Descriptions truncated

Started by tonyfussell, March 07, 2008, 08:03:19 AM

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tonyfussell

Hi,

I download my xmltv epg from http://iceguide.icetv.com.au/cgi-bin/epg/iceguide.cgi?op=xmlguide

For some epg items it looks like the descritions <desc> are truncated. It only appears if the descriptions would be quite long. an example is:-

<programme start="20080309093000 +0000" stop="20080309111500 +0000" channel="2" clumpidx="0/1">
<title lang="en">Jekyll</title>
<desc lang="en">Part conspiracy thriller, part comic horror, Steven Moffat's extraordinary retelling of the Robert Louis Stevenson classic takes the ultimate tale of inner conflict to unforgettable new heights. James Nesbitt, Michelle Ryan, Gina Bellman, Denis Lawson. There's a new Dr Jekyll, with an old problem - Mr Hyde. But the pair have a deal - a body share - and an impossible life is somehow lived. What Hyde doesn't know is that Jekyll is married. There's a wife and two children he'll do</desc>
<category lang="en">Drama</category>
<category lang="en">Entertainment</category>
<episode-num system="icetv">43251278</episode-num>
<subtitles type="teletext" />
<rating system="">
<value>M</value>
</rating>
</programme>


Thanks
Tony

Russell at IceTV

Yes, descriptions in the XML guide are truncated at 511 characters, although the actual number can be slightly less than that sometimes, depending on things like spaces, carriage returns, and linefeeds.  Different PVRs have different limits on how much they can display, but we try to limit it to an amount that works with as many PVRs as we can.

Russell

tonyfussell

ok, that explains it. it's intentially truncated for compatability with some pvr's.

Is there any way I can get the full descriptions? it seems a shame that ivetv has longer descriptions in their database, but it's truncated at delivery. could we have an option on the url? or a setting under "my account".

or get the content creators to respect the 512 limit, so the descriptions don't end mid sentence.

thanks.

Russell at IceTV

I like the idea of using an option on the url to specify which description length you want.  You could set it to zero to get everything available.  Probably better to use the url than to store it in the "my account" settings, in case you have more than one pvr and want different lengths on them.

I agree that it's not great that it's getting cut off mid sentence.  Unfortunately since the various pvrs use different lengths, it's hard for us to do much about it.  I think the best idea is to let the guide entry team use as much space as they feel is appropriate, but trying to keep the important info towards the beginning in case it gets cut off, and then we deal with how much is sent to the pvr at the feed side of things.

Russell

Russell at IceTV

Ok, this is done.  I added a "desc_length=X" option to the URL, which you can use to control the max description length.  0 = unlimited length.  For example:

http://iceguide.icetv.com.au/cgi-bin/epg/iceguide.cgi?op=xmlguide&desc_length=0

You can see the full help file here, with all the options it supports:

http://iceguide.icetv.com.au/cgi-bin/epg/iceguide.cgi?op=help

Give it a shot and see what you think.  Thanks for the suggestion.  :)

Russell

tonyfussell

Cool,

That works great. I'm using it with the the "desc_length=0" option so that I get the whole guide. btw I use it with the DVB websheduler software, and the full descriptions into it fine.

I'll post a message on the webscheduler forum to let other icetv/webscheduler anout this new parameter.

Thanks heaps

Tony