Microsoft ending EPG for WMC in January

Global guide related discussion. All Windows versions.
Space

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#381

Post by Space » Wed Feb 26, 2020 12:14 am

adam1991 wrote: Sat Feb 22, 2020 9:58 pm ...

My question is, why did they not follow the instructions? It cost exactly ZERO to follow the instructions and force the "no more Rovi data" situation. What did they save by ASSUMING the Rovi data were gone and therefore "oh, I'll be OK, there won't be any duplicate data"?
Some people just don't read the instructions. I've known some people like this. They just think they can figure it out on their own. This is not just with installing a computer program, but also with other things such as assembling stuff, such as IKEA furniture.

With most computer programs, you just install it and and works, so it is somewhat understandable why you would not look at the instructions. But most of us know that doing so with EPG123 is not a good idea because there are certain steps that can't be done automatically (or at least aren't automated) and the steps that you need to follow are not intuitive (agreeing to the ToS is just something most people do without even thinking).

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Bee_Dee_3_Dee

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#382

Post by Bee_Dee_3_Dee » Wed Feb 26, 2020 2:21 pm

plplplpl wrote: Tue Feb 25, 2020 10:11 pm
cleothyme wrote: Tue Feb 25, 2020 9:50 pm Rage! Rage against the dying of the light!
The poem currently remains under copyright, [note 1] :o
still, it's a great ode to M$ EPG.lol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXO6VWL-aUQ

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plplplpl

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#383

Post by plplplpl » Thu Feb 27, 2020 10:20 pm

Joy! :D Forced update now takes me out to March 8th, 7 PM.

Mehr Licht!

n127

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#384

Post by n127 » Fri Feb 28, 2020 12:11 am

Yeah, the guide just updated for me in the last 2 hours till March 8th, and it looks like the guide is correct this time. For those who moved on to SD and don't know, Microsoft seems to only update the guide every 2 weeks for the last month or so. I only record few shows, so it's no big deal. The last time the guide was messed up, every channel was off by few minutes or hours. This time it's fine.

cleothyme

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#385

Post by cleothyme » Sat Feb 29, 2020 3:45 am

same here, listings looks good out to the evening of March 8

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IT Troll

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#386

Post by IT Troll » Sat Feb 29, 2020 8:44 am

Very weird to nag the World about ending the EPG and then not. Probably still running on an ancient PC under someone’s desk at Microsoft.
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

Mike88

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#387

Post by Mike88 » Sun Mar 01, 2020 12:05 pm

plplplpl wrote: Thu Feb 27, 2020 10:20 pm Joy! :D Forced update now takes me out to March 8th, 7 PM.

Mehr Licht!
How did you force an update? I get the "warning message" at the bottom of the screen that the guide is ending & lets you choose to get more information. It doesn't display the usual update guide option.

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#388

Post by cleothyme » Sun Mar 01, 2020 1:57 pm

I don't have an answer to the "how did you force an update" question but I was in the same boat as you a couple days ago and then it somehow successfully updated on its own

n127

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#389

Post by n127 » Sun Mar 01, 2020 3:30 pm

Mike88 wrote: Sun Mar 01, 2020 12:05 pmHow did you force an update?
Go to Settings-->TV-->Guide-->Get Latest Guide Listings.

Also, see Settings-->General-->Automatic Download Options. If you have this setup, then the guide would be updated daily from Microsoft, sometimes redownloading the same old guide. If you use EPG123, then you should disable these, because you would be downloading the guide from another source.

n127

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#390

Post by n127 » Sun Mar 01, 2020 11:57 pm

It looks like we just got another update today or yesterday that extended the guide till Thu March 12, 6 PM.

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plplplpl

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#391

Post by plplplpl » Mon Mar 02, 2020 12:12 am

March 12th, 9 PM here, and I didn't have to do a forced update to get it. It just happened deus ex machina. :o

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#392

Post by mmortal03 » Mon Mar 02, 2020 5:37 am

n127 wrote: Sun Mar 01, 2020 3:30 pm
Mike88 wrote: Sun Mar 01, 2020 12:05 pmHow did you force an update?
Go to Settings-->TV-->Guide-->Get Latest Guide Listings.

