Introducing EPG123

An evolving, supported alternative to Rovi
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★ Download the latest EPG123 here: https://garyan2.github.io/ <> Setup guide here: https://garyan2.github.io/install.html
johnsconley

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#1621

Post by johnsconley » Mon Nov 18, 2019 8:01 pm

EPG123 is running fine on my Win7 WMC machine which is the file server for two other machines running Win10 and the other Win7 with WMC.
My question is can I import the guide from the server to the others or do I need to purchase separate Scehedules Direct for each system as the IP address is the reall key ?
If I missed this in the manual forgive please.

Thanks J

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garyan2

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#1622

Post by garyan2 » Mon Nov 18, 2019 8:22 pm

Not actually covered in the manual, but probably should be noted somewhere. The Schedules Direct membership covers your entire household. You don't need more than one membership.

If you have a more specific question, maybe a unique situation, then I would direct you to their site and contact them there.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

johnsconley

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#1623

Post by johnsconley » Tue Nov 19, 2019 10:53 pm

garyan2 wrote: Mon Nov 18, 2019 8:22 pm Not actually covered in the manual, but probably should be noted somewhere. The Schedules Direct membership covers your entire household. You don't need more than one membership.

If you have a more specific question, maybe a unique situation, then I would direct you to their site and contact them there.
I will contact them on this issue.
can copy the C:\ProgramData\GaRyan2\epg123\output\epg123.mxf from the server maachine?
The EPG123 tools are blocked from getting the new schedule SD on the Win10 machine but the Win7 server is humming along fine.
Thanks J

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garyan2

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#1624

Post by garyan2 » Tue Nov 19, 2019 11:37 pm

For the membership question, here is a thread covering that a little with the President of Schedules Direct chiming in. viewtopic.php?p=122007#p122007

For your shared mxf file, you can copy the files, but you just need to change the user account of the scheduled task to something that has access to the shared folder. Open Task Scheduler and edit the user.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

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gzarzycki

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#1625

Post by gzarzycki » Fri Nov 22, 2019 4:19 pm

Gary, I have a question that I have not found the same question, so please excuse me if I duplicate the question.

As you know, I have 2 media applications running on my server. The WMC for the Comcast cable channels and the MediaPortal for local Terrestrial channels. Currently I am getting the guide for WMC off SD and importing with your epg123. Currently the MediaPortal EPG I am using the Zap2XML application and pulling a guide off Zap2It in XML format which MediaPortal pulls in for its EPG.

Now, can I setup a seperate epg123 server on a seperate Windows PC server and only pull down the local terrestrial EPG only in XML format keeping the two epg123 totally separate and only pulling down the EPG's needed.

I have no idea how SD works when adding a 2nd profile and don't want the EPG for the WMC having the terrestrial channels in it, and the XML download only having the terrestrial EPG and not the WMC channels in it.

I suppose I can just to in and try it, but I don't want to mess up SD and epg123 for my WMC that I currently have all dialed in for the server and 5 clients running.

Thanks,
Gary

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garyan2

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#1626

Post by garyan2 » Fri Nov 22, 2019 5:09 pm

Yes, you can do what you are asking. You are not setting up a different profile with SD... just adding another lineup which you can have up to 4 of.

Keep your current EPG123 setup as-is. On another machine...

Install EPG123 Server Only
Login and add the OTA lineup
Make sure the the OTA lineup in INCLUDED and the Comcast lineup is EXCLUDED (green/red dot) which should be default that way
Select the OTA channels you want, enable and configure the [Create XMLTV file] options
Save & Execute

You could actually do this on the same machine if you wanted, but you would have to create a task manually to create the XMLTV daily. You would need to use the portable package and place it in a separate/new folder than your current EPG123 executables... it will have its own epg123.cfg file for OTA and XMLTV.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

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gzarzycki

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#1627

Post by gzarzycki » Fri Nov 22, 2019 7:12 pm

Thanks, I tried to setup on my Web Server, but the XMLTV file is not compatible to my MediaPortal server, different format then the MediaPortal XML file. :-(

