Announcements of new VAP versions

[dlflannery]

This thread is intended solely for announcement of new VAP versions and the changes embodied in them. Note that the document VAP-ReadMe.pdf contains a complete cumulative change log at the end. This document, and the installer for the latest VAP version can be downloaded using the links provided at the bottom of the first post of the thread linked in my signature (below).

Questions of clarification of latest version changes are appropriate for this thread but specific problems you are having with any VAP version might better be handled by starting a new thread in the VAP sub-forum.

 

[dlflannery]

VAP Ver. 0.61

6 November 2010, Ver. 0.61
Enhanced: Added String Translations for theTVDB metadata searches, configured on the “Other” tab of Advanced Configuration. If the episode name or series name obtained from your input file systematically differ from what theTVDB uses, this facility allows you to set up a string-match-then-replace table that translates the name to the form found in theTVDB.
Enhanced: Metadata can be obtained from (suitably formatted) input file names using templates set up on the “Metadata Templates” tab of Advanced Configuration. This is based on regular expression matching and requires that metadata tags be contained between fixed text elements that delimit the text that is matched by the tags.
Changed: MediaInfo.DLL is not called for .TiVo input files.
Enhanced: TheTVDB metadata searches are now done using Series Name and Date, if these items are available and a search using Series Name and Episode Name cannot be done or fails.
Enhanced: Description and Air Date metadata items are now taken from theTVDB, and episode name if not obtained from input file.
Note: Metadata is normally fetched when an input file is detected in the monitor folder. Changes to parsing templates and translations go into effect the next time VAP processing is restarted. (Thus if you change a Parsing Template or Translation, the change will not affect files that have already been detected.) The order of metadata fetching is:
1) Metadata embedded in the input file (DVR-MS, WTV, TiVo, .mp4 and .m4v only)
2) Metadata parsed from input file name (if appropriate template is defined)
3) Episode Name and Series Name are translated for the TVDB search,( if so configured.)
4) theTVDB metadata search.

 

[dlflannery]

VAP Ver. 0.62 -- Organize series shows in subfolders!

11 November 2010, Ver. 0.62
Enhanced: Processed TV Series files can be organized in subfolders based on metadata items such as title, season and episode, etc. Metadata-based output folder names may optionally be specified by including a path portion in the “Output File/Path Renaming Template” entry on the “Metadata Templates” tab of Advanced Configuration. For example a template for renaming only file names might be:

{title}.S{seasonnum}E{epnum}.{eptitle}-{date}

Metadata-based path creation is invoked by adding the path portion, like this:

c:\My Encodings\TV Shows\{title}\{title}.S{seasonnum}E{epnum}.{eptitle}-{date}

The folder path template is the portion up to the last backslash ('\'). If the folder path isn't included, or the folder can't be created, a message is logged and the configured Output Folder is used. VAP causes the file to be directly written to the desired folder by the VRD process – not moved there after processing.
Changed: VAPPostprocess and VAPcleanUp scripts may be located either in the metadata-based output folder or in the configured Output Folder. VAP will run them from either location but gives precedence to those it finds in the metadata-based output folder.
Changed: VAPpostProcess and VAPcleanup scripts are now passed an additional argument, which is the folder path of the (possibly metadata-based) output folder. Here are the arguments:

VAPpostProcess:
1. Bare file name of output video (may be renamed per metadata template).
2. Bare file name of input video
3. Folder path to output video

VAPcleanUp:
1. Bare file name of output video (may be renamed per metadata template)
2. Folder path to output video

(“bare” means no path info and no extension.)
Obviously if no metadata-based renaming is applied to either folders or file names, there is a lot of redundancy in these arguments, but that's OK – the computer doesn't mind and neither should your batch files. This should not break any current script file that works without meta-renaming.
Enhanced: If VAP terminates itself due either to -maxIdle or -shutdown times (while running with the -hotStart CL arg), it will launch a script named VAPonShutDown.cmd (or .bat) – if it finds the script in the configured Output Folder. VAP then terminates immediately (without waiting for the script process to complete). No arguments are sent to the script. A message telling whether the script was launched is logged. This script is a convenient place to execute clean-up operations that apply to many output files that have been processed, e.g., moving them to a network drive.

