Lineup Selector (Auto import MXF lineup or switch lineups)

[dmagerl]

go to http://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/tv-listings and enter your zipcode. Then see if listings from both Greenbay and Milwaukee are shown in the drop down menu.

If so then you can use Lineup Selector to merge the two together into a single listing.

I live between Chicago and Rockford and used it get both cities in the guide.

[jziggity]

It does *NOT* show both in that drop-down menu, it only offers "Milwaukee/Surround OTA Antenna". Does that mean it is not possible to get both lineups to work at the same time?

I tried multiple different zipcodes that were roughly on the same east/west running geographic line. Somewhere there is a divide between the Milwaukee and Green Bay markets, because the OTA offering switches depending on how far north I went. But I couldn't find one that would show both.

[dmagerl]

No, you cant use it then. You have to have both lineups available.

In my case I had Chicago, Milwaukee, and Rockford lineups available and I was able to merge all three into a guide that covers all the stations I receive.

Take a look at Guidetool. You'll have to manually add the stations you dont have one at a time. It can be a real pain if there are a lot of them. Then you might be able to use Guidetool to take guide listings from an available cable/satellite system and assign them to the added channels.

Again, go the the MSN TV listings and see if a cable/satellite system lists stations from both areas before trying it.

You could also send a request to Microsoft/Rovi about adding a line up to your zipcode but I wouldnt hold my breath waiting for it to happen.

[glugglug]

Unfortunately you are gonna have to go with one of the MXF import routes, whether that is BSEPG or MCImportXML or if I eventually finish my SchedulesDirect importer...

WMC can only be configured to download lineups daily for one zipcode on its own -- you'll need some scheduled job regularly importing the lineup(s) for the other zipcode. In addition, the listings that show up in the WMC UI are only the ones associated with each tuner type during setup, plus the OTA lineup for the zipcode. So for example, even though it downloads the lineups for DirectTV & Dish network for almost every zipcode, the associated listings aren't available when configured for a cable lineup. THAT I have programs to fix/work around, but I don't think that will help with your situation.

Another super kludgy solution if you want to stick with the Rovi data is that the library LoadMXF uses has both ImportMXF and ExportMXF functions, and you could have scheduled tasks to export the MXF file from another WMC PC configured with the other zipcode and import it on your main WMC PC. It would then not be difficult to make the listings available in edit channels for both lineups (it won't automatically create them all).

[glugglug]

I ran across this trying to figure out why I can't get WMC to automatically add the channels from the XMF. I think it may work for your situation:

https://pnear.wordpress.com/2011/04/29/ ... s-7-rtm-2/

The links to his multiple guide listings hack are to the old TGB which is no longer around. But archive.org captured it:

http://web.archive.org/web/201103191250 ... enter.aspx

[jziggity]

Yes, that web.archive.org is exactly what I need to accomplish. I did stumble across that article at one point, but ran in to a wall when the instructions reference his custom batch file, which is not available via the outdated link in the article. I went so far as to obtain the guide ID # that the article references, so I have that already. I guess I just need to grab that original file of his so I have something to work with. Anyone know if Peter is still reachable?

In particular, I like the statement in that blog post that indicates that his batch file will "add a scheduled task to Windows to download a guide update every morning." That right there is key, I believe. I did the whole switch-a-roo thing he describes to get the guide ID # for the additional market I want to add, and during that process WMC downloaded the guide data for the Green Bay market. I was then able to use GuideTool to manually map the Green Bay area OTA stations to their correct guide data listings. However, as expected, when I zoomed to the near end of the guide data, the Green Bay area stations information ran out before the Milwaukee stations did, as WMC only had as much Green Bay station data loaded as was grabbed during the temporary zip code switch.

And upon checking out his blog post some more, I found Peter's email address. I will shoot him a message and see if he would possibly have that batch file available yet. Hopefully he won't mind sharing! I feel like we are really close to solving this one. Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

[jziggity]

SUCCESS!! I was able to find a newer post on some other website somewhere which had a working link to Peter Near's zip file for his multiple guide listings hack. Since I had already completed the bulk of the instructions and had the guide ID # for the additional market in hand, it only took a few minutes to apply Peter's fix, and away we went! It immediately updated the out of region Green Bay market guide listings. And since I had previously used GuideTool to map the appropriate listings to the Green Bay stations, that was it, I was done! I'm glad this worked out and thanks everyone for the assistance. And my apologies if I hijacked this thread in the end.

[AlexanderGR8]

Eureka!

Apparently, based on what I've read in this thread, there is TRUE light at the end of the tunnel. As far as I am concerned the the 'Rovi EPG System' is totally unacceptable. We use a Comcast CableCARD and the MSFT/ROVI cutoff 'wiped out' 49 of the HD channels in our 'Digital Preferred' programming lineup and also excluded 1 SD channel as well. [I'm not sure what ROVI has against Robert Rodriquez / El Rey Network but his network was the only SD channel disrespected along with all of the other HD channels that were not worthy of inclusion. Machete Kills! ].

