Schedules Direct UK changes

An evolving, supported alternative to Rovi
Forum rules
★ Download the latest EPG123 here: https://garyan2.github.io/ <> Setup guide here: https://garyan2.github.io/install.html
Post Reply
User avatar
RobsterUK

Posts: 49
Joined: Mon Apr 29, 2013 10:10 am
Location: Cornwall, UK

HTPC Specs: Show details

Schedules Direct UK changes

#1

Post by RobsterUK » Sun Dec 17, 2017 10:41 am

Further to the previous opst regarding this issue of upstream services being renamed.
Most of my channels have reatained the guide listings.

I have had to remove a line-up and added another.

However my ITV channels do not have any listings. It simply states 'To Be Announced'
I use Guide tool to map the listings to the channels. For example on ITV i have only two regional options and selecting either of them gives the same result.
I've tried clearing the cache and re-downloading. I'm not sure what to try next.

I'm worried if i completely remove all lineups and choose just one that I will have to remap all of the listings once more.
Do you think this still may be a SD issue?

Here's a link to my tracelog but I can't see anything to indicate whats wrong. https://www.dropbox.com/s/1x0z0x8v7upgg ... e.log?dl=0
I would appreciate some advice what to try next.
Thanks.

User avatar
IT Troll

Posts: 1172
Joined: Sun Nov 27, 2011 9:42 am
Location: Edinburgh, UK

HTPC Specs: Show details

#2

Post by IT Troll » Sun Dec 17, 2017 1:55 pm

I think this is a SD issue. I didn't spot anything wrong in your log either.

'To Be Announced' is a SD placeholder for missing data. If it was misconfigured it would say something like 'No Guide Data'.

In my region, ITV is STV and that appears fine. I only bother with the HD version though.
Are you a Recorded TV HD user or want to give it a try? Check out the new community-made update; Recorded TV HD v2.1.1

User avatar
garyan2

Posts: 7438
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2015 7:23 pm
Location:

HTPC Specs: Show details

#3

Post by garyan2 » Sun Dec 17, 2017 3:58 pm

It looks like the last time you actually imported the mxf file was 08/12. You might want to do an import to see if there is any update/change.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

User avatar
RobsterUK

Posts: 49
Joined: Mon Apr 29, 2013 10:10 am
Location: Cornwall, UK

HTPC Specs: Show details

#4

Post by RobsterUK » Mon Dec 18, 2017 11:01 am

Thanks for the advice.

I manually imported the xmf file last night.
This brought back the missing guide data. Which is great.

However, it has now resulted in some channels missing from the line ups completely.
I've had this happen before where the channel completely disappears. If you run a transponder scan it doesn't find the channel as it is listed in the database, but it is completely hidden & I have never found a way to 'un-hide' it.
It seems to have done this for BCC One HD, BBC Two HD, Channel 4HD & Channel 5HD.
The BBC channels I have found another listing for. But Channel 4 & 5, these were the only available listings.

Is there any way to find and re-enable these channels? Edit the DB directly in any way? Or else this is going to result in a DB wipe and re configuration of all channels once more (3rd time in a few weeks!)

I checked in the EPG client tool and oddly the channels were still listed and marked as active. But they are not visible within Guide Tool or WMC.
Untitled.png
So this brings me to question the correlation between the EPG client tool and Guide Tool.
As there are channels in EPG Client tool that are marked as active, yet these are not active within Guide Tool.
Many channels active in EPG Client have never been activated as they are SKY encrypted channels therefore not viewable via a UK FREESAT receiver.
Is it likely that this has caused the channels to disappear (database corruption?). In the future do I need to activate the same channels in both programs in case I need to import the xmf file again?
I would prefer to use only one, but as the EPG client doesn't support re-numbering the channels this prevents me from doing so.

User avatar
garyan2

Posts: 7438
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2015 7:23 pm
Location:

HTPC Specs: Show details

#5

Post by garyan2 » Mon Dec 18, 2017 2:24 pm

I was going through scenarios like this last night and found an interesting thing. I don't know exactly what Guide Tool does when it subscribes a lineup to a channel, but when something like this happens the channel disappears. If you use Guide Editor, you will see the channel still there as well but it is "Blocked". Guide Editor is able to un-block it... unfortunately with my experiment, it also flagged the channel as encrypted and there were no longer any tuners assigned to it which make it pretty useless. I didn't try anything to see if I could get it back, but I wouldn't have high hopes.

With the same experiment, all the matched/subscribed listings made by EPG123 successfully survived this issue. I saw this problem occur early in development and did some coding to try and prevent it. My method of matching/subscribing does appear to mitigate the problem but I believe the risk is still there simply because of the way WMC does things.

If you performed a Step 1: Clean Start recently, then in the [epg123]\backup folder there will be a zip file named backups_yyyyMMdd_HHmmss.zip. Inside the zip will be a lineup.mxf file which contains your tuner setups, custom numbers and names, and guide listing subscriptions. There is also a recordings.mxf file which contains all your scheduled recordings. If you cannot recover the missing channels normally, you can try and delete the ehome folder contents, then import the 2 files from the zip file.

