Attempts at Manual Guide Implementation

[Bob ODell]

Hello everyone,
Great job getting the manual guide implementation working and thank you Bob ODell for posting a guide your solution. I have taken it and added it to the WMC Wiki but it still needs few edits so if anyone who has actually used this method would help out it would be greatly apprenticed. Custom Guide Implementations
Thanks,
-Sharks

Thought I might follow-up with a couple edits as suggested, but evidently not allowed into Discussion page nor to edit so, what is the recommended process for submitting edits to WIKI? Am I missing something blatantly obvious?

Disregard, I did not realize the wiki requires one to logon again, even though already logged into TGB. I'm old now, and that's still my excuse!

[choliscott]

Thank you for the response.

Sorry for the delayed response, have been busy offline for a few days on another project and missed your post until now. Open <http://xmltv.cvs.sourceforge.net/viewvc ... d?view=log> in your browser and navigate to "Revision 1.47 - (view) (download) (annotate)". Right-Click on (Download) menu option and choose <Save Link As>. Your browser should automatically save the file into your default download folder as "xmltv.dtd". You will also be presented with an opportunity to select an alternative download location. Again, my apologies for the delay.

HTHs

[Bob ODell]

All,

Thought I might add a very simple batch file to the list of steps previously outlined in post #75 above. I have included detailed comments throughout so, should be easy to follow and require very little customization. Copy the text between "Begin" & "END" seperators, save as UpdateEPG.bat using notepad.exe, and place it into same EPG folder containing mc2xml.exe...re: post #75 Step 2. Once UpdateEPG.bat is installed, all that is left to do is create a simple task via Task Scheduler to start UpdateEPG process daily <http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/wind ... =windows-7>. Everything is pretty much self sustaining from that point onward...

.............BEGIN......................

REM Sample batch file (UpdateEPG.bat)
REM Place this file in C:\EPG folder
REM Called by Windows Task Manager
REM Assumes Windows x64 environment

REM Turn off verbose display

@echo off

REM Insure current working drive is C:

C:

REM Change Directory to C:\EPG

CD C:\EPG

...

Apologies everyone,
In my original post, I neglected to enclose the CD [C:\EPG] command in quotes. Here is a corrected version of the full UpdateEPG.bat...

.............BEGIN......................

REM Sample batch file (UpdateEPG.bat)
REM Place this file in C:\EPG folder
REM Called by Windows Task Manager
REM Assumes Windows x64 environment

REM Turn off verbose display

@echo off

REM Insure current working drive is C:

C:

REM Change Directory to C:\EPG

CD "C:\EPG"

REM Begin download of most current TV guide data.
REM Assumes "mc2xml.exe" is preconfigured for
REM access to guide service (e.g., Schedules Direct
REM (Zap2it)). By default, mc2xml.exe downloads only 7
REM days of program data. In this example, including
REM the [-d hrs] parameter as seen below, allows for
REM up to 15 days of guide data to be downloaded
REM instead of only 7 (i.e., 24hrs x 15days = 360hrs).
REM Remove or Customize [-d hrs] as desired.

mc2xml.exe -d 360

REM Run "MCImportXMLTV.exe" to complete MCE update task.

"C:\Program Files\MCImportXMLTV\MCImportXMLTV.exe"

..............END......................

[Mike88]

All,


Initial Test Environment:
Win7x64 Pro w/MCE
OTA/ ATSC via 2 onboard Hauppauge 2250 dual tuner cards
Schedules Direct subscriber account (7 day free trial)
Backup/ Uninstall/ ReInstall MCE, run TV Setup to populate available OTA channels ("No Rovi update, No Data Available")

External Resources:
mc2xml.exe <http://mc2xml.awardspace.info/>
xmltv.dtd <http://xmltv.cvs.sourceforge.net/viewvc ... d?view=log>
MCImportXMLTV.exe <http://mcefun.nrossen.dk/page/Downloads.aspx>
GuideTool.exe <http://1geek1tool.com/guidetool/>

......................

