Guide Data Outage - Winter 2017 Edition

Global guide related discussion. All Windows versions.
Space

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#61

Post by Space » Sat Feb 04, 2017 6:35 am

From the research I did on JRiver MC, it appears that it uses the mc2xml program to download TV listings from one of several sources. One of those sources is the Microsoft WMC servers. So I am guessing that the people having problems are the ones using the Microsoft servers (same as WMC uses) and that the problem is with Microsoft and not with the Rovi data.

This is just based on some quick research I did, so I may be mistaken.

amcneish

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#62

Post by amcneish » Sat Feb 04, 2017 6:56 am

You could be right.. but the JRIVER access using the mc2xml program... has the Microsoft option (which uses ROVI). and the Microsoft Legacy option (which used the Zap2it service).. and has a few other EPG options as well....

I believe the first option is called the Microsoft option because it is going against ROVI for it's EPG data... (same as Microsoft.. but maybe not through Microsoft servers)....

In any event.. I am sure once Microsoft/ROVI fix the issue ... I hope JRIVER/ROVI works again too!

I hope you are right though... (that way if Microsoft fixes the problem... JRIVER will work as well!)

RoadToad

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#63

Post by RoadToad » Sat Feb 04, 2017 7:37 am

amcneish wrote:I wonder if this is an issue where possibly a recent update to SSL Certificates have not been passed on to Windows systems... Both the Windows Media Center and JRIVER Media Center share the lack of ROVI updates....

Post #56 has a log that his system is showing trust issues.........
Could, indeed, be a Certificate issue......
That would affect multiple customers as the case seems to be....

simplyclueless

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#64

Post by simplyclueless » Sat Feb 04, 2017 7:58 am

Still down here as well in SF; guide data runs out on the 6th.

chunki

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#65

Post by chunki » Sat Feb 04, 2017 8:08 am

The guide data is downloaded to C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\eHome\Packages\EpgListings, I can see files, referenced in the event log, 28512167_ListingData.mxf and 309872683_ListingData.msf in the subfolders. They are dated 2/2 and 2/3. However, there are also files EpgListing.enc, EpgListing-2.enc and others. They are dated 1/25/ and 1/26.

I removed the subfolders and files from the EpgListings folder. Download the guide data again. 28512167_ListingData is downloaded and it is dated 2/3. EpgListing.enc is also downloaded but it is dated 1/25.

Conclusion, WMC cannot download the latest EpgListing.enc file.

Space

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#66

Post by Space » Sat Feb 04, 2017 8:40 am

The *.enc file date will match the date/time the file was finished being created by Microsoft. When it is copied to your system, it retains this date/time.
The *.mxf file will simply take on the date/time that the file was written to your system, it does not retain the date/time that it was created by Microsoft.

Note that the *.enc file and the *.mxf files are directly related. The EpgListing-2.enc file goes along with the *.mxf file(s) located in the EpgListing-2 folder, the EpgListing-3.enc file with the *.mxf in the EpgListing-3 folder, etc.

WMC is downloading the latest available *.enc and *.mxf files, it is just that the latest ones available were created on 1/26 (for my listings, at least), meaning that Microsoft has not created any newer file to download since that date.

In theory, this means that anyone setting up their WMC system for the first time (or running ObjectStoreRecorveryTask which deletes their guide listings) should still be able to download listings, but it will be listings that were created on 1/26 (containing listings through 2/7).

gary94080

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#67

Post by gary94080 » Sat Feb 04, 2017 10:08 am

Space wrote:
mediawiz wrote:I live in the San Francisco east bay area, and my guide stopped getting new data about 2 weeks ago. I have Comcast digital cable and internet service, and its definitely not a problem with my internet connection (which I'm using to post this).
Did you install patch KB3212646 for Windows 7? Uninstall it.

http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/vie ... =5&t=10598
I uninstalled it and still no update.

a new security update KB 3207752 2/4/17 was installed and also no update.

Space

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#68

Post by Space » Sat Feb 04, 2017 10:37 am

There is an existing outage, but it started about a week ago. You will only get guide data up to 2/7 and there is nothing you can do about that (bar switching to EPG123) except wait for them to fix it.

You said your outage started about 2 weeks ago, so that is why I mentioned the patch. You may have been affected by that one as well.

Markinsac

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#69

Post by Markinsac » Sat Feb 04, 2017 11:39 am

I removed KB3212646, no success.
I installed KB3212642, no success.
After reboot- system suggested KB3212646 again.

Does not appear to be a problem with these updates. As noted earlier, it appears to be an issue with the input files at the Microsoft/Rovi end.

I'm mapping out shows that I may have to record manually for a few days just in case.

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Scallica

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#70

Post by Scallica » Sat Feb 04, 2017 12:21 pm

ramdaskm wrote:For me in Dallas, ends on Feb 07 6 PM. Is there an email we can send to Rovi?
ipgcustomersupport@rovicorp.com
HTPC Enthusiast / Forum Moderator - TGB.tv Code of Conduct

Roginator

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#71

Post by Roginator » Sat Feb 04, 2017 1:32 pm

Anyone else think it's weird that no one at Microsoft uses Media Center?

