Woes of the new user:WEBEPG, XMLTV, Grabbers, XML-DTD...

krntea · 2007-05-17, 16:29

Hi,
I was going to put this in TVServer Support, but I suspect my problem is so fundamental it should be a suggestion for improvement (since there is no "Cry For Help" forum):

Summary: I am new user (to MP and HTPC's in general) - but am an experienced programmer by trade. Quickly realised that program guides are essential to using MP/HTPC's however from a project developer point of view: It looks like this WebEPG feature is stuck in the dead gap that exists between design changes (Old MP and TVServer designs - Are there developer roadmap's somewhere?).

The problems:
- All wiki documentation I have found on this topic is not related to the TV Server.
- New users like myself have no idea how all the pieces (WEBEPG, XMLTV, Grabbers, XML-DTD etc) fit together with TVServer.
- Have searched these forums for hours and found hotpotch collections of rants, tips and ideas - sometimes related to TVServer setup but many times undefined, lots of stuff on time zone problems with people getting quite upset in some cases. Nothing definitive on how to get Program guides working with TVServer.

The closest summary I have gleaned so far for getting WebEPG going in TVServer: - Copy WebEPG files to TV server directory (but no exact list of which files),
- configure WebEPG like "normal", but then a web-epg-confg can't import so you have to enter channels manually one by one(!!!?).
- Point TVServer xmltv plugin to wherever the WebEPG puts its xml output.

Is that an accurate summary of the state of EPG under TVServer? Any clarifications or pointers to more concise info _greatly_ appreciated (its hard to believe channel's have to be imported by hand one by one!!!).

Thanks,

Keith.

joboehl · 2007-05-17, 19:44

I personally don't use WebEpg, but I use XMLTV.

What I do is to copy my xmltv data to the directory specified in the plug-in and rename it to tvguide.xml. I also need the xmltv.dtd in there.

After enabling the plug-in in the TVServer, it works ok.

krntea · 2007-05-17, 20:22

Thanks for the suggestion Joboehl. I originally went with WebEPG mainly as the old docs suggested that is worked the closest with MP (channel use/mapping issues).

fab70 · 2007-05-26, 06:58

Hi,
I have the same problem using the tv server.
Can you please explain me better what do you do? Do you run xmltv on you server and then you copy the tvguide.xml+xmltv.dtd on the client?
My problem is that I'm not able to associate the channel that I have in MP with the xmltv output.
Many thanks.

James · 2007-05-26, 10:51

Please remember that the TV server is still in beta.

There is a list of the files required for WebEPG to run away from MP in the wiki.

Mew · 2007-05-26, 11:31

Hi

I use WebEPG fine on a single seat setup as folows:

I install MediaPortal (+svn) and TV Server (+client plugin) as per the instructions.
Then I run WebEPG-conf.exe. The channels have to be added manually at present as the import function only works under MediaPortal (TV Engine 2), not the TV Server (TV Engine 3). It may be a good idea to save the WebEPG.bak, WebEPG.xml amd WebEPG.xml.bak files (in the WebEPG folder) as these contain the details of the channels ypu have keyed in. As I currently have 92 channels in the EPG I do this to save keying the details in each time I wipe and reinstall Mediaportal.
I then go into MediaPortal TV Server and under the plugins select XmlTV and browse so the folder that it is looking for tvguide.xml is pointing to the one under MediaPortal rather than TV Server.
On running WebEPG.exe the tvguide.xml is produced and TV Server will import it.

I have my HTPC set to hibernate, but using the WebEPG Grabber plugin in I have it set to wake at 04:00 each morning and grab an updated EPG using WebEPG. It then hibernates again.

The set-up will be quite different for multi-seat, but I hope this helps for single-seat.

fab70 · 2007-05-26, 19:11

My problem is that WebEPG has few channels available for the italian users. In particular the Sky channels are not availble, so I must use xmltv to download EPG data.
Anyway, thanks for the clear instructions on WebEPG.

