What are the downsides of switching to EPG123?

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joeski

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What are the downsides of switching to EPG123?

#1

Post by joeski » Mon Aug 28, 2017 11:31 pm

Definitely thinking of making the jump to EPG123.
I see a lot of pros to it, but wanted to be aware of whatever negatives there are so I can decide if any of them are dealbreakers for me.
Thanks!

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Scallica

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#2

Post by Scallica » Tue Aug 29, 2017 12:07 am

The negative with EPG123 is that you will have so many successful recordings, you won't have enough time to watch them.
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stuartm

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#3

Post by stuartm » Tue Aug 29, 2017 12:19 am

I can't think of any that I worried about. For some the fact that the guide isn't free ($25/yr) is something they can't stomach.
The largest hurdle is re-setting up your Series/existing recording requests. Although Gary has supplied a new tool that should help a lot. (I switched before the tool was available)
Otherwise it's all great. Accurate data/good fast support from both Gary and Schedules Direct, no more reliance on anything from Microsoft/Tivo/Rovi. If your guide does have a problem
you can even set up to have errors/warnings sent to you when they occur so you don't need to compulsively check your guide to see if it is updating correctly.

adam1991

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#4

Post by adam1991 » Tue Aug 29, 2017 1:11 am

Hmmmm. It seems to me I've seen plenty of complaints about. EPG123 not working, or causing problems, or whatever.

Sounds like one downside is that lofty expectations may not be completely met.

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#5

Post by stuartm » Tue Aug 29, 2017 2:26 am

Sure lots of people have had problems, (majority seem to be pilot error) but how many are unresolved? Very few if any. Also, count the number of problems posted here and then see what fraction those are out of the 2000+ users EPG123 currently has. Note that it costs nothing to try EPG123 since you can get a free trial from SD. If it doesn't meet your "lofty expectations" you can always go back to the mess that is the current data from Microsoft. Note that I am engaging in some hyperbole here since for lots of people the Microsoft free data is fine with them.

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garyan2

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#6

Post by garyan2 » Tue Aug 29, 2017 3:39 am

adam1991 wrote:Hmmmm. It seems to me I've seen plenty of complaints about. EPG123 not working, or causing problems, or whatever.

Sounds like one downside is that lofty expectations may not be completely met.
There may be a little truth to the lofty expectations comment, but not in the way you are implying. I think the lofty expectations are that all the user has to do is run the EPG123 setup, click a few buttons, and everything will work... e.g. not have to read the manual. I'm working towards that as much as I can, but I don't think it will ever be like that. Truth be told, once it is setup correctly, and if you can use the automatch and autoadd features, it will maintain itself and pretty much be a setup and forget program.

If you were paying close attention to the "complaints", you would realize that 80%-90% are resolved simply by clicking a button or properly setting up the scheduled task... user setup error. Some are due to confusion on how EPG123 actually works which I would say is my fault. It is very rare that I have to rush an update due to any flaw/bug in the code that could jeopardize someones guide.

As for the OP's question... the downside besides the $25 annual membership fee to SD would be the retraining. All the hacks, dodges, tricks, busy work we all learned to do when the MS/Rovi guide was wonky just doesn't apply anymore. There is no changing host files, no more changing zip codes, no more running TV Setup again and again, no more standing on your head chewing bubble gum reciting a hopeful mantra. After changing to EPG123 you may find yourself spending less time on TGB and more time with your family/SO (downside/upside).

For international users, there will be a bit more active management of EPG123 primarily due to the many different lineups/configurations with DVB-S. DVB-T and DVB-C seem to be fine.

There will be a more official number from SD next week, but TMDB reports around 3100-3200 daily users of EPG123 making API calls for movie cover art. So a lot of folks have figured it out.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

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garyan2

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#7

Post by garyan2 » Tue Aug 29, 2017 4:27 am

I think another downside, since transferring series recording requests has pretty much been addressed for USA customers, is losing your recording history. If you record reruns, then you will be starting from scratch and record episodes you may already have. Simple enough to delete or cancel, but functionally I think that is the only negative in the transfer from Rovi to SD/Gracenote.
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#8

Post by Alan G » Tue Aug 29, 2017 12:06 pm

garyan2 wrote:I think another downside, since transferring series recording requests has pretty much been addressed for USA customers, is losing your recording history. If you record reruns, then you will be starting from scratch and record episodes you may already have. Simple enough to delete or cancel, but functionally I think that is the only negative in the transfer from Rovi to SD/Gracenote.
Yes, this is the 'only' glitch that I have experienced. However it is easily overcome when you set up the series to record. Just to to the 'scheduled programs' and delete all the re-runs. Depending on how many series you have set up to record this will take anywhere from 30 seconds to a couple of minutes.

