Media Center EPG Cutover

Global guide related discussion. All Windows versions.
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rmeden

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#1201

Post by rmeden » Wed Jul 29, 2015 3:46 pm

Howdy All

I'm Robert from Schedules Direct. Ironically, my primary DVR has been a Vista Media Center device (which of course doesn't work any more) for years.

We have obtained a tentative exclusion to the non-commercial limitation allowing a 3rd party MCE plugin to load data sourced from Schedules Direct.

There has been talk in these threads about creating one, but I couldn't find an instance of where it was done. If someone has written such a program, they should contact us at SD and it can be added to the approved list.

Personally, I think I'm about to give MediaPortal a try..

Robert

Chalk

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#1202

Post by Chalk » Wed Jul 29, 2015 4:25 pm

Chalk wrote:This worked for me finally. The trick was to delete the ehome folders in both places.

Thank you Brian from Bawlmer!

scoobybri wrote:After going through the million or so posts about the EPG not working, I tried many of the solutions posted and none worked for me. I tried uninstalling WMC and reinstalling, changing DNS servers, installing all Windows updates, trying many different ZIP codes, etc. The TV setup process would never download the guide data. I tried running a packet sniffer to see what was happening when WMC was looking for the guide data and everything was working with the DNS, negotiations with the guide server, etc. Pulling on some of my old Windows knowledge about program installations and data, I found a solution that worked for me as well as a friend of mine who lives in another state.

Here are the steps:

Keep in mind that you will lose your recording schedule. You will just need to set it up again once you are finished with this process.

1. Uninstall Windows Media center from the Programs and Features section of Control Panel. Under the Media Features section, unselect Windows Media Center and Windows Media Player. Click OK. Let Windows reboot.

2. You need to delete 2 directories that hold Media Center databases and other info. These directories remain after uninstalling WMC and need to be removed so that WMC does not pick up old settings when reinstalled. First, verify that you can view hidden files and folders. You will not be able to find the folders listed below if Windows is using hidden folders. To do this, open Control Panel and select Folder Options. Click the View tab. Under the Hidden files and Folders section, select "Show hidden files,folders, or drives" Click OK. Open File Explorer and select your C: drive (or whatever drive Windows is installed on). Open this directory: Users->(Name of current user)->AppData->Local->Microsoft. Delete the eHome directory. Next, Go back to your C: drive. Open ProgramData->Microsoft. Delete the eHome directory.

3. Reinstall Windows Media center from the Programs and Features section of Control Panel. Under the Media Features section, select Windows Media Center and Windows Media Player. Click OK. Let Windows reboot.

4. Open Media Center and choose Custom Setup. Run through the setup process. In the TV section of the setup, the guide data should come down properly and the channels will be scanned and listed like they should.

Hope this helps!

Brian from Baltimore

[Moderator note: topic merged]

above1

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#1203

Post by above1 » Wed Jul 29, 2015 4:57 pm

So doing a traceroute to: data.tvdownload.microsoft.com from home I get the following. As you can tell I live in seattle and have comcast

I get destination unreachable:

C:\Windows\system32>tracert 65.55.186.113

Tracing route to data.tvdownload.microsoft.com [65.55.186.113]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms 192.168.1.1
2 * * * Request timed out.
3 11 ms 11 ms 10 ms te-0-4-0-9-sur02.seattle.wa.seattle.comcast.net [68.86.98.37]
4 9 ms 10 ms 9 ms be-1-sur03.seattle.wa.seattle.comcast.net [69.139.164.134]
5 12 ms 10 ms 9 ms be-20-ar01.seattle.wa.seattle.comcast.net [69.139.164.129]
6 15 ms 21 ms 12 ms be-33650-cr02.seattle.wa.ibone.comcast.net [68.86.93.165]
7 15 ms 11 ms 10 ms he-0-10-0-1-pe05.seattle.wa.ibone.comcast.net [68.86.88.126]
8 14 ms 14 ms 15 ms as8075-1-c.seattle.wa.ibone.comcast.net [173.167.56.178]
9 * * * Request timed out.
10 * * * Request timed out.
11 39 ms 35 ms 39 ms ae1-0.cys01-96cbe-1a.ntwk.msn.net [191.234.80.28]
12 38 ms 36 ms 40 ms ae8-0.den01-96cbe-1a.ntwk.msn.net [191.234.80.190]
13 * * * Request timed out.
14 * * * Request timed out.
15 * * * Request timed out.
16 * * * Request timed out.
17 90 ms 91 ms 90 ms ae10-0.was02-96cbe-1a.ntwk.msn.net [191.234.84.219]
18 90 ms 93 ms 90 ms ae16-0.was01-96cbe-1a.ntwk.msn.net [191.234.82.36]
19 93 ms 91 ms 90 ms ae20-0.bl2-96c-1b.ntwk.msn.net [191.234.82.26]
20 90 ms 91 ms 92 ms 10.22.112.78
21 10.22.112.78 reports: Destination net unreachable.

