? Is this a change that was made on Netflix's site which caused this feature to break?

Yes, they revamped the HTML code for the genres even though you can't see any difference displayed on the browser. Not just a minor tweak. Hopefully will only be a day or two more with the time I have available.

Originally Posted by m1abrams

Yep they do not work for me either. However neither does my Q now too, got it working for about a week then it stopped.

The queue and other RSS channels should still list OK for you.

[Morgan111]

Temporary patch to fix browsing DVD list not appearing.
Download netflix.zip here and extract the included netflix.jar file to
\Program Files\SageTv\SageTv\JARs

[mkanet]

Thanks Morgan! I can confirm that its working again.

I can't remember if I asked this before or not. But isn't the star rating supposed to work for WatchItNow? (see below)

[Morgan111]

Originally Posted by mkanet

Thanks Morgan! I can confirm that its working again.

I can't remember if I asked this before or not. But isn't the star rating supposed to work for WatchItNow? (see below)

Hmmmm, yes star ratings are supposed to work. I'll include that in the next update.

[Todd3835]

So this will NOT let me do watch it now on a MVP right? I guess I should have read every single post before re-subscribing to netflix...... Guess that was a waste. I can't even get it working right on the server machine as it is, but browsing the thread trying to figure out where I might have gone wrong, I see that there's no way for it to work on the extender, and no prospect of it?

[Morgan111]

Too bad you couldn't start with the 2 week free trail. I did just add a note about that on the Features list, otherwise it is not brought up until post #12. The Watch Now video must be played through the Windows Media Player. The Sage built in mplayer must be used to play media on the HD Extender but it does not support playback with the MS DRM licensing. I can't say weather Sage is talking to NetFlix about a plan to do this playback, but that would be nice.

[Todd3835]

I couldn't do a 2 week trial because I wasn't a new user. I honestly only subscribed to it again in hopes of using the watch it now. I could go back to using a client PC on my living room, but I just didn't like the way it looked to be honest. I don't even think the server (which is probably close enough to be able to also use on the TV) has a decent vid card to handle it. I guess if I could get it working on the server it would be worth getting the server setup to run off the main TV, but I just couldn't get it to work..... To be honest, I don't even have a DVD player anywhere in the house now, the kids love thier instant movies "on the box" =] Any time we get a new movie, I rip it right to the external 500g USB drive.....

So, anyways. I managed to get the watch-it-now working on the server using the website, so I know it indeed works. Now it's a question of troubleshooting the sage plugin. If I can do that, it might be salvagable atleast on the main TV (the most likely place to watch the watch-it-now content).......

[Morgan111]

What happens when you launch the Watch Now? If nothing, your Internet Explorer may be on a path other then the C drive. If iexplorer.exe is not at c:\Program Files\internet explorer, you will have to change the following line in Sage.properties ir SageClient.properties when Sage is not running:

plugins/NetFlix/ie_path=c\:\\program files\\internet explorer\\iexplore.exe

[Todd3835]

Internet Explorer is in the standard place. Browsing Watch-It-Now titles shows no matches. Searching does nothing also. My queue shows up, and so does "Channels". If I try to add to my queue from the channels section, it doesn't add.

Here's the last part of my log file:

running ChannelDaemon:387
Channel.hasExpired.ttl:Thrillers:Fri May 23 12:00:00 EDT 2008
ChannelDaemon:387 completed
org.gnu.stealthp.rsslib.RSSException: RSSParser::setXmlResource fails: http://www.netflix.com/Top25RSS?gid=2442
at org.gnu.stealthp.rsslib.RSSParser.setXmlResource(RSSParser.java:75)
at org.gnu.stealthp.rsslib.RSSParser.parseXmlFile(RSSParser.java:112)
at org.gnu.dwarf.sage.netflix.channel.ChannelManager.refreshChannel(ChannelManager.java:82)
at org.gnu.dwarf.sage.netflix.channel.Channel.handleExpiration(Channel.java:133)
at org.gnu.dwarf.sage.netflix.channel.ChannelDaemon.run(ChannelDaemon.java:41)
org.gnu.dwarf.sage.netflix.ChannelException: org.gnu.stealthp.rsslib.RSSException: RSSParser::setXmlResource fails: http://www.netflix.com/Top25RSS?gid=2442
at org.gnu.dwarf.sage.netflix.channel.ChannelManager.refreshChannel(ChannelManager.java:86)
at org.gnu.dwarf.sage.netflix.channel.Channel.handleExpiration(Channel.java:133)
at org.gnu.dwarf.sage.netflix.channel.ChannelDaemon.run(ChannelDaemon.java:41)
Caused by: org.gnu.stealthp.rsslib.RSSException: RSSParser::setXmlResource fails: http://www.netflix.com/Top25RSS?gid=2442
at org.gnu.stealthp.rsslib.RSSParser.setXmlResource(RSSParser.java:75)
at org.gnu.stealthp.rsslib.RSSParser.parseXmlFile(RSSParser.java:112)
at org.gnu.dwarf.sage.netflix.channel.ChannelManager.refreshChannel(ChannelManager.java:82)
... 2 more
ChannelDaemon:2442 completed


