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Re: Now that WMC is officially dead, what about guide data?
Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 7:23 pm
by Mike88
How does the software work that comes with some tuners? The AverMedia Duet tuner cards came in 2 versions, one with full software & one called a white box version which only had the driver software. Everything I read said to get the basic white box version & use WMC because the AverMedia software was terrible. But if you did use their software how do (or did) you get the guide data?
Where do the USB tuners get their guide data? My friend had one & supposedly you could record with it.
Re: Now that WMC is officially dead, what about guide data?
Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 9:02 pm
by Crash2009
I would imagine Avermedia would either extract the guide info from the stream itself or download from the internet. Those are the only 2 ways I've read about.
Here are a few guys developing how to get guide data into a live tv plugin for Emby. It's only 10 pages. A guy from Schedules Direct joined the party about 1/2 way through. Looks like this one will work eventually. I don't know how much help I will be, but I am going to volunteer.
http://emby.media/community/index.php?/ ... l=hdhr3-cc
Re: Now that WMC is officially dead, what about guide data?
Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 9:31 pm
by Ed
Avermedia simply provides you with a link to a webpage/online TV guide listings. You then set manual recordings with the program.
Re: Now that WMC is officially dead, what about guide data?
Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2015 12:47 am
by Crash2009
That's a pretty lame way to do things.
Re: Now that WMC is officially dead, what about guide data?
Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2015 12:58 am
by Ed
Yeah, I agree. That's why no one really uses it. However, the program itself is more than some other tuner manufacturers offer (i.e. nothing); and would thus be easier for them to turn it into/take less time to update it to a better version of the existing program - if they ever decide to.
Re: Now that WMC is officially dead, what about guide data?
Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2015 1:57 am
by Crash2009
Hint hint
Re: Now that WMC is officially dead, what about guide data?
Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2015 3:34 pm
by tocsin
CyberSimian wrote:tocsin wrote:Ah, is this why my attempt to record HD didn't work? How do you get the UK HD EPG? (An IT literate here, but WMC newbie - wasn't that a good choice, moving from DVD recorders
)
If you use the Microsoft EPG downloaded from the internet, that includes the HD channels, and the EPG for the HD channels will show the programme schedule.
If you use only the broadcast EPG, the EPG for the SD channels will show the programme schedule, but the EPG for the HD channels will be empty ("No information available", or somesuch wording). However, you can still schedule a manual recording on the HD channels, where you specify the channel number and start and end times (just like a VCR).
It is also possible to download the EPG from other sources on the internet, and load that EPG into WMC (I have never tried this). For example, the "Radio Times" website (other listings magazines are available) provides an EPG that can be downloaded from the internet. Some of these alternative EPGs may charge for the information.
The problem with internet EPGs is their coverage. Although the Microsoft EPG has been updated in the past to reflect major changes to the channel line-up in the UK, it does not include some of the minor channels (and probably never will). The "Radio Times" EPG does not include the radio channels(!). In contrast, the broadcast EPG includes
all channels (at least, on DVB-T/T2). On the other hand, some of the internet EPGs include more information about programmes than the broadcast EPG (e.g. actors/directors, original broadcast date, repeat flag, star rating).
I will mention in passing that MediaPortal
can extract from the broadcast datastream the EPG for the HD channels, and so does not require an internet EPG (but an internet EPG can be used, if desired).
You have not given any details about your failure to record HD channels, so it is not possible to say whether this is due to EPG problems!
-- from CyberSimian in the UK
Thanks,
CyberSimian for the comprehensive info, and apologies for the delay in replying as I had to go travelling for work!
I was getting the "no information", but only for some channels - ISTR that Ch4 had data, BBC4 didn't. I reverted to an old SD tuner to make sure stuff would record while I was away, and will experiment with the info above next chance I get.
Re: Now that WMC is officially dead, what about guide data?
Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2015 5:31 pm
by CyberSimian
tocsin wrote:I was getting the "no information", but only for some channels - ISTR that Ch4 had data, BBC4 didn't.
If your recollection is correct (EPG data present for "Channel 4 HD", but missing for "BBC4 HD"), you may need to rescan your tuners.
The first HD MUX that was introduced included four of the major channels ("BBC1 HD", "BBC2 HD", "ITV1 HD", and "Channel 4 HD"), and several of the minor channels ("CBeebies HD", "BBC3 HD", and "BBC News HD").
When a second HD MUX was introduced, that added: "CBBC HD", "BBC4 HD", "Al Jazeera HD", "Channel 4+1 HD", and "4Seven HD".
So, it looks as though you are missing the EPG for second HD MUX. This may be because you have not rescanned your tuners, but it could be because the second HD MUX is more difficult to receive. It might be broadcast with less power, or broadcast at the extreme of your aerial band (hence less signal picked up), or not broadcast at all at your location.
Just recently, a third HD MUX was introduced, and this adds the unmissible channels: "QVC+1 HD", and "QVC Beauty HD".
-- from CyberSimian in the UK