How to update channel numbers

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Dave46

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How to update channel numbers

#1

Post by Dave46 » Thu Aug 03, 2017 9:19 am

I am new to EPG123 and I have failed to update channel numbers.
What are the correct steps to update WMC with the updated channel numbers?

Yesterday the UK moved many channels to new numbers, but the WMC guide still has the old numbers.
For example BBC News moved from 130 to 231
I downloaded the Schedules Direct Schedule data and manually imported into WMC.
The Lineup shows this new channel number but the WMC guide still shows the old number.

Also is there any novice guide to what all the EPG123 buttons and check boxes do.
For example there is a button marked Clear Cache, but a search of the User's Guide for "clear cache" does not find a match.

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garyan2

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#2

Post by garyan2 » Thu Aug 03, 2017 2:19 pm

Dave46 wrote:I am new to EPG123 and I have failed to update channel numbers.
What are the correct steps to update WMC with the updated channel numbers?

Yesterday the UK moved many channels to new numbers, but the WMC guide still has the old numbers.
For example BBC News moved from 130 to 231
I downloaded the Schedules Direct Schedule data and manually imported into WMC.
The Lineup shows this new channel number but the WMC guide still shows the old number.

Also is there any novice guide to what all the EPG123 buttons and check boxes do.
For example there is a button marked Clear Cache, but a search of the User's Guide for "clear cache" does not find a match.
If the lineup supplied by SD is correct (all channel numbers match what your provider actually uses), then you could use the automatch feature in the Client GUI (Automatch by: [# Number]). If the SD lineup is not all correct, in the client GUI you would right-click channel 130 in the left panel and 'Unsubscribe', then select channel 231 in the left panel and right-click BBC News channel 231 in the right-panel to Subscribe.

I pretty much describe all the buttons in the guide except the Clear Cache button. It is more of a troubleshoot tool if there are errors in the log concerning cached files. I don't have anything more detailed.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

Dave46

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#3

Post by Dave46 » Fri Aug 04, 2017 10:10 am

Thanks Gary.

Unfortunately it looks like I have done something wrong as the WMC guide now shows "no data available" in every channel.

I made the change using Automatch by: [# Number]), and waited for the overnight scheduled task to run to update WMC
The overnight update proceeded OK, and the The WMC guide does show the updated channel numbers.

But the WMC Guide displays no data available in every channel
Also where the channels are changed, both the old and the new are listed

The WMC Guide About info contains the following EPG info
Guide End Date: Guide listings are not available
EPG123 Lineups with Schedules Direct
ID: 42
End Data: 18/08/2017 08:00:00
EPG123
Electronic Program Guide in 1-2-3 v1.1.11

I have looked at the recent post "Scheduled task running correctly but no guide data populated" but I don't think these are applicable.

EPG123 is installed in the default location
There are no errors in the logs for:
[04/08/2017 03:00:00] Beginning epg123 update execution
[04/08/2017 03:02:46] Beginning epg123 client execution.
The Scheduled task status information looks OK:
EPG Configuration:
Update Time 03:00, Wake is checked
Automatically import guide data into WMC is checked
Automatically match stations to channels is unchecked
Task Status: Ready. Last Run 04/08/2017 03:00;00: Exit: 0x00000000
EPG Client:
Full Mode is Selected, Update Time 03:00 Wake, is checked
Client Mode is not selected
Task Status: Ready. Last Run 04/08/2017 03:00;00: Exit: 0x00000000
Automatch is not checked
Location is C:\epg123\epg123.exe

Any suggestions would be most welcome.

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garyan2

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#4

Post by garyan2 » Fri Aug 04, 2017 2:02 pm

What does the left panel (Guide Channels) of the EPG123 Client look like? Do the expected channels have Service Names with Subscribed Lineups being "EPG123 Lineups with Schedules Direct?"