1. download mc2xml.exe
2. put it in a folder, such as c:\epg
3. download xmltv.dtd (will be needed later by MCImportXML)
4. put it in c:\epg
5. download/ install MCImportXMLTV.exe
6. run mc2xml.exe
7. select "Schedules Direct", enter "username" and "password" (assumes you have created lineup @ Schedules Direct)
8. mc2xml.exe creates xmltv.xml in same folder (contains TV lineup from Schedules Direct account)

I'm getting ready to try this but have a couple questions.

I'm going to put a tuner card in my Windows 7 desktop PC, not the HTPC. I have never run a TV Signal setup on this PC because there has been no tuner. However after I install the tuner card should I run a TV Signal setup & see what Rovi brings up? Or am I better off skipping that step?

Regarding MCImportXMLTV.exe. What I downloaded was SetupMCImportXMLTV_v15a.exe. All the files I found were labeled with "Setup..." Is that the correct file or did I somehow end up at the wrong website? And do you recommend also putting that file in the C:|EPG folder?

Any & all help would be appreciated.
Thanks

[Bob ODell]

All,


Initial Test Environment:
Win7x64 Pro w/MCE
OTA/ ATSC via 2 onboard Hauppauge 2250 dual tuner cards
Schedules Direct subscriber account (7 day free trial)
Backup/ Uninstall/ ReInstall MCE, run TV Setup to populate available OTA channels ("No Rovi update, No Data Available")

External Resources:
mc2xml.exe <http://mc2xml.awardspace.info/>
xmltv.dtd <http://xmltv.cvs.sourceforge.net/viewvc ... d?view=log>
MCImportXMLTV.exe <http://mcefun.nrossen.dk/page/Downloads.aspx>
GuideTool.exe <http://1geek1tool.com/guidetool/>

......................

1. download mc2xml.exe
2. put it in a folder, such as c:\epg
3. download xmltv.dtd (will be needed later by MCImportXML)
4. put it in c:\epg
5. download/ install MCImportXMLTV.exe
6. run mc2xml.exe
7. select "Schedules Direct", enter "username" and "password" (assumes you have created lineup @ Schedules Direct)
8. mc2xml.exe creates xmltv.xml in same folder (contains TV lineup from Schedules Direct account)

I'm getting ready to try this but have a couple questions.

I'm going to put a tuner card in my Windows 7 desktop PC, not the HTPC. I have never run a TV Signal setup on this PC because there has been no tuner. However after I install the tuner card should I run a TV Signal setup & see what Rovi brings up? Or am I better off skipping that step?

Regarding MCImportXMLTV.exe. What I downloaded was SetupMCImportXMLTV_v15a.exe. All the files I found were labeled with "Setup..." Is that the correct file or did I somehow end up at the wrong website? And do you recommend also putting that file in the C:|EPG folder?

Any & all help would be appreciated.
Thanks

Yes, you have the correct MCImportXMLTV download. No, do not put MCImportXMLTV into C:\EPG! Run the setup file as is and use default setup install locations. You can certainly try the ROVI guide and decide whether you even need to go any further. You may get lucky. After all, you can always clear any ROVI guide data and fall back onto the procedure described above. The choice is yours alone to make. Good luck!!

[choliscott]

Hi Bob,

I tried the steps you listed & everything works great, except that it's bringing in (XMLTV) at the end of the channel name i.e. NBCHDP (XMLTV)

Did you come across this & if so, what did you do to remove them? I looked at renaming thru the channel guide config screen & it doesn't show it, nor does it show it thru Guide Tool

It appears the (XMLTV) is causing channel logos not to appear & WMC to think I have nothing scheduled to record.

Thanks

[Mike88]

I'm getting ready to try this but have a couple questions.

I'm going to put a tuner card in my Windows 7 desktop PC, not the HTPC. I have never run a TV Signal setup on this PC because there has been no tuner. However after I install the tuner card should I run a TV Signal setup & see what Rovi brings up? Or am I better off skipping that step?

