SchedulesDirect.org

[ssmillie]

Since Zap2it is going away, some great people (including some from MythTV) are putting together a replacement for Zap2It for the USA/Canada users at http://SchedulesDirect.org

Is anyone looking at making a plug-in for this (like the Zap2it one)?

[mzemina]

Originally Posted by ssmillie

Since Zap2it is going away, some great people (including some from MythTV) are putting together a replacement for Zap2It for the USA/Canada users at http://SchedulesDirect.org

Is anyone looking at making a plug-in for this (like the Zap2it one)?

Since they have a working XMLTV grabber, can't that be used until a plugin appears?

[airxdata]

I'd use the XMLTV grabber until a plugin comes around, but can I grab multiple lineups with an XMLTV grabber like I can with the Zap2it plugin? That is probably the only thing that will hold me back at the time of switching.

[m0deth]

The real question is why is there no MP devs on this list?

July 12, 2007
Greetings from the newly-formed team at Easy TV Data,

This organization was formed by members of various software projects in response to the announcement from Zap2it Labs that they will be discontinuing the free TV listings service that they have been providing to the non-commercial free and open source communities for the last 3+ years.

We know that many of you are waiting on the edge of your seats to find out what's going on behind the scenes here, and we're just as excited to tell you, but we can't give you many details while we are still involved in negotiations. We can, however, let you know that we are actively working on a solution that will provide what we hope will be a smooth transition away from Zap2it Labs by the September 1 deadline. We will release more details as soon as we are able to do so, so please keep an eye on http://schedulesdirect.org/ for updates.

Thanks for sticking with us,

The Easy TV Data Board:
Isaac Richards, Chairman (MythTV)
Robert Eden (XMLTV)
Daniel Kristjansson (MythTV)
Kevin Odorczyk (MacProgGuide)
Chris Petersen (Mythtv)

[mzemina]

Originally Posted by m0deth

The real question is why is there no MP devs on this list?
...

Maybe because (don't know this for a fact, just guessing) these guys want to make some money?

[airxdata]

This isn't a money-making venture that they are starting. They needed to license the ability to have the listings from Zap2It now that they are closing off the services they were hosting. I assume that some sort of price is associated with the licensing costs they are going to incur. They set themselves up as a not-for-profit, so making money isn't their focus at all.

[patrick]

Hi,

Just waiting until they set up the client application approval methods or procedures
(to make sure it is freeware or Open Source)

They have released initial pricing.
From http://schedulesdirect.org/

Schedules Direct Announces Initial Pricing

The answer to everyone's top question is.... $15 / 3 months non-recurring.
...
until we have some idea as to the subscriber count we need to make sure we can pay the bills. We expect pricing to drop by the end of the initial term. Our goal is $20/year.

HTH,
patrick

[Noelix]

Originally Posted by m0deth

The real question is why is there no MP devs on this list?

Despite the growing number of US users of this software, there are no devs (that I know of) who live and breathe in the US of A or North America, so support for this kind of thing is almost an afterthought after getting standard EU listings implemented.

[mzemina]

Noelix - I have seen a few (less than a handful) NorthAmerican developers on the forums, but none that I am aware of who are part of the devteam.

PRICING - Schedules Direct have ::announced:: their pricing. Currently they are asking $15USD/3months but hope to reduce down to $20USD/YR - they won't know when the drop will occur but think maybe after the first three month. It depends on the number of people who pay for this service.

Mike

[m0deth]

My point was....and I thought this was so....is that MP does not say it's a euro-only solution.

I realize this epg thing is a hurdle dealing with overly greedy US companies, but even though their are few devs from the US, you have plenty of dedicated users here. All of which are wondering if they are to be left in the cold as they watch the SD site for supported apps. We see MythTV, GBPVR and other apps listed and approved, but no MP....which by the way seems to be a fairly straightforward application to get the ball rolling on this.

Once again, I know our media companies/govt really suck when tryin to do this for us...but when you have users willing to pay to get true PVR functionality back thru SD....why not support them with a redesigned zap2it style plugin? Or at least sign up with SD to find out the requirements for such implementation? So far this app shows the least amount of movement to solve a problem with a timer ticking down....not that it matters as zap has already refused resubscription on both of my accounts already, and others too.

I know you guys are busy, I know 2.3 is looming around the corner here, and I also think releasing it without a solution for US users would be a huge mistake in terms of app popularity. I try to plug MP to whoever I can here, but most say the same thing/ask the same questions....."Can you just put in your Zip code to get listings like _______?" Fill in the blank yourself, it doesn't mater which app you pick, almost all make it that easy. They'd rather use inferior products that make life easy to setup(go M$< sigh), instead of editing files they have no clue about, and praying XMLTV actually does what it is supposed to.

I say all this in hoping MP becomes the premiere HTPC app going....because IMO it offers more than all the rest in terms of funtionality and appealing interface choices. LinuxMCE has more popularity on the HTPC forums already after it's spectacular video of its functionality and ease of setup. All this despite it's BUTT ugly interface, and other drawbacks.

We need to know someone gives a damn about us in this matter, alot of us here were planning on building tv servers with multiple cards based off 2.3 and TV3 but what good would that do us if we cant schedule, or even know what's on for that matter? All the vaunted new features of this setup are useless without the basics, or worse appear to bystanders as amateur work when I know damn well it's otherwise. I have built HPTC's for people who initially wanted to use MCE, and later found MP to be better for them for various reasons.....what do I tell them in the next coming weeks as zap2it dies off for good? I can't even point to the SD site to show it's in the works.


and BTW Noelix...US support has always seemed an afterthought, for the entire time I've used the app so far, it took a non-dev team member to fix it in the first place. Also, when you have the possibility of beating paid software at it's own game in such a huge market as the NA continent....why leave them as a footnote, or unfinished feature?

Your albeit honest explanation of the situation still tastes like a poor excuse for the inequality of feature usage based on region. It's part of why the 'growing us base' is not an exploding one.

I truly love this app, and would love to enilghten more to it on a growing basis, but as of this moment, for US users, its nothing but a media player at this point, and this is sad. /rant

Please fix this..../beg

thanx all

m0