 

[dlflannery]

VAP Ver. 0.63

19 November 2010, Ver. 0.63
Changed: If process is two-step (QSF, then AdScan) and both input and output file formats are TiVo, the intermediate (Temp QSF) file will also be TiVo. This is necessary because VRD can only produce a valid TiVo output file if the input file is also TiVo.
Enhanced: Thumbnails can be embedded in .mp4 and .m4v outputs.
The thumbnail images must be named <title>_thumbnail.jpg ( or .png) and must be located in the "thumbnails" subfolder (which you create) of the VAP data folder, i.e.:
%APPDATA%\VAP\thumbnails\
<title> is the Series Name for a TV series or the title for other videos, e.g., a movie title.
One caveat -- the following characters are verboten in file (or folder) names:
: / \ | * ? < > "
VAP sanitizes metadata strings used in folder or file names by replacing ':' with ';', double-quote ("} with single quote ('), and the remaining characters with a space character. The <title> portion of your thumbnail file name must be sanitized exactly the same way or the file will not be used. Helpful messages are logged regarding thumbnails.
Fixed: The VAP data/configuration file, VideoFileManager.xml, is now saved frequently instead of only at (normal) program shutdown or system-forced shutdown. This should preserve file processing status much better across abnormal terminations.
Changed: If a Series Title translation is performed, the translated title becomes the metadata title (and will be used in metadata-based file/folder renaming). Formerly the translated version was temporary, used only as a key in theTVDB metadata searches.

 

[dlflannery]

VAP Ver. 0.64

23 November 2010, Ver. 0.64
Fixed: BTV metadata XML file sometimes had episode names where it should have had series names.
Changed: If a series title translation is configured and applies to an input file, the translated title will be used in metadata. (Previously translation was only applied to keys used for theTVDB searches.)
Fixed: Metadata episode numbers greater than 99 were being truncated to two digits.
Enhanced: If theTVDB search finds more than one identical series episode name, the metadata from the most recent episode is used. Example: Three episodes of “The Daily Show” are entitled “Harrison Ford”.
Changed: The “TVEpisode” metadata tag inserted in .mp4/.m4v output files is now in the format ssee, where ss is the season# and ee is the episode#. No leading spaces or zeros are included.
Fixed: The “Description” metadata tag inserted into .mp4/.m4v output files is limited to 255 characters because that's all iTunes will accept.
Changed: The “Description” metadata item found in theTVDB searches is used only if that item could not be found in the input file, e.g., TiVo descriptions are used if available.

 

[dlflannery]

VAP Ver. 0.65

1 December 2010, Ver. 0.65
Fixed: VAP was determining output file types by parsing Output Profile names – not reliable since users can create new Profiles with any name. VAP now uses the File Type of the profile that is returned by VRD COM.
Fixed: Sequencing error that could occur if match-string-based Output Profile was active.
Enhanced: AtomicParsley puts Series Name (Title) in the artist and album artist tags.

Thanks to tannebil and sirfergy for comments and testing leading to these changes.

 

[dlflannery]

VAP Ver. 0.66

6 December 2010, Ver. 0.66
Enhanced: VAP forces VRD into “cut” mode when running Ad Detective, overriding the GUI setting. Note this is only temporary. The GUI setting is left unchanged.
Enhanced: The “album” tag in .mp4/.m4v metadata is now set to Season #, Episode #.
Changed: The “Redo theTVDB.com metadata search on file reset” checkbox is now the “Redo metadata on file reset” checkbox (Advanced Settings, “Other” tab). Metadata is regenerated just as if the file has been first detected in the monitor folder.
Enhanced: The file list can be set to display only files not in the COMPLETED status (transferring, new or AWAITING CUTS). This is controlled by a checkbox labeled “Display only uncompleted files” on the “Other” tab of Advanced Configuration.

The last two changes easily could have some undiscovered bugs. If you find a problem, please post and revert to Ver. 0.65 if necessary.