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davidhp

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#72

Post by davidhp » Sat Feb 04, 2017 2:48 pm

As customers of Microsoft, especially some of us who had to pay $100.00 to upgrade from Windows 8.1 to Windows 8.1 Pro just to get WMC on a new computer (back then), how about some one from Microsoft telling us a status update on the fix. We have three and a half days of data left in the EPG and no one wants to give us an update. We paid for WMC, so you owe us an update. From what I can see this problem is on the Microsoft end, nothing a user can do will fix it except change to the EPG123 which many of us don't want to do because we expect Microsoft to live up to keeping WMC working like we paid for them to do. So how about an update and an expected fix date from Microsoft. Is that too much to expect from an multi billion dollar corporation?

windham9

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#73

Post by windham9 » Sat Feb 04, 2017 3:10 pm

davidhp wrote:As customers of Microsoft, especially some of us who had to pay $100.00 to upgrade from Windows 8.1 to Windows 8.1 Pro just to get WMC on a new computer (back then), how about some one from Microsoft telling us a status update on the fix. We have three and a half days of data left in the EPG and no one wants to give us an update. We paid for WMC, so you owe us an update. From what I can see this problem is on the Microsoft end, nothing a user can do will fix it except change to the EPG123 which many of us don't want to do because we expect Microsoft to live up to keeping WMC working like we paid for them to do. So how about an update and an expected fix date from Microsoft. Is that too much to expect from an multi billion dollar corporation?

Well said.

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WC_Barnstormer

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#74

Post by WC_Barnstormer » Sat Feb 04, 2017 3:47 pm

Could not have said it better. To think of all the hardware that was purchased just for WMC and have MSFT drop it and the support like they have leaves a very bitter pill to swallow. The said part is the idiots at MSFT had a market cornered in home entertainment with the beautiful WMC product they created and just threw it out the window (no pun intended) because of the lack of consumer education and advertisement of WMC.

Oophs, I was not going there but it slipped out..:)

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Vistaar

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#75

Post by Vistaar » Sat Feb 04, 2017 4:18 pm

It's good to see that I'm not alone: just 44 hours of guide data for Mediacom remaining. I'm still running Vista but with TV Pack 2008, which allows me to get the same crappy Rovi data as Windows 7 and 8 when the getting is good, which it obviously isn't right now. (There has been no "Microsoft Legacy" guide data in North America since July 2015, although it is still being provided in the United Kingdom.)

mattiedread

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#76

Post by mattiedread » Sat Feb 04, 2017 4:33 pm

It appears as if members are communicating with the appropriate parties, but, I haven't seen an ETA on the guide updating... has anyone heard one?
Thanks

suttonb1

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#77

Post by suttonb1 » Sat Feb 04, 2017 5:48 pm

I've been watching my guide for a few days wondering when it was going to update. I figured by now that there had to be a real issue. Hopefully this gets fixed soon!
It certainly is the only reason I'm still using Win7, and MS probably knows that.

V1de0Lovr

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#78

Post by V1de0Lovr » Sat Feb 04, 2017 6:04 pm

Same in Atlanta, tried "Set Up TV Signal" with all 3 Comcast possibilities for my area, then again after mcupdate -ObjectStoreRecoveryTask to recover the database. No choice but to setup EPG123 it appears...

johnbinsc

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#79

Post by johnbinsc » Sat Feb 04, 2017 6:07 pm

Space wrote: Rovi bought TiVo Corp. a while ago, but they probably still run as separate organizations, so it would not be that unusual that the old TiVo did not know what the old Rovi was doing until after they did it.
Not trying to start a conspiracy theory here :o , but if I owned Tivo, I would probably want to eliminate the home brew DVR competition. If I also controlled the EPG used by said competition, one way to negatively impact said competition would be to make their EPG feed flakey enough to drive consumers away from said competition, and to my own product.

This is of course completely hypothetical. If such shenanigans were in fact going on, in my opinion it would be a huge mistake by Rovi, as I think Microsoft employs more lawyers than engineers, and would probably end up owning Rovi (and Tivo).

That said, I plan to wait patiently for Microsoft to fix the EPG issue. Something changed somewhere in the pipeline and broke it, and it can sometimes take a while to track down the culprit.

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#80

Post by SugarFree » Sat Feb 04, 2017 6:48 pm

johnbinsc wrote:Not trying to start a conspiracy theory here.. .
Good. Because Tivo has been nothing less than terrific about helping us with this outage and the last several of them. Since MS apparently no longer reads their own trouble shooting site Connect, the only way we've gotten through to them is by Tivo/Rovi setting up trouble tickets for us, which MS does respond to. Their own guide (and customers) have no problems, but they are helping us anyway. If any Tivo folks are reading this, thank you.

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