Also, see Settings-->General-->Automatic Download Options. If you have this setup, then the guide would be updated daily from Microsoft, sometimes redownloading the same old guide. If you use EPG123, then you should disable these, because you would be downloading the guide from another source.
Maybe it was something that happened when I was experimenting with EPG123 last month, but I noticed that ehtray.exe hasn't been remaining open in the background (or in the system tray) lately, and the guide doesn't get downloaded unless I manually run ehtray.exe. Who knows what happened to cause this. Might be something weird in my scheduled tasks or something? I'm not worried about it too much, as I'm not relying on the guide for my recordings at the moment, but I just thought I'd mention it to see if anyone else has noticed the same.

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#393

Post by n127 » Mon Mar 02, 2020 4:44 pm

mmortal03 wrote: Mon Mar 02, 2020 5:37 am
n127 wrote: Sun Mar 01, 2020 3:30 pm
Mike88 wrote: Sun Mar 01, 2020 12:05 pmHow did you force an update?
Go to Settings-->TV-->Guide-->Get Latest Guide Listings.

Also, see Settings-->General-->Automatic Download Options. If you have this setup, then the guide would be updated daily from Microsoft, sometimes redownloading the same old guide. If you use EPG123, then you should disable these, because you would be downloading the guide from another source.
Maybe it was something that happened when I was experimenting with EPG123 last month, but I noticed that ehtray.exe hasn't been remaining open in the background (or in the system tray) lately, and the guide doesn't get downloaded unless I manually run ehtray.exe. Who knows what happened to cause this. Might be something weird in my scheduled tasks or something? I'm not worried about it too much, as I'm not relying on the guide for my recordings at the moment, but I just thought I'd mention it to see if anyone else has noticed the same.
To see when Windows is going to update the guide(if you set it to auto update), go to Control Panel-->Administrative Tools-->Task Scheduler-->Task Scheduler Library-->Microsoft-->Windows-->Media Center, then look for "mcupdate_scheduled". The "Next run Time" column tells you when it's going to run next. If for some reason you have the Automatic Download Options disabled, but that task still runs, then you can disable it.

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#394

Post by Mike88 » Mon Mar 02, 2020 6:41 pm

n127 wrote: Sun Mar 01, 2020 3:30 pm
Mike88 wrote: Sun Mar 01, 2020 12:05 pmHow did you force an update?
Go to Settings-->TV-->Guide-->Get Latest Guide Listings.

Also, see Settings-->General-->Automatic Download Options. If you have this setup, then the guide would be updated daily from Microsoft, sometimes redownloading the same old guide. If you use EPG123, then you should disable these, because you would be downloading the guide from another source.
And then what? As mentioned, I get a message on the screen "Switch to an alternate TV program guide provider ..." It gives me 2 choices, either "Learn More" or "OK". There is no option to do an update like there used to be from MS/Rovi.

I have been getting the automatic updates from MS/Rovi, but another member has mentioned that they have done a forced updated & I wanted to try doing the same.

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#395

Post by mmortal03 » Thu Mar 05, 2020 4:30 am

n127 wrote: Mon Mar 02, 2020 4:44 pm
mmortal03 wrote: Mon Mar 02, 2020 5:37 am
n127 wrote: Sun Mar 01, 2020 3:30 pm
Go to Settings-->TV-->Guide-->Get Latest Guide Listings.