 

[dlflannery]

VAP Ver. 0.67

20 December 2010, Ver. 0.67
Changed: The file display filter, if activated, causes display of only files in process (not completed, not blocked). This is activated by the check box so named in the Other tab of Advanced Configuration.
Enhanced: For TVS4 only, Drax (Google “Drax”) chapter files can be generated for MPEG4 outputs based on the scene markers detected by VRD Ad Scan. Instructions:
1. In Advanced Configuration, "Other" tab, check "Generate MPEG4 Drax chapter files".
2. Configure only QSF (no AdScan), at least for files you want Drax for.
3. If the output profile is MPEG4, VAP will run VRD Ad Detective on the output of the QSF process, and will parse the .vprj file and generate the Drax chapter (text) file. The file will be located with the QSF'ed output file and will have the same name but with a ".drx" extension. If Drax generation succeeds the .vprj file is deleted. If the VRD ad scan generates no cuts, the Drax file will not be created (log messages tell whether it is created). For any process flow other than QSF-only, or for output file types other than MPEG4, or if you don't check the Drax checkbox in Advanced Config, VAP operation will be the same as version 0.66. Whether "Use ComSkip" is checked makes no difference for the Drax generation process – VRD Ad Detective will be used.

 

[dlflannery]

VAP Ver. 0.68

VAP Ver. 0.68, 3 March 2011

Fixed: Did not reload last-used profile extension (e.g., .m4v) at start up.

 

[dlflannery]

VAP Ver. 0.69

25 March 2011, Ver. 0.69

Enhanced: To support use of AtomicParsley (AP) in VAPpostProcess scripts, after performing
H.264 encoding with HandBrake (HB), VAP will generate an AP options text file in the output
folder named <videoName>.apo . This is controlled by the “Generate Atomic Parsley Option
File” checkbox on the “Other” tab of the Advanced Configuration page. An example postprocess
script named VAPpostProcessHBandAP.cmd, which performs HB encoding and runs AP
with the .apo options, is installed in the VAP installation folder. To be used the parameters at the
top must be customized (and it must be renamed VAPpostProcess.cmd and placed in the output
folder). This script will run without further modification when placed in either the metarenamed
output folder, or in the default output folder (if not present in the meta-renamed folder).
Changed: When “Generate Drax chapter files” is checked on the “Other” tab of the Advanced
Configuration page, the .drx file will be generated for any output file type (provided only QSF
is configured as the process flow, as before). The files also can be generated with all VRD
versions rather than just TVS4 as previous, to support H.264 encoding in postProcess scripts.
Fixed: VAP could fail at startup when duplicate Output Profile names existed. This can occur if
a profile (e.g. WTV H.264) had been added manually and VRD is updated to a version that has
that profile built in. If duplicates are found, only the first profile encountered is recognized by
VAP and an appropriate message is logged. (The manually-installed version should be removed
using the VRD GUI.)

This version incorporates changes developed as a result of the "Handbrake Encode Option?" thread.

 

[dlflannery]

VAP Ver. 0.70

8 April 2011, Ver. 0.70

Fixed: VRD COM processes were not stopping when Stop button was clicked.
Enhanced: Option to disable theTVDB.com metadata searches by checking “Do not do
theTVDB searches” on the Options tab of Advanced Configuration.
Enhanced: If a theTVDB search fails, further searches are disabled for five minutes.
Enhanced: There is a new checkbox, "Stop monitoring if theTVDB is down", located on the "Other" tab of Advanced Configuration, which will default to checked the first time you startup this version and will be tracked in the XML file thereafter. If this is checked, files that are detected when theTVDB is down will remain in the 'TRANSFERRING" status, until the connection is restored (and VAP processing is active). Otherwise, detected files will be processed with whatever metadata can be obtained without using theTVDB. (In any case, VAP retries the connection at 5 minute intervals, if its processing is active and a file remains in the TRANSFERRING status.)
Enhanced: A timeout of 10 secs is used for each of the two connections to theTVDB.com involved in each metadata search. If either timeout occurs the search fails.
Enhanced: Stall (“hang”) detection and automatic abort for VRD processes. Detection occurs at 2 minute intervals.
Enhanced: If a postprocess script fails to launch because the script file is not present, no log message is generated.
Enhanced: Added .mkv and .flv as monitored file extensions when running TVS4.
Fixed: Excessive times for theTVDB searches occurred if the Air Date used as a key was
“0001-01-01” which seems to occur for some WTV files.
Fixed: Numerous small cleanups of tooltips, Advanced Configuration data entry checking, etc.