Regarding MCImportXMLTV.exe. What I downloaded was SetupMCImportXMLTV_v15a.exe. All the files I found were labeled with "Setup..." Is that the correct file or did I somehow end up at the wrong website? And do you recommend also putting that file in the C:|EPG folder?

Any & all help would be appreciated.
Thanks

Yes, you have the correct MCImportXMLTV download. No, do not put MCImportXMLTV into C:\EPG! Run the setup file as is and use default setup install locations. You can certainly try the ROVI guide and decide whether you even need to go any further. You may get lucky. After all, you can always clear any ROVI guide data and fall back onto the procedure described above. The choice is yours alone to make. Good luck!!

Thank you for the reply.

Thanks for clarifying to install MCImportXMLTV into the default location. I was just thinking about placing the downloaded file in the C:\EPG folder along with the other files just to keep track of it. I never thought about where it would be installed.

I asked about Rovi because I wondered if it would be better to start off with a clean empty guide, But that may not be possible. IIRC when I do a WMC TV Setup it will detect my OTA tuner & then download the guide & then scan for TV channels. It sets up the guide before it scans for channels so I may not be able to skip the guide download process. But I guess that’s not a problem.

FWIW, Rovi is mostly working on my HTPC. I had to do the TV Signal setup to get the guide switched over to Rovi. But two channels were missing program titles & had only generic descriptions on about half of the programs. Then the data showed up for a few days but then disappeared. Now it's back on the one channel but missing on the other channel.

I want to get an alternate guide system set up on another PC & become familiar with it in case I have to use it as a backup if/when Rovi really messes things up.

Thanks again for all your work trying to figure everything out.

[Bob ODell]

I'm getting ready to try this but have a couple questions.

I'm going to put a tuner card in my Windows 7 desktop PC, not the HTPC. I have never run a TV Signal setup on this PC because there has been no tuner. However after I install the tuner card should I run a TV Signal setup & see what Rovi brings up? Or am I better off skipping that step?

Regarding MCImportXMLTV.exe. What I downloaded was SetupMCImportXMLTV_v15a.exe. All the files I found were labeled with "Setup..." Is that the correct file or did I somehow end up at the wrong website? And do you recommend also putting that file in the C:|EPG folder?

Any & all help would be appreciated.
Thanks

Yes, you have the correct MCImportXMLTV download. No, do not put MCImportXMLTV into C:\EPG! Run the setup file as is and use default setup install locations. You can certainly try the ROVI guide and decide whether you even need to go any further. You may get lucky. After all, you can always clear any ROVI guide data and fall back onto the procedure described above. The choice is yours alone to make. Good luck!!

Thank you for the reply.

Thanks for clarifying to install MCImportXMLTV into the default location. I was just thinking about placing the downloaded file in the C:\EPG folder along with the other files just to keep track of it. I never thought about where it would be installed.

I asked about Rovi because I wondered if it would be better to start off with a clean empty guide, But that may not be possible. IIRC when I do a WMC TV Setup it will detect my OTA tuner & then download the guide & then scan for TV channels. It sets up the guide before it scans for channels so I may not be able to skip the guide download process. But I guess that’s not a problem.

FWIW, Rovi is mostly working on my HTPC. I had to do the TV Signal setup to get the guide switched over to Rovi. But two channels were missing program titles & had only generic descriptions on about half of the programs. Then the data showed up for a few days but then disappeared. Now it's back on the one channel but missing on the other channel.

I want to get an alternate guide system set up on another PC & become familiar with it in case I have to use it as a backup if/when Rovi really messes things up.

Thanks again for all your work trying to figure everything out.

One can disable ROVI updates by opening <WMC Tasks/ Settings-->General-->Automatic Download Options> and removing check mark from "Automatically download Windows Media Center Data..." MCImportXMLTV will replace whatever guide data already exists.