2007-05-17, 16:29	#1 (permalink)
krntea Portal Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 37 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Country:	Woes of the new user:WEBEPG, XMLTV, Grabbers, XML-DTD... Hi, I was going to put this in TVServer Support, but I suspect my problem is so fundamental it should be a suggestion for improvement (since there is no "Cry For Help" forum): Summary: I am new user (to MP and HTPC's in general) - but am an experienced programmer by trade. Quickly realised that program guides are essential to using MP/HTPC's however from a project developer point of view: It looks like this WebEPG feature is stuck in the dead gap that exists between design changes (Old MP and TVServer designs - Are there developer roadmap's somewhere?). The problems: - All wiki documentation I have found on this topic is not related to the TV Server. - New users like myself have no idea how all the pieces (WEBEPG, XMLTV, Grabbers, XML-DTD etc) fit together with TVServer. - Have searched these forums for hours and found hotpotch collections of rants, tips and ideas - sometimes related to TVServer setup but many times undefined, lots of stuff on time zone problems with people getting quite upset in some cases. Nothing definitive on how to get Program guides working with TVServer. The closest summary I have gleaned so far for getting WebEPG going in TVServer: - Copy WebEPG files to TV server directory (but no exact list of which files), - configure WebEPG like "normal", but then a web-epg-confg can't import so you have to enter channels manually one by one(!!!?). - Point TVServer xmltv plugin to wherever the WebEPG puts its xml output. Is that an accurate summary of the state of EPG under TVServer? Any clarifications or pointers to more concise info _greatly_ appreciated (its hard to believe channel's have to be imported by hand one by one!!!). Thanks, Keith.

2007-05-26, 11:31	#6 (permalink)
Mew Portal Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Hertfordshire Age: 37 Posts: 194 Thanks: 8 Thanked 11 Times in 8 Posts Country: My System	Hi I use WebEPG fine on a single seat setup as folows: I install MediaPortal (+svn) and TV Server (+client plugin) as per the instructions. Then I run WebEPG-conf.exe. The channels have to be added manually at present as the import function only works under MediaPortal (TV Engine 2), not the TV Server (TV Engine 3). It may be a good idea to save the WebEPG.bak, WebEPG.xml amd WebEPG.xml.bak files (in the WebEPG folder) as these contain the details of the channels ypu have keyed in. As I currently have 92 channels in the EPG I do this to save keying the details in each time I wipe and reinstall Mediaportal. I then go into MediaPortal TV Server and under the plugins select XmlTV and browse so the folder that it is looking for tvguide.xml is pointing to the one under MediaPortal rather than TV Server. On running WebEPG.exe the tvguide.xml is produced and TV Server will import it. I have my HTPC set to hibernate, but using the WebEPG Grabber plugin in I have it set to wake at 04:00 each morning and grab an updated EPG using WebEPG. It then hibernates again. The set-up will be quite different for multi-seat, but I hope this helps for single-seat. Last edited by Mew; 2007-05-26 at 11:40.

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2007-05-17, 19:44	#2 (permalink)
joboehl Portal Developer Join Date: Jul 2006 Age: 32 Posts: 421 Thanks: 3 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts Country: My System	I personally don't use WebEpg, but I use XMLTV. What I do is to copy my xmltv data to the directory specified in the plug-in and rename it to tvguide.xml. I also need the xmltv.dtd in there. After enabling the plug-in in the TVServer, it works ok.

2007-05-17, 20:22	#3 (permalink)
krntea Portal Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 37 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Country:	Thanks for the suggestion Joboehl. I originally went with WebEPG mainly as the old docs suggested that is worked the closest with MP (channel use/mapping issues).

2007-05-26, 06:58	#4 (permalink)
fab70 Portal Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 27 Thanks: 3 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Country:	Hi, I have the same problem using the tv server. Can you please explain me better what do you do? Do you run xmltv on you server and then you copy the tvguide.xml+xmltv.dtd on the client? My problem is that I'm not able to associate the channel that I have in MP with the xmltv output. Many thanks.

2007-05-26, 10:51	#5 (permalink)
James Portal Developer Join Date: May 2005 Location: Switzerland Posts: 1,348 Thanks: 4 Thanked 55 Times in 34 Posts	Please remember that the TV server is still in beta. There is a list of the files required for WebEPG to run away from MP in the wiki.

2007-05-26, 19:11	#7 (permalink)
fab70 Portal Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 27 Thanks: 3 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Country:	My problem is that WebEPG has few channels available for the italian users. In particular the Sky channels are not availble, so I must use xmltv to download EPG data. Anyway, thanks for the clear instructions on WebEPG.