 

[dlflannery]

VAP Ver. 0.71

20 April 2011, Ver. 0.71

Enhanced: Three different sort orders selectable for monitored file list.
Changed: Processing order will be based on input file creation time, with oldest file processed
first. (Does not depend on list display order.)
Enhanced: Checkbox for displayed file filter moved from Advanced Configuration page to
main GUI.
Enhanced: If VAP detects a VRD stall, the input file is moved to a sub-folder of the Monitor
folder: <monitor folder path>\stalled_files. If the OS has the file locked (so it can't be moved),
the file name is appended to a text list file in the same folder named “stalled.txt”, and the file is
set to “blocked”.
Fixed: Metadata was not being inserted in output MPEG4 files if input files were configured to
be moved or deleted after processing.
Enhanced: Now uses threads for file moves and deletes (moving an input file when completed
or stalled, or deleting the input file when completed). Moves or deletes can fail if either source
or destination file (if it already exists) are locked, which sometimes happens for mysterious
reasons. The threaded versions keep retrying the operation for 30 seconds in case the file
unlocks. File moves, even when successful can take quite a few seconds if the file is large and
the source or destination folder is on a USB drive or just a different drive partition.
The threaded versions do not block the GUI or VAP processing waiting for them to complete or
time out. The start and completion/status of each such operation are logged.
Also, the input file names for any delete or move failures, and stalls, are added to text list files
created in sub-folders of your monitor folder:
<monitor path>\stalled_files\stalled.txt
<monitor path>\failed_moves\move_fails.txt
<monitor path>\failed_deletes\delete_fails.txt
Changed: The workaround for the TVS4 bug of not being able to open WTV files that it had
created has been removed. This applied to the two-step process flow (QSF then AdScan) when
both input file and output profile were WTV types, and involved using DVR-MS for the temp-
QSF file type. (This forced two lengthy transcodes if the input and output types were H.264 in
the WTV container, since DVR-MS can contain only MPEG2.) It appears the VRD bug is fixed
in later versions (e.g., TVS4 build 620a). If you still encounter WTV files that trigger this VRD
bug, the “-forceWTV” command-line workaround added in Ver. 0.47 is still available

 

[dlflannery]

VAP Ver. 0.72

26 April 2011, Ver. 0.72,

Enhanced: Active files (not completed, not blocked) are shown in bold on the Monitored Files list.
Fixed: Post-process operations were not occurring after Drax file generation.

 

[dlflannery]

VAP Ver. 0.73

8 May 2011, Ver. 0.73

Fixed: Final output file was not created when process flow was AdScan with ComSkip and
input file was moved or deleted.
Enhanced: The default use of dimensions obtained by running MediaInfo for QSF dimension
filtering can be disabled by a check box on the “Dimension Filters” tab of Advanced
Configuration. One user reported MediaInfo was providing incorrect dimensions that caused the
QSF process to fail. As always, dimensions entered on that tab with a match-string used against
input file names take precedence. If a file isn't subject to a match-string filter, and use of
MediaInfo dimensions is disabled, no QSF filter will be applied.

 

[dlflannery]

VAP Ver. 0.74

30 May 2011, Ver. 0.74

Enhanced: To avoid overwriting output files with duplicate names, VAP appends " (##)" to
the root file name, where ## is 02, 03, etc. up to 99, after which it overwrites with the original
name. The modified names carry through in the pyTivo and BTV metadata file names and in the
file name arguments passed to the VAPpostProcess script also. One quirk to be aware of: If you
have names up through 05 for example, and you delete file 03 and run the same process again, it
will output with the 03 name. (It scans for existing files with sequential numbers and uses the
first number where there isn't an existing file.)
Enhanced: Monitors .tsp files.
Changed: Checkbox, "Stop monitoring if theTVDB is down", located on the "Other" tab of
Advanced Configuration now defaults to unchecked on new installations.