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gzarzycki

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#1628

Post by gzarzycki » Fri Nov 22, 2019 7:17 pm

BTW, I sent you a little something via PayPal for the great software you created,

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garyan2

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#1629

Post by garyan2 » Fri Nov 22, 2019 7:19 pm

gzarzycki wrote: Fri Nov 22, 2019 7:12 pm Thanks, I tried to setup on my Web Server, but the XMLTV file is not compatible to my MediaPortal server, different format then the MediaPortal XML file. :-(
I find that hard to believe. My XMLTV files conform to the XMLTV requirements. I'll have to load mediaportal to see what it is choking on, unless you get some kind of status from it?

EDIT: You are pointing MediaPortal to epg123.xmltv correct?
Last edited by garyan2 on Fri Nov 22, 2019 7:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

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garyan2

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#1630

Post by garyan2 » Fri Nov 22, 2019 7:19 pm

gzarzycki wrote: Fri Nov 22, 2019 7:17 pm BTW, I sent you a little something via PayPal for the great software you created,
Thanks! Much appreciated.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

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gzarzycki

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#1631

Post by gzarzycki » Fri Nov 22, 2019 7:42 pm

Gary, I will email you the MediaPortal XML file for you to see. The reason I wanted to try epg123 and SD is I am not sure how much longer the Zap2it will support downloading of EPG's.

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garyan2

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#1632

Post by garyan2 » Fri Nov 22, 2019 10:32 pm

I successfully used an XMLTV file from EPG123 in Media Portal v1.23 without issue. I even imported it from an area with and without the xmltv.dtd file. It does take a while to import, though, and my file is considerably larger than what you would get from zap2xml. I'm not sure why it would not work with yours.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

sgbroimp

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#1633

Post by sgbroimp » Wed Nov 27, 2019 5:30 pm

So I just signed up with SD. Know this may be covered already, but could not find clear answer: They asked me to choose between an SD-DD lineup or do nothing and get the SD-JSON lineup by default as I understand. I have an HTPC running WIn 7 and WMC with Ceton PcIe Cable tuner, no antenna through this system. Should I have chosen SD-DD or did I do the right thing by choosing nothing? I would like to know before I begin and botch up the EPG123 set up.

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garyan2

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#1634

Post by garyan2 » Wed Nov 27, 2019 5:41 pm

You're all good. A membership gets you access to both the SD-DD and SD-JSON servers. If using the SD-DD servers, you need to choose your lineups and select channels on their website. EPG123 uses the SD-JSON servers so the burden of setting up your lineups and channel selection is on us.

You did the right thing, though no harm if you had selected lineups on the SD-DD server... just no benefit either.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

sgbroimp

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#1635

Post by sgbroimp » Wed Nov 27, 2019 7:47 pm

Much obliged for the quick response, Gary. Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving also.

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twkisner

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#1636

Post by twkisner » Fri Dec 13, 2019 7:45 pm

Gary-

Thanks for EPG123 again. When this first came out, I thought, "the Rovi data switch sucks, but not bad enough that I care enough to replace it" - but it gave me solace that when the day came that MS pulled the plug on the guide data there was a solution.

I honestly thought, being on Win 8.1 that I'd be having this problem in 2023, and that would make it "worth" the hassle and problems I had upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 8. Not so much.

The day is now here, am I'm glad you have made a robust tool that makes this painless as possible and rolled in other tools as well.

Thanks again,

Tom

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#1637

Post by sgbroimp » Sat Dec 14, 2019 4:34 pm

I did my install a few minutes ago. The result looks very nice, but i did have a couple of issues and questions. I have a 6 Tuner Ceton PCiE with Comcast cable card.

----First I got the "too many tuners" message and did the signal setup again manually. Same message again. Then I went to the Tweaks box and checked the box for up to 40 tuners. Question: Do I now have to do my signal setup all over again? If yes, what else needs to then be re-done?