Also, see Settings-->General-->Automatic Download Options. If you have this setup, then the guide would be updated daily from Microsoft, sometimes redownloading the same old guide. If you use EPG123, then you should disable these, because you would be downloading the guide from another source.
Maybe it was something that happened when I was experimenting with EPG123 last month, but I noticed that ehtray.exe hasn't been remaining open in the background (or in the system tray) lately, and the guide doesn't get downloaded unless I manually run ehtray.exe. Who knows what happened to cause this. Might be something weird in my scheduled tasks or something? I'm not worried about it too much, as I'm not relying on the guide for my recordings at the moment, but I just thought I'd mention it to see if anyone else has noticed the same.
To see when Windows is going to update the guide(if you set it to auto update), go to Control Panel-->Administrative Tools-->Task Scheduler-->Task Scheduler Library-->Microsoft-->Windows-->Media Center, then look for "mcupdate_scheduled". The "Next run Time" column tells you when it's going to run next. If for some reason you have the Automatic Download Options disabled, but that task still runs, then you can disable it.
Yeah, I did check that, but I may have jumped the gun about ehtray.exe. It looks like it may have still updated in the last few days regardless of ehtray.exe running. Guide currently goes out to 03/14. I'll have to continue to monitor it.

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#396

Post by plplplpl » Thu Mar 05, 2020 5:31 am

Dear underappreciated Microsoft/Rovi employee,

Yes, you. You probably read this forum regularly although company policy prevents you from commenting. Your corporate overlords may not appreciate you and maybe don't assign you the most exciting projects, every day you spend in your lonely cubicle seems just like the previous one, you've been unfairly passed over for promotions, and you frequently wonder if this is what you went to college for. Your parents are proud you work for a big name company, but you wonder what the point of it all is; if they only knew what you really do all day. And to add insult to injury, your bosses fobbed off the WMC EPG, which is slated for termination, on you, which you might be interpreting as a not-so-subtle metaphor they're signaling you about your future career prospects.

But lo, since no one seems to notice or care what goes on in your off-the-beaten-track corner of the office anyway, you've decided that you'd take a surreptitious stand of defiance and continue giving the EPG a reprieve, a stay of execution as it were, and keep it alive for those of us who appreciate it, unbeknownst to all those around you who are oblivious to the true power that you hold.

Well, this is to say that you may not know us, and our paths will most likely never cross, but we, the great unwashed masses of Microsoft end-user proles who rely on our breadline handouts of periodic free EPG updates, hold you in high esteem for your acts of unsung bravery and devotion to the common good.

My guide now goes out to March 13th, 11:30 PM. :)

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#397

Post by cleothyme » Sun Mar 08, 2020 4:22 pm

My guide looks good and goes out to Thursday March 19th up to 8:00 PM EST.

adam1991

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#398

Post by adam1991 » Sun Mar 08, 2020 4:54 pm

Wait a minute. Hold on now.

Guide was supposed to end, what--Jan 20? 6 weeks ago.

And here we are 6 weeks later, and not only is it still working, we have now passed through the time change--and the guide never burped? Not once?

This is a completely backwards world in which we live.

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#399

Post by tonywagner » Sun Mar 08, 2020 6:51 pm

adam1991 wrote: Sun Mar 08, 2020 4:54 pmAnd here we are 6 weeks later, and not only is it still working, we have now passed through the time change--and the guide never burped? Not once?
It most definitely "burped" about 3 weeks ago, when dates and times were messed up according to multiple reports:

viewtopic.php?p=138426#p138426

But remarkably, it sounds like it is corrected now.

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#400

Post by Bee_Dee_3_Dee » Sun Mar 08, 2020 6:52 pm

adam1991 wrote: Sun Mar 08, 2020 4:54 pm Wait a minute. Hold on now.

Guide was supposed to end, what--Jan 20? 6 weeks ago.

And here we are 6 weeks later, and not only is it still working, we have now passed through the time change--and the guide never burped? Not once?

This is a completely backwards world in which we live.
hmm...

wat if M$ has/is contemplating:
1. charging a fee for EPG to work longer?
2. charging a fee for W7 security updates?

They already have a plan for businesses to pay a large fee for W7 security updates.
And if W7 WMC's EPG was truly going to go... why hasn't it?

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