 

[dlflannery]

VAP Ver. 0.75

9 June 2011, Ver. 0.75

Fixed: Files in TRANSFERRING status were not shown in Monitored Files list when
alphabetical order was selected.
Enhanced: A user-configured additional delay between completion of file transfer into the
monitor folder (defined as when the file size stops increasing) and the file becoming eligible for
processing to begin may be entered on the “Other” tab of the Advanced Configuration screen.
Files will continue to be designated as TRANSFERRING during this delay. The delay will
default to zero until set by the user, and will be remembered between VAP runs.

 

[dlflannery]

VAP Ver. 0.76

26 June 2011, Ver. 0.76

Enhanced: One automatic retry for files that stall in VideoReDo. The stalled input file is
moved to the stalled_files subfolder of the monitor folder. After ten minutes (or more if VAP is
busy doing other things) the file is moved back to the monitor folder, is re-detected and
processing is retried. If the file stalls VRD again, it is moved to the stalled_files subfolder. Log
messages tell when the file is being moved back and forth.
Enhanced: Added default configuration setting for do Post process. The default setting is
controlled by the “Run post-processing scripts by default” checkbox on the “Other” tab of the
Advanced Configuration screen. It will default to unchecked the first time you start up this
version. The default setting (like other default settings) will be applied when files are first
detected in the monitor folder and when they are reset with the Reset button. Settings for
previously detected files are not changed (unless you reset them).
Enhanced: Added path info to name of VAP configuration file that is logged at startup.
Enhanced: Added more descriptive log messages upon theTVDB.com connection failure.
Enhanced: Made file move/delete completion log messages more specific to type of operation.
Fixed: Ensured an empty string cannot be read from the configuration file for theTVDB.com
URL (I don't understand how this could have happened – but I and one other user experienced
it.)

 

[dlflannery]

Ver. 0.77

15 July 2011, Ver. 0.77

Enhanced: Input files deleted by VAP (if so configured) may optionally be sent to the Recycle
Bin by checking “Send Deleted Input Files to Recycle Bin” on the “Other” tab of Advanced
Configuration

 

[dlflannery]

Ver. 0.78

2 August 2011, Ver. 0.78

Enhanced: MediaInfo (used for input file analysis to get dimensions) now is launched as an
independent process. If it fails to complete in 10 seconds (e.g., locks up) VAP will continue on,
just not using the expected MediaInfo results. VAP will purge the blocked process from the
Windows task list.
Changed: MediaInfo is now allowed to run on .tivo files, since the above change should
prevent VAP lockups due to MediaInfo locking up on some .tivo files.
Enhanced: The automatic QSF Dimension Filter setting option added to VRD starting with
TVS4 Build 621c is now supported. At the bottom of the “Dimension Filters” tab of Advanced
Settings you may select three choices for automatic dimension setting: None, VRD Built-in or
MediaInfo. Warning: Selecting VRD Built-in when running a VRD version that does not
include this feature will result in crashes of QSF processes. Remember that Dimension Filters
determined by match-strings (entered on the same tab of Advanced Settings) always take
precedence over any other filter-dimension setting method.

Catch 22: Some recent versions of TVS4, including Build 621c, will crash if VAP attempts to run a QSF on a WTV or MKV input file. VRD is aware of the problem and promises a fix in the next release. For more details see this thread:
http://www.videoredo.net/msgBoard/showthread.php?t=28723
in particular starting at post #19.

 

[dlflannery]

2 August 2011, Ver. 0.78 ....
Catch 22: Some recent versions of TVS4, including Build 621c, will crash if VAP attempts to run a QSF on a WTV or MKV input file. VRD is aware of the problem and promises a fix in the next release. For more details see this thread:
http://www.videoredo.net/msgBoard/showthread.php?t=28723
in particular starting at post #19.

This seems to be fixed in TVS4 Build 624a.