[Bob ODell]

Hi Bob,

I tried the steps you listed & everything works great, except that it's bringing in (XMLTV) at the end of the channel name i.e. NBCHDP (XMLTV)

Did you come across this & if so, what did you do to remove them? I looked at renaming thru the channel guide config screen & it doesn't show it, nor does it show it thru Guide Tool

It appears the (XMLTV) is causing channel logos not to appear & WMC to think I have nothing scheduled to record.

Thanks

choliscott,

re: NBCHDP (XMLTV)
I believe I understand the issue as you have described it so, open <MCImportXMLTV-->Channel Settings> and play with the settings for "Use cleaned names in EPG guide" and "Real HD Channel". I do not see the issue at all here and I have "Use cleaned names in EPG guide" checked, and "Real HD Channel" is currently unchecked.

re: Channel logos
B4 two weeks ago I knew absolutely nothing about the inner workings of WMC and this quest for a solution to "no Data Available" began with an absolutely clean slate. All WMC related folders and Registry tokens were wiped. Thus, I have no MS provided dataset which I can analyze for definitive answers and can only make educated guesses as to the nature of your missing logos...

The downloaded xmltv guide from Schedules Direct (Zap2it) that I'm seeing here, does not inherently provide url links to logos for each channel ID and therefore, no logos are available for import into MCE... An example might be something like...

<channel id="I5.1.35102.schedulesdirect.org">
<LOGO>https://s3.amazonaws.com/schedulesdirec ... a.png<LOGO>

I'm guessing that normally WMC Setup downloads a pre-linked logo package from ROVI and stores it somewhere, based upon chosen lineup. This could be done manually via .xml, but the process is not simple and very labor intensive.

MCImportXML does provide a function for mapping logos to channel IDs <MCImportXMLTV-->Channel Settings-->Assign channel logo>, but I have yet to find a way to get it working. The actual documentation for MCImportXMLTV is extremely limited. Oneday perhaps I'll find some more time to investigate this option.

So, the simplest solution currently available is to download a utility called "My Channel Logos" <http://www.mychannellogos.com/> and/ or <http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/vie ... ?f=9&t=846> This is free-to-try donationware, but well worth the roughly $3 - 5.00 US, especially the XL version. Utilize this utility's inclusive mapping feature to restore your logos. The XL version has an automatic mapping feature that should work just fine, otherwise a couple hundred logos would take some serious time. The extra features are well worth the donation.

Personally, I'm just happy to have a Guide that works...

[robnitro]

Hi,
I recently signed up with schedules direct and am using mcimportxml as a test to see if recording keeps on taking repeats (as Rovi stinks on shows like Mythbusters, etc).
However, now I don't get the "Original Air Date".
However, I do see the episode number in the title. The xml has a date in there too, so I'm confused, maybe I missed a setting in mcimportxmltv?

Anyone who use mcimportxml for schedules direct get the original air date in their listings details?

[Trimline]

All,
Everything is pretty much self sustaining from that point onward...

Apologies everyone,
In my original post, I neglected to enclose the CD [C:\EPG] command in quotes. Here is a corrected version of the full UpdateEPG.bat...
...

Good job! This works perfectly on my W10 installation. I really appreciate your work and effort!!

[choliscott]

Hi Bob,

I finally had a chance to look at what you suggested (Used Clean names in EPG guide & Real HD Channels), mine was set as you described.

Prior to trying this method, I was already using "My Channel Logos". The issue I'm seeing is every time the .BAT file runs to update the guide, a good chunk of the channel logos disappear. If I open My Channel Logos & click on auto populate, they reappear

On the channel guide, when I hover over the channel number, I noticed the ones the logo disappears shows the channel name as "NBCDT (XMLTV), while the logos that stay do not have the "(XMLTV)" at the end of the station identifier.

What's interesting is that Guide Tool doesn't show the "(XMLTV)" but My Channel Logo & Media Center channel editor does, but when I try to change the station name, it doesn't show the "XMLTV" When I tried to see a pattern between the ones that the logo stays compared to the ones that disappear, I couldn't see anything that would cause one to stay & one to disappear.