Strange the time, since I'm on EDT and it's not Midnight yet.....

After doing a browse, there was nothing in the screen, *but*, here's some interesting pieces in the log:

BrowseDvdRemote recieved processRequest sortType: alphaIndex:0
ShowBrowseHTMLParser 1
ShowBrowseHTMLParser 2
ShowBrowseHTMLParser 3 36279 51459
scraped showid:70024198 scraped title:LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring: Extended Ed.
scraped year2001) scraped mpaa:PG-13
scraped showid:70024202 scraped title:LOTR: Return of the King: Extended Ed.
scraped year2003) scraped mpaa:PG-13
scraped showid:70024206 scraped title:LOTR: The Two Towers: Extended Ed.
scraped year2002) scraped mpaa:PG-13

and here's the very end of it:

scraped showid:382460 scraped title:Clear and Present Danger
scraped year1994) scraped mpaa:PG-13
id="b0,0 not found in <tr>
<td>
<div style="font-size:17px; font-weight:bold;">
100,000+ DVD Titles<br>200+ DVD Genres
</div>
<div style="padding-top:20px;padding-bottom:5px;font-weight:bold;">
Browse Our DVD Selection
</div>

</td>

scraped showid: scraped title:
scraped year: scraped mpaa:


So..... any ideas how to fix it?

-Todd

[Morgan111]

Todd,

That time is an expiration time. It sounds like you have one of two problems.

If going to Browse DVD Titles or Browse Watch Now does NOT display a list of genres, then you probably have to update your netflix.jar with the one that was created this week to resolve a change to the netflix website. (attached to first post)

If going to Browse Watch Now does display a list of genres, but selecting a genre shows no movies, then you probably have a problem in the username (email) or password as configured on the SageMC - NetFlix Configuration page. If you make an update to that you will have to shut down sage and restart in order for the Sage NetFlix cookies to be cleared.

That last one would also explain why the queue could not be updated. It uses the RSS channel, with your customer id (Pxxxxxxxxxx), to read the queue, but it must use your login name and password to submit a change or addition to the queue.

Hope that helps.

[Todd3835]

That was indeed the problem, I did get it working. Guess on Monday I'll take a look, and setup the server to pipe out to the TV. I still have all the old cables and such somewhere (IR for remote, Audio Out, SVideo cable), so it should be smooth sailing. How's the quality on full screen? It's only a 27" Tube TV.....

[wrems]

Todd, FWIW, I had the exact same problem you described. There is hardly a mention of the lack of MVP support for this plug-in. Which now makes sense after having tried and learned how Netflix utilizes WMP and DRM… I’m not sure why it is not mentioned in the description area in the downloads section: http://forums.freytechnologies.com/f...do=file&id=210

Anyhow, I used to be a Netflix subscriber a few years back, and then switched to BB. When I saw this plug-in I tried to re-subscribe to Netflix to use the watch it now feature. The internet wouldn’t let me get the free trial since I wasn’t a new subscriber. So I called them and told them that I wanted a new two week trial to see how their new watch it now feature worked. They gladly gave me a new two week trial, and I dumped BB despite not being able to utilize watch it now without tethering my server to my TV. Someday, I’ll build an awesome client and my problems will be fixed

[fiatmonkey]

Hi all,

firstly (firstly?) I love the plugin at least in theory if I could only get it to work. I am stuck whereas after I install it and run thru my configuration and add the menu link two things happen: 1 when I click the newly added netflix link from the main menu named "NetFlix" the next menu screen tells me I need to complete the configuration. I am then go thru it and confirm. However at this point I am stuck in this screen and cant easily navigate out.