Actually, could you take a screenshot of the GUI and post? That should help a bit.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

Dave46

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#5

Post by Dave46 » Sat Aug 05, 2017 12:29 am

Gary,
The GUI is missing the Service Names in the left panel
See attachment for screen shot.
And yes they should have Service Names
Attachments
Gui.jpg
EPG123 Client Guide Tool

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garyan2

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#6

Post by garyan2 » Sat Aug 05, 2017 12:32 am

Okay, looks good ... at least all your components are there. Clicking the [# Number] button in the Guide Channels panel should get you in business.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

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#7

Post by Dave46 » Sat Aug 05, 2017 1:04 am

Have clicked the # Number and the service names are populated.
Do I close the gui and wait for the scheduled update task to run, or should I do anything else to save the Guide configuration?

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garyan2

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#8

Post by garyan2 » Sat Aug 05, 2017 1:06 am

Dave46 wrote:Have clicked the # Number and the service names are populated.
Do I close the gui and wait for the scheduled update task to run, or should I do anything else to save the Guide configuration?
There's nothing else to do. Do you have guide listings?
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

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#9

Post by Dave46 » Sat Aug 05, 2017 1:10 am

I did not realize pressing the #Number button would immediately update the Guide, and yes I have guide listings with the new channel numbers and without the old channel numbers.
Many thanks

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garyan2

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#10

Post by garyan2 » Sat Aug 05, 2017 1:28 am

Dave46 wrote:I did not realize pressing the #Number button would immediately update the Guide, and yes I have guide listings with the new channel numbers and without the old channel numbers.
Many thanks
No lollygagging here, no sir. :D You already had all the guide information in the database, you just never connected the listings to the channel. What the automatch does is create that link between the guide channel and the station listings.

I forgot to ask, and am curious. I know you guys across the pond have gotten very creative in trying to maintain guide listings in WMC and use quite a number of different tools. I noticed you have 25 different lineups in your database with 6679 different services. I'm curious if EPG123/Schedules Direct covers all your guide needs?
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

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#11

Post by Dave46 » Mon Aug 07, 2017 1:02 am

Gary,
re
25 different lineups in your database with 6679 different services. I'm curious if EPG123/Schedules Direct covers all your guide needs?
I had noticed the Client GUI listed 25 different lineups, but more significantly this excludes the one lineup I thought i was receiving, although not the lineup I was trying to select,
so yes there would seem to be a problem, but I do have the Guide for the correct set of channels I receive.
I am expecting around 216 different services, so to receive 6679 services would seem to be excessive.

So it is probably worth back-tracking over my lineup selection and the process I used to select Lineup code GBR-0001317-DEFAULT.
A series of screen images
Select Lineup.png
Select a Lineup
I started by selecting a Lineup for the Country Great Britain, postal code SL4, but the list of services did not include the FreeView service, so initially I selected YouView .
But then I noticed that at the end of the Country List was the entry Great Britain Freeview, so I canceled the YouView selection and selected Great Britain Freeview.
This option did not allow one to select the PostalCode, instead it listed the transmitters available. I knew my transmitter, but I confirmed using the Web page
http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/channels/channel_listings
and selected the postal code and this displayed the transmitter options and the preferred transmitter - Crystal Palace.
It also showed the services available
[*]FreeView
[*]YouView
[*]BTVision (BTVision is being replaced by YouView)
So I returned to the Lineup selection, and selected Crystal Palace as the Freeview transmitter
But instead of selecting this Freeview service, the Lineup selected was YouView - Carlton/London. This was a bit confusing, but I proceeded to used this.
In the .cfg file it listed the Lineup as <IncludedLineup>GBR-0001317-DEFAULT</IncludedLineup>
A google search suggested this is the Schedules Direct ID for the Crystal Palace Transmitter.

Although the lineup result was not what I expected, it did produce the FreeView guide I wanted, so I am happy with the result.

Now I have looked back at the GUI and in the right plane it lists the 25 Lineups
EPG123 Lineups with Schedules Direct.png
Lineups with Schedules Direct
EPG123 Lineups with Schedules Direct.png (14.31 KiB) Viewed 942 times
I now see where the 25 different lineups comes from, but I dont understand why they are there.
Also it does not include the YouView service, but does include FreeView Crystal Palace.
It is confusing, and I am not sure if now I should select just the FreeView Crystal Palace, instead of EPG123 Lineups with Schedules Direct.

