mc2xml no longer working? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter VdR
- Start date
Belgium
I'll "second" the opinion! For me it was October 12th I had NO DATA in my guide and concluded mc2xml.exe was no longer working. I did a quick web search, downloaded the latest from the web, placed it into my folder and I'm back running as if nothing had happened! I had no idea there even was an expriation date in the version I (we all) were using! Glad it was such a simple solution - took me all of 30 minutes to figure out!
I hope this post will assist others to get their's back within 5 minutes!
I hope this post will assist others to get their's back within 5 minutes!
This is the second time I've experienced the fallout of mc2xml expiring without warning. WAF = 0 when you discover none of your programs have been recorded during the week due to lack of EPG data.
This time around when I went to the new site and tried to download the new version, my Norton antivirus promptly quarantined the file. So with that on top of the fear that I would someday have to discover (yet again) that mc2xml silently stopped grabbing EPG data, I decided to try an alternative.
I found XMLTV GUI instead. It was easy enough to set up and it's been running for a week with no problem. (You set up a Scheduled Task to run it.)
XMLTV GUI
BTW I'm using it with SchedulesDirect in the US.
This time around when I went to the new site and tried to download the new version, my Norton antivirus promptly quarantined the file. So with that on top of the fear that I would someday have to discover (yet again) that mc2xml silently stopped grabbing EPG data, I decided to try an alternative.
I found XMLTV GUI instead. It was easy enough to set up and it's been running for a week with no problem. (You set up a Scheduled Task to run it.)
XMLTV GUI
BTW I'm using it with SchedulesDirect in the US.
+1 for xmltvgui nice little program, as stated just set a scheduled task to run xmltv console daily (command line version of gui)
I get more info with above, than from M$ using mc2xml
I get more info with above, than from M$ using mc2xml
Thought I should point out a not so obvious point. While Larzon makes an excellent point about the potential instability of the mc2xml application and Paranoid Delusion prefers the xmltvgui, notice that both of these (posts) are using it in conjunction with a Schedules Direct (SD) account for $20/year. Specifically, I was drawn to mc2xml because it functioned with guide sources other than SD and utilizing the xmltv plug-in (included in MP TV-Server) I am receiving my guide data for free!
If a user has a SD subscription there is another means of importing the data --> there is a Schedules Direct plug-in that has been maintained... I used to use this myself as it's a one-step operation you set up once and it runs without the need to schedule a Windows task or utilize the xmltv plug-in. Additionally, the SD plug-in now has a tab to assist users in obtaining accurate Season/Episode numbers from thetvdb for those of you using the TV-Series plug-in.
As for myself, I'm "cheaping out" and sticking with mc2xml for now... and YES, it also has drawbacks like how often microsoft updates their data and how they populate the fields - often College Football will not indicate which game in the TV-Guide yet the filename will include the team's names! Also, there is often a lack of Season/Episode numbers in the data to which I've found this other really useful application: episodescanner which will retrieve them from thetvdb (for those of us in the US) as well as other sites for those of you outside the US. YES, episodescanner has to be scheduled to run (Windows Task Scheduler) which is easy for me since at 4:00 am I run the mc2xml task followed at 4:15 am by this episodescanner utility, viola!
I've been really pleased with what all is available to the MediaPortal community - there are a lot of really inventive and caring folks contributing! I thought I'd take a minute to point out a couple of options, how to make either of these more useful, and provided hyperlinks to the various threads where you can locate the discussion/files.
If a user has a SD subscription there is another means of importing the data --> there is a Schedules Direct plug-in that has been maintained... I used to use this myself as it's a one-step operation you set up once and it runs without the need to schedule a Windows task or utilize the xmltv plug-in. Additionally, the SD plug-in now has a tab to assist users in obtaining accurate Season/Episode numbers from thetvdb for those of you using the TV-Series plug-in.
As for myself, I'm "cheaping out" and sticking with mc2xml for now... and YES, it also has drawbacks like how often microsoft updates their data and how they populate the fields - often College Football will not indicate which game in the TV-Guide yet the filename will include the team's names! Also, there is often a lack of Season/Episode numbers in the data to which I've found this other really useful application: episodescanner which will retrieve them from thetvdb (for those of us in the US) as well as other sites for those of you outside the US. YES, episodescanner has to be scheduled to run (Windows Task Scheduler) which is easy for me since at 4:00 am I run the mc2xml task followed at 4:15 am by this episodescanner utility, viola!
I've been really pleased with what all is available to the MediaPortal community - there are a lot of really inventive and caring folks contributing! I thought I'd take a minute to point out a couple of options, how to make either of these more useful, and provided hyperlinks to the various threads where you can locate the discussion/files.