Trace complete.

10.22.112.78 is an internal address, but non-the-less, i'm not getting in data from there anytime soon. So maybe they have a routing issue?!?...

I've tried everything posted on these pages, every possible combination. nothing has worked. all different DNS entries, changed host files. u name it.

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Crash2009

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#1204

Post by Crash2009 » Wed Jul 29, 2015 5:43 pm

Wireshark it while trying to update the guide. The bottleneck will be revealed.

tedvideo65

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#1205

Post by tedvideo65 » Wed Jul 29, 2015 7:54 pm

Wrong real channel
Post#401 » Sat Jul 18, 2015 9:59 pm

Although I was able to download most of my local Canadian OTA EPG data, most of those channels have the wrong real channel number (frequency) attached to the virtual channel. All the guide data is correct as well as the channel name. I even tried two different tuners just to see if it had anything to do with the turner. It is not the tuner - looks like a problem in the new EPG data? Anyone have this same issue? I can see the real channel number when I select Edit Sources but I can't find anyway to edit it? Any help or input is appreciated.

Thanks
BucK
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If there is an answer to this I'd like to know also. I have the same problem in Ottawa Ontario Canada. I was able to get the new Rovi EPG data in Windows 8 WMC, and it looks great, however channel 6.1 Global does not show any broadcast even I have the program listing for it and it worked before. Same as well for 65.1 City and a couple others. Other Canadian channels 4.1 CBC and 13.1 CTV CJOH show fine in WMC, and I actually get 3 PBS channels that never came in before so some channels work and others don't. It seems to not be tuning the correct frequency for those stations. They work fine on the tuner on my tv.
If there's a fix, I'd like to know also.
Ted

JoeNezZ

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#1206

Post by JoeNezZ » Wed Jul 29, 2015 8:02 pm

ok we see this nice mess that Microsoft has caused by switching to a data provider who does not have their act together.

it nice to see some have figured out how to get the update to work in the USA

but my issue is I live in Ontario Canada & I checked on the guide listings here: http://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/tv-listings

which I assume are powered by Rovi, the problem being they do not have any providers listed for my region "kawartha lakes" nor do they have any providers listed for my parents area of Toronto who are on Rogers Cable, thus I guess that is why none of my media centers have updated to Rovi, they have simply ran out of guide data as it appears Microsoft is sending down empty downloads from zap because even after a successful manual guide download, no listings are present.

so this has screwed me up enough to ditch Microsoft for good, I have 3 note books running win 7 & two media center servers one running xp & the other 7 & now i cant record my regular programs, I mean sure I could go through the hassle of setting manual timers & trying figure out what they are when the recordings get labeled by channel & time rather then by program name.

I have wasted 2 days & three nights trying to find a solution & nothing works, it would be interesting to hear from anyone in Canada using analog cable to hear if they are getting listing from Rovi ? also if anyone has figured out a way to repopulate the EPG from Zap2it as they have my cable company & channel line up where Rovi does not.

so I will assume my only way to get my listings until Rovi updates Canadian providers and they switch us over will be to get them from zap (which should have remained active in the first place until the cutover was completed successfully)
Last edited by JoeNezZ on Wed Jul 29, 2015 8:09 pm, edited 4 times in total.

hansolo89

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#1207

Post by hansolo89 » Wed Jul 29, 2015 8:03 pm

tedvideo65 wrote:Wrong real channel
Post#401 » Sat Jul 18, 2015 9:59 pm

Although I was able to download most of my local Canadian OTA EPG data, most of those channels have the wrong real channel number (frequency) attached to the virtual channel. All the guide data is correct as well as the channel name. I even tried two different tuners just to see if it had anything to do with the turner. It is not the tuner - looks like a problem in the new EPG data? Anyone have this same issue? I can see the real channel number when I select Edit Sources but I can't find anyway to edit it? Any help or input is appreciated.