Why I am importing 6679 different services? I do not know. According to the digitaluk channel listings, for England I should have 216 entries.
the .cfg says <ExpectedServiceCount>261</ExpectedServiceCount>
Should the 261 be 216?, either way these are much less than the 6679 entries in the lineup.

Until today, I had no idea what YouView was, but I thought I should investigate.
Very simply YouView consists of all the FreeView channels plus BT's subscription channels.
The ownership of the services FreeView, YouView, Digital UK, FreeSat are similar.
A key difference with YouView is the inclusion of BT which allows BT to add their broadband subscription channels to the FreeView channels.

Freeview's shareholders - BBC, Sky, Channel 4, ITV and Arqiva
Digital UK's shareholders - BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Arqiva
YouView shareholders – BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, BT, TalkTalk and Arqiva
Freesat is owned by the BBC and ITV

Perhaps this is why Schedules Direct appear to have combined all the services and channels these owners operate in the UK into one Lineup.

Going back to my experience in selecting the Lineup, I would like to make a couple of suggestions.
[*]It would be more convenient if the entry "Great Britain Freeview" was included below, or above, the "Great Britain" entry, rather than at the bottom all all countries list.
[*]The "Great Britain" entry requests the postal code, yet the list splits the services into the regions of the UK and it does not seem to make any difference as to which postal code is entered.
[*]The "Great Britain Freeview" does not request the postal code, instead it goes straight to listing all the transmitters, and the user would need to know which transmitter serviced the postal code, so it would be better to request the postal code, and present the possible transmitters that can be used, ideally with a marker indicating the default transmitter

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garyan2

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#12

Post by garyan2 » Mon Aug 07, 2017 2:19 am

Thank you for taking the time stepping through this with me. In no particular order, here's some things to note:

The Great Britain Freeview selection at the end of the list is because it is a separate and unique option from Schedules Direct. About a year+ ago, I guess it was requested to provide all the transmit towers as an option. I am currently populating the combobox based on the json response from SD by region/country and FTA satallite sections (http://schedulesdirect.org/regions). Once all those are populated, I request the GB transmitters with another json request to SD. I would have to get pretty creative to move the transmitters to be above/below the GB region/country area and still maintain flexibility for possible future expansion in countries and/or transmitters (there was a time when SD provided the FreeView transmitters for Australia and New Zealand as a trial). I could simply sort the list but we'll lose the grouping by regions. Probably not a big deal, but the FTA satellites will get lost in the list unless I do something with it. I'll play around with it a bit.

The naming of your lineup depending on what screen you look at is a bit confusing. I definitely see where you are coming from.
GBR-0001317-DEFAULT will present as:
YouView - Carlton (London) in the lineup add selection list for country Great Britian
Crystal Palace in the FreeView list
YouView - Tyne Tees (Northeast) (London) in the configuration GUI Now says YouView - Carlton (London) as expected.
This behavior is as expected. The postal code you used offered the same lineup that is provided by the transmit tower you selected.

For the 25 different lineups (1 of them being EPG123), this is indicative that you did not perform a Step 1 - Clean Start installation of EPG123. The other 24 are "provided" by Microsoft. You're not actually downloading 6000+ channels, there are just that many channels available for download. This may cause issues, but if it is working for you and you don't want to wipe everything out to start again then go ahead. Just be aware that if MS pushes a lineup change, right or wrong, it will change your guide.

That will lead to the other lineup listed as FreeView Crystal Palace ... this is the lineup provided by MS. So selecting that lineup would leave with the same problems you were having. To use EPG123 and Schedules Direct, make sure the lineup selected is the EPG123 lineup. You can also tell on the left side of the client GUI which lineup any particular channel is using.

For indicating a default transmitter for a particular postal code, sorry ... we are not that sophisticated. I actually don't know how to help all users determine the appropriate lineup to choose. I think Gracenote/SD does a pretty good job in presenting all the appropriate options a user may be able to receive.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

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