ATSC EPG (1 Viewer)

[Dukenukemx]

I have XmlTV plugin working just fine for my local Cable provider, but I also want EPG for ATSC. I tried matching the info provided by mc2xml but some channels just don't exist. Things like NYLIFE, MYGOV, and etc just don't have any matches. I assume it's because the tvguide.xml is setup for my cable provider. Is there a way to fix this? Like another plugin or maybe get the EPG from over the air?

 

[RonD]

In principle you should be able to do this using the tvguide.lst option in xmltv. Setup 2 mc2xml folders, 1 for your current cable setup, the other for your new ATSC channels that has the EPG info for the missing channels (NYLIFE etc). The tvguide.lst file will need to have the full path to the 2 tvguide.xml files, something like the following, details depend on how you do setup.

c:\FullPath2ToMc2xml\mc2xmlCable\tvguide.xml
c:\FullPath2ToMc2xml\mc2xmlATSC\tvguide.xml

in the xmltv plugin, enable the tvguide.lst option and set the xmltv path to the folder with the tvguide.lst file. I did this once for testing, but its been a long time.
You'll also need to setup 2 sets of RunMc2xml.bat files, task scheduler etc.

see
http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/1_...tion/TV-Server_Configuration/13_Plugins/XmlTv

 

[Dukenukemx]

Thanks, that helped. My problem now is trying to get ATSC EPG from mc2xml. When I first run it and enter my zip code I get a lot of choices but nothing for ATSC. I selected Digital terrestrial lineup and load it up within xmltv plugin but still no matches.

 

[RonD]

The channel names for ATSC sub-channels are main channel with a DT2, DT3 suffix. In general not the "marketing name" of the channel. MePo xmltv "auto-map" in general does not get the correct mapping. You can use the zap2it EPG webpage to see how channels are setup and can use the xmltv channel setup to manually find/fix the channel mapping.

I use a mc2xml.ren file to help map the mc2xml EPG names to the MePo scanned channel names, but its kind of a pain to setup the 1st time. I use the notepad++ text editor to open the very big (40+ MB) tvguide.xml file to see the EpgChans in the file. After you make the mc2xml.ren you need to run mc2xml a 2nd time to generate a new tvguide.xml file with the remapped channel names. The 1st time I do this it takes a couple iterations to clean up the mappings.

For example my PBS channels.

EpgChan:MePoChan
KQEDDT:KQED-HD
KQEDDT2:KQED+
KQEDDT3:WORLD

 

[mm1352000]

Like another plugin or maybe get the EPG from over the air?

For the record, TV Server is currently incapable of grabbing ATSC OTA EPG... though from what I've heard, the broadcast data is pretty poor.
If I were you and wanted to pursue that route (OTA EPG), I'd use EPG Collector to collect the data and merge it with the mc2xml data too. One XMLTV can be easier to manage.

 

[Edalex]

I'd use EPG Collector to collect the data and merge it with the mc2xml data too. One XMLTV can be easier to manage.

Since you were involved in developing EPGCollector could you bring some of its code for MP?

 

[mm1352000]

Since you were involved in developing EPGCollector could you bring some of its code for MP?

I was mainly involved in testing, and that was back when it was version 1.x and 2.x. These days I answer maybe one or two emails per year about tuner-related problems. Anyhow...
Short answer is: yes... and no.
EPG Collector is open source released under the GPL, so we can see and use the code if we want. However the code is written in C# whereas TsWriter is written in C++. That means we can't use the code directly.

 

[RonD]

I've used EPC Collector in the past with USA ATSC, have not used it for a couple of years. For USA ATSC it is ok but does not have very complete EPG info. In my area most stations have about 12 hours of data a few have 24-48 hours. Only start/stop times, program name, short description, rating (PG, TV-14 etc). Does not have Sub-Title/EpisodeName or season/episode numbers. Sometimes a station forgets about OTA EPG, just see "DTV Program" for all hours. Would be "nice to have" not sure if many people would want this for a primary EPG source. Output from EPC Collector matches what I see with USA TV.

A typical program has the following. Attached tvgude.xml file has EPG Collector output for 1 ATSC PhysicalChannel=12, ATSC 11.1 KNTV and 11.2 Cozi.

<programme channel="11:1:KNTV HD" stop="20150130220015 -0800" start="20150130210015 -0800">
<title>Grimm</title>
<desc>Nick and Hank investigate an apparent homicide at an abandoned home that locals believe to be hunted,
and the survivors claim a ghost was to blame; Monroe and Rosalee finally go on their honeymoon;
Renard seeks the aid of a person from his past.</desc>

<rating system="VCHIP">
<value>TV-14</value>
</rating>
<audio>
<stereo>stereo</stereo>
</audio>
</programme>

 

[breese]

For the record, TV Server is currently incapable of grabbing ATSC OTA EPG... though from what I've heard, the broadcast data is pretty poor.

Actually the bigger cities have some very nice local HD cannels...
Here in Chicago there is also the Movie channel that is also found on a lot of Cable services... While these are old movies (most of the time) the quality is as good....

 

[mm1352000]

Thanks for the feedback @RonD

Would be "nice to have" not sure if many people would want this primary EPG source.

Yeah, that's pretty much what I figured. However, I think there's value in enabling the possibility that people would scan in their channels, open up MP, go to the guide, and be able to see at least something in there. I have the feeling that a lot of people who are used to WMC get put off by the empty guide on first load.

Actually the bigger cities have some very nice local HD cannels...

For sure. We're talking about the quality of the EPG data though, not the channel content itself.