Thanks
BucK
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If there is an answer to this I'd like to know also. I have the same problem in Ottawa Ontario Canada. I was able to get the new Rovi EPG data in Windows 8 WMC, and it looks great, however channel 6.1 Global does not show any broadcast even I have the program listing for it and it worked before. Same as well for 65.1 City and a couple others. Other Canadian channels 4.1 CBC and 13.1 CTV CJOH show fine in WMC, and I actually get 3 PBS channels that never came in before so some channels work and others don't. It seems to not be tuning the correct frequency for those stations. They work fine on the tuner on my tv.
If there's a fix, I'd like to know also.
Ted
reporting it to Microsoft wmc connect site is the only way to fix it, you can temporarily add a missing channel manually then add listings to new channel and disable the incorrect one

tzr916

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#1208

Post by tzr916 » Wed Jul 29, 2015 8:10 pm

above1 wrote:So doing a traceroute to: data.tvdownload.microsoft.com from home I get the following..... I get destination unreachable:

C:\Windows\system32>tracert 65.55.186.113
........
Again, this is NORMAL. The MS servers filter/deny/disable Ping and Tracert for data.tvdownload.microsoft.com

Goto http://www.cogentco.com/en/network/looking-glass
choose any city, enter data.tvdownload.microsoft.com (or any IP been listed here), it will ALWAYS fail to Ping or Tracert.

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#1209

Post by circusdog » Wed Jul 29, 2015 10:34 pm

rmeden wrote:Howdy All

I'm Robert from Schedules Direct. Ironically, my primary DVR has been a Vista Media Center device (which of course doesn't work any more) for years.

We have obtained a tentative exclusion to the non-commercial limitation allowing a 3rd party MCE plugin to load data sourced from Schedules Direct.

There has been talk in these threads about creating one, but I couldn't find an instance of where it was done. If someone has written such a program, they should contact us at SD and it can be added to the approved list.

Personally, I think I'm about to give MediaPortal a try..

Robert
Hey! That would be awesome! I just signed up to try the XMLTV stuff, but I can't find any apps for putting the data into WMC either. All the old ones seem to have disappeared.

I am in the Vista boat as well.

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Crash2009

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#1210

Post by Crash2009 » Wed Jul 29, 2015 11:04 pm

I thought I read that installing tv pack for Vista has worked...for some. I think 2 so far. Maybe that was only 1. The 2nd one ditched vista and upgraded to 7.

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#1211

Post by macmcd » Wed Jul 29, 2015 11:20 pm

It is obvious that fixing the issue with WMC schedule is not a priority for Microsoft so there is no reason to expect a real solution in the near future.

Does anyone know of a service or program which has the same features the old WMC had but runs on Linux? The only reason I ever booted my computer into Windows was to watch OTA television and be able to set WMC to record shows for later viewing. If I could find something that ran on Linux I could completely cut the cord from having to beta test Microsoft "upgrades" like this.

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#1212

Post by circusdog » Wed Jul 29, 2015 11:23 pm

Crash2009 wrote:I thought I read that installing tv pack for Vista has worked...for some. I think 2 so far. Maybe that was only 1. The 2nd one ditched vista and upgraded to 7.
TV Pack is not compatible with SP2. It supposedly incorporates it.

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#1213

Post by richard1980 » Wed Jul 29, 2015 11:34 pm

rmeden wrote:Howdy All

I'm Robert from Schedules Direct. Ironically, my primary DVR has been a Vista Media Center device (which of course doesn't work any more) for years.

We have obtained a tentative exclusion to the non-commercial limitation allowing a 3rd party MCE plugin to load data sourced from Schedules Direct.

There has been talk in these threads about creating one, but I couldn't find an instance of where it was done. If someone has written such a program, they should contact us at SD and it can be added to the approved list.