Overall if there is a way to run the auto populate (My Channel Logos) from a command line, that would probably solve the problem

One quick side question, does your guide have some season & episode numbers listed like this (1905)?

choliscott,

re: NBCHDP (XMLTV)
I believe I understand the issue as you have described it so, open <MCImportXMLTV-->Channel Settings> and play with the settings for "Use cleaned names in EPG guide" and "Real HD Channel". I do not see the issue at all here and I have "Use cleaned names in EPG guide" checked, and "Real HD Channel" is currently unchecked.

re: Channel logos
B4 two weeks ago I knew absolutely nothing about the inner workings of WMC and this quest for a solution to "no Data Available" began with an absolutely clean slate. All WMC related folders and Registry tokens were wiped. Thus, I have no MS provided dataset which I can analyze for definitive answers and can only make educated guesses as to the nature of your missing logos...

The downloaded xmltv guide from Schedules Direct (Zap2it) that I'm seeing here, does not inherently provide url links to logos for each channel ID and therefore, no logos are available for import into MCE... An example might be something like...

<channel id="I5.1.35102.schedulesdirect.org">
<LOGO>https://s3.amazonaws.com/schedulesdirec ... a.png<LOGO>

I'm guessing that normally WMC Setup downloads a pre-linked logo package from ROVI and stores it somewhere, based upon chosen lineup. This could be done manually via .xml, but the process is not simple and very labor intensive.

MCImportXML does provide a function for mapping logos to channel IDs <MCImportXMLTV-->Channel Settings-->Assign channel logo>, but I have yet to find a way to get it working. The actual documentation for MCImportXMLTV is extremely limited. Oneday perhaps I'll find some more time to investigate this option.

So, the simplest solution currently available is to download a utility called "My Channel Logos" <http://www.mychannellogos.com/> and/ or <http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/vie ... ?f=9&t=846> This is free-to-try donationware, but well worth the roughly $3 - 5.00 US, especially the XL version. Utilize this utility's inclusive mapping feature to restore your logos. The XL version has an automatic mapping feature that should work just fine, otherwise a couple hundred logos would take some serious time. The extra features are well worth the donation.

Personally, I'm just happy to have a Guide that works...

[robnitro]

One quick side question, does your guide have some season & episode numbers listed like this (1905)?

I have those episode numbers, but do you get the original air date with this method?

[choliscott]

I'm seeing the original air date on some shows, but seems to be hit or miss.

One quick side question, does your guide have some season & episode numbers listed like this (1905)?

I have those episode numbers, but do you get the original air date with this method?

[glugglug]

So has anyone come up with a quick reliable way to set up the Zap2It guide data from SchedulesDirect with a CableCARD tuner yet? The quality (or rather lack thereof) with Rovi, and the many screwed up series recordings as a result are getting old.

[Localemperor]

So I tried this and ran into some errors;

I am able to download my listings from Schedules Direct into an XML file
Using MCImportXMLTV, I can browse to the XML file, but when I press Fetch Data, I get an error. It says to check the path, which I obviously did. When I click on Fetch Only, same error.

Instead, I downloaded Big Screen EPG. It is able to open the file, it shows there are channels, programs, etc. Everything looks as it should. When I choose to import into WMC, the process goes well. No errors. When I open WMC, there is no data.
I tried a couple times, even resetting WMC, and still no luck.

Thoughts?

[glugglug]

I am successfully using the SchedulesDirect guide data on my spare machine, with all ~900 CableCARD channels set using a new utility I made.