----When I went looking down the list for my zip code to choose the right area for my signal my zip code was showing correctly in the box but not my town(!). I am 06413 and on Clinton digital rebuild. Closest won I saw was Chester and so i chose Chester Digital. Probably similar but that is zip 06412, not 06413.

----I tried to do the matching of recording requests and could not make that happen so I went to the guide and set up maually but that part of the instruction video is not so clear to me, a not very savvy computer person.

----I cannot see how to edit channel numbers. I want Channel 1030 to be 1004 for example. Can anyone walk me through that?

All in all I am very pleased, however. This is a much nicer setup and I think the source of the guide info will be better as under the old one I gets lots of generic program descriptions and on one channel every several months completely incorrect program info like a "This Old House" and the program is Country Music or the like.

So many thanks to Gary for bailing us all out of the Microsoft cost/service cutting program that starts in January.

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garyan2

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#1638

Post by garyan2 » Sat Dec 14, 2019 8:04 pm

----If you performed TV Setup with only 4 tuners and applied the tweak afterwards, then yes, you will have to run TV Setup again to include the other tuners. After that is done your guide listings will be "detached" from the tuner channels so you will have to open the client and click the Match by: [# Number] for each lineup.

----I did a quick compare between Gracenote and Rovi lineups for Clinton Digital and Chester Digital and they look pretty much the same. If there are errors, please open a ticket with Schedules Direct.

----Could you describe what you did and what didn't work for the recording requests?

----Open the client and right-click any channel on the left side that you want to renumber. You should see a selection to 'Renumber' and an editable text box will appear over the channel number. Enter the number you want and hit 'Enter'.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

McGary

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#1639

Post by McGary » Sun Dec 15, 2019 4:34 am

Okay, with the forthcoming loss of all Microsoft guide data, I plan on moving to EPG SOON (my wife has far too many Christmas movies recording the next few days, but as soon as I can find an 8 hr block of unused time I'll do the update).

Just to minimize the likelihood of unforeseen issues, I'd appreciate comments on the following …

(a) Your latest guide page [ http://epg123.garyan2.net/install/ ] certainly makes this process look pretty simple. Am I correct that regardless of the fact I have a fully configured WMC setup, I should still do a "Clean Start"?

(b) I have two Hauppauge cable card tuners, which support 3 channels each. My understanding is that the process of moving to EPG won't impact the activation status of the cable cards, but I WILL lose the ability to record 6 channels without having to exit WMC and letting EPG apply the tweak to allow this. Exactly when in the process do I have to do this step?

(c) Once it's all set up and working with the EPG guide, I gather the other important step is to set up a scheduled task to do the EPG guide update. Is this automated by the EPG setup, or do I simply set up a scheduled task in Windows (I can easily do this, but if necessary just want to be sure what parameters I need to provide for the task)?

It LOOKS like this whole process has evolved to where it's very straightforward -- once I get to the EPG setup I just enter my credentials for a Schedules Direct account (which I'll set up before starting), and then WMC should be working just fine (except without all my scheduled recordings -- which hopefully will move over okay, but that's not nearly as much of a concern as simply getting everything working smoothly and QUICKLY).

Meanwhile, I'm making a manual (paper/pencil) list of all of our scheduled series/recordings … well over 100 :-)

I'm fairly certain I know the answer to this, but please confirm that this "Clean Start" process has NO impact on all of our current recordings. We have ~ 10TB of recorded shows/series/movies and I hate to think what my wife's reaction would be to losing that collection :-)