Personally, I think I'm about to give MediaPortal a try..

Robert
Microsoft built a tool for loading data into the EPG data store, and it is included as part of the WMC installation. See https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/librar ... dmxf__zyoq for more info. All you have to do is create an XML file with the data in it. End users load it into the EPG data store using loadmxf.exe. A simple batch file can load the data file and reindex the data.

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#1214

Post by webminster » Wed Jul 29, 2015 11:36 pm

mdavej wrote: - A few existing recording's meta data gets overwritten with data from an entirely different program.
I thought I was hallucinating when one of my "Storage Wars" recordings was suddenly displayed as "Dog the Bounty Hunter". Nice to know it wasn't me.
-Alan

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#1215

Post by al_wilson2 » Wed Jul 29, 2015 11:46 pm

macmcd wrote:It is obvious that fixing the issue with WMC schedule is not a priority for Microsoft so there is no reason to expect a real solution in the near future.

Does anyone know of a service or program which has the same features the old WMC had but runs on Linux? The only reason I ever booted my computer into Windows was to watch OTA television and be able to set WMC to record shows for later viewing. If I could find something that ran on Linux I could completely cut the cord from having to beta test Microsoft "upgrades" like this.
Try this wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compariso ... e_packages. You can run Kodi (formerly XBMC) with NextPVR as the backend DVR. However, a Linux solution does not include free guide data or access to encrypted cable. It will however, pull basic guide data from OTA, or you use a paid subscription service for extensive guide data. The setup is also a lot more complicated, so you would need to be proficient in Linux. I would suggest that you exhaust all options trying to fix WMC. If unsuccessful, watch for SiliconDust to release a DVR application this fall.

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#1216

Post by SteelWill » Wed Jul 29, 2015 11:47 pm

gildavis wrote:
Crash2009 wrote:I thought I read that installing tv pack for Vista has worked...for some. I think 2 so far. Maybe that was only 1. The 2nd one ditched vista and upgraded to 7.
TV Pack is not compatible with SP2. It supposedly incorporates it.
The TV Pack installed OK on my fully updated Vista SP2 install and got me the Rovi EPG.

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#1217

Post by webminster » Wed Jul 29, 2015 11:48 pm

macmcd wrote:Does anyone know of a service or program which has the same features the old WMC had but runs on Linux?.
There are tons. Go do some Googling, or start with a list from, say, Schedules Direct (http://www.schedulesdirect.org/approvedsoftware) that could use their guide data. If you're OTA, one of these may suit. If you have cable, you may have issues with protected content, which is why WMC has been the sole choice for a lot of us.
-Alan

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#1218

Post by webminster » Wed Jul 29, 2015 11:55 pm

richard1980 wrote:Microsoft built a tool for loading data into the EPG data store, and it is included as part of the WMC installation. See https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/librar ... dmxf__zyoq for more info. All you have to do is create an XML file with the data in it. End users load it into the EPG data store using loadmxf.exe. A simple batch file can load the data file and reindex the data.
There is a thread devoted to figuring out how to get this to work, appreciate any comments you have toward a working solution there:
http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/vie ... f=9&t=8927
-Alan

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#1219

Post by MrCreosote » Thu Jul 30, 2015 12:23 am

So I guess there is nothing to do about this?

Just wait and hope it corrects itself?


_______________________

I get NO DATA AVAILABLE for all channels - and they worked fine up to about a week ago (mid-July 2015)

Tried SET UP TV again, scanned channels, etc. etc. and still same result.

I'm using an old Kworld USB HDTV "box." Has worked just fine in all regards except for this EPG issue.

hansolo89

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#1220

Post by hansolo89 » Thu Jul 30, 2015 12:29 am

MrCreosote wrote:So I guess there is nothing to do about this?

Just wait and hope it corrects itself?


_______________________

I get NO DATA AVAILABLE for all channels - and they worked fine up to about a week ago (mid-July 2015)

Tried SET UP TV again, scanned channels, etc. etc. and still same result.

I'm using an old Kworld USB HDTV "box." Has worked just fine in all regards except for this EPG issue.
does your about guide still say zap2it?

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