For the comparison between Guide Tool and the client guide tool, use this beta version of the client to do the comparison (http://epg123.garyan2.net/downloads/epg ... a1.1.18.7z). The current client tool shows the original channel numbers while Guide Tool shows the custom channel numbers. The beta will show the custom numbers as well so you can do a real comparison.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

User avatar
RobsterUK

Posts: 49
Joined: Mon Apr 29, 2013 10:10 am
Location: Cornwall, UK

HTPC Specs: Show details

#6

Post by RobsterUK » Mon Dec 18, 2017 3:07 pm

Thanks Gary.

I do have a lot of backup zip's inside my backup folder. So I'll certainly give it a try by deleting ehome and import form the zip. If not then another clean build is on the cards.
I will also try the beta version (did I read on another post that you hope to add channel renumbering to the client tool?)
May be a day or two until I get the chance to give this a try.
But I'll post back when I do.

Cheers

User avatar
garyan2

Posts: 7438
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2015 7:23 pm
Location:

HTPC Specs: Show details

#7

Post by garyan2 » Mon Dec 18, 2017 10:33 pm

RobsterUK wrote:Thanks Gary.

I do have a lot of backup zip's inside my backup folder. So I'll certainly give it a try by deleting ehome and import form the zip. If not then another clean build is on the cards.
I will also try the beta version (did I read on another post that you hope to add channel renumbering to the client tool?)
May be a day or two until I get the chance to give this a try.
But I'll post back when I do.

Cheers
Yes, the beta version supports renumbering as well as renaming so you can give it a shot.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

Wakey99

Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2015 8:46 pm
Location:

HTPC Specs: Show details

#8

Post by Wakey99 » Mon Dec 18, 2017 11:02 pm

I have been forced back into trying to WMC7 and EPG123 + Guide Tool to play nicely by the recent SD lineup change. It's all been working trouble free since September/ November 2016 when I installed and configure v1.0.1 and then learnt how to get it going. I'm going to have to relearn it now.

My Freesat Channel 4 HD channel has also gone missing as reported here. Rescanning the transponder doesn't find it, as reported. I think other channels are also missing. I'm therefore interested in how this thread resolves. Am I going to have rebuild?

Is is worth updating to v1.1.17? I was fine with 1.0.1 until SD felt we all deserved an early Christmas present.

If I should update then what of the epg123utility.zip that the installer says I should use to migrate my data? When I try to download this on the v1.1.1/ v1.1.3 page it says webpage not found. Have I misunderstood?

I only wanted to watch some tv...

User avatar
RobsterUK

Posts: 49
Joined: Mon Apr 29, 2013 10:10 am
Location: Cornwall, UK

HTPC Specs: Show details

#9

Post by RobsterUK » Tue Dec 19, 2017 12:01 am

Argh I feel your pain, especially as you've had hassle free viewing for about a year.
It is worth the upgrade to 1.17 I'm sure there is a thread about doing so. Gary has changes planned for the future of this great utility, so I would plan for the future and upgrade now your forced to make some changes.

As for your channel issues. I've had this happen multiple times for various different reasons. Even before I used EPG123. If a channel 'disappears' it seems no-one is really sure why this happens or how to get it back. It may be easier in the long run to bite the bullet and do a wipe of your dB and re setup all of the channels.
Freesat UK does require a lot of manual tweaking to get it all just right. But future versions of EPG123 will hopefully provide a working backup & restore feature, so worth upgrading now!
Good luck!

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

Wakey99

Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2015 8:46 pm
Location:

HTPC Specs: Show details

#10

Post by Wakey99 » Wed Dec 20, 2017 9:47 am

Thank you RobsterUK. I bit the bullet and, after 8 hours of effort spread over 24, I'm up and running again with the supported Freesat SD lineup and epg123 v1.1.17. I had several moments of frustration and bemusement where I couldn't see where to go next, and I certainly could not now describe all of the necessary steps I took, but I now am back to where I was a few days ago. Users of WMC7 know it's not easy and I've used it for so long that I shouldn't expect it to suddenly become a joy. Thank you Gary for epg123 and keeping this alive for a bit longer. I use Fire Sticks (and Humax Freesat in the motorhome) and the day of reckoning approaches.

User avatar
RobsterUK

Posts: 49
Joined: Mon Apr 29, 2013 10:10 am
Location: Cornwall, UK

HTPC Specs: Show details

#11

Post by RobsterUK » Wed Dec 20, 2017 10:20 am

@Wakey99
Glad you're up and running again. If you don't perform the whole procedure often (lucky in one way!), then it can take a long time to get it right again.
I've had to do it a few times in recent months, and can get a usable lineup & guide with logos in a couple of hours. May need some mild tweaking after this but keeps the family happy, just my own OCD to cope with :crazy:

With Christmas looming and family coming to stay I'm not going to get to look at my issue until the new year.
Will probably just do a wipe and start again. The only one I'm really going to miss over the christmas period is Channel 4 HD. But still have channel 4 SD so that will have to do.

Wakey99

Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2015 8:46 pm
Location:

HTPC Specs: Show details

#12

Post by Wakey99 » Wed Dec 20, 2017 10:56 am

You're absolutely right - nonHD channels are absolutely fine so why did I obsess about 4HD...? I probably won't use that channel over Christmas anyway.

I guess knowing that someone else had the exact same channel problem made me want to attack it? Aren't we strange creatures, creating imaginary demons to slay? Like a cat with a mouse it doesn't really need to play with. On to the next pointless, symbolic fight against the world then. Merry Christmas!

Post Reply