Just uploaded it to dropbox:

Binary: https://www.dropbox.com/s/8z8z0fpksqpwu ... y.zip?dl=0
Source: https://www.dropbox.com/s/vko7y127h80cj ... e.zip?dl=0

Basic usage (many steps, read this first):
0. Back up. Who knows in what ways we can screw up the WMC setup!
1. Optional: Turn off automatic downloads of guide data in WMC (But you will need to have TV setup completed, just not doing auto downloads). I'm not sure if some channels may revert to using Rovi if you leave the automatic downloads enabled. I don't think so, but just in case.
2. Set up SchedulesDirect account
3. download mc2xml.exe
4. Use mc2xml.exe to download xmltv.dtd, as described in Bob O Dell's post
5. download xmltv.dtd
6. Set up a scheduled task to repeat this download daily.
7. Install and configure BigScreen EPG to read your downloaded xmltv.dtd, and in particular, make sure the "Include Channel Numbers in Output" checkbox is selected in the advanced options->channel numbers sedction. I have only tried this with CableCARD, but made a recent modification to let you select a scanned lineup to pick tuners from which should allow use with ATSC OTA, maybe. For ATSC OTA to have a chance of working, you'll want to make sure the "Include Subchannel Numbers in Output" checkbox is checked as well. The LineupSelector app matches/creates channels by number, so the numbers need to be there in your .MXF file for it to work.

8. Set up Big Screen EPG scheduled task, ideally set to run shortly after the mc2xml daily fetch, but with a long enough gap to be sure the download will complete first.
9. Hit the Process & Upload button in Big Screen EPG. Hit continue when needed until it completes (this will take awhile).
10. Launch the new LineupSelector app. UI Looks like this:


11. Make sure all the options are set as you want. As far as I know, the merged lineup combo box at the top will only have one choice. The WMI Lineup box should automatically select the Big Screen EPG lineup by default, you can choose another if you want to try one of the other choices WMC gives you in your zipcode without redoing TV setup for example. The Scanned Lineup box should have one option for each tuner type found in your TV setup, and controls which tuners will be used for any new channels that are created for channels in the BSEPG lineup that weren't already in your guide.
12. Hit Sync Now to update your guide to use all the listings from your selected WMI lineup. This should only take a couple seconds.

The binary is compiled with Windows 7 x64. Included in the binary archive are the libraries it uses from the C:\Windows\ehome directory on a Win7 x64 machine, in the hopes that these will allow it to run on a Win8 or 8.1 machine without recompiling (I doubt it though...)


As far as why I used BSEPG and my own guide updating tool rather than MCImportXMLTV, there are 2 things lacking in MCImportXMLTV, that I think would be dealbreakers for CableCARD users. If these two were fixed, I guess we would have the makings of a free app for use with SchedulesDirect:

1. The automatic channel mapping options pretty much completely fail and everything has to be assigned manually. This would be easy to fix! The name they show in the "EPG streams in XMLTV file" list start with the channel numbers that are perfect for matching with the guide! This could be solved by either adding an option to parse the number each channel in the XMLTV file starts with to get the channel number for matching or allow a regex to specify it.
2. It doesn't flag any channels as HD by default. BSEPG at least has an option to automatically flag channels with names ending in HD or HDTV. For local channels in the US with the ZapToIt data, this should ideally be able to match any channel ending in "DT" as well (or allow the user to supply matching regexes), but the DT suffix accounts for only about 15 HD channels out of about 200.

[choliscott]

Does your utility require anything special to be installed? I tried running on Windows 8 & it immediately crashes

I am successfully using the SchedulesDirect guide data on my spare machine, with all ~900 CableCARD channels set using a new utility I made.

Just uploaded it to dropbox:

Binary: https://www.dropbox.com/s/8z8z0fpksqpwu ... y.zip?dl=0
Source: https://www.dropbox.com/s/vko7y127h80cj ... e.zip?dl=0

[glugglug]

I was afraid of that... the BDATunePIA.dll mcepg.dll and mcstore.dll files in the archive have versions in the C:\Windows\ehome directory that are registered so those will be found even if not running from that directory. (on a Windows 7 x64 machine those files can be deleted from the directory with the app and it will use the system ones) I was hoping that in win8/win8.1 it would use the ones in the same directory as the binary and not fail because they changed the version number.

It will need to be recompiled with the project references changed to point to the Windows 8 version of the dlls to run on Win8.

[glugglug]

Will try building a binary for 8.1 using the dlls from the WMC on Win10 installer.
If someone has the dlls from Win8 I can do that as well.