The 2nd thing is if I restart sagetv the netflix menu link is gone??


I am anxious to use this and stuck right now so any help would be great.

-FM

[dadein]

Originally Posted by fiatmonkey

Hi all,

firstly (firstly?) I love the plugin at least in theory if I could only get it to work. I am stuck whereas after I install it and run thru my configuration and add the menu link two things happen: 1 when I click the newly added netflix link from the main menu named "NetFlix" the next menu screen tells me I need to complete the configuration. I am then go thru it and confirm. However at this point I am stuck in this screen and cant easily navigate out.

The 2nd thing is if I restart sagetv the netflix menu link is gone??


I am anxious to use this and stuck right now so any help would be great.

-FM

I agree that this is a great plugin... and for the most part it is now working great for me after the last update. I think I can answer why you are having trouble with "Netflix" not staying on the menu after you reboot. When you add Netflix to the menu you have to go back into "Main Menu Options" AGAIN. Once there select "File..." and then "Save menu file". Sorry I can't help with the other problem.

[Todd3835]

Ok, after fighting and fighting and fighting with the cables and such (finding the audio, pulling out the entertainment center, finding the IR remote and reciever, getting drivers installed, etc), it works locally when I remote login, but it doesn't work on the TV. It tells me my DRM needs to be reset. I did that, rebooted, and nothing..... Is it because I'm using SVIDEO? Does DRM not like SVIDEO (since you could probably go and tape with a vcr or something)? I will be highly upset if that's the case.....

-Todd

[venkman781]

Has anyone else noticed problems when searching for a movie by title and having the Watch It Now menu item appear? I've searched for a few titles which are relatively obscure (ie. Godzilla vs. Hedorah) and the Show Trailer menu item changes to a Watch it Now menu item. When I click on it, the Netflix IE window pops up and says:

The requested page /WatchNowPlayer does not exist. We will try to
automatically redirect you to our home page in 10 seconds.

After checking the Netflix site itself, the movie above is not a Watch it Now title, so it makes sense that it doesn't load. I'm just wondering why SageMC thinks that it is.

I did update to the latest netflix.jar this week and I have not noticed any loss of functionality when browsing DVDs or Browsing Watch it Now titles.

[Todd3835]

So, does this plugin work if your viewing on the TV via SVideo? I'm getting some kind of DRM error......

[Morgan111]

There was a WMP DRM update that I was required to get a week or two ago on two clients when attempting to view a Watch Now video. I assume that may be what you are running in to? Clicking a link on one machine installed the update easily. The other one did not go as smooth and required me to follow some alternative paths from Microsoft to update.

[Todd3835]

It runs ok on the machine using remote login, and works fine on this machine, but just not on the server when viewing from the TV. That's why I figured maybe it was an issue with the SVIDEO output. Are you indeed getting it to work with using SVIDEO out?

-Todd

[Todd3835]

Ok, so after calling netflix, they said due to DRM, it wouldn't work, without a workaround (I'm getting REALLY REALLY sick of DRM to be honest). Basically, they told me I had to get it working on the monitor first, then switch the vid card settings to "2" instead of "1" display (TV instead of Monitor). Well, that works great, but for those of us without a monitor attached (let's face it, if you have a TV attached to the box, why do you need a Monitor?), it leaves us high and dry. Upon reboot without the monitor hooked up, I was out of luck.

So, not to be outdone, I did find a work-a-round. I used a KVM switch, and even though the monitor isn't even active on the box (and wasn't during bootup, which was nice it worked), it indeed will work! I thought I was going to have to buy a USB keyboard so that I could switch between the 2 machines (a gaming rig and the tv server), but it worked without switching. This of course is great for upgrading software and such too (to have the monitor) since the TV doesn't display the windows dialogs that well (everything is tiny). But either way I got it working atleast.....