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garyan2

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#1640

Post by garyan2 » Sun Dec 15, 2019 5:46 am

McGary wrote: Sun Dec 15, 2019 4:34 am(a) Your latest guide page certainly makes this process look pretty simple. Am I correct that regardless of the fact I have a fully configured WMC setup, I should still do a "Clean Start"?
Yes. Even if you do a TV Setup and deny the Program Guide ToS, the Rovi lineups are still in your database and WMC will still download them. This will play havoc on your categories/genres and a few other odds and ends. Best to swallow the pill now rather than fight and deal with the consequences. Of course, come January 2020 it may be moot but my crystal ball isn't telling me anything.
McGary wrote: Sun Dec 15, 2019 4:34 am(b) I have two Hauppauge cable card tuners, which support 3 channels each. My understanding is that the process of moving to EPG won't impact the activation status of the cable cards, but I WILL lose the ability to record 6 channels without having to exit WMC and letting EPG apply the tweak to allow this. Exactly when in the process do I have to do this step?
Correct that it won't impact the activation. The install has evolved a bit more and I apply the tuner limit increase automatically at the end of Step 1... BUT, it is not guaranteed to stick the first time doing Step 2. If when you perform TV Setup and you are limited to 4 tuners, just go ahead and close WMC. EPG123 will recognize that the tuner limit increase did not work and will give you the option to try again (apply the tweak and run TV Setup).
McGary wrote: Sun Dec 15, 2019 4:34 am(c) Once it's all set up and working with the EPG guide, I gather the other important step is to set up a scheduled task to do the EPG guide update. Is this automated by the EPG setup, or do I simply set up a scheduled task in Windows (I can easily do this, but if necessary just want to be sure what parameters I need to provide for the task)?
Creating the scheduled task is not automated, but on both the configuration GUI and the client GUI, there is a panel to create the task. This is detailed on the website as well as the PDF guide linked above.
McGary wrote: Sun Dec 15, 2019 4:34 am It LOOKS like this whole process has evolved to where it's very straightforward -- once I get to the EPG setup I just enter my credentials for a Schedules Direct account (which I'll set up before starting), and then WMC should be working just fine (except without all my scheduled recordings -- which hopefully will move over okay, but that's not nearly as much of a concern as simply getting everything working smoothly and QUICKLY).

Meanwhile, I'm making a manual (paper/pencil) list of all of our scheduled series/recordings … well over 100 :-)
EPG123 will create a backup of your current configuration which can be restored if need be. Part of that backup is all your recording requests, so after your new guide listings have been imported the Transfer Tool will automatically open and automatically transfer eligible requests into WMC. If you want to see what that will look like you can go ahead and do so with the below steps. What is also nice, you may not need to make a manual copy.

1) go ahead and install EPG123... just run the setup file. This will not do anything to WMC and you will be able to use the tools to plan ahead.
2) open the EPG123 Client.
3) click the [Backup] button to make a backup of your current configurations
4) click the [Transfer Tool] button to open the transfer tool
5) click the [Open recordings backup file] and select the backup file you just created in step 3

Anything green on the right side is valid for the new EPG123/SD guide. Anything green on the left side will transfer automatically when you do the Client Setup. Anything pink/salmon may transfer over if theTVDB.com has the Zap2it ID in their metadata for the series. Anything orange will not transfer over... those will typically be your one-time recording requests for a specific episode, movie, sport event. My translation table is limited to series IDs only. Your other recording requests like wishlist, keyword, actor, director, manual... they will all transfer over.
McGary wrote: Sun Dec 15, 2019 4:34 amI'm fairly certain I know the answer to this, but please confirm that this "Clean Start" process has NO impact on all of our current recordings. We have ~ 10TB of recorded shows/series/movies and I hate to think what my wife's reaction would be to losing that collection :-)
All your recordings will be untouched, but you do lose a little. All those movies you have recorded will almost certainly lose their coverart. Also, since the show/series/movie IDs are different, WMC will not recognize you have already recorded something in the past and will record items you already have. You may also find that some recordings have a problem with their metadata and suddenly are not recognized as being part of a series and/or listed as only being 1 minute long... it may mess with how everything looks when you go into recorded tv.

Take a look at the video from my website to see it in action. The version in the video is a couple months old, but not too different from the current version.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

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