The other pro of using EPG123 is that you can get an extended program guide compared to what Rovi was offering. In my case with Verizon FIOS, the Rovi guide was only 14 days whereas my EPG123 guide goes out 21 days (one can go out to 28 days but I've not found that necessary). I don't find the $25 yearly fee a burden at all. the price of the schedule and the cable card is still much less than a Verizon box!

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garyan2

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#9

Post by garyan2 » Tue Aug 29, 2017 2:22 pm

Alan G wrote:(one can go out to 28 days but I've not found that necessary)
I think this is a good example of the lofty expectations. Typically there is only 21 days available for any station... anything above that has no real affect on the results.
- Gary
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adam1991

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#10

Post by adam1991 » Tue Aug 29, 2017 11:04 pm

garyan2 wrote:As for the OP's question... the downside besides the $25 annual membership fee to SD would be the retraining. All the hacks, dodges, tricks, busy work we all learned to do when the MS/Rovi guide was wonky just doesn't apply anymore.
I'll buy that. Forums like this tend to be full of people who insist on overthinking things and twiddling and fiddling and pushing buttons when none of that is necessary, and in fact probably makes things worse.

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newfiend

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#11

Post by newfiend » Wed Aug 30, 2017 1:27 am

I recently switched to EPG123.. (approx. 2 months ago)
The downside to its use IMO.. none. It's been excellent. Guide Data is Better than ROVI. Guide downloads 21 days worth of data.. Movie and Episode artwork are accurate and look great.
It feels like WMC was when it first came out... it worked and was supported. Guide data was great back then. Not the fuster cluck that it is now with ROVI.
I can't recommend it enough GO GET IT!
I highly recommend you RTFM though and watch the installation Video's Gary made. I did this prior to installation and it makes sense once you read it and follow the instructions. I only had to tweak one setting after I initially set it up as I didn't like the Season and Episode #'s on everything. Other than that it's just worked great.

I did have a small hardware issue that was causing some odd behavior in my HTPC shortly after installing EPG123. But it was totally unrelated to EPG123 and its configuration. After swapping out the bad hardware its been smooth sailing.
If your on the fence I suggest you get the free trial from SD download, setup and try EPG123. Give it a trial run. If you hit a snag hit the forum here with your questions. Gary is great at addressing issues and getting people up and running.
I'm 100% happy with EPG123 and SD's data and support.
Well worth the time and $25 a year IMO. :thumbup:
newfiend~

joeski

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#12

Post by joeski » Wed Aug 30, 2017 12:59 pm

Thanks to all for your replies to my original post. Comments are very positive so I will probably make the switch over the holiday weekend coming up.

I have no problem with the small fee to SD for their listings. Sounds like the listings are superior and more reliable which is worth the price.

One last question though - looking at all the sample screens for install I only see OTA stations in the guide. This will work for cable listings correct?

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garyan2

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#13

Post by garyan2 » Wed Aug 30, 2017 2:13 pm

I cut the cord about 5 years ago now, so most of my examples are my OTA lineup. EPG123 will work with any tuners since it doesn't actually care... all it does is download the listings and help with import and attaching listings to channel numbers. So if your WMC can configure your tuners, and SD has a lineup you can use, it will work just fine.
- Gary
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dkrom

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#14

Post by dkrom » Wed Aug 30, 2017 8:15 pm

Yes, as Gary said epg123 does work with multiple lineups. I have OTA and Satellite listings and have had basically no problems since my switch (I think I had a problem at a major update Gary did, but I just had to reset the listings). It’s a great program that is setup and forget about it once it’s running. You’ll be happy you made the switch! The guide is MUCH better and I love having all of the images correct on the recordings.

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#15

Post by KevinRush » Thu Aug 31, 2017 2:38 pm

garyan2 wrote:
adam1991 wrote: There will be a more official number from SD next week, but TMDB reports around 3100-3200 daily users of EPG123 making API calls for movie cover art. So a lot of folks have figured it out.
Are these 3100-3200 all Windows Media Center users? If so, then there must be many many more users, still using WMC, that have not switched to EPG123. I'm just wondering about the numbers of users.

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garyan2

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#16

Post by garyan2 » Thu Aug 31, 2017 2:46 pm

All WMC. The mxf file created by EPG123 will only work for WMC.

"1 media center at a time."
- Gary
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