A little bit of background before diving into my questions. I am not an Engineer or IT professional. I specialize in digital marketing and work in the television industry. That being said I am constantly surrounded by the latest, greatest devices and a wide variety of multichannel video delivery systems. Despite the fact that I am immersed in the world of video and gadgets -- I've used WMC + CableCard since March of 2007 and am here to tell you that I still think it's 'the greatest thing since sliced bread'! [Currently in a Windows 7 environment]

As for my questions, I've scrutinized this thread and many others and don't think I've overlooked answers to these questions but if I have then please accept my apologies in advance - (and please don't yell at me. LOL). Here we go:

(1) Is it a violation of any kind of agreement with MSFT if the user continues to use the WMC software but implements this new 'Schedules Direct + Big EPG + Zap2it solution'? In other words would the user have to somehow refuse acceptance of the EPG / ROVI data? If so then what agreement(s), if any, need to be terminated and how does the user refuse acceptance to these agreement(s). I know that MSFT stopped supporting WMC but does that mean we can't violate an agreement for using software that's been left out to pasture? Does it mean that the terms of use for the software are no longer valid and we can freely implement third-party solutions within the WMC interface? Help me out here please -- I just don't want to go full speed ahead with any of this just to find out later that they're going to pull the rug out from underneath everyone who went all revolutionary on them. What's the best approach or steps that should be taken in this specific case?

(2) It seems to me that the user would somehow have to turn the Rovi data off before implementing the new solution because the PC task of updating the guide listings would keep going out and grabbing the ROVI listings / meta data and it would be intermingled with the Zap2it metadata. Does anyone have experience with this? Sounds like a setup for chaos. If I am correct and the Rovi data source needs to be plugged ... then how do you accomplish that task? I want to plug the dike immediately and never let the ROVI stream back into my EPG canal ever again.

(3) When WMC is operating properly it's my experience that unless you delete a keyword search or series that is scheduled to record then the DVR automatically searches through the data and schedules program recordings. However, in this new/test scenario have any of you had any difficulties whenever you go in to the "ADD RECORDING" sub menu and search for programs? I 'borrowed a friend from our IT department' last night and we followed this protocol. However, as exciting as it is that the EPG was populated with accurate data and all channels were accessible -- our test experiences resulted in a complete inability to use the 'SEARCH' functions that are built into the WMC interface. This was most prevalent (and disturbing) whenever we searched by KEYWORD. In every single case, (including cases where we knew the name, date and time that a specific show was scheduled to air), the search query yielded either no result at all or completely irrelevant results -- even when we knew that relevant results were in fact in the guide. It was as if the TITLE of a program wasn't searchable at all. [Example: We had the full Zap2it EPG data loaded in WMC EPG and searched for an upcoming series that will begin airing on SUNDANCE channel this next week. We spelled out the exact, full name of the program (The Returned) and got ZERO results. None. And yet when we used the GUIDE to add a recording ... we were able to navigate to SUNDANCE and easily find/add the program/series to record. I'm sure you'll agree with me that the inability to search by keyword is necessary and going to be a significant problem if this new solution cannot be tweaked to yield rich results - [Users commonly set up recording of their favorite Directors, Sports teams, Actors/Actresses, etc....]. Any ideas? Is this because the search by keyword is still searching the ROVI database [that really doesn't make sense], or is it not able to search either database? Bottom line: How do I solve this problem before we roll it out of the testing phase for ongoing blissful use by the family? Hopefully it's a basic solution that I overlooked.

Again, please forgive me for my non-technical background and accept my most sincere expression of gratitude for your initiative and assistance.

Best wishes,

Kevin

[audinutt]

You must index the media center searches after importing epg data. Then the searches work

[DaveInPa]

@Alex:
For question 2, yes, you have to stop the Rovi / MSFT downloads of guide data or it will mix things up and you will likely see Rovi desriptions even though you are adding new guide data. I also use a Cablecard and that has been my experience. I have probably reset and reconfigured 8-10 times over the past couple months.

The key to using the Schedules Direct / Zap2it guide is to prevent the automatic downloads that Media Center wants to do.

For question 3, I run a scheduled task to reindex the guide... after first getting the guide data from schedules direct and then using BSEPG to load it into Meda Center.

For the scheduled task, I run %SystemRoot%\ehome\ehPrivJob.exe /DoReindexSearchRoot

[AlexanderGR8]

DaveInPa,

Thanks for your support.

I'll probably need to "bring a friend from the IT department home for dinner" to implement your suggestions for question #3 but can a 'techno-peasant' like me address question #2? In other words how specifically do I prevent the automatic downloads that Media Center wants to do? Please reply with a simple step-by-step procedure if possible.

Happy Halloween!

Kevin

[DaveInPa]

Alex,

There's a pretty detailed explanation in another thread.
http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/vie ... =96&t=9052

Note reply #60 for the instructions.

[jbf154]

OK folks. I managed to write a SchedulesDirect JSON client that will generate a MXF file that successfully loads with LoadMXF.exe. Now, I can't see the lineup in the Lineup Selector. I re-indexed the guide too. Is there something else I need to do?